The massive, round table was stacked with more food than the entire group would ever have been able to eat. Pinkie Pie ate one doughnut after the next, gorging herself with the sickeningly-sweet fried dough, as though there would never be a chance to get more in the future. Rarity daintily levitated a fork back and forth from her mouth to a bowl full of fruit. Applejack was eating an apple fritter, and Fluttershy had a small bowl of hot oatmeal placed in front of her.

Twilight Sparkle, wearing her dark-maroon court mage cloak to hide her disfigured cutie mark, stared blankly at the princesses. Pondering the secrets they must be hiding, she completely ignored the food on the plate in front of her along with anything going on around her.

“Well, Twilight?” Applejack asked loudly, causing the unicorn to jump slightly.

Spinning her head towards the earth pony, Twilight looked to her friend sitting in the next chair. “Well, what?”

Applejack chuckled slightly. “I asked if you’re excited—today is the big day, after all.”

“More nervous than excited, I think.”

“That’s completely understandable, Twilight,” said Princess Celestia with a smile. “It is a very burdensome responsibility you will take.”

Luna looked to her sister incredulously, her mouth hanging slightly agape. “Sister, do not speak in such a manner, you will make her even more nervous.” She then turned back towards Twilight and smiled. “I’m sure you’ll do marvelously, Twilight.”

“Thank you, Princess. That’s very kind of you to say.”

Waving a hoof, Luna huffed. “Not at all, it’s the truth,” she replied and returned to a conversation with her sister.

A shaker of salt shrouded in a light-blue aura floated by Twilight’s face, making its way towards Arcana. “So, Miss Sparkle, what have you and Fireshade been up to recently?” he asked without looking at her as he gingerly sprinkled the contents of the shaker out onto a plate of eggs and hashbrowns.

The salt shaker gently found its place on the table with a soft, hollow knock, and Arcana looked up to the mage across the table from him with a devious grin. “I haven’t seen any status reports or updates from you two in a couple of weeks now.”

“I—uh, that is we… uhm.” She glanced around the table before lunging a large muffin into her mouth in an attempt to give her more time to think of a response.

Just tell him.

Luna stopped talking suddenly and looked towards Twilight curiously with one eye slightly squinted.

I can’t just tell him! I’m experimenting on ponies; I’ve stolen from the lab. I can’t just tell him about what Fireshade and I have been doing. The best outcome of that would be banishment!

Not that. Tell him about the device.

Turning her head slightly, Luna craned her neck forward, as though she were listening intently for a sound that was just barely imperceptible.

Twilight swallowed hard, forcing the piece of half-chewed blueberry muffin down her throat. “Fireshade and I have been working on a way to take stored magical energy and reintroduce it into the mana-conduits of a unicorn in order to increase the level of magic said unicorn is able to channel.”

“Now, that is very interesting. Have you done any… live testing yet?” Arcana questioned with a smirk.

He knows!

Of course he knows. He’s probably suspected it for weeks, but he hasn’t made a move yet, so he doesn’t know enough to go to anyone with it.

As her pupils constricted in response to the anxiety and fear, Twilight answered quickly without missing a beat this time. “No,” she stated matter-of-factly. “We’re still in the design phase, which is why we haven’t submitted any reports yet.”

Quietly nudging Celestia to get her attention, Luna motioned towards the exit with pleading eyes. The white alicorn nodded slightly to her sister, indicating that she understood.

Arcana swallowed a bite of hashbrowns and smiled. “Well, in any case, I would like to see the data that you have available at some point in the near future.”

“Of course, Head Mage, I would be more than happy to share the current research notes.”

An uncomfortable silence fell over the room at the conclusion of this obviously tense exchange. A moment had passed when Celestia stood from her seat, quickly followed by Luna.

“Luna and I must take our leave to check on the preparations for this afternoon’s events, and Twilight, I would suggest that you begin getting ready, as well.”

“Yes, Princess,” Twilight said enthusiastically with a smile.

The two princesses made their way out of the room through a side-door normally used by the castle staff. Arcana stood, glaring at the lavender mage for a moment, before turning and walking out of the dining hall without a word.

The five friends remained, talking about their respective plans for the day and idly gossipping of the goings-on around Ponyville. Several minutes passed, and finally, Twilight rose from her seat. “I really need to go get ready. I’ll see you all at the ceremony, right?”

“Of course, darling, we wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Rarity replied in her usual, debonair, manner.

Pinkie jumped up. “Well, I can’t wait for the party afterward!” she exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear.

“Well, it’ll hopefully be more exciting than the Grand Galloping Gala usually is,” Twilight said with a smile. “I’ll see you guys later.”

“Bye Twilight!” her four friends burst out in unison.

