The Successful Nuclear Reactor Refuelling Party was a typical Pinkie Pie affair. Sugarcube Corner was quickly filled with streamers, balloons, and party foods; followed by nearly every pony in Ponyville. Fillies and colts rushed around laughing and dancing. Soon it was hard to move without bumping into a friend, or five.
I was not in the mood for a party. I wanted to get back to my quiet library, write a few draft reports, then reread a long list of books on ancient history, sub-atomic physics and the philosophy of sustainability. But if there was one thing I had learnt since I moved to Ponyville, it was that when I felt anxious about something, I should talk to my friends.
I bumped into Rainbow Dash first. “Hiya Twilight, whatya been up to today?”
“I've been watching Pinkie Pie refuel a nuclear reactor.”
“Hey, you've seen it? Pretty cool huh? The way it glows in the dark.”
“I'm rather concerned about its long term safety.”
“Don't you worry Twi. Nothing will happen that I can't deal with.”
Just how would Rainbow Dash deal with a nuclear meltdown? I decided not to ask.
Rarity walked over to join us. “I must say, I do wish Pinkie would engage in something a little more elegant. But at least it's not as visually intrusive as those awful wind turbines.”
“Now hang on there.” Applejack walked over to join us. “Have you met Pinkie's family?”
“I saw them this morning,” I said.
“Well then y'know they're as honest and hard workin' as any other farming family in Equestria. I'll tell you, it ain't easy being a farmer, if your farm hasn’t got any soil. But they've done a mighty fine job building up a sustainable business, and I'm not going to let any prissy unicorns cut off their trade just 'cause it ain't elegant enough.”
I backed away as Rarity and Applejack glared at each other, and bumped into Fluttershy. Now here was a pony who would understand my concerns.
“Fluttershy, how do you feel about there being a nuclear power plant so close to home?”
“I... well... I... erm...”
“If something went wrong, it would be terrible for all your animal friends.”
“Oh... I'm sure Pinkie would never let anything bad happen.”
“Well, I know she would never mean any harm. But... you remember the mirror pool incident?”
“Oh... I try not to think about that.”
This wasn't getting me anywhere, and the music was giving me a headache. I waved goodbye to my friends and shuffled out through the crowd of ponies and into the street outside. It was just after sunset, my favourite time of day. I shook my mane, breathing in the cool evening air, and trotted away from Sugarcube Corner. I then decided to take a short walk before returning to the library.
Once outside of Ponyville, and the hustle of crazy party ponies, my head cleared and I managed to get my thoughts into order. I stopped on the bridge, and looked down at the river flowing underneath. If there was a significant leak of radioactivity, I thought, it would kill all the fish and water creatures, and it would flow into Everfree and poison a unique and irreplaceable ecosystem.
Was I being entirely rational about this? Pinkie Pie was right – there were many other conceivable disasters which could strike Equestria. With all her safety systems, the risk of an incident must be very small. And if earth ponies had indeed run these reactors for many years with few problems...
But could she really be sure? It was such complicated technology. And accidents did tend to happen around her. If it got out of hoof, the consequences could be worse than anything we had seen. Well maybe not quite as bad as when Discord was running wild, but it would be a lot more difficult to clean up the mess.
Was there an alternative? There weren't enough unicorns in Ponyville to run the electricity grid on magic, as was done in Canterlot. Nor was there the space for the kind of cloud-top arrays which collected the solar energy which drove the Cloudsdale weather factory. If further hydro dams or wind turbines were impractical, was there another option? The Equestrian railways were powered by coal. But that was dirty and expensive – coal mining was the preserve of the bat ponies, who lived in dark tunnels. The only answer I could think of was to try to persuade the ponies of Ponyville to use less energy. But any effort to get them to cut their bath times, would probably be no more successful than my group to teach ponies about history.
If only there was somepony, I thought, who understood history and ancient magic, they might also understand the dangers of nuclear power. As soon as I had this thought, I cantered off into the Everfree forest. I needed to talk with Zecora.
Not long later I was sitting in Zecora's home. In between taking sips of herbal tea, I explained to her what I had learnt that day: my visit to the rock farm, and subsequent demonstration of nuclear fission. I then explained about the potential dangers of such processes. Zecora listened to me patiently. If the prospect of the Everfree forest being covered in a blanket of radioactive fallout concerned her, she made no sign to show it. Eventually I ran out of dialogue, and there followed a long silence before she replied.
“Here deep within the Everfree,
All Life exists in harmony,
A fragile balance of many forces,
Our power comes from natural sources,
Nature thrives in this wild zone,
Where clouds move, all on their own.
