Greetings again, dear readers. This is the last of the side stories (I can't call them shorts really, can I?) and next thing I post will be the first chapter of Lunar Legacy. If you're lucky, I might manage to finish the second chapter and double post. :D

But onto comments.

DragonLord Ryukioku: If a character is enigmatic and no one is around to hear them, are they still conspiring? I say yes. But no worries, closure will come.

Kevin Lapse: It's Jeh-hu. And believe me, I don't mind. That joke... I've got this Pinkie Pie face going "Really?" In my head. :D

flammablefiredragon: Huh. Forgive me, I think I wrote that response completely intending to put an 'either' in there somewhere. I'm pretty sure I should know the difference between those two. and to clarify the time issue, the first two stories happen around the same time, and the third and fourth happen about the same time. There's at least a few months difference (since Rainbow had Vibrant). But I promise, I'll do my best to clarify any time changes. And keep my presidents separated. :D

But without further ado, the last side story! Who did I forget to do? Oh! Right! Twilight!

New Field of Study

"…Twilight," Saving Grace murmured softly, "Pacing back and forth is not going to make this go any quicker.

The violet Alicorn paused in her movement, casting a worried glance over at the red-brown unicorn. She chewed at her bottom lip worriedly. "But… I really can't help it! When I'm worried, I pace!"

Grace let out a soft sigh. Despite being Princess Luna's personal knight, she was still somewhat obligated to help any of the Princesses when they needed her. And at the moment, the Princess of Friendship had asked for her help. But the mare's constant pacing was still a bit much. "It's distracting, Twilight."

"S-sorry…"

The red maned mare shook her head slightly as she turned back to what she was doing. A little violet colored foal sitting on the bed before her. She coughed lightly. "Hm… a little cough, huh? Anything else?"

She levitated a little tongue depressor over and opened the foal's mouth. "Evening Star started coughing this morning," Twilight said, coming over to stand beside her. "I've tried finding a magical cure for it, but—what is that?"

The other mare had wordlessly gone into her bag and pulled out a small vial. Without saying anything to the other mare, she tilted up the little filly's head and poured its contents into her mouth. "Swallow, little one," Grace ordered softly. Evening Star did so without flinching, getting a smile from the knight. "Good girl."

"Grace… what did you just feed my daughter?" Twilight demanded, a bit of a threat in her voice. Surprisingly, the Lunar Knight did not flinch at her tone.

"An herbal remedy Zecora taught me," Grace answered, patting Evening Star on the head. The foal smiled up at her. "She should be fine now."

"Oh… oh! That's good. Sorry."

"Motherly instinct," Grace said dismissively. "You should have seen Luna when Aurora caught the Magic Flu."

"That… does not sound pleasant."

Grace chuckled. "If you find a cure for insomnia while going through all your books, I better be the first one you contact."

Twilight giggled. "Thanks again, Grace."

"No problem. Please hesitate to call me in the future."

The Alicorn blinked several times as Grace made her way out of the Castle of Friendship. She followed after just a moment later, making sure to place Evening Star on her back. "Wait, Grace, you just said—!"

"I know what I meant, and I meant what I said," the other mare said, not pausing and leaving the Princess of Friendship to stare at her back as she left. She was still standing there as her husband, the Royal Knight Flash Sentry arrived home.

"You look perplexed," the orange pegasus said. "Something happen?"

Twilight glanced over at him, frowning. "Uh, does Grace sleep a lot?"

"Huh? Well, yeah, she does. I figured she just needs more rest cause she does most of her work at night. She not feeling well or something?"

"Well, she just told me she might have insomnia…"

The stallion chuckled. "Well, that doesn't surprise me. I think Grace works harder than me and Ace combined sometimes."

"Wow…"

Flash turned his attention to the foal on his wife's back. "Well, hello Evie! How's my little star doing?" The foal giggled as her father picked her up. "No more coughing?"

"Grace is a competent healer," Twilight admitted. The three of them walked inside, heading into the map room. Flash sat down in Rainbow's seat, setting Evie on the table in front of him. Twilight sat in her own throne, pushing aside a few errant papers. "I'm glad she agreed to help."

"That's Grace for ya. Always willing to help."

"So, anything interesting happen at work today, dear?"

"Some minor cases that required attention," Flash murmured, playing with his daughter. "Mostly just diplomatic work."

