//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 - Where did you learn all this math? // Story: Sweetie Belle and the Tablet of Knowledge // by CheshireTwilight //------------------------------// Sweetie Belle awoke to the steady, shrill, beeping of a heart monitor. She groaned as the weak fuzzy feeling of over-exertion caused her leg joints to ache like they were hundreds of years old. As her eyes focused, she noticed her sister sleeping on the chair next to her bed, Rarity's head using the bed's nightstand as a pillow. Her eyeshadow and mascara she wore had run black and blue down her face, obviously from crying for her. That made her feel guilty. Once again, Rarity's stupid sister causing a problem I should have been able to take care of,' Sweetie Belle thought. She considered waking her up and telling her she was sorry for whatever happened but she did not want to disturb her sleep now. She quickly realized that this wasn't her room. Rather, she was in the west wing of the Ponyville hospital. She pretty much memorized the layout after the CMC’s many adventures ending up here. Sweetie Belle and the rest of the CMC would often have sprained hooves to be splinted and tree-sap to be removed. She noticed it was dark outside so it must have been at least a few hours since she fell into the hole in the afternoon. She may have been too drowsy to speak or move but she could still think. ‘Why am I … Where … ?’ Her memories slowly returned as she remembered her sore legs, the fall, the cavern, the tunnel and finally the room and the light. ‘That light … what did it do to me? That was my last thought, the bright light … .’ *This unit is glad you asked.* “What?!” Sweetie Belle shouted as she heard a voice of a monotone stallion echo in her head. She quickly clampt a hoof over her mouth when her sister began to stir. Luckily, Rarity did not wake from the outburst. Not soon after that, a metal rectangle appeared before her hooves. She tried to reach out for the strange, new device but it always seemed out of reach. *You have been equipped with a G-Series Prototype Knowledge Tablet™ by Acarel Industries. Due to the cataclysmic annihilation of all life, this unit's primary user-base has transferred to the closest sentient analogue, designation: Sweetie Belle, Unicorn Pony. Congratulations on your ownership and beta-testing of this Acarel product. If you have any questions feel free to state them. However, as Acarel customer service representatives are currently out of reach, we apologize for any inconvenience if your questions cannot be answered.* As the voice talked, the words were displayed on the rectangle at her hooves in perfect Equestrian. Sweetie Belle didn't understand most of what it had just said, but she did not need to. Some freaky voice had infiltrated her mind! If she could, she would wake up Rarity immediately and explain, but she only now belatedly realized how sore she really was. 'Besides, Rarity really needs her sleep,' she thought. 'If I can't fix this, I'll wake her up right away.' Realizing now that the voice was in her mind, she tried thinking to it. ‘What did you do to me?! How do I make you go away?!’ She thought. *This device has integrated itself into your higher thought functions, allowing smooth, hoof-free communication. Rest assured, no damage has been done to either your physical or mental state. Removal is not recommended without an RLC Dividing Harness and professional supervision. Towards your second question, so long as you ignore this unit, it will not communicate with you so as to not inhibit day-to-day activities.* And Sweetie Belle did just that. For the next hour, she laid in bed, contemplating what had happened and did her best to ignore her mind's new 'occupant'. Unfortunately, she could not remember. 'That light must have done something … probably some dark magic …' Sweetie Belle thought gravely. She did not know much about dark magic, but she remembered that Cheerilee said mind magic that worked against one's will was always dark magic. The only reason she was not freaking out more was because what the voice said had been true. So long as she didn't think about it, she could convince herself that it did not exist. This was good. After all the problems she was having lately, she really did not want to add to the burden. Just then her sister stirred awake, "Sweetie … ," she mumbled as her eyes slowly opening. The guilty filly could not bear to look at her sister right now. 'I really screwed up this time,' she thought. Rarity, however, had no such problem. She looked at the awakened form of her sister and cried. "Oh Sweetie Belle! Thank goodness you're alright! I don't know what … I … ." She broke down into a sobbing mess as she grabbed hold of her sister. Her already ruined mascara and eyeshadow becoming even worse as it rubbed against Sweetie's fur. Sweetie Belle did all she could to comfort her; which was not very much as she could hardly move. With tears in her eyes, she said, "I'm sorry sis! I should have watched where I was going! I should have waited for you, but there was this tunnel and a room and-" "Oh,” Rarity sobbed, “I know about that strange metal ruin darling." Composing herself again, she sniffled, "We found you in the dreadful cave and brought you back straight away." "I'm sorry, I was careful, honest! I know I messed up … but the tunnel was straight so I knew I wouldn't get lost. I only passed out be … beca … ." Sweetie Belle found the words too difficult to pronounce all of a sudden. 