Chapter 68 – Magic House of Cards

Twilight's grin could have stretched from pointed ear to pointed ear, not from happiness but rather from her own nerves. She stood there at the door, a very regal door that stretched to be taller than anything she had ever seen, even the castle doors of Canterlot castle could not have reached the top of these doors. "I hope that she's in a good mood." the purple alicorn said to herself. The grin on her face betrayed her uncertainty, her nerves wound so tight that she jumped at the touch of another, "YEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" she screamed in panic as she turned to spy a now hyperventilating Pilit, "DON'T DO THAT!" she said.

"Don't do that!" the small Treeopon said at the same time, and the two stood there, panting in fright. Pilit patted the back of her pony friend, trying to help calm the alicorn's nerves while Twilight used her wing to rub Pilit's back to accomplish the same thing, "Sorry Twilight." she said.

"Sorry Pilit, I wasn't expecting it." the alicorn said as a response. Suddenly, the door opened, swinging inward to reveal a brightly lit corridor, marble pillars that helped to support the structure, "Um…hello?" she said into the echoing chamber, "I made an appointment."

"Lady Kiane?" Pilit said as the two of them entered the house. It was lavish to say the least, pure marble for the pillars and uncovered floors, silver lining for the accents, and crystal chandeliers that looked as if they were supposed to be one of Rarity's more lavish necklaces, but more three dimensional. Twilight swallowed her worry, one of those chandeliers was worth more than her castle, how was she going to persuade someone like Lady Kiane that magic existed before she even got to this planet? The two gingerly walked along the red carpet that made its way to the stairs. Twilight took an opportunity to turn her head, spying a great number of others; workers, cooks, servers, maids and butlers, even a mechanic that just happened to pass by, however, they seemed to avoid the main area, at least until the two of them finally made it to the stairs. It was then that the foyer was swarmed, cleaned, and straightened within only a few minutes.

"Wow." Twilight said in astonishment at how swiftly they had tidied up.

"I guess that it's a Hylop…thing?" Pilit said in a guess.

"We really should have asked Piks what to expect." the pony princess said, mostly to herself.

Only one stayed behind, a Dryskian in a red suit and white shirt, black trousers, and shiny shoes. His white fur had to be immaculate, brushed, and shiny, the little bit in the back was even pulled into a small tail of sorts. He obviously took very good care of himself. The look on his face was straight yet gentle, "Lady Kiane is waiting for you both in her study." he said, a calm voice that called for attention but not authority.

Twilight and Pilit both glanced at each other, "And where is that…exactly?" the princess asked. The Dryskian smiled gently and waved his hand for them to follow him before he walked up the stairs and to the right. The two of them followed, Twilight getting more and more nervous as they approached.

He stopped in front of one of the doors and reached out to grab the handle, "Lady Kiane is expecting you, do wash up before entering the study."

"You mean wash my hooves?" Twilight asked.

"I suggest the lavender-scented bath bombs." he said, "They will help to relax your nerves."

"Wait…" Pilit asked, "We need to take a BATH?"

"Is Lady Kiane…" Twilight asked, hoping to not have to finish her sentence.

"Obsessive-Compulsive?" he asked without a hint of fear for the question, "Yes, very much so."

"But…" Pilit began, "…I didn't bring any fresh cloths."

"Do not worry." he said, "The staff will provide you with some fresh clothing, however…" He looked Twilight right in the eyes, "Your body shape might be a bit tricky; I do hope you don't mind."

"A simple brushing will do for me." she said, "Ponies only wear clothes on special occasions anyway."

"I'm sure Lady Kiane will insist this time." he said and opened the door. It led into a bathing room off to the left out of sight of anyone who might try to peek, "Once you are finished, the female staff will meet you in this area, then you may enter."

Once Twilight and Pilit were inside the room, he gently shut the door behind them. The two glanced at each other, questions running through both their minds, "I'm guessing the thing at the foyer was…not…a Hylop thing." Twilight said, only to get Pilit to nod in shock as a response.

