Princesses' Day Out (Bellosh & Steel)

[SteelEagle]

 

That was a price that Twilight had to consider for a few moments. Two hundred and fifty bits wasn't anything to laugh at, even for a royal. It was less that it was a cost she couldn't pay for, which no doubt she could. Her royal treasury could allow her to spend a thousand bits a day frivolously without a blink. But if word got out that she spent that much on a cheap pair of items, you would get every hucker in the nation on her doorstep selling trinkets for thousands of percents markup, and she'd feel like a fool. And she didn't like feeling like a fool. But on the other hoof, it was just silly enough to appeal. The kitsch value of it was fun enough, getting anything at a curio shop was a great night out. The second element was that there was always a chance that there was more to it. Unlikely sure, but a chance.

“Very intriguing,” Twilight replied to the shop keep, hovering while inspecting it. She could use a spell to try and detect if there was any sense of magical energy on it, which was an element in most invisible ink. But that would ruin the fun in the whole experience! “But 250? That seems high, especially for something that might or might not be more than an old map with random ink. Now if I had an idea of what the ink was about, maybe. Or if there was some sort of story behind the acquisition, I'll pay you two-fifty for the set. But until that...a little less. I still really enjoy it and am willing to pay-” she said before Cadance caught her attention. “My apologies, one second,” she said, fluttering on over to her sister-in-law.

What she said was true. But what if it wasn't? “Oh, relax. It's a map with some marks, and we're buying something from a curio shop! That's part of the fun. And then I'l have another unique map to add to my collection! I doubt the ten bit maps have the original topographical errors on Muster Hill,” she nodded before going back to the shop keep. “So, how does 220 sound?”

[Bellosh]

 

The shopkeeper patiently waited as the two alicorn princesses conversed among one another. “Well,” Cadence wavered in her skepticism; “I just hope the layout of Old Town hasn’t changed too much over the last few hundred years.” As the pink princess would admit, there was the very real possibility of that being the case; it wouldn’t make sense calling this district of Canterlot the Old Town if everything had been constructed relatively recently.

Meanwhile, the Maretonian shopkeep rolled out the old Canterlot map so the customers could inspect it more closely. “Before you pay,” the stallion placed the special monocle down so it can also be tested while he talked; “You’ll see how the previous owner... one of them anyway, marked several places all throughout the map. Apparently, they mark where hidden locations can be found: secret vaults, closed-off alternate entrances to the abandoned mines below Canterlot... those sorts of fun little things. As the invisible ink appears much less faded than the map, those markings couldn’t be more than about two centuries old.”

“Now, judging by the comments and the use of invisible ink, our Note Taker was looking for an undisclosed treasure of a forbidden nature, but there’s no indication that he ever found it. You’re more than welcome to try following in his hoofsteps; just don’t expect the map layout to be up-to-date outside of Old Town, eh he he he he he…!”

“So, how about 235 bits for the map and monocle?” Since the shopkeeper implied that the map would still be good for use for navigating Old Town, Princess Cadence gave a tentative nod of approval.

[SteelEagle]

 

Twilight listened intently to the story behind the map, all the while keeping close to her own thoughts on the matter. There were two distinct possibilities. The first was that this was simply good showponyship, and in that case Twilight was simply impressed with a curio shop that had somepony who knew the silly strands of logic that gave a place such as this its innate charm. She was leaning that way, and she liked that idea quite so. The second, but far less likely, possibility was that there was no showponyship and the stallion was telling her what he believed to be the truth. That seemed unlikely given none of this was mentioned in any four volumes of Canterlot's Hidden Histories and Treasures, but if true, it was even more exciting just because of it.

 

As she listened, Twilight was also aware of how Cadance seemed to be more positive about the process as it went along. That made sense, after all. Nopony wanted to put a damper on the festivities, especially when your guest was enthusiastic about the proceedings. As he finished detailing what this map and monocle set was all about, a nice story that always went to edging the price upwards in such negotiations, Twilight saw Cadance give her approval. That counted for something! She had previously been resistant to the whole procedure. Either she just wanted to get the day going or she had been taken by elements of the story. Either way, the last roadblock had been cleared.

