Chapter 11: Secret Lore
Chapter 11: Secret Lore
Some time earlier...
Twilight had been waiting for an excuse to get away to Canterlot. Of course she had put in an order for the "Apocalypse Manuscript" later that same day, but learning that Greymane was connected to the Precursor Society somehow gave her a funny feeling about her ability to trust anything he had to say. Naturally, the way to get to the bottom of this was to do more research. If Clover the Clever had really written this thing, then the original ought to be in the Royal Archives somewhere. Twilight could read the ancient Equestrian just fine without a translator. She would decide for herself whether one of her childhood heros really had some secret prophecy about the Precursors. There was no way this thing went that deep, and that far back. This was a recent problem. She refused to believe anything else. Of course, not finding anything in the Royal Library wouldn't prove anything. Not unless she found some other reliable source that proved it didn't exist. That would work, though she doubted it would convince ponies like Lyra who were already quite set on their opinions.
She wasn't looking for them, though. She was looking for Chance. And maybe a little for herself, somewhere in the mix. She had thought to just go all the way to the court and ask Celestia about it, but ultimately decided against that option. If she wanted to prove to them she was a pony who could handle problems on her own, then she would have to handle this one on her own. Even if a simple question might save her hours of research. She was fairly sure Second Chance could handle being alone for a little while. She had Spike to keep an eye on her.
The main body of the library had yielded nothing, as she had thought. The familiar halls opened themselves to her like an old lover, and she relished every step. The Royal Library hadn't changed a bit. For all she knew it hadn't changed since the Royal Sisters came into power, back in the vaguest memory of Equestria. Most of the staff still remembered her, though their reactions held far more respect than when she had been a rambunctious filly reading material far more mature for most her age. Unlike her own apprentice, she could read quite well from a very young age and had taken advantage of that ability daily. Well, maybe that wasn't fair. Chance seemed to be a fine reader in her own tongue. She wondered briefly, were their roles reversed, would she be learning Equestrian as fast as the green filly was? She hoped she would never find out. She felt less than inclined to believe what Lyra had said about the Precursors and their world. Her apprentice had not come from a paradise.
Twilight knew a thing or two about research. When the main body of the library had proved fruitless, she went to the restricted section to talk to its curator. Unlike the kind but unhelpful librarians she had spoken to before, Secret Lore did not look confused when she mentioned "The Apocalypse Manuscript of Clover the Clever" He did look a little surprised, though. "So soon, Princess?" The old pegasus asked, briefly folding and unfolding his wings. "A sad thing to see your mind turning down so dark a road so quickly." Twilight knew Secret Lore well enough, having spoken with him on many occasions. It took a pegasus to access the vaults of the restricted section, cavernous maze that it was carved beneath their feet. He had been there her whole life, and who knew how long before that. His fur had always been white, as long as she had known him. He had always been kind, though always sad. Perhaps that was part of the job.
She waited for him to explain. This was Secret Lore's game. He liked when ponies had to ask him what he meant. But she knew his tricks. If she remained silent long enough, he would explain what made him think he was so clever. His eyes were impassive behind horn-rimmed glasses. He was true to form. "Come to learn of the end of the world, Princess?"
Twilight frowned. She had expected many possibilities, but that had not been one of them. She just stared, blankly. "I... I wanted to learn about the Precursors."
"Same thing, Princess. According to Clover."
Her eyes widened. Talking to Lyra had been interesting, but Secret Lore was a reputable source with access to genuine knowledge. His name was prophetic in that respect. Or perhaps he had taken it after this job? She wouldn't ever dare ask. A princess must never seemed shocked. She nodded. "You know about them?"
He watched her silently for a moment. "As much as anypony, save perhaps the princesses themselves."
"What can you tell me?" She could tell he wanted to ask why she wanted to know. It was written all over his face. But she was a princess now, and he didn't dare. Not the way he would have a decade ago, back when Secret Lore made her prove she was worth the knowledge she asked for.
"We have three objects in the vaults relating to the Precursors, Princess. One is the manuscript. The other two are much more interesting. So interesting in fact, that I would be unable to tell you about them were it not for your current position. Only royalty may know of them. And of course, humble curators like myself, obey Celestia's orders about what knowledge must remain veiled, and what may be revealed."
"Bring them to me." She was hanging on his every word. Perhaps he knew it, and took pleasure in it. She didn't care. There was more on the Precursors in her world! More proof that they did, in fact, exist. There had to be! After all, Celestia had known Second Chance was coming. That knowledge did not come from nowhere.
He smiled. "I can bring you the Manuscript. But the other two objects must remain where they are. I can, however, bring you to them. At least now." He gestured to her wings. "It is a long flight through cramped quarters, however."
"Why can't you bring them here?"
"Because, Princess, that would be grave disrespect to the dead. I can, however, take you to the tomb."
* * *
The air in Canterlot Caverns was dank and musty, cold with the weight of sleeping years. These were not the same caves she had seen during her last visit, though. This part of the caverns was well maintained, cut to regular form and swept. Niches and alcoves were everywhere, on every wall and surface. Truly only a pegasus or an alicorn could come here and hope to actually find anything. Often there seemed to be a drop of several hundred feet beneath her. All it would take would be for her to stop flying, and she might never be seen again.
