Chapter 14: the Breaking of a Dam
"No."
"No?" Twilight asked, surprised.
"Please no." I corrected myself.
"Why not?"
"Because." Wait a second, that sounds like what any other child would say, elaborate! "Because I'm already academically proficient." I didn't make it all the way to college for nothing!
"Oh really? Would you mind if I put that to the test?" Twilight asked, with a clearly skeptical expression, no doubt taking my prior illiteracy into account.
"Yes! Please, anything but-" I coughed and composed myself. "rather, I would gladly take a test to prove my knowledge, as opposed to going to class."
Twilight pulled a chalkboard into the room with her magic, while Spike retrieved a few comics from the shelves and retreated upstairs. "We are going to start with math. She scribbled on the chalk board some very sloppy- Wait, those are Actual numbers here, arent they?
There were two sets of identical characters; a simple hoof shape, with another over top and at a slight angle, with a simpler curved line and arrow between them. On the end of the equation was a circle with two curved lines orbiting either side of it. "...Uhh," I began, Twilight was halfway through an "Aha!" When I cut her off. "Now you wait! Given the fact that I couldn't read your wierd pony script, what makes you think I can read pony numbers? Could you please just list out the basic ten numbers, zero through nine, and what add, subtract, multiply, and divide look like?"
Twilight mulled it over for a moment, but complied with my requests, drawing fifteen symbols on a separate piece of parchment and passing it over to me, I retrieved a quill from my bags with my now fully regrow horn. "Ah, magic, it's nice to have you in the waking world again... now then!" I quickly scribbled my human numbers next to what I assumed to be the pony equivalent.
The pony One was just a horseshoe shape.
Two was two horseshoe shapes layed over top each other.
Three was also a horseshoe shape, with a line out the bottom and two dots.
Four looked like Spider-Man, or possibly a cat, if I'm being honest.
Five was a minimalistic wing.
Six was two unicorn horns crossed.
Seven was a sprout of some kind.
Eight was a crescent moon.
Nine was a depiction of the sun.
Funnily enough, zero was just zero.
"So then, what you have up on the board is... really? You tried to get me with two plus two? That's four." I dropped the quill in disinterest. "You're going to have to try harder than that."
Twilight proceeded to take me up on my challenge, giving me some tougher, by comparison equations;
9+4=
10+34-3=
2×3=
And lastly, 4+8÷2=
"Those would be; thirteen, forty one, six, and six, wait no, thats wrong, eight. Seriously this is basic math here, I already passed algebra and geometry, which I'm fairly certain they don't teach at the local elementary school." I let my expression turn to one of boredom. Twilight proceeded to test my knowledge in said areas of math, which I also passed.
"Have I proven myself yet?" I asked, passing her my current sheet of questions. She skimmed through them, seemingly disappointed, supprised, and happy at the same time that I was correct in my answers.
"Yes," I pumped a good into the air. "In math, we haven't gone into anything else yet."
"Come on, shouldn't this be enough? Fine, what's next?"
"History." Twilight said, flipping the board over and floating a book off the shelf.
"...horseapples," I muttered. "Wait, can't I be exempt from this one? Since I'm not local and all?"
"The Idahoof mountains are pretty far out there, but they are still part of Equestria, so no." Twilight shot me down, cracking open the textbook.
I tried, I really tried, but despite all of the similarities between good ol' Earth and Equestria, the history was completely different, I didn't even deserve an F for my deplorable performance.
"So what if I don't know the history? That's a good enough reason to stick me in a room with twenty kids for the better part of a say, every day? I could easily learn all that by simply reading the relevant books here." I pointed out, flimsy an argument as it might be.
"Next, Equish." Twilight said, ignoring me. She retrieved another book, flipped through to a random page, and wrote down a word on the board. She repeated the process a few times."Please define these terms."
I passed easily enough on the words I was familiar with, but I only got about half the wierd ones right by guessing, and I only got partial credit for "zephyr field" for saying "it has something to do with the wings."
"Next up, foreign language."
"They teach that at elementary school here? That was middle school at least back home! High school definitely."
"They do, now then," she passed me a book, opened her own and spoke what was, if the cover of my book was anything to go by, "Prench." I checked my letter sheet, not a misreading on my part, and not a typo according to the unicorn mare.
Needless to say, because I took art class rather than a foreign language class for my fine arts credit, I failed.
