An earthpony noble stood before the throne of Celestia, was he a duke maybe? Perhaps a marquess. She truly had no interest in his rambling, or who he was, and had forgotten the name nearly as soon as he had spoken it.

He was quite busy with detailing the miniscule ‘problems’ facing the upper classes of his province, while the Princess stared at him, nodding every so often and pretending to be interested. The nobility, quite often, seemed to be concerned with nothing more than their own well-being, and they never ceased to amaze her with the obliviousness they held towards their own child-like behavior.

“But I need to speak to her now,” Twilight pleaded with one of the guards. They both stood outside the ornately decorated doors which belonged to the room where Celestia was currently holding Court.

“I’m sorry, Mage Sparkle, but she is with someone at the moment and I can’t just let you in without a scheduled audience.”

“But...” The mage tried to put the best pleading look on her face that she could muster, with big glistening eyes and a slightly quivering lower lip. “But it’s very important that I speak to her now.”

The grey unicorn sighed deeply. “Fine... wait here.” He opened the door to the throne room as quietly as possible and entered, closing the door behind him.

A smug smile crossed her lips as she waited for the guard’s return.

Celestia took notice of the unicorn of the Royal Solar Guard walking up the center of the room.

Oh, thank goodness, she thought to herself, as the noblepony continued complaining about every minor thing that he mistakenly thought deserved royal intervention.

The guard stopped short of the pony that was speaking. He lowered his head as a show of respect and humility for intruding on the Princess’s appointment. “Excuse me, Your Highness, I’m sorry for interrupting.”

The Princess smiled, thankful for a respite from the inane monologue of the noble. “Yes, what is it, Phalanx?”

“Mage Sparkle is requesting an immediate audience, milady. She, uh... she says it is urgent.”

“Oh?” Celestia’s eyes lit up at the prospect of being rid of the noble. “I am very sorry... my loyal subject, but your time has come to a close. Thank you for bringing these concerns to our attention.”

“But, Your Majesty, I have not finished. I still have ten minutes left of my allotted time with you,” the pony before her responded in disbelief.

The eyes of the Sun Goddess narrowed as she spoke down to her subject, “I am well aware of how much time you were given. However, I believe I have heard enough of what you have to say. The Royal Scribe has taken notes of your concerns and you have my word that they will be forwarded to the appropriate ponies to be looked into. Now, if you will excuse me, I must see my student now.”

“But—”

The guard behind him took a step closer.

“I could escort you out, if you are having trouble finding your way, milord,” Phalanx suggested in a not-so-courteous manner.

Two pegasus guards that had been standing at either side of the room began to move to back up their comrade, until the Princess waved them off and they returned to their positions.

The noblepony quickly turned to look at the grey colored guard. “I—but...” He then looked back to the Princess. “I... I suppose I will be going, then. Thank you for taking the time to hear me, my Princess.” He bowed low to the floor before turning and making his way back towards the main doors with Phalanx following close behind him.

The large gilded doors that Twilight had been waiting near finally moved, allowing a very disgruntled earthpony to exit the throne room. The noble stopped in front of the mage, and looked her up and down through the narrowed slits of his eyelids. With a puff of air expelled from between pursed lips, he raised his head up high and began to walk away, with his chin leading him towards the exit of the castle.

Twilight watched as he walked away, and then looked at the guard that had walked out behind him. “What was that all about?”

Phalanx smiled. “He’s just upset that his hour long complaint session was cut short a bit. Anyways, Princess Celestia will see you now.”

“Thank you.” She walked through the doorway and up the red carpet to the foot of the dais that Celestia’s throne sat upon. At her arrival, she bowed quickly and looked up to the alicorn. “Thank you for seeing me so promptly, Princess.”

“No, I should be the one thanking you, Twilight Sparkle. I was beginning to think that that pony would never stop complaining about such trivial matters. Now, what did you come to see me for that is so very urgent?”

“I have come to request access to Archive Vault Four.”

The serene smile disappeared from the alicorn’s face. Standing up, she looked to the scribe. “Leave us.” The small, green unicorn scrambled for one of the side entrances to the throne room, and Celestia then turned her gaze on the pegasi standing at their post halfway between her and the main door. “Guards, please step outside. No pony is to enter this room, until I say otherwise.”