Ever-burning torches lit the chilly halls, their flames flickering but never smoking to her sight. It did not seem like such a long flight, though. Perhaps that was Secret Lore's old age talking. In any case, they soon came to a fairly large opening, a cavern of some size. It was dark within, but warmer than the halls had been. Twilight was relieved enough to be on her hooves again. The ceiling was not nearly so high as outside, and she could practically feel the weight of the earth pressing down on her. Canterlot was above her now, along with who knew how many tons of rock. What would happen if there was an earthquake right now? Would the same structural spells that held up the castle protect her in the caves?
Secret Lore stood in front of her, his limbs shaking a little from the effort the flight had cost him. In one hoof he hefted a bright oil-burning torch, enough to illuminate the way in front of them in the absence of magical light. Of course, Twilight could have done just as well with her horn, but the pegasus seemed eager to serve. "Behold, Princess. The grave of the Builder." He lowered the torch to an alcove nearby. There was clearly something flammable in there, because it caught instantly, and raced away from him. The heat and light were so intense that Twilight Sparkle was blinded for several seconds. When the disorientation cleared, she was not disappointed. This was indeed a tomb.
It was in a very old style, of the ancient nobility of Canterlot. According to that tradition, the greatest deeds of the pony in question were to be carved into the stone, so that all who came might see and remember what the departed had done in life. These walls depicted a tall figure standing beside many ponies, dressed in the regalia of war. Among them she recognized one: Luna. The night princess had lead the armies of Equestria in the barbaric days when it had needed such a thing. This being stood very nearly equal to her height, and towered above most ponies. Scenes of victory flickered in the flames, stained with the oily soot of bygone years. Even so the limestone was vibrant, and the scenes seemed almost to come to life to her eyes.
In the center of the room was the stone casket. In the ancient style, the likeness of the being within was carved into stone, and set as if at rest atop the casket, with objects symbolic of their role. Twilight walked forward reverently, her eyes falling on the words of an ancient prayer carved into the stone above the casket. "Let the rest of Equestria's hero here interred remain undisturbed. The Pale Mare bare him to the fields unending, and the blessing of Sun and Moon go with him." It was a soldier's prayer.
"This place must be... over a thousand years old!" She gasped, though she was still subdued and reverent. The being buried here might not be a pony, but he had evidently earned their great respect. Glass cases had been set, and she recognized familiar preservation spells on them. Any inanimate object stored within would last much longer than time might ordinarily permit. In one case she saw many medals, medals with no meaning to her but which were wrought of precious metals and rare gems. Many had subtle auras of magic about them, magic belonging to the Sisters. Another case held a suit of armor made of no Equestrian metal. It was dark green, but of many different shades. They were broken quite irregularly, like squares and lines more than splotches and curves. Half of the armor had been melted clean through, and some of its sections had been fused together. There, the green color turned black.
Another case nearby held something long and black, a mostly metal object with lots of little pieces. It looked like some of them were detachable, and there were several different copies of one piece that seemed to attach halfway on. It looked like little more than a long tube, but her instincts told her it was a weapon. Perhaps it contained a pneumatic spear inside, which could be quickly extended and retracted. Yes, she supposed that was as solid a theory as any.
"It is. There are no years or dates, however the style provides us with some clues." He gestured to the depiction of a bloody battle, with ponies on one side and dragons on the other, among other things. "When was the last time we were at war with dragons, I wonder?" He looked back to the coffin.
Slowly, respectfully, Twilight Sparkle approached it, looking down at the figure carved thereon. It looked exactly as she remembered the Precursors from the vision she had seen in Chance's memories. Vaguely simian, though its proportions were closer to a minotaur than an ape in places. He wore robes of an ancient style, adapted for his strange bipedal stance, and seemed to smile in rest, head against a stone pillow. In his left hand was a compass, square and orderly. His right hand was flat, palm out in a gesture of peace. Even so, there was a sword at his side; a sword fit for an officer and very large to match his size. His mane was short, though he had a short stubble on his face as well. It was not something furred animals like ponies saw very often, but the artists had captured it well.
"Who was he?" Twilight looked down on the face, with its wise smile.
"For that, you have as much hint as I." he gestured at the room around them. "Though perhaps, you have sources I do not."
"You mean the princesses?"
"Hmm." He said nothing more, allowing her to study the artful depiction of this Precursor’s life in Equestria. It was hard to tell which scenes had come first, but... if the prayer meant he had died in battle, she could assume those scenes had come later. One image depicted the two-legged creature in front of the scaffold of a large structure, dressed in robes, and conversing with several unicorns. Engineers, perhaps? Another depicted a great feast of many species, at which he sat beside the Night Princess herself in a seat of high honor. In another, he seemed to be watching a unicorn perform magic of some kind. The unicorn's hat and beard were quite unmistakable.
"No." She retreated a pace, away from the tomb beneath Equestria. "H-how... how... how does nopony know about this?"