In Ponyville, outside the border,
Life follows a different order,
Ponies and wild critters live together,
Pegasi patrols control the weather,
And rock farmers follow tradition,
Engineering nuclear fission.”
“That's how it is,” I said. “But if something went wrong, it would be disastrous for both Ponyville and Everfree. You know the history of the Incantatem Fissio Individuuma?” I sipped my tea and waited for her to reply. It occurred to me that I had never asked Zecora how old she was. When we first met, I had assumed she was just a little older than my friends and I, but the more I got to know her, the more I began to suspect she was actually far older.
“Your fears I can well understand,
A nuclear blaze would kill this land,
As a tool of war, it is unsurpassed,
Deadlier than any a magical blast,
Yet the terror that hit distant Neighpon,
Was over and done, many years gone,
And now, millennia hence,
Time has redeemed the offence,
Wildlife has returned to the place,
Poison is but a tiny trace.”
I nodded. “That was a long time ago, and nopony with any sense would do such a thing now. But with all this nuclear material around – what if it fell into the wrong hooves? Pinkie's family assure me they don't farm weapon-grade rocks, and it’s not so easy to enrich it. But can they really be sure? And this reactor – if it were to overheat, the fuel rods could melt and it could get out of control and lead to a major leak of radioactivity. Or worse, there could be an explosion which would spread fallout all around the region.” I realized I could now talk in a much calmer manner than I had done earlier with Pinkie.
“Meltdown would be a catastrophe,
I see you cannot rest worry-free,
When Pinkie claims it is safe and secure,
She fails to leave you feeling so sure,
For all the safeguards she can invent,
There will remain fear of an accident.”
“I can't understand how relaxed Pinkie, and my friends, seem about it. I mean, I've explained the dangers, and they seem to comprehend it, but they just don't take it in.”
“Why should they feel any unease?
Who would harm my little ponies?
Timberwolves, changelings, or Discord return,
All are beaten or befriended in turn,
With Celestia, Luna and you in charge,
Nopony fears radioactive discharge.”
She was right. Equestria had been in serious peril many times in my lifetime, but nopony was ever really scared. They all felt safe and secure, knowing that Celestia, or more recently, my friends and I, had taken care of Nightmare Moon, Discord, the changelings, and many other risks. But could I keep them safe from a nuclear incident? Should I try to protect them from Pinkie Pie?
“What I need to decide now, is what I should do about it.” I knew Zecora well enough to know she would not give me a clear instruction, but I wanted to hear what she would say. It was reassuring talking to her, even if she did not tell me anything I did not already know.
“If you have the power to find a solution,
You should follow through with such a resolution,
But if it lies beyond your ability,
What you cannot change, you must let be,”
“I know. That’s good advice. I don't think I can solve this. Well I can't provide Ponyville with a cheap, clean, risk-free fuel source. But should I try to persuade them not to run a reactor?”
“If you believe it is a risk to a friend,
It would be wrong not to bring it to an end.
As a princess, you have the power of the crown,
To order them to halt, and force a shutdown,”
That was the reality I faced. I could order Pinkie to decommission her reactor. It would upset her. For about five minutes, until she thought of something even crazier to do. Cloudy Quartz, Igneous Rock, and her sisters, would always think they had offended me with poor hospitality. And the Ponyville residents would sulk for weeks about rationed hot water and electricity. But all that was far preferable to the fallout from a nuclear accident. What should I do? Think about it of course. But the easy thing would be to keep putting off deciding anything, and then what if there was an incident? I looked back at my friend. “What would you do Zecora?”
“As I know you have understood,
I heat my home by burning wood,
A simple and sustainable way,
To get me by from day to day,
I take this approach of my free will,
But it would never work for all of Ponyville,
If ever it should come to pass,
That Ponyville switched to biomass,
I fear they would cut down every tree,
Then what would become of Everfree?
And so although it's not for the likes of me,
I’d rather they use atomic energy.”
Would that happen? Surely we could manage with a bit less energy, without needing to cut down the forest. But could I be sure of that? I envied Zecora. Living out here in Everfree, in harmony with her surroundings. Whatever happened, nopony would blame her. No wonder she was always so calm and relaxed about everything.
“I'll tell you a tale, to help you understand,
Of darkest Zebrica, which was my homeland,
A once prosperous land, and fertile too,
Where the number of zebras and ponies grew,
Yet tragedy would strike our society,
When we outgrew our supply of energy,
In search of fuel, we felled tree after tree,
This caused a problem which we could foresee,
But by greed or need, we missed the hint,
And failed to cut our carbon hoofprint,
When the trees were gone, the wind blew away the dirt,
What was once fertile, turned to a dry desert,
The land gave us neither fruit nor grass,
And we were forced to disperse en mass,
Since then I have travelled far, by land and sea,
And finally settled here in Everfree.”
