Day: Monday
Weather: Sunny
Time: 12:08pmIt didn't take much to convince Principal Celestia to allow me to remove those three pictures. I had a feeling she wanted me to throw them away, as they represented the old me, but why hold onto them for such a long time? Why not throw them out after the Battle of the Bands? While waiting in her office, I did overhear her talking with Vice Principal Luna about the upcoming Friendship Games. I had heard that name several times but I didn't understand what it meant. I also heard that Principal Celestia didn't get a warm reception when she paid a visit to Crystal Prep, the rival school of CHS. Who was Principal Cinch? Who was this student that was my equal? I didn't want to be bogged down with such concerns, so I focused instead on the magic problem. I spent a few months building a machine that could analyze magical energies. Equestrian magic didn't last long enough for me to get concrete results, so I needed my friends to provide me with what I needed.
The Other Journal
By Ganondorf8
February 17, 2016
Chapter 55: Magical Science.
Twilight stared straight at me, eyes unblinking, over what I had just said. She assumed that experimenting on our friends meant exposing them to dangerous concoctions like I was a mad scientist. I'll admit that I wasn't honest with them when they came to the music room. They thought we were all going to practice, but in truth I needed them to play in order to figure out why their instruments played such an integral part to their magic. Their initial pony-up was the result of Princess Twilight invoking the Elements of Harmony they represented in order to defeat me, but then after that, it was music which triggered the transformation. My efforts in trying to figure out how magic worked in this world had been disappointing, so a different approach was required.
" Why would you subject our friends to such torture?" Twilight asked.
" You're overreacting, Twilight. You know that I built a machine designed to analyze magic." I answered.
" But, you made it sound like they were guinea pigs."
" Yeah, I guess my words were poorly chosen. Our friends were willing to help me figure out how the magic functioned, but they needed to have the proper motivation. I figured them playing their instruments would be enough to give me the data I needed, so I told them that we were going to practice one of Rainbow Dash's newest songs. They had no idea they were going to become involved in an experiment." I said.
" Were they surprised with the equipment?"
" Definitely! Initially, they thought Principal Celestia had borrowed the equipment from a lab somewhere in Canterlot and had to shell out a lot of money from the school's budget to pay for it. When I told them that I built it myself, they were left speechless. I do wish that I could've used better parts, but I made do with what I had on hand. The only one who was hesitant to partake in the experiment was Fluttershy, so I decided to go with her first. My approach also brought up a key difference between myself and Princess Twilight. I prefer to go out into the field instead of sitting somewhere with a book in my face." I answered.
" I remember you mentioning that earlier." Twilight said.
" If only my invention didn't blow up at the very end. I could've done so much more with it."
" It's like you said, Sunset. Technology and magic don't go hand-in-hand."
" A lesson I learned the hard way."
" What do you mean?"
" Rainbow Dash's magic caused the destruction of my device, but she wasn't the only one to have magical surges. It doesn't take a genius to figure out what I had to go through in my vain attempt to figure it out." I answered. You'd think I would've figured out that my methods were incorrect after the third surge, but I continued on anyway, thinking something right would happen. If it wasn't for the fact that I possessed magic as well, I could have been seriously hurt when everything kept on blowing up in my face. The misery of enjoying the pursuit of knowledge; there was an incredible amount of pain involved.
Turning to the next page of the journal, there was another photo glued there, but Twilight's eyes were interested in the mathematical equation written below it. If I recalled correctly, it was something I learned during my studies as Princess Celestia's student. She never did go into much detail about its significance--she actually wanted me to find out on my own--so I thought it could be used to figure out how the magic of this world worked. I learned from Princess Twilight that the equation revolved around advanced physics that allowed a unicorn to conserve their magic when using it for anything. It was something only high-level unicorns would know about, yet I never got that far. I thought I could go about finding my own way, and look how that turned out.
" What kind of equation is that?" Twilight asked, scratching her head in confusion. " I've seen my share of equations in textbooks over the years, but this one feels like it isn't of this world."
" That's because it isn't."
" It's Equestrian?"
" I thought it could help me figure out the magic problem, but it was a formula that made unicorns more proficient with their magic. The only reason I wrote it down in the journal was to remind me that I made a serious blunder." I answered.
" Sunset..."
" Take a close look at the photo." I said. Twilight shifted her head forward slightly to see what the photo depicted. She turned to look at me before looking back at the photo, and she quickly covered her mouth to hide her impending laughter. The photo was of me having collided with the back wall of the music room. My hair was frazzled resulting from being bombarded with static electricity courtesy of Pinkie Pie. There were several dozen balloons floating about coupled with several electrical sparks the camera had managed to include in the photo. Twilight couldn't hold back her laughter anymore and removed her hands from her mouth. Her laughter caused her to fall over onto her back, yet I just frowned, the photo a painful reminder that my methods failed miserably. " Rainbow Dash took that photo the instant I slammed into the wall. I'll never get the image of her laughing out of my head. This wasn't even the worst pain inflicted on me." I said.