"Song." Twilight said, changing gears quickly.
"Song? Singing is a required subject in school?" I asked, disbeliveingly.
"Of course it is, why wouldn't it be?"
Now I know your messing with me. regardless I had to participate, if singing a jolly tune would keep me out of gradschool, so be it. It was at this time that my new voice became extremely apparent, not that I had not noticed, it was simply the fact that I could no longer hit the low notes I used to before, and could hit such ridiculously high notes now, that made it so painfully obvious. It was a struggle at first, the singing voice I now possessed kept throwing me off, but after a minute something just clicked and I sang no problem.
"Are you done yet? I would like to be." I was resisting the urge to plead, but I had a sneaking suspicion that the asinine approach I was taking would get me nowhere.
"I am."
"Grea-"
"You didn't pass."
aww for fu-
"While your mathematics abilities a far beyond what we were expecting, you don't know a thing about basic history, your singing did improve after a moment, but it was still pitchy at the opening of the song, you also didnt seem to know any common or popular songs. Your vocabulary is above standard, but you are missing several basic key terms that I know that they should have taught you. All things considered, you still need to go to school." Twilight summed up.
"Oh come on! Is there any particular reason your so hellbent on sending me to school? Why can't I just be taught here, in the library, away from children?" I begged. I honestly have no real problem with school, I might even go so far as to say I enjoyed it, but my time in elementary school was not exactly fun.
"I'm sending you to school so that you can get a proper education. As much fun as it would be to take on a student of my own and teach her everything I know, you need to socialize with fillies and colts your own age," She sighed and put on a gentle smile. "It won't be as bad as you are expecting, I promise, honestly they are just foals, how bad could it be?"
You did not just ask that! How could you be so naive as to ever use that phrase!? "Whenever someone asks that, it always turns out horrible, it's like, the number one thing you do not ask, for fear of the wrath of the universe showing you, exactly how bad it could be."
"Oh please, that is nothing but superstitious nonsense." Twilight waved me off. "Now then, let's make sure you are going to have everything you need for school."
I sighed, dragging my hooves after her. "I am strongly against this."
"Well, I'm sorry to hear that, but it's all been set up by the princess, so you are not working you way out of this."
Really? It's a friggen royal decree that I attend school? "I find it highly doubtful that a pony I have never met would care if one child didn't attend public school, let alone the ruler of the entire country." I complained.
"Don't say that, Princess Celestia cares about all of her ponies." Twilight assured me, filling my saddlebags with school supplies.
"Class, I would like to meet our new transfer student, she came all the way from the Idahoof mountains!" Miss Cheerilee motioned for me to enter the classroom.
I quickly erased all signs of discomfort form my posture and expression. I can't believe they're forcing me to do this... I internally sighed, while standing before the mass of children, most of them looking at me with interest.
"Why don't you go ahead and introduce yourself?" The moderate cerise mare promted.
egh... "Hi, my name is Argent Accord, it's wonderful to meet you all!" I said, fully embracing the child persona.
"Now then class, does anyone have any questions for miss Accord?" A great many hooves went up into the air. "Applebloom." The teacher said, pointing to the familiar face in the crowd.
"What's yer favourite color?"
"French grey." I repeated.
"Oh, me, me!" An orange filly said, shaking her extended forlimb.
"Scootaloo." Cheerilee shifted the class' attention to her.
"What was it like living in the mountains?" she inquired.
"Cold in the winter, hot in the summer, and spring was always late. Other than that, not all that different from here." Exept for the difference in population and what not.
"Sweetie Belle." The earth mare selected.
"Why did you move out here?" the final familiar face asked me.
"I got dragged along." I chuckled at my own stupid joke. "I dont really know why im in Ponyville, but I guess I am sticking around for the foreseeable future." I got a few odd looks for that answer, but Cheerilee moved right along.
"Silver Spoon."
"Why is your mane so messy?" She asked with an unfriendly smile.
"Because I really don't care what it looks like." Both Silver spoon and a magenta filly seemed displeased with my answer.
"Diamond Tiara." Cheerilee called on said magenta pony.
"What is that thing on your head?" She asked, clearly indicating the crystal rooted in my skull.
"Just a unicorn horn."
"No way!" The filly exclaimed disbeliveingly, "I've never seen a unicorn with a horn anything like that!"
