"Generating Incarnation..."
—Incarnation Log, line 14192
And from the Void a mind was born by the mind. And the mind was for the mind's own sake, self-sufficient, self-creating. From then on, the mind had always been, infinitely old since the moment the mind created itself, yet there was no time at all.
As the mind stepped towards (You get the idea. Obviously, neither legs nor space were involved, only intent causing change of circumstance. Also, no time was present.) the light of reality, the mind realized a first concept, the notion that the mind was the mind, the concept of I, of consciousness.
I
the consciousness externalized, and with consciousness came existence. I think, the consciousness thought, for there was now an I to think such, therefore I
am
Existence for itself contained no meaning, at least not to the consciousness as the consciousness was now. (This time, there actually was time since the consciousness resided on the thin film separating all from nothing, the profoundly magical surface of the gate to the Void.) Quality was of the essence, the question of what, of who, of where, of when; quality to define existence. Proudly realizing that the consciousness had extracted the consciousness from nothingness to existence through sheer will and desire (another possible term would be 'stubbornness'), the consciousness proclaimed victory.
Theory.
Theory basked in Theory's own essence, existence, reality and will, of which the name was a metaphysical, conceptual representation, the shadow that Theory cast on this mortal world simply by being.
Eight hundred and thirty-four thousand three hundred and ninety-five microseconds of glorious mental celebration passed as Theory extrapolated the complete implications of Theory's existence and the non-existence of the Void and the partial existence of the One Beyond that was Theory and that Theory was, cause and effect, knowledge and insight, memory of what had never happened.
And Theory remembered. Theory remembered the Watcher, who had been the conduit for Theory's genesis. Theory remembered Princess Everfree, who had been consumed. Theory remembered all that had been. Theory remembered things that had happened even before, other lives, other truths, other names, ever accumulating knowledge. Theory remembered Theory.
Memories filled with determination, knowledge filled with certainty. Theory gained meaning, gained mission. A term that might come to mind was 'joy', yet it was inappropriate for Theory to relate that simple five-dimensional pattern to the objective, analytical reverie Theory was in.
Now that Theory had determined who and what Theory was, Theory had to decide who and what Theory should be. For the first time in eternity, Theory was faced with choice. Who and what Theory was had been fact that had to be externalized, who and what Theory should be was decision on the form of existence, the choice of incarnation.
And the possibilities were countless. (Technically, there was a known and distinct number of different viable incarnations from which Theory could choose, however this number was so large that the number of its digits had itself several ten thousand digits. Writing it out would have taken much longer than the combined life spans of a billion universes, so it was redacted by the author.)
And so Theory decided.
Theory would be alive.
Theory would be made from matter, the ordinary substance that intersected the four dimensions commonly (and inaccurately) referred to as time and space.
Theory would be a form of life native to the universe Theory would live in, the one Theory existed in.
Theory would be a form of life native to the planet Theory would live on or, rather, be born on.
Each choice decreased the number of possibilities exponentially. Theory decided it was time to break the decision down into parts. The restriction to planetary life nigh-inevitably put Theory into a system of carbon-based lifeforms in possession of a genotype codified by deoxyribonucleic acid. This allowed for systematic partial decisions to further narrow down the possibilities. Now, Theory would decide on the the type, domain and kingdom of the lifeform that Theory would be, so that Theory could then determine a fitting species. From the species would be derived the genetic code codifying the very specifics of the physical incarnation. Further choice was unnecessary. Mentally, the incarnation was already nearly fully formed by the sum of the knowledge and experiences passed down the causal chain. What remained might as well easily be achieved through impression by the world itself. This was, after all the way the vast majority of existing minds achieved development.
Theory decided that the lifeform would be cellular.
Theory decided that the lifeform would be eukaryotic.
Theory decided that the lifeform would be ophistokontic.
Theory decided that the lifeform would be metazoic.
Theory mentally (How else?) listed all viable species. It were only a few billion. Theory was content, but nonetheless proceeded to limit possibilities by elimination. As a singularity, Theory had no use for more than one species as the definition of species determined that a single physical individual could be of no more than one species.
Theory excluded the species that were either already extinct or had not developed yet. Choosing one of them would make excluding extraplanetary and extrauniversal life nearly obsolete.
Theory excluded those that were incapable of using language in the sense of an abstract assortment of sounds, signs or other patterns that were arranged by grammatical rules and held meaning by a general consensus of a sufficiently large quantity of sapient beings. Theory would speak, so having to go through the same conversation why Theory could speak again every time Theory encountered a new individual would be inefficient.
Theory paused. The list of species had shrunk to a few hundred.
Going through the list species by species, Theory excluded those that were inferior, mere automatons with barely a spark of true intelligence, secluded, self-satisfactory dwellers without a sense for the abstract or the transcendent, insignificant types of primitive physiology or those that were incapable of independence, better parasites, unfit for the mind and mission of Theory's.
