//------------------------------// // Chapter One - Theology // Story: My Little Planets // by LittleAngelStocking //------------------------------// “…Uranus has rings, a magnetosphere, and many moons. Uranus is a gas giant. Composed mostly of water, ammonia, and methane…” Twilight stopped reading when she heard muffled giggling. She looked up, and Spike turned away. “What’s so funny?” she narrowed her eyes. “Nothing, nothing!” he said, stifling another giggle. “Oh, be quiet,” she snorted. “It’s not that funny!” she turned back to her reading, deciding not to read aloud. I already know all of this, she thought with an irritated sigh. She flipped through the rest of the pages, “Come on! There’s got to be something in here,” she said, “Planet sentience? Who moves them?” “Wouldn’t Luna? She created space and all…” Spike asked. She closed the book and sighed, placing it in the ever-growing pile of useless books. “I don’t know, we don’t even really know if she actively created space or if she just planted the seeds and let things happen. Celestia could control the planets too, I suppose.” “Well… why don’t you ask them?” the baby dragon inquired, and Twilight shook her head. “Spike, I’m Princess Celestia’s student! I think I should study these things, I can’t just ask her everything! I have to study,” she put emphasis on the word ‘study’, “Otherwise I wouldn’t learn anything!” “I don’t know, I ask you stuff and then I learn things,” Spike replied with a smirk. Twilight chuckled, “True, but this is different.” She stood of briefly, stretching her legs before settling back down and picking up another book, titled Cosmic Theories: Do the Princess’s control everything in our skies? “This looks promising! Why didn’t I pick this up first?” she asked herself, she opened the cover, and then blushed when her stomach let out a protesting growl. “I’ll make you something to eat,” Spike said, well aware of her self-neglect when immersed in study. “Thanks Spike.” She turned back to her book, and started to read. ~~~ “…And so nopony is really sure who controls all of the celestial bodies outside of the Moon and Sun,” Twilight took a bite out of her sandwich and sipped her apple juice, before flipping the page. “Many theories have surfaced over the years, the most common being that Princess Luna controls them unconsciously, as it was her that created the night sky, however beyond Equestria’s sky is space, and while Luna created the stars it is debatable as to whether or not she actually controls the cosmos beyond bringing the Moon forth.” As Twilight read, she was writing down on a notepad. “Fascinating,” she paused for a moment, eyes staring up thoughtfully. “So… Luna brings forth the night, but does she bring the stars? Does Celestia bring the daytime sky, or just the sun? The sun makes the sky blue, so are the stars still there during the day, or does Luna bring them up and down with the moon? And this still hasn’t answered my question about the planets!” Twilight absentmindedly nibbled on the end of the quill, she longed to know! “Twilight, I still think you should just ask the Princesses,” Spike startled her out of her trance. “The answer is no, Spike! I have to figure it out for myself,” she told him, turning back to the book. Spike shrugged, and walked off, shaking his head. Twilight continued reading, her quill and notepad hovering next to her, ready to note anything… well, noteworthy. Hours passed, though she knew not how many. Spike left her alone, so the only sound in the library in those hours was the ticking of the clock and the occasional noise from outside. Finally, she closed the book. She stood up, and stretched her legs with a groan. She picked up the book and placed it carefully in the pile, and trotted stiff-legged to the kitchen to put her dishes away. “That didn’t get me anywhere,” she sighed, stepping back into the main room. I thought of all of the libraries in Equestria, the one in Canterlot would have the books I needed. Apparently not, she mused silently. She leaned against the wall, resting her head on the bookshelf with a frustrated groan. She looked up, randomly reading the titles in front of her. Dusklight, Underwater Basket Weaving: A Foal’s Guide, Your Heart’s Desire… That last one made her chuckle. It was about a stallion who loved a mare that refused to acknowledge him, so he’d used some sort of spell to look into her soul and… Twilight’s eyes widened, and she blinked. “Looking into a soul… looking into inanimate objects… perfect… perfect!” she smiled widely, “I could look into the planets! Metaphorically of course, I know they the insides have cores. But still!” Using her magic, she pulled every book on magic and spells off of the shelves, and dropped them unceremoniously to the floor. “Let’s get studying!” she looked around. “Spike? He must have gone upstairs…” ~Three Days Later~ Twilight carefully put her books away, humming joyfully to herself. She knew a spell like this would need lots of concentration, but she’d practiced a few times in the past so she knew the basics. But extending your mind beyond the planet, millions of miles away? That would take a lot of effort. So she busied herself with mundane tasks to make sure she had a clear mind. Which was actually difficult, she couldn’t stop thinking about performing the spell. Not that it mattered, once she was actually doing the spell it would be all she was thinking about anyway, so it made no difference. “I should practice more before doing this,” she told herself. So much could go wrong if she wasn’t careful. But she didn’t want to wait… “Alright,” she told herself slowly. She turned to Spike, who was watching her anxiously. “Spike, don’t disturb me when I do this, and try not to let anyone else disturb me either. It is of the utmost importance that you allow me to stay focused, alright?” “Sure, but… Don’t you think this is a little bit dangerous?” “Dangerous? I don’t believe so, risky, but not dangerous. As long as nothing happens to my physical body, I should be fine!” “Well, okay…” he backed up against the wall next the door, and nodded for her to begin. Twilight closed her eyes and spread her legs slightly, lowering her horn. “Here we go…” “Twilight?” Twilight opened her eyes, clearly annoyed. Rainbow Dash had flown in the window, because obviously just using the door was too hard. “Hey, Twilight! What’s up? Nopony’s seen you in a few days, you okay?” “I’m fine, Dash,” she replied with a smile, “I’ve been studying.” “Oh, I see! Egghead stuff!” “Hey!” Twilight snorted. “Now, I’m about to perform a very high-level spell, so could you please stay back and don’t interrupt?” Rainbow Dash blinked, shrugged, and fluttered down next to Spike, who closed the window. When Twilight was sure they wouldn’t bother her, she closed her eyes once again. “Alright… here goes nothing!”