Chapter 9: Probable Impossibility
Chapter 9: Probable Impossibility
It was practice time again, the same as came every single day for Second Chance. Her playtime was over, though she hadn't really enjoyed it today anyway. As much as the members of the Cutie Mark Crusaders loved to race, she had never really been a contender, so had taken little joy in her loss. There was something competitive in her, something unhappy to be satisfied with defeat, but there had been nothing she could do about it.
Scootaloo had wings! Maybe she couldn't fly with them, but the way they beat almost like a hummingbird when she ran, that had to be helping somehow! Of course there was Apple Bloom, with her freaky earth-pony speed and endurance. That left Chance and Sweetie Belle in last, or Chance more particularly since she tripped twice during the race. That was okay, though. Even if it wasn't the most exciting thing she'd done with the Cutie Mark Crusaders since getting to know them by that collective title.
Now it was time to fail some more, just like she did during these lessons every day. She wondered to herself if Twilight Sparkle would give up on her if she was persistent enough with her low performance, or if her tolerance for her failures would keep her doing this months and years into the future.
It was strange to think of just how long she had been here, nearly a whole month now as best she figured. She didn't keep a diary or have a calendar, so it was impossible to be sure, but that seemed like a fairly safe guess. Winter was only scheduled to last for a few more days, and then they would wrap it up. Chance had no idea what that meant, except that it was obviously an important event in the town. Twilight had begun to obsess over her planning for it, and even her friends the Crusaders had mentioned it once or twice. Chance hadn't been brave enough to ask about what it was yet, though with as soon as it seemed to be getting it might only be a few days more before she found out whether she wanted to or not.
But now was no time to get distracted and start stressing over things she couldn't control, things she couldn't even understand yet. She already had one task like that, no sense burdening herself down with another. Unfortunately, her present ideas had, as of yet, failed.
There were memories of something like this from back home, memories of strange powers that could be obtained through enormous effort and concentration. One had only to travel great distance, encounter the mythical teacher, who would give their knowledge of the unseen. Then there would be a quick montage of various training positions, after which the mythical knowledge would be acquired. She had seen many historical files to that effect in her youth, the pattern had been quite consistent. The only problem was she wasn't entirely sure if the things she remembered were meant as fact or fiction. Great peril hinged on the correctness of her understanding.
Magic was to her an insoluble koan that might only be obtained by overcoming what she considered rational. Chance had opened more than a dozen books on the floor, each open to a different diagram representing the mental patterns required for the same spell, the simplest spell of all. With Twilight's permission, she had then copied the spell over and over on the floor of the library, each simple spiral pattern adding curves to her own personal sand-garden. It was very pretty, but so far hadn't proved to be very useful. A month had gone by without so much as a spontaneous wiggle from whatever she was trying to move. In and around her little garden of marks she paced, occasionally kicking the ball she had chosen as today's subject. It would bounce off the shelves, roll about for awhile, but that was no solution. Ultimately she would go and pick it up in her teeth, return it to the center of the room, and the process would repeat.
If Twilight had needed any evidence that Chance was more mature than an ordinary filly, her sheer force of will provided that evidence in coming back to her private magical practice each and every day. She would make herself a useful apprentice no matter what it took!
Unfortunately her determination didn't seem to be making a difference, even though it had never failed her before. This brought even more frustration, since according to the books she was doing everything right! A secret fear was beginning to grow in her, a fear she hadn't told anyone, not even the strange princess in her dreams. Could it be that, because she was from somewhere else, she was inherently damaged somehow? No matter what she wanted or how hard she tried, maybe Chance could never be a normal unicorn. Maybe she would've lacked the magic of whatever race she'd been created as, either a flightless pegasus or an earth-pony with neither strength nor mastery over living things.
Using magic would be the proof that wasn't true, if she could manage it. If she could use her horn, that would mean she was a normal pony in her mind, once and for all. Nevermind the memories that were coming back more and more. Nevermind the strangeness of her past, or that patch of ground by the Everfree Forest that looked like nothing would ever grow there again. She could be an ordinary pony and live out her life here, in peace. Surely, after all she had seen, she had earned that much. This world was such a wonderful, beautiful place. Not perfect, of course. It was cold every morning when she woke up in the library, and they could only use their lights when nothing else would do. They couldn't use the hot water for very long, and she lacked the limbs to do anything with dexterity.
Those things didn't matter, though. Not compared to the one thing this world offered that her own never could. Peace. She had heard the stories during Hearth's Warming Eve. While she wasn't clear how factual they were, they made one thing very clear that nopony seemed to dispute: There had been no internal wars in Equestria, not since its founding. There were no coups and no insurrections. That didn't mean the world was free of conflict, by any means! There were a few rare and evil ponies just as there had been rare and evil members of her own kindred. There had been wars, at least she thought there had been, with other nations in the distant past. But between groups of ponies? Never.
That would make this world paradise. After seeing her own tear itself apart, without the added excuses of other races and magic to get involved, she figured that the break was owed. She would make herself an ordinary member of pony society and aspire to be nothing more than what that society expected. She wouldn't bring her so-called innovations, she wouldn't seek to change anything. Just exist within the patterns and the norms, and find joy therein. That couldn't be that hard, right?