" There was more?" Twilight asked, her laughter quickly coming to a stop when I said that.
" All our friends had magical surges, remember?"
" Oh... I'm so sorry for laughing."
" It's funny to laugh at when looking back on it, but I wasn't having a good time when those setbacks occurred."
" Couldn't you have asked for some help?"
" Aside from our friends and myself, no one else at CHS would've been able to do anything. While everyone acknowledged that magic now existed around them, they had no idea how it really worked. I was the only resident magical expert, so coming up with an answer fell onto me." I answered.
" Such a terrible burden."
" One I'd be reminded of constantly."
" What about Princess Twilight? Couldn't she have come through the portal?"
" Yes, but you have to remember that she has obligations as a princess in Equestria. She can't just say that she's coming to this world and leave her subjects behind. Her duties must come before pleasure, and I accepted this truth despite secretly wishing otherwise." I answered. Her Highness had more magical knowledge thanks to my living here in this world for too long. I still retained some knowledge, but it was nothing compared to what she knew. Of course, it helped that Princess Twilight's cutie mark represented magic, and her Element of Harmony was magic.
" So, what did you do?" Twilight asked.
" I conducted the experiments on my own."
I couldn't stop thinking about what happened when I sang on top of the school's roof. Had I seriously sprouted fiery wings like a phoenix? At first, I thought it was a trick. I knew my magic was powerful, but I wasn't expecting something like that. Was my magic starting to change? Equestrian magic had the possibility to change its form into something else, but it depended on a magic user to make that happen. Wild magic could change on its own without any pony interfering, yet that was seldom seen. Ponies could make magic do whatever they wanted, and the gifted ones often performed miracles that had never been done before. If my magic was undergoing a transformation, did that apply to my friends, as well? Compared to me, their magic was more limited in scope. They could control it like a unicorn or alicorn, yet they lacked experience.
I had to conduct tests to determine what this new magic was capable of. Unfortunately, it wasn't easy, considering I lived in a world where Equestrian magic was virtually unheard of aside from those who attended CHS. If I was in Equestria, I could've had access to the finest resources imaginable, but instead, I had to rely on my own knowledge. The magic that appeared during the Fall Formal had since dissipated--same with the magic that appeared during the Battle of the Bands--so solving the magic problem required me to adjust my calculations to compensate.
It occurred to me that technology was akin to the magic of Equestria. Throughout my time living in this world, humans had advanced their technological skills in ways that went beyond the limits of one's imagination. Unicorns and alicorns constantly improved on their magic to make it transcend into something that could benefit themselves and, to an extent, Equestria as a whole. Since I lacked access to magic scrolls and textbooks from my world, I used what was available in this one.
To uncover these secrets, I had to build my own device that could analyze magical properties. The school's budget, sadly, couldn't accommodate for my needs, so I had to scrounge up various parts and hope they all fit together to form something. It took a few months before my invention was finally finished, and I was eager to begin testing by using myself as the subject. However, I soon discovered a flaw with my ambition.
Because I was originally from Equestria, magic was natural to me. Numerous tests determined there was nothing strange at all about what I possessed. Only on a few occasions did the results display abnormality, but I concluded my own results couldn't be trusted. The magical residue I had researched also proved inconclusive. Had it been examined straight away instead of several weeks after the fact, it would have been more potent. It left me feeling frustrated knowing that my hard work building this device was in vain. One option involved asking Princess Twilight for help. Her knowledge of magic vastly dwarfed my own, so she could figure out what constantly evaded me. Yet, her role as a princess prevented her from coming to this world. Unless I somehow go back to Equestria to seek her guidance in person, I was on my own.
Her Highness controlled the portal between the two worlds, so only she could open and close it. Also, I was afraid of going back home in case I was to be arrested for stealing one of the Elements of Harmony. Princess Twilight could easily vouch for me based on my actions lately in this world, but the fear still consumed me. One day, I'll walk on Equestrian soil with my own four hooves, but not today.
There was one option left that could provide accurate results: my friends. Their magic was still fresh despite everything that had happened to them. It was also attuned to the makeup of this world as opposed to Equestria. I needed to conduct experiments on them to figure out how the magic works. They agreed to aid me with the problem whenever I needed their assistance, but I couldn't let on that they were to be treated as less than human. It sickened me to reduce them to mere lab animals in the name of research, yet what other choice did I have? My own results couldn't be trusted, nor could the magical residue that remained. I needed results from my friends. I had one idea that I hoped would convince them to participate, and I hoped they were good sports about it.