Twilight frowned. "I wonder why Princess Celestia isn't sending me or the others… we are supposed to be diplomats…"

"Work on Ponyville is still happening, right?" Flash pointed out. "The ponies in this town need you here, Twi. Sending me, Ace or Grace off to do things is one thing, since it's kinda our job."

"I guess…"

"On top of that, I'm pretty sure everyone in our little circle of friends has kids to look after."

Twilight couldn't help but nod in agreement. Rainbow's son Vibrant had just been born no more than a couple months ago, Fluttershy and Applejack had just adopted their two children, and Rarity and Pinkie's kids had just turned a year old. Twilight herself was still recovering from giving birth to Evie. According to Princess Celestia, Evening Star had been born with a considerable magical presence, almost akin to Twilight herself. Although to their surprise, the little filly was not born an Alicorn. Perhaps it requires a particular joining…? Twilight shook her head. "You're right. We're all busy these days."

"But that's beside the point," Flash said, smiling at his wife. "I'm home for now, and I wanna spend time with my daughter."

"Not with me?"

"Don't tease, Twi."

Twilight watched in a gentle silence as Flash played with Evie. He was so gentle and caring with the little foal, and always had a bright smile on his face while was with her. He seemed to come into fatherhood almost naturally, while Twilight was still floundering around with being a mother. Every little noise Evie could make made her nervous, and she was still attempting to 'baby proof' the castle. It was pretty difficult having a child in a castle made of crystal. But at least Evie wasn't as accident prone as Pinkie's daughter Jubilee was. As she sat there in thought, she noticed Flash looking at her. "Huh? Is something wrong?"

"I was meaning to ask you that," Flash said. "You look like something is bothering you."

"I'm… fine. Just a lot of work to do," Twilight told him, smiling weakly. It wasn't completely false—there were a lot of reports and such that she still had to go over. "Uh… Can you watch Evie for a bit?"

"You make it sound like she's a chore," the pegasus chuckled.

"You know that's not what I mean."

"I know, I know. Go do your work dear."

Twilight gave him a soft smile before leaving the map room and heading up to her study. When she entered, she found Spike standing near the desk, a scroll clutched in his claws. Her assistant had grown in the past year, getting taller and slimmer and losing his 'pudgy' look. Twilight, as his surrogate mother, couldn't help but worry as he grew older. He was still dating Sweetie Bell, but several other young mares were paying him more attention. But she shook her head to clear the thoughts from her mind. She had work to do, after all. "Is that for me?" She asked, walking over.

The purple and green dragon nodded. "I think it's a summons."

"Why do you say that—?" She noticed that the scroll was wrapped with a silver seal instead of a golden one. "…Oh. A letter from Princess Luna?"

Spike nodded, the look on his face grave. "Nopony's seen much of her since she showed up at Canterlot Boutique…"

"I saw her sometimes around the castle," Twilight told him, taking hold of the scroll with her magic. "But why would she want to see me?"

"Couldn't tell ya, Twilight. I guess you just have to go see her?"

Twilight opened the scroll and gave it a cursory read. "…Seems like it. From the look of this, she wants to see me as soon as possible."

"Are you going to go?"

"Of course. Flash is home, so he can take care of Evie."

Spike frowned, but nodded. "Hopefully Princess Luna is doing better…"

"I'm sure she'll be fine," Twilight assured him, pulling him into a hug. "You'll be around to help him anyway!"

"Well duh!" Spike hugged her back. "Now, you better get going."

Twilight nodded and let him go. She went back to the map room and found Flash sitting there with Evie in his lap. He smiled. "Hey babe. Something up?"

"I gotta go to Canterlot," Twilight told him. "I've been requested by the Princess."

"Princess Celestia?"

"Actually… Princess Luna."

Flash blinked. "Princess… Luna? She sent you a message?"

Twilight nodded. "I'm just as surprised as you. But if she wants to see me, I should go. Can you…?"

"I can handle Evie," Flash assured her. "Go ahead. I think I can handle this little filly."

"Thank you so much, Flash."

The stallion grinned. "Come on, Twi. Thanking me makes it seem like we're not married at all." Twilight didn't have a response to that, so she simply smiled one last time before teleporting away. Flash stared at the spot where she had been before looking down at his daughter. "So Evie, you wanna go bother Spike?"

