Epilogue
“Well I don’t really think it matters where the energy comes from song long as it produces the intended effect.” Said Twilight.
The old scholar, Platony, now speaking through a new translator, returned with, “But do you not think it is important to understand where the energy is coming from to begin with? After all, according to thermodynamics, the energy has to come from somewhere. What if the practice of magic in itself is remotely committing illegal siphoning?”
“That’s just silly if you ask me.” The filly said. “You can’t disprove that because there would be no way to produce a universal negative.”
Platony threw his hooves up in the air. “Oh there you go bringing this ‘scientific’ approach to it. You’re almost as bad as my greatest student was.”
Twilight was taking a break from official studying and was debating with her teachers on the theory of magic. It was midsummer and she was giving no thought to school, but was by no means slacking in her studies. Very soon she was able to start learning about how to manipulate matter based on its properties; however, it was getting late and before she turned in for the night she liked to have a riveting theoretical argument.
Twilight readied herself to apologize for science. “Well when you really look at it, magic is scientific a lot of ways. It’s observable, reproducible, and deliberate. I, for one, don’t understand why you always have to look at it so metaphysically.”
The sage chuckled and said, “My dear filly, you have much to learn. It just so happens that the highest divisions of the practice are anything but those things. They are by all means logical, but not scientific. Take for example the fabled omniomorphic spell of which I am sure you have heard. Star Swirl claims to have invented it, but he only rediscovered it and popularized the goal to harness it. In my time, it was called the weapon of the gods because of how powerful and unpredictable it was. We found that out first hand when it destroyed our homes and to this day, your ‘scientists’ are still trying to discover a way to use it like it were a tangible tool. No pony will ever be able to show how it works solely by observation, but we can show how it came to be and how it works by logic.”
Twilight slapped her hoof to her face. “That’s a defeatist’s way of looking at things. You think that because its complicated the we’ll never understand it?”
A clear voice muffled Platony’s response, “Twilight, sweetie?”
Twilight was brought out of her immersion back into the material world, inside her room. She turned to see her mother. “Oh, hi mom. What is it?”
The mare entered into the bedroom and said, “Well your father and I have been talking and we’ve noticed that you’ve been spending a lot of time studying and that you did really well in grade school.”
The filly blushed. “Well, I could have done better. I just wish that I could have been a little more serious in the middle grades.”
Her mother smiled. “You did what you could given the circumstances and we’re very proud of you.”
Twilight’s cheeks grew redder. “Thanks mom.”
At this point, her father walked into the room and said, “And your outstanding performance is exactly why we went ahead and enrolled you in Princess Celestia’s Academy for gifted unicorns.”
Twilight nearly fell out of her seat and sputtered, “What? That’s the most selective school in the nation. Only one in every thousand applicants ever gets in!”
Her mother continued, “We know, but we applied for you anyway, and they accepted you. All you have to do is pass an entrance exam.”
This took a moment to register in Twilight’s brain. When she understood, she looked at her mother and father and squealed with joy. “Oh yes!” She cheered. “That’s so awesome.” Then she preceded to parade about the room with her parents happily watching. She stopped after a moment though. “Wait, what did you say about an entrance exam?”
♦ ♦ ♦
From her birth, Twilight, like many other fillies and even mares, was chained hopelessly and unknowingly in the cave of ignorance. Until the age of five, she lived as any normal pony, spending her days playing games with friends and doing whatever she felt like on a given day. She was content and happy with her way of life, but she was also blown to and fro by whatever circumstances came her way. It is the nature of ponies to opt for complacency and so she did.
Yet at the age of five, she witnessed something that changed her life. She saw something that made her incredibly dissatisfied with her disposition. This dissatisfaction sprung up in the form of a desire within her that caused her to pursue a single goal. She placed all of her being –body, soul, and spirit- into this goal; pursuing invariably the same object even in the face of the most shaking adversity.
She had many enemies, some of which had great influence. Everypony abandoned her and many betrayed her; breaking her spirit and compelling her to forsake the goal which she so greatly desired. They deliberated against and triumphed over her. Thus, she knew only pain; being given no reason to rise above the call of duty, save for the vague promises of rewards in a faraway future. Not even the most despicable of ponies deserve the kind of treatment that she was subjected to, but still her enemies showed her no mercy.
