Divergence - A deleted scene · 6:41am Jan 21st, 2020
So I'm looking through my notes and getting the last bits together. And I found a scene that I had written quite a while ago, sometime before I actually wrote chapter nine. I had originally written this scene to explain one of the big things in the story, but I ended up writing a fairly simple version for chapter nine. As such, I ended up not using this scene in the story; if I had, I probably would have put it into chapter ten.
Naturally, there are spoilers ahead. You have been warned.
“It’s like this,” Sunset said. “Say you have a runner running a race. And it’s a straight shot to the finish line. And then let’s say there’s a second runner; he runs twice as fast as the first runner but he also starts the race at twice the distance away.” She shrugged. “So, who wins the race?”
Starlight frown and took a moment to scratch her head. “Well… I guess they’d both have to get to the finish line at the same time, right? I mean, the second runner can cross twice the distance in the same amount of time, but he also has to go twice the distance.”
“That’s right,” Sunset replied. She looked at the others for a moment. “Okay. Now let’s say there’s a third runner; she’s twice as fast as the second runner but she also has to start twice the distance away from the second runner. Who wins?”
Pinkie Pie waved her hoof through the air. “Oh! Oh oh oh! This third runner is four times as fast as the first runner, right?”
“Yes,” Sunset replied.
“But she also has to go four times the distance,” Rarity said.
“But it’s basically the same deal,” Starlight said. “The third runner and the second runner have to cross the finish line at the same time, right? So… wait, that means that the third runner would cross the finish line at the same time as the first runner. Everyone ties.”
“Yes. So, if I added another runner who is twice as fast as the runner in front of them but also has to run twice the distance, you would agree that they’d reach the finish line at the same time as the others?”
Starlight now narrowed her eyes. After taking a look at the others, she offered a tentative and unsure, “Yeah… that sounds right.”
Sunset smirked. “Okay. Add a fifth runner, and a sixth runner, and then keep going until you have infinitely many runners.”
Twilight’s smile spread completely across her face.
Starlight deadpanned. “What!? But that…”
“All of those runners have to cross the finish line at the exact same time,” Sunset said triumphantly.
“That makes no sense!” Starlight cried. “There are infinitely many of them! They can’t…”
“Oh, it gets better,” Sunset said.
The whole room held its breath.
“Okay, remember the first runner?” When she gained nods, Sunset continued, “Okay, so let’s say I introduce another runner, he’s half as fast but he only has to run half the distance. Who wins?”
Starlight, who looked as white as a sheet now, shakily raised a hoof. “T-they have to reach the finish line at the same time.”
Sunset smiled and gave Starlight a congratulatory slap. “That’s right. So, add infinitely many—”
“Oh for buck’s sake!” Starlight exclaimed, simultaneously pulling away from Sunset.
“She’s right,” Twilight said. “They all have to get there at the same time. It doesn’t make sense any other way.”
“But it doesn’t make sense!”
I love it.