~x~

A brown Alicorn with a light pink mane sat on a small throne in Canterlot Castle's main hall, a small frown on her face. As the newly titled Princess of Creativity, Sherry Spice found herself addressing many concerns that needed an imaginative touch. Currently, she was listening to some concerns of airship captains wondering if the sky lanes were safe to use. According to the two pegasii in front of her, there were concerns about the viability of several old trading paths. "The airships we have are old," One gold pegasus told her. "We need to make some sort of improvements and retrofit our fleet!"

The other pegasus, and older blue stallion, frowned. "Retrofitting out fleet would be pointless. We need newer ships!"

Sherry frowned a little bit, her dark brown eyes narrowing slightly. This was a normal concern for Equestria at the moment, as with the return of the Princesses, the state of affairs in the country had to almost be reset. She cleared her throat. "Is there a merit to retrofitting the ships?"

The first pegasus nodded. "We'd save in costs, for the first point. Plus, time would be on our side."

"Retrofitting would force us to work with older materials," The second pegasus pointed out. "We would mostly be fixing and upgraded pieces. New ships could be constructed much more solidly from the ground up!"

"But that would increase costs!"

"Hold a moment," Sherry said, holding up a hoof. As she did so, her eyes fell to the dark silver horseshoes she wore. She wore regalia like her aunt and adoptive mother while addressing complaints, but she still felt awkward wearing them. But appearances were appearances. She glanced over at the guard standing beside her. "How many airships do we have in the fleet?"

"No more than a dozen, Princess Sherry," The guard said. "Princess Celestia made it a point to not have a huge fleet. Thought that it would be seen as a military buildup."

"Increase the number of ships to twenty," Sherry said after a moment of thought. "Build new ships to increase the number, and retrofit a few of our older ships. We should have small ships designed for scouting as well."

The gold pegasus frowned. "You don't want to scrap the older ships?"

"It's a waste of serviceable ships. If they were at risk of falling apart, then I'd consider letting them be scrapped. Plus, the large majority of the fleet is responsible for trade."

"…Understandable. Should we get to work on that?"

Sherry nodded. "As soon as you can, please."

The two pegasii nodded their understanding before leaving the throne room. Sherry leaned back in her throne with a heavy sigh. No sooner had she done so, than an amused voice spoke up. "Hard day, Sherry?"

"Twilight!" The violet Alicorn walked in through the main doors and made her way over to the stairs below the throne. "What are you doing here?"

"Princess Luna summoned me," Twilight explained. "Is she available?"

Sherry thought for a moment. "I believe mom is in the library. She should still be there."

"Thanks Sherry." She glanced around to see a few Earth Ponies coming in. "…Seems like you've got more visitors."

"I just hope Aunt Celestia comes back from soon. Holding court for her is tiring."

"Why isn't Princess Luna doing it?"

"You know my mom doesn't like this sort of thing."

"Fair enough. I'll leave you to it then." Twilight headed off to the library, just as the Earth Ponies reached the throne. She could hear them complaining about new constructions or something along those lines as the violet pony went to the castle library. As she walked, many of the guards greeted her warmly. As the wife of their lieutenant and one of their princesses, she was a well-known face around the castle. It was a short walk to the library, on top of being a route she had walked numerous times before. As soon as she entered the library she noticed that it was a little darker than usual. Then, a voice called out to her.

"Ah, Twilight Sparkle. You came."

Twilight glanced over to see Princess Luna seated behind a table, a dark blue unicorn colt seated beside her. She smiled in greeting. "Hello Princess Luna. You look well."

"I have been doing much better lately," the Princess of Dreams said, smiling back. She glanced over at the colt beside her, who was quietly reading. "My little ones have done much for me in that regard."

Twilight came over to the table. "Hello Aleron," She addressed the colt.

"Hello Aunt Twilight," Aleron replied, looking up from his book to smile back. Despite being almost as much of a bookworm as she had been, Aleron had not developed an introverted personality. He was warm and friendly to anypony that spoke to him, and more often than not he was only reading in order to figure something out that he could not actively test.

Although something seemed a bit off. Twilight glanced around for a moment. "…Where is Aurora?"

"ZAP!" Suddenly, a dark violet Alicorn filly appeared on the table in a flash of silver-blue light. Twilight jumped in surprise. Aurora Dawn grinned widely. "Hi Aunt Twilight!"

