//------------------------------// // Dimensions Explained // Story: Son of Invention // by Zman537 //------------------------------// (Invention: 1495 years ago) I hummed to myself as I continued to let my fingers dance along the keys. It had taken me over a week, but I’d finally managed to make, and tune, a grand piano. My song wasn’t, well, anything special. It was really me just fiddling around with the keys to make sure they all were in tune. The piano itself however, was one of a kind. Unlike most pianos, there was an extraordinarily thin crystalline coating on the strings made from pure quartz. Unfortunately, it made actually tuning the strings rather... difficult. I’d already tuned it with the strings before the coating was applied and it was hard enough then. “No wonder people charged so much to tune these things. It’s stupidly hard.” I stopped messing with the piano’s keys and pushed the bench back. “Now let’s check the interior, can’t have any broken strings.” I looked inside and grinned triumphantly at the sleek sheen of the purple tinted metal cords. “Perfect. Not even a crack.” Looking around the cave at my home, I smiled some before sighing in resignation. “It is unfortunate that I can’t move the girl out of here. I personally would like to see how some of the townsfolk would react to a nice melody.” Robin, who had been sitting on the porch watching me play and fiddle around with the piano, rolled her eyes as she got up and started coming closer. “"I see no reason for why thou needest to make more trouble for thyself. I have a feeling that 'twould not bode well if thy piano were in the midst of Canterlot's markets.” I laughed and waved a hand. “Oh like I was going to put it there anyways. I was just humoring the idea is all.” I picked up the bench and hefted it onto my shoulder. “Now can you help me lift this up onto that balcony we made higher up? I think it’d look good up there.” Robin’s horn lit up and the entire piano became airborne. I still felt impressed at just how much her magic seemed to grow since she started to help me with just fiddling with stuff. When I had met her, Robin was on par with most unicorns. Nowadays, she probably could give old Starbeard a run for his money. I have a hypothesis that it may be because she’s been putting magic into the crystals for me, and possibly having her magic “touch” into the fabric of reality for a brief moment. I’m glad that she remained herself, even if she lit up like a roman candle, and just seems content to live here, with me and my “stupid little ideas”. The piano floated over to her and she looked up at me. “Let us be off Invention.” I smiled warmly and followed her up the stairway I had built leading to a cave opening we had found about a month ago. “Of course madam. Lead the way.” (Lieutenant Highwind: Canterlot Guard Barracks: The next morning) “WHAT DO YOU MEAN I’M BEING STATIONED!?” Highwind shook in rage as he glared at the Guard Captain. He was no longer in his regulation armor, and instead had been given a saddlebag and a train ticket for Manehatten. “How in Tartarus am I going to get a chance at catching Invention if I’m nowhere near him!?” The Captain glared as he slammed a hoof down on his desk, silencing Highwind instantly. “Simple Highwind. You won’t. We received orders directly from the Princesses that Invention is not to be approached. He has accepted his punishment after being confronted in Ponyville, and is being banished from Equestria as a result. We are to keep to these orders unless he chooses to ignore his banishment, or shows signs of aggression.” He sighed and leaned back in his chair. “I’m sorry Lieutenant Highwind, but your little vendetta ended before it could begin.” Highwind was frozen in place as his mind started to warp in anger. Eventually his face moved back to the neutral of a trained guard. “I see.” He gave the Captain a salute, before turning for the door. “I will make my preparations for my leave then.” As soon as Highwind was out of the room, he snorted and slammed a hoof on the floor. “Celestia damn it! That wretch not only gets to besmirch my family name, but I can’t do anything about it because he’s not even going to be in the country anymore!?” He growled and a shimmer covered his horn as well as a long, custom pole arm that had been cloaked before fading from view once more. “No matter, I’ll just do some work off of the books then. Just confront him, and make it so he’ll be blamed for the assault. After all, it’s clear that Celestia despises him.” Highwind began to grin towards himself. “I could use that to my advantage.” Highwind was silent to the world as he continued to think in the glaring morning light. He barely even noticed that he had reached the train station before