Without a word, both guards left the room. As soon as the door shut, leaving the student and teacher alone, Celestia looked down to Twilight through narrowed eyes and spoke, “Why would you require access to that particular vault?”

“I believe there is information related to some of the research studies of Section 5 in that vault,” replied Twilight.

Celestia closed her eyes and sighed, her smile now returning. Upon opening her eyes again, she calmly spoke to her student, “No, I can assure you that there nothing of the sort in that vault. All of the information on Section 5 is kept in Section 5 until it is declassified.”

“What about the censored documents? Where are the uncensored copies kept? Arcana told me they were destroyed, but I just can’t believe that you would allow knowledge to be destroyed like that.”

“Arcana is correct,” the Princess answered curtly, as though there was nothing else to be said on the matter.

“You can’t be serious!” Twilight couldn’t comprehend what she was hearing from her mentor of so many years. She thought the Princess valued learning and knowledge above all else, and now to hear this from her mouth...

She’s lying to us.

She’s lying to me.

Now what?

“I... I just—” Twilight paused and looked to the floor to collect her thoughts.

Celestia took note of Twilight’s distress, and made her way down to her student. She stopped when she was positioned directly in front of the lavender unicorn. The alicorn slowly kneeled, bringing herself to eye-level with her student. “I know it is hard to understand, my student, but there are some things that should not and cannot be allowed to exist. These documents that you speak of hold some of the most dangerous and deadly information to ever be brought into this world of ours. If the information within them was ever placed into the hooves of somepony with ill intentions, the consequences could mean the end of everything we know.”

Twilight raised her head, looked into Celestia’s eyes, and whispered, “No.”

Recoiling slightly, she answered back with a question, “What? What do you mean ‘no’?”

With a voice still barely above a whisper, the unicorn replied, “I mean, no. This isn’t right. Why would you destroy the work of all those scientists and engineers; they pour their lives into this work and most of it never sees the light of day as it is. They barely even get a thank you for the things they do, and then, when they’re specifically tasked with creating something amazing, their creations are destroyed through no fault of their own. How many researchers has Section 5 lost because they were so discouraged by something like this?” Twilight, with tears beginning to well up in her eyes, stopped, indicating that she expected an answer to her query.

“More than I care to count... It is not because of them that we destroy their work. It is because the work was flawed to the point of being dangerous to the well-being of the world as a whole.”

Twilight was thoroughly unsatisfied with the answer that had been provided.

What about the book?

That’s not something to be brought up right now.

“I-I... I understand, Princess. But if the documents aren’t kept in the vault, what is?”

“It is an archive of ancient books, kept as a reference for my sister and I, if ever the need for it may arise. The books stored in that vault are dangerous, and the knowledge within them has been banned in Equestria for centuries.”

“I see... so you don’t trust me?” Twilight asked, as a single tear trickled down her cheek.

“No, of course not. I trust you fully. It is just that nopony is allowed access to those resources. You are very special to me, Twilight, and I would not want your purity tainted by the horrible things within that vault.” Celestia then embraced her student in a hug, rubbing her back softly. “I don’t know what I would do if I were to lose you to such an evil.”

Twilight sniffled a bit, and then pulled out of the hug, looking up to Celestia. “I understand. Thank you, Princess. I should really get back to the lab now; I left my team to their own devices this morning. They’re probably wondering where I got to.”

“Very well, Twilight. Be careful with those experiments.” Celestia smiled to the unicorn and quietly chuckled.

“I will. Goodbye.” Twilight turned and walked back towards the main door.

At least we now know what’s in the vault.

I know what’s in the vault. You only know what I know.

Of course... We can only know what we know, whether you remember or not.

Year 8 of the 2nd Diarchy, 73rd day of the Southward Equinox
Personal Journal, entry 5

I’ve been neglecting my journal recently, especially considering the recent events that have been happening.

My research/engineering team tested the first working prototype of the miniature magic energy storage cells several days ago. The results were more than promising; in a few short weeks we’ve been able to reduce the size of the cells by nearly 60%, while only reducing their capacity by 17%. They’re not small enough yet, but as fast as the progress has been, it shouldn’t take much longer.