"What purpose would lying about this serve me?" I asked her. I pulsed my magic just to prove it, re-ordering all the pieces of chalk on the black board based on length. There were murmurs of awe amongst the non-unicorn population of the class, and looks of bewilderment from the rest.
"Peppermint Twist?"
"Why doeth your horn look like that?" The filly asked with a lisp.
"Complicated and not really sure." I said dismissively.
"Actually, that is a great question Twist. You see, Argent is a very special kind of pony, her horn is completely unique amongst the unicorn population! While she can do everything a normal unicorn can do, her horn is a little more fragile than average, so she has to be careful."
Can this be over? I am getting pretty sick of being the center of attention, I thought, noting the growing sense of vertigo. I waited for the teacher to explain all of my "special rules," Eventually I was given my seat, a corner desk near Sweetie Belle and another unicorn I did not know. Fortunately, class starred with math, and, other than having to translate the symbols in my head, I didn't have to pay any attention to it, so I was allowed to internally sulk at my situation. I wouldn't dare challenge the universe, not again, this is just one thing after another, leading to this crappy outcome... I'm gonna try something when I get back to the library.
Recess was called, something I completely forgot was part of early school scheduling, not wanting to interact with any of these miniature horses, I left the classroom, walked straight over to the tree in the yard, and with a minor application of magic, walked straight up its trunk. I came to rest at the very top of the tree, looking up at the clouds. Dang it... now I miss clouds, the one immediate good point on becoming a pegasus.
"Hey! Argent!" Some filly called up from below, I looked down to them, revealing there identity to be Apple Bloom.
"Yeah?" I said, disinterested.
"You wanna play tag with me and Twist?"
"Yeah, c'mon! It'll be fun!" The light amberish grey filly said beside her.
Once again a sense of nausea cept up on me. "I really don't feel up to it,"I let myself plop down into the leaves. "You two have fun without me."
"But, we thought, y'know, since you're new and all... you would want to make some friends." Apple Bloom said, disheartened.
"...It's not that I don't want to play," I lied, stuffing my now itchy forehoof further into the tree. "I just, am a little worn out, new school and all." A half truth, which didn't seem to bother my hoof any extra.
"Oh, I understand... well, you feel better soon." The two of them walked off.
I feel like I could have handled that better... meh. I can make it up to them later, when I'm done with this sour mood. I concluded, rolling over to stare at the clouds. I saw Rainbow rocket by and deliver a finishing blow to a cloud, along with a few other pegasi, so that was pretty neat. This must be the weather team, eh? Interesting job. So, now that I was staring at a much less crowded sky, I took note of the fact that it didn't hurt to look at the sun, another odd little difference this world held.
"Well well well, if it isn't the new transfer student, what's the matter? Got no friends, little miss wierdo?" Came up from below.
...The hell? More confused than anything, I looked down on the light magenta filly from earlier, accompanied by the filly I believe was Silver Spoon.
"I heard she got kicked out of her old school because she looked So funny." Silver spoon said to the other one, I could not remember her name.
Incorrect, I specifically said I was dragged here. I smiled and snickered at my joke.
"What's so funny?" The magenta earth filly stomped. "Did you hit your head climbing up that tree?"
Are these supposed to be bullies? "Do I know you?" I asked her.
She gasped like I had insulted her family. "You should! I'm Diamond Tiara! Daughter of Filthy Rich!" She screeched.
An interesting name, I assume he is loaded? "I'm sorry I didn't catch that." I layed on the sarcasm thick, my hoof didn't register the lie. Oh! Another loophole! "Well, what ever your name is, you go have fun." I said, putting on the biggest smile I could.
"How dare you! You are going to regret that!" Silver spoon shouted on behalf of her friend.
"Are you going to climb up here and make me?" I asked in a taunting manner. "No, if I'm gauging you about right, you will try to do something more clever, do live up to my expectations, girls." They stomped off in a huff. "Well then..." I said quietly, "rebuffing a pair of bullies' attempts could be interesting."
Cheerilee came out moments later, calling all the students back to school. I floated down to the ground and trotted back to my seat, a note was taped to my desk. It was a little surprising that they were trying this quickly.
Meet us in the bathroom after school or everyone will know!
