//------------------------------// // Eve: 14 // Story: The Human Condition // by Gilded Tome //------------------------------// The sun was just beginning to rise when Andrew was awoken by a knock on his door. He groggily wiped his eyes and reached over to the lamp next to his bed, clicking it on. A quick look out the window told him it was still way too early to be awake. “Yeah? Who is it?” He asked tersely, clearly more than a bit grumpy. The door opened, the silhouettes of two ponies standing in the doorway. Andrew couldn’t quite make out who they were until one of them flicked on the switch by the door, removing the shadows and glare caused by Andrew’s still adjusting eyes, and the differences in light. “Autumn Song! What are you doing here?” Andrew asked happily, pushing himself upright, sitting against the headrest of the bed. “Princess Celestia sent me to help!” She replied, making her way to the bed. “She said you would need as many friendly faces as possible! Plus I’m keeping an eye on her.” Autumn nodded to the second pony, who was still standing at the doorway. She was a unicorn, proud and sure in her hoof-steps as she entered further into the room. She was the closest to solid black he had seen yet, although as she walked into the room he could see she was just an extremely dark shade of blue. Her mane and tail were mostly white, with shades of grey worked in. “Hello Andrew Dike, it is a pleasure to finally meet you.” She said as she made her way to Andrew’s bed, sticking out her hoof. Andrew looked at the new mare and her extended hoof in confusion, looking back and forth between her and Autumn. “Is there a problem?” The unicorn asked, watching the human’s confused looks. “Uh… No… Sorry.” Andrew assured her, trying to hide his confusion. “Just a bit groggy Miss…?” “Evening Primrose.” She answered with a nod of her head. “But please, call me Eve.” “Umm… it’s nice to meet you…Eve, that’s a…. beautiful name.” Andrew complimented as he took the mares still outstretched hoof. “So what can I do for you Eve?” “I am sad to report that Princess Luna will be unable to make it for another week.” She explained, watching the human closely, gauging his reaction. “To avoid your training being put off any longer, she sent me in her stead.” “Oh? Is that right…?” Andrew murmured as his gaze fell onto Autumn, looking at her questioningly. “Hey, don’t look at me!” She said with a shake of her head. “I’m just following orders!” The earth pony jumped into a rigid salute, offset by her large warm smile. Andrew shook his head and smiled, looking back to the unicorn. “So Luna sent you to take care of me?” He asked, studying the mare with slight smirk. “And what are your credentials?” “I’m a trusted friend of Princess Luna’s and a teacher of the arcane arts.” She explained. “Rest assured you are in good hooves.” “Oh, I don’t doubt that…” “She’s from Manehattan!” Autumn added, cutting in while distractedly poking at the stack of books Rainbow Dash had left. “Really? A city gir- er mare, huh?” Andrew asked teasingly. “Must be a real pain to be out here in the boonies then.” “Not at all. I have several friends who… lived in Ponyville.” Eve said, somewhat cryptically. “It is a wonderful town.” "Really? You should introduce us!" Autumn suggested obliviously. "The more the merrier, right?" Eve looked very flustered at the suggestion, looking back and forth between the two. Autumn seemed oblivious to this, while Andrew just laughed to himself. "Oh…perhaps, but not today. I... didn't have an opportunity to tell them I would be in town, and it would be rude to drop by unannounced!" The mare finished off her explanation with a nervous smile, having hurried through her reason quite quickly. "For now it is immaterial." She said, starting up again and changing the subject. "I was asked by Princess Luna to perform some in depth scans as soon as I arrived. It is the reason we have woken you at such an early time." "Ah, well in that case I’m not going anywhere, so scan away I guess." Evening Primrose nodded, tilting her head down and closing her eyes as she started her spell up, her magic a light blue color. The magic quickly spread out to cover Andrew, making it tingle as magical tendrils began to poke and prod his body. After a few minutes the aura disappeared, and Eve re-opened her eyes. "The doctors seem to have been correct. You are clearly recovering from magical exhaustion." She said, seemingly satisfied. "Recovering quite well I may add. I would have liked to have performed a kinetic levitation test but as I understand that would be unwise. That shortcoming aside, I dare say that you should be fine to leave by tonight, barring any dizzy spells or any further... avoidable head trauma." "Yeah, that wasn’t the highest point of the day." Andrew admitted while rubbing his head. "So, how are you going to tell Luna the results of your scans?" The mare looked at the human confusedly, clearly not understanding the question for a moment or two. "Oh! Well I suppose I will have to write her a letter when I get the chance." Eve said, tapping her chin to emphasize her thinking. "Though she did say not to worry unless something was wrong." "You should probably send one any way. I’m sure she would really appreciate