The metal latch engaged the doorframe with an echoing click. The sister princesses began walking quickly next to each other up the long, narrow, dimly lit corridor.

“What is bothering you, Luna?” asked Celestia, continuing to look forward up the hallway.

“You didn’t notice it, Sister?”

The white alicorn halted suddenly, causing Luna to continue ahead several steps before realizing the other had stopped. Celestia tilted her head slightly, puzzled by what ‘it’ could be. “Notice what exactly?”

The princess of night turned around to face Celestia. “I… I’m not really sure what it was. I think there may be something wrong with Twilight Sparkle. When she was speaking to Arcana, I felt… I felt something.”

A slight smile alighted on Celestia’s lips. “Would you care to be more specific?”

“I could feel something that seemed to be coming from Twilight. It was very weak… barely discernible. In fact, I’m not completely sure it was actually there at all. It seemed like some sort of magic that I have never come across before,” Luna stated, her words veiled thickly with concern and fear for the young unicorn.

Celestia’s smile immediately ceased and her brow furrowed. “Do you have any thoughts of what it may have been?”

“No. I would say it is possibly the very early stages of the development of a nightmare state, but I don’t know, that’s nothing more than wild conjecture.” Luna paused and glanced to the floor. “My memories from that part of my life are disjointed, at best… I’m just worried for her.”

A sigh forced itself from Celestia’s lungs. “This is indeed troubling, Sister.”

“I want to try the dream-walking spell with her to determine what it was—if there was actually anything there,” Luna stated determinedly.

“No, absolutely not!” declared Celestia sternly.

Luna was taken aback by the outburst, stunned into silence momentarily. “But Sister, I—”

The princess cut across her sister’s words, not giving a chance for argument. “I said ‘no’. You, of anypony, are well aware of the inordinate danger involved with using that spell on anypony that is potentially in…” Celestia paused briefly, lowering her voice to a near-whisper, as though someone may be listening to their conversation. “…in that state of mind.”

Luna rolled her eyes and growled loudly. “Damn it, Celly! You still treat me like a foal. Of course I know the potential danger involved, but if Twilight is becoming possessed by a nightmare, this is the only way we can know for sure early enough to intervene!”

Anger was quickly welling up within Celestia. She closed her eyes, clenched her jaw and took several deep breaths in order to attempt to control her outrage at her sister’s insubordination. She slowly opened her eyes and relaxed the muscles in her face. The princess then took on a soft, motherly tone when she opened her mouth to speak. “I am sorry that you feel that I treat you as one would treat a child. It is not my intention, but I have already lost you once for a millennium and I do not intend to allow that to happen again. It was my fault that it happened, and I now feel a need to protect you.”

“You know what, Celly? I am well equipped to take care of myself, and I have been practicing the dream-walking spell over the years since my return to the point that I have mastered it. I am able to barricade my mind against anything that would use the spell to take advantage of me,” Luna said fast enough to blur all the words together into a single stream of sound before turning around and beginning to walk down the corridor away from her sister.

Luna had made it halfway to the end of the hallway before Celestia called out to her. “Luna, wait!”

“One other thing, Sister: I do not. Need. Your. Protection!” she shouted without slowing down or turning towards Celestia.

Time seemed to have slowed to a snail’s pace. The last four hours may as well have been a week. Only half an hour remained until the soon-to-be grand magus needed to make her way to the auditorium where the ceremony was to be held. She had been ready for two hours now, wandering aimlessly about her suite and pacing across the main room. A loud, echoing knock sounded from behind the door to Twilight Sparkle’s apartment causing her to stop dead in her tracks and turn towards the noise.

“About time,” Twilight huffed as she moved to open the door, the flowing maroon cloak draped across her back trailing behind her.

She swung the door open to reveal a guard escorting a tan, unicorn steward standing with an elaborately decorated box suspended in the air by his magic. The wooden case gleamed in the low lighting of the hall, the beautifully dark stained and lacquered lacewood was brilliantly offset by the shimmering, solid gold latching hardware and corner protectors. On the front, just below a decorative keyhole, Twilight Sparkle’s cutie mark was masterfully hoof-carved.

The butler cleared his throat before slightly bowing his head and speaking. “The Element of Magic, Milady.”

“Thank you,” Twilight said with a smile as she took the container in her own magenta aura.

As soon as the exchange was completed, the butler and guard turned away and began trotting up the hallway.

Twilight closed the door and took the box containing the tiara to the table in the middle of her suite’s main room and carefully set it down. Undoing the latch and slowly opening the box with her hooves, she squinted slightly as the soft-violet glow of the element gem illuminated her features.