"…Hi Aurora," Twilight said, recovering from her surprise. "You can teleport now?"

"Short distances," Aleron pointed out, closing his book. "We've both been practicing."

"Oh really? Wow. It took me a long time to learn teleportation safely…"

"My darling children seem to possess a natural talent for magic, much like you," Luna said. "Although they do not possess your ability to learn on sight."

"Aurora is mostly good with manipulation magic," Aleron said.

Aurora grinned. "I like to teleport!"

Twilight nodded. Manipulation masters usually boasted large magical awareness and skill in fine control. Rarity was like that, able to organize, manipulate, and direct ridiculous numbers of tools. "Have you developed a preference, Aleron?"

The colt was quiet for a moment. "I don't think I do yet. I enjoy learning about it, though."

"Which is why I summoned you," Luna said, nodding. "I know you have learned a lot of different spells over the years, and I wanted you to pass on some of your knowledge to my two crescent moons."

Twilight blinked. "Me? Tutor your children?"

"If I would be so bold to request."

"I… You really want me to?"

Luna smiled. "Yes, I do. I would greatly appreciate your insight into magic."

"Um…" Twilight glanced over at the twins, finding both of them looking at her expectantly. Those bright silver eyes of theirs were full of expectations. "Oh, alright. If it's no trouble, you could bring them to my castle whenever."

"Thanks Aunt Twilight!" Aurora said happily. Aleron nodded his agreement.

"Of course. I have to start teaching Evie eventually as well."

Aleron smiled. "We'll be looking forward to it."

Luna got up from her seat, a small smile on her face. "Well, that is all I needed, Twilight. I have kept you from your family long enough."

"Oh, it's no trouble," Twilight began, but Luna shook her head.

"Go on, Twilight Sparkle. I need to relieve my other daughter as it stands."

"Alright then." Luna left then, her children following along. Aleron gave the violet Alicorn a respectful nod, but his sister gave a big grin as they left their future tutor. Twilight watched them go, before teleporting back home.

~x~

Twilight entered the castle to find Flash asleep on a couch, Evie curled up in his lap. It was late, so she wasn't surprised to see that Evie was asleep too. Her mother smiled lightly. "Of course he falls asleep."

She walked over quietly, taking Evie in her magic aura and placing her on her back. She turned to leave, only to hear a rustle behind her. Twilight glanced back to see Flash sitting up. "Trying to steal your daughter away?" He chuckled softly.

"No," Twilight replied, smiling.

"You know I'm a light sleeper, right?"

"Well, she's not," the mare replied, gesturing with his head to the sleeping filly on her back. "And I should get her to bed."

"I'll walk with you," He told her, getting up. Twilight waited on him to join her before heading upstairs. They were quiet, obviously. Before long, they had gotten to Evie's room. Twilight lifted her daughter off her back and gently set her in her bed. She and Flash stood there for a bit, before suddenly Evie stirred. Her light violet eyes flickered open after a moment.

"Oh…" Twilight blinked a couple times.

As the two parents stood there over their daughter, they watched in silent surprise as the child opened her mouth. "Mama… book."

Her voice was quiet, but just the sound of it made Twilight's breath catch. "She… she just said her first words!" She quietly squealed.

Flash rolled his eyes. "Of course her first words are related to books," He muttered.

"Come on Flash," Twilight said, picking up her daughter again. "Let's read our little one a bedtime story, shall we?"

She moved over to a chair while Flash went to get one of his own. "What are you going to read?"

"I think this will be good," Twilight pulled a book out and opened it up. Flash moved over to her side, blinking slightly as he recognized the familiar tale. "Once upon a time, there were two sisters…"

-x-

It was a quiet day in the Library. As usual, Mercy sat at the 'receptionist's' desk, writing in a very large log book. This was her normal habit, since she couldn't rely on Jehu to bother doing it. A noise caused the cat ears atop her head to twitch. Mercy looked up from her writing as Tyr came towards the desk. With the barest hint of a smile, she adjusted her glasses and folded her fingers together on the desk. "Something I can help you with, Tyr?"

"Just reporting a job completed," The man said, placing a small container on the desk. In it was a bright golden liquid, almost like honey. Mercy looked him over, noticing that his coat was cut and had holes poked in it, along with a few random stains.

"…Rough time?"

"I'm never going to a world that's a beehive again," Fenrir said, pulling herself out of Tyr's coat. "It was so… sticky."