The secrets of Archive Vault Four continue to elude me. There is something else there that Celestia doesn’t want me to have that she is not telling me about. I now understand how I was able to remove the books from Section 5, but the sealing spell on the vault is much more powerful. I’ve been probing it with magic detection spells every time I get a chance. It seems to be very similar in nature to the spell protecting the Elements of Harmony.

My studies of the spell protecting the vault have been less than successful at determining a way to defeat it covertly. It would be possible for me to dismantle the barrier completely, however, Celestia would sense the energy void and I would be caught almost immediately.

I have to find a way around it... I need help. Maybe I’ll approach Fireshade; she is my only friend here.

Amazingly, the books from Section 5 made it to the castle dungeon intact. With the nature of my current experiments, I’ve begun putting together a makeshift lab in the dungeon, near where the books materialized out of the teleport. Difficult is an understatement when speaking of gathering the equipment and resources necessary without being noticed, but with the exception of some of the larger pieces, I have everything I need.

About the books: Celestia and Arcana were right. The censored research documents are dangerous. With the exception of compound GL-7658a, every one of them appears to be research on weapons or things that could be easily adapted as such. I am beginning to think that perhaps, the research was never abandoned. It was likely moved to a facility under direct military control.

Also, I was able to translate the title page of 105-612718:

The title alone entices me. Volume 105! And there’s possibly more volumes than that. It’s more data on the Goddess Emperors of Equestria than I thought had ever existed. I would doubt that anypony alive now, besides the Princesses and myself, is even aware of the existence of such information. However, the book is protected by a type of magic that I am completely unfamiliar with. I believe the key to unlocking its secrets lies within the vault. Why is she so desperately hiding it? There’s more to this than what appears on the surface.

I was able to use my influence as the future Grand Magus to convince two of the biochemists at Section 5 to attempt the replication of GL-7658a. I gave them instructions that I had transcribed from the report, and I tried to determine the missing chemical precursors to the best of my ability. I am now in possession of several vials of a thick bluish liquid, but I’m quite scared to try it. It could save me from the voice in my head, or it could possibly kill me. I have to try, though; experimenting on a live test subject other than myself is out of the question at this point.

This journal entry is getting long. I’m rambling. Three weeks is a long time; I’ll try to make entries more often.

Twilight hummed happily to herself, as she readied an experiment in the clandestine lab that she had set up in the dungeon. The thought of finally being rid of the subconscious voice that had been plaguing her for two months now, excited her to no end.

Have you completely lost your mind?

Not yet. That’s exactly what I’m trying to avoid.

This isn’t the way to go about it... you’re going to hurt us. This compound is dangerous at best.

Twilight eyed the nearly full test tube of highly viscous blue liquid, still apprehensive of what it may or may not do to her. However, she was determined to try, regardless of the possible outcome. The voice was becoming too much for her, the thought of the ideas it presented coming from her own subconscious terrified her. The unicorn lifted the vial with her magic and brought it close to her face, closely inspecting it for what seemed to be the hundredth time.

I have to try.

No! We don’t know what it will do to us. It’s far too dangerous to try an untested drug on us. Are you willing to risk killing yourself, only to be rid of the ability to hear your subconscious? You know how few ponies have had this ability. This isn’t a curse, it’s a gift.

Yes. You have to go... The things you say, the things you suggest—I have to stop you.

You can’t stop your own thoughts without stopping yourself altogether. I am you, as much as you are me. We are one and the same... We. Are. Twilight Sparkle.

“You are NOT me!” yelled Twilight to the empty and long forgotten dungeon that now housed her private lab. She had the day off from her normal duties tomorrow, and if she didn’t attempt the experiment on herself now, it would be hard to say for sure when her next opportunity would arise. By that time, it could be too late for her. She continued to speak to herself in a whisper, “I am me... I know I am.”

And I am just as much you as you believe yourself to be...

With that, Twilight tilted her head back, and overturned the small glass container, pouring half of its contents into her mouth. She set the tube back into its wooden holder on the workbench. The elixir tasted vile, like rancid milk mixed with stomach bile. The lavender unicorn did everything in her power to not vomit immediately. With her abdominal muscles violently protesting against the liquid in her mouth, she tried her hardest to force the putrid blue filth down her throat.

Spit it out, please spit it out! You’re going to get us killed.

No! I don’t want you!

