LOVE'S BEEN A LITTLE BIT HARD ON ME

Chapter 7: A Matter of Trust

A beam of sunlight lazily wended its way across the ruin-strewn field, shedding light upon the various stone outcroppings as a breeze gently bent the stalks of grass into wave-like patterns. As the light passed over a freestanding stone arch, the motes of dust that danced in the breeze began to thicken, becoming denser and coming closer together. The motes danced faster and closer, becoming a vague bright-white shape. With a flash, the shape took form and Celestia stood in the field, looking frantically around herself.

Gathering her wits, she ran towards the grassy hillock that contained the entrance to the library. Parting the curtain-like plants with her magic, she took a deep breath to compose herself. No sense running in there in a panic. Celestia had learned long ago that when others look up to you, their emotional state tends to remain closely tied to your own. Several deep breaths later, she walked through the door sedately.

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“I hear congratulations are in order, Baron Silver Veil. It's not everyday that one's son is up for promotion to Overwatch Captain,” Golden Bit said as he poured another neat scotch for himself and his guest.

A middle-aged light blue stallion accepted the glass and took a sip. “A bit premature, Your Grace. He hasn't gotten the post, yet.”

Golden Bit smiled and smoothed his mustache before taking a sip of his own. “It's only a matter of time. A colt as talented as he is will certainly go far... unless somepony more talented and deserving happens along, of course.”

“Doubtful,” Silver veil said with a sniff. “Shining's set to retire next month to take over his new 'duties', and the most obvious to replace him is my son, Morning Star.”

Swirling the drink in his glass, Golden Bit smiled congenially. “Oh, I wouldn't go so far as to say that, Milord. While the current Overwatch Captain's service record is considered exemplary, I'm afraid that it has only reaffirmed the committee's view that just any pony could fill the role. His luck has inflated his own accomplishments, making him seem more fit than he actually was. Why, had he truly been on the ball, the changeling queen would never have been able to kidnap his then fiancée, and pose as her for Light knows how long! Alas, it is ultimately up to the committee to choose his successor. Perhaps you've heard of the recent up and comer, Dead Reckoning? He comes from common stock, true, but many on the committee see him as quite a capable young fellow.” He took a sip, then said, “It would be a shame to see such a prestigious position in the hooves of... lower breeding.”

“Quite.”

Golden Bit let the silence linger for a moment before saying, “I suppose I should get to the reason why I asked to see you today, Milord. I was wondering whether or not you've had an opportunity to peruse the proposed bill I put before Parliament; the military officer one?”

Silver Veil nodded, his expression suddenly serious. “I have, and I must say that it is about time that something was done to curb these commoners from putting on airs. Why, they'll soon be expecting us to lower ourselves to their standards.”

“Absurd, is it not? Surely a stallion of your breeding can see the advantages to weeding out the riff-raff?” Golden Bit asked.

“Indeed, I can! You may count on my full support when this bill comes before the House of Lords.” the blue stallion replied. “I don't suppose a kind word could find it's way to the committee, say, from somepony whose word they find beyond reproach?”

Golden Bit shook his head and sat down on the couch next to his guest. “As much as I would like to see the position go to the right pony, the committee itself seems to be just stuffed with ponies who have blinded themselves to the inherent merits of noble birth. I daresay that it would be very difficult for the pony most deserving to find themselves offered the vaunted post.”

“But what-”

Silver Veil got no further as the doors to Golden Bit's study were opened and Blueblood walked in, followed by a bowing and apologizing butler. “Father, I-” He stopped dead when he saw the Baron of Coltchester and verbally backpedaled. Bowing to the minor noble, he said, “My apologies, Milord. I didn't mean to interrupt.”

Rising, Silver Veil replied, “No, it's quite alright, Blueblood. I was just leaving.” He turned to Golden Bit and bowed to him. “You've given me a lot to think about, Your Grace. I'll be sure to give your proposal careful consideration. I'll let you know within a few days as to my decision.”

