//------------------------------//
// III. Zero Point 
// Story: Memoirs of a Magic Earth Pony 
// by The Lunar Samurai 
//------------------------------//

	A strange feeling washed over me as I entered that place. It was as though I was stepping into more than a simple room. The whitewashed walls seemed cleaner than paper. The desks of the room formed a perfect grid. It was the embodiment of perfection in my mind, an unimaginable place where I had finally been admitted.
The professor who stood in the front of the room wore a large hat, indicative of his position in the school council. He was important, and he knew it. “What’s this?” the professor asked as he looked toward me. I was frozen, half in fear and half in wonder. His voice didn’t carry a single hint of prejudice.
I swallowed and clutched the piece of paper more tightly to my chest. “Hi, I’m Starswirl… I just have a quick question,” I started, my voice trying its best not to tremble. “I won’t be long.”
The professor’s gaze drifted to the clock on the wall. “Well… class starts in just a few minutes…” His gaze drifted to the class in an unspoken question.
The rest of the class seemed as curious as I was. It must have been a strange sight for them, seeing an earth pony enter their classroom in a building where the earth pony students never dared to tread. I could feel the tension in the air, their prejudices all emitting that same hatred that I had felt for so many years on end. There was one stallion, however, who didn’t emit that same hatred and he stood at the front of the class.
“I suppose we can hear your question,” the professor said as he looked back to me. “but make it quick.”
I struggled to tear my gaze from the professor and place it on the piece of paper that I held so close. I looked at its surface, with every line that had been so quickly written those few nights ago. This was it, my chance to finally discover what I had been searching for.
“Two days ago, I was walking down the hall through The Union.”
I hadn’t even started my question and another unicorn interrupted me. “What were you doing in The Union?” His voice confirmed my worst fear: I was unwelcome here.
Before I had a chance to respond, the professor looked at the unicorn and commanded him to be silent. “Irrelevant!” he ordered before looking to me. “My apologies, my students are usually more well behaved. Please continue.”
That small act of authority fueled my confidence. The professor was on my side. “I walked past this class and heard the phrase: ‘While earth ponies can hypothesize on spells…’ and I would like to know what you meant by that.”
The professor’s eyebrow cocked ever so slightly. “I don’t remember saying that…” he muttered as he turned toward the unicorns. “Does anyone remember that conversation?”
The students shook their heads. It was then when I became aware of my predicament. I was an earth pony who had just set hoof into the realm of the unicorns. I didn’t belong here. 
“S—Sorry for wasting your time…” I stammered as I quickly pocketed the page. “Thank you.” I quickly started for the door, my mind beginning, once again, to chide me for having any hope in a life beyond what society had defined for me.
As my hoof touched the door handle, the professor spoke up again. “Just a moment.”
I froze, fearing that I would now become an example for the rest of his students.
“Now I said I didn’t remember that specific conversation, but there is evidence that earth ponies can hypothesize on the employment of unicorn magic.”
My ears perked up. In that instant I had realized two specific things. The professor had finished his thought, he had spoken what I had tried to conceive over hours of research. He had also reignited that hope that had been all but snuffed out only moments before.
“Class is about to begin.”
“Oh, I understand,” I said gratefully as I turned to the door once more. “Thank you for your time.” I turned to the door, my mind grateful for the opportunity to gain that small piece of information. I had no idea where I would go now, but my desires had been answered and I was satisfied.	
“You didn’t let me finish, Starswirl. I was going to say: Class is about to begin, why don’t you have a seat.”
I couldn’t have been the only one who was shocked. The entire class was silent. Here I was, an earth pony, that had just been offered a seat in one of the most selective buildings in all of the campus. I had just been given the chance to sit in on a class about magic. I quickly trotted toward the open seat in the back of the room, but the professor had different plans.
“Out of all the seats you could have taken, you chose the back.” He smiled as he stepped toward one of the desks in the front of the room and placed his hoof on its surface. “Sit here.” He turned toward the rest of the class.
“Alright, students,” the professor started as I took my seat in the front of the class. “Does anypony have anything to share?”
The room was silent. I could feel the attention of the students resting directly on me. I was out of place, and everypony knew it.
“Well?” the professor prodded. “Hasn’t anyone been tinkering?”
“I made a bit more progress on my force field spell…” one of the unicorns piped up from behind me.
“Excellent!” the professor said as he strode to the chalkboard and picked up a piece of chalk with his mouth. “What are your methods, Amethyst?”
I thought it was odd how he held the chalk in his mouth, but I had become so accustomed to it that I didn’t give it a second thought.
“Well…” Amethyst started as she rifled through her bag for her notebook. “I was having a hard time getting a magically generated solid to form properly.”
“Were you having difficulties making the mass itself?”
“Well… it doesn’t seem to form around objects properly. I ended up taking a chunk out of my table after I tried to form a sphere around a teacup.”
The class chuckled. The lightheartedness was one of the first things that really put my mind to ease in that strange new world. The class was not a lecture, but instead it was a community. The teacher had as much to learn from his students as he had information to give them. Everypony was equal, and I was beginning to feel that equality.
“I see,” the professor said as he spat the chalk to the lectern and rubbed his chin. “Have you tried employing different shapes?”
