Big Tavi Lil Tavi Cardboard Box

by All Art Is Quite Useless

Euphorium

Vinyl slowly padded down the corridor, preparing herself for her next encounter with Princess Twilight, lightly smiling all the while. She had put the conversation with Starlight out of her mind, for the most part at least, and was now wondering whether Twilight had been waiting for her long, and what she might want to do today. These thoughts gave way to more serious considerations, and Vinyl discovered that her smile was as malleable as any metal is.

Sometimes I don't feel as if I'm going to the princess for advice, or her royal counsel. It feels like I'm actually being counselled by a head doctor. Plus, she's already got a member of her royal council involved in her royal counsel. It's not like her, or any of her friends for that matter, are certified shrinks with certificates on their walls and letters after their names. Well, the princess might have that kind of education, I'm not actually sure about that.

Vinyl bore her teeth as she kept her sauntering pace, approaching the door to the library. I shouldn't have so many reservations. Princess Twilight cares for her subjects, she has made that clear. I shouldn't even be wary of her, really.

As Vinyl opened the leftmost double door, a large purple spell hit directly where she would have been standing, had she opened the right one.

"Fuck!" Vinyl squealed as she jumped back, almost landing in the corridor behind her. Her voice was uncharacteristically high pitched compared to it's usual rough, but sophisticated tone. A sheepish looking princess poked her head out, first in alarm, then in embarrassment.

"Vinyl! I'm so, so sorry! See, I didn't know you were coming right now, and I was getting carried away with some tests and-- Oh Celestia, are you hurt?" Twilight clambered forwards as she spoke, her horn still apparently charged, as she approached her alarmed and off balance visitor.

Twilight's steadily rising panic reminded Vinyl of a hyperventilating pony, and Vinyl, perturbed as she was, sought to alleviate the princess's worries. She wasn't entirely sure why either. "No, Princess Twilight, I'm just fine. Please don't be worried, I didn't get hit or anything. I just didn't expect it, that's all. What were you even doing? If you don't mind me asking, that is."

Twilight stopped in her jolting movement and made an overt attempt to calm herself, to some success. Once she had loudly completed a few breath cycles, a hoof pressed to her chest on the inhale, and then pushed out in front of her on the exhale, she spoke, with a stronger voice and much more clarity. Vinyl walked back through the door, mouth clad with a forgiving smile, which looked quite similar to her usual one, but softer if possible.

"You really wanna know? I'd probably bore you to tears." Twilight smirked a little as she said this, which made Vinyl wonder just how many ponies she had reduced to crying wrecks with her lectures up until now. She concluded to test Twilight's claim.

"Go for it, I've already chewed your ear off once, about time you get a turn, right?" Vinyl blushed at her wording. "Uh, I mean, please proceed, Princess Twilight, I'd be happy to listen to you." Although she was satisfied with her save, Vinyl still found herself averting her eyes momentarily. Why am I looking away? She can't even tell where I'm looking. Unless... Can she? No, that's irrational, unless she's attached a concrete transparency spell to herself. It would be difficult to tell too. There's so much ambient magic in the area around the castle, it's hardly impossible for her to have hundreds of spells active that I'm unaware of, nor improbable.

If Twilight had noticed Vinyl's misdemeanour, she didn't acknowledge it. In fact, when Vinyl had permitted her to speak about her activities (the first time), any semblance of worry seemed to disappear from her face and tone alike, and she burst jubilantly into an impromptu lecture.

"So, when you walked in, what you would have seen is a ray of my magic hitting the door beside you, yes?" Twilight waited for Vinyl's nod before continuing. "Well what that was, is a spell that I'm currently in the process of developing, in the interest of necessity, and magi-technological advancement."

This piqued Vinyl's interest. She knew that the princess was notoriously studious, and that she had been the curator of the Golden Oak Library before its destruction, but what she didn't know is that the princess created spells in her spare time. Vinyl considered the mental aptitude and discipline needed to make a viable and applicable spell, and found herself gaining more respect for her princess by the moment, but Twilight was still talking:

"You see, as it stands, a unicorn is able to levitate an object with their horn, that's common knowledge. And, it's even been taken further. Automatons have been created, and instilled with directives, protocols, and even faux-personalities, in some cases, to work under ponies. And also, with the discovery and conversion of the correct fuels, we have developed machines which are able to continuously run on fuel, or even whilst connected to a power source which expels fuel, such as the automobile."

