Pandemic: Starting Over

by Halira

Chapter 61: Two Jobs Declined

Twilight saying hello to Jess was a lost cause. Magical exhaustion was no joke, and Jess wasn't going to be roused for hours yet.

Devon had apparently given Silvia a good dressing down for allowing Jess to do that to herself because now Silvia was miffed. But I couldn't tell if she was upset at Devon, Jess, or herself. It could be all three. Regardless, Silvia had removed herself from most of the others and was now hanging out with Malcomb as he did some yard work. It figured she would retreat to the company of one of her tribe when upset. Crystal ponies, like night ponies, tended to try to congregate with other members of their tribe whenever possible. No one wanted to feel alone in a crowd.

Twilight took her time with her visit. She spoke briefly with Trixie, although the conversation didn't last long. The two were friends, but they weren't close ones, and I got the distinct impression the two of them both knew they could only deal with so much of each other in a single meeting before the other came to annoy them. Their friendship may have been the result of their shared friendship with Starlight, and without her presence at the moment, they had little to bond over.

The alicorn told Wild to hang around for a little bit so that they could discuss Bursa. Wild may have been a busy mare, but she wasn't going to turn down a meeting with a Princess of Equestria wanting to discuss one of her most urgent concerns. Wild did excuse herself to go outside to the far side of the yard, with Number in tow, where they made phone calls to adjust schedules, and Wild smoked that filthy pipe of hers while Number had her cigarette. Disgusting habits, but at least they were considerate enough to keep them well away from everyone else. This was bonding time for the two unlikely best friends, and I couldn't begrudge it to them.

Twilight walked around, greeting people, asking them how they were doing, making general small talk, and I followed her around because what else was I supposed to do?

Eventually, she was able to disengage herself from the others and join me on the third floor to investigate the mysterious barking room.

"You said Jess exhausted herself trying to hear into this room with her powers?" Twilight asked as she looked the room over, horn lit.

I nodded from where I was standing in the doorway. "Yeah, and Starlight checked the room over thoroughly, as well as Silvia."

Twilight frowned and kept doing her magical scan of the room. "And the barking only happens when only one person or no one is standing in the hall?"

"That's correct."

She walked in a circle around the room, feeling it out. She then looked at me with a puzzled expression. "Do you mind stepping out of the doorway? I think I noticed something Starlight missed."

"Okay," I stepped aside, just outside the door.

Twilight walked out of the room, horn still lit and her eyes on the floor. She kept walking down the hall until she had reached the staircase. She took one step forward at that point, stopped, took a step back, then advanced another step. She then took a half step back and stared straight down.

"The energy isn't moving as fast as in the room, but it is still moving at a higher rate along the floor up to this point," she explained. "Can I check each of the rooms?"

"Knock yourself out," I replied, then winced with a nervous chuckle. "Bad phrasing, considering what happened to Jess."

She headed back down the hall, still looking at the floor. "It's a shame she exhausted herself. I would have liked to know if the floor was giving any similar interaction with her powers," the alicorn said absently. She opened the first bedroom door and stepped just inside, only to immediately step out again. She closed the door and went to the next room, repeating the same actions, and continued till she did every room in the hall.

"It doesn't extend into any room," Twilight announced.

"So… is it like a mechanism for recognizing someone is in the hall?" I asked as I looked around. "And if that is so, this is seeming deliberate, but to what purpose, and who would have done it, and when? This place should have been abandoned since ETS years ago."

"I don't know. I'm still not detecting any spells," Twilight said as she looked around. "The energy moving faster shouldn't be able to operate in any controlled way, not without a spell, but there's no trace of one."

"I think the thaumic energy moving faster would be the trace in itself," I replied. "Could it be a result of someone erasing the evidence?"

Twilight chewed on her lip. "That's a possibility. I've never seen it done like that, but I've learned not to underestimate anything the ponies on this planet can come up with—or humans since human magic is so unpredictable." She looked back at the still silent barking room. "But erasing what, and to what purpose? I can't say that is what it is because nothing seems to line up."