“Well… the magic itself is generated from one of those point projections you were telling us about.”
The professor’s gaze caught mine for just a moment. “Can you explain that for our guest? This may prove to be a valuable experience for all of us.”
“Oh… Think of a candle. There is a certain distance from that candle where all of the light is the same intensity. That distance makes a 	shape, and that shape is a sphere. You can call a magically conjured surface on that shape and create a physical barrier.”
The secrets of the magical world were being revealed to me in the most nonchalant way I could have imagined. Amethyst was telling me, an earth pony, about the secrets that her race had held for so many centuries.
“Good explanation,” the professor said. “So let’s evaluate why you ripped apart your table.” He looked to me once again. “Starswirl? Do you have any ideas on why Amethyst’s table was damaged?”
I was stunned. I had just been introduced to a tiny fragment of magic, and now the professor was asking me to give my input.
“With all due respect, Professor Evenstar,” a voice from behind me piped up. “It isn’t quite fair to put Starswirl on the spot like that.”
Evenstar looked to the stallion, his brow furrowing with authority. “It also isn’t fair that none of us are allowed to use magic in my class. Starswirl may just be an earth pony, but he can still contribute if he chooses to.”
I was as scared as I was impressed. Here was a unicorn professor who was going out of his way to let an earth pony join in on the trade.
“Well Starswirl? Do you have any thoughts?”
“Well…” I started. “Did it have to do with the fact that you conjured up a perfect sphere? I would think a solid popping out of nowhere would separate things…”
As my sentence came to a fragmented end, I saw the corner of the professor’s mouth drift upward. “Exactly,” he said as he turned toward Amethyst once more. “You see, that solid you created would have worked, but, as Starswirl said, you made it inside the table. And here is where the fun begins!”
Professor Evenstar raced to the board and began writing once more. “So, with this is mind, we need to take a look at how we form solids. The solution to your issue lies in the fact that the way we make solids with projections are simply rudimentary. Forming complex solids is much more difficult than we can imagine…” He turned to the class, there was a special sparkle in his eye. “This is where we enter the 4th dimension. The best way to go about making a complex shape is trying to discover it’s fundamental parts. Those sometimes exist in higher dimensions.”
“So!” he shouted as he stepped over to his desk. “Let’s take a gander into the 4th dimension, shall we?”
I was confused as I watched him sit into his chair and close his eyes. I was expecting experimentation, testing, or some grandiose display of magic. Instead, however, the rest of the class did the same. They all let their heads droop, their eyes shut, and their minds entered their imagination.
“Alright, go ahead and start building your dimensions. We need 4 today.”
What on earth are they doing?
“Once you get to the fourth, let me know by lightly tapping your desk.” Small tapping noises began to fill the room. By now I was completely unsure as to what was actually happening. The hall grew deathly quiet, and I trembled when Professor Evenstar spoke up once more, breaking the silence with a low voice.
“Alright class, begin by projecting a small sphere in empty space. As you can see, the sphere itself is perfect, but that is a limitation rather than a blessing. To effectively use this sphere, we need to have a section of it removed. To do that, we have two options. We can try and manipulate the sphere as it is, or we can look at it from the fourth dimension.”
“If we wanted to cut off half of the sphere in 3 dimensions, we would need to employ a powerful technique, but in the 4th dimension, it is much easier to pull off. What we need to do is simply draw the sphere on a 3 dimensional grid in the 4th dimension. Now this all may sound confusing, but you need to then cut that drawing with a 4 dimensional object.”
I was completely lost. Not only had the entire class seemingly fallen asleep, the professor was discussing things in unimaginable dimensions. I was quickly becoming overwhelmed.
“Tap the desk when you have a functioning semicircle.”
Slowly, the room filled with light taps. I was completely awestruck at the abilities of the unicorns.
“Amethyst, do you have a good hold on that shape?”
A light tap indicated that she did.
“Excellent. As you can see, the object has a different property after it has been created in the 4th dimension. This entire process is called interdimensional modeling, and it is the foundation for the way unicorns create complex 3 dimensional shapes. Unfortunately, this system is also very taxing.” Professor Evenstar’s eyes slowly opened. “Go ahead and end your thought process if you haven’t created your semi-sphere. This mental exercise is not one that should be taken lightly.”
There was a light din as the class pulled themselves back into reality.  “Does everypony see the solution to Amethyst's problem? This is one of the reasons I don’t allow magic in my classroom. If you are forced to use your mind, you can more easily understand concepts in higher dimensions.”
“So what about dynamic shapes?” one of the stallions asked. “We’ve made a semicircle, but what if we wanted it to deform with respect to time?”
“Excellent question. Efficient dynamic shapes are one of the mysteries to modern magic. Obviously we can conjure them up, but the mental power it commands is too taxing for practical use. However, there is research being done in the field that will allow us to employ dynamic shapes . It’s still in the works, but the methods seem promising.” The Professor’s gaze drifted to the clock on the far wall. I was unaware of the schedule of the Union, but I gathered that class was over from the furrowing of the professor’s brow.
“Well,” he said with a sigh. “I suppose we can work on other topics another time. Have a good rest of the day!”
