Chapter 41 - A Young Mare’s Clockwork Synergy
"Ooooaark. Oooaark!"
Fluttershy had never in her life needed an alarm clock. When she was thirteen, she'd gotten one as a present from a well-meaning but distant relative, but within a week she'd regifted it to her brother (not only did he need it more to counter his habitual laziness, but the harsh ringing first thing in the morning had left her a panicked and anxious mess till lunch).
Part of it was that she was just naturally an early riser, but it was helped by some clever interior decorating. Her bedroom was arranged just so such that the dawn sunlight would gently caress her face as it rose over the horizon. (A more entitled pony might have boasted that this meant she had Princess Celestia herself as a wake-up service, but no one had ever accused Fluttershy of being entitled.)
And, of course, if it were ever rainy, cloudy, or she felt unwell, she always had Angel Bunny as a back-up. The little fuzzball knew exactly when he liked his breakfast and would put his stompy little feet to devastating use if she ever slept in too much.
It was a fine arrangement, and one she'd grown used to over years of repetition.
"Ooark!"
Though she hadn't expected the latest addition to her household to be an early riser on par with Applejack.
"I'm up, I'm up," she mumbled as she fought through her tangle of weighted blankets, two hooves still firmly in Princess Luna's realm. Strands of dream clung to her mind like seaweed even as she rose, blurring the line between fantasy and reality. A blurry figure on the windowsill wriggled in anticipation of the day. "If you'll just hold on a moment, please."
One stumbled trip to the bathroom later, she returned, her breath freshened, face washed, and feeling much more awake.
The first rays of morning were just peeking over the edge of the forest, dyeing the skies in swirls of gold and red and giving the fields and woods an autumnal hue.
Including the swaying and grinning flower that begged for her early attention.
"Good morning Priscilla! And how are you today?"
"Oaark!"
"That's good. Now, morning checkup first, then your breakfast. Lift your leaves, please."
"Oar!"
It had been quite the surprise one morning to find Priscilla talking—though to call it talking was a bit overly generous; the sounds she made were less words and more like if a frog had learned pitch control and had an excellent vibrato. But she was quite emotive with the few vowels she had, and the fact that she could do even that much was an unexpected development in and of itself.
“Good girl. Now stretch up, tall as you can.”
Her little seedling had been growing slowly but steadily since that first bit of explosive growth on the day she’d sprouted. Her biggest pair of leaves were the size of playing cards now and from pot to petal she stood nearly as tall as a foal just shy of cutie mark age. Not that she stood straight up all that often; she much preferred to bob and sway and stretch towards the nearest source of light or sound or curiosity.
"Good! That's a quarter inch of growth and a new leaf bud." She took a few more measurements and carefully transcribed everything to the little boxes of a chart she kept pinned to the wall. More than half of it was already filled with similar numbers taken every morning and evening since she'd had her visit from Wolfsbane.
"One last thing then we're done." Priscilla's leaves curled as she made a low whine that tugged at Fluttershy's heartstrings. "I know you don't like this one, but it's important. It'll only take a moment; I'll go as fast as I can."
Priscilla coiled her stem to make herself smaller, hiding her bulb behind a wall of fanned leaves.
"Please?" Fluttershy tried, to no effect. As smart as she seemed to be, the plant didn't yet have much grasp on complex social constructs and niceties. But one thing she did understand was treats.
"Would you do it for a parasprite?"
Priscilla perked up immediately, then tried to hide behind her leaves again as she failed to disguise her interest. But some of the tension was gone from her petals.
"Two parasprites?" Fluttershy offered.
The plant peeked out from between its leafy barrier. It held up three leaves. "Oaa."
"Two, and I'll top off your mushroom juice with one of the special breeds if any are ripe today."
Priscilla nodded eagerly and unwound herself. Then, like a head of cabbage with aspirations of being a fly trap, she spread her petals wide.
Fluttershy loved Priscilla as much as any of her other animal friends. But even given that she still couldn't help a momentary instinctive hesitance at seeing that toothy maw open wide. Sweetheart though she was, Priscilla had a bite radius wider than Harry the bear's. It took a second for her brain to catch up and remind her that the “teeth” were merely angled petals meant to lock together to trap prey inside rather than actual sharpened enamel meant to cut and tear. Still, she took her measurements quickly and (much to Priscilla's wriggling displeasure) took a quick swab of the fluid leaking from the under-developed and unsettlingly-tongue-like organ at the back of her throat-stem.
The moment her hooves were clear, the petals snapped shut like a steel trap and unruffled themselves back into their lip-like grin.
"Done! You were such a good girl! Yes you were!" Fluttershy leaned in and gave the plant an affectionate nuzzle. It met her halfway, mimicking her movement with silky soft petals on her fur as it trilled a high noise of delight.
Fluttershy giggled. "Okay, enough cuddles. I've got more to do today." She broke contact and headed for the door. "For starters, your breakfast."
"Oark!"
"And your treat, I won't forget!"
