//------------------------------// // Chapter 8 // Story: Dreams' Horizon // by DrakeyC //------------------------------// Twilight tapped her pencil against the edge of her textbook and frowned. “Wormholes are only a theoretical concept. It is plausible they exist, lots of studies support the idea, but no one has ever seen one or been able to create one. So that’s probably a dead end. I mean, if the greatest researchers in Equestria can’t create a wormhole, then saying we could utilize wormhole mechanics in a long-range teleportation spell is pure conjecture.” “Uh-huh.” She pushed Through The Wormhole aside and levitated Here And There from a small stack of textbooks on the other side of the table. “This book looks into quantum mechanics and how objects can bypass atomic barriers under yet-unknown circumstances. Hypothetically, that could be used to find ways around the usual restrictions of your standard teleportation spell. But quantum mechanics is such a deep field that it could take years of study to figure out how to do that. Not to mention the personal dangers that methodology raises.” “Uh-huh.” Twilight looked across the doom room where Twinkleshine was laying on her stomach and reading a book on her pillow with a bag of pretzels beside her. “I was also thinking I could just hire a dragon to fly an orb of magic containing my essence to my destination and then I could turn back into a pony once we get there. But I don’t think that counts as teleportation.” “Uh-huh.” Twilight glared and stood up. “Thanks for listening!” “Wormholes don’t exist, quantum mechanics is complicated, and dragons are strong fliers.” “...Oh.” Twinkleshine levitated a pretzel to her mouth, then turned her head to look at it. “Do you think all the junk food is making me fat? My hind hooves feel really pudgy lately.” “Seriously? You’re asking if I think you’re getting fat?” “I could probably use more exercise.” Twilight grunted. “I am trying to troubleshoot being stumped on my thesis, and you’re worried you need to jog more?” Twinkleshine huffed and pulled herself up and turned around on the bed. “Twilight, you’ve been on this all week! Every night you have another batch of textbooks to speedread, you complain none of them are helpful, and then you return them the next day and get another batch.” She climbed off the bed and walked up to Twilight. “Listen to me.”  She put a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder and stared at her. “Get. A. Grip.” Twilight began to reply but Twinkleshine kept talking before she could finish a word. “You are overthinking things and you’re on the verge of panicking if you don’t find an answer. Don’t try to tell me you aren’t, you know you are. Just because you’re not breathing into a paper bag doesn’t mean you aren’t super-anxious about this. So chill, put the books away, take a breath, and have a pretzel.” Twinkleshine punctuated the command by shoving a pretzel into Twilight’s mouth. “Now, you are having a drink. Do you want tea, coffee, or hot chocolate?” Twilight’s ears flattened and she shrank back in her seat. She chewed and swallowed the pretzel. “Tea, please.” “Earl grey?” “Yes.” Twinkleshine walked to the counter. She plugged a hotplate into the wall socket on the counter and put a kettle under the sink and turned the water on. “It’s barely our first month, it is way, way too early for you to be in this kind of state.” She put the kettle on the hotplate and turned it on. “It’s like Lemon Hearts said, the thesis just has to demonstrate you’re smart. You don’t have to actually create a long-range teleportation spell.” “But I want to!” “I know, but this is not the way to crack the code. You’ve read more textbooks this week than in all of second year. You know you can’t process that much information. Take the weekend off and give yourself time. Something in that big brain of yours will tumble into place and click.” “I know…” Twilight looked at the textbooks. “I think I’ve borrowed at least one of these books once already this week.” “See?” Twinkleshine shook her head. “Relax. You have time. Now put those away.” Twilight nodded and stood. She lifted the books next to her and walked to her bed, and set them in her saddle bag. As she began to turn to return to the table, her eye caught the journal on her bed. “Maybe Sunset would have some ideas.” Twinkleshine gave her a confused look. “Isn’t she a figment of your imagination?” She looked up at the cupboards and pulled one open, and brought down a mug and a box of teabags. “More or less, but sometimes she has insights I’d never thought of.” Twilight gave a small smile. “And even if they sometimes stray into the realm of pseudo-science, she is interested in cutting-edge