Is all it said. Know what exactly? "Argent" has no past to exploit, and I find it extreamly doubtful they know anything about me. I laughed, magically pulling all the ink off the piece of paper. Math class was resumed, so I spent my time folding the paper into an origami swan, it didn't look the best, but when I was done with it, I used the magically removed ink to give it eyes and finer detail. After that I pretended to pay attention. The magenta filly and her friend stared daggers at me whenever the teacher had her back turned, I smiled back at them, as was polite to do.
The bell rang for lunch and I quickly ate mine, half a sandwich and some sliced apples. Unfortunately the food did nothing to fill the pit in my stomach. Did I eat something bad? I wondered.
School let out almost immedietly after lunch, something I was not prepared for, but a pleasant surprise non the less. Cheerilee let us know that tomarrow we would be having history class, one I would sadly have to actually pay attention to. I saw a certain pair of fillies make their way to the bathroom together, confirming my suspicions on who left the note. I paid them no mind however, simply glad that this hadn't been a nightmarish experience. I quickly left the school grounds before anything could challenge that, making my way back to Golden Oaks.
"Welcome back Argent, did things go as bad as you thought?" Twilight greeted me in the doorway.
"Against all odds, it wasn't horrible. Here I made a thing." I said, fetching the paper bird I made during class.
"Wow, this looks great!" Twilight said, taking the offered origami object into her magical grasp. "You've got some real talent here." She said, inspecting the thing from several angles.
"Not really no, it just seems like good practice for magic control." I dismissed her praise.
"Do you have any homework?" She inquired, placing the imitation bird onto a shelf.
"Math, do I really have to do this?" I asked, slinging my bags upstairs. "I mean, I'm fairly certain I would learn leagues more from you, here at the library, than at the school."
"Well, I might be able to make a curriculum custom just for you, it would do you good to hang out with fillies and colts your own age."
"Oh, so you are putting me through this for my social life, wonderful." I griped, laying down on the library floor. "I miss clouds..." I mumbled.
"Now Argent, I know it can be hard to make friends at a new place, but you just have to try a little bit, I know that there is at least one filly who would love to be your friend." Twilight attempted to comfort me.
"Yeah, no thanks." I dismissed. "Don't get me wrong, children can be great, but I don't see myself being able to be actual friends with any of them." Because I'm not a kid myself and all... screw it. "hey Twilight?"
"What is it?" She layed down next to me on a cushion.
"You know anything about multiverse theory?" I probed, testing the waters around this subject.
"Oh certainly! Like how there is an infinite number of Equis', and how they can vary from the tiniest detail, to being the complete opposite, is that what you mean?"
"Right. Now as a hypothetical question, would it be possible to, say, travel between two different universes?"
"I believe so, there are stories about the princesses exploring other worlds with the help of spells made by Starswirl the Bearded, why do you ask?"
"Just curious, now lets say that a, pony, got taken from the world he called home, into one where, dragons and ponies switched places. Would the world change that pony into a dragon?"
"That is, well, that is certainly an interesting question. Let me think... Assuming that the forces of harmony in the dragon world were as strong or stronger than the pony world, I suppose it is possible, but it would require that the world interprets the pony's magical signature as a dragon in that world, as well as a rather large amount of magic."
Alright then... so then world travel is possible? "What is a magical signature?"
"It is basically a fingerprint for your magic, and how the world can tell what you are."
"What if, something other than a pony, who came from a world with absolutely no magic at all, accidentally traveled to Equis, would they even have a magic signature?"
Twilight looked taken aback at the concept. "A world without magic? I had never really thought about that..." papers appeared around her. "A world without magic? Hmm."
About the time she started writing things down, I figured out the conversation had died. Well, I learned a few new things today. I left the mare to her Science-ing and went to the shelves. "Now then, to find a reference for magic signatures, and world travel."
Soon after the filly left Twilight, she came out of her theories and took notice. She retrieved the most recent letter she had gotten from Princess Celestia, re reading it's contents.
Dearest Twilight Sparkle
I have my best ponies on the job, but as of yet, no mention of Argent Accord having ever lived in the Idahoof mountains has been found, nor of a filly matching her description.
I implore you to keep this information from her, and keep a watchful eye.
I would like to believe she is telling the truth, but one can not be to careful.Princess Celestia
This, along with her random levels of knowledge, and her questions... It couldnt be, could it?