Mercy smiled. "Out of your element, I assume."

"Very."

"Oh, you brought it!" Tyr and Fenrir turned to see Willow, the Striate family's plant girl come walking over to them. Her body was made up of plant matter, with her hair and 'clothing' made of leaves. As she came over, Tyr noticed her body was quite shiny.

Mercy seemed to notice as well. "Did you just take a shower, Willow?"

"Oh? I did! I was feeling a little dry," The plant girl admitted.

"What's this stuff for anyway?" Tyr asked, nudging the jar. "And why did I have to fight through a giant bee hive for it?"

"This honey reacts particularly well when applied to plants," Willow explained, picking up the jar. "Dad wants me to see if I can distill it into a liquid that can be recreated."

"So it's a type of fertilizer?"

"Of a sort," Mercy said. "It promotes rapid growth."

Willow nodded, sticking one of her fingers into the honey. "Ah, that does taste good."

"Don't absorb too much of it before you do your tests," Mercy warned, just as Willow put her entire hand in the jar. When she pulled it back out, it was covered in blooming flowers.

"…Oops."

Tyr chuckled and shook his head. "Be careful with that stuff. I'm not planning on going back there any time soon."

Mercy smiled. "I'll just mark that world I.D. as 'giant beehive world'. Sounds appropriate."

She went back to writing in her log book, Tyr simply watching for a bit. "Hey, Mercy?"

The raven haired woman glanced up at him, pausing in her writing. "Oh? Going to pick my brain once more?"

"I thought as a librarian, that's why you're here," The man countered, getting a small laugh from the woman.

"I'm more of an assistant," Mercy replied smoothly. "But what did you want?"

"I was looking for a particular book," Tyr said.

Mercy frowned slightly. Most times, Tyr simply wandered the library, finding books on his own. Him asking for a particular book was a bit… unusual. "Well, depending on the book, I should be able to help. Otherwise, you could go ask Ana. What book were you looking for?"

Tyr frowned. "I was looking for a book on spells related to plane travelling."

The woman stared at him for a long minute, not saying a word. Her ears twitched, and she sighed. "Excuse me," She murmured, leaning down below the desk top. Tyr watched her, confused, before a sound came to his own attention. It grew louder and louder, before a book came spinning around a corner towards him. With almost uncanny precision, it struck Tyr pointedly in the forehead.

"OW!"

Mercy peeked back up over the desk. "Hm. That looked painful."

"It was!" Tyr complained, rubbing his forehead. "Who threw that!?"

"I did," Jehu said, suddenly appearing. There was a frown on his face.

"How did you hit me?"

"I bent the book."

"…What?"

"I curved the book around the bookshelf to hit the target—which was you in this case."

"So why did you throw a book at me!?"

"Because two years, dammit!"

Tyr blinked. "Two… years? What about two years?"

"I've been waiting on you to have even the tiniest bit of thought about planar travel," Jehu said with a sigh. "You think being introduced to a library where you can find a book on literally anything would make that your first thought."

"You had me working right out the gate!" Tyr countered. "I was only here a couple days before you sent me to go wipe out that centaur cult!"

Mercy pulled out a tome and flipped through the pages. "He has a point, dear. He's only ever had about a week or so in between missions."

"My point still stands," Jehu said. "For someone who said they valued their family so much, you sure took a long time to find a way to get to them."

"You waited almost as long when you thought I was dead," Mercy said softly. "Harmony had to tell you that I was still alive."

That seemed to catch Jehu off guard. He glanced over at his wife, who was giving him a pointed gaze. He sighed. "…Right. I suppose that's fair."

While the couple had their silent conversation, Tyr glanced down at the book Jehu had thrown at him. A strange emblem was emblazoned on the front of it that looked akin to a half open eye. He picked it up. "…So this book could let me get to Equestria?"

Jehu and Mercy both looked over at him. It was Jehu who responded. "Well, in theory, yes. Only specific people can use the spells in that book."

"Specific people?"

"The long and short of it is, I can't," Jehu said, folding his arms.

"But, the Gate lets you go to any world…?"

Mercy shook her head. "Well, not every world. Worlds with specific kinds of protection can keep us out. Equestria is one of those worlds."

Jehu tapped the book. "My family and I can't use any of the spells in that book. I believe you can, but we won't know unless you try."