“Hmm....for all of that, I guess 235 bits is okay. You got yourself a deal!” Twilight replied, excitedly clapping her hooves as she levitated the appropriate bittage out of her saddlebag, while taking the map and monocle. She turned energetically towards her sister in law. “Another one for the collection! Why, if I could get the Old Stewards Map of Stalliongrad, I'd almost have a complete collection!”

[Bellosh]

 

“That’s wonderful, Twily!” Princess Cadence remarked; perhaps now she had an idea on what to get her sister-in-law for her birthday. Hopefully, Twi wouldn’t have found that one Stalliongrad map by then. “Huh, I guess this place wasn’t so bad after... all?” The pink alicorn had turned her head to get a last glimpse of the shopkeeper before walking out the store, only to see that the old stallion seemingly vanished from his position being the counter without any trace. It was as if the Maretonian never existed at all. Twas’ a strange way to conclude a visit to a strange curio store.

 

---------

 

“Could you give me the map real quick, Twilight?” Cadence and Twi were now back outside on the streets, and the older of the two was still very keen on getting to her intended destination. Cady had a good idea of where it was; all she needed to do was find the place on the map, figure out where they currently were, and then take it from there. “With any luck, we won’t experience any more unplanned detours... and we all know how much you don't like it when things don't go according to plan.” Honestly, Twilight had gotten better these days about not freaking out whenever something deviated from her meticulous plans and checklists, but Cadence still found humor in lightly teasing Twily about it.

[SteelEagle]

 

 

Twilight was too enamored with hr map to really pay much attention to the goings ons of the shop keep. And even if she had seen it, she would have chalked it up to a nice bit of theater. If you're a curio shop owner in the most magical city in the world and it looked like your story hadn't seen good business for a while, no doubt you would have to pull out all the stops to be impressive. Trap doors, cloaks of invisibility, light refracting spells, there were many ways for a pony to simply vanish and Twilight knew most of them. But she didn't see this happen, and she didn't think Cadance's voice timbre was off, and she most certainly didn't try and follow up on it all. Instead, she simply looked at the map with great excitement for reasons she couldn't quite figure out. Something about it tickled her, like a filly with a first print run copy of “The Celestial Alignments as relayed by Equestrian Poetry of the Saddeborne Era”.

“Well, I don't like it when my days are knocked off course by something bad. But not only do I not know what we are actually supposed to do, but this was a nice detour anyway!” Twilight responded chirpily, hovering a few feet off the ground so she and Cadance could be at the same height as she looked at the map. “All in all, I'd call this a successful find! It would be great if we could use this to get to where we need to go- if you want to spill the beans, now would be the time- that would be great. If not? Well, look at the details! They didn't have the elevation of the city right and you can tell where they had several landmarks misplaced, a common detail on these earlier maps. And if you look here you can see how they got the shape of Harmony Square off by a full two meters...” Twilight started to nerd excessively, the special monocle being levitated thoughtlessly around on the map randomly by Twilight as she spoke.
 

[Bellosh]

 

“Let me see,” mused Princess Cadence. Since the map was centuries old, there was no way her surprise for Twilight could be revealed by pointing the location out. After all, that secret spa wouldn’t be established until well into modern times. Knowing that their destination was adjacent to a small park, Cadence didn’t take long to find that spot on the map and point at it for Twily’s sake. “Okay, that’s where we’re headed, and the castle is off over there. Hmmm, we should have gone this way and...” As she scanned the route they should have taken, a realization suddenly hit the Crystal Princess, and it made her feel like a complete fool; “GAH! I knew we should have taken that left turn on Albuckquerque!”

With Twilight levitating that monocle all over the, it was very hard for Cadence not to take notice of it. And one thing she picked up on was the distinct inability to clearly see any invisible wording. Fortunately, the royal mare had a good idea to rectify that problem. “You realize,” Cady chuckled; “A monocle doesn't work like a magnifying glass, right? You have to wear it to see anything.”