he grinned and boarded his train. “He better hope I don’t see him anywhere in Manehattan, or Baltimare, or Dammark, or anywhere.” (Jenny: Twilight’s Library) Jenny blankly stared at the ceiling of the room she had been giving the night before. Before she had gone to bed, she had been fairly convinced earlier that everything that was happening was a dream that she would have woken up from. Especially after Celestia’s outburst of shock when Rarity said that Invention was a parent. Her subsequent flight back to Canterlot almost immediately after heavily suggested her dream argument. The fact that the guy who had been imprisoned in stone for 1500 years suddenly being a dad in less than a day only made her think with even more certainty that everything was, most certainly, a dream of stupidly complex proportions. But if that was the case, why was she still staring at the ceiling of the same room she fell asleep in the dream? The same room she had just woke up in a few scant minutes ago? The same room that she herself had helped Twilight in magically resizing by acting as a human measuring stick for the bed while Twilight used a size changing spell on the frame, mattress, and sheets? Yeah, last night was weird for her once it came time to sleep. So why the bloody hell was she still there? Jenny whimpered slightly as she closed her eyes. “Okay Jenny, just close your eyes and take a deep breath. When you open your eyes again you’ll be back home, and you will not have recently had a casual conversation with two ultra powerful royals while talking out your ass, wearing a former Halloween costume, and more than likely getting every single fact you said wrong.” She opened her eyes with a smile and soon groaned as she saw the ceiling again afterwards. Her thoughts started to kick into overdrive as her smile faded and her breathing started accelerating. This situation is completely impossible! There is no way that a sword could just grab me and rip me from my home. It is impossible in every sense of the word to be able to travel through dimensional thingies like Pr...Princess... Luna... said... Jenny’s train of thought came to a halt and she could only sigh. Aaaaaaand I just thought of where I am again. Seriously, I would have been more accepting of this being my destination if it had happened in a dream. I mean, My Little Pony? Sure I’ve had weird dreams, but really? ACTUALLY getting dropped here is like a bad Fanfiction I caught Greg reading.... Maybe I should have paid him more attention when he was rambling. That information could have been really helpful earlier. A knock on the door cause the poor girl to jump before Twilight’s voice came from the other side. “Jenny? Are you up?” Jenny shakily sighed and sat up on the bed. At least I acted politely even if I was assuming it was a dream. Less complicated relations to start off with.... hopefully. “One moment!” She got up and paused for a moment when she looked at herself. More specifically, the armor she was still wearing. Huh.... I never changed out of this. Jenny looked around for a moment before taking a small whiff of her arm and reeling. Oh God Almighty..... need to bathe. (Invention: 1495 years ago) Once we had gotten up the stairs, and somehow managed to squeeze the piano through the rock-based doorway without any damage or shrinking of said piano, Robin set it down over towards the railing I had put on the edge of the cliff’s face. She wiped a small drop of sweat from her brow and grinned happily. “There.” I couldn’t help but smirk as I looked at the piano. “Uh, Robin.” She looked at me with a small hint of confusion. “It’s backwards.” Robin looked back at the piano and blushed before turning it around so that the keys were not hitting the rails anymore. I chuckled at the glare she gave me. “Better.” She huffed indignantly as she trotted back down the stairs. I sighed through my laughs as the doorway closed behind her and the stairs became completely hidden from view. “She just loves to lock me out...” I sighed for a moment before rubbing the back of my head. "Guess I'm sleeping here tonight." I turned back to the piano and shrugged before moving the bench to the proper location. “May as well try some actual songs this time. Not like I have anything else to do. I can also test that... other... feature as well.” I couldn’t help but rub my hands together evilly in a small bout of immaturity. Moving back over to the grand piano, I reached under the keys and flipped a small switch, causing a magical current to start flowing through the strings. I straightened my posture with a flick of the wrists and let out a small breath as I placed my hands on the keys. The melody began swiftly, and almost instantly I could hear that the extra function of this