I put the book back on the shelf. "Well, that right there is a lot to absorb, I did not think there was that much to know about magic signatures. My eyes hurt." I had found three books on magical signatures, but I could not find even a single book on world travel, multiverse theory, dimensional travel, not even any fiction on the subject! I flopped down on a cushion. "Hard to belive Twilight doesn't own at least one copy of everything... Frick I miss clouds, this is becoming a curse." I complained. Curling up on the inferior cushion. I sat there for a while, unsure of what to do with myself. "Might as well get it out of the way." I pulled my bags out from upstairs with mild difficulty, and set about doing my homework. Simple as it was, it was still time filler, even had to do it twice! Because I forgot to use pony numbers in my answers. Glancing outside, I saw that I still had hours before I would even want to go to bed. Plus Night Light might not even be there still. Dreams are just less fun without her. I sighed, scanning the bookshelves for something to occupy my time. "Man, I need to take up a hobby, this sucks." I punched the cushion. Time ticked by, at a snails pace.
"...I wonder if pencils are a thing here?" My thoughts wandered. That magenta filly, what was her name? Was a little annoying, at least school is easy though. Although, I am in friggen elementary school again, which sucks. I miss college, even my crappy room mates, and the parties. I wonder what happened to me back there? Am I dead? Well that's no fun to think about. The room started towering over me. Worried, I quickly got up to find Spike, he is usually good for a hand of cards.
But unfortunetly he was nowhere to be found in Golden Oaks, apparently he went to help out at Rarity's. Twilight was busy pondering a world without magic, apparently, so I was left with nothing to do. "Hmmm, maybe I could wander around town? But meh, I really don't want to go outside... I wonder if magic tv is a thing?" I banished the thought from my mind, given how it went the last time, I had no desire to let my thoughts wander. I went upstairs and paced about the loft, mulling over what I read on magical signatures. "I wonder, what exactly mine says?" I turned my magic vision on myself, then applied the spell that those books referenced. It took a moment to come into view, but when it did I was given two lists, in comprihensable english no less!
One was the long version, and I could not find the bottom of the list. So I opted to check the short version.
Argent Accord.
Female.
Age: eight.
Tribe: unstable, unicorn.
Okay then, it is nice to know what age I am supposed to be, but otherwise, that is all stuff I all ready knew, but does this mean that the world actually thinks Argent Accord is my name? I can't tell if that is a good thing or not. On one hand, it means people can't call me out on it being a fake name I guess, but on the other hand, does that mean Peter isn't my name anymore? That doesn't feel fair. I felt my stomach twist at the possibility of my losing yet another thing that made me who I am.
"My name is Peter Westmoore," I said quietly, it didn't irritate my hoof, like most lies I said aloud did anymore. But does that mean I simply believe it, or is it still true? Wonderful! On top of everything that I've been forced into, now I have nominally brought on an identity crisis! I spiralled downward. Oh, just perfect, that is exactly what I needed...
I paced harder, ignoring the discomfort mounting in my stomach. let's check the list, shall we? Ripped from everything I thought familiar, from the world in which I reside, down to my own body and gender? Check! Regressed in age to the point of being forced through school? Check! My very name might not be my name anymore, and there is nothing I can do about it? Check! I could very well be dead back home? Check! I was panting at this point. I mean what the hell!? Why in the name of all that is good do I have to go through all this horse shit? I stumbled and fell onto the hard ground, my insides in knots, I had broken into a sweat. "Why!? Why me!? What did I do?! Why? why? Why?why? Why..." my vision blurred with tears, and I shook, suddenly feeling very cold. "What the hell did I do?" I wept, laying on the floor, feeling isolated, until I felt my stomach lurch, I quickly stumbled to the bathroom, heaving over the toilet. My breathing was ragged quick gasps, tears streaming down my face. "I just wanna go home..."
Welp, there you go! Argent/Peter finally had that breakdown that they've been shelving for later, Yay! To bad I don't really know how to write one, as I have never experienced one myself. I can't wait to see what happens next, cause I have no idea, the characters have run away with my story.
For those of you who are wondering, this is my version of pony numbers
And then Zero is just Zero, no fancy symbol required.