"Can we at least assume active agency?" I asked. "Someone is doing something, even if we can't see the purpose."

Twilight nodded. "Yes. This doesn't feel like a random anomaly or accident of nature. It does feel deliberate, but I'm as confused as you about what the meaning is. Let's conduct the next logical experiment."

"We try to trigger the barking?" I asked.

"Yes," Twilight confirmed. "We know the range of this, so the first thing is for both of us to stand just outside the range. Maybe give it a little more distance than that, to be safe."

And so we stood at the beginning of the hall. This triggered nothing. We then tried standing in the staircase, going to the rooms, having just one of us stand within the impacted area, rotated this, and even tried talking to the room. Absolutely nothing we tried got the room to start barking. You would think a room could be more cooperative.

"Could it be triggered by a time of day?" Twilight asked.

"I don't think so," I answered. "It has come up at completely different times. I would need to get more data to determine if there is any pattern that isn't immediately obvious."

Sapphire came flying up the staircase and landed behind us. "Sorry to interrupt, Twilight, but the ponies downstairs wanted you to know the kids heard barking outside. I looked around, but I didn't see any dogs. Seemed relevant to your investigation."

My ears flattened. "Great, it isn't just in one place. While we were hunting for the cause here, it was active outside."

"Or it was deliberately moved," Twilight said gravely. "Let's go check it out."

Sapphire flicked an ear. "And Wild wants to know what's taking so long. She's harping about her schedule, and I’m reasonably sure she was cursing about it in Spanish."

It was Twilight's turn to flatten her ears. "I suppose I did get a little carried away trying to figure out what this magic is. I’ll go speak with her before figuring out how it moved."

"I'll check out the barking," I said quickly. "I was watching what you were doing and can replicate how you were testing. It didn't seem to require much power."

Twilight raised an eyebrow at me. "I forgot how quickly you pick up spells. The school in Canterlot would certainly love to have you as a professor if you're ever in need of a career. You wouldn't have to worry as much about your notoriety getting in the way there since most ponies don't keep up with the details of Earth's current events, and I could pull some strings to make it happen. You and the foals would be welcome in Equestria."

I frowned, noticing Sapphire’s sideways glance at the purple alicorn. "Thank you for the offer. While there is a certain appeal in getting away from everything, I'm not leaving my wife or taking the foals from their mother."

Her ears completely pinned back. "I'm so sorry. I didn't even think about—"

"It's okay," I interrupted. "It isn't anything anyone would normally think about. Again, thank you for your kind offer, but I must decline."

Twilight nodded, then turned to Sapphire. "We'll be out in a moment. I need to talk to Sunset about one last thing before I leave her, in private."

Sapphire stepped back. "Sure thing. Just don't get distracted again."

The pegasus left, and I watched as Twilight cocked an ear to make sure she was out of hearing range. I expected the smug featherbrain to try and eavesdrop, but Twilight didn’t share my suspicions as she turned to me and gave me a serious look.

"I was told by Starlight and some agents of the government that your magic is getting stronger."

"It's not," I said firmly. "I don't know why everyone thinks that."

She gave me a long look. "It is unlikely that multiple independent sources would all be reporting the same thing if nothing was happening. I may have an answer for why it is happening, and that's why I need to speak with you now."

"What is your theory?" I asked, still not willing to accept that it was happening.

Twilight sat down and sighed. "My aunt did a great deal of study about how to make Celestia more powerful. Her entire focus was on trying to strengthen Equestria's defense against any enemy. That is what led her to her plans here, but before those plans, she investigated the strength of faith."

"I'm becoming stronger because I'm pious?" I asked in astonished disbelief. "That's a load of horseshit."

"No, no, no, not your faith, the faith that others have for you," Twilight clarified. "These Blessingists are a rapidly growing group, and while not all of them have the same devoted fervor about you as the rest, there are quite a few that believe you to be capable of extraordinary things—enough that their faith in your power is actually increasing it."

I stared at her. "Are you telling me this because you are afraid I will figure it out on my own and take advantage of it?"