Tyr narrowed his eyes. "…And you're just now telling me this?"

"Jehu wanted to wait until you were ready," Mercy said. "Or at least you thought of it on your own."

"Ready?" That statement caught Tyr off guard. "Ready for what?"

"For the war ahead."

"…What?"

Jehu nodded. "All the missions I've sent you on were for you to grow stronger. To help you learn new skills to survive. Preparedness and determination above all. Zodiac still wants you dead, and they'll keep hunting you no matter where you go."

Tyr frowned. "They never tried to kill me here."

"I don't think any of them want to fight me," Jehu replied with a shrug. "And besides, the Library is protected. They can't come here."

"We'd end up slaughtering them regardless," Mercy said, examining her nails. "We've placed enough anti-Order traps around the Library to outlast Armageddon."

"Wasn't enough for Chocapocalypse," Isabel said, passing by with her performers carrying several boxes. Jehu and Mercy both visibly shivered. Tyr glanced from her to her parents.

"This is like the third or fourth time I've heard someone reference Chocapocalypse," The man said, frowning. "What was it?"

"It was a day of much rejoicing and sorrow," Jehu said with a dark look. "Just hope there isn't a second one."

"Uh huh…"

"Anyways!" Mercy said, trying to change the subject. "Well, now you have the spell you need to go to Equestria. What will you do now?"

"I believe we should point out that the portal you open will be one way only," Isabel said, coming back over. She was joined by her two sisters, both with somewhat unreadable expressions. Even Passion seemed a bit thoughtful about the entire situation. "Once you go through, you'd have to find another way to return here."

Tyr frowned and looked back down at the book. "One way trip, huh…"

"Well, you'd be reunited with your family," Jehu said with a shrug. "And to a Striate, family always comes first."

Mercy nodded in agreement. "So we would accept your decision regardless."

"I kinda want you to stay," Passion said honestly. "You're like the brother we've never had."

"Although your family still pines for you," Isabel pointed out. "In the end, the decision is yours."

Tyr glanced around at the Striate Family. They had treated him almost like an actual relative since his arrival, and Passion and Isabel actually looked a little sad that he might be leaving. But he had a family—a wife and kids, even a pet (technically). And no doubt they wanted to see him just as badly as he wanted to see them. Then all his friends as well would want to see him. His hand tightened on the book. "…I want… no. I need to see them. To go to them. Now that I know I can go to them, I can't pass that up."

"Fair enough," Jehu said, nodding. Tyr could have sworn he looked a little proud.

"Wait!" Passion said, running over to Tyr. The man looked at her in confusion, just before she pressed something into his hand. It was a large, flat serrated tooth that he recognized from the Sand Wyrm hunt. It was tied on a string. "I made this for you."

Tyr smiled at the simplicity of the gift. "Thank you, Passion."

"Well, if we're giving gifts…" Isabel said, smiling softly. She came over and handed what looked to be a mask made of a white material. "A bone mask enchanted with magic. If you put it on, it will disguise you as another person until you remove it."

"Sounds useful," The man said.

"One from me as well," Ana said. She handed Tyr a small pouch made of a starry black material. "A storage pouch for your potions and stuff. I've already put a number of vials and stoppers in there for you."

"Bigger on the inside, hm?" He took the pouch and looked into it. It was like looking into a dark chasm, but when he slipped his hand inside, the moment he thought about holding a vial one seemed to fall into his hand. "Oh, that's neat."

"Just remember what you put in there," Ana warned him.

Jehu and Mercy came over, the woman carrying something in her arms. It looked to be cloth of some kind. "One last thing," Jehu said.

Tyr frowned. "…What is it?"

Mercy held it up, it unfolding it out into a cloak. It was almost like Tyr's old one, but much sleeker with a higher collar. "We had it made for you, since your old one has taken some damage."

The man took the cloak from her and looked over it. It was light, yet he could feel the strength of the material. "What is this made out of?"

"The clasps are made from Sand Wyrm teeth," Jehu said with a grin. "And the cloak itself is a special kind of weave only Shadows can made. Night Weave, I believe it's called."

"It's just as strong—if not stronger—as the cloak your friend made for you," Mercy continued, watching as Tyr pulled off his old coat and slid into the new one. It was comfortable, and as he looked at it, the material seemed to flow like a solid shadow around him. He put his new gifts into the pouch and slipped it into his cloak.

