Chapter 5: Restarting the March of Reason
The library was a treehouse. Not a house held aloft by a tree. The library was housed within a tree.
Knock, knock, knock.
Silver Wing wondered if magic kept the tree alive. Or if trees here were incredibly robust. But wouldn't bugs get into the books? Maybe it was all just aesthetic, an incredibly realistic fake tree.
"Twilight! Somepony's at the door!"
"Tell them the library's closed!"
Listed next to the door were the library's hours. It was, indeed, closed.
The fact that these ponies spoke the same language (English), had the same alphabet (Roman), used the same numbers (base ten, Arabic numerals), and tracked time with the exact same system (7-day weeks with the same names for each day, Monday through Sunday) only now raised some major red flags to Silver's Inner Critic.
So far, he'd taken for granted that he could understand talking ponies; or rather, he'd had other priorities, like food and shelter. The back of his mind had noticed the problem, posited the theory that the Mirror had simply granted them the ability to comprehend pony language, then went on to think about more important things.
But this single chart argued against that theory. No way an independent culture would develop exactly the same number system and time system and alphabet as the ones used back home. This warranted investigation.
The door opened.
"Sorry," said the green lizard who had noticed their invisible forms earlier in the day. "Library's *gasp*!" SLAM! "Twilight! It's a bat pony!"
"A what?"
"A bat pony! You know? Bat wings and sharp teeth? Think it's here to eat us?"
"SPIKE! That's very rude! They're called thestrals, not bat ponies!"
Silver Wing and Mystery Book exchanged glances. So he was a thestral after all. Or this universe's version of one.
After a moment of waiting, the door cracked open, revealing a purple pony. "I'm terribly sorry about that," said she. "He's still young."
And unless that "young" lizard had seen death and comprehended it, which was unlikely, thestrals here aren't invisible to the unknowing.
"It's quite alright," said Mr. Book. "Do you mind if we enter?"
"I'm sorry, but the library's closed."
Another exchange of glances. A tilt of a grey head. Silver took that to mean he should take the lead.
"So Pinkie Pie didn't tell you she told us to come here?"
The purple pony's eyes widened, then narrowed. "Pinkie Pie." She put her hoof to her forehead. "I should have known." She removed the hoof. "No, she didn't tell me, and I have no idea why she would tell you to come here. Not unless you two happen to be the world's best scholars who know everything there is to know about the history of Eqestria."
"We are not historians," replied Mr. Book. "But we are adept scholars."
"You are?"
Both nodded.
"I'm Silver Wing," said the white pegasus. "I'm still a student, but I'm good at research."
"I'm Mystery Book," said the dark thestral. "His mentor."
The purple pony looked between the two for a moment. She glanced around, as if to make sure no one was looking, then whispered, "Get inside. Quick!"
Soon enough, they stood in an open space surrounded by books and oaken walls.
"What's going on?" asked Silver Wing. "The whole town is ready to celebrate, but you seem... um..." He looked at the pony's frizzled hair, baggy eyes, and nervous demeanor. "Tense."
"Something's very wrong," said the purple pony, then paused. "I'm Twilight Sparkle, by the way."
"What sort of problem requires a historian to solve, Ms. Sparkle?"
And her suppressed tension was released all at once in an explosion of a sentence. "If my research is correct, Nightmare Moon is about to escape her prison and nopony believes me!"
"Explain," Mr. Book commanded.
She did.
Apparently, a pony named Nightmare Moon was destined to return, and that pony sought to throw the entire country into Eternal Night.
"How did you come to believe this, Ms. Sparkle?" Mr. Book asked when Twilight's frantic and fantastic fable came to an end.
Twilight's horn glowed. "I learned about it two days ago. Here." Purple magic picked up a book labeled Predictions and Prophecies from a table overflowing with other books. "And this one too." A different tome, this one titled The Mare in the Moon, floated forward.
Mr. Book began quoting aloud. "If you sing every night for a thousand years, your song will reach the lost Lullaymoon, through the void of space and the flow of time-"
"Oh!" Twilight interrupted. "Sorry, it's the next prophecy down."
Mr. book frowned. "I see," he said in a neutral tone of voice after reading the prophecy highlighted by Twilight's magic. To himself this time, not aloud. "Mr. Silver?"