The outburst of concern from her subconscious voice was enough to steel her resolve. She swallowed hard, trying to put the potential consequences of her actions out of her mind.

Twilight closed her eyes tightly, waiting for the effects of the chemical she had just swallowed. Several minutes passed and nothing happened. She slowly opened one eye halfway, having expected something to happen right away. “Well, I guess it wasn’t poisonous, at... least?”

As the last word left her mouth, the brick walls of the dungeon began to spin slowly around her. Twilight instantly began to panic; this was not something that she could have prepared for if she had wanted to. She took three steps across the small brightly lit room, towards her medical supply cabinet, before tumbling to the cold floor. She was surprised at how comforting the cool stone felt on her cheek that was now pressed against the floor.

Without moving her head, the mare turned her eyes as far to the left as she could, and stared, with her eyes open as wide as possible, at one of the uncovered lightbulbs hanging by a wire from the ceiling. It appeared to be creeping closer to her, getting slightly larger with every passing second. Soon, the bulb filled her vision completely, before being suddenly snatched away and placed back at its original location, hanging from the brick-lined ceiling. Her eyelids began to feel heavy, and she decided it may be a good idea to go to sleep.

Get up.

Twilight’s eyes shot open again.

Get up now! We need to get to the supply cabinet.

She turned her head towards the lights above, her body following the movement and rolling her to the opposite side. Twilight smiled weakly as her left cheek touched the floor and was cooled in the same manner as the right had been. “I can’t get up. I don’t think the chemical was supposed to do this.”

Why don’t you listen... GET. UP. NOW.

Twilight’s vision swam with thousands of tiny multicolored spots as the room continued its journey circling around the spot in which she lie. Closing her eyes and taking deep, fast, labored breaths, she prepared herself for the nearly impossible journey to the medical supplies. What am I even going to do if I get there? I don’t know what’s happening to me.

Don’t worry about that now, we have to fix this.

With her eyes still closed, Twilight slowly stood up. By this time, her entire body was shaking forcefully and listing dangerously from side-to-side. She opened her eyes, and found that she was already directed towards her objective.

The cabinet didn’t look the same as she remembered it. Instead of the plain, white, stationary, rectangular cabinet that was supposed to be there, a strange abomination stood in its place. The color of the cabinet was smoothly cycling through various shades of grey. Light, then dark, and back to white, over and over, all while the supply cabinet shifted and writhed, not seeming to be able to stay in one place.

It took every ounce of will and effort for Twilight to take the first shaky step. The time encompassing that single movement felt like an eternity, but had only taken a matter of seconds. The floor felt as though it was moving underneath her, but when she looked down, it was just as solid as it had ever been.

Twilight lifted a back leg to take the next step in her quest for the medical supplies. As soon as her hoof left the floor, she began to tilt towards the missing hoofhold. Quickly extending the leg, her hoof once again made contact with the floor, landing in an awkward position far from her other hoof, but saving her from falling once again. She stopped for a moment to rest and collect her thoughts.

We don’t have time for this.

The sensation that this self-experiment caused was fascinating, albeit terrifying, for her. In addition to every sense being severely distorted in one way or another, she was in a state of hyper-awareness. The mage could see, hear, and feel every infinitesimal detail of her warped surroundings. The colors of the dungeon were bright and oversaturated, not to mention that most of them were the incorrect colors entirely. The sound of nonsensical static was nearly deafening in this place that was deathly silent but a few minutes ago. She could feel every hair on her body and every miniscule vibration in the floor. Then, there was the paranoia that began to creep in.

I can’t do it. I’m going to die. I’m going to die alone here and no one will find me for months.

You are not going to kill us. Walk. Walk now. Every second you waste is a second that we can’t use to try to fix this.

Right... Walk Twilight. The mare dragged her misplaced hoof across the floor, this time successfully moving it forward enough that she could move the next leg in the walking sequence.

Breathing was becoming increasingly difficult, which did nothing to calm her worries of dying in this desolate place. She was taking fast, short breaths, and was on the verge of hyperventilating. Her heart felt like it had slowed to the point that it was nearly stopped, thumping hard in her chest with a lethargic, irregular rhythm.