theoretical magic.” “I always said that if you ask a hallucination a question and get an answer, it’s time to check into a hospital. But I’ve never had that happen, so who am I to judge?” “I know it’s strange.” Twilight sat down at the table and stared off into space. “She doesn’t exist, I know that for sure. She says she goes to SGU, but nopony at the school has ever heard of her and I’ve never seen her around. But she feels so real sometimes.” She shook her head and let out a snort. “It’s ridiculous. I know her dreams, her hobbies, her favorite classes, her favorite foods. I know her so well, but it’s all just in my head…” “I think it’s cute you’ve found your dream girl.” Twilight jerked and noticed Twinkleshine giving her a sly smile. She sputtered “It isn’t that sort of thing! She’s a friend!” “A friend that you dream about, write in your diary about, and always talk about how friendly and understanding she is.” Twilight felt her cheeks growing hot. “You’re taking that stuff out of context and you know it.” The kettle on the hotplate whistled and Twinkleshine turned it off and picked the kettle up. She talked as she poured it into the mug with the teabag. “Honestly, if it’s helping you, why worry about it? I haven’t had an imaginary friend since I was eight, but if you’re sane otherwise then hey, enjoy it.” “Yeah.” Twilight nodded. “I do enjoy spending time with her.” Twinkleshine set the tea in front of Twilight. “Now let it cool, take a big sip, and relax. Chill and think about Sunset. And don’t think about your project one more time this weekend.” Twilight looked at the tea and inhaled the aroma. She’s right. Take the weekend off. Things will be better on Monday. This is the worst Monday ever. “Be sure you measure the silver powder very carefully.” Copper Crucible lectured as he moved about the room, watching students work at their alchemy sets. “Within point-two grams of three grams is acceptable, plus or minus, but if you have anything more than that, dump it back in the vial.” “How much are we at?” Luster asked. Twilight jerked and turned her head. Wearing a pair of goggles and holding a vial over a small dish on a scale, Luster turned her eyes her way. Twilight peered at the scale. “Just under three grams. Like, point-nine. We’re good.” Luster set the vial down and capped it, then looked at her textbook. “Next step, pour it into the flask and mix. The liquid should turn a pale blue.” She levitated the dish of powder and dumped it into a large cylindrical flask with a small amount of dark yellow liquid in the bottom. As she gently shook the fask, the liquid lightened to blue. “Um… wait, shouldn’t it turn green?” Twilight looked at the textbook. “Yellow would indicate the presence of mercury, but we didn’t mix any.” “Yes, we did. It was the step right before.” Twilight raised her eyes to the preceding line in the steps outlining the experiment. She murmured and blinked. “Oh, right. Sorry.” “Are you okay?” Luster set the flask on the table. “If whatever is bothering you is distracting you from class work, I know it must be bad.” “She’s worried about her thesis,” Twinkleshine said. Twilight glared across the table where her roommate looked bored as Moondancer carefully held a bottle of deep violet liquid above their empty flask. Twinkleshine looked their way and shrugged. “Moony is insistent we follow the directions exactly. We’ve measured and re-measured the iodine four times.” “I am being careful,” Moondancer said evenly as the liquid poured. As Minuette weighed her own dish of silver powder, Lemon looked over at Twilight. “So, what’s wrong?” Twilight inhaled. “When I was looking up Moondancer’s recommended readings, I noticed some books in the restricted section of the archives that could be helpful. So, I submitted a request for access. That was Wednesday. I checked in this morning and they haven’t approved me yet.” “That is unusual.” Moondancer held her flask up to eye level and squinted at the measurement markings on the side. “It usually only takes a day or two.” “I know!” Twilight groaned and slumped. “So what’s the hold-up?” “Hey, chin up,” Minuette said. “Squirming about it here won’t do anything. Did you ask why they haven’t approved you yet?” “I did. They said the request was still under review.” Twilight rolled her eyes. “I’ve been down to the restricted section plenty of times before and I’ve never left even a pencil out of place. Why would they deny me this time?” “They haven’t denied you,” Lemon said, “they just don’t have an answer yet. There could be any number of reasons. Maybe there’s a lot of students going down there and they need time to schedule you. Or the place is being cleaned and they’re not allowing