During one of our regular meet-ups in the library a week later, I suggested that we get together in the music room to practice. We had been getting rather lax with our instruments and needed a refresher so as to not get rusty. Rainbow Dash wanted us to get the practice done straight away, but I convinced her to wait until the following week. I also convinced her that we should practice in a different room. I needed a room that had a built-in studio, which I could use to study my friends magic. I also needed time to move my device in there; it was large and required several people to push it around. Luckily, the tech students assisted me in that endeavour.
The following week, my friends entered the music room I wanted us to "practice" in and were surprised at what they saw.
" I was wondering when you'd get here." I said, my back turned away from my friends.
" Err, I thought we were going to be practicing?" Rainbow Dash asked.
" Well, you are, sort of."
" Darling, what's with all of this equipment?" Rarity asked.
" This little beauty right here was put together by yours truly. It took a lot longer than expected due to the school's budget not being able to allocate enough money. So, I used spare parts here and there instead." I answered. My device looked like something you'd find in a mad scientist's lab in one of those cheap monster movies. It had various dials and buttons strewn about it. Loose wires connected different energy outputs together, and the top of my device featured two nodes, an electrical current flowing back and forth between them. The remaining pieces of equipment were borrowed from the science lab. I was also wearing a lab coat that further gave off the impression that my friends had stumbled into a mad scientist's lab.
" Um, what's it even do?" Rainbow Dash asked.
" It can analyze magical energy, although I'll admit that it hasn't been as effective as I'd hoped." I answered.
" Why is that?" Fluttershy asked.
" The magic problem has been on my mind for the last few months. I came to the conclusion that the magical residue left over from the previous magical problems that plagued our school no longer can be trusted. I also learned that my own magic suddenly changed, so I decided to experiment on myself to determine if it would be enough. Like the residue, my own magic is inconclusive." I answered.
" Hold on a second! When did your magic change?" Rainbow Dash asked.
" Remember those three pictures that were hung up in Principal Celestia's office? You know, the ones of me winning the Fall Formal three years running? I needed to remove them, as they represented my past life. I also had hallucinations of my demonic form plaguing me. I never told any of you about it out of fear that you might think I'd gone crazy from all the work I've been doing lately. I overcame my insecurities over what I did, and it resulted in my body suddenly developing phoenix-like wings. That had never happened to me before, so it prompted me to take my research to another level." I answered. My friends stared at me for a few moments. I was afraid that they'd lash out at me for not trusting their judgement of my character was evident. I also feared they wouldn't take all of this seriously. Finally, they could display anger over being deceived into thinking they were coming here to practice. I was afraid, so I closed my eyes and waited for their response.
" It would've been nice if y'all let us in and let us help you, Sunset. But, I reckon you needed to handle it on your own." Applejack said.
" And what about this magical change?" Rarity asked.
" I have no idea why it happened." I answered.
" Couldn't you travel to Equestria and ask Princess Twilight?" Fluttershy asked.
" I think you know the answer to that." I answered. It took Fluttershy a few moments to remember the reason why I couldn't go back home. She then blushed out of embarrassment before backing away slowly. As long as the fear of being arrested remained in my mind, going back was tantamount to suicide.
" Okay, so why are we here?" Rainbow Dash asked.
" Are we going to be practicing after all?" Pinkie Pie added.
" What makes you think that?" Rarity asked.
" Sunset did say that we needed to bring our instruments along. But, how come she doesn't have her guitar with her? We can't really practice as a group without our third guitarist. Also, what's with the funky equipment? If I didn't know better, I'd swear you were trying to pass yourself off as a mad scientist and you lured us here with the intent of using us in your crazy experiments." Pinkie Pie answered. How in the world did she keep on doing that? She had just explained my intentions, albeit in the wrong context, without giving me the chance to explain myself. I looked in her direction, scorn clearly across my face, and she grinned with her usual, goofy expression.
" Reckon you should explain yourself here." Applejack said.
" Back when I was Princess Celestia's student, I learned best by going out into the field and actually doing something. Studying ancient books is fine for some people, but I like to solve magical mysteries by rolling up my sleeves and getting my hooves--uh, hands dirty." I said while putting on a blue, rubber glove, not wanting my hands to contaminate any of the results.
" I remember you sayin' something about that."
" Princess Twilight prefers to read books and gain information like that."
" Nothin' wrong with that."
" It also helped that she once lived in a library and spends much of her free time in the library of her castle."
" Then again..."
" So yeah, I prefer to see things up close rather than read about them."
" I can relate to workin' hard outdoors, but what does that have to do with us bein' here with our instruments?"