The pegasus turned away from the display, which was getting harder to see in the light from the oil, which seemed to be dimming. "But they do, Princess. Prince Leo the Bold is still remembered in many stories and songs. By no means was he the greatest of Equestria's heros. But a good one."
Her mouth hung open. She took another several paces away from the tomb, into the stone hallway that led back to the cavern. It wasn't a long hallway, but she wanted to get out. She had to get away from that thing sleeping in stone. "Leo... Leo the Bold was a Unicorn, Secret Lore."
"I wonder what he would think about that now." He glanced over his shoulder at the room, whose flames were dying now. It was darkening again, the final resting place of the Precursor. "Pity we can't tell him and ask. Do you think he would pick up modern Equestrian quick enough? He did not seem to have much trouble with the tongue in any of the carvings." He smiled at her. That smile disturbed her even more, as it seemed to say 'You think this is the worst thing down here? Just you wait!' He did not say so aloud though, for which she was quite grateful. Some things were best kept securely hidden away, where they might be safe.
"Think on it, Princess. Ponies live and ponies die. Many generations have come and gone, and stories grow in the telling. Is it any surprise we have twisted the tale to make it more appealing? The Princesses may have even encouraged it. Otherwise, we might have more like the Precursor Society bumbling about." He took off into the cave, forcing her to follow. She did, though it hurt her pride it was difficult for her to keep up with such an old pony. A powerful Alicorn who could barely stop from slamming into the walls. She really needed to take up Rainbow Dash's offer for training. As soon as she got home.
"I think... I think I need to speak to Celestia." Twilight stammered, when they had emerged into the library, and she was on solid ground again.
He looked impassive, as always. "Will you be taking the manuscript with you, Princess?" He gestured to his desk, where an extremely old scroll was resting. How he had retrieved it on their trip without her noticing was a complete mystery to her, but she wouldn't dare ask. That was part of the unspoken rules of this game. She would not be breaking them now, even if Secret Lore had shown her things she never could've imagined.
In answer, she lifted the scroll delicately with her magic and placed it into her saddlebags, very carefully. Of course, there would be preservation spells on it to stop it from crumbling away, but caution was always to be advised on something so old. There was no telling when a spell like that might wear off. "You surprise me, Secret Lore. Your name is well earned." She clasped the saddle-bag closed, and turned to go.
He smiled after her. "Of course, Princess. Enjoy your evening."
Twilight cursed herself as she emerged onto the streets of Canterlot. Even now, it seemed Celestia was preparing to lower the sun. She would have to act fast if she wished to speak with her teacher before she prepared for bed. Of course, that wasn't her only problem. She wouldn't have worried too much about not coming home tonight if it was only Spike, but there was a little filly there now. A filly who was, as it turned out, not the first of her kind to come here. She would send a letter via her favorite dragon. Hopefully Rarity would be willing to give Second Chance that sleepover that was long overdue.
* * *
"You sure you'll be alright on your own, Spike?" Chance asked, for about the billionth time. Her saddlebags were already packed on either shoulder, brimming with every possible thing she could think of needing. True, missing out on Twilight's big surprise had been a disappointment when she had heard, but hearing what she would get instead had more than paid for it. Besides, a sleepover meant no waking up super early for reading lessons. It meant no endless practice with spells, and that she would get to spend who knew how much time with one of her favorite ponies in all of Equestria.
It wasn't like she didn't enjoy learning with Twilight. But that same routine every single day was wearing on her, and she was happy for a little break. The surprise could wait a day for whatever important Canterlot business Princess Twilight Sparkle had that simply would not allow her to return tonight. Who was to say it hadn't been part of the surprise all along. She had been surprised when Spike had said he had a letter for Rarity, and even more surprised when Sweetie Belle had shown up to pick her up.
"A sleepover at my sister's, on a school night!" She beamed as she delivered the news, then followed Chance around through the library as she packed what she thought she might need. It wasn't much, really. Ponies didn't really have or need much in the way of possessions compared to what she was used to. Even so, she made sure to bring everything she would need for school the next day, including the homework she had finished after the generator ponies had finally left.
"Duuuh! Besides, I'll have Owlicious for company." He gestured into the library, where the large owl was preening himself on his perch. "Twilight leaves me home alone all the time." He grinned mischievously. "Enjoy your sleepover! It's time for some Spike time." Then without explanation, he shut the door in her face. Was that wicked laughter coming from the other side of the door?
She didn't get to stand and think about it, because the other unicorn filly nudged her gently away from the library and onto the road. "Come on, Chance! It's gonna be the most amazing sleepover you've ever had!" She frowned a little. "I wish my sister would let the other Crusaders come too, but she didn't think their families would let them, since it's a school night. So it'll just be us. But the boutique is even cooler at night! And we can stay up all night, maybe get our storytelling cutie marks!"
"What about school?" She didn't sound correcting like an adult might. Merely curious.
"Oh, yeah. We could still stay up and tell stories! Maybe not all night. My big sis might not like that anyway."
