//------------------------------// // Chapter 5: Off the Charts // Story: (Not very) Happy Camper // by PhysicsGamer //------------------------------// As I outstretch my hand towards a case for the umpteenth time, trying to get it to move, or at least give it that aura, but no matter how much I try, I can’t. The pony named “Twilight” walks in, and, seeing me with my arm outstretched, looks at me curiously. Almost immediately, I notice that she seems on edge. While sighing, I lower my arm and ask,”Is there something you want me to say?” without expecting an answer. I swear her jaw would’ve hit the floor if it wasn’t attached to her head. She only responds by saying,”What…” My jaw must have dropped enough to go to the moon and back in surprise. We stay there in shock for about a minute, then Starlight walks in, and asks Twilight,”Have you learned anything new?” Before Twilight can respond I say,“Apparently we can communicate with each other now,.” Starlight looks at me with a surprised look for a few seconds, then asks,”How did you learn Equestrian so quickly?” “I didn’t,” I respond. “Twilight, can you come with me?” Starlight asks. “Uh… Sure,” Twilight responds. ←--------------------------------------------------------------> “I think he is either mimicking our magic, or stealing it.” Starlight says once they are out of earshot of the infirmary. “Why do you think that?” Twilight asks. “Think about it, he started out unable to communicate with us, doing everything manually, and using no magic. Then, after you cast a burst linguistic spell to allow us to understand him and allow him to understand us, he passes out. Then you use your telekinesis to move him to the infirmary, and he is suddenly using telekinesis, and can communicate right after.” “It might just be playing a psychological ‘game’ right now. I read that by only mirroring your opponent’s moves, somepony proves that they can do everything their opponent can. Which can cause any number of reactions, so he might be gauging our nature with psychological ‘games’ or tests.” “Maybe we should talk to him and learn who he is, and what position he claims to have where he’s from.” “I agree,” They walk back towards the infirmary. ←--------------------------------------------------------------> I hear the door open, so I stand up and turn to face it, and I see the two ponies from a few minutes earlier. “Hello,” Twilight says to me,”I am Princess Twilight Sparkle, and this is Starlight Glimmer. What is your name? Where are you from? What is your position where you are from?” Her speech gets significantly faster when she gets to the questions, almost as if she was afraid that if she stopped, she wouldn’t have the courage to continue. The last question confused me a little, but I answer her question,” I am Sergeant Gerald Helfeld of the United States Marine Corps.” Twilight ponders this for a moment, then says,”So you’re a soldier?” “Yes, although I am a reserve.” I respond. “What does that mean?” Twilight asks. “I train one weekend every month. Other than that, I am able to live as if I weren’t a soldier until I am deployed.” “Where did you say you were from again?” Starlight asks. “I am from the United States of America, the land of the free and home of the brave.” I say with pride. “What was your rank again? Twilight asks. I notice that she is writing as fast as lightning as I answer. “I’m a Sergeant,” I answer. “What part of the military are you in?” Twilight asks. “I’m part of the Marine Corps.” I say, getting slightly annoyed at having to repeat all of this. “What is that?” Twilight asks. “The Marines are the branch of the U.S. military responsible for providing power projection, using the mobility of the U.S. navy.” “Would your country be willing to sign a peace treaty with ours?” Twilight asks hopefully. “I’m not really able to speak for my country, but they would probably be more than willing to sign a treaty.” I say. I’m starting to get very confused at the situation I find myself in, I have no idea how, but I seem to have found both a new nation and a new intelligent species, or I’ve gone insane. “Wait here,” Twilight says as she leaves the room, leaving me and Starlight in the room. We just stand there in awkward silence for a few minutes before Twilight comes back with a guard. He seems to be a dark grey unicorn in the golden armor that seems to be the standard issue around here. “I’ve arranged for you to stay in a guest room for the time being, Silver Shield will direct you to where you will be staying for now.” Twilight says to me while gesturing to the door. The guard directs me through the labyrinth that is this castle without a word. I notice a bead of sweat run down the side of his head. Once we get to my room, he points to the door and says in a professional manner, hardly masking the nervous tone,”This is where you will be staying.” Once I enter my room I hear hurried footsteps moving away from the door and I chuckle to myself at the fact that the guard was in such a hurry to get away from me. I look around, and see that there is a four-poster bed, a chest, a dresser with a chess set on top, a decently sized window, a closet, and my bag leaning against the bed. I grab my Swiss Army Knife and compass, and put them in my pockets. After a while, during a particularly heated game of chess against myself, I hear knocking on the door and I automatically say,”Come in,” and look to the door to see Starlight opening the door. She walks into the room, and asks with a hint of nervousness in her voice,”Hi, uh, how are you?” I was never good at small talk, so I don’t really know how to respond,”Um, I’m… good?” “Do you think you could show me a few of your spells?” My