Should I tell her that I know all this already? I figure that she might be trying to get me grounded in her idea, but part of me feels like she's just assuming I don't know very much about modern technology.

"What I propose is taking it a step further. Let's throw out the rule book, while it's still being written, and start work on self-governing, fully automatic machinery that can be controlled from anywhere in Equestria by it's owner, through appropriate amplification. With the right medium, magical signals could be bounced around the country and used to activate user specific contraptions, issue precise commands, and even shut off devices. With the right application, objects which once required magical dexterity could be optimised so they can be used by all types of pony. It would be revolutionary!"

As Twilight spoke, as passionate as she was about her idea, Vinyl couldn't help but feel the awed expression growing across her own face, shocked and intrigued by the princess's imaginings. Granted, she thought her vision had issues, a good few, in fact, but the concept alone was staggering, the product of a brilliant mind, Vinyl reasoned. Leave it to the Princess of Friendship to think of a way for every race of pony to live in equality.

"And" Twilight continued. "I believe it can be done! This experiment with my door was my first dive into this new brand of manipulation, it wasn't telekinesis, or rather, the extension of my conscious desire to move the object, manifested in telekinesis, but something else entirely. What I am attempting to do here is imbue the door with the correct quantity of magical energy, so that it can be linked to my consciousness, in a sense. That way, I'll be able to will the door to open and close through a physical trigger, and that means of activation will allow the door to be moved without the activation of any magic. Suffice to say that once this spell is perfected, any pony could be linked to their door, earth ponies and pegasi too. And it won't stop there! We'll be able to control the objects around us without ever having to rely on our horns to do so, which will be beneficial for unicorns, because they won't have to expend any energy casting spells!"

The cogs in Vinyl's brain were beginning to turn, she could see more and more of the potential uses for this new innovation with each passing moment, and chose to give voice to one of her thoughts. "And with the proper development, entire factories could be ran automatically, allowing many ponies to leave their menial and labourious jobs and pursue something more enlightening. Not to mention the likely increase in efficiency. Intercommunication could be exponentially increased, home security could be bolstered, the superiority gap between unicorns and other races would lower significantly, and unicorns would cease to be the sole race employed in high end jobs that typically only cater to magic users..."

Then, another thought, and Vinyl's expression became sombre as she shared it. "But then, what about the ponies who are no longer needed, once machines are able to do our simple tasks for us? If it really would be as you say, only a fraction of factory employees would be needed in order to maintain and operate these enchanted machines and objects, and what happens to the ones that don't make the cut? Are thousands of ponies meant to lose their jobs in the industrial sector, all in the name of progress? And besides, if unicorns were to lose their niche abilities, wouldn't that make them the most inferior race? Rather than equality, we would be the weakest, unable to fly, and our magic would be of limited use. And yes, I suppose unicorns would be needed to enchant these items, and to maintain them, but what's to stop earth ponies or pegasi becoming versed in magical theory, and then proceeding to manage us? We could be pushed to the bottom of the barrel, useful only as manufacturers of the instruments that better everypony but us. Even though I believe in working to the betterment of other ponies lives, I think this is a difficult idea, and that it would have to be carefully handled and observed to stop it from spiraling into complete socioeconomic upheaval."

Twilight had stopped bouncing around at some point during Vinyl's argument, and it occurred to Vinyl that she might have upset her greatly. You freaking idiot. She doesn't want your help, she never asked for it, she just wanted to tell you about her idea, and it was a great one too. Yet you had to be all cynical about it, didn't you? Now look what you've done. It was at this point that Twilight began to smile a completely different smile, one Vinyl had yet to see until then.

"You... followed all that?" Twilight asked, perplexed, despite the large grin she sported. When Vinyl slowly nodded, still unsure of Twilight's emotional state, and scared to anger her, Twilight jumped up in glee, and Vinyl took a step back, slightly frightened.