[SteelEagle]

 

 

Twilight's incredibly devious and evil plan to reveal the location of their trip did not work as intended. Well, she wasn't sure if it was that nefarious of an operation she was trying to pull but failed it did either way. It would help them at least locate the place either way though, which was in all likelihood the safer option anyway. A surprise ruined was a day lessened, after all, and Twilight wasn't one to ruin Cadance's surprises. “Left at Albuckquerque, next to Friendship Way, on the edge of Roam Park? Ahh, okay. That shouldn't be too difficult a correction to make, I think. Can't wait to see what you have planned for us, Cadance. Think it will matter if we're a little late?” Twilight asked, wondering if they had to gallop or could take their time. After all, the map was so interesting!

So interesting that she had been levitating the monocle around without knowing it, provoking Cadance's response. Twilight blushed and hid it away, laughing nervously as she did so. “Sorry, I didn't know I had it out! Did I hit you?” Twilight asked, putting the monocle away with more than a little silliness flavoring her voice. After all, it wasn't that often she was allowed to geek out and it was sometimes difficult to control it. Monocle away, trotting forward and to a brighter future! “So, how are you and Shining? Any big plans?”

[Bellosh]

 

Princess Cadence knew it wouldn’t be a big deal if it took them longer than expected to reach the spa; “Nah, I didn’t have to make an appointment beforehand.” Part of the charm of the Elite Equine Spa was that appointments were not required; that would have clashed with the uber-secretive nature of the place. Plus that arrangement was super convenient for very important ponies like Princess Celestia, who never knew for certain when they’d get a day to wind down.

The pink alicorn giggled when Twi asked if she hit her with the monocle; “Don’t worry about it Twily... you shouldn’t fret so much.” Another reason why a spa trip was a good idea; relaxing at the spa does wonders to make ponies realize how inconsequential some petty concerns could be.

As the cloaked princesses followed the map, Cadence readily took to chit-chat. “Oh yes, Shining and I appointed a few ministers recently to help run some of the Crystal Empire’s day-to-day affairs. I don’t mean to sound like we’re neglecting our royal duties... but your brother and I decided that we really needed some more time for ourselves every now and then.....” Cadence ended on a coy note.

[SteelEagle]

Good, good. Twilight didn't know why she worried as much as she did some times. Nervous ticks rising from a life well led, bred educated and given to academia could account for some percentage of the quirks that defined her, but she had believed that her at times rampant neurosis had been thoroughly smashed. Oh well. No matter whatm it had improved markedly and she was sure that this overworry regarding the monocle was simply because she was so excited about the map that old desires and excitements nad brought with them a few unwelcome companions. Sometimes you had to take the rougher edges of your qualities if you wanted the full experience, and she would simply have to make a better effort going forward. Maybe the breathing treatment she had learned from Cadance was in order.

Though that was quickly put on the backburner as the images of her sister in law and brother flooded her mind. No, she didn't need that. She would rather just imagine they were buried in work, if she was herself being aggressively playful on the matter. But really, good for them. “That's good to hear. What ministers did you hire? I was taking notes on the makeup of ministries for future notekeeping and I think sometimes certain departments don't require them. Or maybe I'm the only Princess interested in tax codes- maybe. I'm sure Luna finds it enthralling, she visits me in my dreams a lot lately,” Twilight mentioned off hoof, not thinking much of it as she followed the directions on the map.  

[Bellosh]

 

In contrast, Princess Cadence found the mention of Luna visiting Twilight’s dreams frequently to be most peculiar. Being one of four alicorn princesses, Cadence knew full well of Luna’s ability to interlope in the dreamscapes of sleeping ponies; Luna was the only pony in existence who could. But from how the pink princess understood it, Luna’s dreamtrotting was first and foremost a tool for watching over the ponies of Equestria. So if she had started appearing a lot in Twily’s dreams.. . was something the matter with Cady’s sis-in-law?

Cadence had to find out! Plus... anything beat discussing tax codes or ministers. “Luna’s... been entering your dreams,” she stated matter-of-factly; “What have the two of you talked about?”

[SteelEagle]

 

At the mention of Luna, which was all Twilight's own fault, the newest Princess blushed. Luna's night time excursions were of importance to each and every pony she interacted with, the whirl of activity and night and how Luna went about and had a personal investment in each pony she helped through the dreamscape. They were private topics of great mental power and and often times of outrageous personal nature. Ponies that Luna helped often saw eneormous personal growth from it, and there was a growing realization that she was responsible for hundreds, if not thousands, of such ponies seeing such great improvement in their lives.

