//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: Make an Observation // Story: Solving for an Error // by 6-D Pegasus //------------------------------// It was just an ordinary day in Ponyville. Birds were chirping, the sun was shining, and ponies trotted happily around town. Everything was perfectly fine...Until a particular powerful unicorn decided to ignore her mentor's warnings and try the impossible. And succeeded... ...ish "Ahhhhhh that was nice." Starlight trotted happily along the dirt road stretching from the edge of Ponyville back to Twilight's castle. Her entire body felt completely relaxed from the massage she had just had. Earlier that day, Starlight had promised Twilight that she would complete another friendship lesson with Applejack. Although Applejack didn't need any help with anything at the time, she decided to let Starlight help her buck some of the extra apple trees that she left alone when she had enough. After about a minute, Applejack managed to convince Starlight to do it without using magic. She attempted to teach her how to apple-buck, and eventually Starlight had began to get the hang of it. However, her job ended much earlier than she expected and she left Sweet Apple Acres after learning two very good lessons: to truly appreciate the hard work that somepony does for others... ...and to not teleport right behind Applejack while she was bucking apple trees without giving some sort of warning ahead of time. Luckily for her, Applejack was already pretty worn out from the morning harvest to have put the normal of energy she usually did in her kick. Starlight shuddered a little at the thought of what possibly would have happened to her if she had done that before noon, when Applejack was fully awake and at her peak. Either way, Applejack felt at fault for causing the accident, and treated her to a quick massage from the Spa ponies. Although it was barely less than ten minutes, to her it felt like an hour. As Starlight approached the castle doors, she realized that they were wide open. Twilight usually wasn't one to leave anything unfinished, and that included going through a door. Starlight cautiously poked her head through the doorway and, upon seeing nopony waiting to ambush her, proceeded inwards and silently closed the doors behind her. She perked up as the sound of distant voices reached her ears, causing her to freeze where she was. She could make out two voices, but couldn't discern any words or determine who the speakers were. Their voices seemed very familiar, though... Starlight poured some magic into her horn and arranged two spells to single out the voices. First she cast a spell on herself to amplify all sounds that reached her ears, then layered a background dampener spell on it to block out ambient noise that would interfere with the voices. Immediately, Starlight recognized the voices to be those of her mentor Princess Twilight and Pinkie Pie. It sounded like they were arguing. "Pinkie, I already told a thousand times, that's IMPOSSIBLE!" "Oh Twilight, you still can't see the answer, even when it's right in front of you." "But that doesn't make ANY sense! This piece is the last part I need for my spell and I just CAN'T figure it out!" Starlight perked upon hearing the word "spell". Eager to find out more, She cast yet another spell, Visionem Sanorum. The surrounding air began to pulse in bright ring shapes emanating from a hallway to Starlight's left. She proceeded down the hallway, slowly following the colorful sound waves until she reached a partially opened door. Cutting off all her current spells, Starlight carefully leaned towards the crack in the doorway to listen in. "Come on, Twilight! Didn't they teach this BEFORE magic kindergarten?" "NO! Well, yes I guess... but this is different! Don't you have any idea what you're implying?! Wait, where are you going?" "My mouth just got dry. That means it's time introduce the main character to the conflict!" "Pinkie, what are you -" SLAM! The door suddenly slammed open with enough force to send Starlight flying to the wall. Fortunately her horn reacted faster than the rest of her body, allowing her to teleport into the room immediately before collision. Unfortunately for Starlight, the law of conservation of momentum decided to continue existing as the lilac unicorn proceeded to trip and roll several feet before smashing into a table at the far end of the room. Starlight shook her head a few times to get rid of the stars that covered her vision and looked up to see a bouncing pink pony inches away from her face. "Hiya ,Starlight! WatchadoingiwasjusthelpingTwilightwithaspellsheneededhelpyourmanelooksamazingomaigashmytailitstwitchatwitchingyouknowwhatthatmeansnoyouprobablydontbutiknowitssomethingtodowithsomethinglikeneartheendofthechapteranyway BYE!" And with that Pinkie Pie sped off towards the castle's doors and left for Ponyville, leaving behind her a flaming trail the entire way. "Oooooookay..." Starlight muttered, rolling her eyes. She rubbed the back of her head with a hoof. "Ugh, so this was what it was like being Spike, huh?" Remembering why had come to the room in the first place, she trotted in through the open door and glanced around the . "Twilight? What's going on?" Twilight was seated at a small wooden desk across the door. There was loose paper and books scattered over the desk and surrounding floor. "Oh, hey Starlight. Pinkie was just help-...trying to help me with a new spell I've been trying to create." Starlight blinked. "But...what does Pinkie Pie have to do with new spells? Sure, she IS an Earth pony. But although they may have just as much magic as us unicorns, but they can't cast any spells with it. I mean, it's not like Pinkie Pie studies them in her free time...right?" "Actually, now that you mention it, she..." Twilight paused and looked at Starlight, who had a very expectant look plastered on her face. "Never mind, it's not important." Starlight stared at her teacher for a few seconds before shifting her gaze to the piece of parchment Twilight had in front of her. "So, what is this 'new spell' you're talking about?" As if on cue, Twilight's entire face exploded with excitement. She vanished in a bright flash of