He was right, the lavender did relax her mind. Twilight stood at the door to the study, deep breath in as she took in the remaining scent of the bath. She had been brushed from head to hoof, her fur and feathers combed to perfection, and even some loose feathers she didn't even know about were removed. The two of them now wore white gowns with silver and gold trims, Twilight's long mane bound in the back with a ribbon that alternated from gold to silver, her tail was done in the same way. She felt like she was getting ready to go back to the Grand Galloping Gala with all the special treatment the two of them had gotten. Her mane was crowned with what looked like a golden crown that was adorned on the sides with clouds, the rainbow of her mane now boldened to bring out each individual color so she represented her team better. "I feel like royalty!" Pilit said, her smile brightening.

"Eh-he." Twilight chuckled, "I feel like I'm going back to the Gala."

"What's a Gala?" Pilit asked, and before she had the opportunity to receive an answer, the door to the study opened up. There she stood, sleepy-eyed but regal all the same. Her garb now changed from the normal official's robe to a simple blue bathrobe that was secured around her waist.

"Superb." she said as she looked to them, "You do clean up nicely."

"Yeah…" Twilight said to herself.

Lady Kiane then turned from them, "You wished to see me about something important?" she asked, "You have very limited time you know."

'I think she's mad.' Twilight thought to herself, "Lady Kiane, we're here to present a case."

"Make it count Twilight Sparkle." she said, the anger radiating off of her fur, "I just so happen to be short on patience with you."

"It's about that actually." Pilit said, "I can prove that Rainbow Dash was not cheating when she used her magic."

Lady Kiane's eyes widened, her anger slowly vanishing from her features, "Go on."

Pilit reached into her pocket, "Oh where did I put that…" she asked herself. Lady Kiane narrowed her eyes in small anger, just until Twilight held up a small white stick from behind her, "Thanks Twilight." the small Treeopon said, and pressed one of the buttons, "I did some research while we waited for the racers to finish the Labyrinth, I noticed that the symbols on the plaques above the doors vanished one they closed with the racers inside."

"And…how did you accomplish this…research?" the lady asked.

"I made a scanner to detect magic signatures. Though it's stronger with Twilight and the other ponies, I noticed that it's incredibly strong where the symbols once were." she said in her response, "And, its signature didn't match any of the ponies. In fact, it only matched one other signature."

"And…this signature would be…?" Kiane asked.

Pilit took a deep breath, "We discovered a shard of light after the third race, one that had to have been there for Hundreds, or even Thousands of Cycles. It's pure light." she said and presented a short video of the spear they had found. Lady Kiane nearly vaulted from her seat in surprise, "I believe that this shard, this…Spear of Light was created by the Egas itself."

"The Egas…" she asked and slowly moved towards the picture, her claws reaching for the image, "…itself?"

"We believe the Egas is a source of magic, otherwise it would not have been able to have been scanned so easily by my scanner." she finished, "And since the Egas created all four of our planets, magic is a part of all four of them as well, we just don't know how to utilize it or control it."

Lady Kiane cupped her hands under the image, as if holding it gingerly, not wanting it to disappear, "And you can prove this?" she asked, "You can prove that the Egas existed, not just a fairytale?"

"If we can talk to Rainbow Dash, I'm sure we can find that last pieces of the puzzle. But we need your help." Twilight said.

"My help?" she asked, "To do what?"

"To give our team the ability to keep racing, to make magic legal for the Terranuilian Races, but only as a boost fuel." Twilight finished off.

Lady Kiane turned, her claws to her chin in thought, "Rainbow Dash's trial is tomorrow afternoon." she said to herself, "And you're sure you have all the pieces of the puzzle?" she asked, "You're sure you have all the evidence?"

"I have every bit of data that I was able to gather, and we can take you to the shard if you wish, you can touch it if you want." Pilit said as she handed the stick to the Hylop.

Lady Kiane suddenly rushed to a phone, and picked it up, "Ready my robes and sled, contact the council and tell them I have a proposal. Get the Pegasus Racer and her Gunner to meet me at their garage." she said into it, and Twilight could hear a faint response, "Go, meet me at your garage, I have a feeling we're going to have a rule change tonight." the lady ordered the two of them.