This was no different for Twilight. The reasons were personal and in a perfect situation she'd rather not discuss it. But part of the reason Luna ever had to visit had to deal with concerns that could have some effects on how she ruled, making it about more than just her own thoughts and feelings. She sighed, regaining her composure. “It is rather...well, embarrassing to discuss, but I was having frightful dreams of failure born out of small decisions I had made. I had them night after night and they grew worse, until I had trouble sleeping! Luna finally took notice and she has been helping me work through it. She can ve very helpful when she wants to be, you know. It doesn't hurt that she knows so much about magic, and shares my love of reading. Sometimes she visits my dreams just so we can discuss magic!” Twilight said excitedly, not realizing the hidden meaning there.

[Bellosh]

 

Twilight’s story only got more and more mysterious. Princess Cadence hoped the lavender alicorn’s would have been more forthcoming with details on her nightmares, but Cady understood from years of experience how Twi didn’t like didn’t like talking about embarrassing things. What seemed most intriguing of all to the Crystal Princess however was... that one detail about Luna. According to Cadence’s understanding, Luna only entered a pony’s dreamscape only to put an end to a nightmare, and nothing else.

While Cadence was glad that Twi’s nightmare problems were no longer an issue, now she was in the mood to dig up gossip on her sister-in-law’s nocturnal dealings. “Oh?” a shadow of a smirk manifested itself; “From what I know of Luna, she never uses her dream powers just to have casual night-time conversations with ponies. Hmmm, I wonder why she’d make an exception for you, Twily? It’s not like you’re the only magically skilled pony out there.....”

[SteelEagle]

 

 

It was an interesting element to the discussion. Why would Luna come to her and her alone for such casual conversation? Luna was often so overwhelmed at night. She visited dozens of ponies, sometimes multiple dozens, in an attempt to help as many ponies as possible. It was a very noble thing she did and she was sad that only a small percentage of ponies would ever know what she did for them. And Luna did not care. She was more than happy to shoulder this burden, but maybe not alone. She wanted a friend and what better friend than somepony who loved magic? But then again, they were both workaholics. It seemed strange, didn't it? But she enjoyed the visits. Having somepony to talk to magic about in a time-lazy manner, in the dreamscape where a minute or ten was the same, was a beautiful thing. Wasn't it?

Was it? Twilight didn't really know why Luna would do that. Cadance seemed to be rather intrigued by the whole thing and why shouldn't she be? The goings on of Princess Luna were always very exciting. “I must say that I didn't give it much thought at the time. But I guess it is sort of strange, isn't it? I guess we all need friends, though, and she has such unusual tastes in magic. Maybe she just doesn't have anypony to talk to during those nights in the dreamscape that she can talk about magic with? I mean yes there are other talented unicorns sleeping at night but I mean...you know, I AM the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be in that regard,” Twilight asked as she puffed out her chest a little with a bare-chested hint of pride, absolutely ducking the more obvious path either through subtle maneuvers or pure and outrageous naivety. Or a combination of either.  

[Bellosh]

 

Princess Cadence sensed something lurking beneath the surface of her sister-in-law’s words. It just seemed too simplistic to believe that Luna was only interested in Twilight’s superior magic abilities. Indeed, from Cadence’s recollections of Twily’s adventures in friendship, Twi and Luna didn’t initially bond over magic at all! There just had to be more to it, so the Crystal Princess decided to prod even further. “And you two nerds talk about nothing else but magic?” Cadence teased, her smirking face revealing that she won’t accept any question-dodging from Twily this time. After all this time, the purple alicorn still needed to to be reminded that not everypony in Equestria was interested solely in her knowledge of spell-casting.