" I've concluded that I need to rely on the five of you to provide me with information on how the magic works here. Your magic is akin to what's been swirling about CHS for the last few months, but your magic doesn't fade away. It remains completely intact! My magic is different from yours because I'm from Equestria. Equestrian magic has affected you differently, while to me, it's pretty much just a normal occurrence. I'm also curious why you all gain ears, tails, and wings whenever you pony up. I suspect your instruments are connected in some way, so that's why I've set all this up." I answered.
I walked over to a giant plug that was lying on the ground. I was surprised my friends didn't comment on how anything that big was even possible. The plug was an essential component that gave my device the necessary power it needed to operate. It lacked the capability to be self-powering, so I had to tap into the school's power grid. Picking up both pieces of the plug in my hands, I connected them together before dropping them.
" I guess Princess Twilight was unavailable?" Rainbow Dash asked.
" Princess duties." I answered.
" That figures."
" So, would it be okay if you allow me to experiment on you?" I asked.
" Do we have to?" Fluttershy asked.
" I'm not going to force you to do anything you don't like."
" Um, well, okay."
" You'll do it?"
" I wish that we, um, didn't have to do it right away, but it does mean an awful lot to you, Sunset. Plus, we did promise that we would help you from now on, and we'd be terrible friends if we started breaking promises." Fluttershy answered.
" Since you still appear to be hesitant about doing this, Fluttershy, I'll start with you so that you don't have to worry over what's going to happen. You will need to wear this helmet so that my device can record any data. It'll be fun! Just start playing. You won't even know I'm here!" I said. The "helmet" was actually a colander. Inserted through its holes were numerous poles connected to wires that reached up to the ceiling, connecting back to my device. There was a strap on the bottom to hold it in place while being worn by the test subject, in this case, Fluttershy. Once I had secured it onto her head, I walked over to a viewing monitor next to my device and waited until she was comfortable enough to start playing.
The rest of my friends looked on in bewilderment over what they had gotten themselves into. Since time wasn't on my side, I needed to conduct these tests within the span of about fifteen minutes. It meant my results could be compromised due to time, but I didn't want to drag this out any longer than necessary. What Fluttershy had been hooked up to wasn't the only thing I had on hand. The other devices I borrowed would conduct tests under different conditions. I had to cover all possibilities when it came to magic. Nothing could be overlooked, otherwise the whole experiment would be wasted.
I turned back towards Fluttershy, who still appeared nervous, so I smiled at her to make her feel comfortable. She responded by giving me a thumbs up, so I turned on the monitor and looked at the screen to see what kind of reading would appear. The easy part was now out of the way. I had gotten my friends to go along with these experiments, but now came the difficult part of getting the exact information I needed.
" I'm intrigued about the lab equipment." Twilight said.
" How so?" I asked.
" Granted, it's probably nowhere near as good as what I used back at Crystal Prep, but I'm sure to appreciate what CHS has to offer. I must ask Principal Celestia if she would allow me to have access to my own private lab. I may have accepted friendship much like you have, Sunset, but I still must pursue knowledge in order to understand it. Then again, I could always ask Dean Cadance if she could send over the equipment that belonged to me. Principal Cinch provided most of what I used, but I purchased some things every now and then, as she deemed them impractical." Twilight answered.
Even though she now attends CHS, Twilight still displayed affection towards her former school Crystal Prep. While I've never been there in person, she told me enough for me to determine that it wasn't the kind of school I'd attend. Compared to CHS, Crystal Prep had more resources available designed to bring out the best qualities students had. That was because Principal Cinch believed in perfection. She never tolerated disobedience nor failure to prove her school was superior. Cinch relied on her reputation to manipulate events behind the scenes to garner all kinds of support for her school. Twilight, according to her, was the best student Crystal Prep had ever seen. She was their shining beacon, though she was treated like dirt by everyone else. The school would eventually find another student to replace Twilight as the best, but I think the place needed some remodeling from a moral standpoint given what happened during the Friendship Games.
Everyone at Crystal Prep had their eyes opened to the truth about Principal Cinch. I doubt she was going to leave her position of power, but the school would change, hopefully for the better. She could no longer treat those around her without being harshly judged. If Cinch had any moral compass within her heart, it would tell her that she needed to embrace her students' capabilities through understanding, not through fear and intimidation. One had to wonder what her life was like before becoming the principal of Crystal Prep, but that's something I was never interested in.
It then dawned on me that Twilight said she had her own equipment in addition to what was provided to her. Her family must be pretty wealthy to enable her to buy such fancy equipment. Why would she need a private lab to conduct any research? Did she seriously have her own lab at Crystal Prep!? Twilight never told me about that before, but then, I never bothered to ask. What about that device she had that stole our magic? She designed it, according to what she said earlier, yet how could she have knowledge of magical energies? She didn't get exposed to magic until after transforming into a demon.