Now then, some of you have been complaining about the fact that Argent/Peter still hasn't told anyone about their origins, to this i say, I'm sorry that you find this section of the story so unenjoyable, and if you aren't willing to be patient for a few more chapters, that s fine, I'm sure that there is plenty of Fic's on this site that you will enjoy. Now then, onto the issue, I have a time line, a time line that is greatly flexable, but there are still certain events that I still do not want to move, in relation to the show's timeline. I've all ready got bits of season two planned out, and I plan to take this story all the way through season nine, so this will be a multi year project. I have been putting off a certain episode, accidentally, and will try to push that one forward, but in the mean time, the next chapter has plenty of Luna shenanigans for you, and someone being truthfull.
I hope this explains why things seem so slow, and that I can continue to write how the story wants me to.
See you in the next chapter.
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Honestly im glad he hasn't told anyone yet. Until now who the hell would even believe him?
Wonder if being between two unicorns shielded her or if her body didn’t adapt because she was in a mixture of magic rather than isolated with one particular type.
She really should take a moment to be grateful that the numbers are in base 10 and not a multiple of 4.
Math the universal language~
I haven't done math in a few years, but if I remember well, the answer for 4+8/2 would be 8, not 6, because you must calculate 8/2 before adding 4, unless it was (4+8)/2, then yes, the answer would be 6. Divisions and multiplications are always calculated before additions and substractions.
I say continue the story as you'd like to author, it's your story so you have the plan for how things unfold or maybe you don't have a plan and the story just turns out the way it does naturally? regardless, I'm enjoying the pace and content so I'm happy with however you think the story should progress!
9734619
Yup. Order of operations! But Twilight might have accepted it because this is a notational issue and where he came from it could have been chosen differently.
Also, those digits are really busy. Less lines would be much faster...
"Now then, some of you have been complaining about the fact that Argent/Peter still hasn't told anyone about their origins, to this i say, I'm sorry that you find this section of the story so unenjoyable, and if you aren't willing to be patient for a few more chapters, that s fine, I'm sure that there is plenty of Fic's on this site that you will enjoy."
I have no complaints about that; my one complaint is Peter not taking her 'element swings' with more gravity. But then it's not like she can do anything about it, right?
In fact i am actually happy; i see too many authors buckle and fix their stories. By then though, it's not really thier story anymore. You can tell something is lost after the fact. This is one big disadvantage over a physical book; the readers can bother you directly to change things. Keep marching to your own drum, whether i like it or not i wish to read your end to your book.
I hope he will deal with Diamond "B*tch" Tiara like an adult which he is i side.
In his/her place I would just abuse my unicorns magic. XD But I am an asshole who hate children-bullies... especially those little bastards who broke glass in my window two years ago, if their father wasn't an half- high orc I would do something else than taking their ball away. Which I had to give back when he appeared. Luckily I didn't piss myself... But like I said, a f*cking half-orc!
The pacing and plot of the story are great, the only problem i have is pedantic. Numbers are meant ti be incredibly simple and repeatable. Say you have to write down 999,999, in this world that would be drawing 6 circles surrounded by 5 lines each or 36 separate hoof/horn movements. Before Arabic numerals there would be languages that would make 9 marks for each digit of that but Equestria already seems to have basic algebra and would have developed simpler systems.
See, pedantic.
VERY IMPORTANT EDIT: So, since I don't like deleting stuff I'll keep all of the old post here (basically everything after the dividing line), but I wanted to address anyone who sees this post and tell you that a lot of the criticism in the old part of this comment doesn't actually apply due to stuff that happens in the latter half of this chapter. Now, I still hold the opinion that his actions in the first half (up to the school section) don't make a lot of sense, and I still feel like his questioning and actions in the latter half are still just a tad too needlessly ambiguous, but all in all a lot of my criticism did end up being addressed in a well-written, well-characterized manner. I also find it incredibly reassuring that unlike earlier, the elements were no longer preventing him from saying his name and that sort of thing, even if that does make me question the inconsistency.
So, again, just be sure to keep all of that in mind when reading the old comment.
--------------------------------
I stopped after the 'quiz' section.
*Shakes from apoplectic rage and frustration*
...One more for good measure...
He came so close with the math, but he still just utterly fails at the most basic of ideas. Why can't he just explain?!
Explain That your math is so advanced because you're an adult and went through higher education in a world which is clearly more advanced and scientific than Equestria to the point where you could probably advance their just recently discovered fields of science with some of what you learned in college.
Explain That you obviously failed most of the history portion and those other portions because you are not, in fact, a pony.