As hard as moving a ball with magic. In the ball Chance saw not just her struggle with magic, but her struggle within herself to turn away from what she had been and prove she was more than her nature. A nature that, in what few memories she had, seemed filled with so much death, anger, and despair.
She only wanted to forget.
Magic was the key, she was sure of it. So she paced around the ball and focused every bit of effort on it. Perhaps if she simply stared intently enough at the object, it would take flight and move on its own! There were other records from her own world where such a thing was possible, though she could remember them only vaguely. Twilight had said there was "Nothing supernatural about magic". That had sounded like a contradiction at the time, but maybe that was part of her problem. Maybe she was looking at the problem the wrong way. Only... what was the right way?
* * *
Now that the moment was here, Twilight Sparkle found herself hesitating. What if she was making the wrong choice? There might be consequences, consequences she never could have predicted? Relax, Twilight. It's just a meeting. Nothing's going to go wrong. You're just going to ask her about the Precursor Society, that's all. It's not an official royal visit or anything. It's not a sanction from the crown, it's just a visit. Lyra hadn't thought as much when Twilight had approached her about it a few weeks ago, back when she had been starving for any information connected to the cube in her basement. Back then, Lyra had assured her it would take some time before they could meet. She simply couldn't meet with a princess without the proper preparations made beforehoof. On the more practical note, winter was one of the busiest times for musicians, and she had performances all over Equestria that required her time and attention. Once it got closer to the wrap-up she could gather her notes for a proper presentation and have enough time away from work to actually give it.
Well it was closer to the wrap-up now, but the time had not made Twilight any more eager to see this "presentation". The closer she got to Lyra's house, the slower she walked. Maybe, if she kept slowing down, she wouldn't actually have to get there.
She wasn't sure what frightened her more; having to spend loads of time listening to completely insane theories, or finding herself listening to insane theories that matched with all the other insane things she had been learning with Second Chance. Of course, it wasn't like miss Heartstrings was anything unusual. A perfectly reputable citizen of Ponyville, who had managed to get herself into trouble several times since Twilight had known her.
But there was no other option. Information on the builders of the Jebr Stone was sketchy at best. Even her search of the Royal Library hadn't turned up much of anything. Twilight simply refused to accept that research could fail her, and thus had to conclude that it was not the research that was in doubt. Rather, it seemed much more likely that she simply didn't know what she was looking for well enough to find it. That was the problem with books, they weren't smart enough to tell you that your answer wasn't inside.
The trick was going to be learning enough from Lyra without hinting that she had the single most important Precursor artifact in Equestrian history sitting in her basement. Or perhaps she shouldn't try to hide at all! Maybe Lyra's theories would match perfectly with her own understanding, and she would bring another expert into the case. It wasn't as though Luna had said she had to keep it secret. She hadn't even hinted there was any reason to do so. Twilight had only kept its existence to herself for so long because, if anypony found out about it, Second Chance would find out about it eventually too, and she still wasn't sure she wanted that to happen. Not until she had something conclusive to say about it.
And she was there, exactly where they had planned on meeting. This was it, no more delaying or running away. "Hi, Lyra!"
"Oh, hey Twilight!" The mint mare was already waiting at a table, which was perhaps less than surprising. She must have been running a few minutes late by the time she finally got there. "Saved you a seat!" She gestured to the bale of hay across from her, and Twilight had no choice but to seat herself, forcing a nervous grin of her own. Could Lyra be comfortable sitting that way?
"Miss Heartstrings! I'm very greatful you decided to take the time and meet with me. I understand from Rarity that the life of an artist can be extremely demanding."
Lyra nodded, before leaning forward and taking a bite from one of the flowers in a vase in front of them. That was one of the reasons Twilight liked this cafe so much, though. Their appetizers were always so fresh! "I'm so sorry it took so long to get the time together! I mean, if it had been any other part of the year, you can bet I would've been right there! The Society is my real passion. Don't get me wrong, playing the Lyre's great, but..." She realized at that moment she had been talking with her mouth full, and proceeded to finish chewing before she continued, to Twilight's great relief. "What I mean is, it's an honor you've taken the time to meet with us, Princess! We've never had an official royal meeting before! I guess royalty is finally getting with the times, huh?"
Twilight didn't know what to say to that. By no means was this official, and that was part of why she wanted to have this meeting in such a public place. That way it was just two friendly ponies talking, and nothing more. There would be no juicy expositors in the archaeological journals, she hoped. It was her responsibility as a princess to see the dignity of the office was upheld! But technically, Lyra was right. Twilight's role in Second Chance's life had been directly appointed by Celestia, and this inquiry was related on some level. So rather than answer either way, she channeled her inner Celestia and maneuvered deftly around either. "I would prefer we keep this meeting confidential for now." She said, trying her best at mimicking the knowing smile she had seen on her mentor perhaps hundreds of times. "Since anything we say might have direct bearing on Equestrian affairs. You have my full confidence, Lyra. To keep this conversation between us." That might be stretching things. But Twilight hardly knew her, so she didn't technically not trust her!
It was like she was feeding candy to a foal. Lyra echoed her smile with much less subtlety, and nodded vigorously. "Of course, Princess Twilight. Between us." She looked excited enough that she might vibrate right out of her seat.
