//------------------------------//
// Because Science 
// Story: My Little Space Empire: Mechs are Magic 
// by Wheezyandbreezy 
//------------------------------//

Twilight had spent much time closeted with Celestia recalling her memories. It staggered Twilight that in a thousand years her beloved mentor, who had spent her first two months of life doing nothing but reading, never once gave thought to how she'd come to be. "Well tell me your family line to the twentieth mother then." Celestia had snarked. Twilight then spent two weeks compiling a family tree and sent it to Celestia.

Celestia and Twilight returned to that day in the Saddle Arabian desert and scrutinized the rage she felt by proxy for any clue. She traveled to the place where Celestia had first manifested and carefully examined under the historical marker for anything that would give her even a shred of insight into her mentor's existence. When she'd exhausted that line of investigation, she turned to her own ascension. Few of the palace's security cameras had been left intact during the battle, but enough had survived to allow Twilight to see her ascension from an outside view.

She stared at every frame for any sort of information she hadn't considered. It still hurt deeply to see her mentor in such a pitiable state even four years later. She saw just how recklessly suicidal her defence of Celestia was and considered maybe Celestia was reasonable in assuming she wouldn't survive. Pinkie Pie was thanked very thoroughly for saving her, she couldn't walk for two days. Twilight noticed that Luna had stopped glowing in her struggle to kill her. 

That gave her an idea. Celestia had shown that with concentration they could "turn off" their aura and appear as normal human women again. Celestia believed that was when they were most vulnerable, and Pinkie Pie's contribution to the fight seemed to confirm that. Twilight, despite being able to see the thoughts of everyone in the galaxy at will, still received her fair share of damage during her crusade. In one instance she'd been boarding a ship that had been a trap. The pirates had rigged it to explode, but they hadn't told any of the crew on board so Twilight couldn't read their minds and see the trap. The ship had been consumed in a ball of burning blue plasma, and Twilight had simply floated out of it stark naked and boiling with rage. Rarity was very upset at Twilight's uniform that she had designed was ruined, and Pinkie was very upset that Twilight was being ogled. Suffice it to say as long as her aura was up it seemed to be fairly hard to damage her. Even Celestia had only been defeated once, and that took seven full days of nonstop struggle with her sister.

In the scraps of video that Twilight could find she saw her own body being bombarded from both sides. Celestia giving her aid to keep her shield up, and Luna trying to kill them. She noticed at the very end something she hadn't realized before, a few seconds before the battle ended her shield had failed completely and Twilight's body was the only thing between Celestia's influence, and Luna's blast. Her body in that moment had begun to glow, and then dissipate leaving a glowing after image of her behind. 

Twilight had a hell of an afternoon trying to keep Pinkie Pie on topic discussing what she saw after she dismounted. She pieced together that by the time she'd realized the situation Twilight had already begun to become less coherently shaped. The camera's field of view cut off as Twilight's essence rose into the air, and the blinding flash of light is where the end of Pinkie's help came. Once again Twilight was stuck. The only pieces of information that seemed to hold any value were Celestia's rage, and the ability to reduce their aura. She poured over the information time after time but no new leads ever came up. She stared blankly at the screen in frustration. Pinkie Pie silently came up and gently laid her breasts on the top of Twilight's head. "Whatcha watching?"

Twilight was annoyed by the intrusion, but try as she might she could never quite stay mad at her little pink cupcake. She levitated her into her lap and gave her a short kiss. "Oh just trying to solve a thousand year old mystery, nothing special." 

Pinkie Pie looked at the single frame of Twilight being caught between two psychic resonances. "Hrmm. . . Just do that again."

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Do what again?"

Pinkie pointed with a toe. "Just blast another psychic till it explodes. Just like you did!"

Twilight turned her head slowly to look at her beloved's big blue eyes. That was one of the issues with Pinkie Pie, you could never tell if she was serious or not. "Pink. . . We can't. . . That was. . . And with Luna gone we don't" Twilight tried to explain to the woman she loved that one simply can't just blast someone to death with psychic energy just to see if something cool happens, but Pinkie Pie just continued to look at her as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. 

A train of thought that Pinkie Pie would have leapt into her mind. There were two super psychics, her and Celestia. They literally could test Pinkie's idea on other psychics. Then a dark thought that Twilight regretted instantly came into her mind. Pinkie Pie clearly wasn't a normal human. She was literally the only person in the galaxy that no psychic could read. Clearly her mind held some insight into the nature of psychics. If they could figure out how her mind worked, then maybe she could become the next super psychic, then she'd never have to die. They could be together forever.

Twilight immediately levitated Pinkie off of her and teleported into the void. Celestia felt Twilight's uneasiness of mind and gently excused herself from the meeting she was in. She flew rather than teleported into the void to meet Twilight. She found her most faithful student and able colleague in near panic, her fingers running through her ethereal hair. She could not pace in the void, but she kept turning around every few seconds. Celestia hadn't felt Twilight this panicked since her graduate school finals.