"Once upon a time," said Silver, reading from The Mare in the Moon. "In the magical land of Equestria, there were two regal sisters who ruled together and created harmony for all the land. The eldest used her unicorn powers to raise... the sun... at dawn... excuse me, is this a joke?"
"What?" asked Twilight. "Why would it be?"
"Oh, maybe because the sun weighs two nonillion-"
"Ahem," said Mr. Book, cutting Silver's sarcasm short. "Mr. Silver, I think you should remember where we are, recall what you think you know, and recollect how you think you know it."
That made his brain stop short.
Right.
New universe, possibly new rules.
Silver Wing and Mystery Book locked gazes for a moment. Silver broke the stare.
"Fine."
The book could be a blatant lie. But if it's not, if the rules of the universe had suddenly changed, he would simply re-learn them.
The march of reason continues.
Moving the sun might be possible, even assuming the physical laws were the same. He'd never estimated the upper bounds of magical power, but if magic could create alternate universes (thanks for that by the way, Mirror), magic might be able to move stars.
Or perhaps this princess influenced the planet's rotation, not the sun itself. That would allow her to seemingly "move" the sun in real time, without the delay that would come from moving an object light-minutes away. Or maybe it was something else entirely. He could figure it out later.
For now...
"The eldest used her unicorn powers to raise the sun at dawn and the younger brought out the moon to begin the night. Thus the two sisters maintained balance for their kingdom and their subjects, all the different types of ponies. But as time went on, the younger sister became resentful. The ponies relished and played in the day her elder sister brought forth, but shunned and slept through her beautiful night. One fateful day, the younger unicorn refused to lower the moon to make way for the dawn. The elder sister tried to reason with her, but the bitterness in the young mare's heart had transformed her into a wicked mare of darkness: Nightmare Moon. She vowed that she would shroud the land in eternal night. Reluctantly, the elder sister harnessed the most powerful magic known to ponydom: the Elements of Harmony. Using the magic of the Elements of Harmony, she defeated her younger sister and banished her permanently in the moon. The elder sister took on responsibility for both sun and moon, and harmony has been maintained in Equestria for generations since."
Silver Wing looked up from the book.
"And you think this 'Nightmare Moon' is going to come back?" he asked skeptically. "The book does say 'permanently'."
"I know she's going to come back!" Twilight declared. "The book of prophecies says so! Tonight marks the final night of her thousand-year imprisonment. I've done the calculations!"
Silver Wing wondered if he should ask to see those calculations, but decided against it. The question wasn't whether 'Nightmare Moon' would return in exactly a thousand years, or even if this day marked the thousandth year since her banishment. The question was whether she would return at all, or if she ever even existed in the first place.
"She is to be released the night of the Summer Sun Celebration," Mr. Book stated, still in that neutral voice. "Meaning she was originally banished the night of a Summer Sun Celebration. That is no coincidence, I presume?"
"Of course not!" Twilight said, a gleam of hope in her eye (possibly because someone was finally taking her fears seriously; Silver knew how it felt when people wouldn't listen). "Summer Sun celebrates the day Eternal Night ended. That means the night before the festival marks the passing of a thousand years!"
"Reasonable," said Mr. Book. "Do you know how she is to return?"
Furrowed eyebrows. A slight tilt of the head. "What?"
"Do you know how her imprisonment will be lifted, where she will appear when she is freed, and what she will do upon her release?" Mr. Book clarified.
"I know she'll want to make the night last forever again," said Twilight with a frown. "But... the books don't say where she'll appear, or how she'll free herself." More of her hair started sticking out at odd angles. "How can it not say?! We need to know!"
"Maybe she'll come back to wherever she lost the first time," Silver suggested. "Does it say where she was defeated a thousand years ago?"
"Where she was defeated..." Twilight repeated, eyes distant. Her telekinesis grabbed The Mare in the Moon from Silver Wing's grasped, flipped the pages rapidly, then settled on a single one. "The Castle of the Two Sisters!" she declared triumphantly, turning the book around and showing an artistic illustration of a castle.
"Current location of the Elements of Harmony," Mr. Book read aloud from the description. "How convenient."
"This is perfect," said Twilight, just as excited as before, with stress and anxiety being replaced by joy and relief. "I finally have a place to start."