it." Autumn suggested, cutting off a similar remark from Andrew. "Yeah, what she said." Andrew agreed. "Plus Spike can have it on Princess Celestia's desk instantaneously." "Right... Spike." Eve replied a bit hesitantly. "Princess Luna explained that ability. I’ll have to write up a letter and bring it to the young drake." "You could just write one up now" Andrew said. "Twilight will probably be here in an hour or so, especially since it seems like she took something of mine last night…” “Oh? What did she take?” Eve asked curiously. “My bat. The thing that caused this little stint in the hospital.” Andrew explained, gesturing around vaguely. “It’s no big deal, she probably just took it so she could study it.” “Ah yes, Princess Luna mentioned that in our conversation. I would very much like the opportunity to study it myself.” “Well unless she managed to vaporize it, you’ll get to take a look at it when she visits.” Andrew assured her, stretching a bit. “She’s been checking up on me bright and early the past few days. I hope she has been getting enough sleep.” “Oh I’m sure she’s fine.” Autumn said reassuringly. “What’s a few early mornings among friends?” Andrew shook his head and laughed, scratching the back of his head. “You say that, but apparently she can get downright neurotic if she gets to into her smarty pants thing.” “Really?” Autumn asked disbelievingly. “But she seemed so level headed in canterlot.” “I don’t know, I’m just repeating what I was told.” Andrew explained with a shrug. “She even admitted it herself. Either way we can check when she gets here.” “Well…until then, why don’t I go see if I can find us some breakfast?” Autumn asked. “I wonder if the cafeteria has pastries?” The happy-go-lucky earth pony left the room before either of the other occupants could say anything, leaving them in silence. Andrew unabashedly watched the dark blue unicorn as she made her way to the room’s window, opening it. She took a deep breath of the morning air. “Enjoying the small town air?” “Very much so.” Eve admitted. “As serious as my task is, I will not deny that I was very excited to return Ponyville.” “Return? When was the last time you were here?” “I visited this town not too long ago.” She answered simply. “I was very sad to leave it.” “Well you’re here now, so enjoy it.” Andrew suggested. “When you’re not, you know, teaching me.” “I plan on doing just that.” She said with a smile, turning back to the lounging human. “Speaking of teaching, we should discuss your tutelage.” “Sure, I’ve been looking forward to it the past few days.” He admitted. “Not to mention it would be nice to not have to deal with almost killing myself every other day.” “Indeed.” Eve agreed. “I believe that you are well enough to begin tomorrow. However, just to be safe we shall keep the strenuous activities to a minimum. Focus on education rather than utilization.” “That sounds reasonable.” “We shall be training at our temporary royal accommodations, which I am told has a sizable back yard. I had some teaching apparatus sent ahead of us, they should have arrived last night.” “Sure, yeah. It’s at the end of a dead end street so their isn’t- Wait what?! You’re staying with me?” “Of course, and Autumn is as well.” Eve answered, looking a bit confused. “Where else would we stay?” “I don’t know… I guess it does make sense…” Andrew agreed, nodding his head. “I haven’t had roommates in a long time.” “Well it will only be temporary, until Princess Luna is finally free from her royal duties.” “Oh I’m sure you could find an excuse to show up every now and then Eve.” Andrew assured the mare with a knowing smile. “I shall think about it.” The mare turned from the open window, returning to the Andrews bed. They sat in silence once again, until Andrew spoke. “So, did you hear the result of the brainstorming session that Princess Celestia organized?” Andrew asked. “The one about what the hell is up with… all of this shit?” Andrew made a large gesture to himself, and the room around him. “As a matter of fact I took part in it. But in the interest of simplicity, I think it would be best until Twilight Sparkle arrived at least.” “Yeah… that’s fair I suppose.” Andrew agreed. “Though it would be nice to lord it over her for a bit. I bet her face would be priceless.” “That is probably true.” Eve agreed. “But I would not want my first impressions to be so cruel.” “Ah, fair enough I suppose.” Before they could continue, Autumn Song returned from her search for food. She came back into the room pushing a cart laden with fruit and pastries. “Breakfast is served!” She said happily, bowing like a proud chef. “I had to bribe the cafeteria lady to give us enough for three, but I think it was worth it.” “This is the second time you’ve brought me breakfast Autumn. Feel free to make it a habit.” “No promises.” She replied with a smile. “Though to be fair I just told the chefs what not to serve you in canterlot.” “So you fed me and kept me from getting sick. My previous statement still stands I think, feel free to make that a habit.” “Maybe that means you should start getting me breakfast to pay me back?” Autumn joked back. “Well considering that we are going to be roomies that won’t be too hard.” Andrew agreed. “Any requests?” “Oh no I was just