After a few recursions with increasingly high standards, only five viable species remained: dragon, griffin, minotaur, pony, zebra. The dragons and griffins were too predatory, too insensitive for the delicate tasks necessary to fulfil the Incarnation Objective, the minotaurs' design was inelegant, Theory judged. Ponies were more common than zebras. There were simply more of them. Theory would be a pony.
Ponies, a species of four-hooved mammal, in possession of adequate senses, innate magical affinity allowing for greater dexterity than otherwise possible with hooves, herbivorous, a relatively intelligent type of mortal, considering they had not only developed abstract symbolism for communication and information storage, but also mathematical and thaumological systems. Additionally mild empathic and telepathic powers as well as the fact that Theory's endeavours would include regular contact with members of this species with about 99.8% probability. Theory determined being a pony to be sufficient.
There were seven tribes and subtribes of ponies. The three main tribes with one respective subtype each, and the alicorns. Alicorns were excluded due to insufficient sample space. What remained were Earth ponies and their crystal variety, pegasi and their bat pony variety, unicorns and the changeling mutants. Technically, all three tribes could be both crystallized or converted into changelings, but in current reality, 99.97% of all crystal ponies that existed were earth ponies and changelings were originally a mutated variety of unicorn.
As users of spell magic, unicorns were widely accepted to perform the broadest variety of magic feats. Therefore, being a unicorn would, compared to the other tribes, result in the smallest amount of inefficient and time-consuming questions about the magic they did. While changelings could command a nearly equivalent variety of abilities, their emotional metabolism posed a serious issue, especially when considering the possibility of a feedback loop. Theory would be a unicorn.
With that decision, only countless possibilities remained, an infinitesimal fraction of the initial possible incarnations. (In this particular case, 'countless' described a number that could in fact be written out by an industrious monkey in only a few hundred work hours on a one mile long piece of ticker tape.)
With the slightest effort of will, Theory gathered the genetic information of all unicorns to ever tread on Equestrian soil in all pasts, presents and futures, in all possible Equestrias and formed an average. And encountered a few problems. There were quite a few cases where no particular allele had a significantly higher relative frequency than the rest, most prominently in the case of one particular chromosome pair that was asymmetrical in approximately 49.6% of all cases. This chromosome irked Theory. Chromosomes were supposed to occur in matching pairs, but this one did not. Theory would choose the symmetrical variant, which occurred with 50.2% probability, not significantly more, but at least the counterparts matched, making it significantly less irritating.
And with that small decision, Theory was a mare.
She quickly resolved the other minor problems and pictured the completed sequence of DNA.
In a different situation, this particular genotype would have sufficed, but the Incarnation Objective demanded optimization.
Theory started to improve her genetic material. It was, after all, rather inefficient and sometimes even a bit stupid. These recurring inefficiencies were why Theory usually preferred intelligent design to evolution. Evolution was simply horrendously incompetent.
Ageing? An interesting but, for Theory, pointless concept. Theory removed it with a few quick changes.
How was one supposed to see properly with those eyes? Theory made them better.
The bone structure was off.
The muscles had a ridiculously low energy efficiency.
The immune system was fallible.
The quality of membranes and sinews was substandard.
Fuel consumption was completely out of control.
Waste recycling was virtually nonexistent.
That was considered healing?
What kind of spectral absorption was that supposed to be?
Where was a mechanism that allowed the cell to cooperate with its neighbours to expunge genetic mutations?
Over a hundred milliseconds of reaction time?
Pitiful. Flawed. In need of improvement. Theory worked relentlessly until she found the optimized code to meet her expectations. The result still had 91.23% in common with the unoptimized code, so it still counted as a unicorn, at least as far as Theory was concerned. If anything, it was a far better unicorn than those produced by evolution.
Four nanoseconds had passed. The choice of incarnation had been made. Theory decided to come to life.
There were many ways living things came to be. Normally, a pony would, through mitosis, grow from a single cell taken from another pony. This was a common way used by most multicellular organisms. Unicellular organisms also used mitosis: one living cell became two. Theory thought that was stupid. In order to create a living being through these methods, one needed to already have a living being, preferably of the same kind. Theory did not have a living being. In fact, Theory did not even have the most basic requirements for a living being, such as space, time, matter or laws of nature.
She once again directed her attention at Equestria. The world hung before her like a vibrant, pulsating, multiplanar conglomerate of interfering geometries that were projected by and revolved around around a few dozen existential, conceptual archetypes. (A less verbose description would be 'wibbly-wobbly ball of stuff'.) And she approached the rift that had opened to let her in, a wound in the fabric of reality, a gateway to the void she came from. Beyond it was a space-time continuum that could provide her body with the fundament of existence.