As the group of ponies rose from their seats and began to file from the room, I followed suit. I didn’t have much, but I gathered my belongings and rose from my desk. I didn’t know where to go, or what to do, all I knew was that I had just been given a glimpse into a world I had never imagined.
He must have noticed, he must have realized that I was lost, for whatever reason, Professor Evenstar stopped me.
“Starswirl,” he said as I reached out for the door.
“Yes, professor?”
“You know, I have never had an earth pony enter my class before. Why did you?”
“I— I guess I was just curious,” I said uneasily.
Evenstar nodded slowly before turning to his desk. “Don’t go, I have have something for you. You see, the world that we live in tries so hard to put us in our place, but there are a few select who decide to ignore that prejudice.” He picked up a small book from his desk and slipped it into my saddlebag. “This is a book detailing the beginning steps of creating a mental dimension. If you can do that, you are welcome in my class.”
I was shocked, the professor of an advanced magic class had just offered a seat to an earth pony. “But— But I’m not a unicorn,” I stammered as I fished the book out of my bag and began to give it back. “I don’t meet the requirements.”
He looked back to me, a fascination burning behind his eyes. “The only requirement for my class is curiosity.”
I stepped out of the room and into the hallway. That feeling of awe had been replaced by a notion that I was in my proper place. Instead of being ignored, uninformed, and unsure of that world behind the door, I had been invited into its realm. I was filled with a new hope about my life, one that transcended that simple thought that I may have some potential. Instead I was faced with the fact that my dreams were in my grasp.
That book in my bag signified more than just my ability to hope for the future, it was an opportunity to take part in it. Everything I had known to be true, everything I had told myself to believe about that place was wrong. The Union was a place of acceptance, maybe not from the students, maybe not from the other faculty, but from one professor. Evenstar had shown me the door to my wildest dreams and he had given me the key. With that book I was ready to take on a new life that would begin to change the way I thought of everything.
My applied chemistry class had long since ended at this point, and I was ready to return to my dorm. For some reason, that place that had once held painful memories of my failures, called me back. That comforting solace I could achieve behind those walls was the best place I had to replicate the serene atmosphere of the lecture hall. I quickly decided to begin my quest of building a mental dimension, and I was dead set on my decision.
As I turned toward the glass door at the end of the hall i was met with a feeling of power. I was about to do something that no other pony had ever dared to do. I was about to take on the entire status quo and break the boundaries that I had always assumed were invincible. I was about to change my life, and the instruction guide was in my bag. I trotted to the glass doors and confidently threw them apart. I was ready to accept my destiny, and the world was about to see who I really was to become.
The air was wet, indicative of the storm that the weather ponies had been predicting through the week. Inclement weather was a rarity at the elevation of the university, but the signs of a brewing storm were beginning to show. The leaves moved in undulating waves across the campus as the winds rolled in gusts through the corridors of the buildings. The undersides of the leaves could be seen on the trees as the storm began to draw the currents of air into itself.
The impending sense of power seemed to electrify the air. I fed off of the strength that was lurking just off of the horizon, just out of my sight. I knew it was there, I could feel it, but the thought of the unknown thrilled me even more. I was about to embark on a journey to find myself, and the atmosphere seemed to be impatiently standing at the starting gate. It was waiting for me to crack open that book and become the stallion I was meant to be.
As I strolled through the campus, my mind absorbing every facet of the hour, I began to think of the world that I was leaving behind. I was abandoning everything that my world had told me to do and what I should be. Everything I had known was about to be ripped from my life and replaced with concepts I had no knowledge of. I was flying blind, and I had no idea where to start.
Then, as my mind began to dread my decision, I spotted a building that stood in the middle of campus; the Library. My mind, as desperate as it was to return to the solace of my dorm, urged me to begin my journey in the unfamiliar yet peaceful realm of that building. I immediately turned to the library, my mind reveling in the fact that I had a starting location.
It wasn’t until I entered the library that I realized how loud the outside world had been. The solid rock walls of the building silenced the roaring wind to the sound of a quiet whisper. The room was was immense, its form split between the stroage of books and a place to read them. Signs hung from the ceiling, denoting the nearly infinite volume of information that was collected in the neat rows.
There was also an unspoken division, one that was fueled by the society that created the building. Half of the library held literature on the facets of farming, detailed analysis of the nutrients of the soil, and references of harvesting seasons for the most obscure of plants. The other held the latest information on the most recent advances in magical research, hundreds of volumes on the most obscure magical practices, and shelves on the laws surrounding each spell and it’s incantations.
As I had done before, I stepped through that imaginary boundary and entered the realm where no earth pony would tread. I found myself filling my bag with titles that I could not even understand. The Ethics of Levitation, A General Guide to Efficient Spells, Principles of Magical Solid Formation, Dynamic Mass Theory,  Hyperdimensions, The Magic of Chaos, it was overwhelming to me. I had only just been introduced to the subject, and I was tossing myself into the deep end. Nearly every book caught my attention, each title begging me to open and read of its secrets, but I forced myself to focus on my level.
As I combed through the titles as quickly as my curiosity would allow, I stumbled across a specific title; An Introduction to Magic. It’s cover was faded, but the book was still solid. I knew it wasn’t meant for me, for an earth pony to understand, but I had come this far, why would I deny myself this simple pleasure as well? I slid the book off of the shelf and sat myself in one of the chairs nearby.