I bowed my head slightly before the zebra mage. Zecora had experienced tragedy and loss far beyond anything I knew. But she always remained cheerful. We sat and finished our tea in silence, then, knowing I had learnt all I could from her for one day, I thanked Zecora, left her tree and walked back to Ponyville through the dark forest.
I walked into the library and stared at the pile of unread books on my desk by the window. It had been a long day, and I hadn't made any progress on my planned research. But I had learnt a lot. I felt I should send a report to Princess Celestia, and was about to call Spike to take down a letter, but I then realized I wasn't at all sure what I would say. I ran through a few possible lines in my head:
Dear Princess Celestia
Today I learnt a lot of details about nuclear physics and reactor engineering...
No that wasn't the way to start.
Today I learnt that you sometimes have to trust your friends, even if you find some of the things they do worrying...
No that wasn't right either.
Today I learnt that managing energy resources in Equestria is a difficult challenge and there is no ideal way...
No.
The truth was I wasn't sure exactly what I had learnt and this was just all too confusing to put into a letter. I would have to talk to the princess about it. Well, why not do that? I could just fly over to Canterlot for a princess-to-princess chat.
I walked out onto the balcony, spread my wings, and leapt off into the night, making for Canterlot Castle. It was a cold wind blowing against my face, but I pulled my scarf tight around my neck, and after pumping my wings for a few minutes I was pleasantly warm and enjoying the thrill of night flying. I really should do this more often, I thought to myself. Flying in the daylight is completely different. Although thanks to Rainbow Dash's coaching, I have got much better than I was, I still feel so self-conscious. Every time I fly past a farm, ponies come out and stare up, pointing their hooves at me, and saying to their foals 'That's Princess Twilight Sparkle. If you're a good little filly, and do what mother says, and work hard at school, and be true to your friends, then you can grow up to be like her'. But in the dark, there was none of that. I was invisible.
Flying higher, I stared at the stars, smiling at the constellations like old friends; then looked down at the ground, and the twinkling lights from villages and isolated farmsteads, no doubt powered by their own subterranean nuclear reactors. Soon, the magically illuminated towers of Canterlot, perched so majestically on the cliff edge, came into view. I wondered where I should land. Should I glide down to the gate and let the guards have the satisfaction of saluting me? Or just fly straight into the castle? I decided on the latter option, but as I came closer to the parapets, I remembered that Celestia would be asleep at this late hour. A better plan would be to visit the doughnut shop, and have a chat with Joe, and see Celestia in the morning. I decided to do one lap around the castle. Then, as I passed the tallest tower, I spotted another pony awake. Princess Luna was standing on her balcony, surveying the night sky. I flicked a wing to divert my course towards her.
“Twilight Sparkle,” cried the Princess of the Night as I landed beside her. “An unexpected meeting. But you are very welcome. What brings you to Canterlot on this fair night?”
“Greetings Luna,” I replied, “I came to talk with Celestia about something that I have learnt. Sort of. And something which I'm not sure of. And as she is still asleep, maybe we could...”
“Speak! There are still several hours until dawn, and some conversation would be most agreeable. I will gladly hear of that which is troubling you.”
I smiled at Luna's somewhat formal speech, which, at this late hour, on the castle tower roof, under the stars, seemed oddly appropriate. I sat down, and began to tell of my day's adventures. How I had learnt of earth pony atomic energy; my visit to the rock farm, and the Sugarcube Corner reactor; and then my conversation with Zecora; and my but-I-still-don't-know-quite-what-to-make-of-it-all feelings. Luna listened patiently, occasionally nodding or smiling, but not interrupting. At the end of my story, there was a long pause, while she looked up at her night sky, in thought, before replying.
“So you trust your earth pony friend, and she has assured you that her activities are not as dangerous as you fear. You understand why she runs her reactor, and you are not in a position to give her a realistic alternative. Yet still you feel uneasy about the whole thing, and you just wish she would find another way.”
After the conversations I had had earlier in the day, I was somewhat taken aback that Luna could understand and articulate my feelings so quickly and accurately. “Do you feel the same way?” I asked.
Luna nodded. She looked back up at the stars for a moment before continuing. “It has been the subject of a long standing... difference of opinion... between my sister and I. One which goes back over a thousand years. I tried hard to make her see, but without success.”
“I don't understand,” I said. “Does Celestia support nuclear power?”
“How do you think she makes her sun so infernally bright?”