'Why can't I say 'because of that strange light'?' she thought to herself. *Under the terms of use of this Acarel beta, unless given express permission, the owner is not allowed to disclose the means, method or product Acarel uses to deliver this Knowledge Tablet™ Service. To ensure the protection of Acarel's corporate interest and intellectual property, it has prevented your verbal communication.* “What?!” "Darling, is something wrong?" "Can't you see this?" Sweetie Belle said, pointing at the metal rectangle at her hooves. "See what darling? Oh! Your fetlocks must be sore. I'm sure I can get a nurse to-" "Not my fetlocks, the T-T-T … Tab … ." The tablet was right, she really could not say anything. The thing in front of her must have some spell on it so that nopony could see it but her. “Nothing … ,” she eventually got out. "Well … If you say so dear … ," Rarity said. Considering her sister's condition, she didn't remark on her strange behavior which would have been rude, she thought. Rarity looked up at the clock, "Well I'm glad to know you're alright. Visiting hours are over now, I'll have to thank the doctor for allowing me to stay with you so late. Get some rest and I'll check on you in the morning. The doctor said that you should be able to come home tomorrow since its only sore legs. Honestly, you should have been home already but they had to make sure you didn't have a concussion." Nodding her head, Sweetie Belle watched as her sister left the hospital room. She was frightened now. With no way to tell anypony about what was happening, she was alone with this disembodied voice. ‘W-w-w-what are you? What do you want?! You can read my mind and I can’t say anything … just tell me what I’m supposed to do to make you go away … .’ *This unit is designed to answer your questions, nothing more or less. It has no 'want' because it has no free will. It only aims to serve you and the corporate interests that made it.* ‘So you're telling me some business is running my life now? I'm pretty sure that's illegal … or … or something!’ *This device does not, and will try to avoid, influencing the owner in any way. For more information, please consult "Da Rules"* ‘ … I find it hard to believe that. You’re saying that you won't be running my life? Then why can't I talk about you?!’ *So long as the terms of use are followed, there will be no further manipulation of the user. The rules are as follows* After stating that, the previous words which were filling the metal rectangle in front of her disappeared, replaced with a table: "Da Rules" - Rules which govern all Owner/Tablet interaction 1) Unless violating another rule, the tablet will not interfere with the owner. 2) The tablet will attempt to enforce the terms of use agreement to its utmost capability unless it directly interferes with military services, interferes with emergency services, or threatens the owner's life. 3) This is a Knowledge Tablet™ which answers the questions of its owner. It will only answer questions and only from its owner unless it conflicts with another rule. 4) There are some questions that will not be answered. *A question which cannot be answered will be responded by "Error 2" followed by an explanation. 5) Any questions that satisfy the above conditions which pertain to the Knowledge Tablet™ itself will be answered to the best of its ability, ignoring the rules below. This is to avoid confusion in its use. *WARNING: Tablet may answer in ways the owner does not desire. Use with caution. 6) The tablet will only answer a question which can only be answered in a single way. This is to ensure that it answers correctly. It will not create multiple responses, a list, graph, image or any other result which the owner may not desire or which may be misinterpreted. *Any question which cannot be answered as such will be responded by "Error 3" followed by an explanation. 7) The tablet will only answer questions where the answer is certain (ignoring metaphysical issues of reality) and can be verified with the Tablet's ability to reason. *If this is not the case, the question will be responded by Error 4 followed by an explanation. ‘Okaaay … Uh, are you trying to tell me is that you actually want to help me? I just ask questions and you answer them?’ *That is correct. This device's primary function is to facilitate learning. It has both general inquiry as well as schooling functionality designed to satisfy the owner's curiosity as best as it is able.* ‘Riiiight … anyway, I'll just be ignoring you now … goodnight tablet thing. I hope to never see or hear from you again … .’ With their exchange finished, the metal plate at her hooves vanished and she was alone again. She obviously could not trust the hovering metal rectangle and the disembodied voice … but what could she do? Figuring her best course of action was just to ignore it, Sweetie Belle quickly drifted off to sleep. When Sweetie woke up, she decided to ignore the tablet entirely like the bad dream it was. She remembered hearing her sister that 'A tree that fell in a forest didn't make a sound if it wasn't heard' or something. Even if it wasn't a tree, Sweetie Belle hoped that ignoring the tablet could make it go away for good. After getting the all-clear from the doctor and eating bad hospital food for breakfast, Rarity arrived to take her home. Even though Sweetie Belle insisted that she was feeling fine, her sister carried her home on her back anyway. She could only enjoy a small lunch at Carousel Boutique before her older sister forced her to go to bed. She heard Scootaloo and Apple Bloom arrive not long after she did but they were turned away at the door by her sister until she was better. That was alright with her. She hated to admit it but there was no way she could go Crusading, her legs were still sore and ached even worse than they did in the cave. What really annoyed her, though, was that this was the last day of the weekend. ‘That's right … thanks to that stupid tablet thing and the cave, I missed out on the whole weekend!’ Sweetie Belle soon became bored with lying in bed. Getting up, she went down to her sister to see if there was anything she could do. She may not have the strength to go crusading but she could still help her sister. "Hey Rarity. I know I'm not supposed to be up today but I really feel fine. I promise not to do too much today but I'm really bored. Is there anything I can help you with?" Saying this, Sweetie put on her most adorable, wide-eyed, whimpering, pout-face she could muster. This had no affect on her sister. "Sweetie Belle, while your help with my designs is … nice I-" Stopping for a moment, Rarity remembered something, "That's right. Didn't you have a math assignment due tomorrow? Just because you were hurt doesn't mean you won't need to catch up with your school work eventually. Luckily it's the weekend so if you finish that off! I won't have you missing-out on schoolwork if it can be avoided!" Seeing her sister's dejected look, Rarity quickly amended, "It’s up to you of course. If you need help, let me know." "Right … lucky me … ," the filly said, not actually thinking herself to be very lucky. Not wanting to disappoint her sister any more this weekend than she already had though, she agreed. “Yeah … I’ll go do that I guess … .” Sweetie Belle took her math assignment and went back up to her room. Sitting at her desk, she laid the page out in front of herself. Pencil-in-mouth, she starting solving. Most of the questions were arithmetic, just addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Miss Cheerilee had started teaching them about combining them last week but luckily this assignment did not appear to have any of those questions … yet. Sweetie Belle was no good at those ones. Finally she got to the last question: A geometry question. She hated geometry almost as much as the new 'order of operations' problems. Arithmetic was kinda like music in an abstract sense—which she was pretty good at. Once you got the basic formula—like notes and scales and stuff—the rest was easy. Geometry was like that too but there were so many rules. Every shape had a different "formula" and if she forgot one she couldn't answer the question. Of course, she had forgotten the formula for a triangle. ‘Arghh … we just learned this stuff last week! What is the answer to this stupid question?!’ *Your previous statement last night to this device—prior to this question—leads it to assume that you wish this device to ignore your request. If this is not the case, would you like the solution to this problem?* ‘Wait, you can solve math problems?’ *This unit will try to answer any question to the best of its ability. Would you like the solution?* ‘That would be kinda cheating. Isn't there any way you could teach instead? That way, I'm not just copying.’ *The education system of this device can teach you the necessary skills to solve this problem.* ‘You aren't going to be boring are you? I don't want to learn this stuff from you if it's boring.’ Suddenly the tablet’s voice changed into a more flamboyant salespony voice. It seemed to crackle a bit like a recording. *The education software, called 'Knowledge is Fun™' , provides a learning experience while you play several fun and challenging games! 3 out of 10 students don't recognize that they are even learning!* ‘Wow, that actually sounds pretty great!' Sweetie Belle thought excitedly before she remember who she was talking to. 'I mean, if it's true …' She sighed. 'Well, what do I have to lose. It's just games, right? I can always stop if I don’t like it? The Table confirmed that to be the case. 'Let's do that I guess … .’ For the next three hours, Sweetie Belle enjoyed the various subliminal learning games. They were like arcade games except you needed to solve problems to gain experience and level up rather than beating up bad guys. It sounded worse that it was. The problems were so obscure that Sweetie Belle often did not even realize they were there at times. "Oh jeez. I spent waaay too long playing those games. If I don't get to bed soon … ." Her voice trailed off as she looked at the clock, "Wait a minute, that only took three hours?! That was definitely a lot longer than that!" *Technically you are correct. The 'Knowledge is Fun™' system speeds up core brain functionality so that the use is capable of learning things at a more optimal rate. What your brain thought was [1 day, 4 hours, 23 minutes and 36 seconds] was actually only [3 hours-* ‘A whole day?! That … no, that can't be right. Eight hours, tops!’ *What you are experiencing is being absorbed in an engaging experience. Time felt slower because you were focusing on the game and time was actually slower because the system sped up your thoughts.* ‘Uh, wow … If what you're saying is true, you must be, like, the best teacher ever! To make a whole day only be like 3 hours … . Wait … no Miss Cheerilee is the best, but you're really close! But wait, are you sure I actually learned something?! It just felt like playing an arcade game. Then again, I do feel like I could solve any math problem now.’ So Sweetie Belle tried solving the triangle problem with her newfound knowledge: ‘Hmm … now that I think about it, I don't remember Miss Cheerilee teaching us about all this 'Integral Calculus' stuff but I know the answer is right so I guess that's all that really matters. Say tablet, can I call you tablet, what did you teach me? I'm not sure if I remember everything off the top of my head.’ *Any name is acceptable. This device's integration with your higher functions will ensure it knows when it is being communicated with. As for the knowledge you have acquired playing 'Mathematics and Dragons', you are able to solve problems in: Algebra, Functions, Interpolating Polynomials, Series Expansion, Calculus including Partial Derivatives and Integrals, Differentials, as well as Farrier and LaPrance Transformations.* ‘Oh right! How could I forget! Speaking of which, why didn’t you teach me how to use LaPrance before I started fighting the Differential Guardians? They were the hardest monsters but if you told me about LaPrance sooner beating them would have been a cinch!’ *This device did what its programming instructed. Rationale: doing so encouraged more thorough understanding of Differential Equations.* Sweetie Belle let out a sigh. ‘Well, anyway … I think I should be a few days ahead of the class at least. I don't remember hearing any of those things mentioned on her schedule. You really are a great teacher you know. I think I might have been wrong about you, for a disembodied voice in my head, you're not too bad.’ With her homework finished just in time for dinner, Sweetie Belle went to downstairs, her mind exhausted from the day long math game. That night, she dreamt of knights, dragons and math. A strange but understandable combination, all things considered. Little did she know the kind of trouble this knowledge would soon get herself into. ‘Can I please tell my friends about you? Please?!’ Sweetie whined internally to the tablet. ‘You're too cool to not be able to tell them about! They'll want to know how I learned all this fancy math and stuff. I can't keep you hidden forever!’ Sweetie Belle and her new invisible 'friend' were waiting outside of the Boutique for Scootaloo to arrive so that they could walk to school together. She had been trying to get the tablet to release its control of her voice but its answer was always the same. *The terms of use are clear: 'Unless given express permission, the user may not disclose the means, method or product Acarel uses to deliver this Knowledge Tablet™ Service.'* ‘Urghhh … fine. You don’t need to say it that exact same way every single time though, it's really annoying …’ After another minute a dust cloud formed in the distance. Not a moment later did Scootaloo roll up to the boutique on her scooter. They both coughed as the dust cloud rolled over them, but Scootaloo did not seem at all discouraged by the sudden dirt shower. "Hey Sweetie Belle!" Scootaloo said. She lightly tapped her friend’s wither, a playful smirk on her face. "Long time no see! I heard about your 'accident' yesterday. We tried to come over but Rarity said you were too injured to go crusading." "Yeah … I probably should have come to see you but I definitely couldn't have gone crusading yesterday." "I get it, no hard feelings. Me and Apple Bloom didn't get our Cutie Marks in Tree Planting anyway; not that I would have wanted one anyway. Still, Apple Bloom promised I’d get my choice next time so it's all good. Anyway, so I heard you found a secret underground cave or something? Was it cool? Did it have traps or ancient relics and awesome stuff like that?!" Forgetting that she could not talk about anything regarding the tablet, Sweetie Belle was slow to respond as she fought it to answer the question. "Well I did find … an ancient ruin. There was a bunch of … rusted metal and … stuff but … nothing else …" Scootaloo eyed her friend curiously before sighing. "Yeah, I figured as much. Twilight told us it was some big awesome discovery but your sister said it was just a dingy cave. I should have known better than to think Twilight would go crazy over more than just an old cave." Sweetie Belle tried to get a word out about the tablet but, as usual, the words wouldn't come out. Sighing in resignation, the two fillies went off to school. "Hey Apple Bloom!" They said together, meeting her in front of the schoolhouse as always. "Hey Scootaloo, hey Sweetie Belle! Did any of y'all finish the geometry question on the math assignment this weekend? Ah forgot how ta do the area thingy with the triangle … ," Apple Bloom sighed, looking down at the ground in disappointment. "Nah, I didn't even get to it. I got stuck on the division problems and didn't bother finishing." Scootaloo replied with a smug expression. "Not like it matters anyway. I don't really need that math stuff anyway if I'm going to be an awesome flyer like Rainbow Dash!" "Ah dunno Scoots," Apple Bloom responded, "Ah heard that all that complicated flyin' is really tricky and they use lots of fancy mathematics. Ah bet you'll really wish ya paid more attention to that stuff later. Anyway, did ya finish it Sweetie Belle?" Scootaloo stared at Apple Bloom, about to argue when the bell rang for class to start. Sweetie Belle—thanking the timely bell—responded, "Yeah, I finished it. I guess I'll tell you later how I solved it," she replied. 