"How do we get there?" Mystery asked immediately, not allowing the purple pony to get caught up in her own feelings of triumph.
"I- I don't know," Twilight stuttered. Her shoulders sagged slightly. "It says it's in the middle of the Everfree forest, and the Everfree is right on the edge of town... but I don't know where 'the middle' is supposed to be."
"Hmm..." said Mr. Book. "Two thoughts occur to me. If these Elements could defeat Nightmare Moon once, they might defeat her again. Before we embark, we must learn how they are activated. Do you know how that might be done?"
"No... but I can find out! Spike!"
"Yeah, Twilight?" said the green lizard.
"Write a letter to Princess Celestia..."
"The second thought," Mr. Book continued as the letter burned in green fire reminiscent of a floo's flame, "is that Nightmare Moon might appear at the Summer Sun Celebration, rather than her original place of vanquishment. It is less likely, but still probable. If Princess Celestia is going to visit Ponyville to raise the morning sun, this town is particularly at risk."
"What are we going to do?" Twilight asked, extremely worried. "We can't be in two places at once!"
"There are three of us," Mystery said neutrally.
"Two," said Twilight. "I will not let a colt near danger."
"Hey," Silver objected. "That's-"
"A perfectly reasonable point, Ms. Sparkle," Mr. Book interjected. "Someone should stay behind at the library. Will the letter from Celestia arrive in a like manner to the way you delivered yours?"
"Yes..." said Twilight, looking at the green lizard.
"Then Mr. Silver and your pet should stay here, leaving the library's premises only to deliver the missive if it does not arrive before we leave."
"Hey! I'm not her-"
"I shall fly above the forest to find the Castle of the Two Sisters. Once I find it, I shall attempt to locate the Elements of Harmony. You go to the Summer Sun Celebration and watch over the proceedings." Before Twilight could protest, Mr. Book continued. "It is your job, directly assigned to you by the ruler of Equestria. If Nightmare Moon does not appear before me in the castle at the time that should mark the start of dawn, I shall bring the Elements to Ponyville and we can proceed from there. Agreed?"
Twilight didn't look like she agreed, but... "Yes," she sighed.
"Got it," said Spike.
Silver Wing said nothing.
"Then go," said Mr. Book.
The library door opened and closed.
"Somnium," said the thestral, wand pointed at the lizard.
"Oh, is that a magic wand?" said the lizard excitedly. "I've been practicing magic tricks myself. I've got a stage name and everything! I-"
"Somnium," said the thestral once more.
The lizard fell asleep.
"Spell-resistant scales," Mr. Book deduced. "I suppose that is a dragon, not a mere lizard. Aim your innervate at an open eye when I depart."
"When we depart," said the pegasus. "That part about me staying behind was a lie, right?"
"It was not."
"But-"
"You are not coming, Mr. Silver." Mr. Book's look of doom brooked no argument. "Even if everything about the Mare in the Moon is a lie, I would still not allow you to enter this world's equivalent to the forbidden forest before I had weathered, learned, and understood its dangers myself. Do not forget that we are in a new world. It would be the height of stupidity to bring a combat liability with me as I charge head-first into a potential battle scenario full of unknowns."
"And why are you charging head-first into battle?" Mr. Silver challenged. "Out of the goodness of your heart?"
"A being threatening eternal night threatens my life, as it threatens all life on the planet. I suspect you know that better than I do."
Mr. Silver suppressed a sigh.
He did.
No sun meant no warmth, no plants, and little light. Well, it meant those things for one side of the planet. For the other side it meant scorched earth, no plants, and far too much light. And that assumed the sun's change in speed didn't send an overwhelming amount of radiation their way.
Or on the altering-the-planet's-rotation hypothesis, it assumed the planetary slowdown was gradual enough to be survived.
In most habited parts of the Earth, the surface rotated at a speed of between 465 m/s and 300 m/s. That's faster than small-calibre bullets. If the Earth suddenly stopped rotating, everything not bolted down firmly to the earth's crust would be sent flying at those speeds like living tumbleweeds. That would kill just about everything instantly.
No rotation also meant no magnetic field, which meant no protection from solar radiation.