" That device you built... What was it really designed for?" I asked.
" I built it to track EM frequencies, but it could also contain anomalies. Since magic was an anomaly, my device could track it down and contain it so that it couldn't be used again until being released by opening it up. I'll admit that it did suffer some problems when I accidentally absorbed your magic. I still don't understand why my device caused those rifts in the space-time continuum to appear." Twilight answered.
" You didn't just absorb my magic."
" What else did I take?"
" The portal."
" I see."
" The portal between this world and Equestria is stable, but when your device absorbed its magic, it became unstable and only got worse as more magic was applied. You initially created small openings that connected to random locations in Equestria, yet they got bigger until your transformation. Then you opened portals all over the place in an effort to bring down both worlds in the name of knowledge." I said.
" Not a day goes by that I don't regret my mistake." Twilight said.
" I didn't mean to reopen old wounds."
" You've been doing that all night with your journal."
" I know."
" Back to the matter at hand. Fluttershy felt very nervous about being used as a test subject, but surely, she was able to pull through in the end, right? I know you'd never hurt any of our friends." Twilight said.
" She provided me with some data, but I wasn't exactly expecting the kind of results I got, and neither did anyone else." I said.
The machine came to life, and on the screen, a purple line was displayed that represented Fluttershy's magical energy. It was flat because, despite giving me the thumbs up, she was still nervous about playing her tambourine in such an unusual situation. All she had to do was hit her instrument a few times to get into the groove. From there, she would be able to hit it at a consistent rate, altering the purple line accordingly.
The rest of my friends continued looking on at what was happening, and I knew a couple of them were snickering. I believed they were mocking my ambition. I waited a few more minutes for Fluttershy to start playing, yet she still hesitated. I took matters into my own hands, walking over to her and giving her some words of encouragement to get her in the mood. I also told her that she only needed to perform for about fifteen seconds.
That proved to be the clincher. Fluttershy nervously raised her hand and hit her tambourine as I walked back to the monitor. She then hit a second time, followed by a third, until she started hitting it repeatedly. It took some doing but I finally managed to get the purple line to start fluctuating. Things were going well at first, as to be expected, but I soon learned that analyzing magic through the use of technology proved hazardous.
As I wrote down what was showing up on the screen, the purple line started warping, until it changed into the image of a butterfly and spread outward in an admittedly adorable pattern. Was something wrong with the equipment? I checked to make sure everything was okay, as this stuff was very delicate, yet I quickly realized it wasn't the equipment. No, it was Fluttershy.
I turned around to catch her ponying up, but before I could do anything, the helmet suddenly popped off of her head. Butterflies appeared from underneath it and began flying about while glowing radiantly. The light was so bright that it forced me to turn away. Eventually, the lights in the room overloaded from too many butterflies and burned out, leaving everything in complete darkness. One butterfly then hovered about my face until it landed on my nose. This hadn't been what I expected from Fluttershy. I expected a simple magical surge that the monitor could detect and send over to my device for analysis. In any case, I had to hold off on performing any additional tests until something was done about the lights. I could have used those butterflies as an energy source, but I doubted Fluttershy would approve of it.
About twenty minutes later, after the power to the room was restored, I decided to experiment on Applejack next. The problem I had with Fluttershy was that I relied too much on technology to provide me with accurate information. This time, I wanted to study a subject up close and write down any reactions that occurred. Sometimes, the simplest approach was the best one.
" So what do y'all want me to do?" Applejack asked.
" Just play your bass, and I'll write down what happens." I answered.
" That's it?"
" Pretty much."
" I reckon you were gonna use one of them fancy gizmos to analyze my magic."
" After what just happened with Fluttershy? I think a simple approach should prove enlightening."
" If you say so."
" Play for about twenty seconds, AJ. That should be enough to give me some solid information." I said. Applejack shrugged her shoulders over my decision to go with a simple approach, but she wasn't in a position to argue with me about it. She then started to play her bass, strumming the strings in the center. A few moments later, she ponied up and continued playing, while I wrote down everything that happened. So far, things were working out better than with Fluttershy, yet something didn't seem quite right. By the time Applejack finished playing and changed back to normal, nothing out of the ordinary occurred.
" Nothin' happened." Applejack said.
" That's strange. I was expecting something, but maybe it's a delayed reaction?"
" How can you be sure?"
" I can't. The magic in this world has proven unpredictable already. It could take several seconds, several minutes, or even several hours before something happens. At least I managed to write down everything that happened when you ponied up. Guess this can be chalked up as a partial success." I answered.