"So." Twilight glanced once to the faux-leather case resting on the side of the table. "I take it your presentation is in there, hmm? We ought to get started. I have to be back at the library in an hour or so to check in on my apprentice."
Lyra nodded. "Of course, Princess." She lifted the case over with her magic, unbuttoned the clasp, and rifled through several sheets of thick paper, reordering them nervously in the air in front of her. "Let's get started. When we talked last time, you wanted to know about the Precursor Society." She removed something on thick paper from the stack, an elegant logo consisting of three shields in different colors, with a bright banner behind them. Two were higher up, stylized in the familiar sun and moon of the two sisters. The center and largest was new, though. Tan in color, with various objects artfully arranged. Large structures, numbers and letters of ancient script, and in the center the image of a strange being, graceful and stylized. It was enormously tall, with a long mane down its back in deep blue and white. The strange creature was clearly bipedal like some sort of animal, though the way it carried itself was clearly pony in nature. It had big, expressive eyes and pony-like ears poking out from its head. It had a tail too, as any proper pony should, and wore a strange white toga bound in gold. It had no hooves though, but dragon-like claws on the end of all four limbs, like a gryphon. Its huge arms were spread wide, as though offering all the objects in front of it to the onlooker. The name "Equestrian Precursor Society" had been penned on the banner, arranged so that no individual part was covered.
Lyra had been speaking, but Twilight had heard none of it, staring at the strange creature depicted on the seal. It was unlike anything she had ever seen before, unlike anything she had ever heard of. And it looked completely absurd. "S-sorry!" She interrupted, pointing with a hoof at the part of the drawing she had been staring at. "This thing. What is this?"
The answer had to wait, as Savoir Fare had arrived to take their order. Only when he was gone could their conversation continue.
"That" Lyra began, speaking so fast it seemed it had been a struggle for her to wait even that long. "is an artist's rendition of one of the Precursors!" She took the sheet from Twilight with her magic, giving her another in its place. This was clearly one of her own creations, penned on lighter paper and with much less care taken to detail. It appeared to be some sort of anatomical study of the creatures, with lines measuring bodily ratios at various points. Even so, it also seemed clear that Lyra had put a great deal of time and effort into the sketch, as evidenced by the apparent reverence with which she treated the paper. "What they might look like, anyway. No One's ever seen one, so it's impossible to say for sure! Still, pretty cool, right? They don't have hooves as you can see, and there are no wings or horns either. But they make up for it all with those little appendages on their forelegs."
Twilight nodded, beginning to see what the mayor had meant with her "harmless theories". "This is... a very interesting creature, Lyra. What were these Precursors like?" It seemed hard for her to believe that anything so strange could ever exist. No hooves? And those limbs were so thin they looked like they might snap. At least they had a tail to balance themselves on those tiny little legs. Something so weak should've been hunted to extinction long before ever coming to any significance, even if they did look to have sizeable heads.
"I'll tell you what we know." Lyra took the drawing back, returning it to her collection like a precious keepsake. Another sheet rose to take it's place, with various little drawings on it. "But we only have two coherent sources, so there isn't as much to tell as I wish there was. I won't waste the time of a princess on mere speculation!" She cleared her throat to begin whatever long iteration of the facts she had prepared.
"Wait!" Twilight objected, so loudly that several of their fellow patrons stopped their conversations and glared pointedly at them to quiet down. She whispered an apology with eyes downcast before she returned her attention to Lyra. "Wait. You have... there are sources? What are they?" It was even harder to imagine anyone reputable in Equestria ever writing about beings so strange than to imagine them climbing trees in some distant jungle, hanging on those juxtaposed pony-tails.
Lyra grinned, and took something else from her bag. It was a book this time, a thin volume she held up for Twilight to see. "The Apocalypse Manuscript of Clover the Clever" proudly proclaiming in large bold letters. "With modern translation and annotations provided by Dr. Greymane of the Royal Academy".
Her eyes went wide, and she nearly tore the book from Lyra's magical grasp to get at what might be inside. The poor mint unicorn seemed so shocked by Twilight's behavior all she did was stare, not resisting as Twilight took the book and rapidly flipped through its contents. That was, until she realized that ponies were staring at her again. With an awkward smile she passed it back, making a mental note to order this book the instant she had the chance. "I thought I'd read everything Clover the Clever ever wrote!" Twilight said, and for the first time her excitement almost seemed comparable. "I've never heard of an Apocalypse manuscript, though."
Her companion nodded. Their food had arrived by then, but Twilight had neither noticed nor eaten any of it. Neither had Lyra. Twilight was beginning to get the feeling she didn't get to talk about this sort of thing very often. Just giving her the chance to talk to someone who seemed interested was a service in itself, nevermind that Twilight was a princess. "Well I won't bore you with everything. The short version is that Clover... you know, Starswirl’s last apprentice." Twilight nodded. "Well, she got old. Just like Starswirl, her magic was never stronger than it was then. The story goes that she was building on her master's work with time, working on ways to combine it with space-magic. Nobody knows what she was trying to do with it, but in the end the result was a spell to travel between worlds! At least, that's how the story goes. She finishes her spell, and BAM! She's somewhere else. She didn't stay for long, because spells like that are costly, and they always bring you back to where you started!"