As it turned out, Rarity had a fairly large order to complete within the next few days, so she had little time to spend with them. Still, she was generous to a fault, and that meant helping even when her own desires suffered. She helped enough to make dinner, despite her sister's insistence that she wanted to do it. Chance wondered why Rarity wouldn't just let Sweetie Belle make a salad or something. Most of what ponies ate seemed to be little-modified plants, and it seemed quite hard to mess those up. Chance herself could already handle several little snacks thanks to Spike's careful instruction, her favorite of which was deep-fried hay nachos with cheese. It was the cheese that did it.
Her wondering lasted until Rarity let Sweetie Belle handle dessert, while she returned to work. She hadn't thought there was any way to improperly make ice cream sundaes. After swallowing a pickle along with a mouthful of pistachio, she began to feel grateful for Rarity's protection. She could only imagine what may have happened to their simple lasagna otherwise. Of course, just because it was called the same thing as a food from home didn't mean it tasted the same. Something was missing.
Something was missing from lots of the food here, she found. It was hard to put her hoof on exactly, since most things were so delicious. Besides, nopony seemed to say anything about it. It was only then as she swirled around the booby-trapped ice cream in her bowl that she realized what it was. Meat! She'd been eating it her whole life, but hadn't had a bite since coming to Equestria. Nor had she seen it anywhere. Did Earth horses eat meat? She couldn't remember. Horses were for shows and rich people, nothing she'd ever seen outside a zoo. Or anywhere, after her childhood. The moon didn't have zoos.
"Ponies are vegetarians, aren't they?" She asked, as she pretended to enjoy her dessert.
Rarity, who was grateful for anything to conceal her equal distaste for what they were eating, leapt at the chance to do something other than eat! She didn't seem to have the heart to tell her sister she had used soy sauce instead of chocolate sauce, either. "Yes dear! And what an advantage it was in more barbaric days, to be able to find a meal in any field. Of course, civilized ponies hardly eat much grass plain. You'll find it's not very filling. Ponies who can't afford anything better have to spend a great deal of time eating." She wrinkled her nose. "Most uncivilized."
Chance was trying to be as careful as possible, but her curiosity simply had to be satisfied. There was no way she was waiting until after school tomorrow to get her questions answered! There was still so much she didn't know about Equestria, and she wasn't ever going to learn it if she was content with ignorance. "Are there... creatures who aren't vegetarians in the world? Civilized creatures, not monsters like in the Everfree..."
Rarity turned up her nose a tad. "I would hardly call any creature who eats meat civilized, dear. But if you mean creatures who can talk and think like us, then yes. As strange as it must sound to you for anything intelligent to behave like wild beasts. But then, gryphons are rather like beasts in some ways, I suppose." She shrugged. "Oh, it looks like you're done!" She lifted Chance's bowl suddenly into the air with her own, and got up from the table. "I'll get these washed up right away! No rush, little sister! Take as much time to finish yours as you need!"
Rarity winked at her as she vanished into the kitchen, and Chance grinned gratefully in reply. Her friend, for her part, was still happily munching away at the strangest sundae Equestria had ever seen. She wondered for a moment if Sweetie Belle even had a sense of taste. Or maybe hers simply had less of the "interesting" stuff.
Chance never even thought of arguing with Rarity about the diet thing. She didn't really feel like anything was missing from her diet, or that the food didn't taste good here. During most of her later years, almost everything in her diet had been culture-grown. Real Earth food might've been able to compete with this Equestrian stuff, but dried algae and simulated animal protein sure couldn't. Except for the hamburgers. Twilight could take her there as often as she wanted, but Chance would never care for those grain patties.
She had few memories of sleepovers, though her childhood on Earth contained a few. The night ended up much as she remembered. Perhaps a little abridged, considering there was school the next day for both of them to think about. Eventually Second Chance found herself in bed next to Sweetie Belle, staring up at the dark ceiling as they swapped stories.
"Alright, my turn!" Chance whispered eagerly, when Sweetie Belle had finally finished her stumbling tale of a Princess who lived in a perfect land where nothing actually went wrong. Still, the other filly simply had to lift the covers to check on her flank when the story was complete, and looked a little downcast not to see anything there. That was nothing new for Chance, though. Ever since she had become friends with the Crusaders, she had become used to seeing them do that once one of their crazy plans had ended, no matter how badly.
"Awww... nothing." She pouted, replacing the quilt, and sighing deeply. "Sometimes I think I'll never get my Cutie Mark."
Chance shook her head. She knew better than to ask why it mattered so much. She had been her friend long enough to understand. Getting your Cutie Mark meant you were on your way to being an adult. It meant you knew what sort of pony you were going to be, and what your special talent was. There was more to it than that of course, something about destiny and magic and all, but Chance didn't know much about it. Through all her adventures with the Cutie Mark Crusaders, she had never expected to get her own and hadn't yet been disappointed. After all, she was a stranger here, not a proper pony. If getting your Cutie Mark meant that Equestria had accepted you as a proper pony, then she wouldn't hold her breath. She would be a "blank flank" until she died. Not that it mattered much to her, though. Chance was just happy to be here. It was better than empty space.
"It'll happen, Sweetie Belle. You try so many things that you're bound to stumble into something you're good at eventually."
"Maybe." She didn't look happy. "Maybe you'll do better telling stories than I did. Do you know any good ones?"