I gently lifted the cover of the book, exposing its perfectly white pages. The decades of existence it had endured in the library were only evident on the cover, the inside still seemed new. I quickly realized that there was a reason for its preservation, the last time it had been checked out was nearly 16 years ago. I suppose most unicorns already know this information anyway, I thought, trying to keep myself optimistic as I turned the pages, I stopped at the dedication. It’s brevity caught me off guard, as its message gave me a sudden insight into the mind of the author. ‘To my parents,’ that was it. I flipped through the pages, curbing my raging curiosity long enough to realize that the information was much too advanced for my knowledge.
My confidence flinched for just a moment as I considered the realities of what my life was about to become. I was about to embark on an impossible journey, and the introduction was something I simply could not understand. Each page was half text, half equations of a nature I could not comprehend. As I pried further, I realized that the basics of magic were still well over my head. I was reaching so far into the unknown and I had nothing to help me go further.
The seeds of doubt that had been planted so long ago began to sprout once more, but I managed to crush them along with my pride. Somepony here must know how to read these equations, I thought as I leaned out into the aisle of the shelves. These are just the basics. Surely somepony would lend a hoof. Each table seemed to teem with intelligence, as unicorns of all sizes drifted between the rows of books. I rose from my seat and confidently strode toward the group. Despite my confident intentions, I still began to dread my actions. I began to worry about what they might say about me, what they might think about an earth pony confronting them about magic.
It was then I realized that I needed a reason. I couldn’t bring myself to ask that forbidden race about their secrets, not honestly anyway. So I devised a plan, in the few seconds I had left, to uncover their mysteries. I was going to write a paper.
“Excuse me,” I said as I reached the closest table. One of the four glanced at me and immediately returned to his work. The realization that I was a lesser form to them began to sink in once more. I was not of their kind, and I should not be socializing with them. Just like I shouldn't have been exploring the beginnings of magic. Just like I shouldn’t have just attended a class on the advanced theoretical magic that was taught only to that respected class. Just like I was not supposed to be in their half of the library, now however, I cared just a bit less.
“Excuse me,” I said, my voice carrying a pinch of authority with it. This time two of the unicorns looked up. They both stared with a confused expression on their face. They seemed stunned at the audacity of such a lesser. The silence was beginning to fill the room once more, and I could feel their attention slowly begin to slip back to their studies. “I have a few questions for a unicorn.”
“We’re busy,” one of them said without moving his gaze from his textbook.
“I am too,” I responded, keeping my tone stern. “It will only take a moment.”
The unicorns were silent, still keeping their gaze on their books. I needed a way to get their attention, and I quickly realized my opportunity. If there was one thing I could use to manipulate these unicorns, it was their pride.
“Alright then, I’m sure I can find another unicorn with at least some understanding of magic.”
The ears of the unicorn closest to me twitched. I had gotten underneath his skin, all that was left was to let that caustic pride take it’s course. “And what does an earth pony want to do with magic?”
“To write a research paper, just on the basics of course.”
“As if you could understand those,” one of the unicorns muttered as he lifted a book from his bag with his magic. “Magic is a unicorn concept, earth ponies can’t comprehend it. I would advise a reconsideration of your topic.”
I was at a loss for words, my confidence beginning to waver once more.
“That may be, but I’m still fascinated by it.”
“Congratulations,” the unicorn closest to me piped up, “what do you want? a medal? Being fascinated in a study doesn’t give you the right to study it. Now if you'll excuse us, we have a spell to develop.”
It took every fiber in my being to keep myself calm. “Alright then, since you don’t seem to be interested in explaining your secrets, I suppose I’ll learn them from this library instead.”
I could hear the group laughing as I trotted off toward the checkout counter. I knew they were mocking me, but for some reason, I didn’t care as much as I thought I would. They were simply students, and yet a professor had offered me a seat in the front of his theoretical magic class. Things were looking up, and I wasn’t about to let some snide comment ruin my day.
I placed the stack of books on the counter and slid my ID to the librarian. “When will these be due back to the library?”
The librarian looked at the books, and then back at me. “I can’t let you check these out,” she said as she lifted a book from the stack and floated it to my face. “These books are for unicorns only.” There, on the spine of Hyperdimensions was a small purple stamp. It was a unicorn’s silhouette.
“This is a public library, I just want to learn about magic.”
“Really? I’ve never heard an earth pony say that before.”
“Alright, what about this,” I said as I pulled An Introduction to Magic from the pile. “This book hasn’t been checked out in 16 years.”
She pursed her lips, as though the decision to let me rent a book was a serious struggle for her mind. She slipped the card from the sleeve and looked at the lone entry that had been made so long ago. Her gaze drifted from the entry to me and back to the entry once more. I didn’t dare say a word, as though I may somehow tip the scales in the wrong direction. Silence was my only hope.
“Alright,” she mumbled as she quickly stamped the date on the card. “What’s your name?”
“Starswirl,” I said.
She signed the card, stowed it, and slid the book to me. “It’s due back in a week, but if somepony comes looking for it, I will need it back immediately. Unicorns get first preference as they should.”