"Anyway, while she was there, she learned all sorts of wonderful things about them and how they lived, and took lots of it back with her to Equestria. She didn't call them the Precursors, though. She called them the Builders, because of all the wonderful things they made." She put the book away, showing Twilight another sketch clearly done by the same artist (herself?). It was larger than anything Twilight had ever seen, though. The structures were much more geometric than anything of pony construction, and seemed to be in some structurally-impossible shapes. Glass that twisted strangely to form spiral buildings, and impossibly tall spires. The sky was filled with little objects, chariots, though they had no ponies pulling them and more of the strange creatures riding them, with pegasus wings attached to the sides of the crafts as though that was how they moved. "This one's mine. Pretty good, huh? It's based on the city Clover described as their capital, though. Like Canterlot is for us. Only they called it New Athens."
"Wait." Twilight raised a hoof to interrupt. "Hold on. How did Clover communicate with them? Did they use a translation spell? I thought they didn't have any magic! Glass doesn't bend that way! Also, you can't make buildings that tall!" She nodded, satisfied with herself. Whatever else this might be, it couldn't be serious. Maybe another author had taken Clover's name or something, hoping to ride on her fame. It seemed to have worked.
"They don't have the same kind of magic ponies have, no. But they had other magic, magic that ran on electricity! Anyway, that's not really the important part of the story. The important part is that Clover the Clever learned all about them. About all their magic. Like... how they had made their own kinds of plants, which not even parasprites could eat! Or how they had so much electricity, that their houses got warm by themselves in the winter, and cooled themselves off like an icebox in summer! None of them ever got sick, because they had magic that could cure every disease! Of course, they used some of that magic to learn Clover's language. They figured out Equestrian in a matter of minutes, and they taught her everything they could! They wanted to help her... Equestria wasn't the same as it is today. There were still famines back then, and a big war with the Gryphons was about to start, and everything."
"They wanted to help us. Once Clover told them how hard things were, they made a promise. A promise that one day they would come to Equestria and give us all their magic, so we would never have to be afraid of invasion again. Give us their magic plants, so nopony would ever go hungry. Or get sick again, or even feel cold in winter!"
"But... Lyra." Twilight sighed. "We don't need these magical creatures to solve our problems for us. We've got Celestia, and Luna too! We won that war. We've been figuring things out on our own just fine! Ever since ponies invented steel, there's been more than enough food for all of Equestria and beyond. Equestria isn't the same as when Clover lived; We don't need help anymore!"
She expected Lyra to argue, but the mint mare just nodded in agreement. "Course not! Ponies have come a long way since way back then. Back when there was still tension between the tribes." She spoke that last with disgust, as indeed any pony would. The very idea was offensive now, though before Equestria the tribes had even been at war. Very little was known about back then, possibly because few ponies wanted to remember such dark times. They were best forgotten. "We couldn't have been proper friends to such an advanced race back then. Besides, the Precursors wouldn't have been helping us if they did come back then, and made all our problems go away. We had to learn for ourselves!"
"This is what the Equestrian Precursor Society is really about. Our founder... Greymane, same guy who wrote the book I showed you... he thought that once ponies had reached a point that was as harmonious as the vision Clover saw, that they would finally decide we were ready to meet them. Not just one pony, but all of pony kind. Once we had advanced enough that we started having ideas like they had. We even have electricity now, just like the precursors used in their magic! We're ready now! And any moment, they'll keep their promise. Precursors will come to Equestria, and live with us! They'll teach us their magic, and we'll teach them ours!" She panted, taking a moment to collect herself, before concluding. "I can't wait to meet them."
It was an interesting story, though it seemed to have much more of myth to it than fact. Still, there were aspects of what Lyra had said that seemed consistent with little things Chance had said. Like how shocked Chance had been when Scootaloo had told her she had been sick. She still didn't believe that Equestrians got sick.
She decided to play along. In retrospect, she would wish she hadn't. It would've been so much easier had Lyra merely been an eccentric. By allowing her to go on, she had doomed herself. "But Lyra, how will they know when we're ready? In the story, they waited for us to come to them, didn't they? You'd think there would be stories of them stopping by to check on us. You'd think they would have got impatient waiting for this long for us to get our act together."
Lyra nodded. "Well duh! They didn't come themselves though, so they wouldn't interfere with us. At least, that's what I think. Greymane never said. That's why they sent the Watcher." She drew out another drawing. This was not her own, but appeared to be a page ripped from another book. Twilight did not need to guess at what it was, though. The silver cube with its strange markings was very familiar to her. It wasn't as though she should have been surprised. After hearing the name "Greymane" she should've figured there would be a connection. Even so, she couldn't help but feel even more confused. "This isn't some made up shape, either. It really exists, in storage in the Royal Museum to this very day! The Precursors sent it to watch us... and that's what it's done for all of Equestria's history! Any day now it's gonna realize we're ready and call them, and the Precursors will be here!"
Twilight nodded. "I hope it doesn't mind that I stuck it in a basement."
"You what?"
* * *
"Still at it, huh?"
