//------------------------------// // 01. Probably Harmless // Story: Synchronicity // by Sev //------------------------------// “Rarity, you promised!” “But I reeeaaally need to get back to work, Twili-” “But I need another unicorn to make this spell work, and you're the only one I know well enough to try it with!” Twilight shot her friend a pleading, desperate stare. A trick she'd picked up from Rarity herself that seemed to work wonders on close friends, or anything possessing a male chromosome. Whether it was genuine sympathy or just the knowledge that her own manipulations were being employed against her, Rarity relented, sighed, and stepped outside of the dress shop. It had been two days since they'd returned from Canterlot and life in Ponyville had returned to normal. Or, at least, what amounted to normal in Ponyville. The fact that Twilight could call a day that began with a blonde haired pony with a wandering eye crashing through her wall to deliver a letter before departing for the rest of her rounds by means of a trip down the toilet, followed by a flying cake war in the middle of Mane Street, three escaped baby carriages (one of which contained an actual baby), an averted stampede, and three communiques from the Princess about the state Twilight's Canterlot suite had been left in (and her own dismay for not being able to attend what she took to be “one hell of a Hearth's Warming party”)... ‘Normal for Ponyville’ was evidence of her own adaptation to her second year among the populous of the little town. The thought made her smile briefly as she waited for Rarity to collect whatever scarf matched her mood that day. “Just what sort of spell is this anyway?” Rarity asked, having settled on something a shade lighter than her mane. “Nothing dangerous I trust? Not that I mind helping you with questionable magic my dear, honest, its just that I neeeed to get this order out by tomorrow...” “No, no,” Twilight insisted, “Nothing dangerous. Well… probably nothing dangerous. Likely nothing dangerous!” she settled on that one. 'Likely' sounded good enough. Rarity, on the other hand, seemed unenthusiastic and shot her purple friend a dubious look. Twilight tried to grin reassuringly, and fell short of succeeding. She cleared her throat and continued. “Before we left for Canterlot,” she explained, “I was doing experiments on the scientific nature of harmony. The way I see it, there has to be something mathematically definable about this sort of thing. Magic is precise, careful, and exact. It takes study and dedication and careful crafting to accomplish. The Elements of Harmony are some of the most powerful magical objects in existence, right? So, if they're using magic to create harmony, and harmony to harness magic, then logic says that harmony itself must be quantifiable, or you wouldn't be able to use magic with it at all!” She popped a little on her hooves, a grin on her face as she concluded the delivery of her recent theory. The idea behind it wasn't lost on Rarity, who, having pulled herself up from her hooves and founded a fashion business from scratch before she'd had so much as a cutie mark, was far from a foolish pony. But it still didn't explain why she was required. She didn't speak up, though. Twilight would get around to it; if there was anything that pony could do, it was lecture about magic. “There's so much that could be possible if this pans out!” Twilight exclaimed, continuing as the pair of them walked toward the library. Rarity's eyes were trading between looking at Twilight's enthusiastic face and eying the numerous puddles and snow drifts on the ground, all of which were none too clean. Getting to the library without staining her fur was going to be a bigger challenge than she'd thought. “Why in Equestria didn't I bring my boots?” “What?” “Nothing darling,” Rarity responded quickly, “do continue.” Twilight did so, not missing the opportunity to talk to a captive audience. “All sorts of things cause disharmony. Broken things, damaged things, bad days, all sorts of stuff. If I can find out how to cause harmony where harmony isn't, I'll have a spell that can fix nearly anything!” Rarity lifted an eyebrow. “It sounds wonderful, Twilight,” the pearl pony replied cautiously, “but if it were that simple, don't you think some pony would've figured it out by now?” “Probably,” Twilight admitted, “but the Princess has been telling me to think big lately. Be more ambitious. Aim for the stars!” She struck a powerful pose as she said it, and Rarity restrained a laugh. “And the way I see it, while there are certainly better magic users out there than me, I'm the first unicorn to have the Elements of Harmony in a really, REALLY long time. Up until now, all the Elements