Group Precipitation

by FanOfMostEverything

Recursive Analysis, by FoME

Sunset was smarter than she looked, which was saying something. At her highest level, she comprehended all the truths of physical reality at the same instinctive level as a child running the calculus needed to predict a ball’s path in order to catch it. Even the avatar she used to maintain her humanity had a general idea of where the current model diverged from the real thing, to say nothing of those terrifying first few minutes where the real thing had been ever more rapidly diverging from its own stable behavior.

Of course, understanding the true nature of dark energy and quantum gravity on such an intrinsic level made it difficult to put it into words, to say nothing of how Twilight never would have forgiven her if she just handed the knowledge down from on high without letting humanity discover it for themselves. The scientific community wouldn’t accept it even if she did; not-quite-divine revelation was right up there with “Dude, trust me” in terms of reliable, reproducible sources.

That also didn’t mean Sunset was omniscient. There was a lot more to know than the dances of galaxies and electrons: The nature of the Fae, the stubborn minds of her worshipers, what to get Twilight for Hearts in Hands Day, and more besides.

Today, she had come back to one particular irritant that had been lodged in her throats since her audience with the Tree of Harmony, the idea that the world was “intended” to have been so low-magic as to be mistaken for not having any at all, save for key “necessities.” She hadn’t had time to dig into that with the Tree back when the world had been less than an hour away from total collapse, but now she could at least try to explore the concept.

Thus an extension of Sunset sat in the still violently orange Astral Plane, on a comfortable if unpronounceable recliner, focusing on that mystery and a single goal: Finding the son of a mule who was responsible for the decisions she’d had to revise.

Sure, it wasn’t the most enlightened approach to the problem, but if the Shimmerists got a higher power to turn to, then it was only fair that she get someone to blame.

A rectangular window into the material world opened before her, and Sunset peered deep into the truth.

---

Two unicorn aspects sat facing one another, spells and summoned creatures scattered between them in inscrutable, arcane arrangements. One scowled. The other assessed the situation with apparent calm, belied only by his leg shaking under the table.

He turned several cards sideways. “And that’s eight in the air,” he said, his skin and hair oddly reminiscent of Snails if one ignored the age, glasses, and handlebar mustache. “Responses?”

Shining Armor threw down his hand of Hocus Pocus: the Get-Together cards in frustration. “One day. One day I will defeat you.”

That got a shrug. “It’s just a game, Shining. Good match.” The man extended his hand.

Shining sighed and shook it. “Yeah, yeah. Good match, Thought Bubble.”

---

The window snapped shut, and Sunset Shimmer, Catalyst of Harmony, soul of the universe, goddess in denial, frowned and leaned back in her chair.

“I don’t get it.”

Author's Note:

Shameless self-insert go!

Comments

[darkszero]

I love the chapter name.

[Stahlseele]

Recursive Analysis

In Laymans Terms:
"Run that by me again?"

[Thought Prism]

This got a chuckle out of me.

[TheGJ90]

So, the Human world was originally meant to allow such small things as... card battle games?

[Speckle]

"GLOMPS"

[FredMSloniker]

Well, we all knew this god didn't play dice with the universe...

[Eroraf86]

11841555
I was quoting from the end of Last Crusade. I'm well aware of that.

[Herald of Opera]

Sounds about right. Looking for the supreme being and getting misdirected to the author's closest in-universe counterpart. At least Thought Bubble may be sufficiently into metafiction to explain the probable joke if actually asked.

[A.P.O.N.I.]

11857569
Thank you for spelling that out for me.