" Um, you might want to look up." Applejack said.
" Why should I?"
" I reckon that delayed reaction is about to kick in."
" That's utterly--" I said, looking up at the ceiling before cutting myself off. Hovering above my head were roughly two hundred apples glowing in an ethereal light. The magic from Applejack's playing caused them to appear, and I should've figured it was apple-related, given her family lifestyle. Before I could do anything, the hoard of apples fell on top of me, burying me under their sweet, magical goodness. Several even managed to hit me on my head, which hurt a bit. The lesson here was to always wear a helmet. The last one that fell down bounced off the pile and into Applejack's hand, where she proceeded to eat it just as I managed to get my head out from under the apples. Why did she just walk away and leave me to get out? I wasn't in any danger or anything, but it would have been nice if she offered her assistance.
Rarity was the next person to experiment on, and I decided to go back to using equipment. I had no intention of taking the simple approach with her--I also didn't want to be flattened by anything falling from the ceiling. I placed a number of suction cups all over her body that were connected with wires which, in turn, were connected to my device. I could tell that she didn't appreciate having such things on her body, but I told her that it was necessary for research purposes.
" I find this most invasive, darling!" Rarity said.
" Just remember that you're only doing this for a short period of time." I said.
" Isn't there an easier way?"
" I tried that method and ended up getting buried under a ton of apples."
" Yes. It wasn't the most comforting experience for you, now was it?"
" I still smell like apples!"
" Could be worse."
" Yeah, I guess so. Anyway, all you need to do here is play your keytar for about fifteen seconds, and I'll write down any magical changes that occur. Hopefully, nothing magical comes out at me. So far, I've had butterflies knocking the power out, and apples that knocked me out." I said.
" Hmph! If I were in your shoes, darling, I'd appreciate seeing magical diamonds coming forth from my magic. Wouldn't that just be simply divine? Ooh! I hope that it does happen. It could give me some fantastic accessories to use for future fashion designs. Or, I could just use them." Rarity said. I rolled my eyes to the back of my head. Only Rarity would consider something like that when it came to magic. While she wanted to see magical diamonds form, I had no desire to see that happen. This equipment wouldn't appreciate being bombarded suddenly by falling diamonds.
With my pen ready to jot down information, Rarity began playing her keytar. Her instrument looked unusual. It was in the shape of a guitar but featured the keys one would find on a piano. I remember when she originally thought to use an actual piano for the Musical Showcase. The rest of us couldn't believe she was willing to drag such a heavy instrument around simply because it looked fancy compared with what the others were using. Ever since she first started playing it, Rarity immediately grew attached. It was like she was destined to play it.
As I wrote on my clipboard, Rarity played several keys, ponying up in the process. However, I was so distracted with writing, I didn't pay any attention to what was happening to her. The more keys she struck, the more her magic reacted, until she began floating upwards towards the ceiling.
I learned a valuable lesson during this experience: Never stand on top of wires, especially when they suddenly start to float. One wire had inconveniently wrapped itself around my ankle, and when Rarity reached the ceiling, the wire tripped me up. I landed hard on my back, while my clipboard and pen were thrown across the room.
" Ouch!"
" Oh, my! Are you alright, darling?" Rarity asked.
" I've had better days!"
" Maybe we should stop all of these tests before someone--namely, you--gets hurt."
" No. I can keep on going until everyone has been properly tested."
" You simply mustn't overexert yourself. You know what can happen to someone when they try to do too much all at once."
" I'll be fine, Rarity. You should stop playing, otherwise you'll be stuck up there." I suggested. That was the third magical mishap in a row resulting in something unfortunate happening to me. Was it a sign that I ought to quit while I was ahead? Perhaps, but I wasn't about to admit defeat. I still had two more friends who needed to give me results. Wires had proven themselves dangerous to be around, so the next test needed to not involve any. Looking around at the surrounding equipment, the only device that proved effective was my own. The wires it had weren't connected to anything but itself, aside from the giant plug.
Up next was Pinkie Pie, and I was concerned. It had nothing to do with the experiment. No, it had to do with Pinkie's randomness. In hindsight, I should have had her go first, given her unpredictability. Much like with Applejack, I decided not to rely on anything complicated. Instead, I measured Pinkie's magical energy through my device while keeping my distance. I'd already been pelted by apples and tripped over by a wire. I didn't want to suffer anymore.
" So, what do I get to do?" Pinkie Pie asked.
" Just play your drums, and I'll record what appears on my screen." I answered.
" That sounds really boring."
" It'll keep me safe."
" Oh, don't be silly! You've been perfectly fine so far."
" That's what worries me."