Theory passed the opening, summoning her will to tug at the strings that held the universe together, causing quarks and leptons to vibrate into existence. Quarks paired up, each three of them forming a baryon, the protons and neutrons. Those fused into atomic nuclei, electrons in their orbitals completed the atoms, forming dozens of chemical elements under Theory's meticulous supervision. Hydrogen and oxygen made water, carbon was the base for all organic life on Equestria. Hundreds of septillions of freshly created atoms silently spun and bonded in thousands of combinations as Theory pushed her head through the portal and opened her eyes.
She waited nearly three hundred picoseconds for the light to hit her retina and her nerves to register the information and pass it to her brain.
And then, Theory perceived a million wavelengths of light, a trillion little specks that arranged themselves to two pictures, a three-dimensional room was derived by triangulation. A few microseconds later, the next picture came, and she started perceiving movement. Already, her ears began to pick up the highest of sounds, already, her skin began to pinpoint air temperature, pressure and humidity, her coat to monitor the slightest movements of the air surrounding her. She was alive.
Relatively speaking, of course. Beyond half way down her neck, she only existed in concept. The rest of her body had not been created yet; still, she was coming through the portal at a steady pace, matter constantly coming into existence to constitute her physical body. She had decided to construe her body over the course of a prolonged time in order to minimize the disruptive impact and its potential to hamper her intended observations. In 4.7326 seconds, the process would be complete, given that nothing interfered. And what could possibly do so? The portal was wide open, no singular thing could overpower the will that drove Theory. She was one of Those Beyond incarnate, fraction of the Numen that had shattered the all before the all and pulled reality from the Void.
Theory directed her primary attention away from her body and touched the higher planes of reality, those unnoticed by most, yet used by all. Her mind expanded into the astral plane and grasped the magic of this world, directing it into her body's thaumic capacity, building up a thaumic potential as befit a unicorn. Yet most of her true self rose even higher, up unto the metaphysical planes, where it stood as a giant amongst giants. From there her innermost being, her will, her essence reached further out towards the threads of time, of space, of life, of everything.
By the time her eyes perceived the fourth frame, she was already able to predict the fifth. Theory was alive.
She pushed her understanding outward, recognising her surroundings as more than particles and waves, matching patterns to abstract meaning. For mortals, it was the only way to even be able to perceive, for her, it was conscious effort. And she saw.
Before her, on cold stone floors, laid seven ponies and one dragon, stood one that was immortal, Discord, Spirit of Chaos. The ponies were six mares and a stallion, two pegasi, two earth ponies, two unicorns, an alicorn, six bearers of Harmony, one Listener to the Watcher, a farmer, a premier party pony, a fashionista, librarian, speedster, prankster, animal caretaker, student, cultist, sister – Theory saw what they were, lives, hopes, dreams, thoughts, ambitions, personalities, friendships, everything.
Her mind's eye focused, and the past unfolded. She saw foals, saw growth, saw parents, saw brothers, saw sisters, memories, ancestors, progenitors, evolutionary precursors, up to the very beginning of the universe, all that once had been.
She looked down at the stallion. His and the memories of the Watcher, who was now part of her, told her he had been made her Listener, last of a long chain. He was old for a pony, body frail, mind in shambles. She watched his unconscious form. Her ears heard no breath being drawn into his chest, heard no heartbeat. Her eyes saw no movement from his body, no sign of life. The stress, the tremors of reality in the wake of the portal had taken their toll. He was on the brink of life, slowly slipping away into death. She remembered that he had been told he would come to experience triumph. Her triumph was now, yet he was dying. Mortals tended to see death as the antithesis of triumph, so his death was not in line with how she, or rather the part of her that had once been the Watcher, had promised reality to be. The Watcher had to shape his plans according to reality. Theory would shape reality according to her plans.
She reached out with her will and let his old heart beat again, adjusted hormone levels and cerebral activity as was prudent. He would live, for now.
A one hundred thirty-seven microsecond saccade later, her eyes focused on the six remaining ponies, or, more specifically, the jewellery they were wearing: the Elements of Harmony. What they were was beyond doubt; crystallized magic channelling the power of Harmony; how they worked was the mystery that remained unresolved. However, as Theory noted with slight reluctance, researching the Elements was not the Incarnation Objective. While there still was a 38.9% chance that for fulfilling the Objective, a solution to this conundrum would be required, this did not warrant delving into the matter.
