A chill raced down my spine as warmth flushed into my face.
“Have you been up all night?” Amethyst asked as she stepped toward my rigid stance.
“I… yes,” I choked out against the lump in my throat.
Evenstar spoke. “When we realized you were asleep, we didn’t want to disturb you. Did you have a restful night?”
Anything but. “For the most part, although I’m still pretty tired.”
“All nighters will do that to you,” Amethyst said. “I spent many of them because of your class, Evenstar.”
“Advanced Theoretical Magic isn’t a course for the faint of heart. I specifically designed it to test the work ethic of my students as well as their mental prowess. Either way,” he said as he turned his attention to me. “You seem oddly interested in the chalkboard today. Have any more revelations for us?”
“Not today,” I said with a sigh. “I’m too sleepy for something like that.”
“Ah, well, not to worry!” he started as he trotted to my side. “We’ve got plenty of work to do today. But first, we need to check the mail.”
That’s when I remembered my duty to sort the mail. Over the past few weeks I had neglected it in order to assist in the development of the limit. Now, however, the sloppy pile of mail in the corner was nearly equal to my height. I let out a sigh, I wanted to be a part of their research, but as usual, I was commanded to the menial task of mail sorting.
“I can help you with that,” Amethyst said cheerfully.
“I think I’m capable of sorting the mail. Besides, you have more important things to attend to.” I didn’t intend for my words to form daggers, but they did all the same. The room fell silent as I walked to the pile in the corner, dragging a table along as I passed it. “I should be done by the time the day is out.”
“O- okay…” Amethyst stuttered. I hadn’t once laid eyes on her since she returned, but I knew she was now looking to Evenstar for an explanation.
“I’m sure it’s just a case of the mornings,” Evenstar said with a sigh. “But regardless, let us begin on the analog equations.”
I sat myself next to the table as they continued their work, drew a stack of letters from the pile, and began to sort through them as quickly as I could. A few letters from challenger were expected, and as they came in I placed them in their respective stacks. The rest of the mail, however, was mostly regarded as trash. So, as I tossed letters into the trash with hardly a second glance at their address. However, as time went on, I realized how long the process was taking.
I knew Amethyst would have been done with such a task by now, but I wanted to prove to them that there was something I could do without magic. However, the more I toiled, the more I realized that simply was not the case. She was better than me at even the most menial task, and that made my work just a bit slower than before. I tried to keep myself from comparing the two of us, but inevitably, I fell into that snare once more. Every now and again I would catch myself pausing to watch her and Evenstar work. It irritated me to see her do so much when I could only dream, and whenever I realized I was staring at the two of them, I would force myself to return to my work. I couldn’t bear the thought of them seeing me seething in jealousy as they worked, they didn’t deserve that. No, instead I felt as though I did.
I didn’t want these emotions to plague my mind, and as I worked, I let myself sink deeper still into my own frustration. I’m honestly not sure why I didn’t voice my concerns, as I know they would have been graciously addressed, but my pride had, once again, gotten the better of me. Instead of taking several hours to sort the mail, it took several days. I wanted to complete the task as quickly as I could, but my fervor waned only minutes later. I was trying to drive myself with my own hatred of self, and that is something I have never been able to fully accomplish.
After I had completed about half of the pile several days later, Evenstar and Amethyst drew my attention in a rather peculiar way. Instead of the regular eureka moment, there was a heavy silence that filled the room. The two of them weren’t picking away at the analog equations, instead they were tending to their own interests.
I set the envelope aside and watched the two as they continued about their work. Amethyst was busying herself with the shell that rested atop one of the tables, and Evenstar was sitting perfectly still before a chalkboard.
“Is something wrong?” I asked. My voice made Evenstar stir and caused Amethyst’s spell to flicker.
“Well,” Evenstar started. His voice felt near hopeless, and I could already begin to infer what had happened. “It looks like it’s over.”
“Over?”
“Yes, Starswirl,” Evenstar said. “The analog equations are a pipe dream.”
“What?”
“Amethyst, I can’t handle the explanation right now,” Evenstar muttered. “I need to rest.”
My attention turned to Amethyst as she looked to me. Our eyes met and I felt a slight rush course through my body. “What’s wrong?” I asked, trying my best to mask my attraction.
“Well, Evenstar has come to the conclusion that the Analog equation he has been searching for is really only half of the puzzle.”
“What?”
“You see,” she started as she took a deep breath. “Evenstar started off looking for the analog equations as a system to discover slope. However, after employing your limit system, he discovered something rather disheartening. The Analog equation has nearly been solved, and rather spectacularly at that. However, what remains is going from the given function of slope to the original line. Without that, we can’t do anything.”