Here lies Vinyl Scratch, provoker of royals, recipient of wrath. Vinyl mused, half serious. Twilight's explosive movement when she admitted her understanding must have been the last straw, a confirmation to the princess's mind that Vinyl's speech was more than nonsensical rambling, and that she actually saw problems with the princess's idea. Vinyl braced herself for death or dismissal.

But still the smile wasn't gone from Twilight's face, yet her voice had found an oddly joyous lilt. "That's wonderful!" Twilight exclaimed. "And the fact that you were able to make such a strong case for and against my plan, is astounding! Did you ever study mechanics or engineering, Vinyl?"

"Never, Princess Twilight." Vinyl weakly replied. She's not mad? I honestly thought she would be pissed at me. I know if someone went and poked a big hole in my idea, I'd be a little irked. Why is she so happy all of a sudden, then?

"I mean, I know that you read more than you let on, you told me so yourself when you last saw me, but I never would have guessed that you were so gifted! Honestly, half of the ponies I know wouldn't have been able to make who or what out of my idea but you took it and ran it through your head instantly, despite the fact that it was a new concept that you had never heard before! You've got some serious brainpower, Vinyl!" Twilight beamed, her sudden increase in energy striking and blatant.

Aw jeez, you're gonna make me blush. Vinyl shuffled her feet slightly, intensely gazing at a suddenly interesting table. "Th-Thanks, Princess Twilight," she stammered. "I'm really not all too used to discussing my perspective with other ponies, well, not about anything serious anyway." Vinyl willed her feet to be still and continued. "When I started speaking against what you said, I thought you were gonna hate me, or something. It was kind of you to share your idea with me and then I went and did that, I thought you'd be pretty mad with me, and--"

"Vinyl, why would I ever be mad with you for that? Healthy debate is the cornerstone of any scientific development! It's not like you just moseyed on in, told me my idea was terrible, and never explained why, you engaged with me, and gave me a coherent reason as to why there could be issues, and also outlined potential benefits!" Twilight sighed, her wings fluttering slightly. "Honestly, while I haven't been an alicorn for very long, it can occasionally be difficult to put myself back in the shoes of a unicorn, incapable of flight and the like. I forget that many a unicorn's trade and livelihood depends upon their ability to create magic, and that without that skill, unicorns would have a difficult time on the social ladder."

Vinyl noticed Twilight's small wing twitch, associating it with their last encounter, and deducing that Twilight must be trying to repress an urge to flap away out of upset. "You're still every bit unicorn to me, Princess Twilight, wings or none. In fact, you're more than just a bit unicorn, how many unicorns have you met that actually create spells in their spare time? Learn spells, maybe, but create? You're incredible in that regard, definitely." Vinyl moved a little closer to Twilight, out of instinct, more than anything, and Twilight looked square at her, a hint of her previous elation still in her eyes.

"This is still wonderful." Twilight said. Noticing Vinyl's bewildered expression, she continued. "I'm glad to have another friend I can discuss these things with, and bounce ideas off, when I feel like it. I love all of my friends, after all, but some of them just aren't built for conversations about magi-technology, you know?"

"Y-Yeah, I know what you're saying." Did she say 'friend'? Honestly, I've not considered actually discussing anything academic with another pony in a long time, but I've got a lot of interests that you might share. I mean, I like music, of course, but there's more to me than that. I'm interested in ancient Equestrian history, theocentricism in regards to the alicorn and the creator... Uh, linguistics and word origins, politics, law, social sciences, and all sorts, really. I mean, I also like drum and bass, questionably written stories, sexy cocktails, eating good food and dancing, so I'm just like any pony else, but--"

Twilight put a shaking hoof to Vinyl's mouth, effectively silencing her mid speech. Needless to say, she looked very excited. "Enough. We're going through the library, right now, and I'm gonna pick out some books for you! There's so many you would enjoy! I mean, you've probably already read some of them, but ohmygosh, maybe you could recommend some for me too?" Twilight looked about as hopeful as a foal on hearth's warming eve, and Vinyl, exasperated as she was, couldn't help but nod in agreement.