I flinched as I tried to smile. “Thank you.” I walked toward the door, my spirit half crushed by the thought that I had come in with such ambition and left with only a single book. I placed that minor victory in my saddlebag and paused. It struck the other book that Professor Evenstar had so willingly given to me just minutes ago. I wasn’t about to give up because of some prejudice. The reality I knew was about to change, whether the world wanted it to or not. I was pushing boundaries, and they were starting to push back. I placed my hoof on the door and confidently strode out into the brewing storm.
As the wet air of the evening rushed through my mane, the power I felt grew stronger. The world was turning fierce, and a storm was beginning to creep over the horizon. The winds on that university so high in the sky were always quite powerful, but today they were unrelenting. Trees, bushes, even other ponies seemed to bow in its force and display of power. Waves of leaves rippled across the ground as surges of wind pushed them across the courtyard. The entire world seemed to be terrified of the incoming siege of water and wind. I knew that I was at its mercy, but I also knew that the world could not stop me from my quest. I drew power from the swirling clouds above me, from the boiling cauldron in the sky. I was about to take on one of the greatest challenges of my life, and I wasn’t about to let a simple storm stand in my way.
The power that raged over my head made my mind scream to run faster, but my defiance told me to walk. While the rest of the world seemed to bow to the storm’s wishes, I was fueled by the fact that I could stand against it. It seemed as though the entire impending storm knew of my intentions, of my willful disobedience to cower at it’s form, and it began to make it’s move. A bolt of lightning struck off in the distance, a warning shot from the gods. It did not appreciate my rebellion, but I kept my pace. It was the one final act of defiance that would prove to be one of the most important in my life. I was defying everything that I had known in my search for myself.
As I stepped back into the darkness of my dorm and closed the door, I was met with the familiar feeling of peace. The only noise that filled the room was the slight click of the rain at the window and the intermittent thunder that rolled in the distance. It was time for my life to take a new turn.
I stowed my saddlebag in the corner and quickly withdrew those two books. I had no idea what lay behind those covers, and my mind was beginning to imagine the unimaginable once more. I lit the small lantern in the corner of my room and sat myself down at the desk. The warm light that filled the room was overtaken every minute or so by the brilliantly blue lightning that flickered just outside of the window. The storm was gaining its strength.
It powered me, that raging tempest outside, to begin my journey into the unknown. I stared at the two books on the surface of my dimly lit desk. I had to strain to make out the titles, but the dim light was a small price to pay for the solace of the room. That was the time I finally took note of the title of the book that Evenstar had given me. Tabula Rasa was written across its navy surface in golden script. It seemed to be of a world unlike my own, where even the most basic items were held in high regard. An Introduction to Magic, however, was a simple hardback book. It’s covers were still glossy after years of protection from the light and air of the library, but it’s spine bore the marks of its age. It was faded and peeling, but still unmistakably clean.
I turned both books over, my curiosity begging me to examine their every facet. Tabula Rasa had nothing on its back. All of its secrets were to be discovered in those pages between those two empty covers. An Introduction to Magic was half filled with text. Immediately my eyes drifted over the first few lines, my mind greedily taking in every word.
This book gives an introduction to magical theory aimed at first and second year unicorns. The aim is to give a brief overview of the complex topic of magic.
My heart began to race I as quickly opened to the first page and hungrily took in every sentence.
This book was formed using notes from junior and senior magic graduate students. It is meant to give a clear and concise explanation for the basic magical practices and their underlying connections. Magic has long been a key part of unicorn society, and the intensive study of such an pervasive subject has propelled the world into new era of understanding. Great minds such as Ignus, Crystal, Cantamen and countless others have paved the way for modern spellcasting.
As I pressed on, my mind began to drift away from the works that I so desperately craved. My imagination, that piece of myself that I could never quite control, was beginning to tear my mind from its one true desire. I wanted to learn, to understand the concepts behind that barrier of society, but my mind began to pull itself away from my studies. A loud crack of thunder rolled through the campus, pulling my mind back to the two small books that lay before me. The storm that was settling on the university seemed to force me back into the words.
“Tabula Rasa,” I whispered as I cracked the navy cover open. It’s pages were well worn and wrinkled from what appeared to be centuries of abuse. The words, however, were unmistakable.
Mental Dimensions. The tabula rasa of the magical world.
I turned to the preface, expecting to see a similar introduction, but I was quite wrong.
This content of this book is one of the best kept secrets of the world. This book explains, in no uncertain words, how to establish a multi-dimensional mental world in which one can perform magic. This will not explore the incantations used in those realms, but rather, it will provide a foundation for the secret art of mental magic.
I quickly turned to the table of contents, but instead of detailed explanations on the chapters, only the first 3 counting numbers stood. It was curious how those three numbers seemed to stand as keepers of the secrets, but I was focused on unlocking them.
“Alright,” I whispered as I turned the page to the first chapter and let my gaze drift across its wrinkled surface. “What are you hiding?”
Before we discuss the methods on employing mental magic, creating a dimension, or even preparing your mind, you need to have one specific attribute, curiosity. You cannot hope to create a mental dimension without wondering about the deepest workings of the dimension itself.
“I’ve got enough of that,” I muttered as I read further.
