25 - Who're
Chapter 25: Who’re
To quote Arthur C. Clarke: ‘If we have learned one thing from history of invention and discovery, it is that, in the long—and often in the short one—the most daring prophecies seem laughably conservative.’
The difference between Mr. Clarke’s words and that of Tempora’s is that Tempora can speak closer to the truth as she sees it. After the little dream-walking incident with my father, Tempora and I had gotten a little closer. We trusted each other more and I spent some time with her. Slowly, I got to see a little of Tempora’s world-view. To her, the future is fixed and we were but drifters along the current of Time. I once asked Tempora if she believed in free will.
“Yes”, she had replied. “Of course.” I pointed out the problem of free will in such a fatalistic stance on Time. Tempora just laughed at me and shook her head.
”The tapestry of Time,” she told me, “was more complex than that. Certainly it had accounted for such minor paradoxes as free will and certainty.” She gestured to the world around, pointing to ponies laughing and playing in the field, close to where we were walking. “Free will is an intrinsic part of the universe,” she laughed, “to consider it void when you’ve seen Time is presumptuous at best, galling hubris at worst.”
I couldn’t reconcile it with my mind. I guess I couldn’t see the world the way Tempora did. “I’m sorry,” I replied, scratching my head. “I just can’t make sense of that.”
She paused at that and her face sported a crinkled frown as if she were mildly confused as to why I couldn’t understand it. I guess to an alicorn of her unique perspective, she could just see the mechanics of Time and just know how it worked.
“Hmm,” she had hummed, as she cocked her head. She brightened slightly. “Perhaps a demonstration.” She held aloft a stone in the air. With a complicated spell matrix that I couldn’t discern, the rock vanished from my view. Gracefully, she sat on her haunches and she held up her hooves in front of my face. Smiling, she nodded to the empty hooves. “Pick the hoof that has the rock on it,’”she instructed, bringing the hooves closer.
I thought hard trying to see if a hoof held additional weight, if there was some sort of shadow cast by the rock or if there was any additional information I could glean from this little demonstration. I was stumped.
“That one,” I said uncertainly, pointing a finger at her left hoof.
“Oh, a poor choice,” she giggled and reveal the rock to be in her right hoof. I shrugged.
“What was the point of that?” I asked, a little irked.
“You’re a smart colt, Harmony, you tell me,” she replied simply.
I went back through the demonstration.
Oh, I thought. Ooooh.
“The rock was already in your hoof at that point, it was already there, but I didn’t know it. When I made my choice, the rock was revealed to be there all along, it’s a physical fact that it was there and always will be there in your left hoof. I didn’t know I was going to choose your right hoof, but it’s a physical fact I would have. I had free will as long as I was unaware of the meta-information of where the rock was.”
Tempora smiled but shook her head.
“Close, but not quite,” she commented, I cocked my head confused. “You still have free will,” she explained, bringing the hooves back up again. This time the rock was not there, but its shadow was there. “Prophesy is a little like this. You see where the rock is and you can use free will to choose where it is.” The spell revealed a rock of a different shape, though it cast a similar shadow. “You can know things for certain, or at least you may think you know things for certain, but you can’t change the fact that you will always pick the empty hoof.” She held out the hooves again and I picked the left one. It was still empty. “Your choice is still your own,” she said, “but your actions still follow the same course.”
I still couldn’t wrap my head around it. How could one consolidate free will with such a fatalistic mindset? I shook my head.
Tempora sagged a little, as if disappointed that I couldn’t share in her philosophy. She tried again.
“Your actions might be your own,” she said, whilst she dismissed the spell and discarded the rock. “But you can’t change what will happen, anymore than you can change the rock being the rock, the sky being the sky, the past being the past.”
It still didn’t make any sense. It was so paradoxical. I sighed, sweeping a hand through the dirt as I sat next to the monarch.
“I can’t see it,” I mumbled apologetically. Tempora just nodded, her eyes reflecting an emotion I couldn’t discern.
“That’s alright,” she told me, her eyes unfocused. I was beginning to recognise that faraway look. I think she was looking into the future, or perhaps the past. She was using her special brand of magic to see what will come to pass.
She blinked away a few tears.