This is pretty neat... It's nice to feel appreciated, too, but this isn't why I came here. I don't think it is at least. Hold on. Scared to burst Twilight's bubble, but determined to not get too sidetracked, Vinyl asked: "Princess, what are we meant to be doing here, today?"

And suddenly, Twilight was a serene educator once more. "We're going to be exploring some of the barriers you've been experiencing in your interactions with other ponies, what causes them, how to prevent them, and which barricades are totally acceptable to have. We're also going to look at how you exercise these same blocks when it comes to interacting with yourself."

"Interacting with myself? You mean like when I think and stuff?"

"Precisely that," Twilight nodded. "But first, have you eaten yet? You can't think on an empty stomach after all."

"I actually haven't. I remember going to make myself some breakfast, but I never ate it in the end." Vinyl caught a chuckle, remembering her earlier exclamation of 'screw breakfast'.

Twilight smiled once again, she really was happy today. "Oh, that's great! We can do brunch!"

Vinyl's nerves became taut. "Okay, seriously, I've been meaning to ask this. What exactly is brunch?"

Twilight laughed, slightly condescending in tone, though she wouldn't have admitted it then. "Well, that's easy! Brunch is..." Twilight cocked her head. "Well, it's breakfast, but it's not! Like, it's also lunch, so if you want to have breakfast and lunch together, you have brunch, right? Simple!" She announced, satisfied.

Vinyl wasn't convinced. "So, how can it be breakfast and lunch together, if you only eat breakfast things, or you only eat lunch things when you have it? That doesn't make any sense. Unless you eat your breakfast and lunch together, which let's face it, no one does, it doesn't make any sense. It's just a silly portmanteau, and it would make much more sense to say 'I'm having breakfast things at lunch time' or 'I'm having lunch things for breakfast.' Wait, would the latter even count as brunch? What are the rules? Is there a time scale?"

Twilight looked worried, and her tone was dubious when she responded. "I'm sure there's an explanation somewhere... There's probably a book on it! I'll research it and find out, and then it'll make total sense! There's no way we're all walking around using a word that doesn't really mean anything, that would be ridiculous..." In the next few seconds, it seemed to dawn upon Twilight that that was exactly the case. "...Huh, what is brunch?"

I knew I was onto something. Now that I've convinced Twilight, maybe I can convince her to outlaw the silly word. Hold on, can princesses ban words? Well, they get a pair of wings slapped on their sides and gain unquestionable supreme power, and from that point on they rule with impunity, so why not? I'm sure Twilight could ban brunch if she really wanted to. Vinyl thought asking the princess to do so would be too much hassle, but wouldn't object to her doing it off her own back.

While she's at it, she can ban words like 'lit' and 'fleek', or at least sterilise the people that say them. Okay, no, that's a little harsh, but she can keep those people the hell away from me, as a minimum.

Author's Note:

Comments

[EverfreePony]

Vinyl's thoughts at the beginning seemed a little too trailing off to me, but the rest of the chapter made up for it. Not only did we get some insight on Equestrian magi-science, but finally an appearance of the nerdy Vinyl - honestly, unicorns becoming the lesser race was the first thing that came to my mind upon reading:

Leave it to the Princess of Friendship to think of a way for every race of pony to live in equality.

and I was looking forward to discussing that aspect with you, but the DJ pony is so clever that I'm just artificially prolonging the comment now...
Also, loved the ending with b****h and word banning. Looking forward to see more of those two studious mares together

[All Art Is Quite Useless]

8021682 Vinyl's thought process at the beginning and the rest of the chapter were written on two separate days, honestly. It must show! I hope I portrayed the magi-science concepts well, and yeah, it's fun when she slips into that mindset! Yeah, I was hoping that would other would agree with her point of view, and that it would sneak up on the reader somewhat!

I enjoyed writing the ending, glad you enjoyed reading it!

More to follow within the week!

AAIQU

[Zodiacspear]

At long last, here is your review from the Pleasant Commentator and Review Group! Hope you like it.

As always, feel free to voice any questions or concerns on the forum or via PM.

[All Art Is Quite Useless]

8049990 Thank you! I'm very pleased with this and you've given me plenty to consider!

AAIQU