To begin, you must ensure that the world around you is at peace. A dark room or a library is an ideal location. Ensure that there are as few external stimuli as well as internal annoyances as possible. Anything that may be a distraction must be removed from your environment. Creating a dimension requires all of your attention and hours of uninterrupted meditation.
I looked around my room. There was a clock on the wall, and it’s small second hand clicked with every motion. “We can’t have that,” I muttered as I rose from my desk and stopped the swaying pendulum. Seemingly out of defiance, a brilliant flash of lightning lit up my dorm. Immediately a crash of thunder rattled the window.
“I suppose you will have to stay,” I said to the raging storm as I trotted back to my seat. It wasn’t much of a bother, dealing with that clicking rain, I rather enjoyed it. I turned my attention back to the book.
Once your area is quiet, you need to clear your mind’s eye and your thoughts of any distractions.
There are two parts to mental magic, what you see, and why you see it. It is more than just imagining, it is fueling your imagination with reason. You can know where a ball will land, but you don’t consciously know the ball’s speed. In the same way, you can visualise yourself levitating an object, but that does not take into account the spells behind that action. You need to understand that this world is affected by things beyond our eyes, things that we can grasp if we allow ourselves to look beyond our sight.
Now that your mind is clear, it is time to begin building a dimension.
By now, I was focused. I was ready to take on the challenge.
Start by imagining a small point in space.
I closed my eyes and let the darkness swallow me. I simply peered around my enviroment for quite some time, ensuring that the void was perfectly empty. There wasn’t going to be a single error, and I was going to make sure of it. Once I had ensured that my world was completely empty, I placed a small point in it’s center. That tiny white dot was the visualization of my first dimension. A chill raced down my spine as I stared at its unwavering form. It was my first dimension, one of many that I would create throughout my life.
A strong blast of thunder echoed through the campus and tore me from my dimension. The book that lay on the surface of the table caught my gaze once more, my eyes eager to continue the process of creating my mental realm.
Now that you can see the point, you have to give reason for its existence. It needs attributes, things that define what it is and how it operates. This point, however, also has significance, for it is the zero point. This is your reference for the construction of your mental grid.
The point itself can be defined as inconsequential otherwise. It will not interfere with your interactions, and it does not alter its state if other mental points pass through it. You need to believe that this point is the center of the knowable universe.
Begin by making a line, equally long on either side of the point.
I closed my eyes once more, this time focusing on the attributes of that tiny speck. I let my mind define that point as the center of a small line. I could see the world that I was creating come to life, but instead of being awestruck, I was powerless to move that point. I knew that I had placed it there, but now that the line had been defined around it, I could not move it. This worried me so I opened my eyes once more and peered at the page that was before my face.
If you cannot move the zero point, you have successfully created your first mental dimension. With this, you have taken the first steps toward the creation of a workable mental realm.
I was amazed, I closed my eyes once more, my curiosity driving me to experience the world that I had just created. It was nothing special, but the knowledge that I had created a world beyond my own was fueling my curiosity even more.
After what felt like a few moments, I opened my eyes and looked back to that book. I had just created a world inside of my own mind, and I was able, beyond a shadow of a doubt, to manipulate it within its own constraints. It was as real to me, as the world outside.
Another flash of lightning lit up the room quickly followed by a crisp roll of thunder. I could feel the power of the storm as it rattled my window. I turned the page once more, eagerly awaiting the next steps in the creation of my dimension, but all that greeted me was a small ‘2’ in the middle of the next page.
The first dimension, while the most important, is the easiest to understand and construct. The second dimension is much more difficult.
I spent hours perfecting the creation of my mental worlds that night. As the storm raged on, my mind plowed through all of the complications and possibilities of my life. I was about to create an unimaginably perfect world with nothing more than my mind and a book.
It took quite a while to construct that second dimension, but it came quickly enough. I had always imagined things, and this was simply putting rhyme and reason to those images. It felt so natural, defining things to see them in a new light, but I was still amazed at it’s complexity. It was as though I was built for this specific purpose, for creating worlds inside my mind.
As the sun broke through the clouds that morning, and those long tendrils of light stretched across my desk, I realized how long I had been at work. I had started before sunset, and I had torn through Tabula Rasa through the night. The dimensions started out simple enough to create, but as the second took form, I realized I had an uphill battle toward greatness. The concentration that each successive dimension required was an order of magnitude greater than the first. The first dimension had taken me only seconds to create in my mind, and about a minute to define. The second, however, took nearly an hour to finally construct and establish. The going was rough, but the end result was a surprisingly solid mental realm where I could roam. 
The light from the sun made the pages of the old book glow, that one number seemingly coming off of the page, begging to be explored. I took a deep breath, bracing myself for the chaos that would be the third dimension. My eyes began to read.
The creation of the third dimension is the most difficult task in this book. It took years to develop the concepts behind the third dimension, and the definitions that hold it together. Do not be alarmed when you are forced to destroy your realm and recreate it from scratch several times, it is only normal for this kind of work.
I swallowed the knot that had risen in my throat. I knew my classes would start soon, but I had stopped my clock to ensure complete peace in the room. I could only pray that I wouldn’t be late for class. I knew I should have pulled myself from that book, but something kept drawing me back, it was my curiosity. It begged me to pry further, to understand those hidden secrets that lay beneath the words. I couldn’t help but read on.