[SteelEagle]

 

Twilight was befuddled and confused by the way this conversation had turned. What was Cadance getting at? It almost felt like a shot at Twilight's pride. If you were a magical mare and you were interested in the development of magic from an aetheral and historical perspective, wouldn't YOU want to talk to Twilight Sparkle, the second most powerful magic user and learned historian in the land? Sure, Luna didn't outwardly appear to be a pony dedicated to such matters but that was because there was still this air of mystery and danger around the younger Princess that struck Twilight as unfounded fears years after the truth had been revealed and Luna had redeemed herself. Twilight wouldn't go so far as to call it ignorance, but it was the ball park.

“Well,” Twilight said, her tone unknowingly defensive, “why should it be so strange? She was gone for a thousand years. In that time the magical arts advanced many times over, and both the aetheral and historical manners in which the changes derived have had distinct influences on the what and why. She is a powerful magic user herself but she was just a little askew when it came to the development of magic. I mean yeah we talk about things other than the direct aetheral flow and the aura and how the interaction between self and the aether influences magical distribution and power but it always revolves around it. When she asks how horn length can influence passion I feel as though she is discussing love magic and I feel as though that is more your sphere of influence, but I don't press it. Even other questions of the sort seem to work in the discussion. Why, does that sound strange?” Twilight asked, only realizing once she said it out loud that ot sounded a tad off.
 

[Bellosh]

 

What followed from Twilight Sparkle was, beyond any shadow of a doubt to Cadence, some of the most ridiculously silly words to have ever come out of her mouth. Twily couldn’t have sounded any more of a magic-loving dork if she’ve tried. Sure, Cadence had heard her sister-in-law talk science countless times in the past, but Twilight’s latest outburst was over the top even for the lavender alicorn’s typical self. What truly decided Cadence’s opinion on the sheer absurdity of it all was the out-of-left-field ponderings from Luna concerning horn length and passion. To think that a long-lived princess of incredible wisdom experienced such… common equine desires!

Cadence could not take it anymore; she stopped dead in her tracks in the middle of the cobblestone street and laughed straight from the belly. Oh, how glorious it felt to be proven right in the most hilarious, unexpected way possible! The pink princess had to clutch her stomach just to manage the throbbing pain inherent with non-stop guffawing. It took a full minute before Cadence, tearing up in her eyes, regained a modicum of composure.

“Twilight Sparkle.....” the Crystal Princess uttered in-between suppressed giggles; “.....Don’t you ever change.”

[SteelEagle]

 

Twilight was not the most passion-knowledgeable of mares in the world. She had a distinct love of many things which were suitably covered in a layer of study and understanding that ceded to her control of so much knowledge that it was a marvelous day to day affair. Assuming one loved learning, of course. And she did. Which was why she could learn just about anything if she wanted to, but reading the signals another mare was sending her? That was a lesson far down the list. So far down she hadn't considered it, which meant she had a hard time seeing what it was Luna was doing. And because she had a hard time seeing what Luna was really doing those long but wonderful night, she had an even harder time figuring out what it was about her very magical sessions with Luna that were so funny to Cadance.

And oh, it was very, very funny to her sister in law. She laughed and she laughed, each chuckle more uncontrollable than the last. It started off with Twilight being a little confused- “what's so funny?”- and it then transitioned into her being uncomfortable, crossing her two front legs unknowingly as she gave her sister-in-law a concerned expression. “What's so funny, Cadance?” She asked, to no avail. The laughing continued and she eventually went from being confused and concerned to more than a little vexed, and there was this curious blush that she didn't really know what to do with. “Cadance, really?” she asked, clearly annoyed. Finally, Twilight sighed. “Let's go. You're being real foalish!” She said sternly, not really buying itself for reasons she couldn't ascertain. And the blush, also a mystery, remained.

[Bellosh]

 

Upon being accused of acting foalish, Princess Cadence shot back by expressing the gravitas and seriousness that such a response to a serious accusation deserved; “Oh, I am not!” That is to say, Cadence remained in a merry mood. Reaching through Twi’s cloak to ruffle her mane, the pink alicorn tried to cheer up her sister-in-law; “Sorry about that Twi; you kinda’ went a little overboard with the nerd talk, and I lost it. I crack up too when I tease your brother about sports or O&O, and he does the same thing as you just did...” Twily and Shiny; two lovable peas in a pod.