kidding!” Autumn assured him hastily, putting some fruit and a pastry on am plate and passing it to Eve. “You don’t have to do that.” “I may not be much of a cook, but I’m sure I could pick something up sometime.” Andrew insisted, scratching his head. “It’s only fair after all.” “How about you just focus on getting better for now.” Autumn suggested, deflecting the conversation and passing Andrew a plate of food. “Worry about future breakfasts later.” Andrew nodded, lifting a piece of cantaloupe from the plate to his mouth, chewing it happily. The three ate in companionable silence before Eve spoke. “Andrew, would you mind discussing what happened the other night?” She asked. “The letter Twilight Sparkle sent the princess understandably did not include your own words.” Andrew quietly chewed his food, taking the time to think through his words. When he finally swallowed he shook his head slowly. “I’m guessing it would be much easier to describe if I knew the first thing about magic.” He admitted. “Basically I was thinking about my bat, remembering what it felt like to hold and swing. I guess I wished I still had it. It was a special gift after all.” Andrew paused for a moment, hiding his emotional thoughts by taking a large bite of an apple. “I felt what I’m guessing is my magic, a tingling feeling in my hand, half way through my swing. It was extremely sudden, a spark and then poof. The last thing I remember thinking was ‘were the fuck did that come from?’ Then I was out.” “Hmm…” Eve hummed as she tapped her chin with her hoof, deep in thought. “Is it your ‘bat’, the one you lost?” “Nah, definitely not. It’s an adult sized bat, mine was child sized.” “Very interesting… I am very eager to study this bat myself.” Eve admitted, pushing around a piece of fruit on the plate. “When do you think Twilight will arrive?” “Well yesterday she was here when I woke up…So another-“ Before Andrew could finish the door creaked open slightly and Twilight poked her head around it. She smiled nervously at Eve before she noticed Autumn. With a confused look she pushed the door completely open and entered the room. “Autumn Song? Is that you?” She asked. “Of course, who else would it be?” Autumn said with a grin, walking over to give the unicorn a hug. “Good to see you again.” “Y-yeah, it’s good to see you too.” Twilight agreed happily, if not a bit surprised by the hug. “And who is this?” “My name is Evening Primrose, it is good to finally meet you Twilight Sparkle.” The midnight blue unicorn walked closer to the new arrival and bowed her head slightly. Twilight hurried to duplicate the motion. “Hello Miss Primrose. What brings both of you to Ponyville?” “She’s my substitute teacher until Luna gets here.” Andrew explained. “Apparently something came up.” “That is indeed correct. I shall fill in for Princess Luna until she is free.” “And I’m here to help anyway I can!” Autumn added happily. “Ah, well in that case welcome to Ponyville!” “Twilight did you bring my bat back with you?” Andrew asked, noticing that she wasn’t carrying it with her. “Oh, right! I did, it’s just in the hall. Gimme a second.” Twilight replied, going out and entering with a long sack levitated in front of her. “Sorry I borrowed it without asking. I just had an idea about what the symbols were and I *had* to check it with my books.” “It’s fine.” He assured her. “I’m just glad you didn’t feel the need to wake me up and ask permission at whatever ungodly hour you had your idea.” “About two thirty this morning.” Twilight admitted sheepishly. “But I had a major breakthrough. I figured out what the new symbols are.” Twilight levitated the sack to Andrew, gently placing it on his lap. He untied the knot at one end, pulling his bat out. Eve stepped back next to the bed to get a closer look. “I was reading up on symbology last night when I stumbled upon a depiction of the runic alphabet.” Twilight explained excitedly. “They looked similar so I came here to borrow the bat to confirm. Sure enough, they match exactly. They are runes.” “You are most certainly correct, these are runes. Completely stable and charged runes” Eve agreed, leaning down to examine the end of the bat with an air of astonishment. “I’m assuming you were unable to translate?” “Unfortunately.” Twilight admitted disappointingly. “The book I found only had the alphabet, not the meanings or uses of them.” “Yes, rune magic is long dead and hasn’t been used by anypony for thousands of years.” Eve explained. “The books detailing them are so valuable that the Royal Library locks the originals away in a secret part of the castle vault.” “A dead magic?” Andrew asked confused. “How’s that possible?” “Well runes are an ancient form of magic used by earth ponies thousands upon thousands of years ago.” Twilight explained. “Its use was abandoned during the dark ages, a time when earth ponies abandoned all but the simplest of their natural growing magic.” “Precisely. They abandoned it after a series of catastrophes convinced them that magic was corrupting those who used it.” Eve added. “They feared and exiled any among them that used it, runic mages and unicorns a like. Their distrust of magic can still be seen today, though it’s a taken on a much more civil tone. Few of them even know what