Golden Bit watched him leave, a smile plastered on his face until the door closed, whereupon he turned to his son with a sour expression. Blueblood staggered back a step, his face looking a little gray. “I- I- I'm sorry, father, I didn't know you were in an important meeting.”

“You mean Brass Token didn't tell you?” he asked menacingly.

“No- I mean yes- I mean he did, but I-”

“But you thought that it couldn't possibly more important than whatever it was you wanted to see me about?” Golden Bit sighed and walked over to the window, watching Silver Veil climb into his carriage. “You do realize what I'm trying to do here, Blue?”

Blueblood walked up behind his father with no small amount of trepidation. “You're trying to arrange my marriage to Twilight Sparkle-”

“WRONG!” Golden Bit shouted and whirled on his son, cuffing him across the jaw, sending the stallion to the ground from his powerful blow. “I am trying to arrange the most powerful seat in the land to be at your disposal! With that socially inept foal Sparkle gracing your hoof, you'll have the ear of the Princess! You'll be able to regain the power those idiot nobles generations ago frittered away like water! And if the Princess doesn't like it, between the two of us, we can warp Sparkle into a tool against her!”

Blueblood looked up at him, hoof holding his sore jaw, a mixture of terror and sadness in his eyes. “But Twi- Sparkle's gotten a lot more socially aware, father. It's possible she might-”

Golden Bit stepped forward, standing over the terrified unicorn. “That was your failure! You were supposed to intrigue her as a filly. Win her heart so that she'd follow you anywhere! But no, you couldn't even do that.” Stepping around him, he went to the liquor cabinet and pulled out the bottle of scotch. Forgoing a glass entirely, he drank directly from the bottle and slammed it back down on the cabinet. “So now, we're stuck with plan B. Light help us if we have to resort to plan C or D,” he muttered darkly.

Not daring to make a move or sound, Blueblood lay there on the floor, staring at his father, who stood looking at the mirror behind the cabinet, muttering to himself. Finally, the older stallion was interrupted by Brass Token, their butler walking in. “Your Grace, it's time for you to leave if you're to make it on time for your meeting with Lady Aria Heartstrings.”

Golden Bit ran a hoof through his mane, getting it back into place. “Thank you, Brass. Have the carriage brought around.” Without further acknowledgment of his son, he walked out of the room, turning off the light as he did.

Blueblood sat up, a despairing look in his eyes. As he sat in the darkened study, he performed his favorite pastime, remembering the few times he ever felt happy. Not coincidentally, every one of those times was with a certain purple filly as they played in the halls of the vast Canterlot Palace.

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Cadance readjusted the chair again, trying to get comfortable on it, but failing utterly. It wasn't that the chair wasn't hers that made it uncomfortable- it wasn't, but that was beside the point, really. No, the real problem was that the chair was designed for a pony much larger than herself. Sitting in Celestia's chair was the only way she could comfortably use the desk, but doing so made her feel like a child sitting in her father's study, playing at his desk.

Sighing in frustration, she finally got off and walked over to the divan that faced the fireplace in the study, dragging all the paperwork to the coffee table before it. She had just settled in when Silent Prompt, Celestia's chamberlain knocked and entered. “Your Highness, your two o'clock is here.”

Cadance looked over her shoulder and nodded to her. “Send her in, please.”

With a silent nod, the pegasus stepped aside, letting a gray earth pony mare walk through. Plain Sight paused at the unexpected sight of the alicorn, but only for a moment. She walked over to the divan and stopped several paces away and bowed as was proper. “Your Highness. What an unexpected surprise to find you here.”

Cadance smiled at the oblique question and indulged her unspoken query. “I'm afraid Auntie had to step out at the last moment for state business, but per her unstated understanding with you, asked me to see you in her stead. Rest assured that she has left me with the authority to deal with your business as needed.” She gestured to a chair cater-corner to herself indicating permission to be seated. “So, what can the crown do for her favored student's favored guardian?”