Chance smiled a little to herself. "That depends. Have you ever heard about King Arthur?"
Sweetie Belle rolled onto her side, looking more attentive. "Nope! A story about a king? It sounds neat!"
She nodded. "It's one of my favorites." She paused, collecting herself. For some reason, she could remember everything about this particular childhood hero. Now, if she just changed a few words, and took out the parts about knights riding horses... "It all starts a long long time ago, in a country far away. Actually, he wasn't a king to start with. See, there was this colt..."
Chance couldn't have said how long the story lasted. She couldn't have said what sources she used, but it hardly mattered. The filly was entranced, and clearly fought off growing tiredness to hear the conclusion of the story.
When it was over, Sweetie Belle lifted the quilt again, this time checking on Chance. There was nothing to see but plain green fur though, and she seemed a little disappointed. "Really? After such a great story, nothin'?"
She shrugged. "Maybe cuz I didn't make it up. It's a really old one. Some parts might even be true, it's too long ago to be sure."
Sweetie Belle nodded. "But... why was the sword in that rock? If having it made whichever pony king, why would anypony ever put it away? If they needed a king that bad..."
She shrugged. "Nopony knows. Some say it was Merlin who did it. That he, uh..." She was grasping here a little, and tried not to let it show. "that the last king had been really mean. So he took the sword away, to give it to a better king." She yawned, closing her eyes. Today had been an eventful day, and it was wearing her out. "King Arthur had all sorts of amazing adventures, too. I haven't even told you about the round table yet! But..." She leaned back against the pillow, letting her eyes close. "I'm too tired. Maybe tomorrow."
"Yeah." Sweetie Belle sounded tired too. "I bet Apple Bloom and Scootaloo would wanna hear it, too. Maybe after school..." She kept on mumbling, but not for much longer. Her companion was asleep within moments. Second Chance soon followed.
* * *
Chance sat by herself under the stars, the ground gray beneath her feet. In this dream as in many of late, she was not a pony anymore but a child, dressed in a human version of the beautiful dress Rarity had made for her. Her rock on the edge of the crater was no softer for the change in form, however. She hummed faintly to herself under the blue-green light of her planet, tossing a little stone up and down in her hand. She couldn't be older than eleven or twelve, though such things as age had become somewhat nebulous concepts to her of late. The fact she sometimes used magic to toss the stone didn't seem to register either, though she clearly had no horn.
The words of an old poem came to her mind, rolling through it like water as she looked at what she knew could not be real. She had seen this vision many, many times, and knew reality from imagination.
"She has wandered into an unknown land;
And left us dreaming how very fair
Its needs must be, since she lingers there."
"Is that what thou thinkest of our home?"
The voice was familiar to her, though she had not heard it directly for some time now. She didn't turn around to see the one who spoke, nor did she stop throwing her stone up and down. She did answer though, her voice timid. She hadn't known anyone was listening. "Yes." It was hard not to cry, in truth. Words were more than words in this world. Her words were every happy memory from Equestria. Those were very many, even in so short a time. "It is very beautiful."
"Indeed." She felt the shape just behind her, though she did not need to turn to see who it was. The mare of her nightmares, with her mane of a thousand stars swirling in a wind that was not there. She probably wouldn't seem quite as big by comparison, though no doubt no less majestic. Nothing about her had captured Chance more than those eyes. There was deep and hidden wisdom there, and a sadness that spoke to her even more. Luna had not said, not ever, but Chance knew deep down she too carried heavy burdens. Just like her, the mare carried them alone. Chance probably would not have tolerated her presence were it any other way. "It took a great many years to understand that."
Chance heard something next to her. She felt as though something large had sat down beside her, though she did not turn to the side to look. "I wish my world had sent me for another reason, nightmare." She frowned, tossing the stone with all her might into the crater. As usual, it did not clear the edge. "In the days of my youth, we were a proud and noble race."
She stood, and her dress changed to an elegant pantsuit, like something a diplomat might wear, with the implant over one eye that was her display. She turned to the pony she had already known would be there and made an elegant bow. Then she sighed, and the costume vanished into the dress. "We could have been fierce friends with Equestria. To think." She looked back to the sky, where there were two planets side-by-side, instead of one. They were very similar, though the continents were slightly off in their placement on the one.
"Our technology would have made Equestria into a nation above all others. We would cure death, and replace it with technology to build new cities stretching to the stars. In exchange, we would benefit from your magic, and all the wonderful things it can do. More importantly, we would enjoy your friendship and your kindness. That was all we would really want." She chuckled. "Who knows. A few centuries of working together, and we might figure out what always stopped our ships from breaking the light-barrier. Imagine what it might have been like, traveling to distant stars on a great ship, with ponies and humans together as its crew!"
She collapsed back onto her rock, the vision fading. Only gray was left.
Luna said nothing for some time, though she listened respectfully. "To see the distant stars would be a wonderful thing." She said quietly, her head bowed low. "Though we do not think many of our ponies would wish to abandon the lives they know. We may have turned you down, even if you had come baring these gifts in friendship. This is what makes us different."
"Hmm?" She turned to look, curious now as to what the mare might mean.