Explain That some form of magic altered your body and gender.
Explain That there is some form of magic currently tampering with your behavior and mind as has been hinted at and as Twilight herself has clearly started to notice.
Explain That the last thing you want to do is spend all day in an environment full of ponies around your body's current age when there is clearly something wrong going on and the last thing you want to do is be in an environment that might very well reinforce and enable the weird alterations going on to you.
Explain That not only are you not a pony but also not from that world. Tell her some of the history and knowledge of our world. Have her ask if that sort of dimensional magic and travel is possible (where she will immediately go to Celestia who will show that it isn't just possible but has already been done!).
Just EXPLAIN!!!
I'm trying, Carmine. I'm really, really trying to get invested in this interesting character going through this struggle. I'm trying to stay invested in Peter. I'm trying to enjoy this well written story with great spelling and grammar and structure and equally lovely characterization. I'm desperately trying, but you are making it harder and harder. I told you in the last chapter that simple lampshading and other such half-measured excuses just don't cut it for more than a short period of time. When I saw the name of the chapter I was ecstatic that finally he was going to talk and get proper help while still being able to make friends and learn the new culture. But you're doing the exact same thing with having Peter just barely explain enough to just barely hint that something might possibly be odd if you squint and pay close attention, but it's not enough.
I just don't know how much more I can read of this. I'll keep on with the chapter now, but honestly? I'm genuinely not expecting anything different to happen after the quiz section with Twilight.
Those new math symbols suck
Oh my god it happened. He actually did it! Oh man I thought for sure nothing was going to change after that first part of the chapter but then we get the bombshells and the proper introspection! The dam did break at the end! Finally!
I have been waiting sooooo many chapters for this to finally happen. Now they can actually get truly and properly introduced to each other and start figuring out what's going on!
...Now then, on a completely unrelated note...
Sorry, couldn't resist.
Shouldn't the last one be 8 tho...?
Coz, you know, dividing comes before addition.
you got the wrong answer, the correct answer would be 8, not 6 (you forgot to use the correct order of operations, you first divide, then multiply and finally you substract or add)
I am Argent in this scene... I think we are all Argent in this scene
...where would you even have heard that
You, Twilight Sparkle, have no right to talk about trying hard to make friends in a new place, since your friends practically threw themselves at you, they were the ones who did all the work to become friends with you, you just accepted their friendship
Because a vain attempt by a certain alicorn to not get hit by the friendship laser
And I just realized that there is the possibility of Luna remembering that she was the one who pulled Argent from her world and into this one, and that she is currently going through a bit of depression and is avoiding Argent because of it
Oof, those symbols would absolutely suck for higher level math.
Though that could explain equestrias tech level.
Thanks for the update!!
I'm seriously loving this
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Immediately went to the comments when I read that. Thank you, Ctrl+F, for saving me extra effort.
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I didn't think he was even aware they were happening actually lol
Really?
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Okay, I get it everyone, I messed up!
I ain't no math wiz, haven't had to actually do math for years now, so I just went in order from left to right, I'll go fix this now.
Thank you all for pointing this out, as I had run this through a calculator and thought I was correct.
Poor Peter
OMG! Argent just mastered the Tree Climbing Jutsu!
Elementary blackmail note. Looks like it is a standard form in every world.
Don't worry, be happy... You have your pace, you should not rush because some don't have patience, poor Argent is going to have more headaches, too bad that she can't say that half of the question in history is "It's thanks to Princess Celestia"
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As a tip if you're using the calculator that comes with the computer or whatever you have, the standard mode is utter garbage. There's a button beside where it says Standard in the top left, and if you select that and choose scientific instead of standard it'll take care of all of that for you.
So it shows 6 in standard (because it doesn't complete it in the right order but just goes left to right), but it shows 8 when you select scientific (because it does the proper order). Just a little tip for you.
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Agreed. I find it hard to believe the number system would be so complex to draw.
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For me, it would sound more believable if they have something similar to Roman numerals. Heck, I am not even gonna question if the author decide to adopt Roman numerals into his Equestria.
Nonetheless, this is the author's story, so I won't bother much about what kind of system he want to invent for his story. As long as it won't become something of an issue later on.
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Could be patterned after Ethiopian numerals...here?
IDK but there are some systems that make me glad for "Arabic" number characters. Roman numerals would just be a pain. Royal pain.
