It had been a mostly normal morning for Celestia; dealing with court and with the rumour mill only having the barest of hints that there was another pony in the castle that should not be there. The biggest sign that they’d had a small crisis was a thrown plate of spaghetti early in the morning before she had risen her sun. It was odd for her ponies and there was some worry about entire spaghetti industry coming to a crashing halt due to the mistaken belief the princesses no longer cared for the food until they learned Batty was involved and everypony went Ah and Why wasn’t it a taco? and moved on.

Celestia tilted her head, thinking about Spliced Genome. Even her name was worrisome; if how a pony’s name was nine out of ten times related to their special talent a constant through the other dimension then Celestia had a very good idea what the mare’s special talent was and what her crimes were.

But, Celestia caught herself, I do not have concrete evidence, not until we find out more about her.

And then it would be up to her and Luna to decide what they were to do with it and her. If Spliced proved to be an actual danger, they would send her back to where she came from.

If they could.

If they couldn’t….

“Tia?” Luna’s voice caused her ears to snap up and turn her head to face her sister. “Do you have a moment?”

Of course her sister wasn’t asking if she could talk to her but if she was free from any prying ears that were not in either of their pocket’s.

“Of course Lulu,” Tia said, sweeping a wing to let her sister into their throne room with the enchantments bringing out Luna’s throne and throwing half the room into Luna’s colours, creating the proper blend the room should have permanently. “So what did you learn about our guest?”

“A fair deal,” Luna replied after she sat down, looking her sister in the eye. Another thing that they made sure of; Luna’s throne was slightly elevated so they could be seen eye to eye with each other and further establish that they were equals. “She told me more about where she was kept, spoke of desire to be free from the isolation and the means by which she got here.”

“Oh?” Celestia’s eyebrow rose.

“A broken gateway,” Luna’s word caused Celestia to flinch.

“That is very bad,” Celestia said. “Especially as it is on your moon which means only we can investigate it once we locate it and assess what can be done.”

“She did tell me the location,” Luna said, “but it was likely that there were some differences between what I saw and where it actually is.” She frowned. “What worries me more is that she claimed to have found it on her own by sheer chance… but you know my abilities in dreams. She wasn’t telling the full truth about that, I’m certain.”

Celestia frowned herself. “That is worrisome. But if she didn’t find it, who or what could have helped her find it?”

“I don’t know.” Luna sounded grim. “But…” she broke off for a moment to shake her head and gather her thoughts. “It seems to me that if she was helped, she didn’t much appreciate it - she said she doesn’t care to ‘be beholden to anypony at the cost of herself’.”

Celestia furrowed her brow. “That is an odd way of putting it,” she said quietly.

“My thoughts exactly,” Luna replied. “But I did confirm something else.”

“Oh?”

“She is obsessed with gathering knowledge,” Luna said with a coy smile. “I mentioned our library and she was very excited by the thought.” She raised an eyebrow. “Also, I was able to confirm that there was more to her dislike of spaghetti than what she said before - apparently she choked to death on it at least once before.”

Celestia raised an eyebrow. “Well. That is certainly a good reason to dislike it.” She looked more serious. “I am worried about her… dying and coming back so easily though…”

“As am I.” Luna sighed. “Her captors apparently put her through many, many deaths during her time up there… a great deal of them in just one day, after some event that she didn’t explain, and in many different ways - at least, that is the impression I got. She is very used to it; from what she said, I got the sense that if she’d started dying once every minute or so when she came here and I hadn’t shown up when I did, it would have only slowed her from making her way back to where she came from.”

Celestia looked very disturbed by that. “Goodness.”

Luna nodded. “What’s more… apparently she dreams of these deaths over and over, and is so used to it that when I appeared inside her dream, she thought I was something new that her mind had conjured up just to be different for once. Eventually, I was able to convince her I was the real Princess, but it took some doing.”

Celestia’s disturbed expression had grown. “If she dreams of her own deaths so much…” She looked at Luna. “Are you certain she is entirely sane, sister?”