Twilight began walking as fast as she could without losing her balance completely and falling again. All it took was five more steps to place her directly in front of the cabinet. Now that she was closer, the storage locker stopped doing the strange things that it had been and acted like the normal supply cabinet that she remembered. What am I doing?

Open the cabinet, Twilight.

What’s going on? What’s in the cabinet?

Open it.

She reached out with a trembling hoof and missed the door completely. Not making contact with the cabinet where she thought she would caused her to lurch forward and go tumbling to the floor, crashing head-first into the corner of the supply cabinet on her way down. The floor still seemed to be the most welcoming place for her.

The room was no longer spinning, but felt like it was rocking like a bassinet. Comforting, slowly rocking back and forth. I’ll just sleep now... I wonder if I’ll wake up?

You're dying, Twilight. Get up, we don’t have time for you to sleep.

Dying?

A distant vague memory of drinking the experimental substance pushed its way forward in her mind, and every bit of the panic that had been there, returned with vengeance. Her eyes snapped open again and she noticed a warm wetness on her face, just below the point where her head had made contact with the supply cabinet.

I’m dying... Oh no. This isn’t right, I can’t die. I don’t want to die.

Tears began to well up in her eyes with the sudden realization of what she had done to herself.

If you don’t want to die, you have to listen. Open the cabinet.

Twilight quickly got back up on her hooves, only to fall over on her side again. She rolled so that she was laying upright; then pushed herself up to a sitting position with her front hooves. Her head was slowly bobbing around as she fought hard to maintain consciousness. Thinking to her last attempt at opening the door, she decided that using her magic might be a better idea. The unicorn’s horn began to glow and the door on the cabinet flew open with such force that it was nearly torn off its hinges.

“Oops.” Twilight giggled slightly at the apparent mistake, and inspected the shelves. Several large metal cases were housed inside of the cabinet.

The case on the top shelf has a small brown bottle with a blue stripe on it. Drink that.

The shelf appeared to be a mile away, and Twilight now wondered how she was going to get the box down off the shelf. She reached up to it and was able to touch it, even though it looked so very far. Her hoof caught the side of the case and she pulled it off the shelf. The metallic case crashed to the floor, but did not open. The terror-stricken unicorn fumbled with the latch for a moment before it finally gave way and the lid popped open.

She leaned in close to the first-aid box to look over the contents and quickly found the bottle. Picking the small bottle up with her magic, she broke the lid off and let it drop. Then, Twilight quickly consumed the contents. The disgustingly bitter taste of the yellowish liquid permeated every corner of her mouth.

Now what?

In the box on the third shelf down is a syringe labeled as ‘epinephrine’. You need to inject it into an artery or vein.

How am I going to do that? I can hardly move.

You’re going to do it, because you don’t want to die. Remember?

“I don’t want to die,” Twilight said aloud, speaking the words in an attempt to reaffirm the thought. As instructed, she pulled the case off the shelf, and opened it as fast as she could in her current inebriated state. There were easily a dozen pre-filled syringes, and several more empty ones accompanied by tiny vials of various medications. Using her magic to pull out the one that she was pretty sure said epinephrine on the label, she pulled the cap off and readied the syringe.

She floated the needle near her upper thigh and prepared to jab it into her leg.

Stop! You have to inject it intravenously or it won’t work.

Twilight huffed and lied down on the floor with her forelegs in front of her face, and brought the syringe in front of her. Slowly, she pushed the needle into her leg where she suspected it may hit the target, and then pulled back slightly on the plunger. Nothing.

Tears began to run down her face, mixing with the blood from the gash in her head. “I can’t do this... I have a hard enough time with this sort of thing when I’m not—not... not whatever I am now.”

Do it or we are dead.

Taking a deep breath, Twilight tried again. The needle cut effortlessly through the skin of her leg in nearly the same place as the last time. However, now, when she pulled back on the plunger, a cloud of crimson climbed its way into the barrel of the syringe. “Got it!” She quickly pushed the plunger down as far as it would go.

The effect was immediate; the unicorn’s eyes opened wide as her pupils shrunk down to tiny black dots. Her heart began racing, and she could suddenly breathe without putting a conscious effort into it. Twilight jumped to her hooves and noticed the room had stopped moving. She then proceeded to throw up on the floor and fall over.

I’m not still going to die, am I? was the last thought to pass through her mind before she blacked out.