of Harmony have been in the care of Princess Celestia. Now that we have them, we have an opportunity no pony in our lifetimes has had. But I don't want to start experiments with the Elements until I understand the magical implications of harmony better, and to do that, I need some pony like me, that I'm already harmonious with, to try a few experiments with magical resonance. A unicorn. A friendly unicorn.” She gave Rarity that hopeful smile again, and Rarity oofed. “Alright Twilight,” she replied, still not convinced anything would come of it, but willing to assist now that she knew the context a little better. “It would be my pleasure to assist you. Just, um, can we maybe be fast about it? Because I've-” “I know!” Twilight insisted, “We'll be fast!” The door to the library opened on quiet hinges, a testament to Spike's diligence on the upkeep of the building. He was out assisting in general repairs to the town after his little… growth spurt. Ponyville was generally forgiving of the whole situation (it wasn't the first time a freak natural disaster had flattened the town), but his honor as a dragon would not be satisfied until he'd cleaned up every last bit of mess and put everything back as it was. In practice, that usually amounted to holding materials and running errands for ponies, but it made him happy and the town recognized his desire to help, so Twilight had cut him some slack on his studies to allow him time to continue. Books had already been laid out along the various surfaces of the wooden room, arranged on stands and pedestals for easy reach and visibility while Twilight organized thoughts and notes and went about the various day-to-day activities that went hoof-in-hoof with being an ever-so-slightly unhinged magical pony. Today, a large space in the center of the room had been cleared to allow Twilight and Rarity room to stand facing each other, with a considerable margin cleared out around them. Rarity noticed the wide birth and swallowed. Twilight rarely cleared things out of the way unless she was worried that something she was about to try might damage the local environment. “Ok, now stand right here, facing me,” Twilight instructed, situating Rarity in one half of the room while she paced to the other and faced her. Rarity did as instructed and cleared her throat. “Twilight,” she ventured, “I may be a rather capable unicorn in my own right, but uh… my magic has always been focused on rather tactile things. Careful manipulations of needles, locating gems, stitching fabric, fine detail, things of that nature. This harmony stuff,” she coughed, adding quickly, “while fascinating, I assure you, is just a bit more… abstract than I'm used to.” “You've nothing to worry about,” Twilight insisted, checking a few notes. “What we're about to do is a simple resonance activity. Nothing dangerous or explosive about it.” “Explosive? Why did you say-” “Nothing explosive at all!” “But why even mention the word explosive unless-” “Oop!” Twilight interrupted before Rarity could complete her thought, “We better get started! Don't want you to be late for your dress thingy, right?” She stood across from the other unicorn and set her stance. “You know how to thrum, right Rarity?” The simplicity of the task forced Rarity to reflexively abandon her concern, in order to properly set her nose high and hmph at the impudence of the question. “Of course I do,” she replied, “every unicorn filly learns that. Why?” “Because I need you to do it,” Twilight answered. 'Thrumming' was the general term assigned to surrounding oneself in one's own magic without any particular target. While most unicorn magic was designed to effect a specific object or transform a particular target, thrumming was the exercise of dumping magical energy into the air without targeting anything. It manifested as a sort of aura around the unicorn that thrummed rhythmically, which gave it it's name. “Thrumming is the best way to get a feel for your own magic,” Twilight explained, “and for the magic of another unicorn. If both of us do it, we can try and manipulate our magics to thrum together. Its called resonance, and the Princess told me resonating unicorns can gain fantastic insight into their own magic because it lets them sort of...” she struggled with the explanation, making combination motions with her hooves, “see their own auras through the lens of a different pony. So you can pick up on things you missed. My studies on friendship have shown me that walking in another pony's horseshoes can really help you understand them, which tells me that resonance and harmony may have more to do with each other than ponies think they do.” “But you've resonated before, haven't you?” Rarity asked, looking a little