Plain Sight didn't bother with niceties, and plunged straight into the meat of the matter. “I need more hooves on the ground to deal with Twilight's expanded... circle.”

Cadance pondered this for a moment. “I suppose it only makes sense since she's discovered love, that her lovers now require the same protection.” She sat again in silence, mulling things over in her mind. “Tell me, Lieutenant. How do you feel about my little La- about Twilight?”

“I beg your pardon?” Plain Sight asked, caught totally off guard.

Looking her directly in the eye, Cadance asked again, “How do you feel about Twilight? It's a fairly simple question, requiring only a simple answer.”

Plain Sight glared at her for a moment before slowly answering, “I thought my feelings for her were quite obvious to everypony, but just to make sure we're both in the same page, I'll tell you now. I love her. I love Twilight Sparkle more than my own life, and have proven that many times over since the first time I entered the picture as her guardian and instituted 'the Sparkle Maneuver' for the fire department, and will continue to love her until the day I die, I expect. Was that clear enough, Your Highness?”

Cadance had been watching, not just the mare's face, but her aura, and seen her emotions run quite a gamut, but the one that overlaid them all was the love she felt for that purple unicorn. It truly overshadowed everything else. As far as she could tell, everything Plain Sight did, said, thought, or felt was done for Twilight Sparkle. “Why don't you tell her?” Cadance asked gently. “You know the type of mare she is. She has room in her heart for anypony. There's every possibility that she'd welcome you into her home.”

The Spymaster glared at the ground. Without lifting her gaze, she asked, “May I speak freely, Your Highness?”

“I just asked something very personal,” Cadance replied. “To not allow you to speak freely now would be hypocritical of me.”

Plain Sight glared at her, surprising the Princess with the animosity in her eyes. “What is it with you Princesses butting into my personal life? I've already given my reasons to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, and they even seem to find my feelings to be an asset to my work, rather than a hindrance. But you want to know as well? Fine. I'll tell you, but this is the last time I'll say this to anypony.

“I don't tell Twilight because I don't deserve her. Twilight is pure, and innocent, and the greatest good that has ever popped out of a pony's vagina. For her, anything is possible, because that's the way she believes the world to work. She sleeps the sleep of the righteous and wields a mind as sharp as any world-weary curmudgeon, but with the facile innocence of a child. She deserves only happiness, and I can't give that to her.

“I am a blood-soaked battle mistress with more lives on my hooves than there are apple trees in Sweet Apple Acres. I was conceived in guilt, born in sin, killing my first two victims before I even drew breath, and haven't stopped since then. I have murdered, seduced, stolen, and broken limbs as well as hearts; all in the name of survival, and later, duty. If the Princess says that by slaying a dragon, I can protect Twilight, then I will happily do so with my bare hooves. And when the Pale Mare finally comes to escort me to the afterlife, and asks me what good deeds I've done to earn a place in Elysium, I will simply point to Twilight's innocence. That is why I won't tell her how I feel.” Plain Sight sat back in her chair, breathing heavily.

Cadance released a breath she had no idea she was holding, blinking back the tears that threatened to burst forth. It took her a moment to collect herself enough to trust her own voice. “I suppose I deserved that. However, I hope you understand why I asked that. I...” she looked around at the papers, and pulled six folders from them. She floated them over to Plain Sight in a telekinetic field and said, “Your new troops. The Princess was planning for this eventuality, and has selected these six, and is currently considering several more. Use them well.”

Plain Sight leafed through the thick dossiers and stopped halfway through. “Her? Are you serious?” Confirming her suspicions with the next folder, she almost shouted, “And him? How am I supposed to hide these two? They're not exactly inconspicuous, you know.”

“That's why all three of us 'meddling Princesses' included the last one in that stack,” Cadance answered.

With a stab of dread, Plain Sight pulled out the last file and gave a sick, little groan. “Why? Have I wronged you in a past life?” she croaked out pitifully.