Twilight looked like she wanted to answer but kept thinking of the wrong word before finally blurting out, "Partially," the alicorn admitted. "You’ve changed course more than once in your life. That's why I needed to discuss the peril that you could cause if you, for some reason, consider taking advantage of this new following. My aunt considered cultivating such faith among the ponies here and had speculated that it could lead to her ascension to alicornhood. I don't know if that would have worked or not. It is not my understanding of how ascension works, but it can't be immediately dismissed as a fantasy. It bothers me because the implications, if true, mean that anyone, regardless of their real qualifications, can ascend with enough faith, at least past the first threshold. I can't believe it would get anyone further than that, but that is far enough to cause political and social unrest."

I stepped back, shaking my head. "I could never… Me? An alicorn? That’s insanity!"

"No offense meant to you, but I don't have any desire to see that happening either," Twilight said in a low voice. "I believed there was some possibility you might foster the Blessingists to grow your power, not knowing what it could lead to. Again, I'm not entirely sure it can happen, but I'm confident you will take my warnings seriously. You've always tried to maintain stability and order, and I trust you not to do something to disrupt that."

I flicked my tail. "Well, it still sounds like bologna to me, but I have no intention of involving myself with the Blessingists. I'm not anyone's messiah. If I ignore them long enough, they'll figure out I'm not all that and find someone else to look up to."

Twilight smiled. "Good. Just don't let anyone talk you into it. That's the last thing I needed to warn you about. Triss is still trying to get an ascended being. You aren't the only possibility on her list, but it's been confirmed by multiple sources that you're definitely on her list of people she's going to try and be in contact with."

“How long is this list?” I asked without thinking, just to satisfy my curiosity, of course.

"I can’t say," Twilight confessed. "Wild Growth is on the list, but she is thankfully adamantly opposed to becoming an alicorn, even after rightfully earning it. Other than that, I don't want to go into names I know or suspect too much. I decided only to worry about it when and if I see a possible path to it, whether a likely one or not. If this were Equestria, I wouldn't be trying to intervene, but Earth is not ready for an alicorn."

"It seems like that ancient alien is trying to destabilize our planet," I said gravely.

Twilight sighed again. "Attempt not to see her as an enemy. You have to understand things from her perspective. She has watched an unfathomable number of civilizations be destroyed by the Devourers. She will certainly try to help us, but she doesn’t like our chances and believes having more ascended beings will better them, even if it’s really so she won't be alone if we fail. Whatever chaos she might cause as a result she sees as a worthwhile sacrifice to have saved someone… anyone from the Devourers. I don't know how she has stayed this sane."

"I know I'm not qualified to be an alicorn, so don't worry about me. I'll rebuff any attempt she makes with me," I assured the alicorn.

Twilight frowned again. "I would not completely disregard Triss. She could have valuable lessons to teach. She is also the one who most strongly advocated for your release from prison. The Dreamwardens have agreed to let her teach, provided she doesn't bring up ascension, so she may attempt to contact you via dream. I would let her speak, but be cautious."

I recalled her attempting to speak with me during the Dreamwardens' intervention. They refused her advances, but only for the time being. Tonya had initially been open to the idea of Triss speaking to me before my daughter and Psychic Calm had said I wasn't in a good mental state for it, and Yinyu had begrudgingly been open about it up until that point.

"I'll keep that in mind if and when it comes up," I said as I moved to go. "Let's get going before Wild starts screaming at me or that barking moves again."

"I don't think she'd scream at us," Twilight replied as she joined me.

"No, she wouldn't scream at you. She likes and respects you. She'd scream at me," I said with a grunt. "Let's get out there quick so I can save my eardrums."

Comments

[harts fire]

the fact that Sunset flat is apposed to being alicorn is the reason she would be good at it.

[Lawra]

10744236
A reluctant hero trope isn't supposed to be applied to everyone who doesn't want a job, they're the exceptions not the rule. Sunset can barely handle the pressure right now, when she had power she squandered it, and it led to a catastrophe. Most of the time, people who say they aren't good for a job, aren't good for a job. Last thing this verse needs is another Joss.