It was her turn to chuckle. "It seems to me your kindred spent their lives and great energy in a search for something precious. They built machines to accomplish any task, yet they did not find what they sought. If there had been no war and the Builders were still at their workshops, it would still be unfound. Do not think us primitive savages because our machines are much more primitive, Chance. In truth, we could be far further along than we presently are if we wished to be. But ponies do not build as your kindred did because they do not need to search. They have already found what they are looking for, and so they live on content."
"You mean..." She hesitated, no longer meeting those dark eyes. "You mean God. You mean you, and your sister Celestia."
This brought a smile to her companion's lips, and another chuckle. "Not many place my name before that of my sister, child."
She shrugged. "I was never much for daytime." Chance gestured all around them. "I like your nights much better, Princess."
The other did not reply for some moments. She did not do so with words at first, resting her head gently on Chance's. It was strange to feel pony fur against skin, but not so strange that she pulled away from the gesture, or didn't cry a little too. This realization had not come easy for her, when she had learned who it was who took the time to talk with her every night. Not a figment, and not a dream, but one of the very Diarchs of Equestria. Even though she had never addressed her as such directly until this moment.
"Truly thou art one of our subjects, little one." She said, when the moment had ended. "And perhaps you speak truth. Some ponies do think on us so, my sister and I. Some even think we created Equis, forming it from the cosmic ether to dwell within." She shook her head sadly, though what that meant Chance could not know.
"But this is not what we meant. We spoke of fellowship within the heart, of love for one's fellow ponies. This love for family and friends is what all ponies desire, and perhaps Builders as well. We think your kind felt this love, but did not recognize it. So you built and searched, seeking out that which you already had before your eyes. Is this not why Equestria has become thy home, though it lacked the machines of thy birth?"
Chance had to think about that for some time before nodding. "I love them." She eventually answered. Suddenly her outline was becoming less human, and more pony. Or maybe her skin was just turning green. She spoke on regardless. "Twilight Sparkle, for taking me in even though I was unknown and maybe dangerous. Spike, for being there for me every day no matter how stupid I acted. Sweetie Belle, for being my friend when nopony else would, Apple Bloom..." She trailed off, though there were many more names the list was missing. There were no ponies to complain about that here though. None but her and Luna. Two ponies now, and not just one. "And you're right. It was not the cities that made Earth beautiful. It was the people who lived inside." She looked down, feeling suddenly embarrassed. "Maybe you're right. Maybe us coming earlier wouldn't have been such a good thing."
Luna shook her head. "We never said as much, Second Chance. If thy people shared anything in common with thee, we think that we could have been wonderful friends. Equestria can always use friends, as I remember better than many ponies. But for me such barbaric times seem only recently ended. We remember well the blessing of having Precursors beside us on the battlefield, even though history does not."
Chance looked up, suddenly very curious. "Precursor means... human?" At a nod, she went on. "You've met one of us before?" She sat down beside the princess, at rest now. She didn't throw anymore rocks, nor did she feel the need to. "What were they like?"
Luna sighed sadly. "He was... a good stallion." She paused, scratching at the ground with one hoof. Somehow, Chance realized this was not some distant memory to Luna. She knew the story of her banishment, and the thousand years she had spent far from the land she loved. Would those things she experienced before her banishment seem the fresher to her because of their proximity? "Strong, proud, and noble. He had not seen pain like unto thine, not before he came to Equestria."
"How?"
Luna shrugged. "Who can say? He did not know, and we do not think he spoke untruly. We knew of no way to send him back, though a solution was attempted. Alas, Equestria was swallowed by war, and resources had to turn to our defense. He did not live to see the end of the war, nor did we ever discover the secret to sending him home."
Chance pondered that a moment. A human being, another from her world, had been here. One who had left before the horrors of the last days? But how was that possible? She hadn't known the technology to have existed back then. At least not among the UEF. "Did... was he... a man? Or a machine?" Her voice had gotten cold suddenly, and the first trace of anger hovered there. Not at Luna exactly. It was less directed than that.
The princess looked down at her, suddenly concerned. There was something shrewd to her expression Chance could not fully identify. "He was a good man. You need not concern yourself with the details. In truth I did not care for him at first, finding his nature strange and his behavior crude. In time, my feelings changed. He showed himself to be both wise and brave. He died leading an army in defense of Canterlot. I..."
She sniffed, looking away suddenly. "I remember it well. He fell only after slaying many mighty foes. A hero." She laughed, though it was bitter. "He even told me so." She took on another air, as though reciting the words of another. "Fair Princess, your suspicion shall turn to trust before the end, and I shall win thy respect should it cost me all."
This conversation was causing her to ask more questions than there were answers. How had a human been here from before the Great War? Why had he come, if the Earth was at peace? Why had he been so determined to ingratiate himself with the rulers of early Equestria? Had he really talked that way? Okay, maybe that last question didn't matter as much as the others."Twilight says that Celestia knew I was coming. She gave Twilight special instruction to rescue me, and take care of me. Is he the reason why?"
The great princess only looked away into the night. "Who can say what my sister thinks? Yet, the stranger was no prophet and knew not of thy coming. He was a soldier from a time of peace, and he knew his world did not need him. He came here at our need."