Cadance smiled sympathetically. “Believe me, I'd have chosen somepony else, but not only did she volunteer to keep an eye on the others and become your adjutant, but both princesses believed her to be the best choice under the circumstances.” A moment of awkward silence passed between them before she added, “It's not like she doesn't have experience with this sort of duty.”

Plain Sight hit her forehead with the file bearing the mark, “Confidential”.

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Salanshandaraen dangled a ruby the size of Twilight's hoof above Spike, slowly moving it back and forth, watching his eyes follow it's movements with a smile. “You see, in order to keep the peace between Equestria and the dragons, each clan leader had to give up an egg as hostage to ensure our 'good behavior'.”

“Not that I'm calling you a liar or anything,” Twilight said, “but I have a hard time believing that the Princesses would do something like that. If there's one thing they value, it's the lives of all children, pony or otherwise.”

Swirling her claw in a tight circle, Sal led Spike in a tizzy as he tried to keep the jewel in his sight. “Why do you think we were fine with giving up our young in the first place? The Princesses' love for hatchlings- excuse me, children of all species is legendary. I imagine it has something to do with their difficulty in having some of their own. Not many male alicorns around, in case you haven't noticed.”

Twilight put a hoof to her mouth in thought for a moment. She looked back at Trixie and Cheerilee a few paces behind her and wondered if she could do the same thing for the good of all ponykind. Shaking her head, she asked, “Are you sure that Spike is yours, though? No offense, but I don't see a lot of family resemblance here.”

“That's because he takes after his father very strongly,” Sal replied. “Since his wings haven't grown in yet, I think in that at least, he'll follow in my wing beats.”

Spike stopped following the gem and looked his mother in the eyes. “What's my father like? Where is he?”

Sal turned away from his gaze sadly. “He was a great mate, and one of the best leaders clan Karrack ever had. He died... he died a hero, defending a flock of griffons from predation by one of our own kind.”

Spike laid a claw on one of Sal's, and she swept him up in a crushing hug that he did not struggle against.

Twilight cleared her throat of a sudden catch, and asked, “Are you alright with the Princess using your egg the way she did? I mean, knowing what I do now, it seems a little...”

Smiling, Salanshandaraen replied, “Actually, Celestia and I had a bit of a side deal going on. I knew how important the Elements of Harmony are to the safety of not just Equestria, but the whole world, so she asked if she could use my eggs to find the bearers. Like cleaves to-”

“There you are, Sal! I've been looking everywhere for you!” Celestia quickly trotted into the library and up to the unusual group of beings, a slightly nervous smile on her lips.

The golden dragon carefully regarded the solar diarch for a moment before saying in a voice that was dripping in sarcasm, “Celestia! Why, whatever brings you here?”

Celestia nodded to her and then the others, nervously licking her lips as her eyes passed over Nyx and Onyx. “There was an important celestial matter I needed to discuss with you urgently. May we speak privately?”

Smiling coyly, Sal rose to her feet . “Of course.” Turning to the others, she politely said, “Please excuse us. This shouldn't take long.” She walked over to a row of bookshelves and disappeared into the poorly lit quasi-corridor. When the others were left far behind, she turned around and smiled at the slightly smaller alicorn. “Really now Celestia, lying to me? You know how I feel about liars.”

“I apologize, Sal. I did not wish to do so, but there are certain things that the Elements of Harmony are not yet ready for, especially Twilight,” Celestia explained. “She... tends to react poorly to... certain stimuli.”

Sal's smile became more genuine as she considered. “The resemblance is striking, is it not? I have to wonder how strongly the others bear the resemblance.”

Celestia chuckled, a nervous quaver still apparent in her voice. “I dare say that they all share some strong aspects. Taken together, I can unequivocally say that it's never been this strong since the first. Luna and I are hopeful that this time is the one.”

“Very well,” Sal said in a superior tone, “for her sake, I will say nothing at this time. However, I have a favor to ask of you in return.”

Nodding, Celestia replied, “Name it, and I will do my best to see that it happens.”