anyone access.” “But if that was the case they would just say so,” Twilight replied. “And I need to get a look at some of the books down there for my thesis.” “Is that all?” Luster used a small ladle to school flakes of pink powder into a dish. “Then relax, you have time.” “That’s what I told her,” Twinkleshine grumbled. “She doesn’t listen. She has fun stressesing. It’s like a hobby.” “I do not…” Twilight looked away and watched Luster measure the pink powder out. That reminds me…  “Luster, you found the books you needed okay?” “Hm?” Luster paused her measuring. She was still as she processed the question and then nodded. “Oh, yes. No problem.” “Good, good.” Twilight smiled and nodded back. “I’m glad it’s going well.” She waited to see if Luster would respond, but her partner went back to measuring. Twilight took a breath. “You never did tell me what it is you’re studying.” “Like I said, you wouldn’t be interested.” Twilight waved a hoof. “Don’t be ridiculous, I’m always interested in what my friends are doing.” Minuette smiled. “Yeah, Luster. Trust me, whatever kind of nerdy and weird topic it is, it can’t be any worse than some of the stuff Twilight and Moondancer have looked at.” Luster frowned and dumped the ladle of pink powder she was holding onto the disk. “It’s fine, we’re busy in class; we can talk about it later.” She glanced at Twilight. “What’s next?” Twilight looked at the textbook. “Pour the rhodonite into the flask and wait – over the next minute it will begin to expand and become viscous. So, we have time now.” “Really?” Luster lifted the dish and poured the powder into the flask. “I’m just curious.” “And I’m busy.” Luster said curtly. “We have to wait for the reaction before we can continue the experiment.” “I have notes to review.” Luster pulled her notebook over to her and flipped it open, eyes squared on the page. Twilight narrowed her eyes. That confirms it – she’s avoiding the subject. “Why do you not want to talk about this?” “Why do you want to talk about it?” Luster hissed, not looking away from her notes. Lemon raised a hoof. “Uh, girls?” “I like to talk to my friends.” “And I like friends who aren’t pushy.” Moondancer lowered her glasses and looked their way. “Oh dear.” “If I’m being pushy it’s only because you’re making me push!” Twilight snapped. “That doesn’t make sense!” Luster raised her head and glared at her. “Girls?” Twinkleshine said loudly. “What?” The two turned their heads to look across the table. Twinkleshine pointed a hoof between them. Twilight and Luster lowered their eyes and gasped. The liquid in the flask had turned deep purple. It was bubbling and rapidly growing to fill the container, almost to the top already. Thick fumes roiled off it. “What is going on over there?” Copper Crucible called from elsewhere in the room. Moondancer looked at the shelves of ingredients on the wall. “Here!” She seized a jar of green powder and quickly brought it down on the table. In a flurry of pink magic the lid popped off, a large spoon dug inside, and a clump of the powder was dumped into the flask. The liquid shimmered and turned blue, and the bubbling stopped. “Is it safe?” Twilight asked. “Wait for it,” Moondancer warned, eyes locked on the flask. The flask shook a few times before the chemicals rocketed up into the air, smacking into the ceiling. Twilight and Luster looked up and saw the mixture, still holding the shape of the flask, stuck to the tile, quivering. “That will do it,” Moondancer continued, putting the cap back on the jar. “Though I suggest you don’t breathe through your nose too deep.” Twilight’s nose twitched and she recoiled at the horrid stench coming from the flask. “No kidding.” Copper approached the table and stared at the ceiling. “What is the meaning of this?” He swept an accusing gaze over the table. “An alchemical mishap, professor,” Moondancer said. “It seems their experiment became contaminated somehow. I stabilized it as best I could using orichalcum. It seemed the safest course to prevent a more volatile reaction from occuring.” Copper lifted the flask to eye level in an aura of orange magic and peered at it. He left out a breath and closed his eyes. “Good job, Moondancer, very quick and clever of you.” He lowered the flask and frowned at Twilight and Luster. “This is why it is very important to insulate one’s equipment from magical interference, to avoid this sort of contamination! If Moondancer hadn’t been here, you two could have been seriously injured!” “We did insulate our equipment!” Luster protested. “I cast the protective spells myself!” “Evidently you did not cast them properly.” Copper looked at the ceiling. “The two of you will have to start the experiment over