The Sphere

by random reader

Research

The sun was still high in the sky as Applejack continued to cart piles of broken branches out of her apple orchard. As Applejack unloaded another pile on to the ever growing heap, she wiped a bit of sweat from her brow.

“Whew, this is starting to get tough, and I’m not even halfway finished.” thought Applejack as she strapped the cart back to her, and prepared to head out again. “Then again, I could use a break right about now.”

As Applejack headed inside for a snack, she saw her friend Twilight running up to greet her. “Well, I wonder what she could be doing out here this time of day.” As Twilight made her way in to the front yard, Applejack supposed her friend was more important to her than her snack. “Well howdy Twilight, what brings you out here this afternoon?”

“Oh, not much, I just felt that I had to see another familiar face while I wait for Princess Celestia to recover some old papers on some scientific theories that were discarded decades ago.”

“Well, I wouldn’t know much about scientific theories, but if the Princess came to see you, then something important must be going on.”

“There is, Applejack, or at least, I think there is, but Celestia told me not to worry about it, and that I had done all I could. She said I should just wait until she has more information about what we found in Whitetail Woods.

Well, that was news to Applejack. So Twilight had found something there that was apparently important enough to warrant a visit from Celestia herself, then it must be powerful, or dangerous in some way.

“Twilight, if there’s something dangerous in those woods, then I’m sure that the Princess can handle it.” said Applejack, her voice filled with confidence.

“I don’t think it is dangerous Applejack, but it’s still something that the Princess doesn’t know about, and wants to discover. She said she had an idea of what it might be, but she cannot be certain until she gathers every last scrap of information she can before putting her theory to the test.”

“And what was Princess Celestia’s theory exactly? Not that I’d understand it I bet.”

“That’s the thing, she wouldn’t tell me. I hate it when she does this! She keeps potential answers just out of reach, so I can learn from the experience, or whatever.” said Twilight, looking irritated at her former teacher’s methods.

“Now Twilight, be reasonable. Celestia probably didn’t tell you because she didn’t want to give you a false hope in case she was wrong, not that I’ve ever known the Princess to be wrong about something before.”

“You’re probably right Applejack, it’s just that now I don’t know whether I should be worried or not right now, and that worries me, you know what I mean?”

“I do, but for now, why don’t you come inside for a snack with me while you tell me all about what you found?”

Twilight smiled at that. Her friends always seemed to know just what to say to take the pressure off of any situation.

“Actually, it wasn’t me who found it,” said Twilight, “It was Rainbow Dash who found it.” said Twilight, as she followed her friend inside.

---

At the entrance to the Canterlot Archives, a single unicorn sat at his desk, looking incredibly bored as he scratched out numbers and figures on to a seemingly endless stack of paperwork.

“Just two more hours of this, and my shift is finally over.” thought Inked Quill, as he looked up from his desk, and out of the nearby window to see where the sun was in the sky.

Suddenly, a tall figure emerged from the entrance, somepony who he rarely saw in this part of the castle.

“Princess Celestia,” he said, bowing low, “how might I be of service today?”

“Ah, Inked Quill, you may rise. I need your assistance to find some old notes on some discarded scientific theories.”

“Well Princess, if you’ll just follow me, the notes you are looking for will probably be near the back of the archive.” As they both walked down the corridors of shelves containing various books and scrolls, the shelves started to have a more derelict look. “Please excuse the dust, your Majesty, but hardly anypony ever comes back here.”

“It’s quite alright, my little pony. I wouldn’t expect anypony to come back here looking for such old information.”

“If I may inquire, what kind of theories are you looking for, exactly?” asked Inked Quill, looking over his shoulder.

“Well, perhaps you could help me. Are you familiar with the “many realms” theory?”

Inked Quill thought for a second, his brow furrowed. “Hmm, I do recall hearing something to that nature when I was beginning my studies into the complexities of magic. Doesn’t this theory state that there are various other planes of existence, each one parallel to our own?”

“Why yes, that is correct. It seems that even old ideas still linger in the newer generations. Ah, here it is.” Celestia pulled out a dust covered book called Universe, or Multiverse? and began sifting through its contents.

“Hmm, all these ideas seem to hold together,” said Celestia, talking more to herself than to Inked Quill.

“Well, with all due respect, your Highness, those theories fell out of the scientific community decades ago, as there has never been any evidence attributed to them.”

“Until now, most likely.” thought Celestia as she looked back over to Inked Quill.

“I will need to borrow this for a time. Is that alright?”

“Of course, your Highness, whatever you need. But may I ask what this is all about?”

“All in due time, my little pony, for now, I must take my leave.”

Princess Celestia held the book close to her, lit her horn, and cast a teleportation spell to get back to Ponyville.

“If I’m right about this thing, many firsts are about to be achieved in Equestrian history.”

Comments

[random reader]

While I hold no grudges against those who decide to put a dislike on my story, I would appreciate it if I was at least told why it was disliked. As a newbie at writing, I need all the help I can get from criticism.

[Kage no Brony]

4904958

There are those who will dislike things based solely on premise, or some other vapid, pointless reason. Honestly, I haven't found any glaring errors, which is far better than a lot of newbie writers.

Don't let that go to your head, though.