Luna sighed. “To be honest, I’m not sure. She can be reasoned with, that much is certain. But I am also certain that four hundred years of being alone, coupled with her dying repeatedly and not being allowed to stay that way, has affected her.”

Celestia took the subtle message in her sister’s voice and nodded. “Is there anything else you were able to observe?”

“Well…” Luna considered. “She absolutely dreads the thought of being forced back into her old prison, and of being killed just because somepony didn’t like her researching. While I disagree with some of her methods, I feel that at least some of her research could be of possible use, though we would need somepony to keep a close eye on it to make sure she doesn’t go too far in some of her… more extreme means of study.” She considered. “And from what I have seen, she had amazing control over her dream once I drew her attention away from her past deaths. Even for one who doesn’t believe in magic… I know she is astounded by what we’re both capable of, and I believe she is thoroughly convinced there is a more scientific explanation for such abilities and would like nothing more than to prove it. Again though, I would recommend strict supervision.”

Celestia considered. “Do you think Twilight and her friends would be suitable for this? Given their rate of success in the past…”

“It’s a possibility, though I’d suggest you warn Twilight about her in advance - judging by Spliced’s reaction to myself, I think being around another alicorn, one who wasn’t born into that tribe, would be… hmm.” Luna considered. “Well, you know how obsessive Twilight gets when she finds something she wants to study. Spliced may be like that, but even more so. And I would advise telling all of them that she can be, shall we say...”

“Blunt?” Celestia suggested.

“Exactly.” Luna nodded. “Her comments about ‘Thirds’ at dinner last night being just one example. We should probably warn them about her remarks in that regard as well.” She sighed. “I still don’t think she meant to be offensive about that, a simple matter of fact for her, but some may not take it as well as others.”

Celestia took in the final words of wisdom her sister had for about the mare and asked Luna, “Where is she now?”

Luna’s eyes lit up and a mischievous smile spread across the other princess’s face which told Celestia that the alicorn of the moon had been waiting for this.

“Well now, dearest sister o’ mine,” Luna said, as she stood up, not even bothering to hide her smile at this point. “After we absconded to thine depositary of knowledge, dearheart Spliced made haste for her quarters and has begun to enact in activities that have made all who have toiled here feel the weight of the ages.”

“Okay Luna, are you going to tell me what she is doing or are you going to force me to go see for myself and feel old in the process?”

“Older, oh beloved sister,” Luna said as she squished Celestia’s face with her hooves. “Now we must depart for our chambers so we might rest at long last. Until the ‘morrow, oh elder sister.” Luna chuckled as she departed in her smoky form.

“Luna, one more thing; do you think we could trust her?”

That caused her sister to pause at the doorway and turn her head back with the most serious of faces. “Absolutely not,” she said solemnly. “I fear that may be the reason to why she was labeled as a war criminal, because those in her world trusted her and paid the price. Until we know what her crimes were exactly, we cannot give her amnesty and protection from her world’s government. I feel if the crimes are that heinous, we should bring her over there as a sign of goodwill. Speaking of, once I have rested and finished my court tonight, I will investigate the location she gave me.”

Celestia rose to her hooves and walked to her sister, saying, “You have given me a lot to think of, Luna, a lot of which I do agree with.” Leaning downwards to hug her sister goodnight. “I will go see this mare of ours before making up my mind.”

Luna nuzzled her sister before nodding her head. “Very well, Celestia… and Tia, prepare to feel old.” Luna laughed as she vanished in her smoky form with Celestia rolling her eyes and beginning to make her way to the guest quarters. She saw a few of her guards nodding their heads at her, with hidden smiles on those who had been with the castle for a long time.

Pausing in front of Spliced’s room, Celestia braced herself for the worst and opened the door.

The room was in what Celestia would either call controlled chaos or a light Twilight study session. The bed, table and dressers were all covered in open books and pages of written notes tossed around in a manner only the owner would understand. On the nightstand was pot of steaming coffee and a number of empty carton cups littering the floor.