purple light only to appear out of another flash inches in front of Starlight's face, shoving the paper right in her face. "Okay, so I have been developing this spell for YEARS! Like, when I say years, I mean YEARS! I began working on it just a few months after Princess Celestia took me in as her private student." Twilight was practically beaming with pride. Starlight took a few steps back to regain her precious personal space. "But, I've never heard of a spell that should take THAT long to figure out, especially one that would have gotten your interest as a filly! Aren't there, like, books on it?" Twilight looked like she was expecting that response. "That's why my project is taking forever. Every one of the spells used now have already been invented, developed, and modified. Many basic spells taught in unicorn schools today are really just modifications of preexisting spells. The more advanced spells that are found primarily in books are complex combinations of other spells that had already been developed. Even that 'cutie unmarking' spell you mastered," Starlight shifted uncomfortably, unnoticed by Twilight,"is a mix of several spells occurring near simultaneously while interacting with each other in order to have the final effect. What I am trying to do here is create a new base spell!" Now Starlight was even more confused. "Wait, what's a base spell? I've studied magic for most my life, and I've never come across even a mere mention of the term." "That might be my fault. I, umm..." Twilight looked away nervously," may have snuck into the Canterlot archives as a filly and took the only copy of the book that was still intact." Starlight deadpanned. "Seriously?" Twilight's cheeks burned bright red. "It wasn't in the Restricted section so I figured it technically shouldn't have been as important as it seems now." Starlight rolled her eyes. "But how does this relate to it why it's taking so long to finish?" "You see, when an ordinary spell is created - the kinds that are typically found in scrolls or taught in schools - it involves piecing together several base spells in a unique pattern to create the new spell. When that spell is cast by somepony else, the whole spell is cast at once, so most unicorns never see the role of each base spell individually. It's because of this that most unicorns don't even know that they exist. The bases themselves are very easy to cast, but have practically no visible effect save for a small glow. Many of them don't even work without some form of filled parameter." "I still don't get it. Twilight groaned in exasperation, trying to come up with a clever analogy to simplify everything. "I got it. Think of a spell as a word. A word is an arrangement of simultaneously existing letters that combine to form a general definition that doesn't apply to each individual letter. In order for the word to exist, all the necessary letters must be present at the same time and arranged in an exact combination. We can very easily create new words by adding prefixes or suffixes to the original word, adding or deleting letters, or completely rearranging them altogether. These letters are what base spells are to normal spells." Starlight pondered on that thought for a few seconds before it hit her in the face like a brick. "Ohhhh. Wait, so by creating a new base spell, you're essentially-" "- adding a new letter to the alphabet of base spells. Yes that is correct." Starlight gaped in wonder as the full realization of what Twilight was trying to achieve sunk in. "Wow, that's big." Twilight looked away, uncertainty filling her voice. "But there's one problem." "What is it?" "The unicorns who created the first base spells never recorded the process by which they created them, only the way to cast them and how to combine them with others. Almost all the existing base spells were created and documented before even Celestia herself was born. Fortunately I was able to do enough research to configure a fairly accurate model for the procedure. I've even managed to calculate how much thaumic energy I would need; it's the same for every base spell apparently. There's just one final step I need..." Twilight trailed off as her ears drooped down. "What's the problem with that last step? Maybe I could help you with it!" Twilight sighed as she looked back up to Starlight. "Starlight, I understand how skilled you are at magic, but I'm afraid this one is out of your range. The last step requires dividing the necessary total amount of thaumic energy for the spell by a quantitative value equal to the number of spells that derive the final product, thus in the process also determining the identi-. " Starlight raised an eyebrow. "Ponish, please?" "I divide how much magic I need by how many bases I'm casting. The number of bases is the spell's level." "Oh." Starlight nodded in agreement. "I know that. Like, a basic transfiguration spell has a level of 4, so it is made up of four base spells, right?" "Correct; it consists of a molecular scan, molecular image construction, image alignment, and temporary atomic replacement spell. A simpler spell like telekinesis is level two, since it only requires modified energy transformation and a mental link." "And teleportation is three, right?" , Twilight glanced at the floor in unease. "Well, an ancient version of the teleportation spell had three, and that has been made illegal a very long time ago for ... " Twilight shuddered. "... ethical reasons. The one that has been taught for the last thousand years actually has a number of 15, but all elementary textbooks just dodge the number question." Starlight pondered over the concept for a bit in her head. "So what's the issue? If you already know the amount of magic you need for the spell, all you need now is just divide that by the ... number of..." Starlight trailed off, her mind trying to fight common sense just to avoid the conclusion. Twilight nodded back. "Yes, but that's the problem. Because a base spell is totally original, that would set its number at 0." Starlight's eyes shrank upon realizing what the last step was pretty much asking for. "You don't mean-" "Yes, Starlight," Twilight looked Starlight dead in the eyes. "I have to divide... by zero."