You need to imagine one more reference point, this one floating a distance of one unit off of the plane you have established. this will take some work, as you mind is still bound to that idea of 2 dimensional space. You need to break free of that cage and allow that point to rise above the surface. To do that, every point you have created thus far will need to be defined as part of the zero point plain of the third dimension. This will take the most time, but it is essential to the inner workings of the third dimension.
I closed my eyes and began to rebuild that 2nd dimensional grid. I was ready to create a new point out of the boundaries that I had previously fabricated. I was forcing myself to move a reference from its current location out into the unknown, past an infinite set of planes to establish one as the unit. I could feel my eyelids squeezing harder as I began to create that third reference point.
It took at least a dozen tries for my mind to finally be willing to release that point from the plane. It had been conditioned, over hours of development, to retain all points to that plane. It was easy for my mind to understand, and the book encouraged it, but it was time for my mind to mature, for that point to break the pseudo boundaries that had been established a few hours ago. The sun was high in the sky by the time I had established that third dimension. I knew I had missed most of my classes for that day, but for some reason I did not care. I had just done something that only unicorns were supposed to be able to do. I broken through the boundaries of the world and established myself in theirs. I had done the impossible.
To celebrate my achievement, I started plotting small points all over my mental world. Each one became easier and easier to create, and I realized that, as I slowly spun this starry scene, there was an immense sense of satisfaction in my soul. In one moment, as I watched a set of points slowly swirl around in my mind, I knew it was my calling.
I never believed that something I had done so naturally for so long would end up becoming my own special talent. I had expected a cutie mark in something like farming or the agriculture sciences, but instead I was given a mark of several stars in a swirl. I had unlocked the door to my destiny, but what lay ahead was not a road of ease.





“Professor Evenstar?” I asked confidently as I strode into his classroom. The rest of the class seemed much less shocked than before at the presence of an earth pony in their midst.
“Ah, Starswirl, how nice of you to join us. Did you complete your assignment?”
My confidence drove me to match his gaze with my own. “I did,”
“Excellent, Starswirl. Since you have kept your promise, I will keep mine.” He turned to the rest of the class and cleared his throat. “Unicorns, I would like you to meet the newest addition to the class. It is rather unorthodox for an earth pony to join the ranks of a magic class, but Starswirl here has proven that he has a great deal of potential in our field.” He pushed me forward, as though he was telling me to go forth and join them, so I did. I quickly found my seat at the front of the class as he continued his speech. “A few days ago, Starswirl only had one thing going for him: Curiosity. As you have heard me say many times before, Curiosity is the only requirement for this class. Not a horn atop your head, or a long list of classes supporting this one, no all you need is to ask why. I believe Starswirl here will prove that point in the best way possible. I expect the utmost respect from all of you toward him, I know the Union can seem quite exclusive at some times, but leave that prejudice at the door. This is a class on theory, not on elitism. For all intents and purposes, he is one of you.”
I was speechless, this professor had just set me on the same bar that I had wanted to achieve for so long. I was ready and eager to learn alongside my new classmates in the lecture hall of Evenstar, the University’s top scholar on theoretical magic.
“I would like you all to begin by venturing into your world. Wait…” He paused as his gaze drifted to my desk. “Before we begin, I need to know the sound of your tap.”
“My what, sir?”
“Ah, no need for formality, we are all equals here. I need to know the sound your hoof makes when you tap the desk.”
“Oh, sure.” I brought my hoof down onto the desk, tapping it with a prestigious amount of force. Not too little, nor too much.
“Yes, yes, continue,” Evenstar murmured as he closed his eyes. “I need to be able to recognize you by the taps of your desks. Each one has a different resonance, and this will allow me to tell who you are, even while in my world. You may stop tapping, and we shall begin!”
He raced to the front of the room and quickly began to write on the board. “Today, I would like to start with a question directed to the class.” He spun on his hooves and tossed the chalk to the tray of the board. “What have you done recently in your worlds?” He eyed the class with a grin.
“I finally created that force field spell,” Amethyst said. “It took a while, but I got it to work quite well.”
“Spectacular! Would you care to share it with us?”
“Sure,” she said as she rose from her seat and trotted to the front of the room. She turned to face the class, and that was when I finally took notice of her. She was striking to say the least. Her purple coat seemed to mesh beautifully with her mane and tail, but her real spectacular feature was her eyes. For some reason they drew me in, but I quickly pulled myself out of my trance as she began to speak.
“Hello everypony, I think most of you will be interested in my latest incantation. I use this one as a simple protection bubble. In no particular order, it uses a point defined mass field, two point projected spheres, and a hyperdimensionally cut solid. To begin, I casted a small point at the ground level of my object, in this case I used a teacup to spare my gerbils from more psychological torture.”
The class chuckled at her joke, but I did not. I was too enraptured in her speech. The topics she was discussing had been resolved in the class I had attended only days before.
“From there I placed a point defined mass field around it in every direction to enable the space to accept a solid. Once that field was more or less defined, I moved into the projection of the spheres. I started with the establishment of a net zero field because I didn’t want my solid sphere to end up destroying all matter in its radius. Then I projected a solid base sphere a hair larger than the net zero sphere. This method created a shell around my object, but I was hard pressed to create a shell that would not damage the surface on which the cup rested. Then, two days ago, Professor Evenstar gave me a clear directive on how to cut that piece from my sphere using a hyperdimensionally cut solid.”