The mage lifted the tiara out of its container with her magic, admiring the golden ornament as she spun it slowly several times to inspect it from all angles. It was perfect. Even after having seen battle on several occasions over the years, the tiara was completely unmarred and absolutely breathtaking. Twilight lowered the Element of Magic onto her head and turned to look at herself in the mirror hanging on the wall.

Once again, knocking sounded through the room.

“Come in!” Twilight shouted as she turned towards the door, slightly annoyed by the new interruption.

The door flung open, hitting the wall with a clamorous crash. A streak of pink bounded through the air, landing in the middle of Twilight’s table.

“Hiya, Twilight!” shouted the shrill voice of Pinkie Pie.

Twilight shuddered slightly. “Hi, Pinkie,” she responded with a weak smile. “Do you mind getting down from there?”

“Pinkie Pie, ain’t no reason to be in such a big hurry. You coulda waited for the rest of us, ya know,” Applejack said as she walked through the doorway.

Three other ponies filed into the room after Applejack, and all but one of them were dressed in their very best gowns for the event. The one without a dress wore the formal, midnight-blue uniform of the Royal Equestrian Army.

“Hey, Twilight. Long time, no see,” Rainbow Dash said, smiling widely towards her friend.

“Rainbow Dash! How are you?” Twilight asked, genuinely happy to see her.

Rainbow Dash hesitated slightly before answering. “I’m good. All done with basic training.” She reached up and pulled a hoof through the prismatic hair on the back of her neck before continuing. “They sent me for additional training for aerial recon. So, I’ve got about another month of that before I’m sent to my first assignment.”

“Reconnaissance sounds pretty exciting,” Twilight said with a smile. “It seems like something that you’ll probably really enjoy doing.”

“Yeah... We’ll see.”

“It sounds dangerous,” Fluttershy said quietly.

Rainbow Dash chuckled slightly. “I doubt that. It’s mostly border patrols. We’ve been at peace for centuries, I doubt anything’s gonna happen in the next few years that I’m in the military.”

Rarity stepped forward to Twilight. “Well, we should be going. The ceremony is starting soon, and we don’t want to hold you up. We just thought that we should stop by and wish you luck.”

With a loud huff, Dash started speaking. “Pfft, Twilight doesn’t need luck. She’s the greatest unicorn mage to ever walk the face of the planet!”

The blue mare walked in closer to Twilight and put her forelegs around the mage. “Congratulations, Twilight. I’m really proud of you,” she whispered into her friend’s ear.

The unicorn smiled and returned the hug, closing her eyes. “Thank you, Rainbow Dash. That really means a lot to me… I’m proud of you, too.”

Suddenly, Twilight felt several more hooves on her back. She opened her eyes and looked around at her friends all embraced together in a group hug. The lavender unicorn smiled even wider now, enjoying the warmth of the friendship between them.

The group broke away from each other and stepped back a small distance.

Applejack stepped forward, holding out a hoof. “Congrats, Twilight, I know how much this day means to you. You done good, girl.”

“Thanks, Applejack.” Twilight lifted her right foreleg and bumped her hoof against the hoof of the mare in front of her.

“Oh!”

Everyone turned towards Pinkie, who looked quite surprised and slightly confused.

“Oh, what, Pinkie?” asked Rarity.

“I dunno… I had a twitch, but it went away,” the pink pony responded. She began to scratch her chin and look up towards the ceiling, as though she was deep in thought. Her sight fell back to the group in front of her and she smiled. “Probably nothing!”

Pinkie Sense…

Something like that would be incredibly useful.

“What d’ya mean, ‘probably nothing’? Your twitches are always something!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash.

Pinkie shrugged. “It was just a little hoof-tingle… Maybe it means we’re going to be late if we don’t go now!” The pink mare began bouncing towards the door enthusiastically as she looked back over her shoulder. “See ya later, Twilight! Come on, everypony! Let’s go!”

The remaining five ponies watched as Pinkie hopped through the doorway and turned down the hall. They continued staring at the empty doorway for several seconds.

Applejack was the first to recover from the absurdity of Pinkie Pie. “Always in such a hurry… we’ll see ya later, Twi.”

“See ya at the party, Twilight!” Dash called out over her shoulder as she walked through the door with the remaining three Elements of Harmony following close behind her.

“Bye girls, I’ll see you later,” Twilight replied just before the door closed behind Fluttershy.

We must reinvestigate ‘Pinkie Sense’.

“Twilight?”

How do I do that? I’ve already tried to and couldn’t find anything substantive… There’s nothing to investigate.

You don’t believe that. There is something there; it is merely a matter of finding it and exploiting it. Just imagine the possibilities once we understand how it works.

“Twilight?”

I wonder if it has something to do with the leylines… Pinkie may be able to tap into them somehow.