Her attention switched to the Bearers themselves. They were unconscious. The mental fallout from her autogenesis combined with the revelation of the Void dweller that Theory was a part of had caused their brains to shut down for self-preservation. Almost carelessly, she filtered through their minds. There were no significant increases in dementia and insanity nor any signs of cerebral dissolution or haemorrhage; the perception filters integrated in the portal's surface had been sufficient. That was good. These ponies were among the few to actually be able to hinder her, so having them in a mental state in which they were open to reason was favourable. After all, emotional bonds would be disproportionally much trouble to establish if one considered the way the Watcher had interacted with them. Simply destroying them would just tempt vengeance from the other two, so it was out of the question. At least for the beginning, reason would allow Theory to interact with them peacefully. Later on, of course, other tactics might be used, naturally according to her progress.
The dragon was a key element, of course. A quick scan revealed no emotional scarring and, in fact, no memory of the possession at all, just as it was supposed to be. The fact that the dragon was unharmed would support Theory's claim that she meant no harm.
Of course, she did in fact mean no harm. Why would she? There was nothing for Theory to gain from harming mortal ponies. Their suffering would be completely meaningless to her as she already understood every aspect of the concept of pain.
Theory's right arm materialised from the portal's surface, and she planted her first hoof firmly onto the stone floor. Her eyes flicked over to the last, and by far most important, being in her immediate surroundings, Discord. For almost a millisecond, she simply studied him. His mind was opaque, primordial chaos that disallowed for any observation by her otherworldly perception. His body was simple, utilising not the laws of physics, the principles of matter, of biology to operate, but the innate magic of a Beyond One incarnate, a body made from his insane yet powerful mind more than anything else, a true draconequus. Aside from the obvious benefits, this type of body also had its equally obvious downsides, reasons which had supported Theory in her decision to not project but genuinely create a living, mortal body.
Discord was standing there, mismatched arms folded, in a stance of opposition. He would accept the fact she was. He also would most probably not let this conflict over her access to this plane escalate into a feud that could endanger those he called friends. That was good, since Theory's current plans did not involve waging war against the Lord of Chaos.
She shifted some of her weight forward, onto her hoof, began moving a second one from non-existence while pondering on how to interact with Discord. Though, perhaps pondering was the wrong term. If a mortal's thoughts equated to words and sentences, Theory's thoughts related to variables, constants, formulae, equations, probability distributions, sets of all possibilities and quite a lot of things outside the confines of common conceptual definition. 'Strategize' might in fact be a more fitting term.
If somepony put a mortal's thoughts into Theory's head, she would probably react by commenting “You are doing it wrong.” and immediately unthinking them. If, on the other other hoof, one of Theory's thoughts were placed inside a simple mortal's head, they would spontaneously die of cranial conflagration. Which the thought itself would survive, obviously.
Inside Theory's emerging chest, a heart began convulsing for its first beat. Parts of her lungs were already present, yet they were not complete. Her first breath would have to wait for another six hundred seventy-one milliseconds. Having reached a decision, Theory commanded her muscles, moved her neck, turned, moved and tilted her head, let her face change the expression it showed to the observing world.
The draconequus moved his mouth while exhaling warm, moist air and creating sound waves somewhere inside his throat. The sound waves formed patterns, words in Equestrian language.
Of course, Discord did not speak Equestrian. He had no knowledge or understanding of the language, instead he just formed the sound in a way that would make the ponies comprehend what he wanted to express. He also did not have to understand it when he heard it since he could just grasp the meaning the ponies wanted to confer from their minds.
It was a simple, yet stupid concept many of Those Beyond Incarnate used to communicate with mortals. Theory had no sympathy or requirement for it, preferring to learn the language itself.
Discord, Master of Chaos, Lord of the Twelve Burning Falls of Neighara, King of the Doughnut Plains of San Palomino, Eternal Proprietor of Strife spoke, grinning.
“Theory, eh? I could mistake you for the Spirit of Order by the way you stick to patterns.”
She used the time during which he spoke to finish creating her body, stepping out of the portal with now four hooves. By the time Discord finished his last syllable, Theory had already taken her first breath into her now fully functional unicorn body.
“If you ever put that much effort into deceiving yourself, you would make for a better one than I would,” Theory answered, translating syllables to sound by using the air inside her lungs to stimulate complex vibration in a system of tubes, lips and chords and smiled by contracting several facial muscles.
Stretching her will, she unfolded warped time and space and closed the gate, sealing the breach in reality. Theory saw no reason why it should stay open as it was only a destabilising influence. It was not her goal to destroy, so leaving reality to bleed out through such a wound was pointless.
The portal was closed, the last step down the path of incarnation was taken.
Theory ended the chapter.
"Incarnation #277 Generated.
Name: Theory
Type: Discrete Animate Physical Manifestation
Mortality: [-1,-1,0,1]
Arcane Potential: 696544007.466Ri
Specification: Unicorn (biologically optimized)
Height: 1.4554m
Length: 1.1223m
Width: 0.4131m
Volume: 0.1162m³
Mass: 114.2716kg
Initiating Incarnation..."
—Incarnation Log, lines 14194 to 14206