FINGERPRINT.
The numbers actually seem reasonable, a hair complicated but well within the range of what is in real world usage.
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c0/Numeral_Systems_of_the_World.svg/200px-Numeral_Systems_of_the_World.svg.png
As far as telling Twilight the truth of his origins, I've noticed many stories of this format tend to suffer from "no one believes the protagonist is an adult" syndrome, even when the character gives overwhelming evidence. Hard pitfall to avoid as it an easy way for the author to generate conflict with the situation and it is rarely handled well. You do have some in story reasons why he hasn't pushed strongly for this, but it can end up dragging down the story if left too long. I would love to see the characters act in a rational manner like adults, and suggesting it such that Twilight comes up to that conclusion on her own, especially if he is impaired in his ability to state that plainly, is a clever approach.
I do have to say, this story is truly taking a magnificent shape. With the direction this HiE plot is going, I can’t wait for the next update!
You said you don’t know what to do with some chapters; try giving Spike the day off with Argent being the assistant for the day or something or see if Pinkie knows who Argent is, since she normally knows what’s going on, by having him accidentally slip up to far to find an excuse, but if you don’t want any pony else to find out just have Pinkie Pinkie promise not to tell any pony before he explains.
i like this story man nice i like where it seem to be going man keep it up
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Cripes that would take the mouth of an artist
I'm bout ready to fight over those numbers and operation symbols.
Why would people complain about Argant not telling about her origins (calling protagonist her seems appropriate now)? I think too many fics jump into that far too often nowadays.
This is why I actually like this story. Argent isn't dumb as a rock. A HIE telling their origin is the stupidest thing you could do in that situation. It irks me to no end when the character just starts running their mouth about being an alien life form. If you really want a realistic idea of what would happen to you, read the story. "Celestia's Prophet by Aegis Shield" In short, you would NEVER be seen again.
Sadly its so common that its almost a meme. I for one would like to see Authors stop this. Its really unnecessary and does nothing to affect the story, one way or the other. Its like Waking up in the Everfree and instantly being attacked by Timberwolves/Manticore. Its been done multiple thousands of times on this site. Really, whats the point? Doing something different is not that difficult. I personally can't understand why so many readers WANT to read stories that are so similar to each other. When I find a story that is truly different, I get excited to read it.
So far I'm at this point in the story and I have to say it is very well done. I truly look forward to seeing where your going to take this.
The Monk
“To say that Twilight Sparkle went bugfuck would be like saying the Incredible Hulk had some mild anger management issues.” -DustTraveller
While the numbers are a lot more aesthetically pleasing than ours, and even make sense from a cultural perspective, it is highly likely that the ones you provided would be the ancient iteration, and that centuries of writing them down would eventually cause them to be simplified for speed and ease of writing.
Unless those originated from the Unicorn tribe before the unification, and the unification itself was closer than most timelines associate it with. Or if movable type was invented soon after the system was created.
Or I guess if calligraphy was a cultural thing.
Never mind, I'll just stop now.
(The only problem numbers are six and nine, really.)
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Pah! Base 6 is where it's at!
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This. Some users recently tried spitting at us when we suggested that perhaps it wasn't the best idea for the three humans-turned-equid to blatantly reject their equinity as verbally and physically as possible right off the bat.
Oh, Twilight. Your ignorance of good ol Murphy's law has, and will, come to haunt you. It's kinda like this;
The thing about not revealing a human-turned-pony to the rest of Equestria is that there needs to be a reason for it. I'm fine with it either way, and in this instance it would make sense for Argent/Peter to keep it hidden, for fear of what might happen if Twilight were to find out. I've read other stories where there was no reason to keep it hidden (my story being one of them), and it worked out fine. It depends entirely on the circumstances that the human/pony finds themselves in.
And having heard that, Argent can pretty much conclude that school will be becoming a Silent Hill crossover today.
That's so cool! I love it!
This line is proof that Twilight hasn't lived in Ponyville all that long yet
Starting to wonder how she'll react when she finds out how she got here and who's responsible
No, you were right the first time. 4+8=12/2=6.
Ill never weight numbers if I had to Wright that no offence thow
I don’t really mind the not telling anyone her origins thing, that’s fine, I’m just more annoyed with the forced to go to school again angle. I feel like it’s kind of overt done with many similar fictions.