The mage shook her head in response to a quick, light jab to her ribcage. Standing out of view of the attendees of the ceremony, behind heavy, red, velour curtains hanging limply at the rear of the stage, Twilight looked up to see Princess Celestia smiling at her, although beneath that smile something else hid. Twilight couldn’t quite put her hoof on it, but she had known the princess long enough to know when something was not quite right. She looked into Celestia’s eyes for a moment. Concern? Uncertainty? Fear, maybe?

That was it: Fear. That is what made it so difficult to place. Twilight had never seen the princess fearful about anything before, but it was definitely there now.

“Yes, Princess?” she responded with a smile of her own.

“Are you… Are you alright?” Celestia asked.

Twilight giggled slightly. “Yes, I’m fine. I just kind of spaced out for a moment… I guess this is a little more nerve-racking than I had expected.”

“I would imagine so,” Celestia said with a chuckle. “It’s time; are you ready?”

“I… Uhm… Yeah, I think so,” the mage answered as her smile quickly faded away.

“Good. I will go out ahead of you. Luna, Arcana, General Falx, Spike and several other court mages are already onstage waiting.”

Twilight’s eyes lit up. “Spike’s here?”

“Of course Spike is here. It a very important day for you; therefore, it is also important to him… Now then, you remember what to do?”

“Wait for you to announce me, then I come out and stand to your side.”

“Right. And don’t forget, when I ask if you are willing to accept your position as grand magus you only need to say ‘yes’ and recite your oath; you don’t have to make a speech if you don’t want to,” the princess stated as she turned to walk between the curtains in order to greet the waiting ponies.

“Yes, Princess,” Twilight said, her smile beginning to return. “Is Fireshade here?”

Celestia stopped and looked back over her shoulder. “I’m sorry, Twilight. I have not seen her, but I’m sure she will show up.”

The princess began walking again, continuing her trek to the stage platform. As she disappeared from Twilight’s view, the mage could hear the a cacophony of hooves stomping and ponies cheering. She swallowed hard, wondering how many ponies it took to make such a noise. A second, more pressing issue pushed forward in her mind as Celestia began speaking to the crowd of ponies in the cavernous auditorium.

Where is she? What is Fireshade doing?

“The post of Grand Magus of the Equestrian Royal Court has lain vacant for more than one-hundred years. Not because it is an unimportant post, but because there was no pony capable of the requirements necessary of the position,” Celestia said, her voice magically amplified and booming from in front of the curtains.

Don’t worry about that right now. We will check on her later.

“The pony who has been chosen for this task has been my personal student and protégée for many years. She has personally dedicated her life to the service of the nation of Equestria since a young age.”

But what if she’s hurt? She was supposed to be here.

She is fine, busily working on the tasks that she has been assigned. She won’t stop until they are completed, and you know that.

“The bearer of the Element of Magic, Twilight Sparkle.”

Of course I know that, but I don’t know that she’s fine.

Perhaps not, but there is nothing to be done right now. Celestia has called for us, it is time.

Twilight snapped out of her daze, shaking her head slightly. The sound of murmuring ponies could be heard from the audience ahead of the stage. She slowly moved in front of the first curtain, still pondering why Fireshade would have missed the ceremony.

One more curtain to pass around. Twilight’s heart was pounding in her chest so hard that she could hear the beats echoing in her head. Her chest was tightening with anxiety as she imagined what waited for her beyond the final piece of thick upholstery separating her from accepting her place as Grand Magus.

The massive room came into view as she crossed around the edge of the curtain. Hundreds of ponies were crowded in to the point that many were standing at the sides of the room and in the aisles. Seated throughout the front half appeared to be the entirety of the Equestrian nobility, along with many dignitaries from foreign lands, and in the front row, her five friends.

So many ponies. She was not ready for such a large crowd, and it nearly turned her anxiety into a state of pure panic. Twilight clenched her jaw and continued up the stage to her place between Celestia and Arcana. The old mage’s eyes glared at Twilight as he affronted her with a sly smirk. She took a deep breath and nodded towards him, smiling kindly.

As Twilight came to a stop, Celestia turned towards the crowd of ponies once again. “Twilight Sparkle came to my school at the age of five, where during her entrance exam…”

As the princess continued, Arcana leaned his mouth towards Twilight and whispered to her. “Nervous?”

“Of course I am,” she whispered back, continuing to look forward at the crowd.

Arcana let out a slight chuckle. “I understand. Not knowing where your subordinate is or what she’s doing during such an important event can be terribly exasperating.”

Twilight did not respond to his antagonizing remarks.

The sound of cheers and stomping hooves roared through the hall in response to part of Celestia’s speech. Twilight hadn’t been paying attention; something about Twilight’s part in Luna’s return. As the noise died down, the princess continued once again.

