The moment I set foot in the basement, my jaw hit the floor. It was full of gizmos, gadgets, and machines, and I would have liked nothing less than to make a beeline for them and see what I could do with all this tech. Unfortunately for me, a sudden wave of agony coursed through my horn, reminding me of why I was here.
"So, let me get this straight," Twilight said, looking me in the eye very seriously. " You're having pains in your horn? Have you ever felt them before? Does it hurt to use magic?" She probably would have bombarded me with questions for a lot longer, but I held up my hand, signaling her to be quiet.
"I'm not here to be analyzed like an ancient artifact. I'm here to see if you can help, but to answer your questions, the answers are yes, no, and no."
Twilight seemed taken aback by me interrupting her, but she regained her composure quickly.
"Er, alright, step over there and put the hat on," She said, pointing to what looked like a spaghetti strainer with Hearth's Warming lights on it. I was confused as to what this was at first, but merely shrugged my shoulders and complied. She then walked over to the monitor-like device the hat had been sitting on, and flicked a switch.
"Allright, now cast your most powerful spell,"
I did cast a powerful spell, but held it back for fear the sudden rise in magic might make my pony form wash away, revealing me to be a Shade. After the light form my spell faded away, the purple unicorn looked at the screen, and afterwards her eyes widened.
"What is it?" I asked, hoping she hadn't discovered something that might blow my cover.
"Th-Th-This is... AMAZING!!!" she shouted at the top of her lungs, making me recoil.
"What is it?" I asked again, her sudden outburst of joy making any nervousness I had dissipate.
She then went into a long explanation about power levels and magic making, to which I just stared in confusion. I might be a total science nerd, but this was magic, and I wasn't a nerd about that, but apparently she was.
Just then, Spike came downstairs.
"Twilight are wron-Umm, what are you doing down here with that guy?"
I saved Twilight having to lie about being attracted to my handsome self(shameless self-promotion) and replied to Spike's question myself.
"No. Get your mind out of the gutter. Also, Twilight, do you know how to relieve the pain?"
"Yes, your body is making more magic than it can hold, so whenever you start feeling bad, I recommend releasing some energy,"
"Thank you, I'm sorry for keeping you up," I said, only now realizing how tired she must be.
"Don't be! I stay up MUCH later than this on a regular basis!" She said in a perky voice.
"Are you sure that's healthy? You have bags under your eyes that are so big you could carry food in them,"
Spike snickered at my joke, while Twilight reassured me that she was fine staying up that late. I guess I can't really bug her about that, considering how late I stay up playing Team Fortress Two.
So, since my problem was solved I bid them goodbye and started the walk home.