piano was working properly as a ghostly echo of a violin and other instruments began to resonate from the strings. I gazed softly at the strings as they let off an ambient glow of violet that pulsed with every stroke of the keys. I couldn't’ place why, but it felt like the appropriate lighting for the moment I was currently lost in. I closed my eyes, imagining the sounds of music and wonder flowing on the winds to any that wished to hear it’s pleasing waves and soothing rhythms. I followed my mind’s eye into the never ending valleys of this world. It flowed over the empty plains of wheat, flowed through the silent and deserted streets of the cities, and skipped across the surface of the waters. It flowed through a house where a young colt was looking up at the stars in wonder while the rest of the world slept. My mind drifted further with each stroke of the keys, and soon, I couldn’t tell if I was picturing the rolling fields, or if I was letting my mind wander off to look at them in real time. I pictured forests of glowing plants, and harmless lightning bugs. This world of Equestria was even more beautiful at night then it was during the day. I continued to play, simply enjoying the sights. I was assured that I was most certainly picturing my little fantasy world though, when I saw another human stroll through the scenery. Clad in naught but his clothes, this young man was laying against a tree, looking at the stars sadly. It took me a moment while the playing slowed to watch his face. He was nothing like me, but shared all the sorrows I held. I turned my own mind’s eye away and continued to float through the scenery I saw. For the remainder of the song, it simply didn’t hold that warm feeling to quite the degree it once did. By the time the song had ended, the moon had risen to its apex and I looked up at the glowing mirror. I closed my eyes and chuckled a little as I heard the shuffling of feathers ever so faintly from above the cave’s exit. “You can come out now, Princess.” The lunar princess flew away from the cave and made a small circle through the night sky before coming to land on the balcony next to me. She held her royal posture well, but I could see childlike curiosity in her eyes. “How did thou know that we were present?” I pointed at her wings and smiled. “I could hear your feathers shuffling in the breeze. That, and you were right above me muttering something about your sister.” She leaned back in surprise with a blush on her face before attempting to glare at me with some kind of royal fury. “But before you blast my ears away with the Canterlot Royal, may I ask what brings Luna, Princess of the Night, to my little alcove? Surely, there is something that would hold more importance than one such as me.” Luna scoffed before trotting closer to where I sat and looking down at me. “We came to silence the sounds that disturb out night. Our search had lead us here.” She scowled some as she looked me over. “We did not believe that our search would bring us to find thee, thief.” I sighed and ran a hand over the piano. “I knew I was out of practice... guess I’ll have to wait and hone my skills before attempting to play anymore songs.” I stood up and looked Luna in the eye before bowing politely. “I also offer my apologies for our first encounter. It was never my intention to cause such a commotion, or invade your privacy.” I removed myself from the bow and looked into Luna’s eyes with a respectful and caring smile. “May I ask a question, your highness?” Luna looked at me suspiciously before her eyes quickly darted to the piano and then back to me. “Thou may'st.” I placed a hand on the edge of the piano and looked at the strings. “Would you like to know how I arrived into your world?” The princess blinked in confusion at my sudden change in topic. That, or the otherworldly bit of my question. “Elaborate, thief.” I leaned in and grazed a finger along a string, causing a small hum to float through the air. “I had asked if you wished to know how I arrived into your world. Do you wish to know, your highness?” Before Luna could respond I decided to tell her anyways. “What had happened to me was that I had been residing in my dimension, when out of the blue, the sword you see me carry decided to fly through the air and drag me with it. I could not let go no matter how I tried, and eventually, the sword dragged me through a dimensional tear, dropping me off on your tower’s roof. Since then, I have been residing here in your dimension, researching to find a way home. Due to how your ponies fear me, I have resorted to stealing for food and other necessities.” I chuckled briefly and plucked a string in the piano. Of course, I have indulged some every now and again. Luna was staring at me like