“So, what sort of experiments is she doing for you?” asked Arcana’s voice in Twilight’s ear.

A few seconds passed with no response before he quietly spoke again. “Secret experiments? Perhaps something that you wouldn’t want anypony finding out about? Maybe something… illegal?”

This got Twilight’s attention. She quickly turned her head towards Arcana, wide-eyed and pupils constricted. “What are you talking about?”

“I think you know exactly what I’m talking about, Magus.” With that he nodded towards the princess with a smile and whispered one last time. “You’re on.”

Twilight turned her head to look the direction of Arcana’s view to see the princess looking down at her with a serene smile. The unicorn turned to face Celestia directly.

“Twilight Sparkle, are you ready and willing to accept your position as Grand Magus of Equestria?” asked Celestia through her voice-amplifying magic.

Twilight let out a deep breath and nodded to the princess. “Yes, I am, Princess.”

“Then, if you would please recite the oath for all to hear.”

The mage’s horn glowed dimly as she cast her own voice-amplification spell. “I, Twilight Sparkle, appointed Grand Magus in service of Equestria, do solemnly swear, that I will bear true allegiance to the sovereign nation of Equestria, and that I will serve her honestly and faithfully against all enemies or oppressors whatsoever, and observe and obey the orders of the Diarchy of Equestria, Princesses Celestia and Luna, unquestioningly and to the best of my ability.”

“Now please turn towards the audience, Twilight,” Celestia said quietly.

Twilight complied and turned, facing the hundreds of ponies. She smiled widely as she surveyed the crowded room.

Celestia’s voice suddenly sounded forcefully over the crowd. “Ladies and gentleponies, I am proud to present to you, Twilight Sparkle, Grand Magus of the Equestrian Royal Court!”

The hall exploded into a cacophony of sound as every pony in the room cheered and stomped. Towards the back, some ponies were throwing streamers and confetti in celebration, earning them unamused glares from several nobles sitting in the rows ahead of them.

Her face lit up with a huge smile, Twilight waved timidly to the crowd. She leaned towards Celestia as she continued looking forward and asked, “May we go now?”

Celestia looked to her protegée, smiled, and allowed a small chuckle to escape her lips. “Yes, Twilight. I believe we are done here.”

A deep sigh of relief released itself from Twilight’s nostrils before she and the entourage of ponies turned and retreated backstage. As she stepped down the short set of stairs, making her way to the exit, a growling voice spoke out from behind.

“We have an hour until the reception. Anything you need to check up on?”

As Twilight’s hooves touched the landing at the bottom of the steps, she stopped and turned her head back to look at Arcana with a furrowed brow and pursed lips. He still wore that same knowing smirk that he had during the ceremony. “In fact, I’m going to my apartment to relax for a moment before the party and the undoubtedly monotonous task of personally greeting every single pony that shows up.”

Before Arcana could speak another word, she quickly made her way through the exit and began trotting through the empty, echoing hallway towards her room.

The dark-stained wooden door slammed shut. Twilight quickly turned the lock with a loud click. Pacing around the room, beginning to hyperventilate, she mumbled to herself. “He knows… He knows, he knows, he knows…”

He knows little to nothing. He is fishing for information that he will never receive.

With a jolt, Twilight stopped pacing. “I need to warn Fireshade!”

She looked to the small clock hanging on the wall. “Plenty of time.” With that, a bright light flashed through the room.

Twilight began walking as soon as the dungeon fell into place around her. “Fireshade!?”

She stopped to listen for a response that never came. Moving to the doorway, careful to avoid Fireshade’s sigil, she peeked her head out, looked up and down the hallway, and returned to the laboratory with a huff. Looking from the short corridor that led from the door, she noticed a small pile of notes on the workbench, along with various tools, scraps of wires and metal, and two silver boxes with a Section 5 logo emblazoned on the side of each.

“Huh, looks like she may have gotten a second one working.”

Twilight walked past the magic batteries to the notes on the bench and set her tiara down gently. She began scanning the first page in silence. After a moment, she leafed through the pages and pulled out a page that appeared to be a rough-draft report and began skimming through the words until something near the middle of the page caught her eye.

“Subject Four of Project 2a was inadvertently terminated during the experiment, due to a malfunction in the energy transfer buffering system,” Twilight muttered to herself, still staring at—but no longer reading—the notes before her. “Subject Four? This was just written a couple of hours ago… and what about two and three?”

She slowly pivoted her head up towards the clock above the workbench. “I really don’t have time to deal with this.”

Turning away from the notes, Twilight walked across the room to the row of cell doors, three open and three closed. She placed her front hooves on the first door and looked through the tiny window to find Apple Slice sitting at the back of the small room, curled up with her knees to her chest and slowly rocking while staring blankly at the wall opposite herself.