"How... how did he know Equestria was in danger?"
The princess looked down. "That is a question for Twilight, and not for me. We have answered enough of thy questions for one night. Rest on now, and sleep in peace." She was fading, but Chance did not cry. Her dreams were not always nightmares anymore. Her world would not burn tonight. She only hoped she would remember this conversation in the morning.
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I think you're missing some text here...
Umm, I disagree fundamentally with Luna's opinion on man. We seek the stars for various reasons. Greed for those who wish to take its bountiful riches but I don't think that's the primary motivator for man. No, curiosity and the desire to know. In this era we seek to create and learn more. We want to understand the universe and that is our real drive and desire. Love of our fellow person is something that has taken a long time developing and allows our society to function more happily than alternatives. The difference though is we have a fundamental curiosity. We generally ask "Can I do that?" rather than the question of "Should I do that?" That is why Philosophy always follows Science to attempt to clean up what it creates, which if the hinting in this chapter is right, came too late to stop the creations that ended man.
4203335
You're absolutely right! It should be fixed now. That's an entirely new error. I've never seen gDocs drop sentences quite like that before.
4203337
You won't hear me arguing with you. Princess Luna is powerful and wise, but she also has few sources, and a distinctly pony perspective. Personally I think the issue is far too complex to be boiled down to such simple terms, and I could never begin to try and define motivation in matters like these. I'm not going to say Luna is right, though. Just that she is telling Chance what she thinks she has figured out about how humans work.
4203382 Not many people get that the characters in stories can have opinions too,
Humans do not just use technology to search for God, we also use it to transcend ourselves. What greater purpose could a species have, than becoming the absolute best they could be? Humans may use technology for proof of God, but it is also used for us to become akin to gods ourselves.
4203756
Indeed, I'm not arguing with you. Though I don't think Luna was saying that humans were literally looking for God out there, but something greater than themselves. It's not like they're looking for some old man with a big beard out in the cold of space who will talk to them about the Old Testament. Rather, she's saying that humans are looking for that greater meaning that is above and beyond them, proof that the universe, indeed, has meaning.
But it's just Luna's opinion, in any case. Not mine. Or rather, my own is far more complex.
4203820 though, it's Second Chance who 1st mentioned the God thing...
4203827
That's true, but she was talking about Luna and Celestia.
4203883 Luna was mentioning what humans were looking for, and the ponies having already found it... then Second Chance came to the conclusion of God. THEN the conversation went on to be about Celestia and Luna.
That implies that Second Chance felt that Humans were searching for God.
4203887
If that's the impression you got, than it's the result of my writing's inability to communicate my actual intention and I apologize. I did start the conversation about "God" with this remark:
In case I could be more clear, those are the only gods that Second Chance is talking about. If her future has any earthly religions, she would have lost her faith in them after seeing the death of her people.
4203959 The way you worded it, I honestly can't find it easy to interpret it as anything but Chance thinking Humans were searching for God...
Another good chapter, didn't pick up on anything that seemed wrong or missing (I'm a wee bit tired tho so really small things might have escaped me...)
5/5
Keep up the good work
Keep it up!
MOAR!
Damn, I love those science-filled fics!
IT'S MASTER CHIEF
Shit, this is getting deep.
I'm kinda worried now more than ever. I get the bad feeling chance is an omen of something more now, though I'm just hoping clover was wrong about the end of the world thing and misreading signs
The more I read in this story the more I think this could some type of terminator like apocalypse that earth went through! When we finally do create sentient machines we need to treat them well or it'll be our downfall!
Chapter 11: One Precursor is good, but Two is better
I thought the plot couldn't get any thicker, but it did. Another Precursor was there in the past? Someone who, I believe, seemed to be some kind of knight. It seems to contrast with the way Chance reached Equestria and not in a good way. However, I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt. I'm sure you will come with a sensible explanation down the line. I'm going to say I think it has something to do with that Hawking Rift mentioned in the last chapter. What if one man stumbled into such rift into time and space, just like those electronic devices in the lat chapter? It's likely then that he wouldn't have been able to get home.
On another topic, this chapter had more Luna, which is good. Every chapter is better with the Queen of the Night. Why? Because I think she knows a lot more about this than she let on. In this chapter, we saw that she had personal involvement with the previous Precursor to come to their world. I'm going on a baseless hunch here, but I think Luna is more in favor of the Precursor's coming than her sister, who probably only seek to ensure that her little ponies stay safe. I would even say that Luna probably would welcome technological advancements more than Celestia would. But that's just my crazy headcannon. I could be wrong. Time will tell, I guess. Gosh, only 3 chapters to go. That's sad to think about.
It almost seems like they are dicking around with Chance. Allowing her to stay but not fully caring too much about her civilization and not thinking much of humans and their tech, at least for Luna. A society that does not wish to expand can get a tad boring too, there would always be issues in any society, magic or no.
I don't see her point. "We have friendship, hence we don't need art, we don't need science, we don't need any goals"? Seems like stagnation logic.
If she would elaborate with something like "moral needs to evolve as equal as technology" or something like that, I'll understand her position. But this?