And on the bed was the mare of the hour, practically bouncing on the spot, eyes wide as she flipped the pages of the book she was reading while jotting down notes on a piece of paper next to her just like Twilight did when she was young and Celestia now felt old. With a thought to play a prank on her sister for this little stunt, she made her presence known with a cough as like Twilight, Spliced had yet to acknowledge her and Celestia felt really old now.

Dye in Luna’s shampoo, Celestia told herself.

“Oh hello princess Celestia I am sorry I did not hear you come in how are you tonight no wait it is morning or is it afternoon I have yet to open the blinds and check the the place of the sun as I have been very busy reading all your medical and scientific books and logs and reports and I have also had my first second third fourth fifth and I think sixth cup of coffee and this coffee is really good although it has wound me up and I am now curious to see the effects of my death would have on my caffeinated body so I do this for scientific knowledge” Spliced rambled off before she grabbed her head and twisted her neck with a sharp crack and fell down onto her book.

It took Celestia a moment to process everything that just happened, with her eyes blinking in honest confusion before the mare began to twitch, something atypical from how the mare normally came back from death.

“Oww,” the mare groaned, holding a hoof to her head. “Owwww,” the mare whimpered again, holding both hooves to her head.

“What is wrong?” Celestia asked, stepping closer to the mare on the bed.

“I just took myself from a highly artificial functioning state to the base standards of my body without any time to prepare my body for the transition,” the mare grumbled.

“How do you feel?” Celestia asked, a smile tugging her lips.

“Imagine if you have eaten cold food far too quickly and experience cranial pain-”

"An ice cream headache?”

“...You have ice cream here?” the green’s mare ears ears lifted upwards before she groaned. “Well imagine if you had one but it was spread across your entire body.” Nuzzling the book briefly, the mare lifted her head upright while muttering, never again.

Doing her utmost not to laugh at the scene, Celestia cleared a space for herself on the bed with Spliced giving her a restrained frown of annoyance before backing up to give her more space.

“I have spoken with my sister about you and before we reach a final decision about the amnesty you desire, I believe a bit more is needed to determine that if you are going to be a threat to our little ponies.”

“Princess, with all due respect to your decision making, let me state that I will not be an issue,” Spliced said, looking her straight in the eyes. “I have just left my prison behind and I have no desire to return to it or another one of your making by harming one of your citizens.”

Celestia took this in with mild concern. She was not certain if the younger mare was lying to her, but the reasoning behind it was set in pure logic and no morality was factored in. Celestia was sensing a pattern for what was normal for her and it worried her as it was a very easy path to fall into dark places that affected a great deal of ponies and this mare was an admitted war criminal…

“Regardless of the fact, I believe that my former personal student, Princess Twilight Sparkle, will able to finalize the information we need to make our decision,” Celestia told her.

“Another sister of yours or some distant family member?” Spliced asked, tilting her head.

“No, Twilight is not related to the royal family by a direct bloodline,” Celestia informed her. “Our tribe, alicorn, is small an-”

“How small?”

“There are only five of us; my sister and I, Twilight Sparkle, Mi Amore Cadenza and her daughter,” Celestia said with Spliced’s eyes bulging at this. “Due to our nature here, we are viewed as leaders of nations, my sister and myself for Equestria and Cadance for the Crystal Empire, and all of us are referred to as Princesses.”

“Wh-what happened to the rest of our kind?” Spliced looked utterly horrified.

“That’s on a need to know basis only and you do not even appear on that list’s clearance,” Celestia said sharply, projecting more coldness than she had intended but that was a very sensitive topic, one she had not even discussed with Twilight or Cadance since their respective ascensions, even though they did have the right to the information as alicorns. “At any rate, I will be arranging a meeting between you and Princess Twilight very soon, with you being moved to her castle in Ponyville, as we feel it would be better for you in a small community than the high pressure of the capital where I can see only issues arising.”

“Such as?”

