Asylum Function: Secrets of Equestria

by SulliedInk

Outside

For such an early hour on a Friday morning, I found the streets to be far more bustling than I had previously imagined. Already, I noticed a group of students roughly my age rushing towards the nearest bus station. In their hands, they carried several standard-issue curriculum books regarding general education, social psychology, historical and literary analysis, and the science behind esper powers. Of course, I expected nothing less from Canterlot City; the sad part is, they were part of the city's public school system. Granted, judging by their clothing, it looked like they originated from a more affluent area, but even money cannot spit in the face of the generally flawed structure of public schooling. Still, part of me was surprised esper development was even taught in public schools.

"Then again," I muttered to myself, "where do I think I am?"

The morning sun finally revealed its shining brow the instant I stared up at the highest peak of the castle. I smiled out of instinct, as I glanced up at the darkened sky and admired the beauty of the fading stars, vanquished by the rising sun. Residing in the highest tower was Oracle Celestia, one of the two deity-like sisters who had taken up residency in our world and served as humanity's advisers and guides for countless millenniums. Nobody really knows where the duo originated from; whoever or whatever they were, their existence proved to humanity the presence of greater beings out there: a higher plane of existence right inside our reach. Gods amongst men, I thought to myself and sighed.

No matter how much warmth and compassion they express towards us "commoners", none of it will ever lessen the divide between our realms. The two appeared to us as literal angels one day and have since educated and progressed humanity's knowledge about its kind and the world around it. With their aid, we were able to harness our ESP: extrasensory powers, powers hidden within the human mind. By understanding the human mind and body, we broke through previously unbreakable barriers in medical science, advanced our technology on an exponential scale, etc.. In a way, one can argue that as time went on, the Oracles have led us closer and closer to them; perhaps they even intend to take us beyond their reach. If so, would it be wrong for me to press on ahead first?

"Once upon a time, a foolish man named Icarus flew too close to the sun," I recited aloud to myself and the crowds of people, too preoccupied to either listen or care. "As penance for his idiocy and sin, the wax that bound his wings together caught fire and burned to a crisp mid-flight."

Had the fool not concentrated his efforts on soaring higher rather than further, I wonder if fate would have granted him a different outcome? At last, the clarity of day consumed away the final fragments of the fading night; I stared up at the light of dawn and admired the Royal Castle with envious eyes. I fear, for your sake, that my wings are not bound by wax. Though you sisters may reign high and mighty right now, know that you are still within the reach of man... I clenched my fist, as I felt a roaring passion sear through me. Daybreak lit my heart afire; a mysterious might filled my being, as I continue to set almost impossible goals for myself. Almost. Oracle sisters... The knowledge and wisdom you possess is something all great minds should strive to reach.

Around then, I saw an empty bench in the middle of a small park. The school was not too far away from where I decided to sit down. I checked my watch and noticed that the angles between the small hand and the large hand were 144 degrees on the interior, while the measure of the exterior angle was 216 degrees.

"It's 7:12," I muttered to myself. When I snapped out of my daze, I noticed that two additional minutes went by. Hmm... Processing has taken longer than expected... Am I slipping?

As I pushed myself off the wooden bench, still damp from the morning dew, a girl roughly my height knocked me over. I only caught a vague glimpse of her face, but I knew this cloaked figure was female just by the vague outline of her body. Under her tan hood, I saw long, purple locks highlighted by a single magenta stripe. Dark sunglasses covered her eyes; even though it was still early morning.

"Excuse me!" I cried out. No response; she kept running in a straight line unfazed. "Guess she didn't hear me, huh. Still, why can't I shake this feeling?" I shrugged. "I feel like I've seen her face before."