Cadence initially moved several steps to continue the journey, but without warning, she turned around to face Twilight with an uncharacteristically sour face. “By the way,” the mare’s voice reeked of venom usually reserved when talking about the vile Queen Chrysalis or King Sombra; “Wherever Luna’s been getting her information about intimate activities from... it’s complete garbage!!!” Naturally, that calculated expression of fury was all just an act to see if Cady could throw Twi off, but it didn’t change the fact that Luna’s head was likely full of silly, unrealistic ideas concerning how romantic energy actually worked.

[SteelEagle]

Twilight had to calm herself. Doing the breathing treatment would work, but it was such a minor thing- why did Cadance's little prods hit her so? It was a mystery, and maybe that only made it worse. Luckily, Cadance seemed to move off of the subject, the younger sister in law accepting a ruffled mane with a grin and lighter sense of well-being. Okay, maybe she was just overacting- a little bit of teasing didn't hurt anypony, and who was she if not somepony more than willing to indulge in some friendliness? Besides, Twilight knew she could be a little obtuse at times and in her excitement forget that what interested and intrigued her was very different from others. Likewise, what upset her was also a little more askew than It was for others. "Sorry, sorry. Guess I overreacted,” Twilight offered with a chuckle, considering the matter passed.

But then things got weird. Cadance became very serious very quickly. For a moment Twilight was concerned she or Luna were going to be berated for something serious she had not considered, but she was struck out of left field by a most peculiar statement. What was she on about? And why so...teed off about it? Twilight could only watch mouth agape until her sister in law turned and seemed to lighten up, leaving a confused Twilight in her wake. What was it about aicorns and the size of horns? Unicorns seemed obsessed with it and both Luna and Cadance commented on it, but only to her, and never Celestia. Very confusing. “What does that have to do with what Luna was asking about? Oh...I get it. You're upset because you think she was trying to learn how to do your job?” She asked naively, trotting side by side towards their destination.

 

[Bellosh]

 

It looked like Princess Cadence succeeded in tripping up Twilight Sparkle, judging by that mouth of Twi’s being wide open. This would have therefore been the proper time to let the purple alicorn know that she was being messed with again, but Cadence did not think to relax her demeanor until after her companion finished talking. Hence, it was Twi’s turn to leave Cadence confused, although the Love Princess’s reaction to the oddball question resembled more of an unsure expression than a horrified one.

“My... job?” Cadence quizzically repeated, for only one occupation immediately came to mind; “You mean ruling the Crystal Empire?” For that was indeed the primary responsibility of the Crystal Princess. Was Twi suggesting that Luna wanted to learn about horn sizes so she could one day serve as a back-up ruler for the Empire? Nothing added up; “I’m... not sure what horn length has got to do with looking after the crystal ponies, Twily.....”

[SteelEagle]

There was a distinct disconnect with other Princesses when Twilight discussed their roles. As rulers of the Crystal Empire and Equestria, Cadance and Celestia had the mantle of stewardship of nations on them, while Luna and Twilight had none of that. Instead, Luna's role was more subtle if just as important, while Twilight's domain of friendship was the cornerstone of the harmonic balance of Equestria. It was in these last two arenas that Twilight would find more common ground with Cadance and Celestia. In Cadance's case, it wasn't her rulership over the Crystal Empire that was possibly in play, but her domain of love that Twilight had pushed forward as a worry.

"No, no," Twilight replied somewhat aggressively, "I meant love. You're talking about passions and intimacy and horn length. I don't think Luna was interested in anything more than the possible ramifications of horn length in storing residual aetheral energy, using the topic of passion as it is a natural cause of residual, unfocused aural manisfest. Were you concerned she was talking about love? I don't think Luna would want to be the Princess of Love. She never has struck me as the romantic type, not even in the comic sense of it. But I suppose she lacks the experience necessary...why would you think she would want to rule the Crystal Empire?" Twilight asked, not realizing the sheer power of the deflection going on.

[Bellosh]

 

Princess Cadence sighed, shaking her head as Twilight rambled on about aetherological mumbo-jumbo. Except this time, the quote-unquote “expert” wasn’t even getting her facts right. “Twilight,” Cadence face-hooved in frustration; “My friend Fleur has the same horn length as me, and she can only summon enough power for basic levitation. Horn size doesn’t have anything to do with how magically gifted a unicorn can be! I learned that in Magic Biology class, so you really should know better.”