“We have a number of unicorn nobles whom I can see you clashing with, notably my honourary nephew Prince Blueblood. He is… well-intentioned, but he is not the easiest of ponies to get along with, unfortunately.” Celestia grimaced, remembering Blueblood’s actions at the Grand Galloping Gala a few years before. “And there are some others who would have their own opinions of a new alicorn showing up all of a sudden, many viewing you as a new princess… and I suspect at least a few would be less than pleased with the idea.”

“Wait,” Spliced raised a hoof as her voice’s entire tone and pitched changed, her body beginning to shake. “Ponies would view me as a princess because I am a Pure pony?” She began to shake more and Celestia was aware that Spliced Genome was actually shaking in laughter. Giggling and snorting, the mare wrapped her arms around her barrel, laughing her head off, her hindhooves kicking pillows off the bed. “Oh by the stars, that’s the stupidest thing I have ever heard! I am hardly princess material; hell I would go days without showering or cleaning up after I ate if I was lost in my research and I have almost no soc-” she began to laugh again but Celestia caught what she was about to admit.

“Yes, well.” Celestia cleared her throat as Spliced got her laughter under control. “Millennia ago, before Equestria was founded, the three tribes - unicorns, pegasi and Earth ponies - were, shall we say, not cooperative with one another. They were divided by hatred and cared only for the welfare of their own kind, each tribe demanding things from the others but not wanting to give up any concessions of their own, and their constant fights with one another over this eventually attracted the attention of creatures called windigos.”

“Wait a minute, you have windigos here?”

“You know of them?” Celestia asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Of course, they are a predator species akin to the mimics, feeding on negative emotions instead of positive emotions,” Spliced said. “Are they, the windigos, sapient here as well?”

“No, they are not and you mentioned something called mimics? Are they insect-like beings capable of disguising themselves as other?”

“Yes, that's mimics,” Spliced said. “I take it you have them here too?”

Celestia nodded. “Except we call them Changelings. They were our enemies for a time, but a recent change in leadership, and their methods of feeding, have made them into our allies now.” She frowned. “Except for their former Queen, who has rejected their new ways and gone into seclusion, or at least into hiding - we’re trying to find her, but Chrysalis is very good at not being found.” She sighed.

“It shouldn’t be that hard to find her, you would just need to use a thaumatic blanketing array set to the hive’s biological and thaumatic markers and it would reveal her true form and a thaumatic dampener for the same effect to neutralize her,” Spliced said before sighing into her hoof. “Providing you have the capability to create such devices, of course.”

Celestia blinked. “That is… a very interesting idea,” she said thoughtfully. “I’ll have to consult with King Thorax to see about arranging for that. And of course, Twilight would be very interested as well due to the trouble we have had in locating Chrysalis.”

“Just KISS already,” Spliced said as she lifted a cup of coffee to her lips.

“Excuse me?” Celestia asked, causing the mare to sputter her drink and clear her throat before answering.

“It’s a saying where I come from,” she explained. “Means ‘Keep it simple, stupid.’ So many ponies have tried to come up with something good, yet they wound up over complicating it and making things so much harder on themselves. When really, sometimes the simplest or most obvious solution is the best.”

“I see,” Celestia said, her ear flicking. “As I was saying about the foundation of Equestria, the tribes were unaware of what had caused the sudden blizzard, and they all chose to move from their ancestral homeland to a new one, which would eventually become Equestria. Unfortunately, all three arrived in the same place and their leaders began arguing over who had the most right to this new land, which drew the windigos to follow them. Fortunately, one of the settlers, a unicorn mare named Clover the Clever who was an advisor to the unicorns’ royal family, was able to look past their differences and figure out what was actually causing the blizzard, and she and two others, an Earth Pony named Smart Cookie and a Pegasus named Private Pansy, were able to overcome their hatred for one another and become friends. Their friendship fueled a powerful magic that drove the windigos away from Equestria, and every year since then, we have celebrated that event, our friendship and the spreading of positive emotions helping to keep the windigos from ever returning to this land.”

“While I would suggest mounting an expedition to deal with the problem permanently, I am assuming that with the positive relationship with the mim- I mean changelings being recent, you do not have access to emotional blocking equipment?” Spliced asked.