face shows my confusion as I ask,”Spells?” “Something you can do with your magic.” “I know what a spell is, but I can’t use them, they don’t exist where I’m from.” A look of realization crosses her face, and she says,”I’ll talk to you in a few days.” She then leaves the room. ←--------------------------------------------------------------> “If it can’t consciously control its magic…” Twilight says. “...then it’s more dangerous than if it was malicious and could control it.” Starlight says, finishing Twilight’s statement for her. “What should we do then?” “I think we should send a letter to Princess Celestia and see what she has to say on the matter.” “I agree.” Twilight and Starlight write a letter to Celestia explaining everything that has happened so far involving “Gerald”, Twilight yells for Spike. They give the letter to Spike when he comes in, and he burns it with his dragon breath, sending it to Celestia. Spike belches a small amount of smoke and dragon fire, which quickly materializes into a scroll at a speed that’s impressive, even for Celestia. They open the scroll and read it. ←--------------------------------------------------------------> I spent the past two days passing the time by polishing my weapons, reading a few books in the room, and playing chess against myself. Nothing of importance happened. I hear knocking on the door, I say, “Come in,” and look to the door. Twilight walks into the room and says,”Hello again.” “Uh, Hi,” I respond, not sure what to say exactly. “I was wondering if you would be okay with me running a few tests?” “What kind of tests are you planning on doing, and why? “Just some tests to see what you’re normally supposed to be like so that we know what is normal.” “I suppose that would be fine as long as you don’t do anything too invasive.” “Please come with me, then.” She leads me through so many hallways that I couldn’t hope to remember the way back. She stops at a set of double doors and gestures for me to go inside with a wave of her hoof. When I enter, I look around the room to see a variety of lab and medical equipment scattered within. I also see Fluttershy and the doctor from earlier in the room. Fluttershy seems to be keeping to the sides, while the doctor is moving around the room, checking various instruments, grabbing checklists, and checking things off. Once he notices me, he walks up to me and says,”Hello, I am Doctor Horses.” “Dr. Horses?” I think to myself,”That’s kind of an ironic name.” I reach over and shake his hoof and say,”I’m Gerald.” “Well it’s nice to meet you Gerald, I presume you are here for the tests that we have planned.” “Yes. What exactly will you be testing?” “We’ll be doing a few simple things like taking your blood pressure and taking x-rays, and we’ll be measuring your magic levels, both potential and active.” “Okay, I guess.” “I’ll just have to finish with this and we’ll be able to begin.” And he walks back to the equipment. Twilight walks up beside me and asks,”How advanced is your nation?” I think a bit before answering,”Well, according to the Kardashev scale, our nation is a .72 civilization, making us a type 0 civilization, which means that we can use and store energy from our planet’s star. We are quickly accelerating in technology, and once we can harness the full power of the energy hitting our planet, we will be a type 1 civilization. From what I have seen of your nation, your nation seems to be a .1 civilization at most, but there are some inconsistencies, like x-rays, which are commonly associated with .55 civilizations.” Twilight ponders this for a minute, and asks,” What is the Kardashev scale,” I notice that she has been writing down everything I say. I answer by saying,”It's a measure of a civilization’s technological advancement.” The doctor walks over and says,”Everything's ready if you are.” “Okay,” I respond,”Lead the way.” He directs me to a sphygmomanometer, which is used to measure blood pressure. He takes my blood pressure and writes it down. Twilight also writes it down. The doctor takes out a stethoscope and asks me to take off my shirt. I take off my shirt, and he documents my heart rate and what my breathing sounds like. When that is done, they take me to an x-ray machine, and tell me that they are going to use the minimum amount of power, just to be safe. After that, they take me to a machine that I am unfamiliar with. It has a large number of dials and switches, and a few places where data presumably is output to. It has a large metal hat that has wires coming off of it in every direction, and four metal bands that presumably go on each appendage. Twilight has me sit in a seat next to it, puts the hat on my head, and straps it on. While she is attaching the bands, I ask, “what exactly does this do?” “This device measures your magical capacity by reading the amount of magic in your system.” Once the bands are in place, Twilight says,”This might feel a little weird, but it shouldn’t hurt. If it hurts at all, let us know.” “Got it,” I say, ”start it up when you’re ready. She flips a lever on the machine, and I immediately feel a strange sensation throughout my body. I start feeling dizzy, and I feel like I have been burned and frozen at the same time, minus the pain. After a little bit, the sensation goes away, and Twilight removes the hat and bands. She walks to a stack of parchment and looks at lines on it. The lines on it are so close together that they almost completely cover the parchment, and they are almost completely vertical. She looks at the papers, mumbling to herself,”This can’t be right,” to herself repeatedly. Eventually I say,”What can’t be right?” She looks at me and says,”Your magic is immeasurable,”