Chance couldn't say when Spike had arrived, though he was hardly a shock for her after living in the library almost a month. If anything, the two of them had grown closer over the last month, mostly as co-conspirators. Whenever Spike forgot to get one of his chores done, Chance would try and step in for him. In turn, he would turn a blind eye to her sneaking out of bed in the middle of the night to come downstairs and binge ice-cream from the icebox and stare out the window at the winter sky. He hadn't turned her in yet, anyway.
She nodded, clearly frustrated. "Unfortunately. I'll probably be at it until my mane turns gray."
"Well if you are, don't worry! Princesses and dragons live a really long time, so we'll still be here!" He offered, helpfully. Maybe he thought it was.
Chance, already sitting on her haunches, drooped a little. "Does that bother you, Spike? Knowing you're gonna outlive all your pony friends?"
The dragon shrugged. "That's a really sad thing to think about."
The door abruptly opened, and a somewhat frazzled-looking Twilight Sparkle stumbled inside. "What's sad, Spike?"
As usual, the dragon wasn't about to throw her under the bus, and he just looked back at the floor. "Chance's magic."
"Still not having any luck, huh?" Twilight removed her saddle-bags, lifting them off her back and setting them on a nearby sofa. "Let me take a look, apprentice." There was something off about Twilight, something Chance couldn't quite put a hoof on. But her own concentration had been so strained that such minor details escaped any hope of identification.
Chance held still in the center of the diagram, practically holding her breath with anticipation. It wasn't as though there was much criticism she could expect there. It was just a copy of the diagrams in all the books, with slight variations as each book on the subject had slight variations. She thought it was quite pretty, like a flower with petals of sloping lines. Unfortunately, while drawing this every day for a month had both improved the quality of her mouth writing and her artistry, it had done nothing for her magic, and all of them knew it.
"Hmm." Twilight stood on the edge, looking out over the diagram. "It's... very pretty!" She offered, looking over all of it. "Our best rendition yet, Chance."
She nodded. "But not very magical, like it never is. I dunno what I thought, like... maybe if I drew it enough, all the patterns would get stuck in my head, like you said. Still a little fuzzy on how it's all supposed to get to my horn. Still a work in progress!"
Twilight's eyes seemed to be losing focus as she surveyed the diagram, as though she was seeing something for the very first time. "T-twilight?" Chance didn't dare step out of her diagram now, looking to her teacher for help. Unfortunately, there was none to be had. Twilight's eyes had begun to emit light rather than take it in, along with her horn. It was like a spell in progress. A spell that took her diagrams and wrapped them up around her, curving up through the air like a luminous flower closing to protect itself from the evening chill. As they closed, the world of sight and vision closed around them both, and they were transported, through the veils of space and time, Chance screaming all the while, trying to cling to anything to stay in the present but finding there was nothing to cling to. There was no respite for her, no safety.
Light shone above them, spotlights that left Twilight and Chance in darkness but clearly illuminated the single clear shape in the universe.
She was naked, strapped to something metal and ice-cold. None of her limbs would move, and there were tubes running into her body at various points. The transparent tubes were filled with silvery-grey fluid, which pumped into her with the rhythm of a metal heartbeat. Blinking machines surrounded the table on all sides, some with bright displays covered with her vital information. Cold voices spoke to one another nearby over the loud rumble of machinery.
“Relax! You won’t survive disassociation long enough to remain coherent without the reconstruction solution at complete saturation.”
“She won’t survive regardless.”
“Prep another oxycodone injection, she’s going into shock!”
The shape on the table began to convulse and spasm. The fluid in the tubes began to move the other way, seeping with something dark red. “She’s going into cardiac arrest! Cortical stimulators!”
Another figure came into view, dressed from head-to-toe in white. A large metallic device was slung over his shoulder as he passed through them to the bedside, rubbing something together in his hands. One of the metal contacts went gently on the side of her head, the other on her chest. “Charged!” Brief pause. “Clear!”
The body on the table spasmed violently, convulsing with the force of the shock. The loud beeping of the equipment began to gradually subside to more content-sounding noises and regular beeps.
"We've got her back, doctor. She's stabilizing." The nurse took one step back and vanished into the gloom. "Looks like she's losing consciousness."
The scene changed before them. The metal table was still there, but its occupant had changed. She wasn't naked anymore, but dressed in thick layers of shimmering fabric unlike anything Equestria had ever imagined. Condensation rose from the freezing fabric in clouds, and tanks nearby provided a steady stream of the coolant to her body.
She could get a better look at the woman now. She looked like she was in her twenties, with dark brown hair that had been cut short and gray eyes. She was restrained, but Chance found herself thinking the restraints were for her protection, not to contain her. Indeed, the woman wasn't struggling. She looked forward into the ether bravely, gritting her teeth as though something awful was about to happen.
"You know what's about to happen to you." Came a voice, over an intercom. It was buzzing and electronic and distant. "Kimberly, this process is experimental. No previous subject has survived. Do we have your clearance to proceed?"
The woman on the table looked up and out into the blackness, her hands clenching and unclenching. "Do you think, out there... do you think I'll meet God?" The voice was quiet, and fearful. More than that, Chance knew it was hers.