4445451
I'd say it's more like they're already happy with what they have and have no desire to search for anything new since the old already contents.
4445451 It's more the fact that they are already in a "golden age", they don't NEED technology to be happy... but they CAN advance their tech if they have to.
That and she was referring more to technology than the arts and whatnot, considering the fact that Fashion is actually an artful topic in equestria.
[
Weeeeell, not necessarily. I mean, in Leap of Faith we do see Big Macintosh, Applejack, and Apple Bloom (i believe) fishing.
In OUR world, well, that's a horse of a different colour!
Sorry.
Anyway, in our world they don't USUALLY eat meat, but if it passes by, they won't turn it down.
5244667 and we've seen them eat eggs
Luna seems to think stagnation is good, but I think stagnation makes your society worthless. Without progress, what is there? There is no 'meaning' to life except that the universe exists, and since we are the way the universe understands itself, we must progress far enough to completely understand the universe. Then we will understand ourselves. In a way, life is just an avatar of the universe.
6357354
Progress without a goal is as meaningless as stagnation, in many ways. Is a society that lives happily with what it has any different than one constantly striving for some nebulous perfection and all-consuming understanding? Both are a march to a litany so ingrained as to be instinct. What's more, life's purpose is found by the individual really. There is no singular answer save perhaps for one: The purpose behind living is to die with as little regret as one can, but the meaning behind such a thing can only be found by the individual.
If there were no questions to answer anymore, no experiments to run or lessons to learn, we would cease to progress and stagnate, for lack of places to go, and we would be unsatisfied because we become bored, and humans seek out the new, once the familiar has become mundane. In the end, we are looking for what the Equestrians have found. Fulfillment. It is possible that as a species, we are geared toward not finding such a thing overly long, as a survival trait.
... PS: I don't buy into more than a lifespan of about 150-200 years for ponies. Only three or four generations passing between Luna's return and banishment seems a bit... low, considering the population apparently had no idea who she is, and the drastic culture shock. Language takes a long time to change and fade.
What is this sleep thing and how do you get over it? Sleepover
5244667
And the fuck is this racist Bullshit
Meat being something you need to live makes you a wild beast?
This is why Rarity so easily falls out of my favorites.
Couple paragraphs here, and I can't make heads or tails of it. Unicorn being a unicorn is concerning??? I have no idea why Twilight would freak out, or state the obvious.
7111688 If I'm reading it right; The guy with the hat & beard is supposed to be Starswirl and Leo is the human that modern history records as a unicorn.
We already know that. The reason we can't go faster than light is because the laws of physics simply don't allow for it. The speed of light can only be achieved if you have infinite energy or no mass, something impossible for us to achieve. Most scientists believe that lightspeed isn't some value or a measure of distance, lightspeed is the absolute fastest energy can travel given our laws of physics. Faster than light travel is theoretically possible with wormholes. Have you ever played the game Portal? The portals are how a wormhole theoretically works. Pretty much making a door between space.
In the worlds where ponies live for 300+ years, it can't be that impressive. A thousand years ago on that scale is comparable to the Napoleonic Wars era, roughly speaking. Remarkable, yes. Mind-blowing, hardly.
7563631 It doesn't matter how long a species lives for, a thousand years is still an extremely long time.
7646680
Strongly disagree. What constitutes impressively long time is purely subjective.
7650378 Yes, subjective to our own view of lifespan, which is relatively short.
7868700
With the lifespans listed it would seem like 1000 years is about 150-300 years equivalent. Pretty impossible.
Oooh. Chills. I didn't expect an adrenal response from a librarian.
8123865
Everyone seems to be taking Twilight's word at face value, when Sweetie's reaction was clearly indicating she barely paid attention to what Chance said before agreeing with it automatically. Which says to me it's all bupkiss. Ponies have same- or less-than human lifespans. And Chance will be putting quesadillas in Twilight's salad for revenge when she finds out.
Author, you keep using "bare" and "baring" (to reveal, or to disrobe) in this chapter, when you mean "bear" and "bearing." (to carry)
Silly Moon Horse, that's not why we create! We do so to improve the quality of our lives, to explore the wonders of the universe, and to share a piece of ourselves with others!
Chance Chance Chance... majestic the Sisters may be, but do not mistake them for deities. Like you, they were born, like you they can falter, and like you they can die. Neither knows all, and neither is all powerful. They are merely mortals gifted with phenomenal longevity and raw power, as your guardian has, but with over 1000 years of experience to hone both mind and might.
My mind went places. What does a young, virile mind just at the beginning of puberty do when they're alone?
Play with lego, of course! Sheesh, get you minds out of the gutter, guys!
Why you racist, xenophobic...
Pshaw!!! I fart in your general direction!
9760228
Of all the Mane 6, Rarity was probably the most racist in the early seasons.
Insulting the entirety of Zebrakind because she finds their stripes unappealing, calling Iron Will a monster
(oh my god rarity you can't just call minotaurs monsters)And, of course, dragons are no more than wild animals, except her Spikey-Wikey (actually, that might be why Spike was made to go to a vet in secret of my excess)
Rarity just becoming full blown racist lmfao