surprised. It took Twilight a second to realize her lengthy definition might not have been necessary, as Rarity already seemed to know how the process worked. Twilight coughed. “Um… once. In a magic class,” she replied. Rarity nodded. “I've done it several times,” the white pony replied, not in a boasting tone, but in a cautionary one, as though warning Twilight not to waste her time. “I admit it to be a very pleasant experience, especially if its with somepony who knows what they're doing. Vibrates you right down to the bones, its quite lovely. But it’s never given me any particular insight into my magic, Twilight.” She stepped forward and gave her friend a teasing nudge. “If all you're looking for is a way to relax, we could always go to the spa. You don't need to manufacture such an elaborate story.” Twilight shook off Rarity's jests and snorted. “It's not a story! … Alright, maybe just normal resonance won't give me the results I'm looking for. But we're not going to try just 'normal' resonance.” Her horn glowed briefly, and a drawer opened on the other side of the room. A light purple aura escorted a large book from within the drawer to a desk to Twilight's right, where the book settled and opened. Within it lay the Elements of Harmony, in a cut-out hollow. She cast Rarity a look and nodded to the book. “Go on,” she prompted. Rarity looked a bit more concerned than she did before, but never passed up the opportunity to wear the Element of Generosity. It settled on her neck in a perfect fit and glinted in the pale light of the library. The purple-maned mare felt her body warm and shimmer with the influx of sympathetic magic keyed specifically to her personality. These artifacts were a joy to put on, but the six of them had long ago decided they should be stored away unless needed, so that no pony with a penchant for thievery would know where to look for them. When Twilight's crown settled on her head, Rarity could feel her necklace attract to it, just slightly. The Elements of Harmony intrinsically desired each other’s company, much like their guardians. Twilight returned to her position, and Rarity, with a light step indicative of worry, returned to hers. “Nothing explosive?” she asked, to make sure. “Probably not!” Twilight replied. Twilight had already closed her eyes, and the soft thrum of magic could be heard emanating from within her as her aura coalesced around her body, emerging from her horn. Rarity put her concerns aside and relaxed, reaching within herself to collect her own stores of power and allow them to radiate outward from herself. Within a few seconds, both ponies were awash in their corresponding energies, eyes still closed, feeling their environment through the soft resistance the solid objects around them provided to their magic. Twilight reached out slowly with her aura, testing around for Rarity's and encountering it some ten feet in front of her. It felt pleasant and familiar, and images of her friend cycled through her mind. She could feel the vibration of Rarity's thrumming ripple through her own, and focused to adjust her pitch to match. Her own pulsing dipped as Rarity's sped up, creating a complex harmony that briefly touched on synchronization once or twice before passing each other. Twilight giggled, and could hear Rarity do the same as they hit and missed a few times, slowly feeling out the proper synchronicity as much through the pleasant muscle melting sensation as through sound. A little lower, a little faster, and there it was. Both auras meshed against each other like a single, matched waveform and rippled across the corresponding owners like a warm summer's wind. Rarity had done this before, so she knew how it was supposed to feel. This was more. Somehow the inclusion of the Elements of Harmony had added so much more magic to this rhapsody of energy. Through gentle pushes and pulls of power she could guide Twilight into symphonies of sound and color that played through their minds collectively, fully visible despite their closed eyes. It was tremendous and exciting, like standing atop some enormous waterfall and staring over the precipice, but without the fear of falling. Wrapped as they were in their resonance, fear was the furthest thing from her mind. Twilight threw shapes and movement into the mix, and as Rarity felt each one wash over her she could swear her bones were turning to jelly. The sensation was rapturous, a perfect union of rhythmic, natural beauty and deep, primal sensation that thudded in her chest like a drum beat. Loathe to let it end, but concerned about returning to the purpose of the experiment and aware that she might be losing track of time, Twilight opened her eyes to bring the session to a slow, controlled