Whoever she was speaking to didn't seem to know how to answer that question. When the electronic voice came on again, the tone was different somehow. Someone else using the intercom. "If you do, make sure you tell him how badly we fucked up. Maybe he could stop in and help us fix everything."
That elicited a chuckle from the woman and a wince from Twilight. They remained unseen and unheard despite that, though.
"Yes, you can proceed." The woman muttered. "It's the only chance we have, I know that. I won't starve to death in some hole, or get downloaded into a damn metal suit." She grinned. "If I'm going to die, at least I'll go out in a blaze of glory." The woman blinked away her tears, or tried. "Keep an eye on my sister for me."
"Separator engaged." The ground on which they stood began to glow, revealing that it was no flat surface at all, but a complex machine. It looked to have hundreds of different layers, each lighting up in different colors. First the center began to spin, making the air suddenly hot and lighting up the entire space around them.
"Fusion reaction is nominal. Accelerator charging."
"Charge complete. Prepare to fire."
"Good luck, Kimmy."
The voices were gone, replaced with searing heat. Burning energy, scorching her, charring her. She wanted to scream, but inhaling only brought fire to her lungs, and the sound died. She was being twisted, torn, pulled up and up and up…
Up into a moment, a perfect moment in a subatomic sea. The probabilistic waves washed over her, infinite possibility crashing down into what was. The past inexorably destroyed by the ever-expanding present. In that moment, Second Chance reached out with the determination of that woman on the metal table and took hold of the space around the ball, twisting and shaping the waves with her will until she had it, and the ball lifted into the air, and held itself there of its own accord, and her horn was glowing soft gray.
* * *
The vision closed, and Chance too seemed to hover off the ground an inch or two as she was swept up in the glow of her first successful spell. Then she fell, dropping unconscious to the floor like a puppet whose strings had just been severed. She would have fallen heavily on hard wood, were it not for Twilight’s intervention, catching her from the air in her magic and setting her gently down at her side. Sitting there, she was almost like any other pony who had simply fallen asleep. Peaceful, though Twilight knew there was little of peace in her. Now she began to see what Luna had meant when she mentioned her apprentice’s injuries of spirit.
That had been her, then? The sights had been memories, and the creature on the table was her apprentice. She was shocked at how accurate Lyra’s illustration had been, except for the ears and the paws of the creature, which lacked claws. And apparently they cut their tails far shorter than the Equestrian style.
Chance was a Precursor.
And Celestia knew. Greymane had been right, at least in part. Her beloved princess had known. Luna knew too, as she had said. Maybe that was why she had given Twilight charge of the Jebr stone; to return it to its proper owner.
The visit hadn’t just been sights and sounds. Twilight had been drunk on Chance’s emotions. Her desperation, fear, and fierce pride at being selected for the honor to… to what? Be burned to death? No, because she had made it. Chance must have known it would work, and she would be coming to Equestria.
But if Lyra was right, and the Precursors were the giants of intellect and magical might she had thought, why did everyone sound so desperate? Why was it so dark? They did not seem like the beings of light and harmony Lyra was expecting to return and usher in Equestria’s golden age. Then again, Twilight had only touched their wonders with her mind. Chance’s memories had opened up a world of concepts to her that had no Equestrian parallel. Twilight now knew the frustration her apprentice had felt when trying to translate the records from the Jebr stone, and had words in her mind her language failed to express, and concepts no Equestrian engineer had imagined. Particle accelerators, contained artificial fusion, and tiny oceans of little machines that could be put inside somepony to repair their body of damage and grant them remarkable abilities. Nanomachines. Hawking rifts.
Maybe that was why Twilight had taken a liking to her apprentice so quickly. Second Chance was so very like she was, in the knowledge of her own world. Lyra had been right about the power of the Precursors if nothing else. For the few moments she had been in the mind of her apprentice, Twilight had seen more knowledge than the entire royal library. More knowledge than anypony could possibly contain, except maybe Celestia. No wonder she had so much trouble remembering anything! It must be a mess in there.
Twilight wrapped her wing around the little filly, smiling down sadly. “Poor foal. It’s okay now, Chance. You’re safe now. You did it.” Chance didn’t stir, but that did not trouble Twilight much. She’d been through a lot.
“Uh…” Spike walked up beside her, looking down at the both of them, eyes wide and confused. “What just happened?”
Princess Twilight Sparkle lifted her free wing in a shrug. “I honestly don’t know, Spike.” She looked away from her apprentice to her number one assistant. “I just planned on using the Sight to see the magic in the air… see if she was close. I guess she was way closer than I expected, because that little spark was all it took to set it all off.” She chuckled. “For some reason, I don’t think Chance will have any more trouble with levitation.”
Spike sat down beside Twilight, resting against her free wing, resting his arm on her back. “Then why do you sound so sad?”
She smiled a little wider, resting her head momentarily on his, and ruffling up his spines. “You’re perceptive today, Spike. My number one assistant.”
He hugged her, as only a baby dragon with those strange arms could. “So what was it?” He asked, when the hug was over and he had released her.
“Her.” She answered, voice barely a whisper. “Before Equestria.”
Spike was unmoved. “Did she look crazy? Like a dragon maybe?”