“Wait, you mean it’s already been solved!?” I nearly shouted.
Evenstar spoke up before Amethyst could respond. “Only half of it, and that took decades.”
I was speechless, there was so much that I wanted to say, so many things that I wanted to do to celebrate, but neither of them followed in that desire. “So that’s it? We just give up”
“In effect, yes,” Evenstar sighed. “I don’t know if I will live for another year, let alone another ten. My body is failing me, I can feel it giving up, and I will soon be forced to do the same.”
As I focused on Evenstar, I noticed the streams of tears that were trailing down his face. This was everything he had ever wanted and he had come so close, only to see himself fall short of his dream.
“I’ve seen so many things in my life, so many different trials and challenges, and I faced them all head on. I… I never thought my own decay would be my end.”
“Why is he acting like this?”
“I couldn’t tell you,” Amethyst whispered as we watched him in resolute silence. “Ever since he starting thinking about his death I’ve noticed he’s not as passionate about his work.”
“So then what do we do now?”
“Well, we can always go back to the challenger proofs. It might help him. At least, I hope it will.”
“Several hundred came in while we weren’t sorting mail,” I offered. “Maybe we could find one that would encourage him to keep on working.”
“Yeah…” I said as I turned toward the stack of letters. There were hundreds there, but something felt wrong about feeding Evenstar yet another challenge. I wanted to see him pursue his own creation, to let the world marvel at the analog equations and their incredible potential. Then, as I was absent mindedly sifting through the pages I noticed yet another pile of mail that had arrived that day. I figured there might be something in there worth looking for, but at this point, I had no idea what I was looking for. I think it was an act of desperation, just as Evenstar’s use of infinity had been.
That’s when I noticed a rather official letter with an ornate wax seal affixed to its center. “A-Amethyst?” I stuttered as I turned to her. “You may want to see this.”
“Oh?” She asked as she looked to the letter I had removed from the pile. “Wait…”
“What’s wrong?” I quickly asked, fueled by a fascination for its contents and the uneasy feeling of the invasion of personal space. Amethyst, in an attempt to get a better look at the letter, had positioned her shoulder irritatingly close to my muzzle. I was, to say the least, rather flustered.
“It looks like it’s from the Academy!”
“A rejection letter, I presume,” Evenstar asked. “I’ve had to wait for months in the past for acceptance letter from them.”
Amethyst stepped back from her awkward position and sent the letter over to Evenstar. “Well?” she asked. “Are you going to open it?”
“I’ll let you do the honors, Amethyst. I have no interest in hearing what the Academy has to complain about this time.”
“O- okay then,” she muttered as she brought it back before her face and ruptured the seal. She withdrew the page and quickly began scanning the letter. As she read, a smile slowly appeared on her face. “Well, you were right, Evenstar,” she muttered. “They just don’t want to publish it. They’ve requested that you come in for review.”
Evenstar froze. “What?” he whispered.
“The Academy wants you to come in immediately for a lecture. It seems you have made quite the discovery.”
“You can’t be serious. They never return this fast…”
“I assume they never receive, and I quote, ‘a fundamental breakthrough for mathematics as we know it.’” Her confidence was infectious, and Evenstar stood just a bit taller at the mention of the magnitude of the accomplishment.
I tried to keep myself from interrupting, but I couldn’t retain my excitement. “So what did they say?” I asked.
Amethyst cleared her throat. “Evenstar,
“We have read your proof for the limit and have come to the unanimous agreement to publish your findings in our next Journal. It is not a common occurrence for us to receive a fundamental breakthrough for mathematics as we know it. We would also like to extend an invitation to you and your assistant to lecture the board on your findings, how you came to them, and what you intend to do with your research in the coming months. We are prepared to offer you a grant of two million bits for your research to continue indefinitely.
Signed, The Academy”
Amethyst paused as the colossal number hung in the air. This was a dream come true, and I had helped bring it to pass. She brought her attention back to the page and I watched her smile falter. Instead of reading aloud, she opted to whisper the words to herself as a strange expression came over her face. “Uh, Evenstar?”
“Is there a problem?”
“Well… just take a look at the post script.” She sent the page to Evenstar who carefully examined it. Moments later and a frown had spread across his face as well.
“W-what’s wrong?” I asked as I tried to keep calm in the muted atmosphere. “Is there a catch?”
“In some regards, yes,” Evenstar said before cursing beneath his breath. He looked to Amethyst who held the letter and then to me. “The Academy has requested, on grounds of your race, that you do not attend the lecture.”