close. What she saw was terrifying. Rarity opened her eyes and screamed. Both ponies were some forty feet in the air, with violent currents of purple and blue magic swirling around them with hurricane force, twisting and merging and meshing while the entire library floated in the sky, ripped in twain and separated into segments that hung in the air like small, fractured islands. Books were falling like leaves. Dozens of ponies were on the ground below, yelling frantically at the two of them, trying to get their attention, but their voices couldn't carry through the maelstrom of energy. Emergency crews were extending ladders and pegasus ponies were flying around the storm, looking for breaches, ways to get in and rescue the two apparently entranced unicorns, to no avail. To Twilight's horror, there were several such ponies lying on the ground, unconscious or injured. Presumably those who attempted to get through the swirling magic directly rather than waiting for breaches. Rainbow Dash was among them, eyes closed, limbs limp, and a panicked looking Fluttershy was wrapping a bandage around her head. Twilight took in the entire scene in a second's time before sharing a look of terror with Rarity, and opened her mouth to speak. When the first word left her lips, the spell ended with a clap that split the storm like thunder. Dust bloomed outward from the epicenter and the sudden rush of displaced air toppled ponies below like paper dolls. The swirling cascade of energy poured back into Twilight and Rarity and sent them hurtling toward the ground. Emergency earth ponies charged forward with Applejack and Pinkie Pie at the forefront, enduring the buffeting of the dissipating storm in order to reach to falling duo before they hit the ground. Both ponies sprung skyward, intercepting the rag doll bodies of their friends and sparing them the fate of a sudden introduction to the dirt from lethal heights. By the time Twilight could get herself to her fleet, the fragments of the library had already crashed to earth around them, and the street was littered with wood and books. The currents of magic had vanished, and the sky was clearing. “What in Equestria was all that?!” Applejack demanded. “Are you alright?” Twilight nodded, wincing. “I am. Thank you Applejack. I… I have no idea what happened, we were just-” “I'm not Applejack silly, I'm Pinkie Pie!” Twilight blinked, and found the pony that had saved her was, in fact, not the one she could swear she was speaking to a moment earlier. “That's Applejack.” Pinkie pointed over toward Rarity, who was addressing Applejack, who looked rather confused herself. “Yes, I know you're Pinkie Pie,” Rarity said insistently, speaking directly toward Applejack, “I was asking if Rainbow was okay! I saw her lying on the floor and-” Applejack looked toward Pinkie Pie, who shrugged. As Applejack turned her head, Twilight got the strangest sensation that Pinkie, or, at least, some pony in front of her, had done the same thing. A second look confirmed that she hadn't, and cold, shocked realization landed firmly in Twilight's brain. She looked quickly to Rarity, who had come to the same conclusion, and both ponies pointed hooves at each other in startled accusation. “YOU'RE IN MY HEAD!” “Our magic must have mixed when the spell broke!” Twilight yelped in surprise, still pointing. “When it all poured back into us, we got into each others heads at the same time!” Rarity winced and waved Twilight off. “Stop yelling, Twilight! You're echoing! It sounds like a whole chorus of nerds are playing board games in my brain!” Twilight could hear the feedback of her own voice. It wasn't like a sound so much as a feeling. She would say a thing, Rarity would hear it, and then Twilight would hear Rarity's resulting thoughts. Which in turn let Rarity hear Twilight's thoughts about Rarity's thoughts, which then let Twilight hear Rarity's thoughts about Twilight's thoughts regarding Rarity's tho- “Stop thinking about thinking!” Rarity ordered as Twilight worked it out. The purple pony yelped and shook her head to clear it. “Sorry, sorry, hang on, back up, put some distance between us.” Both ponies paced rapidly backward, clearing room between them. Upon passing the ten foot line, the same distance they'd been when the resonance began, the psychic echo decreased dramatically. “How's that?” Twilight asked. “Better,” Rarity replied, “I can still hear you. Sort of. In a weird, emotional sort of way. But its not feeding back and forth as badly as it was.” Twilight nodded, and turned toward the rubble. “I'm going to check on Rainbow,” she said. Rarity blinked, and Twilight felt the white pony's concern tremble up in her own chest through the link. “But what about us!?” “Its going to