Spike never failed to help her smile when she needed to. “A little. Only two legs, like some baby dragons. Or at least one.” She grinned. “I’ll admit I have limited experience.”
“So why’d that make you sad, then? If she looked like me, she couldn’t have been that ugly.” The only answer that deserved was a jab with one of her hooves. “Oww! What was that for?”
“Humility, Spike. Or lack thereof.” She returned her gaze to her now-sleeping apprentice. “She thought she might die, coming here. She might have, if Celestia hadn’t realized she was here so quickly.” She got up suddenly, causing Spike to tumble sideways off where she had been resting, grumbling as he got to his feet. Twilight levitated her apprentice gently up the stairs, all the way to bed. Like many unicorns, her first spell had exhausted her.
That was fine with Twilight. There was no way she would wake her for more studies tonight. “Good job today.” She whispered, before shutting the door to her bedroom and walking away.
Twilight had an apprentice. A proper one now, one who could do magic.
A Precursor was her apprentice.
What would Lyra think?
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4167825 4167855
It's not, trust me! Somehow the chapter unpublished itself! I've attempted to correct that mistake. It should work just fine now.
Awesome chapter btw
. i wonder how Chance will react to her self doing Magic?
I know what I think: MOAR!
Now that magic has been unlocked for Chance, will it and the knowledge needed to use it start encroaching on the "old" memories when she was human? Will she start loosing her old self as she starts over as a unicorn filly? Or will just the opposite happen, that is the 'spark' shattered all the locks and burned away the haze in her mind? Either result will be traumatic, the latter being quite awkward, if not outright frustrating, as she experiences a second puberty. An adult mind stuck in a child's body, everyone treating you as a child, being short and weak (and clumsy), then there's the body itself playing havoc with one's mind (ah yes, those formative teen years as hormones have no control valve)...
And there's still The Watcher in the basement. Didn't the notes say something about a countdown it was working on that would be expiring soon?
Heh, Lyra would be rather shocked to learn it's the humans that need their help rather than the other way around. Her Progenitors, placed so high on a pedestal, infallible, all knowing and wise.
The lyrics to "One Of Us" by Joan Osborne seems suddenly relevant.
4168107
Troll Luna. I doubt Lyra would be pleased with that news. I wonder what sort of human things Lyra dreams about.
4168484
Hah, another programmer! Funny how ponies and computers seem to overlap so often. Another reader who will get all my CS theory related references and jokes. ^^
4168638
Quite right. I love those little reversals. Ponies are frequently depicted as being "better" than humans in one way or another. I figure it's kindof a natural desire of any sapient species to look up towards a superior like that. We all want to think there's something greater out there. Granted, ponies have Celestia right there in front of them. So why not make their "greater" be humans? Granted, as you say, the actual reality of their beliefs may not match with their expectations. What would Lyra think if she knew the truth?
You're quite right that Chance's access to magic raises new questions about her memory. I have no doubt that the truth will come out soon enough.
A good chapter, very good.
Now this next part is Not cretique ( < spelled wrong, I know, dyxlexia ) its more of a query ( < I think thats how you spell it, but anyways )
What does ' /word/ ' mean exactly, I get that they bring more focus to the word, but I'd like your explenation.
Anyways 5/5 again
4168873 Wait, how did you know I was a programmer?!
*looks at profile picture*
Oh yeeeaaah... That...
Wait, hold on...
YAY! Programming jokes in best fanfictions! My world is complete.
If this is an April Fools I will be very sad, because this was a good chapter. >_<
I love this story!
Please tell me this amazing chapter is not a prank........
4169622 4169401
To you both I give my word: This chapter was not a joke. It's a mere coincidence that this day falls on the same one as is commonly known in the west as one for playing jokes. I suppose the site played a joke of sorts at my expense by revoking it from submissions before it was ready. But that wouldn't be the first time chapter nine has misbehaved, as my long-time readers may attest.
4168910
So those slashes just mean the word inside should be in italics, to give it greater emphasis. A few of those pesky things always slip by my notice. Old habit. I fix them when they're pointed out to me, though.
4169686 Good to know, I'll be keeping an eye out for them from now on
This was an nice chapter I'm looking more into it and it seems like we somehow created Sentient AI's that are trying to kill us off very Terminator like feel to it, still looking forward to more and also it sounds like Humanity really fucked up this time or maybe an alien invasion from something stronger than us well we'll find out eventually, keep up the good work this is an epic story!
Also Chance Congrats on finally using magic!
Lyra freaking out in 3... 2...
Great chapter, I love all the quantum physics you put in there. Keep it up!
Chapter Nine! It's actually here this time!
Yay!!
This story is AMAZING.
4174457
Yes it does seem a shame that Pinkie Pie is the source of trouble and conflict for awhile. But she does the exact same thing in some of the episodes, and it seemed like a way she might act. I don't know how the Pinkie-Sense works, but I doubt doubt it would have communicated to her that the Rift Chance came through was extremely, deadly dangerous. Who can say how her innocent and carefree nature would interpret something so awful and horrifying as a Singularity opening briefly in Equestria. It does seem like Chance's views are changing though, seeing Twilight less as a teacher, and more as...