“I would like to spend time with my son. In my home.”

The alicorn turned a little gray. She stammered out, “I- I- I cannot promise he will want to go along. He may be his own dragon, but he's still under Twilight's care-”

“And I see what a fine job she's done so far. Even though he went through a greed-based growth spurt, he managed to keep his head enough to shrug it off.” Salanshandaraen pulled a book off the shelf, only to have it fall into dust in her claws. “Not many dragons manage to do that. He takes after his father so much.” She brushed the dust from her claws sadly. “Oh dear, it seems I owe Nyx a new book.”

“We owe so much to her,” Celestia said quietly.

“Indeed.”

Celestia sighed and hung her head. “I'll talk to them. Perhaps if I frame it just right, they'll go along with it.”

“I'll leave it to you, then.” As she walked past the alicorn, she held out a wing and gently brushed it along the mare's side. “It's good to see you letting go the hate, Celestia. Emotions like that are anathema to any being, but most especially to those who choose to walk the path of light. Your sister learned that the hard way.”

Celestia rejoined the rest and with great reluctance, walked over to Twilight and Spike who were debating with Nyx as to the best way to organize a library. “Excuse me. Twilight, Spike, there is something I wish to discuss with you.” The two gave her their full attention and she began, “Spike, your mother-”

“So she really is my mother?” Spike asked hopefully.

Celestia smiled and nodded. “Oh, yes. She is without a doubt your mother. I'd also like to apologize for not warning you about her visit earlier, but she wanted it to be a surprise. What I wanted to say was that she would like for you to visit her... in her home.”

Suddenly unsure of himself and mouth full of cotton, he looked to Twilight uncertainly, before turning back to the Princess. “When? For how long? Will I be coming back?”

“A visit implies that you will return home, Spike,” Celestia replied. “I imagine it will be for a few months, and begin when it's convenient for you.”

Twilight sat down and pulled the little dragon into a tight hug from behind. Spike struggled feebly for a few seconds before settling into the embrace. “Aw, Twi. I'm not gonna abandon you. If you need me, I'll stay and tell her-”

“No Spike,” Twilight interrupted. “You should go. It'll be good for you to reconnect with your... real Mom.” The last two words came out as a strangled sob.

Spike turned around despite the crushing pressure and returned the hug. “I'll never leave you forever, Twi. And nobody could replace you.”

Twilight leaned down as her horn lit up in a magical field and kissed Spike's forehead. “If something happens and you want to come home early, just call out my name, and I'll be right there with you, Spike,” she said as she released him.

The little dragon rubbed the warm spot where the unicorn's lips had just been and smiled up at her. “Thanks, Twi. I really want to find out about my... you know.”

“It's alright, Spike,” Twilight said as she ruffled his spines. “I won't be offended if you call her Mom.”

Spike gave her another quick hug and ran off to the waiting dragons, who were catching up with each other. Twilight turned around so that her back was to them and stifled a sob. Celestia and Nyx each put a hoof/paw on her shoulders. “It'll be alright, Twilight,” Celestia said. “He won't abandon you.”

“Before you know it, he'll be back underhoof again,” Nyx added.

She sniffled and wiped her nose with a hoof. “I know. It's just hard letting him go, you know?”

Celestia nodded. “The first one is always the hardest.”

Twilight looked up at her and whimpered.

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“So since Nyx's soul forms the basis of the arcaneficarum, if we pour the energies through her into the obelisk, it will increase my control over how the energies are implemented by a factor of two hundred,” Twilight said, finishing her chalkboard diagram with a flourish. She turned to face her audience and continued, “Now if we have everypony's- excuse me, everyone's cooperation, we can have the arcaneficarum up and running in just a single session instead of the three or four I had initially projected. Any questions?”

A golden-scaled claw slowly raised, and Twilight nodded to its owner. Salanshandaraen cleared her throat and asked, “Are you sure that you can handle our magical energies? An alicorn, a sphinx, and two fully grown dragons- all master arcanists, mind you- as well as your own power? Any one of us alone would be far too much for a single unicorn to handle; no matter how talented.”