their distrust actually stems from, as warranted as it was.” “Warranted?!” Twilight asked with a gasp. “Miss Primrose, that’s an awfully ignorant thing to say, especially coming from a unicorn mage!” “Forgive me Twilight Sparkle, I was referring to their distrust of runic magic, not magic in general.” Eve assured her. “Runic magic is extremely difficult and often unstable. It requires the utmost precision, and the memorization of hundreds of thousands of variables. One must know exactly how much magical energy to put into the runes, while also knowing how the runes will interact with each other. Each rune has dozens of meanings and uses, depending on what other runes they are paired with. And when the wrong runes are mixed, the results are often catastrophic.” “Oh… I had no idea they were so dangerous.” Twilight admitted with a gulp. “That explains why Princess Celestia glossed over them so much.” “Indeed. That and there are several laws in place controlling their use and teaching, including and age requirement.” Eve added. “They are so fickle that even Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are hesitant to use them.” “Wow… they sound cool…” Andrew said, studying the end of his bat. “Andrew!” Twilight admonished. “What!? Tell me you weren’t thinking the same thing?” “I wasn’t. I was thinking about how we should just destroy the bat if the runes on it are that dangerous!” “NO!” Both Andrew and Eve shouted. “Uhhh why not?” Twilight asked, an eyebrow raised. “Because these runes are stable, meaning that they were created correctly. Possibly more important is that I’m not sensing any energy fluctuation. It appears to be safe.” Eve explained “…and because attempting to destroy them could potentially change all that. Something in those runes is holding Andrews magic. Remove those and who knows what could happen.” “Yeah…. What she said!” Andrew said, his arms crossed. “And its mine, s’got my name on it and everything.” Eve pondered, pacing quietly as she tapped her chin with her hoof. Finally she seemed to come to a conclusion. “I shall send a message to Princess Celestia, detailing Twilight’s discovery. I will ask her to send copies of the books on runic magic. With them we can properly translate the runes, and possibly discern what they are intended to do. Until then…” Eve’s horn glowed as she levitated the sack Twilight had used to carry the bat, putting it onto Andrew’s lap. With an unhappy shrug Andrew wrapped the bat up, retying the end. Eve picked the sac up with her teeth, placing it in the corner beside Autumn, who poked it experimentally. “…It is probably best we keep physical and magical contact to a minimum. Just to be safe.” “Well that sucks…” Andrew said with now crossed arms. “And here I was planning on magicking up some baseballs and going to town...” Both Twilight and Eve fixed him with disappointed stares, both shaking their heads. “Kidding guys, relax.” Twilight opened her mouth to lecture Andrew thoroughly about the seriousness of his situation when Eve cut her off. “Twilight, Andrew mentioned that you were interested in hearing the results of yesterday’s brain storming meeting.” She said, giving Andrew a knowing look. “I was there, if you’d like I could-” “Tell me everything!” Twilight shouted, having teleported right in front of the mare, notebook and quill already levitating in front of her. “This has been driving me crazy ever since I sent Princess Celestia that letter!” Eve jumped slightly when Twilight teleported, quickly recovering to her cool and collected look. She cleared her voice before beginning. “Well… after Princess Luna and Princess Celestia managed to convince everyone what they were saying was true, we began discussing possibilities. The most popular one at first was of course that Andrew was lying, perhaps using a spell to disguise his true form.” Eve explained, looking at Andrew apologetically. “I can’t really blame them to be honest.” Andrew said with a small grin. “I mean I’m pretty unbelievable if I do say so myself.” Twilight rolled her eyes at his comment, attempting to hide her smile. Autumn giggled behind her hoof. “Anyway…” Eve continued after a pause. “Once Princess Celestia convinced the skeptical to consider it a theoretical problem the real discussion began. There were many suggested theories, the most prevalent seemed to be the multiple worlds theory.” “I’ve …never heard of that.” Twilight admitted, scribbling on her notepad. “That is not surprising, it is a very theoretical concept. More science fiction than actual science at this point in time.” She continued. “The theory is that our entire existence runs alongside a possibly infinite amount of other existences. So for every possibility in a situation, there is a reality for each of them. Undoubtedly there are realities that parallel our own down to the most minute detail. On the other hoof, there could be realities vastly different from our own, where up is down and two plus two equals fish.” Eve paused to examine the group. Twilight stood in front of her, mouth slightly agape, her quill pressed against the notepad, but not moving. Autumn nodded her head, still eating her breakfast and occasionally making sidelong glances at the cloth covered bat. Andrew was scratching his