"The cloth won't catch on anything, even if you try to stab a blade into it," Jehu said.

Mercy nodded. "You can grab it well enough, just not pierce it."

Tyr smiled. "Thanks for this, you two. Honestly, I appreciate all of this."

"Well, I guess this is it," Jehu gestured to the front door that opened into the library. "Use the door."

The Striate family watched as Tyr walked to a space in front of the door and opened the spell book. As Tyr had experienced multiple times before, the Striates used a special gateway spell to open entrances using the Library's front door. This would be the first time Tyr himself would be the one opening the gate. The book glowed a soft bluish glow as Tyr's own silver magic fed into it. He opened it, the pages flying open to the spell he needed. No words needed to be spoken, as the book seemed to feed of his desire. A bolt of silver light shot from the book to the door, and a wide, oval shaped portal opened in front of him. It glowed with an unearthly white color, nothing like the doors Jehu and his family normally used. "That's… unusual," Isabel murmured.

"It's a different kind of portal," Jehu said with a shrug.

Tyr moved towards the portal. Unlike the doors, he could feel the magical energy coming off of it. "Well, I guess this is goodbye," He muttered, glancing back at Jehu and his family. They all simply smiled. Tyr nodded back, before reaching out to touch the gateway. Almost immediately, he was enveloped in a bright light. When it receded, the man was gone, the gateway was gone, and the book was lying on the floor.

"Well," Jehu said, honestly surprised. "That happened."

Isabel's eyes turned red for a moment. "He arrived safely, but…"

"But what?"

"He's in the middle of a savannah."

Jehu sat down in a chair and waved one had dismissively. "Ah, he'll be fine. Let him wander for a bit, we can't go in after him anyway."

"Uncle?" A soft voice called out. All of them looked to see a small girl with a purple wool hat on her head peeking around a bookshelf. Atop her head was perched a small golden owl. "I felt something unusual on my matrix…"

"A different portal was opened, Ruby," Jehu replied.

"I know, but the protections surrounding Equestria have a hole in them now." Ruby came around the corner, her cat tail swishing behind her. She ran a hand through her brown hair, somewhat nervously.

Mercy frowned. "A hole?"

"Mmhm. I think we can open a door there, if only once."

Jehu glanced back at the door. "So we can go after him one time, hm…?"

A matrix of light surrounded the small girl, forming into a hard light computer. She let her hands run along the consoles for a moment, accessing some kind of information. "Well, yes. After that, the opening will close. No doubt whoever placed the protections would notice our intrusion and close the hole."

"Fair enough. Keep an eye on it. We'll only use it if we need to."

Mercy went back to her desk. "Well, I need to get back to work. Hopefully Tyr will remember about the acclimation period."

"Oh." Jehu winced. "…I don't think I told him."

"…What."

"Dad!" Isabel frowned. "If Tyr uses any of his magic before the acclimation period, who knows what kind of damage it could do to his body!"

Mercy facepalmed. "Sometimes I swear you do these things on purpose…"

Jehu straightened up in his chair. "Well, we can just tell him, right? No big deal."

"Um, yes big deal," Ruby corrected. "There wasn't just a hole opened in Equestria's protections."

Ana frowned. "This cannot be good."

The front door of the library burst inwards, scattering debris in all directions. When the dust cleared, the sound of heavy metal boots gave away who their visitors were. Seven Zodiac Knights marched into the Library, dozens of soldiers coming in behind them. The familiar plume of Leo's helmet was present at the front. "Well, it has been a while, Jehu Striate," The leader of the Zodiacs said.

"Don't remember inviting you to come over," Jehu said flatly, his violet eyes narrowing. "I kindly ask you to vacate the premises."

"But we came all this way," A voice from behind Leo said. The female knight to his back stepped forward. "You wouldn't let us go now, right?

Jehu glanced over at the Knight. "Sagittarius. You came along for this one?"

"A chance to kill you all finally?" Another of the Knights came forward, his armor pitted and scraped. The massive sword on his shoulder was just as worn from numerous battles. "How could we pass all that up?"

There was silence for a long moment. Finally, Jehu sighed and got up from his seat. He held out his hand, and black mist coalesced around it, finally solidifying in a silver scythe. The man grinned wildly, his violet eyes glowing bright. "Well then! Let's have a party!"

-x-