"Twilight what's. . . " Celestia began, but she stopped when she saw that Twilight didn't seem to be aware she was there. Twilight was muttering quickly to herself.

"No we can't do that, it's too dangerous. We should just be satisfied with the time we have with her. It's not right to reach for the sun Icarus, and we have no idea what that would do."

Celestia called out to Twilight, but she didn't answer. Celestia, for the first time in her life, felt genuinely afraid. She flew up to Twilight and gently grabbed her face. "TWILIGHT SPARKLE." Twilight flinched and stopped her babbling. Celestia sighed in relief and pulled Twilight into a hug. "Thank goodness. Now what's the issue?"

Twilight looked like she wanted to start babbling again, but she only looked away. Celestia gently led her down to the planet, and they landed in one of her gardens. Twilight's eyes still looked far into the distance with concern. Celestia placed a hand on Twilight's and their eyes met. "Please Twilight. I've ever seen you like this. Please tell me what's wrong."

Twilight looked at the ground and sighed hard. "Pinkie Pie gave me an idea."

Celestia leaned back slightly in surprise. "That is scary." 

Twilight gave a weak laugh. She put her thoughts together and explained. "I just had the kind of thought that makes people to terrible stupid stupid things." She placed her head in her hands. "Pinkie thinks we should try to recreate the incident that caused me to be like this."

Celestia's brows knitted in concern. "Oh Twilight you can't be serious!"

Twilight raised her hand consolingly. "No, no, I know, that's not the issue." She scoffed. "We'd have absolutely no way to verify our findings, no way to set up a control group, entirely too many variables to calculate. It'd be throwing the scientific method right out the window."

Celestia thought to herself, "Yes, that's why that's a terrible idea. Because science. . ."

"No. . ." Twilight was almost in tears. "I thought for just a moment to meddle with the best thing that's ever happened to me." She seemed to be getting worked up again. "I thought I could tamper with the natural order without consequence!" 

Celestia put a hand on Twilight's shoulder in concern. "Twilight please!"

Twilight batted the hand away and snapped to her feet. Her aura glowed fiercely as she screamed, "I WANTED TO MAKE HER IMMORTAL!" Celestia reflexatorily rose and her eyes glowed. The two stared at each other for a long while, their auras glowing brightly. After a tense few seconds Celestia dropped her aura. Her hair hung down and Twilight saw sadness in her eyes. Twilight's eyes snapped open in shock. Her own glow faded and she embraced her mentor, and wept with regret and fear.

Celestia held her close and smiled. She knew Twilight. She may have become a wise and humble demigod, but she was still the same Twilight she'd always known. She could get a little over excited at times. They resumed their seats and Twilight explained the situation. She spoke of how Pinkie's mind had always eluded her, how she wanted desperately to see how it worked, and maybe just maybe, it would give her a deeper insight into the human mind. If Twilight was capable of ascension, then why not Pinkie Pie?

"I just love her so much." Twilight said her tears finally coming. "I know she'll die and I'm fine with that really! But the thought is there Celestia." She looked almost panicked at her mentor. "It's there like a Pandora's box waiting to be opened!" 

Celestia put a hand to Twilight's shoulder. "Well?. . ."

Twilight's eyebrow rose. "Well what?"

"Well why not look?" Celestia said matter of factly. Twilight's eyes went wide in disbelief. Celestia mollified, "I don't mean search for the fountain of youth of course, but why not study Pinkie's mind if it interests you so much?" Twilight looked away. When Celestia said it, it sounded so much less dangerous. "And for the sake of argument let's say she does become like us and the two of you get to live forever together. Would that be so terrible?"

Twilight grimaced at the insinuation. "Of course not, but that's not it. It's the matter of meddling with forces one doesn't understand. We don't yet know what exactly caused me to be this way, and even less idea of what that would do to her."

Celestia smiled. "Then don't. Just see what you can find out about her. If that helps your inquiry into our being then so much the better." She stood and smiled. "Twilight literally all you have to do is war and figure out how I was born, and there's no war on right now so go ahead. Start a side project. See what goes on in that crazy pink head of hers, and if she becomes like us then well done you!"

Twilight still looked uncertain. Celestia crouched down beside her. "Twilight. It's normal to want things to last forever. Even love. The fact that you acknowledge that you should be satisfied is already a huge advantage. You're not greedy for wanting just a little bit more time with those you love." Celestia's face fell. "What I'd give to have one more day with my sister." She smiled again. "Go, see what makes her tick, and if she becomes like us, so be it."

Twilight gave her a long look. She rose and hugged her mentor. "Thank you Celestia." With that she teleported back to her room and shouted, "HEY PINKIE! WANNA BE PSYCHIC?"

Pinkie dropped straight down into her arms and shouted, "BITCHIN LET'S DO IT!"