4173146
Yeah, sorry about the confusion the first time. Normally this site lets me add stuff without posting it, but for some reason it wasn't allowing it that time. It got sent straight to being published, which created all sorts of confusion as we remember. It's real this time. And thanks! I'm glad you like the story. I have poured my heart and soul into it, after all.
4171009
Oh, I will. I will! (evil laugh)
4170321
It's like that scene in the first ghostbusters movie. Pick your poison. How do you want the world to end?
Except the wave-form has already collapsed. The truth already happened, it's just up to us to discover what it was.
That... Actually made me feel sad.
Chance/Kimberly was so desperate that she was willing to do something that could kill her. Her fear was hurtful and I can see now more how lucky she is to have been saved and to have twi taken her in.
And I'm sure no more humans will be coming to equestria. Chance's dreams kinda said as much.
I can't even bring myself to use pony faces. That doesn't seem right here.
I look forward to the next chapter, and to twilight helping comfort chance more on her loss
4174584
Never saw the first Ghostbusters movie so I don't really know what you're talking about also Chance's original name is Kimberly that's an neat name, though Twilight didn't notice that or maybe she did but just chose to ignore it, though also ponies apparently are too innocent if she was flinching for someone swearing, I've heard them enough that it doesn't bother me at all though it never really did they're just words!
I have so many questions. And if these questions do not receive answers...
This story is compelling and beautifully written. Also, it has World's Best Update Schedule Ever.
There were other trials of humans to send people to Equestria?And they kept on conducting them despite of repetitive fatal results? Interesting...
Why were humans so desperate send someone to Equestria? Could it be that humans, after destroying Earth, needed some other place to live in? Could it be that humans were seeking to send someone to Equestria as to see whether the environment is hospitable enough, and to gain knowledge of its world before attempting to colonize it? Kimberly could have been either lied to about the main goal by some government officials, or she was convinced that that is the best for human race...
So, humans invade Equestria, and a war breaks out between ponies and the race of men. Second Chance is standing before a choice, returning back to Kimberly or stay Chance....
Ah!!!
Anyways, very nice chapter! I find it amazing that you, Starscibe , are able to find enough time to write, proof-read and edit two chapters per week! My respects to thee!
Chapter 9: Wow, such plot, so revelations
Looks like I was right about big things coming, even if the breather chapter spanned over two chapters in the end. This chapter is pretty much everything I wanted to see from the story, only took 9 chapters for it to happen. Finally, we get a little more insight into who Chance, or rather Kimberly, was. More about her origins, some hints about what may have happened to her. From the Equestrian perspective, we finally have someone history explaining how ponies know about humans and why Luna and Celestia are acting like they did.
But above all the plot reveals and the little bit of progress with Chance's magic, what really compelled me in this chapter is how wonderfully everything was written and coherent, linking together seemingly unrelated events. I'm starting to get a glimpse of the big picture and it's a really awesome one. Human in Equestria stories usually don't do much and rely on the random principle of reincarnation or random teleportation, but here there is actually a purpose for Chance being here, something that goes beyond her mere presence. A big plan of sort, one that begs to be revealed. I can't wait to see what you have in store, but now I can safely say I'm hooked. I haven't felt this since I've read Stardust, which was the last big fanfiction story I read, and ironically dealt with similar themes as your story, only in reverse. Here's a Gold Star, you've earned it.
Twilight had an apprentice. A proper one now
i58.tinypic.com/14m9a46.png
What?
Again, what? I fail to see why this is shocking. Plenty of unhooved, sapient creatures in Equestia, after all.
...What? Glass can "bend" in anyway people want it to, just watch a glass blower work.
Anyway, though the end bit was a little confusing, it was cool. Twilight really showed her ignorance in this chapter, though. For someone who claims to be a scientist, she's surprisingly close-minded.
Lyra approves
I have written my own fim fiction, but seeing as I have no way to up load it and a phone will taker forever, I haven't been able to upload it. But my school has receved a grant to give students laptops. So hopefully by wensday my first chapter will be uploaded:)
Oh Mylantus! This is utterly facinating.!
4909404 agreed.
...and she just went in there without even asking? Just like that, no second thoughts, just messing with her mind like that? That's kind of fucked up.
6493645 She didn't intend to go into her head, just look at her magic. She got pulled into her head.
4315136
I laughed so hard at this. I can't decide if that makes me a bad person or not.
4499878
Agreed. The reactions and beliefs of Twilight seemed pretty forced in this chapter. Not even just that they were out of character, but that they didn't match the hard facts about canon Equestria. Minotaurs? Gryffons? Telescope lenses and corrective eyeware? Never heard of any of those things before...
7064513
Not sure why you posted this. But it's pretty awesome.
4170321
Sums up my thoughts on this chapter quite nicely. I'm rooting for aliens or an uploaded human consciousness superiority complex.
If Lyra finds out about this, she will FREAK the FUCK OUT!! <3
Gotta love Lyra! ^_^
4499878
I think it was more the curved large sheets of glass, something which can be difficult to make even today. More so at a tech level where the only way to make large, even sheets is to use float glass.
And now we know chances old name and that they had a sister they cared about, Curious if that'll pop up again later.
Way to go Twilight.