" Why are you standing all the way over there? Wouldn't you get a better look by standing right next to me?" Pinkie Pie asked. I gulped heavily before slowly backing away from her, turning my attention towards my device. I didn't want to experience another mishap, so the further away I was, the better. From my safe distance, I told Pinkie my reasons for staying away, and she shrugged her shoulders before turning her attention towards her drums. " Now watch me rock this thang! Since you didn't give me a specific song, I'll just play a random ditty until something happens."
" Whenever you're ready." I said.
" Hope you don't mind being blasted by loud music!" Pinkie Pie said. I should have taken her words more seriously, but I was too focused on seeing what appeared on the screen. She began beating her drums slowly in order to build up a good tempo, and the display on the screen was recording her every drum beat. Was this going to be what would allow me to understand the magic of this world? Pinkie's pony ears and tail started forming, which was expected, but then she started getting faster, until her drumming was like a complete blur. I was so enthralled with the data coming through, I failed to notice Pinkie's magic beginning to increase in power.
Without warning, she beat her drums so hard, a shower of magical balloons came forth from her largest drum toward me. I was caught completely off-guard and got blasted by the balloons. The force was so strong, I was shoved right into the back wall of the music room. The balloons floated away from my body and up to the ceiling, where they disappeared, yet I remained stuck on the wall due to the incredibly strong static electricity.
My hair was all frazzled, but that wasn't an issue for me. The sparks of electricity weren't an issue, either. No, I was upset over being the victim of yet another magical surge. I should have quit right there and then. However, I was too stubborn to admit defeat. I still had Rainbow Dash to test. Pinkie was also right about me having been blasted by loud music. I don't know how she did it, but she always did.
" This... is a lot more painful than it looks." I said.
" I wasn't expecting that to happen." Pinkie Pie said.
" I'll need a few minutes to let the static electricity wear off."
" Why not stay up there for a while? I wish I were in your shoes right now, Sunset! You're having so much fun hanging around up there. Plus, all that electricity must be really tingling, like a certain someone I know who got bitten by a spider. Or, was he bitten by a cat? Eh, I never could figure that one out. Ooh! Ooh! Maybe I should stand in front of my drums when they're about to fire and join you up there." Pinkie Pie suggested.
" No, no! That's quite all right!" I protested.
" Suit yourself."
" I'm going to need to take a safer approach once I get down."
" And maybe a pillow."
" Why would I need one of those?" I asked. My own question got answered a few seconds later when my body fell off from the wall. The static electricity wore off a lot quicker than I expected, resulting in a slightly painful landing on my back. Pinkie was right... I really needed a pillow. My friends continued watching and looked concerned, but I shrugged off their worries with a flick of my wrist. I walked over to Rainbow Dash and told her it was now her turn to be tested on. So far, all of my tests had proven ineffective because of those magical surges, but hopefully, Rainbow would provide accurate results.
This time, I wasn't taking any chances. I wanted to stay as far away from any possible magical surges, so I chose to monitor Rainbow Dash from a recording studio that was adjacent to the music room while Rainbow performed. My device had also been hooked up to the equipment in the studio, and I made sure to bring my laptop inside. It recorded any possible changes to her energy readings.
" I'm ready to rock!" Rainbow Dash announced.
" That's what I expect to see from you. I'm safely secured in this studio, so feel free to go all-out with your guitar playing." I said.
" You sure you wanna hide in there?"
" It's not hiding!"
" Then what is it?"
" Being safe, Rainbow. You've seen all the stuff that's happened to me since I started these tests."
" Yeah, yeah! You've been through a lot worse, Sunset."
" I know, but I want to be cautious."
" It's cool, it's cool." Rainbow Dash said before snickering to herself. She loved the fact that I was being too cautious. I just didn't want to suffer another magical surge, so being in a different room should keep her magic from reaching me. Unfortunately, I forgot all about how magic could transfer effortlessly from place to place. That was one of its more annoying attributes. " Okay! How long do you wanna hear my jamming session? Also, any specific tune?" Rainbow Dash asked.
" Play for about twenty seconds, and anything will do." I answered.
" One quick rock concert it is!" Rainbow Dash said. She then started strumming her guitar's strings with her eyes closed. Cocky. Just like the previous tests, things started off pretty well. In fact, I believed that these would be the results I needed to come up with an answer. Rainbow Dash began floating into the air as Rarity had before her and ponied up. This was it! Everything was going perfectly! Nothing could go wrong now!
And yet, I failed to take notice of the rainbow energy that began flowing through the wire that connected Rainbow's electric guitar to an outlet in the wall. It ran through the wire with incredible speed, and it was at that point that I took notice. I didn't think anything bad could happen so I ignored the energy and focused on Rainbow's data. I couldn't believe the output she gave off. The rainbow energy then entered the outlet on the wall and into my laptop. I was shocked that her magic had infiltrated my laptop. Before I could react appropriately, my laptop's screen began glowing in various colours before they splatted out all over me in a magical explosion. It caused the window of the recording studio to be covered in rainbow paint. The explosion then travelled through the main plug connecting to my device, which itself blew up.