On the other, not-pessimistic end of things, 'eternal night' was something Nightmare Moon brought about in the past. Or tried to, at least.
Since ponies were still alive, Silver took it to mean that everything didn't instantly die if she got what she wanted. This world might even run on rules that allow life to survive an eternal night. There had been Devil's Snare – a magical, leafy plant which liked dark places and hated the sun – on the other side of the mirror. That plant defied all logic involving the term 'chlorophyll', and there might be similar plants here.
But even taking that possibility into account, eternal night had other problems, ranging from psychological to biological to nutritional. Sleep cycles and the circadian rhythm. Increased vulnerability to predators with night vision. Vitamin D (or whatever equivalent existed here, if any) generated by sun touching skin. Countless other things.
Creatures as large and complex as ponies needed the sun, just as they needed the night, and so did almost every other living creature on the planet.
Also...
"So," Silver spoke, "You're risking your life to make a creation?"
"There is little risk with the Killing Curse, the ability to Apparate, and the true Cloak of Invisibility, which I am borrowing. But yes. Our agreement has left me little choice, and I only have to take the risk once to solidify my immortality. Furthermore..." Mr. Book's magic opened The Mare in the Moon, flipping to the depiction of Nightmare Moon's defeat. "I would like to personally investigate these Elements of Harmony. The most powerful magic known to ponydom is not something to overlook. If-"
At that exact moment, the sleeping salamander snorted. A flash of flame flared from his face and a majestic missive materialised midair, glowing gold and radiating radiance.
The magic of Mr. Book seized the regal letter, dispelled the bright but distracting light, and folded the page outward.
Rapid eye movements. A sigh. "I suppose I should have expected that."
"Expected what?"
Mr. Book floated the parchment to Mr. Silver.
My beloved student,
Ever since the fateful day in that tale, the Elements of Harmony have lied dormant. Prophecy says that it shall be six ponies, not one, not two, who activate them once more, using the magic of friendship to do so.
-Princess Celestia
"They are still worth investigating," Mr. Book spoke evenly. "But I doubt an artifact named 'The Elements of Harmony', requiring 'friendship' to activate no less, will respond to my hand- my hoof, rather."
"Why correct yourself?" Silver asked. It wasn't like there were any ponies around.
"To become versed in their vernacular by integrating it into my vocabulary. You should do the same, lest you let slip we are not one of them."
And then there was silence as two winged ponies considered the problems before them.
"Is there really no way I can come along?" the pegasus asked. "Nobody... nopony can see me when I'm wearing my cloak-"
"Nothing can see you," the thestral interrupted, "that is correct. But there are many beasts – magical and mundane – who do not rely on their eyes to spy prey. If you wish for a practical reason to stay behind, this is the perfect opportunity to learn the local culture. You are in a library."
Silver Wing sighed heavily. "I know. I'm not arguing with the reasoning. It's just... I suppose I haven't completely quashed the part of myself that wants to be a hero. No, scratch that. Not a hero, just someone who actually does things. I don't want to be the kind of person- the kind of pony who sits around in a library all day, reading books and getting smarter, but never doing anything."
"You seek to be an actor, not a spectator."
"Exactly."
Mystery Book looked upon Silver Wing for a moment. "If you wish to participate in future life-threatening endeavours, Mr. Silver, I can prepare you so that you might survive them. My offer is open once more. We shall begin as soon as you ask."
Silver's eyes widened. "You're going to teach me magic? I thought you said you thought better of doing that."
The thestral shrugged. "Circumstances change. Now I know you are not the world-ending threat I thought you were... or rather, you are, but you are simultaneously a key player in the escape plan. You must be prepared for that role, thus my offer. Though as a precaution, I will not teach you any truly dangerous magic until you have sworn a certain Unbreakable Vow."
"What kind of vow?"
"One that shall prevent the sort of recklessness that would result in the world's premature ending. I might even take it myself, and so shall your friend, once she can."
"Sounds sensible. So, what will you be teaching me?"
"I suspect we will be able to advance your lessons to third, fourth, and even fifth year magic, though I shall skip over the trivial spells of course."
"That far ahead? Is that... um... possible? I thought magic reserves were hard-capped by age, and don't most higher-grade spells take more magic than a first-year has?"