“Very few do…”
––––––
I made my way back to house, following the road’s trail to my humble abode. I say humble but it was a two storey affair. Suddenly, I had a recollection of the mortgage still to be paid on the house and I giggled. The more I thought about the expression on the mortgage broker’s face when he realised that the house had simply vanished off the face of the world, the more I just kept on laughing.
I opened the door, feeling much more refreshed. Dad wouldn’t be home, he was still recuperating in the castle. They had sent a delegation to the griffon empire to find that sneaky little rascal that had ensnared Dad’s mind. I hope they caught him. According to the griffon laws, mind spells like those carried a life term. Knowing their corrupted aristocracy though, that little conniving bi—bird… would get out fairly quickly.
Still, we could afford a little peace and quiet around here for a few years. Besides, being on sovereign land and protected by Tempora, I seriously doubted anyone would be insane enough to come charging in here to get their revenge.
I skirted around a couple of chairs I hadn’t tucked into the kitchen table and set about whipping up something quick. Perhaps a pasta dish? I frowned. There wasn’t any pasta here, I’d have to learn how to make it from scratch, though I didn’t know how. Uhh, flour and water and flatten it out or something? I’d probably have to talk to a chef about Earth cuisine, perhaps show him a few things before we run out permanently.
A mirthful grin tugged at the corners of my mouth as I thought about Luna and how’d she get all flustered if we ever ran out of peanut butter. She was absolutely adorable especially that one time she got her muzzle stuck in the jar. I hadn’t laughed that hard since… Well since coming to Equestria. Golly, it was what? Years since I’ve been back on Earth…
A tug on my sleeve startled me out of my short reverie. It was Discord, looking at me with wide, pleading eyes.
“No food?” he asked, giving me a hopeful grin.
D’aww I couldn’t say no that face. I had half a mind to tell him to cook for himself, he was plenty old enough, but even though he was a decent cook, he always preferred to have me cook for him. I think he told me one time that cooking alone reminded him of when he lived alone. Every time I thought about that I would just give in and cook for him.
Sometimes I would see a little smirk on his muzzle so he might be playing my heartstrings a little too deviously. Crafty little mastermind. I could imagine him with puppet strings waiting for anyone that didn’t know him. Fat chance of that in Equestria, but he’d probably conquer half the world.
“Okay,” I said, giving in to those honey-eyes. “But only this time.” This was the hundredth time I said that though…
Discord grinned from ear to ear and sat down at the kitchen table imperiously.
“Come on Harmony,” he cajoled me as I moved around the kitchen. “Faster.”
I rolled my eyes.
“With that kind of attitude I’ll just cook for myself, thank you very much.”
Discord let out a puling whine that I swear only dogs could make.
“Oh for pony’s sake, I’ll do it!” I growled, gathering ingredients.
“Yay!”
I darted around the kitchen grumbling to myself then I did a small double-take.
Did I just swear in pony? I think I’m going native.
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I'd actually underestimated my memory of how different this feels from the Kayla-verse arc. I'm now more certain than ever that putting it in its own story was the right choice.
Thanks. :)
5543286 Well sometimes I need it pointed out to me with a big neon sign, sorry I should have caught this much earlier, I'm a featherbrain.
Want to know something funny I noticed? You broke the chapter sentence format now. Not to say it wasn't affected briefly by the "filler" where Harmony met the mane six, but now to a much greater degree.
5543303 Well you're right, but I like to think of it as standalone unless you knew the whole chapter format in the beginning. 'To be' can still be considered a statement, though not with a greater meaning, I guess.
Huzza! Shenanigans are afoot/ahoof!
5543311 Fair enough. You also still have it explained later, right? In the Kaylaverse story.
5543329 Yeeeep.
You sir have a very Intresting mind regarding the first part of the chapter with Tempora
*cries silent tears of joy at the death of that fucking arc*
5543391 Thanks, done.
5543425
This.
So many of this.
You an hero.
I don't know how Americans can eat, let alone ENJOY, peanut butter with jam.
...
I think I'll stick with Vegemite and cheese toasties.
5543638 PB&J is fucking disgusting IMO.
5543638 i dont even know what cheese toasties are! Although ive heard vegemite doesnt taste very good.