" My device!" I cried.
" Oops! Guess I went a little too far." Rainbow Dash said.
" Even my laptop got fried."
" Sorry about that, Sunset."
" Good thing I saved all of my data on a memory stick before I came in here. I had a feeling something like this was going to happen. The only problem is getting a new laptop, which costs a good amount. I'll be with you and the others in just a second, Rainbow Dash. I've got to take care of something first." I said. I had to stumble my way about in the confusion of smoke and bright colours caused by Rainbow's magic blowing up in my face. I had to face facts by that point. After five magical surged affecting me, I couldn't take it anymore. Not only that, but I also had to admit defeat on a more important matter.
Several minutes later, I came out of the recording studio to meet my waiting friends. Each of them looked at me with shock in her face. I was already aware of what happened to me when looking into a mirror that was hanging on a wall in the studio. My hair was frazzled again, static electricity was running through my hair, my face was covered in smoke, and my hair and clothes were smoking.
" You don't look so good." Applejack said.
" Guess things didn't go as well as expected." Rarity added.
" No. No, they didn't." I said.
" What about the results of your tests?" Fluttershy asked.
" Finally, after all this testing, I've come to a definitive conclusion!" I said, coughing out a small rainbow from my mouth. I quickly looked at the notes I wrote down on my clipboard before addressing my friends. My body began swaying back and forth; I was exhausted. " I have no idea how magic works in this world." Groaning, I fell over backward and landed on the ground with a loud crash. All of my efforts had been in vain. My friends weren't able to provide me with the information I needed. Now I was back to square one all over again.
" That was fun! We should do this again tomorrow." Pinkie Pie said.
" I don't think Sunset would like that." Rainbow Dash said.
Where did I go wrong? How could my device have failed to provide me with concrete evidence of the magic problem? Magic and technology didn't cooperate with one another, and my slight bruises were proof of that. My friends' magic proved unstable in lab conditions, and I should have expected that. If I had, I could have avoided all that grief. They were still inexperienced with their powers, and I alone wasn't able to handle it without having it blow up in my face. I had to contact Princess Twilight and see what she had to say about this. If anyone could figure out what went wrong with my tests, she could. I just needed to find some free time in her schedule.
" You really should have quit while you were ahead." Twilight said.
" I really thought I could figure out the magic problem with my friends providing me with evidence, but all I ended up doing was embarrassing myself five times when the magical surges affected me in different ways. Sometimes, you have to endure much in order to get results." I said.
" Were you angry that your efforts failed?"
" I was seething, but I kept it under control."
" Oh, right! Your temper issues."
" Exactly!"
" What about the equipment you borrowed from the science lab?"
" None of it was damaged when Rainbow Dash's magic caused that explosion." I answered. If it had gotten damaged, I would've faced more than just detention for damaging school property. I'd have lost several privileges around the school that were essential to me figuring out the magic problem. Also, there was no way I could afford to replace any lab equipment, and the school's budget couldn't have, either. If there was one saving grace, it was the explosion not causing any damage to the music room. What happened in the cafeteria was still fresh in my memory. I didn't want another repeat of that. A shame my device ended up becoming useless after the explosion. I didn't get a chance to really see what it could do, but perhaps it was a sign that building a better version was possible.
" Magic certainly is unpredictable." Twilight said.
" Only in this world."
" It's not in Equestria?"
" Magic there is always predictable. You know exactly what it's going to do when you begin using it. Anyone could figure out the pattern, whether they were an experienced scholar or not. In this world, I had no idea what the magic was capable of. My fear was that it would change into something that was beyond anyone's comprehension. Until I could understand the mechanics behind it, it remained a serious threat." I answered.
" Did Princess Twilight come through the portal to help you?" Twilight asked.
" She came for a brief visit, but it didn't involve the magic problem."
" What did it involve then?"
" I'll get to that in a little while. First, I must show you what happened several days before the Friendship Games started." I answered. I turned the page, and glued there was a player roster for the Wondercolt team that competed in the games. Twilight was surprised that I had that in my journal, but then, she had seen stranger things come up as we went through it. Unlike most rosters, this one only had a few names listed, mine being one of them. " A few days before the Friendship Games, Vice Principal Luna needed to find students who were willing to compete against Crystal Prep." I said.
" Was it difficult?" Twilight asked.
" Surely even you know that answer."
" I'm afraid I do."
" Morale for the Games at CHS was at an all-time low."