Twilight continued to watch the green mare for a moment longer, noticing that her mouth was moving constantly as though she was saying something to herself over and over again. Try as she might, the mage was quite unable to discern what exactly Apple Slice was saying.

“Huh…” Twilight shrugged and moved to the next cell. Her eyes went wide as the interior of the room came into view. She dropped her hooves back down to the cold, stone floor and wrapped the door in a telekinetic field, swinging it open. The old hinges groaned under the weight of the iron-clad slab of oak, and Twilight’s jaw almost touched the floor as she took two steps into the tiny room.

She found herself at a complete loss of words as she observed the gruesome scene before her. Blood—or at least what she assumed to be blood—covered the back corner of the room and dissipated out into a fine spray with a large coagulated puddle on the floor beneath. It looked as though someone had thrown a balloon full of maroon paint into the corner.

With her heart pounding loudly in her chest, she quickly backed out of the room, turned, and ran to the stack of notes on the workbench. Twilight frantically picked up the draft report she had been looking at, and began to read it far more thoroughly.

Yr 8, 7th SS
Mechanobiological energy interface device (2-a), Test 17-4-d

1. Overview

Test 17 was originally intended for Subject 3. However, Subject 3 was rendered unconscious at the termination of test 16 (see report 2-a.16-3-e), and remained unresponsive at the time test 17 was ready after reconfiguring of the interface output circuit. Due to the time constraints placed this project, it was decided to perform test 17 on subject 4, rather than wait for Subject 3 to become ready for further experimentation.

This is the 4th test on Subject 4. Previos tests on this subject have shown and prior subjects have shown discharge output is still far too high for proper operation of the interface device. For test 3-f, an additional capasetance buffer and 3 resistance strands have been added to the buffer circuit (fig. 1) in order to decrease output and reroute more of the transferred energy back to the storage device.

Subject 4 of Project 2a was inadvertently terminated during the experiment, due to a malfunction in the energy transfer buffering system. Details of the system failure can be found in Section 3 of this report. If I could get some decent equipm

2. Experiment 2-a, Test 17-4-d

11:32am - Completed assembly of the modified interface device (rev. 8)

11:47am - Assembled interface device and storage device, now ready for testing

12:16pm - Completed bench tests. Storage supply energy at 684.3 thaum, interface maximum output in active state holding steady at 3.32 thaum/second

12:30pm - lunchtime!

1:23pm - Subject 3 has been prepared as outlined in Test 2-b of Project 2a and the experiment is ready to begin, I hope the trigger mechansm works this time

1:29pm - Began the test with Subject 3 levitating and holding a 1 kg box, 1 meter above the floor. Subject’s magic output holding at 0.34 th/s

1:31pm - Activated energy transfer system, storage device discharge output at 20.4 th/s, interface output at 0.63 th/s. The buffering system appears to be working properly.

1:32pm - Subject’s magic output increased to 0.88 th/s. 9.3% loss between the subject and the interface; consistent with earlier testing. Contact points are beginning to heat, and the subject is experiencing some mild discomfort.

1:35pm - Interface output suddenly increased to 13.9 th/s. Subject was unable to control the influx of energy and crushed the testing box. Subject is experiencing extreme pain and its eyes, ears and nose are beginning to bleed profusely.

1:37pm - Subject has collapsed. Upon inspection, it appears that a hole (approximately 9 cm diamter) has been burned through the back of the skull, centrally located on the lambdoid suture.

3:48pm - Interface device was dismantled and inspected. Failure of the #4 resistance strand caused cascading failures throughout the energy step-down transformer. Best explaination for the failure is over-heating of the interface device. More efficient heatsinks or liquid cooling may alleviate this problem.

3:53pm - Subject 3 will be disposed of in the same manner as the previously terminated subjects.

Twilight sighed deeply. “What a mess. This isn’t how it’s supposed to be,” she whispered to herself.

And how is it supposed to be?

Oh, I don’t know… we could start by not blowing up pony’s heads!

This is not an issue, if it gains the knowledge we require prior to our needing it. This must be done in order to achieve our goals.

I know that. It’s just that I don’t want to hurt anypony.

This is not a game we are playing. The future and well-being of an entire nation rests with us. Sacrifices must be made in order to secure that future and well-being. If we are not ready when we confront Celestia, you will be executed immediately.

Twilight swallowed hard at hearing that final statement from her subconscious. They are test subjects. The sacrifices of these few will unlock a wealth of great things for all of Equestria.