"Our magic is more powerful here than it was on the other side of the mirror. That tunneling spell should have drained me, and yet I was merely winded. This increase in power may also explain why we can still use our wands despite our lack of fingers. Or perhaps the mirror simply brute forced that ability into existence..." The thestral paused. "But enough speculation and procrastination. I have not lied to you in thiss converssation, not that I can recall. I trust you are now reassured about the future. There is work to do, and little time to do it."
"Right," Silver nodded. "I'll read up on unicorn magic. If I encounter anything new that Nightmare Moon might use, I'll tell you about it through my Patronus."
Mr. Book nodded as well, said, "Should that become necessary, inform it not to relay any messages unless I am alone and unobserved," and then he departed.
Silver Wing glanced around the now-empty library to make sure no one was looking. He took out his wand from his pouch and walked over to Spike. He lifted one of the dragon's eyelids, concentrated on a cornea, and said, "Innervate."
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I'm honestly surprised this story isn't getting more traction. HP: MoR was the first HP fanfic I read, and it was a blast. Maybe the unfamiliar characterization of Harry and Voldemort is turning them off? Regardless, I am pleasantly surprised with each update, and look forward to the results of Nightmare Moon and Voldemort's encounter with each other.
Innervate?
10774072
The spell that wakes ppl up. Same spell used at the end of Ch1, and all throughout Methods of Rationality. The incantation of that spell always felt strange to me, probably because "ennervate" means to drain someone of energy, and that's the opposite of waking someone up. Still, "innervate" means to supply a body part / organ with nerves, and I guess that fits.
10773891
Thanks. Yeah, I went into this expecting a niche appeal, so I don't mind.
10774722
My confusion comes from the possibility that the author of MoR misspelled it when he wrote it. I think Rowling changed the spell at some point to Rennervate
10774749
The spell is different from canon. Don't know if that was intended by Yudkowsky or an accident. It was probably intentional. The term "rennervate" doesn't make much sense as a revival spell, given the definition of ennervate. Then again, I'm baised in his favor, so it could go either way. He made up a spell "frigideiro" that allowed first years to cool things down when the spell "glacius" already existed. So who knows.
Either way, since this story treats MoR as canon, I gotta go with what is used there.
This makes me question. How could the book know that this was where the most powerful artifact known to ponydom was? If it was that public, why hadn't Daring Do or some other treasure seeker gone out to get it/them?
I know, it's back from S1E1, but still ... it took this long to question this, and it's a rationalist fiction that makes me realize how much it makes no sense.
11318713 Maybe they did, but the Elements made themselves invisible or prevented themselves from being removed from the Castle?
A friend of mine told me that "A nuclear reactor needs control rods. The thing is, they break.".
In other words "Often, absence of body > presence of mind.".
11318713
Several things everyone seems to overlook
Celestia cast that spell + had 1,000 years to consider the implications.
1) Who do you think wrote those books & left them where Twilight found them?
2) Why do think an important celebration was held in a whistle stop town like Ponyville? Come to that, why was it built there? Celestia gave Granny Smith's parents a grant to build it right where NMM returned. Call that a coincidence, do you?
3) The first 5 ponies she met just happened to be the Element Bearers. I suppose you call that a coincidence too.
No, IMO, Celestia set the whole thing up.
11597236
I actually now agree. Heck, I came across something from Lauren Faust about the whole thing -- who controls the stars that will aid in her escape? And yes, the whole "Had her eyes on Twilight since the dragon hatching" plus the whole "Tracking every pony affected by that sonic rainboom" bit --
The Apple family had been there already. I really think Celestia just made sure that everyone else wound up moving to the town where the Apples had been.
This one, I do. Celestia probably had no reason to expect all those years ago that it would be an Apple that became a bearer -- heck, it probably would have been a Pear if one old man hadn't gotten so upset.
We never do find out if there are *other* towns elsewhere around the Everfree forest.
And Celestia probably had other potential friendship setups going on elsewhere.
Just ... when a filly does a rainboom and causes an unhatchable dragon egg to hatch, that's a pretty strong sign from Harmony, and all the other plans are put on hold.
Got to this chapter, realized when they are, and went "Oh no. He's gonna kill Luna."
I love the science behind it, not to cold and stale rather creative and engaging ♡