The bards cannot say that Twilight remained steadfast. In less than a year’s time she gave into the immense pressure upon her. For a time, she lived as she had before she saw the splendor of the princess of the sun, but fate would have it that she would come across one who would question her manners. He urged her onward towards what she had been walking towards in a new way. Did she truly thirst for friendship or was it something she could overcome? If she forsook associating with ponies altogether would she survive?
The answers to these questions came to her after only a short time. What good where friends if she gave up herself? What purpose did friendship serve if it distanced her from magic? With these ideas in mind, she renewed her resolve and set herself back on the course towards her self-ordained goal. When they beat her, she did not bleed. When they struck her, she did not flinch. She beat her body into submission and it obeyed her to the very end. When the dust had cleared, she was the most honored by far over all her peers in the capital of the world.
Such honors in academia were not the limit of her rewards though. Not long after conquering the grades, she was submitted to a final test and brought before four who would decide her future. They gave her an egg with a vague description to open it with magic. At first, she could not complete what was required of her, and she thought she had failed. After thirteen years of the hardest and most determined pursuit of a sole purpose, it had all been for naught. So she spoke aloud words not in spite of her examiners or hatred for their choice of her test. “I’m sorry I wasted your time.” After all she had fought for, there was no hope for her. She was defeated.
But the fates had something different in mind. They had a different plan for her; one that was more far reaching than she could ever imagine. Before the entrance exam, she hoped to be among the lowest of the best for her efforts. Despite having fought the good fight, she would have settled if they would have called her gifted, and she would have gladly continued to run the race towards the palace. It was enough for them to simply pass her, to call her acceptable among the greats. But the fates gave her far more than she could ever imagine.
On that day … when she thought that she had failed, when all was lost for her, and her hopes and dreams came crashing down upon her like tidal waves upon an unwalled city, and when she thought defeat had placed its terrible hooves upon her carcass … on that day, a brilliant and widespread sign appeared in the heavens, and she gazed once more into the eyes of Princess Celestia herself; this time closer than ever before. The princess, seeing what lay inside of her from afar, approached and placed her majestic hoof on her; gazing at her with loving and kind eyes. Celestia, the prize for which the filly had been fighting tooth and nail for such a long time, said,
“You, Twilight Sparkle, are very special. Today I choose you to live in my house and learn under my wing; for I have never seen one with such potential as you. Come and I will show you wonderful, astonishing, and amazing things.”
From that day forth, all knowledge was like the most filling delicacy to Twilight. Everything which the princess showed her was a blessing and was more appreciated than anything she gave to any of her subjects. Though she could never consume enough knowledge, she was never hungry for it. And each day, the princess made another crack in the chains that bound her good and faithful student.
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Holy balls this is really good. Favourited, thumbs-upped and watched.
Good job!
An enjoyable read, sometimes they really talked too much but well
Wow this fic demolished all of my expectations it may very well be may favourite and I read quite a bit so that's saying something.
1219678
I'm glad to hear you liked it. It truly does mean a lot to hear that my efforts have not been in vain. It will need some work later down the road, but for now I hope that its thesis provides some solid speculation on what motivated Twilight prior to meeting the rest of the mane six. The story isn't finished though, of course. The theme of isolated independence doesn't bode so well with the moral of the series -and I certainly don't want to argue that the whole is not greater than the sum of its parts- so it demands that I write a sequel, hopefully to be composed in the not so distant future.
1220613 I would love to see a sequel when you find the time.
You wouldn't believe how much I loved this story.
It moved me a lot of times. But not only that, it also made my think. To me, that's one of the greatest achievements a story can aspire to.
Not bad for a fanfiction about pastel colored equines!
My only complain is... well, the name of the old sage mage is, canonically, "Star Swirl the Bearded".
I've found very distracting every time he's called different to that.
If you fix that, it would be perfect.
1652814
Wow, I've had this story up for months now and no one's said anything. This is the first I've heard that his name was pronounced differently. Thank you for pointing that out.
Wow, that was a really well written story. Favorited!
1921769
Many thanks. Writing this one was fun, and I learned a lot from it. If and when I write a sequel for it, I hope I will have fixed all the shortcomings this one had.