“Fourth test on this subject? Someone’s been busy.” A small smile crossed the lips of the mage as she looked up to the clock. Almost forty minutes had elapsed since the ceremony. “Of course it’s overheating when there’s a nine percent energy loss through the contacts. Extra cooling only treats the symptom of the underlying problem, though…”

She turned away from the bench and trotted towards the last locked door. Twilight peeked through the window expecting to see a red, unicorn stallion. Instead, a new unicorn stood in the room in place of Comet, facing away from the doorway. A small, light-pink colored mare, her mane shaven almost down to the skin.

It will take too long to read through all the notes.

I believe it would would be safe to assume that Subject Two has also been terminated.

The mage on the outside of the door squinted, trying to get a better look at the back of the mare’s neck before speaking softly through the window. “Hey, come over here, please.”

The pink unicorn turned her head slowly, made eye contact with Twilight, and sighed. She then moved her head back to look at the wall in the back of the cell.

Clenching her jaw, Twilight growled slightly. “I said, come here!” she yelled into the window.

Nothing.

Twilight sighed deeply. “Fine… Just stand there, then.”

The captive’s head began to glow in a violet aura, and she yelped loudly as she was dragged across the room to the door. A scraping noise and the sound of hooves rapping against iron could be heard against the door from outside as Twilight lifted the unicorn by her head until her lower neck and shoulders were visible through the barred window. A half-dozen, small, puncture wounds surrounded by charred, circular burn marks lined her neck, three on each side of the spine, starting at the unicorn’s shoulder blades and going halfway up her neck.

Twilight released her telekinetic hold, and the pink pony fell to the floor with a sharp thud, coughing loudly due to the trauma of having her full weight held up by her head.

“What are those marks from?” Twilight questioned aggressively.

“I-I-I don’t know,” the unicorn stammered. “The other one did it… Sh-she strapped some sort of box to me and told me to use my magic.”

“And then what?”

“A-And then it burned me… she did it th-th-three times,” she choked out between the sobs that were beginning.

Twilight glared down at her. “I don’t care about that, what happened to your magic?”

“I don’t…” The unicorn stopped speaking momentarily to allow a bout of heaving sobs pass. “I-I-I don’t remember… It hurt so bad. I think I passed out.”

“Useless,” Twilight muttered to herself as she walked back to the workbench and sat down.

Lavender hooves drummed on the wooden planks of the workbench. Thinking quietly to herself for a moment, Twilight glanced across the notes that she, herself, had inscribed onto the bench several months prior. “Higher transfer efficiency should fix it. Silly Fireshade, trying to use dermal contacts, this will require something more… invasive.”

A quill and blank piece of paper levitated to the mage. She quickly jotted several notes on the parchment about her thoughts on the experiment and left it near the pile of papers where Fireshade would hopefully find it.

Twilight then gingerly placed her tiara back on her head and stepped down from her stool. “We’re not done here, yet… I’ll be back,” she stated loud enough for both of the confined ponies to hear.

“Wait! What’s happening here? Where’s my daddy? He was here with me,” a soft voice called out from one of the cells.

Twilight turned to see a unicorn’s pink face peeking through the barred window of a cell door, tears flowing freely down her cheeks.

“Your daddy? I’m not sure where your daddy is. What I can tell you for certain is that you are extremely lucky that you were unconscious when my assistant was ready for the next round of testing,” the mage stated dryly as she turned away from the mare. “Judging by the mess, it could have gone much better. I’m sure Fireshade is out disposing of the remains right now.”

The pink mare began breathing very quickly and fell to the floor, crying loudly.

Taking a few steps toward the door, Twilight spoke in the most comforting tone she could muster. “Now, now. Don’t worry; I’m sure once Fireshade makes the necessary adjustments, you will have a very minimal chance of having your head explode like the last one.”

Twilight glanced over her shoulder to the clock. “Now then, I must go. I’ll be back to check on you later.”

Apple Slice flinched violently, and cowered in fear as the white light from Twilight’s teleportation spell flashed through the window of her cell.

Twilight appeared in the blink of an eye just outside a side-door entrance to the ballroom where the party in her honor was to be held. She quickly straightened out the cloak over her back and pulled a hoof through her mane. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. She forced her best smile and entered the huge room.

The door swung open effortlessly when she pushed into it. The lights were dim, and the music droned sleepily in a soft and melodic tone. The castle’s serving staff outnumbered the guests three to one, but judging by the near-constant stream of guests arriving, that would soon change.

Twilight scanned the room methodically, searching for her mentor. Her eyes squinted down slightly, and the muscles in her jaw instinctually tensed the second she spotted Celestia, standing there with an unknowing smile, idly chatting with a few of the guests. By her side, Arcana stood with the small circle of nobles surrounding the princess.

“Congratulations, Grand Magus,” said a familiar voice from beside the mage.