I was crazy before she spoke. “And what is meant by thee when thou wouldst mention a Dimension? Art thou not a being of Equus?” I shook my head and chuckled. “No, your highness, I am not. I come from a different reality, a different dimension.” Her still confused, if slightly afraid expression, remained and I sat back down at the piano. “I’m certain you will want some sort of an explanation of what other dimensions are like, so I’ll have to use what’s at hand to explain. Let’s say that this key here,” I played a low C, “is where a dimension is. And that this key here,” I moved to play an A, “is another dimension. Now, a piano is not the proper model for describing how many dimensions there are, but that’s because the keys don’t go on into infinity. Back to the example though!” I played the C again and looked over my shoulder to Luna. “Now, could you come closer and look at the strings inside of the piano?” Luna hesitantly did so and I began to play a small tune, I think it was Joy To The World or something. “See how each key makes a string vibrate? Dimensions are similar as they are all made from different vibrations. The higher the vibrations go,” I started to play higher notes, “the higher the dimensional frequency is. The lower the vibrations,” I moved back to the low keys, “the lower the dimensional frequency is.” I moved again to the first A key I had used and played every key in the octave it had resided in, black keys and all. “Now, dimensions can also be divided into segments. from the lowest dimensional segment, one,” I played the low C, “to the highest dimensional segment, twelve.” I played up to the high C of the octave. “Currently, we as living beings reside in Third Segment, or the Third Dimension of reality.” I stopped playing and sighed before I turned to the princess. “I was taken from my dimension unwillingly, and ended up here in yours. I am not sure when, but by testing my own state of being has shown me the I have become attuned to your dimension’s frequency, and unable to leave.” I shook my head. “Bah, I’m getting off topic. Now where was I?” Luna looked around for a moment before hesitantly leaning in closer. “Thou were speaking of... dimensions?” My arm shot up and I grinned. “Ah yes! Now, I’ve explained how dimensions are in relation to each other, but I’ve yet to explain just how they work.” I pointed back at the piano’s strings. “As you can see each piano key has a string, and that each string plays sound. Dimensions however, are slightly different. For each of their ‘Keys’, they have several infinities of strings coming from them. Each branching into several infinities more with every action taken. When some share common actions, they ‘braid’ and ‘knot’ together, forming several possible timelines. Some can be seen as almost identical but the chaotic splitting of dimensions remains the same, making sure that they are never exact.” Luna was seemed to be caught between listening further, and fleeing the ledge when I looked over at her. “Before you leave, your highness, I have one last question. Would you like to know why I chose the piano to explain this, rather than simply talking your ear off?” I started to play the piano again and smiled calmly as the notes sang through the air. “Because when dimensions are resonating at the same time, the realities linked to each one all work together to form the greatest song in the history of existence. The Song of Creation. It is from the resonating dimensions that we can even claim to be alive and conscious. Dimensions are not just the fabric of reality given name, they breath live into the worlds born from their constant shifting.” Luna stared at me in stunned silence before trotting away from the balcony rails. “Thou... are not common thief, art thou?” I laughed as I continued to play before shooting the princess a smirk. “I try not to be.” Luna sat next to the piano as I continued to play. She looked on in curiosity and almost childlike amusement before she turned back to your lovely musician. “What is thy name?” I felt my lips twitch slightly before I looked over at her with a smile. “I can’t remember my real name. So I just go by Invention.” I looked over at the stars as they floated in the skies above. “I have to hand it to you Luna, your skies are much more alluring than what I had back home. Without all the light from the cities, the stars have a chance to shine.” Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Luna lean back and blush some as she looked at the ground. “Does... does thou truly think so?” I nodded and kept playing until Luna decided to leave. Before she did though, she looked back at me with a smile. “It has been a pleasure, Invention.” I bowed slightly with a smirk. “That it has, Princess Luna.”