2482466
I should think, nay, assert that Twilight is certainly not the average filly.
Wow. Blueblood has been portrayed as the antagonist in lots of fics, but I don't think I've ever seen have such malice.
3194132
Well i also read the story in full and im very much hoping for a sequel! I was just saying that auto correct is very tough to get past and I wanted to say that I loved the story!!
This hits so horribly, painfully close to heart.
I wonder if people reading this, thinking its harsh, would think, with three small alterations.
She had a mental disorder that left her intelligence, exuberance and all others intact, but broke her inate soocial freindship so that she was incapable of recognising when somepony wasnt being nice to her.
Her mother continously dissuaded her from her following, instead taking up gardening or such.
Her dog, which recieved as a pup the year of the festival, died in her hooves with a wimper at the application to University.
And then you think, theres an awful lot of people out there, who have had a far worse life, and are still successful.
If you have no freinds, family, or even self. What do you have?
3245547
That it a sober question, one which I have long pondered when considering characters of mine (yet to be introduced) rotting in the utter darkness of prison cells, left only to await what agonizing tortures will befall them next. In these darkest of hours, there becomes only one hope left in the blackness. Yet that hope, which starts as only a faint shimmer, suddenly shines with light more brilliant than even the sun: we have all been placed on this earth, not simply to survive or seek out our own happiness, but we have each been given special and unique talents that make us capable of carrying out some mission, some duty that no one else can. Even if this duty is small, what we will never possibly know on this earth is just how invaluable and indispensable our efforts are in the grand scheme of things. We ourselves may contribute to the fall of tyrants or the salvation of a people. It is in this everlasting hope that we can live on, knowing that the present time is a gift
3245578
I had a critical part in the information passed to a public inquiry on two local power stations that wished to switch to cheap, sulphur laden, pollution spewing Venuzuelan oil. This lead to those two stations, of total 1.2 GW capacity, being closed down by their owners, escentially out of spite.
I had a critical part in the production of the seals on a major underwater road tunnel project, that created a transport link worth a good percentage point on the countries GDP.
This was 25 years ago. Ive been unepmloyable ever since, watching ideas and designs written up in university and even school books being discovered and announced by others.
I used to do my absolute best to try and solve problems, then offer the solutions to others, to help them along. these days, I cant even do that unless I pay large amounts up front, which due to circumstances, I havent got.
Im pretty sure that the base chaos rules follow the fibonacci sequence, given the results of certain experiements. ther are several other publications which when combined, give the most remarkable results, one of my favourite being the piano tuners correction giving a possible connection between QM and GR, without altering either, even though its been shown that they are incompatible.
I am Booster Spice. My ability is to amplify, enhance anothers abilities.
A booster without payload or guidance, is totally useless.
In many ways I liked this story, but I don't feel that foal Twilight was acting in character. Children that young couldn't understand the things that she did. Also, the narrative was written more as a lecture than as an appeal to the emotions. I have to give you credit for being the first author I have read who has been brave enough to touch upon the actual information contained within her lessons, but in the end, it felt dry and anticlimactic.
EDIT - Oh, I would also like to add that I don't think this story needs the dark tag. The events within although unpleasant are not very different from actual school environments.
4040037
First let me say that it should be, if it is not indeed, obvious that you are commenting on a story that is two years old. The fact that people are still reading this at all, when it even fails to remain canon due the overwhelming presence of Shining Armor (however contradictory to the established plot he might have been) and Princess Cadence (however contradictory to plot she might have been). This story was a work in the earliest part of my career, the second of two complete epics. For its terribly poor quality I removed the first, but this one remains and shall remain for an equally good reason.
The fact that you imply this narrative is dry and impassioned seems to me to ignore the true nature of the reader's experience. We know what she is destined for, as readers, as we have seen the triumphant accomplishment of the suffering of the alicorns and the awesome events leading up to the coronation of Twilight. We know that her quest means more to the world than the average filly. That said, you are very right. I did intend for this work to lack "emotion" as you call it. I never intended and never want for people to cry or "D'aw" over this story and indeed my shortlived attempt to make this story emotional was so unbearable that I knew it was impossible. This story, like a lecture, is not meant to entertain, but rather to inform.