now. Any work you cannot finish before class ends will be completed on your own time. And the two of you will return at lunch to scrape that mess off the ceiling.” He looked around the room. “Alright, all students back to work.” The class turned their attention back to their own tables, and Copper walked away with the flask hovering beside him. “Excuse me.” Luster stood and followed after Copper as he went to the sinks at the back of the room and turned on the water. Twilight watched Luster approach him and he turned to her as he set the flask in the sink. Twilight cast her eyes to the floor. “Part of me thinks I should go over there, but I have a feeling that would just make it worse.” “Yes,” Lemon said evenly. “What did I say that got her so upset?” Twilight whispered. Minuette shook her head. “I dunno, but I’d say leave her alone. Give you both time to cool down.” Twilight watched Copper nod at Luster and turn his attention to his cleaning. Luster picked up another flask from a shelf, then walked back to the table. Twilight didn’t look at her as she sat down, keeping her eyes on the experiment instructions. “I think we should just try to finish as much as we can before class ends.” “I agree,” Luster said stiffly. She slid the flask and rack of vials and jars with ingredients closer to Twilight. “I did most of the work the first time, you can do it this time. Start with the insulation spells.” Twilight nodded. I don’t even remember us doing it the first time. She inhaled and picked up the flask and focused her magic on it to cast the safety spells. She was tempted to look over at Luster and see what she was doing, but kept her mind on her work. I’m not sure what I’m disappointed in myself more for. “She really offered to do the entire clean-up herself?” Lemon asked. Twilight nodded as the two descended the stairwell. “I stopped by at the start of lunch, but Professor Crucible told me Luster had volunteered to clean it up herself. Said she had been the one mixing it when it went haywire, and she had been the one to insulate the equipment beforehand, so it wasn’t fair that I be punished for something she did on her own.” The two opened the doors into the main hall of the SGU and descended the wide stairs to the front doors. Twilight frowned. “I don’t understand why Luster would do something like that. I was the one who pushed her and made her screw up, and she was pretty mad at me.” “That second one, I’d wager,” Lemon replied. “Given how she avoided us the rest of the day, she was probably not looking forward to spending any amount of time alone with you at the scene of the incident.” Twilight winced. “Yeah, that sounds right.” For the rest of their classes after alchemy, Luster had sat apart from the group. Pointedly so, given the brief eye contact she made with Minuette when she called her as the students sat down for math. She had also sat somewhere else for lunch, assuming she had gone to the cafeteria; Twilight had watched for her to come in but never saw her. I can’t blame her. I mean, big argument, embarrassment in front of the class. Probably doesn’t want to deal with me. She’ll come around tomorrow. Hopefully.  Outside, Twilight took a breath. “I need to go to the library to check on my request. That should give Luster enough time to make it back to her dorm room and I can check in on her then.” “Ah, maybe not.” Lemon shook her head. “She may still not be up to talking. Why don’t you let me swing by and see how she is, and we can go from there?” “That sounds good. And, if my request is approved, I may not be back to my room for a few hours.” Twilight started down the branch in the path that led to the Royal Archives and waved. “Thanks, Lemon!” “Anytime!” her friend called after her. Twilight entered the library and made a right to where the help desk was. A unicorn with a white coat and dark brown mane was looking over a clipboard of notes as she neared. Twilight gently cleared her throat. “Pardon me, Raven?” Raven raised her head. “Ah, hello, Twilight. What can I do for you?” “I’m hoping you have news for me on my request to access certain books in the restricted section?” Twilight put on a wide grin, hoping it could somehow sway her answer. Raven looked around her desk and reached out to an open notepad. “Actually I do.” “Great!” Twilight reared and clapped her hooves eagerly. Raven tore the top sheet of paper off the pad and placed it on the counter. “Princess Celestia would like to speak with you.” Twilight dropped back to her hooves and stared at the note. “What?” The glowing magic crest that levitated Twilight up the shaft spread out to the walls and vanished. She didn’t open the door in front of her, instead staring at it in