Having to school the master of magic on magic drained all the fun out of chatting about Luna. Now all that Princess Cadence wanted to do was get going again, especially as she started feeling guilty over badgering her sister-in-law about what probably should have been left private. “Come on Twily,” the Crystal Princess sighed, gesturing Twi to start trotting again; “We shouldn’t be gossiping about Princess Luna anyway...“ Well, at least the two alicorns were very close to their destination, so the awkwardness wouldn’t last much longer.

[SteelEagle]

Twilight had to remind herself that as Equestria's foremost expert on magic and one of, if not the, greatest scientist of her age, she had a unique perspective on things. She could dive deep into the unknown and unearth secrets that changed the fundamental view of magic with as much regularity as a professor could participate in a conference. Or, just as regularly, she could get so caught up in the minutia and how her discoveries changed the optics but not the facts, the coloring and not the shape, that she considered it almost common knowledge. That could lead to somewhat awkward conversations when one Princess knew about her discoveries and the others didn't because...well...one visited her dreams and the others didn't. She'd have to level the playing field, starting now.

"No, that isn't it, Cadance," she began with far more excitement than warranted as they trotted, "it's about residuals, leftover aether from spells when it isn't used. To explain- ever started up a spell- anything, for any purpose, for any length of time- and then not cast it? That aether doesn't all go back from where it came. Elements of it remain. They get stored up inside of a horn, with larger horns naturally having simply more room to store them. The impact isn't known yet, but I'm launching three different studies on the subject to find out! 
And it isn't just when spells aren't cast, but when more aether is pulled than a pony is capable of. One reason for foal magic's often chaotic happenings can be linked to this- they pull in more from the aether than they can actually use, and since their horns are small, they have no place to store or direct it- and it can go haywire. Anyway, I'm sure all this is boring, and the point is that I think Luna was interested in passion and horn length in this instance was because love is a natural de-centralizer of aether pulling, leading to an inefficient pull of aether. I mean this goes for any strong emotion I suppose," she gave a quizzical look, "why she was so interesed in passion in this instance, I don't know. But anyway...is that the destination?" She asked, pointing at a business at the end of what was in al actuality a very big dead end.

[Bellosh]

 

But of course; Twilight Sparkle could never allow herself to be wrong about something like magic. Just like her brother really, needing to put that last word in when they feel like their belief or point of view is more founded in fact. “Ugggh, nopony likes a know-it-all, Twily,” Princess Cadence grumbled under her breath, her mind drowning out the aetherobabble spewing from Twi. Fortunately, their destination was just around the corner.

Cadence stopped at a building that appeared to be abandoned. All the windows were boarded up, various signs posted on the door and the walls marked the structure as condemned, and the decaying place in general looked like it hadn’t been tended to in years. Reaching this place put a smile on the pink princess. “This is it!”, she proclaimed in affirmation, not seeming to care about the otherwise appalling condition of the spot.

[SteelEagle]

Twilight ignored the grumbling. One day Cadance would understand and would see the benefits of science. It was inevitable. Until then she could grumble at
Twi's science talk and the Princess of Frienship wouldn't take any umbrage at it. What was more important was the pure excitement of the world ahead! Soon
she would be able to publish a piece on the aetheral impact of her recent battle with Tirek and wouldn't that shake the foundations of all aether-active/passive
magical-arcane learning!? Such a wonderful dream, so wonderful that Twilight couldn't help but go through the calculations 

As she did though, Cadance called a stop to their expedition. It had been terminated at...a dive. An abandoned dive, with nothing to distinguish it except for
how much disrepair it was in. No doubt it had the look of a place no respectable pony would find themselves at and even fewer would claim any pride in how it
looked. But that only raised her curiosity- why were they here, and what was going to happen? Cadance wasn't the sort of mare who would ask Twilight hjere to
help fix old buildings, after all. Especially not after all that effort to be sneaky and hidden, anyway. "So....what is it?" Twilight asked, wondering if now was time
for the map. You never know what an old, abandoned building might have been home to in the past!