head, but gestured for her to continue when she looked at him. “The theory that the group ended up more or less agreeing on was that Andrew is from a universe between those two extremes. Similar enough to share a language and other things, but different enough that the dominant species on Equs is different.” “That’s…” Twilight stuttered as she attempted to think of an appropriate adjective. “a bit farfetched. ” “I agree, but once you eliminate the probable, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.” Eve explained. “This certainly fits the criteria.” “You see that’s what I’m having a hard time believing. You just quoted Sherlock Holmes.” Andrew pointed out. “I can almost see your theory explaining us speaking the same language. You know if I stop questioning my sanity long enough to do that. But all the way down to a quote in a book?” “Sherlock Hooves actually.” Autumn corrected absentmindedly. “That is beside the point.” Andrew pointed out, a skeptical look on his face. “You’re throwing around an awful lot of theoretical stuff. I mean I’m right here, that’s pretty concrete… right?” “That is certainly true.” Eve agreed. “But it was the only theory that fit everything… other than you being a fraud.” Andrew shook his head, waving away Eve’s second explanation. He was quiet for a while, looking at his hands as he fidgeted them. “So what’s this mean for me getting home?” He asked, clearly not hopeful. “Well…” “Just say it.” He demanded. “Understand that this theory is built on a theory itself, which is built on science that is barely months old. Our scientists are just beginning to fully grasp the realities of our world outside of superstition and purely magical abstracts. Contemplating the realities of other realties, and how we might travel between them is far beyond where we are today. We… We wouldn’t even know where to start.” Andrew’s crestfallen face slowly lost all expression as Eve explained the situation. He shook his head and looked down at his lap. “I think I need some time alone. To think.” “Andrew, please don’t-” Twilight began. “I said get out!” Andrew repeated harshly, his volume shocking both Twilight and Autumn. “Now!” “As you wish.” Eve agreed, nodded solemnly as she turned towards the door. “Come you two, he has earned a moment of quiet.” The trio quietly left the room, Autumn the last one out. She turned back to study the human from the doorway before silently shaking her head and closing the door. He sat in silence, looking down at his lap. “I’m sorry Alice.” He said quietly to the empty room, his hands rising to cover his eyes. “I haven’t abandoned you. I promise.” Evening Primrose, Twilight Sparkle and Autumn Song silently walked through the halls of the hospital. Twilight and Autumn followed behind Eve, with Twilight watching her hooves in sadness while Autumn looked slightly cross with herself. “Do you think there is any way we could help him?” Twilight asked quietly. “Other than send him home?” Autumn answered. “Giving him some space is probably our best bet.” “That is true” Eve agreed, nodding her head. “I suggest we wait until he asks for help. I don’t think he will have a problem asking for it if he wants it.” “No offense Miss Primrose, but how do you know that?” Twilight asked hesitantly. “You’ve only known him for a few hours. “Well… Princess Luna described what he was like in great detail.” She explained. “Why, do you think I’m wrong?” “No, not really.” Twilight quickly assured her. “I’m just curious.” The group entered a sparsely populated waiting room. Nurses and doctors in uniforms walked through, going about their business. They made their way further, pushing out the front door of the hospital, the morning sun making them blink through its harsh rays. “I’m going to talk to the girls.” Twilight said as the three walked down the path, away from the hospital. “Tell them what’s going on in case one of them had planned on visiting Andrew today.” “That’s a good idea Twilight.” Autumn said with a small smile. “I’d go with you but Eve and I haven’t move our stuff in yet.” “Indeed we haven’t.” Eve agreed. “I hope all of the equipment I had sent arrived undamaged.” “Equipment?” Twilight asked. “For Andrew’s education.” She explained. “We did not want to find ourselves lacking the necessary equipment for the coming lessons.” “We?” Autumn asked with a raised eyebrow. “Yes… we as in Princess Luna and I.” She explained quickly. “Most of it is on loan from Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns… At Princess Luna’s request.” “Oh I’d love to take a look at all that.” Twilight said with her own small smile. “It would be like a trip down memory lane.” “Perhaps you could stop by later… with your assistant, Spike.” Eve suggested. “I will have completed my report, as well as my request for books on runes by then. It would save a lot of time if he could…” “Sure thing, He would be more than happy to help.” Twilight assured her as the three came upon a fork in the well-worn path. “I guess I will see you two later then. It was nice meeting you Miss Eve.” “And you as well Twilight Sparkle.” Eve replied with a bow. The three separated, with Twilight heading off toward the center of town and Eve and Autumn following the path to their new temporary home.