Starlight Glimmer couldn’t find Twilight Sparkle. She had been looking for her the whole morning, but the Princess had vanished. Her bedroom was empty and the clothes untouched, as if she hadn’t slept here. She wasn’t in the library either. That was strange, since Twilight had taken to keeping Starlight informed of her official trips. Flummoxed, she had asked Spike if Twilight had anything on her agenda that day, but Spike had shrugged and pretended he didn’t know. So Starlight had carried on her quest on her own. In vain. That is, until she decided to have a look in the basement. The basement was not a forbidden place [i]per se[/i], but Twilight had made it clear she would resent any unbidden trespassing: she considered it a half-private area. So Starlight descended the steps cautiously, if not reluctantly. She was immediately rewarded. As she set foot on the floor, she heard a faint rattle, not unlike the hammering of a maul on a sheet of metal. Intrigued, she walked on along gloomy corridors, guided by the noise, until she found herself facing a closed door. A sliver of light oozed under it, and the pounding undoubtedly originated from somewhere behind. She knocked. “Twilight?” No response. She knocked harder. “TWILIGHT?” she shouted. The pounding stopped, replaced by an approaching clop. A latch clanged and the door cracked open, revealing Twilight’s face. Her mane was tousled and her eyes shot with blood. The princess blotted out all the narrow field of view so that, except for vague metallic shapes, Starlight couldn’t make out any object in the room beyond. “Twilight?” Starlight said. “Are you all right?” “Err… Yes!” Twilight exclaimed in a semi-maniacal voice. “I’ve been working on a super-important super-secret project. It’s not ready now, but I’ll let you know as soon as it is. Err… That’s it! Thanks for coming! Goodbye for now!” She slammed the door and engaged the latch back, leaving Starlight, more perplexed than ever, alone on the threshold. [hr] Starlight slouched in a deckchair, sipping from a glass of iced tea, basking in the late afternoon sun, when Twilight suddenly materialised in front of her. "Starlight! Starlight!” she squealed. “Come to see! Quick! Oh, I’m so excited! This is [i]so[/i] disruptive!” She didn’t wait for Starlight to answer, caught her in her magic and both teleported away. [hr] The room was cramped. A single bulb set in the ceiling cast a crude, aggressive light all around the place. Blackboards – covered in arcane glyphs and equations – lined the walls. Clenches, hammers, screwdrivers and other tools and items littered the floor. But the object in the middle of it was far more intriguing. Propped up on a plinth of marble, a single massive ring, about seven inches in diameter, stood there. Its shape, as far as the eye could judge, was perfectly circular. It was made of a smooth, golden like metal, only slightly whiter, on which the light of the bulb glanced off in iridescent rays. The eye was caught and mesmerised. “Wow!” Starlight Glimmer exclaimed. “What is it?” “Have a closer look at it!” answered Twilight, stotting around in Pinkie Pie’s fashion. Starlight took two steps toward the ring. It looked marvellous, even that close. She brushed the metal: it was as the eye perceived it, smooth and regular, cold under the hoof. “Can I?” she asked Twilight, gesturing a hoof through the ring. “Of course, silly!” answered Twilight. “You must walk through it to find out its purpose!” Starlight gingerly stepped up on the plinth, then tiptoed through the ring. Nothing happened. Once she was on the other side, she hopped down, took a step further and turned around. Undoubtedly, the ring was beautiful: an outstanding artwork, a masterpiece of staggering perfection. But outside of this, Starlight failed to grasp its primary function. She scratched her forehead in puzzlement. “I don’t understand,” she said. “What?!” Twilight replied in a half-offended tone. “But it’s so obvious!” “Beats me!” Starlight shrugged in defeat. “It’s a machine to travel into the present! Duh!” Twilight concluded.