have to wait!” Twilight replied, “We aren't hurt. Something definitely went… crazy… but I can't find out what it is until I get my notes in order, and I can't do that until we make sure everypony is okay. Spike! SPIIIIKE!” Twilight's yelling was cut off as she felt a sudden swell of warm relief and affection from Rarity's side of the link. Internally, Twilight interpreted it as the emotion one would feel when discovering a loved one had survived an accident, and was more than a little surprised when she turned toward Rarity and saw Spike hugging her leg. Rarity was smiling down at him, and looked up when she felt Twilight's own sensation of intrigued shock. The look Rarity shot her spoke in rather unmistakable words that Spike was not to know about any feelings Rarity may have accidentally let Twilight in on. “Twilight!” Spike rushed to her side once he'd finished making sure Rarity was unharmed, and Twilight cleared her throat and her head. “What happened to you two?” he asked, concern registering on his face. Twilight answered his question with a command. “I need you to send a letter to the princess,” Twilight said, resuming her walk toward where she'd seen Rainbow. Even from here she could see the blue pegasus pulling herself to her feet. Injured maybe, but not terribly so. Rarity felt Twilight's relief and the recognition of the emotions that identified that target as Rainbow. Trying to understand the link in terms of language was difficult, but she was already finding that if she just used Twilight's mind as a sort of interpreter for Twilight's feelings, she could understand what she was experiencing easier. It was, however, more than a little distracting. “Tell her I was trying to resonate with Rarity and-” “Wow...” Spike replied, blinking, “Um...did you take pictures?” Twilight made a face of confusion before blinking and swatting the dragon with her tail. “RESONATE, Spike, RESONATE”. “Oh. Right.” Twilight sighed in aggravation and continued, “I was resonating with Rarity and we were both using the Elements of Harmony as tools to try and get a better result-” “Are you suuuuuure you don't mean-” “WRITE THE LETTER, SPIKE.” Spike frantically buried himself in his parchment and quill as Twilight continued. “Tell her we did that, then tell her what happened here, and tell her...” Twilight made a face, as though not sure how much she should be saying just yet, “tell her Rarity and I seem to be able to sort of… read each other’s minds a little now. We could use some help.” Spike looked amazed, “Really? You can actually-” “Yes. And we're not going to talk about it now.” Twilight insisted. “Send the letter and help collect my books. I'm going to need as much information as I can get if I'm going to have any hope of fixing this.” Twilight was thankful for her own emotional self-defense mechanism of substituting determination for worry or fear. The last thing she wanted Rarity to feel was any emotion of defeatism on the part of herself. She could tell the other pony was worried, and more than a little lost, having not spent much time in the realm of magical catastrophes. But Rarity was nothing if not strong willed, and her desire to be proactive mixed well with Twilight's own urge to fix any problem that crossed her path. In light of the accidental destruction of the town library, Twilight found herself rather thankful for the internal emotional support. “Rainbow!” Twilight arrived at her friend's side, now bandaged up by Fluttershy's ministrations. She groaned a bit in response. Fluttershy looked up at Twilight reassuringly. “She'll be alright,” the pastel pony insisted, “She's hit her head loooots harder than that before. Are you alright?” “Mostly,” Twilight responded, looking around at the mess. “The Mayor is going to be… disgruntled.” “And ticked off.” Rainbow chimed in, looking up. She'd apparently cleared her head enough to stand again. Twilight gave her a hug and looked at her apologetically. “Thank you for trying to help us,” she said, “Rarity thanks you too.” “She does?” Rainbow replied with a blink, “But she's way over there.” Twilight erped and opened her mouth to explain when Spike tugged on her tail. “I sent that letter,” he said, “but there's one thing I don't get.” “What?” “You said you two were using the Elements, right?” Spike asked, and Twilight responded with a nod. Spike produced the box containing them. Rainbow's, Fluttershy's, Applejack's, and Pinkie Pie's were all there, but the two remaining spots were vacant. “Then where did they end up?” Twilight looked upward to her uncrowned head and fear gripped her, while a similar feeling effected Rarity, who, prompted by Twilight's emotions, had looked at her chest and discovered the same absence. “... Uh oh.”