I, though, love peanut butter and jelly, or jam, as you call it. Oh well, what do i know. Im just a fat american hooked on cheeseburgers and pb&j's!
God, i love stereotypes!
Hey sunnypack... neither Future Chronicles nor Kaylaverse appear on your stories page. I know you probably don't want people finding it by accident without noticing Just Roll With It, but now they're a little... TOO hard to find. It took a long time of searching before I realised that the only place with a link to Future Chronicles was the title page of Just Roll With It, below the "More" divider. And now also this comment.
Also, pages on stories that don't appear on your stories page don't appear on our bookshelves either, so we don't get notified of updates, nor can we find them again without using browser bookmarks or browser history.
pretty good chapter but I laughed so hard when I looked at my address bar for this chapter
So basically Tempora is saying that although certain events in time are destined to happen no matter what, the path to getting to those events is flexible, and we can freely make choices that all eventually lead to the same result or something? At least that's how I'm understanding it. Looking forward to more slice of life stuff!
5545233 I kind of think of it as a RPG like Mass Effect. You can play however you want to and make the decisions you want but the end result is always the same.
5544734 Okay then, I'll publish them. I just didn't want it to seem like I was fishing for likes.
5544834 Now that... was just awkward, oops.
5545964
Yeah, that's pretty much what I figured too.
5546395 Tell ya what, if you ever feel like you're getting too many undeserved likes, just send me a message and I'll send a dislike your way to balance things out a bit. Until then, you'll take those well-earned likes and that front page spot like you deserve.
5546763 Hahaha, if I ever feel the urge, you'll be my first point of contact!
5333654
that means he wouldn't be able to stop Luna's fall too...
hmmm.. um...... i don't see anything in your blog posts. but i am usually behind on story chapters and.... well last i checked there was... 5 unread chapter to this story... now there is 1.. i havn't read any since... um.. i'm not sure now.. did you delete chapters i read? last one was the cat monster like lady who basically turned him into a pet/slave.
5547453 Oops, I should probably nail this in the blog posts, sorry. The arc was getting too dark and strange so I relegated it to a side fic and published it. It's in the AN and the description of the chapters, preceding chapter and in the description of the story. Sorry for the confusion.
When will there be more because I read all of the chapters in like 4-5 hours
5547515 Holy— wow, uhh I guess tomorrow if I'm not too busy? I guess you can look at Future Chronicles or Kayla-verse if you're bored...
I don't believe in prophecies. Self fulfilling prophecies are simply gimmicks. Prophecies that do come true are all self fulfilling prophecies. But I don't understand why people are simply against prophecy. Prophecy are guidelines if you don't like it change it.
Destroy the world. Burn. Raze. Kill the fates. Tell Death to Die. Never stop fighting. When you stop, make sure you stop when the flow is going your way. Ride the road and burn the ones you don't like.
Live.
AND
TELL DESTINY TO FUCK OFF!
Equestria is a world of destiny. To one who comes from a world of choice, it makes sense that he wouldn't understand.
My philosophy on time is something like this: Since the past has already happened, then if you went back in time and did something, no matter what it was, it already happened since it's in the past. The future is trickier. Part of me thinks that since it hasn't happened yet, it doesn't exist, however, if we're operating on the assumption of a continuous, define time arc, then that theory is horse-apples. Unless, of course, the future is determined by what happens now, and if we do something contrary to what would've happened, the future just changes and we're none the wiser because it was always going to be so, IE fate exists, but fate is the same as the outcome of your decisions... or something.
Anyways, time nonsense aside, I am glad you separated the stories. They are really much better off that way, despite the initial confusion.
5548737 but I like that game :(
0.media.dorkly.cvcdn.com/95/40/037118ac655e43b5c6d1bb074ec0c90a-destiny-the-official-dorkly-review.jpg
5557942 The other kind. I like that kind of destiny too.
5557951
I know which destiny you were talking about. It's just that I thought about the game immediately after I read your sentence.
5557963 Wow... Is it good?
Also this needs an update.
5558022 I like it
BUT THIS STILL NEEDS UPDATES!