She didn’t even have to turn her head to know who spoke. Without averting her gaze from Celestia, Twilight answered back. “Thank you, Princess, but the title is not necessary. I would much prefer that you call me by my name.”

Luna chuckled quietly into her hoof. “You first, Magus,” she said with a smile.

“Heh… okay, Luna.”

A full minute of awkward silence passed as the pair stood at the side of the room. No one seemed to notice them there as the party guests went about eating hors d'oeuvres, drinking wine, and making small talk.

“Have you been okay, Twilight?” Luna asked suddenly.

Twilight turned to face Luna, smiling widely. “Of course. Why do you ask?”

“You have seemed distant…” Luna paused and glanced towards the floor. “Even disconnected, as of late.”

Letting out a small giggle, Twilight looked into Luna’s eyes. “I’m fine, Luna. There’s nothing to worry about; things have just been rather stressful on me since I returned to Canterlot.”

“Very well, I just wanted to be sure.”

They returned to silence and Twilight looked back to Celestia.

“You know, she would probably like to talk to you,” Luna said, breaking the quiet.

Twilight turned to Luna. “Huh?”

The princess nodded towards her sister. “You left the ceremony so quickly that she didn’t get a chance to congratulate you.”

“Oh, right, of course… I’ll see you a little later, Luna.”

The clacking of her hooves against the brilliant, white marble floor was the only sound Twilight could hear, as she walked deliberately slow towards Celestia. The last thing she wanted at this point was another run-in with Arcana. Unfortunately, Luna saw to it that the she would have to be in his presence at least once more this evening.

The princess and head mage stood facing away from Twilight, and directly across from them were two unicorns. She stopped just behind and between Celestia and Arcana, clearing her throat to gain their attention.

They turned their heads simultaneously. The princess smiled, Arcana did not.

“Here she is, now,” Celestia said as she stepped aside to allow Twilight to join the group.

The unicorns before her bowed down to Twilight. “Congratulations, Magus,” said the stallion on the left before rising to his normal stature. The petite, auburn mare next to him shadowed his movements closely.

“Thank you, Mister…” Twilight responded, lowering her head slightly while maintaining eye contact and letting the title linger.

“Oh! How rude of me,” the noble replied with a nervous smile. “I am Governor Starchaser, of the Velmere Province.” He gestured towards the mare next to him before continuing. “And my wife, Garnet.”

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Governor,” Twilight said with a smile.

Starchaser opened his mouth to speak again, but was quickly cut off by Celestia. “If you would please excuse Twilight and I, there are many guests arriving that we must greet.”

“Of course, Your Majesty.” Starchaser and Garnet bowed down once more as Celestia began to turn away.

Arcana simply nodded and spoke two words. “Princess… Magus.”

Celestia was already several steps away when Twilight realized she had already left. She giggled uncomfortably, and then quickly caught up to her mentor.

“Why did you accept my offer?” Celestia asked, still looking forward as they made their way towards the receiving area near the front doors.

Twilight looked to her quizzically and hesitated for a moment. “I… I guess I don’t really understand the question.”

“What I mean is, you were so happy in Ponyville. You were with your friends, you had your library, you had what many would consider an enviable life, Twilight.”

Thinking back to the day that she received the letter requesting her service as grand magus, Twilight found it difficult to remember why she had accepted the offer. Thoughts of a lying, tyrannical dictator masquerading as a god trampled anything else that came to mind. Why was she there? Would she have been better off to decline and stay in Ponyville, not becoming involved with any of this?

No. If we had not become involved, nothing would ever change. You know the reasons for your coming here initially.

“I wanted to work by your side, Princess. It’s what I’ve always wanted. I would have been a fool to not accept your generous offer.” Twilight’s stomach twisted as the words slid across her lips. It had been what she always wanted, but now, the mere thought of that scenario made her feel sick.

Celestia smiled as her and Twilight stopped on the reception line near the entry to greet ponies as they arrived.

By the time the stream of arriving guests slowed to the point that Twilight and Celestia could leave their post less than an hour had passed, but for Twilight, it may as well have been an eternity. Thoughts of the failed experiment and red-painted cell walls, plans built up and discarded several times over while she attempted to formulate a solution to her problems in her mind, and Fireshade was still absent from the ornately decorated ballroom.

In a daze, Twilight wandered through the party, smiling blankly and making automated small-talk with many of the ponies in attendance. She chatted with her friends and spoke with Spike, but wouldn't be able to recall what had been said. She had to find Fireshade, and thoughts of her assistant clouded everything else from her mind.

It is time to go.

Author's Notes:

I know it's been a while. Thank you all for being so patient and understanding with me. The words of encouragement that I received through PMs and blog comments has been and always is greatly appreciated.