Even after all the horrid attempts in the canon itself and the non-canon to do away with the passion of Twilight, my age-old view, which is dying away in the hearts of bronies all around, is still firmly affixed in my mind because of it's stark meaning in the canon. This passion is the meaning of this story: that when Twilight was yet immature, knowledge was her goal and her life. She had an insatiable desire to acquire knowledge, and in knowledge, the practical ability to control magic. In this process she constantly fought against any manner of friendship, and while she may not have truly understood the message I present so strongly in this story, she truly believed in her heart that the great ponies of old were sages and hermits. As it was said, Star Swirl the Bearded, the creature of legend that permeates our curiosity, did not understand friendship. Therefore, Twilight became married to the pursuit of knowledge and pursued that knowledge with a drive unmatched, casting aside and spurning all mention of friends and cooperation.
Yet we know that on the first night of the first year of Princess Luna's return, she had a groundbreaking epiphany that caused her to have a complete paradigm shift, which was the realization that not even Star Swirl in all his wisdom could grasp: that true power and true wisdom lies in the common effort of people. While one may overcome another, two will stand alongside each other and not fall. And a team of three can hardly be broken. In this understanding, she went on to defeat the darkness and chaos and fear itself, and finally even destiny itself through the power of harmony. In this the suffering of Luna is accomplished.
4042769 I have just read this story for a second time apparently a year and a week from the first time I have read it. Looking at my previous comment, I have to wonder what was blinding me from seeing the beauty in this story. Magic Kindergarten has been on my mind this past year to the point where I recommended it to a friend when I wanted to explain the synthesis of facts into knowledge. This was a bit difficult, because at the time, I had forgotten the title of the story and had not bookmarked it. It took me about a week to find it again.
I would like to ask you, as a fan of the story, if you would be willing to rewrite Magic Kindergarten expanding upon the information and philosophies within it. I ask this because even though you had said this story is not to entertain, but to inform, information can be given in an entertaining way, and so much more can be added. For example, I happen to know about The Cave, so I understand the references made to it even though the full allegory was not given, however, as more references came in, I saw how I have not learned of some of the ones I believed you made. Maybe it was just your choice of phrasing, but seeds falling upon different types of ground were made three times, if that is any reference to a philosophical factoid, from its mention alone I could not gather a greater understanding of the message behind it. Retrospectively, this made me look at the references I did understand and ask myself how well each were explained in the story or if the points that were meant to be made were understood only by my own recollection.
I am now fascinated by the idea that through fiction, which has traditionally been written primarily to entertain, can be written in such a way to carry lessons that go beyond informing the reader, but so much as to actually teach the reader. I hold that Faust's original purpose was to impart emotional/moral knowledge to the viewer, but besides a few factoids, I have never before seen a work of fiction attempt to teach the audience about a subject so advanced as philosophy. I understand if you do not wish to remake this story, but perhaps could you write a story with the same purpose?
5734213
It has indeed been some time since I have read and considered what I myself have written. I write to you as a new body and a new soul and a new spirit than the one who replied to you before. It has been a year and three months now since I have last published anything to this account, and longer still since I posted anything of value. I have been wearied by work and stressed by potential and personal failure. But yet, my desire for philosophy remains. Still, I have this desire to write and to teach. In that regard you are correct. I have long desired to write an epic as well. And for three years now, my desire has been mounting, to the point that I have a story, just not the time to write it.
As I look back on this story, I confess I cringe because of my ability in writing then. I boast knowingly but truthfully when I claim I have far improved over this level of writing to which I was accustomed. But at the same time, I still see some of the old philosophies I held there: the glory of stoicism, the value of life, and the attainment of knowledge. And yes, there are likely many allegories which you missed; the parable of the seeds and the soil was not an accident of wording. As primitive as the style is, I can still see the passion I had then.
I will confess that I do not have much intention to rewrite Magic Kindergarten. That is beyond me now; for the passion and core philosophies are there, but the presentation is admittedly cringeworthy and beyond salvaging. I must confess further that I do not have an immediate plan for doing any writing. In the next few months I will be far too busy to do any. But I can say this: I very much want to start writing again. I referred to one epic, but in reality I have two, two lengthy stories which intend to capture and wrestle with many philosophies. The question only is when I will get to it all.