“No, we don’t,” Celestia replied. “Though we probably should look into finding out where the Windigos even are… they haven’t been seen since the founding. Of course,” and here she grimaced. “Given certain events, I can agree that they should be checked on. After all, I thought I had imprisoned Chrysalis and her Changelings for good a few hundred years ago, but somehow, she escaped in time to create a great deal of trouble at Cadance’s wedding just a few years ago. And until she dropped her disguise, we had no idea they’d gotten loose.”

“And you didn’t think to check on her before?” Spliced raised an eyebrow.

“She was trapped in a volcano, I wasn’t expecting anyone other than a dragon to possibly be able to escape from that,” Celestia said with a sigh. “Among my biggest mistakes, I will admit. Also, once we have the means to block our emotions from being fed upon by the windigos, we will locate them and determine the situation. As you said, they are sapient ponies in your world and-”

“And after being deprived of their natural substance for however long it has been, I doubt that their tribe has managed to keep their possible society stable enough and more than likely they have devolved into feral animals.”

“We will see,” Celestia said sharply back at the mare before blinking and realizing that she was talking to somepony that treated her as an average pony who able to hold her own in such serious debates. She will either drive Twilight up the wall or help her usher in a golden age for us all.

Or become the biggest danger we have ever known.

“In any case, going back to our history,” Celestia looked at the other mare, who looked very interested. “While the three tribes had worked past their differences and driven off the windigos, there was still the matter of who would lead their shared land.” Celestia closed her eyes for a moment as she remembered. “After some time, Luna and I were found and asked to fill that position, since we were alicorns. In this world at least, our kind naturally possesses the magic of each of the other three tribes, and they felt this would make us fair and impartial rulers. And ever since then, any new alicorn who appeared has been coronated as a princess, to rule Equestria or, in Cadance’s case, the Crystal Empire - as a descendent of its previous rightful ruler, Princess Amore, its throne would be hers by birthright, even if she weren’t an alicorn.” She sighed, then looked at Spliced again.

“Of course, Twilight has less to do with ruling Equestria than my sister and I, but she has her own responsibilities that keep her busy… we are helping prepare her to take on a larger role in time, of course, but after certain events in the past few years, I believe she is content as she is for now.” Her eyes drifted for a moment. “And of course, Flurry Heart is just an infant and as such far too young for such duties, though I expect that when she comes of age, she will either inherit her mother’s throne or find a destiny that is uniquely hers.”

“Well, if anypony wants me to lead them, I will have to tell them I have killed every plant I have ever owned by sheer negligence, even the ones that do not need water,” Spliced said with a smile before frowning. “I’m still not sure how that cactus died…” She shook her head before flashing Celestia a smile. “In other words, I am not looking for any positions of power, just someplace I can settle down and continue my research in peace.”

“And after Twilight has given us her view on the matter, we will see what can be done,” Celestia said as she reached over to grab the younger immortal’s hooves, activating a link to Luna’s dreamspace so her sister could watch. “And if you harm my student, you will discover what happens to a body when it is exposed directly to the sun.”

“I can already tell what would happen; massive radiation poisoning, the body would more than likely combust the closer you get, decompression from a lack of air would happ- oh you are threatening me,” Spliced squeaked in fear, struggling to move backwards but Celestia held her in place.

“No, I am not. I am simply stating a fact about your more than likely prison if you attack one of my nation’s most beloved heroes for at least six hundred years, give or take our busy schedule to keep track of such things,” Celestia said in a calm voice while listening and sighing internally at Luna’s approval of her actions. She then applied a bit more pressure with Spliced squirming more. “That is only if you prove to be a threat and as an immortal myself, I have a very long memory.”

“I don’t doubt it,” Spliced squeaked. “And I won’t harm her, I promise.” She blinked. “Um, she wouldn’t mind an magnetic resonance imaging though, would she, if I asked her nicely?”