“One of the interesting things about my project was the resilience of that sphere. I initially thought that it wouldn’t stand up against much of anything, but I discovered that it could hold about 4 of my textbooks on top of it before shattering. Interestingly, this sphere will shatter in a manner similar to glass, but once any piece hits that net zero sphere, it immediately disappears. It looks like the shards simply slip away into oblivion.”
“I would give a demonstration,” she said as she looked toward Evenstar, “but, since our professor has a strict no magic rule, I cannot.”
“Right you are, Amethyst!” Evenstar said from from the wall on which he leaned. “Demonstrations are always welcome,  outside of class.” His voice was rather eccentric, as though the class had already come to accept his crippling rules and they were simply a joke now. He thanked Amethyst and turned back toward the class. Before he even opened his mouth I knew what he was going to say. “Starswirl?” he asked. “I know you’ve only just started creating your world, but would you like to share?”
“I… I don’t think I…”
“I was under the impression that you created a mental dimension.” He let his gaze drift to me. “Did you not?”
“Oh… no… I mean yes, yes I did.”
“Alright then,” he said as he trotted to my desk and tapped his hoof on its surface. He expected me to come before a class of highly trained unicorns to explain how I ventured into the first dimensions of mental magic. “Please explain.” His hoof drifted to the front stage of the class.
“I really don’t think that the class would be interested in my dimensions,” I protested, trying to keep myself away from that stage. “I mean they’re just basic little things, hardly noteworthy.”
“Hardly noteworthy,” he pondered as he rubbed his chin. “The creation of a mental dimension is never hardly noteworthy”
I rose to my hooves, unsure of how I could possibly disappoint my professor. I reached the front of the class and immediately began to speak.
“Uhh… Hey. I’m Starswirl… I’m new here,” I tried to make the best impression I could, but I could feel the judgement of the other race that stared at me. I didn’t belong, and the only stallion who didn’t recognize that was Evenstar. He stood in his familiar place against the wall, enraptured in my stumbling speech.
“I was admitted into this class after I successfully created a world in my mind after our Professor challenged me to. I… I really don't know what to say. You  have probably already created a world a hundred times over, but Evenstar wants me to share my own…” my voice trailed off as my gaze drifted to the professor. His eyes were encouraging, as if he knew something was grand about me. Go on now, they seemed to say beneath his greying mane, Tell them of your world.
“So I was given a book called Tabula Rasa. I’m sure you know of it, but Evenstar gave me a copy. It told me how to make my world… I really don’t know what to say.”
“How did you make it,” Evenstar said with a ghostly whisper.
“Well… I started with a point, and then extended some lines from it.”
“More detail, Starswirl. How did you create a world.”
I steeled myself and began to recall all of the information I had learned from that that book. I closed my eyes, keeping the distractions of the class from my mind. “I started with a  point…” I whispered as I began to enter my world. “It’s called the zero point… It stays in the middle of the universe no matter what. I had to define that point, as the middle for it to be the middle. It has two pieces to make it, one visual, one theoretical.” I let my eyes open, the entire class was completely focused on me.
“Excellent, Starswirl,” Evenstar said as he stepped toward me. “You see class, all you need is a dash of curiosity.” He looked to me and smiled. It was one of those smiles that spoke more than words ever could. “You may take your seat.”
“But…”
“Yes?”
“That was only one dimension.”
“That’s quite alright, there is plenty of time in the future to build more.”
“But I…”
“You have done well.”
“I wasn’t finished.”
My comment caught him off guard. “Oh?”
“Yeah… you see… I didn’t just create one dimension… I created three.”
“Oh! Well then by all means, please!” Evenstar said as he quickly shuffled back to the wall.
I turned to the classroom and cleared my throat. They seemed just a little less daunting now that I had proven myself worthy, but I would come to realize that they hadn’t been daunting to begin with. “So I continued on and extended a line from my point and defined it as the zero line for my second dimension. From there, an infinite set of lines was extended from its surface, and I was left with a plane. Much like before, I had defined an immovable plane in space.”
“Then came the third dimension, the most difficult of them all. I was forced to bring another reference point out of the plane that I had forced myself to adhere to. It finally broke free of the plane after half of my other classes had already passed. I had rebuilt my world approximately seventeen times before I successfully separated that point into the third dimension.” I looked to Evenstar, in my speech I had said much more than I had thought, his expression told me that quite directly. I had made an impression. One that I knew would become invaluable. “I guess that’s it.”
“Thank you, Starswirl,” Evenstar said as he stepped toward me. “I’m impressed. Typically it takes several days to build a half stable third dimension, but that number accounts for the breaks taken in between worldbuilding episodes. Did you honestly spend all of that time constructing dimensions?”
It seemed as though Evenstar was asking the question that every other pony wanted answered. “Not all of it. I took a few minutes to clear my room of distractions before I started.”
“Incredible,” Evenstar chuckled in a whisper. “Well, I believe you have proven your aptitude in theoretical magic as well as earned your seat in my class quite spectacularly.”