Twilight smirked at her. “Quite certain. I have calculated that when wielding the Elements of Harmony, approximately two point one petajewels passed through my horn per second, and I have no trouble directing that.”

Sal looked to Celestia, then over to Onyx and Nyx questioningly. “I have no idea how much energy that is,” she said.

Twilight actually looked a little surprised, then saw that Onyx was likewise perplexed, though Nyx appeared to be making calculations in her head. Celestia calmly said, “Twilight, my Faithful Student. Not everyone has had the advantages of your education.”

Actually looking chagrined, Twilight stammered, “I- I- I'm sorry. I didn't mean to...” Catching Celestia's kind, but amused smile, she moved on. “To put it simply, one jewel is equal to the energy expended in applying a force of one newt through a distance of one trot.” She flipped the chalkboard over and wrote out a formula, but stopped halfway through. “Er, perhaps if I just said the work required to produce one wut of power for one second?” The others finally nodded in understanding, causing a relieved smile to appear on her face. “Now, one petajewel is ten to the fifteenth power jewels or-” She wrote out 1,000,000,000,000,000 on the blackboard, then set the chalk down with a satisfied clatter. “-one quadrillion jewels, and as I said earlier, the Elements of Harmony is just over two quadrillion jewels. Now are you convinced?”

“That is a lot of power...” Onyx said.

“Certainly more than I can force into a standard spell myself,” Nyx replied, “but about what I use when making dimension-wide alterations my library.”

Sal smirked at a flabbergasted Twilight. “It seems that Nyx and Celestia at least will have to hold back some.”

Twilight picked her jaw up from the floor, and did some quick mental calculations. “Well, if the Princess can limit herself to about half a petajewel, I think I can manage the rest. Nyx can use all of her power since I won't be channeling it, just directing it.”

“What's the difference?” Onyx asked.

The unicorn was amazed at just how little they knew about how magic worked, and just used it. “Think of it like a firepony with a hose. The hose channels the water, but the firepony directs it. Since he doesn't need to hold the water in the shape needed, he doesn't need nearly as much strength to just point it in the right direction.”

A group of three ponies behind Twilight straightened up from their huddle. Cheerilee cleared her throat and said, “Twilight dear, you will use extreme caution during this... procedure.”

Twilight could tell from her tone, that it wasn't a question, nor even a statement, but an order. “Trust me,” she replied with a smile. “I'm a scientist!”

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Completing her third circuit around the magic circle she had drawn on the floor in quicksilver around the floating crystal tower, Twilight nodded in satisfaction. “Okay, it looks good to me. Circle's closed, runes are set, and proportions are perfect!” She grinned at the mark that had taken over eight hours of painstaking effort, and that was with the help of four accomplished mages. Looking up to her mentor, it felt like her heart would burst with happiness at the look of pride on Celestia.

Salanshandaraen nodded as she examined the circle, looking for flaws. “I must say that it's quite refreshing to be working with someone who actually knows what they're doing, instead only thinking that they know what they're doing.”

Nyx grunted in agreement. “Indeed. A circle this complex would have taken me several days to finish, if only because I would agonize over whether there were any mistakes or not.”

Gesturing with a thumb towards Spike, who had fallen asleep near the door, Onyx asked, “Are you sure he's going to be present enough to act as our anchor? Poor little guy is zonked out.”

“He'll be fine,” Twilight said with a nod. Walking up to him, she let out an excited sigh. “Let's get started, then. Spike!” The little dragon jumped up and stood at attention. “Time to start. Stand in the smaller, East circle. I'll be in the Southeast circle, and the Princess in the Northeast one. Nyx, take your place in the West Circle, Salanshandaraen in the Southwest, and Onyx in the Northwest.”