“That all depends.” Celestia leaned in closely, and her tone told Spliced to be very careful in what she said next while trying to place the term as it sounded very familiar. “What is a magnetic resonance imaging?”

“It’s a thing that lets us take pictures of your insides without having to do any surgery first,” Spliced winced at the other mare’s proximity. “I think there’s one of you in here, actually.” She waved nervously at one stack of paper off to the side.

Eyeing her carefully, Celestia summoned the stack and shuffled through it, until she came to one item. “This?”

“Yes! That’s it exactly!” Spliced said excitedly. “And I know it’s a lot like scans of myself, but it’s still so fascinating to see them of another Pure, especially one from another world with all the differences in the carbuncle…” She froze. “You’re not… upset at me for looking at those, are you?” she asked in a small voice. “It’s not like they were restricted, and I’m only interested out of pure scientific curiosity because we’re so biologically similar but at the same time so different…”

Celestia raised a hoof. “Peace, young one,” she said. “I suppose magical scans like this - we have a different name for them, but I am familiar with the concept - which do no harm, would be all right… but only if Twilight, and any other pony or non pony, consents to them of their own free will.”

Spliced heaved a sigh of relief. “All right.” She still looked nervous. “I’m sorry if I seem rude, but… well, I’ve always been obsessed with learning as much as I can, and experimenting with what I learn… chemistry may be my talent, but I enjoy studying all fields just about as much, and I know I can get carried away with it sometimes.”

“So I gathered,” Celestia said with a gentle smile. “But listen, and listen well.” She looked the younger mare in the eye. “There is a saying among my people: An' it harm none, do what ye will. While it was normally applied to magic, it can also be used elsewhere - the medical profession, for instance, has their own version: First, do no harm. While knowledge in and of itself is not harmful… if others are harmed in the act of another being gaining knowledge, then the one who did so has gone too far.” She narrowed her eyes. “There is a fine line there. I would strongly advise that you not cross it. Do I make myself clear?”

Spliced nodded. “I promise I will not hurt anypony, or any non-ponies, outside of self-defense if they attack me first.”

“Good.” Celestia rose from the bed and straightened herself out, then headed for the door. “I’ll let you know when it’s time for you to meet Twilight.”

When she had gone, Spliced let out a relieved breath. “Stars, that mare is scary,” she said to herself.

In her private study, Celestia contemplated before she scrunched up the latest attempt to write a letter to Twilight.

She had been uncharacteristically uncertain of how much she should tell Twilight in order to protect her and her friends while at the same time give Spliced Genome a fair chance.

One attempt had laid out every detail of what she and Luna thought of the mare and their hopes that Twilight could do but she saw it immediately colouring Twilight’s opinion and have her former student view this new alicorn as a threat.

She had also discarded a letter saying absolutely nothing about Spliced’s past, only that Twilight’s job was to help her acclimate to the new world with reports sent back to her.

Tapping her quill against the parchment, she closed her eyes and began to write what she felt without her mind being truly active. After a period of time, she felt herself stop writing and opened her eyes.

Peering down at her latest attempt, she saw it would be acceptable, especially how she ended it.

To my former student and fellow princess Twilight Sparkle,

Recently, my sister has located and retrieved a mare, Spliced Genome, who came from another dimension via a portal that is located on the moon. Due to her sordid history, we need your input on her future in our world and we are sending her to Ponyville for you and your friends to help make a decision in what we should do with her. She will be arriving in Ponyville later today on the train; she will have an amulet to hide her wings as she is an alicorn biologically but appears to possess none of the magical power that is normal to our tribe. Due to being from another dimension, a few of her values and views are against our norm but I have no doubt you and your friends will be able to overcome this. If you have any concerns, do not hesitate to contact either me or my sister.

Be careful,

Celestia.

Twilight finished reading the letter and looked at her student and number one assistant, with a number of notions running through her head but one thing kept rising to the surface.

Celestia had not signed it normally but gave her a warning to be careful.

“Is everything okay, Twilight?” Spike asked her, with Starlight giving her a worried look.

“I’m not sure,” she said.