'Or at least I'll try,' she thought, once again reminded of the geass currently inflicted upon herself. The three fillies quickly ran up the steps and into the classroom, sitting in their seats after they handed in their assignments to the front desk. Not a minute later, Miss Cheerilee trotted in, collected the assignments, and put them in her saddlebag to mark later. "Alright class! I hope you all finished your assignments! I know we just started geometry last week but I wanted to have you prepared for questions this week so I added that last question on your weekend assignment. I hoped that you would ask your family if you needed help." The CMC all face-hoofed simultaneously, ‘Why didn't I ask my family … ,’ they all thought independently. "With that out of the way, why don't we take attendance … ." The class went like normal for the rest of the day. After the final bell rang, Cheerilee dismissed her students. "Thank you all for another perfect class, I hope you have a wonderful day. Sweetie Belle, could I have a word with you please." ‘Oh no … ,’ she thought. "Sweetie Belle?" Scootaloo asked putting a hoof on her friend. When she saw Sweetie's confused face, she shrugged, "Well, we'll just be outside until you're done I guess." As they left, both the young unicorn and her teacher sat down at Cheerilee's desk, her math assignment lying on top of it. "Sweetie Belle, what have I told you about getting Twilight to do your homework for you? I know you didn't do this geometry problem and Twilight's the only one who would take this many steps. I mean, even I don't know what half these symbols mean." Sweetie Belle looked up, confused. 'How does she not know what calculus is?' *Error 4: Insufficient information on designation: Cheerilee, Earth Pony. Would you like a recommended action?* ‘Ahh … no. I'll just ask her … not like I was asking you anyway … .’ "Huh? You don't know Integral Calculus? How are we supposed to find the area of an object if you don't take the integral?" "W-w-what? What do you … ? The area of a triangle is just half of the base times the height," Cheerilee replied, using her hoof to emphasize this on the paper. "We went over it in class on Friday. You got the answer correct … somehow, but you certainly don't need to do all of whatever this is to solve it. Why didn't you follow the formula I taught … Wait, what am I saying, I already know you didn't solve this problem. Now just tell me who-" "I did solve it and I can prove it to you!" Sweetie Belle huffed, annoyed that the teacher was calling her a cheat, or worse, stupid. Over the next fifteen minutes, the enthusiastic filly took a piece of chalk into her magic and began to explain the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus and how it relates to solving the area of any adequately defined shape. All this much to the confusion of Cheerilee. ‘How can my student grasp such complex concepts?’ she thought, ‘There's no way … .’ "Sweetie Belle. I uh, appreciate your explanation … I guess I have no choice but to believe you. But where did you learn all this from? Has Twilight been teaching you after class?" "Oh no, well yes but not this. Actually, I learned from the T-T-Ta … um … my head!" Sweetie forgot not to mention anything about Tablet. Still, 'my head' was still technically true. "Come now, Sweetie Belle, you can't expect me to-" Just as Cheerilee started to speak, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom marched into the classroom obviously frustrated. "Come on Sweetie Belle, what's taking you so long!" Scootaloo asked. "Yeah! Y'all were in here for over fifteen minutes. We got crusadin' ta do!" Apple Bloom said, coming behind Sweetie Belle, she pushed her towards the door. Cheerilee seeing what was going on, stopped Sweetie Belle before the two crusaders could take her. "Wait Sweetie Belle we're not done yet!" Cheerilee said. “I don’t know what to say Miss Cheerilee. You believe that I did the assignment right? What more do you want?” Sweetie Belle said, looking away in shame. The other crusaders looked at her with eager eyes, silently begging the teacher to let them go. “But … Alright, you can leave.” As soon as she finished, the three Cutie Mark Crusaders were already out the door and down the street. Cheerilee let out a sigh, "I doubt she would have anything more to say anyway. There’s no way she taught herself. The problem then is who taught her? This whole situation has magic written all over it. Whether she taught her or not, I'll need to speak to Princess Twilight about this right away."