confusion. Why would Celestia ask to see me? How does she even know I asked permission? I thought requests for access to the archives just went to the teacher’s council… of which she’s probably a member, duh. If they approved me, why wouldn’t they just say so? But then, they’d also just say so if the answer was no. Taking a breath, Twilight knocked gently. “Yes?” Twilight pushed the door open. “Hello, Princess.” Celestia looked up from some paperwork. “Twilight. Please, come in.” “Thank you.” Twilight shut the door behind her and stepped towards Celestia’s desk. She stopped in front of it and did her best not to look nervous. “You wanted to see me?” “I did. Have a seat.” Celestia gestured a hoof to one of the chairs in front of her. Sit down. Long talk. Not good. Or maybe it is? Twilight hesitated before nodding and lowering herself back into one of the chairs. She sat upright with her hooves in her lap. Celestia pulled a piece of paper over to her from elsewhere on her desk and began to read. “A Treatise on the 5th Dimension. Dark Side of the Planet. Vibrational Frequencies. The World Next Door. Through The Wormhole.” As Celestia rattled off a lengthy list of books, Twilight’s blood turned colder and her eyes grew wider with every word. She knows every book I’ve checked out. Celestia finished, calmly folded the paper in two, and set it down. She looked at Twilight evenly. “That’s quite a reading list, Twilight.” Twilight couldn’t stop her ears from flattening or her body shrinking back in the chair. “I’m sorry.” “Sorry?” Celestia frowned and sat forward. “Twilight, you do not need to be afraid. I am not upset and you are not in trouble. I merely wanted to talk.” “Okay.” Twilight did her best to slow her pounding heart. “About what?” “You seem to have taken an awful big interest in the idea of other dimensions lately.” Twilight nodded. “Yes. It’s for my thesis project.” “Ah. Long-range teleportation, correct?” Celestia waited for Twilight to nod before continuing. “I would imagine you’re looking for a way to circumvent the limit on how far a unicorn’s magic can send her before she materializes.” “Exactly. And a friend suggested that inter-dimensional mechanics could help me with some leads.” To Twilight’s horror, Celestia’s face grew concerned. “Twilight, surely you’re aware that you are not the first magical researcher to try and tackle this problem. There are many other avenues of possibility you could explore.” “I know, and I’ve looked at some. But I thought this was most promising.” Twilight tamped down the urge for her hoof to twitch. She’s definitely not happy. What did I do? “I see.” Celestia inhaled for a moment. “Then it is my unfortunate decision, Twilight, to deny you access to the restricted section. And to strongly advise you that you cease this line of research insomuch as inter-dimensional mechanics relate to your thesis.” Twilight’s jaw dropped. “W-what? Princess, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean–.” Celestia held up a hoof and Twilight fell silent. “Twilight, please. As I said, I am not upset and you do not need to apologize. Allow me to explain.” She lowered her hoof and held Twilight’s gaze. “With all due respect for your considerable genius and talent, this is not a subject I am prepared to let a student study. I am prohibiting you from this for your own safety.” “I…” Twilight paused for a moment. “My own safety?” “Equestria’s history of researching the theory of alternate dimensions is one fraught with danger, on both large and small scales. The calculations needed for even the barest of probing into the theory are prohibitively complex, so much so even your professors would struggle to make heads or tails of them. And the magic needed to try and put the spells into action is beyond what any unicorn could ever muster, and would be tasking even for large groups of studied mages.” Celestia hesitated. “...What I am trying to say, Twilight, and I say this not to frighten you, but as a statement of fact – there is no room for error in this field, and a mistake could be disastrous.” “Disastrous?” Twilight gulped. “How?” “Have you considered what might happen if you tried to somehow teleport your essence through a tear in the dimensional fabric? You would need to first open such a tear, and what then? Can you even fathom what that means, what would happen, to rip a hole in the fabric of existence? Imagine if you succeeded and tried to teleport yourself through some portal you had made, can you ensure you would emerge safely? And if you did not, what would happen to you? How could anypony know what would be on the other side of that tear?” Twilight’s mind raced with Celestia’s questions. “I… don’t know. I