//------------------------------// // SCIENCE! // Story: Equestrian Anthology // by Shingo //------------------------------// A white unicorn ran as fast as her hooves could carry her across Ponyville. She looked at the library with terror in her eyes. Above the library were dark storm clouds. Occasionally, thunder rolled across the sky and lightning crackled. This would not be an unusual sight if all of Ponyville was experiencing a storm; however those clouds were only over the library. Two metal rods pierced the sky, both of them were attached to the library and had metal spheres attached to the end. Lightning struck one of the spheres and the energy could be seen moving down the rod. Thousands of possibilities moved through the unicorn’s mind, all of them very very bad. Celestia help us all. What horrible act is Twilight performing? She could be trying some unholy experiment, she could be playing god right now, or worse! She could be playing therapist again! Rarity’s body trembled as the last thought. When she reached the library’s entrance, she could hear muffled organ music through the door as well as maniacal laughter. Rarity bucked the door down and rushed in. She was greeted by a unicorn wearing a lab coat with dark red stains on it. Over the unicorn’s eyes were a pair of tinted goggles. She was standing beside a large metal box with dials, meters, and switches all over it. Around the library were hanging wires, some leading to the metal box and some leading behind a green curtain. On one of the library’s balconies was a large organ. The organ was being played by a purple baby dragon. It, like the box, had wires all over it. A thick wire was coming from the organ and it led to the metal box. Ominous noise was coming from each of the organ’s pipes. Over the noise, Rarity heard mad laughter coming from the unicorn. “YES!” she said. “That’s it Spike! Keep playing, and soon it will be ready!” “Twilight!” Rarity shouted. “What is all of this?” The unicorn turned her eyes to the library’s guest. An insane smile appeared on her face. “Rarity,” she laughed. “I’m glad you’re here. You can be the first one to witness it!” Rarity stared at her friend with fear. The music was reaching its climax and Twilight walked to a large lever on the box. “What have you done?” Rarity’s voice trembled. “What I have done,” Twilight replied. “Is SCIENCE! Glorious glorious SCIENCE!” She pulled the lever down causing a sparking sound to come from it as it connected a circuit. Electricity could be seen coming from the organ’s large wire. It was moving towards the box. Once it reached the box, it emitted a large humming sound. Twilight’s smile grew wider at the sight. After a few moments, silence was in the library. “Oh Twilight,” Rarity said. “There are lines that ponies are not meant to cross. Why have you done so?” Twilight cocked her head in confusion. She lifted her goggles and stared at her friend. “Rarity, what do you think I’ve been doing?” Twilight asked. “You’ve been tampering with the very forces of nature,” Rarity said. “You’re playing god right now. And it is wrong.” Laughter, genuine laughter, came from Twilight. Rarity’s face acquired a confused expression. “I haven’t been doing anything like that,” Twilight laughed. “I haven’t been tampering with nature, I know I can’t play god.” “Then what’s this gargantuan machine then?” Rarity asked pointing to the box. “Clearly it’s some device meant to spit in the face of Mother Nature.” “This is used to measure energy,” Twilight explained. “It measures the energy from lightning. The reason it’s so big is because it’s just a prototype.” “If that’s the case, why were there storm clouds above the library?” “Those are artificial.” “I’m sorry, what?” Twilight signaled Spike with her hoof. He walked to the side of the organ and unplugged a small plastic box. Spike tossed it down to Twilight and she caught it with her magic. “This,” she said. “This is what was creating the clouds.” “What is it?” “It’s a device meant to create an artificial atmosphere that matches music. After my brother’s wedding reception, the DJ asked me to build her something to help improve her shows. She wanted something that could add mood based on whatever music was playing. This is the end result. I call it the ‘Requiem Projector’.” “So Spike playing that organ was because…” “We were testing the projector.” She then levitated the device to a nearby shelf, setting it down. “Why would you need a machine designed to measure energy for testing such a device?” A nervous expression appeared on Twilight’s face. “Well, when Spike was playing the organ, storm clouds appeared. Lightning kept falling from the clouds, so I decided to feed two birds with one seed and research the lightning.” Rarity blinked. “If you aren’t doing anything against nature, why is there blood on your lab coat?” Twilight looked at one of the red stains on her coat and blushed. “Well, Rarity, this isn’t blood. It’s…” “It’s hot sauce,” Spike said walking down some stairs. “Twilight’s a really messy eater when we have tacos.” Spike disappeared behind the curtain as Twilight’s blush deepened. Rarity stared at her friend with confusion in her eyes. She then laughed. “Oh Twilight, that is adorable,” Rarity said. “You’re just as bad as Sweetie Belle.” Twilight looked to the floor and tapped it with one of her hooves. Rarity coughed. “Anyways,” she said. “I’m sorry for the assuming that you were doing wicked experiments. It’s just that with the storm clouds, the laughter, your history with these kinds of things, I just thought that would happen.” “It’s alright Rarity,” Twilight replied. “If I were in your position, I would have assumed the same thing.” Rarity walked back to the entrance of the library. She turned her head to her friend before she left. “By the way, would you like to join me and the girls for lunch tomorrow?” Rarity asked. Twilight smiled at her friend. “I’d like that. See you then.” Rarity waved at Twilight then shut the library’s door. A sigh escaped from Twilight’s mouth and she turned around to the curtain. She walked behind it and was in front of a metal table. On the table was a unicorn mare made out of caramel coloured clay. Her mane and tail were painted a shade of copper brown. Spike was attaching two metal clasps to the faux pony’s ears. “That was rather close don’t you think?” he asked. Twilight walked to another lever and handed a pair of goggles to her assistant. “It was,” she replied. “We’re going to have to be more subtle with the experiments. Otherwise, the princesses might catch on and shut us down, calling the both of us insane.” She pushed her goggles down to her eyes and Spike did the same. Twilight pulled the lever and a familiar sparking sound came from it. Energy moved through the wires and into the clay pony. Both Twilight and Spike stared at the sight with only the sound of energy moving accompanying them. “So, when are we going to tell everypony about our little golem?” he asked. Twilight pushed the lever back to its original position and the sound stopped. Spike removed the clasps and the two waited. The pony’s foreleg twitched, and her eyes slowly opened. “Maybe later,” she answered.