When everyone was in position, Twilight said, “Now I'll lead the chant, and everyone follow my rhythm. It's going to be a variation of the Crow Alee chant. Salanshandaraen and Onyx will be singing the bass, the Princess and Nyx tenor, and myself the alto. Spike, I need you to hum, and make sure that it's off key to my own chanting.”

“Hum?” Spike asked. “Isn't that going to be distracting? Especially if I'm off key?”

“That's the idea, Spike. You're the counter-point. Since counter-point doesn't need to actually chant, humming is just fine for this,” Twilight answered. “Spike, follow my lead, now.” She began a high-pitched aria in a language older than ponykind, surprising all but Spike and Celestia. Although no two words were ever the same, her rhythm was easy to follow, and soon, Spike had joined her, humming low when she hit high notes, and high when she went low.

Celestia and Nyx joined in one stanza later, and an octave lower. Their chants blending with Twilight's into a rich harmony. When Onyx and Salanshandaraen joined in a stanza later, their deep voices melded into the others', creating a sound that reverberated off the stone walls, setting the whole library to vibrating with it. Twilight's marefriends waiting in the lobby were struck by the beauty of the chant, and stood motionless, soaking in the harmony that struck a chord in their hearts.

It wasn't long before the crystal obelisk floating in the room quivered in sympathy to the words. Twilight tapped her hoof on the floor once, signaling to Celestia to begin pouring her power into the unicorn through the circle. It was a lot stronger than she had been expecting, but she had little problem holding on to it for the moment. Tapping her hoof once more, Salanshandaraen released a gout of arcane energies towards Twilight through the circle as well. A third tap signaled to Onyx to do the same.

A fourth tap and Nyx began pouring her energies into the circle, causing it to light up in an eerie blue glow. Twilight began funneling all the power being fed into her towards the tower, causing it to glow a brilliant blue as well. Gently taking control of the aimless energy Nyx contributed, Twilight directed it to the tower and smiled to see all the cracks and various damage it had received healing.

Magical energy began arcing out from the obelisk, making contact with the broken and damaged runes carved into the room, filling them with arcane energies until fully repaired, the arcs moved on to other runes. It took only a few minutes to repair the thousands of decrepit runes, and soon the whole room was glowing a bright blue light.

When every rune was repaired, the arcs turned upwards and joined at a point just above the obelisk. A small point of light formed where they joined that grew in size until it was fully as large as Nyx in her natural state. The ball of energy grew more and more intense until in a flash, it disappeared to be replaced with a magic circle similar, but simpler to the one Twilight had drawn on the floor. The circle started lazily spinning, then rotating along it's vertical axis.

As amazing as that was, it was only the beginning. The circle duplicated itself, splitting along it's horizontal axis, and rotated along it while spinning. The circle started rotating faster along their axes, a vague shape coalescing within them. The form took on a more definite shape; a torso, then arms and head. The form had no legs, or if it did, they were hidden in the formless mass below the torso. More detail came forth, and the facial features bore more than a passing resemblance to a certain sphinx, but everything about the magical construct resembled the humans Twilight read about in fairy tales.

The construct blinked its- no, her eyes and looked down at the creatures below her. Twilight tapped her hoof on the ground three times, and everyone slowly reduced the flow of magical energies until they ceased completely. She brought the chanting to a close, and all the magic circles disappeared as if the had never existed. The arcaneficarum floated down to them and smiled. Gliding over to Twilight, she grinned at her and... blushed. Before the unicorn could say a word, the arcaneficarum leaned down and kissed her on the lips.

Author's Notes:

Hoo boy! This one seemed to just roll out on me. Three pages a day for two days straight? Almost unheard of for me. What's that? I keep throwing things out from left field? Well, that's just how I roll- er, write. Many of you have been demanding Plain Sight's return, so here she is! And having that talk with Cadance that the Princess had promised her husband, too. X3

The usual disclaimers go here. I own the arrangement of the words, Plain Sight, Golden Bit, Silver Veil, Brass Token, Nyx, Onyx, and Salanshandaraen. All else belongs to Hasbro and Lauren Faust.