could teleport myself to some horrible torture dimension, or a dimension where they don’t have oxygen, or magic. Or, or…” Twilight’s breath began to quicken. “I could create a black hole that sucks in everything around me into nothingness!” “Twilight.” She felt a hoof on her shoulder and turned her head up. She hadn’t even seen Celestia come from behind her desk, but the Princess was now looking at her with an expression of deep concern. “You see? These are complicated, difficult questions, and even trying to answer them puts you at risk.” Celestia withdrew her hoof and shook her head. “I’m sorry, but it is far too dangerous to let a student investigate such things. Dimensional theory is only permitted with royal supervision and under extremely controlled and careful circumstances.” “Yes. I understand. I…” Twilight swallowed a lump in her throat and lowered her head. “I guess I didn’t realize I was looking at something so dangerous.” “Well, you will calm down now that you have.” Celestia brushed a wing over her. “You were reading basic entry-level books that could not possibly have resulted in any serious harm. Such materials encourage students to think outside the box and spark interest in the subject, but any serious research is either not published publicly at all or locked up in the restricted section. That is how I came to be aware of your study habits.” She put a hoof under Twilight’s chin and gently turned her head to look at her again. “I again insist that you not feel any shame or guilt, Twilight. You have not upset me in the slightest. I just want to be sure one of my favorite students is not putting herself in danger for the sake of her schoolwork.” “I know.” Twilight nodded, slowly at first and then more confidently. “Thank you, Princess. I’ll drop it immediately.” “Thank you.” Celestia wrapped her wing tighter in a light hug. “Do you need a moment to collect yourself? Perhaps a drink?” “No, I’m fine. Just… scary stuff.” Twilight laughed nervously. “Very.” Celestia smiled. “I prefer schoolwork to only be mildly stressing, not potentially life-threatening.” “Yes.” Twilight stood up, prompting Celestia to pull back from her. “I’ll be going then, I’m sor–.” She stopped herself and Celestia gave her a knowing look. “I mean, I hope it wasn’t any trouble to have to see me.” “Actually, my schedule today has been open to catch up on a little light paperwork. But thank you for your consideration.” Celestia bowed her head. “And thank you for understanding.” Twilight started toward the door to leave. Okay, frightening dimensional magic aside, back to square one on my thesis. Like she said, there’s other ways to look at circumventing the barrier, but they’ve all been explored to dead ends. So what do I do? She scrunched her nose. I’ll ask Sunset, she always has good ideas. Assuming I even dream about her tonight. I still can’t explain what’s causing it. As she put her hoof to the door knob, Twilight paused. Sunset… She whirled around. “Princess Celestia?” Celestia had just pulled her chair back in to sit down when Twilight called. She looked over at her. “Yes?” Twilight ran up to her desk. “Can I submit a proposal for a new thesis?” “There’s no need, Twilight, your original was broad enough, and you can continue to pursue it as long as–.” “I’m sorry to interrupt, but I don’t mean that.” Twilight smiled. “I just had an idea for a different topic to study.” Celestia’s brow lifted. “Oh?” “My dreams. I told you about Sunset Shimmer? Could I research them?” “Hm…” Celestia looked away as she thought it over. “What exactly would you be trying to prove?” “What causes them,” Twilight said firmly. “It’s been happening for a month. I’ve been documenting it for several weeks now. And we talked about it before, so you know I’m not making it up and it’s actually something happening to me. So, I’d like to figure out what’s causing them and document the problem-solving process.” Celestia inclined her head. “I would need to see a more formal explanation of your intent in writing. And you should be aware that if they are not somehow magical in nature, these dreams would not qualify as a suitable topic. You’d have spent time pursuing this to no avail.” “I know, but I’m sure it is some sort of magic. I just can’t figure out in what way. Yet.” “Very well, then.” Celestia nodded. “Draw up your new proposal when you can and leave it with one of the clerks downstairs, I’ll personally have a look and get back to you as soon as possible. But, presuming your proposal is satisfactory as I would expect it to be, there shouldn’t be a problem at all.” Twilight grinned. “Thank you, Princess!” She turned and trotted to the door. Now this, Sunset can definitely help me with.