Was very confused by this chapter's title when I saw it in the address bar. /just-roll-with-it/25-whore
Tempora's is the philosophical stance I take when discussing free will in a world where the future is set in stone. I like that you touched up on this; it's very interesting.
What happened just now?
...
...
I'm ok with this... This information 
dosn't faze me...
...
So...
She's a timelord (or time pony). Queen Tempora... is a time lord(pony). QUEEN TEMPORA... is a TIME LORD...
Also... I need to tear into "Tempora's theory" on time. There is NO WAY time is fixed, set in stone. If you know what's going to happen... you can change it. Like... she could kill Discord. It's dark and I'm not suggesting it, but Discord wouldn't be able to grow up, and therefore never turn evil. She also could have done ANYTHING ELSE than be a jerk to him, giving him a villain backstory. She could have... I don't know... tell him she saw a future where he turned evil, and then lied and said: "Then my daughters kill you. So, don't be evil, ok?" Boom! Problem solved! Also, knowing the future is "fixed" would make you look to change it. So... no the future isn't fixed. Also, more proof of this: SHE CAN (Buy some apples!) TIME TRAVEL!!! You can send something into the future, or bring back something that tells the future, and how it happend. Either way: get that information and change the events. Unless she's tried that, I won't expept it.
Ah now that things are back in order and this series of interrelated chapter titles is finished, I can start reading again... or so I thought. That explanation of the fabric of time is complete nonsense and has triggered several major plot holes. First off, how does one explain major choices? Situations in which the actions of one or a small group of individuals will have very different and widespread repercussions. Do they only have free will when it comes to the small stuff? Secondly, and more significantly, events have been changed. Remember Cadance?
This is actually a bit of a deal breaker for me. I don't know yet if I'm done reading this fic for good, but I do know I'm not reading any more today.
5665799 I'm sorry to hear that. I wasn't aware that Tempora's explanation would create plot holes. The way I see it when I was conceiving the idea at least is this: Tempora is able to consolidate free will and fatalism in a weird way. She believes that you still have free will and you still have agency, only events are unavoidable, they are facts set in stone. You can still affect things, perhaps ways they will come about, but in reality what you do cannot change the future, because it is set in stone.
In contrast the conversation was meant to reveal that Harmony cannot see this. It seems paradoxical to suggest that free will and any sort of fatalism can work out at all. Just because Tempora has experienced several things that may have triggered this view on fatalism (and quite possibly reinforced it due to that in the way self-fulfilling prophecies do), doesn't mean it's true.
In either case, what Tempora has neglected to mention when she sees her little tapestry of Time, is that Harmony and Cadance are an outside thread that has woven into their lives. She had directly influenced the function of Time by violating parts of the original design through breaching the 'normal' way things were supposed to be. This was supposed to be explored as well but I thought it would be too much of an info dump to put it in one chapter. Also I was recently warned not to change the tone of the fic too much, because it would turn some readers off.
So in summary, sorry if this chapter gives the wrong impression. I didn't think that I was creating holes, this was meant to show differences of opinions for each character. I thought it fit Tempora's character to believe like she does because her belief blinds her to alternatives and it helps with her selection bias in terms of evidence as well. Convenient forgetting is indeed convenient. If you decide not to continue the story, I completely understand, but I will miss you for it. Thanks for reading!
This is the kind of chapter that brings in all the a-holes who care too much about a certain point or blob of information you bring up. Honestly, Tempora's understanding of Time is not and shouldn't be enough to make someone give up on the story. It's only a small part of a small chapter that doesn't really have to change anything.
So, the future is set in stone. So what? Even if it wasn't, Discord was going to fuck everything up anyway, Luna was going on a 1000 year vacation to the moon anyway, and Cadance is gonna show up eventually because we already know that all of this happened! It isn't a big deal. Grow up, FimFiction users. Please.
Apostrophes don't show in the url, so who're turns into a no-no word
No. Just, no. You do not redirect to a different UNFINISHED story that is required reading in the middle of a story. The gap between chapters 24 and 25 is unjumpable. At least part of what you tore out and put somewhere else is critical to this everything skip. Drastic change in time, setting, mood, and plot and it is just *poof*. Not that you have even finished that tumor for us to actually read it before continuing... or updated it in two years for that matter.