Despite the recent changes to her life, Fluttershy's morning routine was still mostly the same, barring a few unusual exceptions. Wake up. Measure and care for her plant friend (species name still pending). Feed her animal friends. Have breakfast herself. Check the beehives in the backyard. Check the tunnels of magical mushrooms and harvest any ripe ones with her magical golden sickle. Check her calendar for any social events she might have forgotten to write down in her diary or her to-do chalkboard. Monotonous tasks, mostly, made relaxing by their familiarity.
As she prepared breakfast for the many denizens of her home (including a magic mushroom smoothie, served in modified baby bottle to drip feed it right to her roots) Fluttershy's mind inevitably began to drift to the various swords still dangling over her head; the repercussions for unknowingly stepping on the BMMC's and GALM’s hooves with her unsanctioned dip into playing Faust with life. All the backdated fees and licenses and permissions she had to pay for. The requirement to start documenting her spur-of-the-moment idea as a proper research paper. The hovering specter of Wolfbane's "eccentric friend" 's upcoming visit and the need to impress them with either Priscilla or, as he had hinted, something more.
It was only thanks to her favorite creation, her Feelin' Finer badge, that she hadn't broken down in an outright panic attack. All it took was a simple tap to drain away the anxiety and let her consider things clearly (even more so than before, since she discovered her new medical knowledge let her "prescribe" herself the use of the badge which made it function slightly better than it should).
That, and her friends. Rarity, who was helping her manage the socially domineering Flim-Flam brothers to turn her treats into bits, and Twilight, who knew about research papers and told her what to record and how to record it (and promised to help compile it all in the end into something that would stand up against professional academic inquiry). Sometimes she still felt like she was pushing her problems onto her already busy friends, but the feeling was weaker than it used to be. Especially since she was turning her free time to helping them in ways only she could.
She finished up her morning tasks about an hour before lunch, which meant she had most of the rest of the day free, giving her the time she needed to make a few special deliveries. Rarity had asked for a set of color-changing emblems in as many varieties as she knew how to make (which turned out to be six, currently, with a peculiar seventh). Meanwhile Pinkie had put in a special request for a couple of her badges with more esoteric effects, as well as two pairs of her Super Boots.
Why Pinkie needed a Hammer Throw, Pretty Lucky, or Zap Tap Badge she was almost afraid to ask. So she wouldn't. It was probably something party or surprise related anyhow.
Tracking down Pinkie at a moment's notice was usually a challenge, but luckily she had an appointment where she knew she could meet both of them at once.
"Is this really necessary?"
"Necessary? Darling it demands to be done!" Rarity held another swatch of fabric against her friend's buttery coat. Close, but not quite. White was an easy color to pair, but the material was too light. It draped well, but a proper doctor’s coat called for something a little more robust and practical. "The moment Pinkie Pie pitched the idea to me and I visualized how you’d look in it, why, my honor as a professional fashionista insisted that I bring it to fruition."
"Yes, but do you really need to take all my—eep!" Fluttershy yelped as the cold metal tip of the measuring tape brushed against her flank. "D-don't you still have my measurements from making my gala dress?"
"I do," she agreed, "but the fit of a jacket is completely different from that of a ballgown. Might as well redo everything while I have the tape out." Beside that, it was also the most discrete and polite way to check if any of her existing patterns for the pegasus were going to need letting out. It'd be hideously gauche to ask aloud, but she couldn't deny that her friend's diet had taken a recent upswing in candy and confections.
Luckily for Fluttershy, it seemed mushrooms really were a superfood. The mare hadn't gained an inch. Some ponies really did have all the luck.
“Besides,” she continued as she split her attention between taking new measurements and writing them down with a hovering quill, “I needed a break to focus on a casual passion project. Work’s been getting a little stressful now that my name’s being passed around more high-profile circles. The price of success, I suppose.”
She leaned in as if to whisper, but didn’t actually lower her voice. “I shouldn’t be telling you this, but I recently landed a commission from Sapphire Shores herself to make a custom costume for her next concert and she has very demanding requirements. Every bead and sequin must be hoofstitched.
“I know I should be honored to have a commission from such a celebrity performer, but she is just so particular. I swear if I have to hoofset another sequin-sized sapphire today, Princess Luna’s going to be fighting them off in my nightmares tonight.”
A flick of magic rolled the tape back up as she turned to her other guest, who currently resembled a warped funhouse mirror version of herself.
"Pinkie, emblems off. I need to see your real coat to match the fabric."
"I dunno." Pinkie shook out her mess of royal purple curls, leaving them in a completely new arrangement that still somehow maintained her usual silhouette. "I kinda like this color. Might try keeping it for a few days. Ooh! And it'd be great for Nightmare Night!"
Rarity narrowed her eyes. Before she could ask exactly how looking like her was supposed to be a scary costume, Pinkie grabbed another emblem from the table and stuck it in her mane. The moment the clip snapped shut, the Wa Emblem transformed her purple and white into a sickly green and off-gray.
"Ta-da! Instant changeling!"
The boutique was silent for a moment as they digested the idea.
"I think... you might get arrested if you tried to go out as a changeling," Fluttershy eventually said. "Just from the police being extra cautious."
"Yes, and I'd rather not have you start a rumor that I'm secretly a changeling. I have enough trouble with Suri's mudslinging as it is."
Pinkie shrugged and plucked both emblems from her mane, restoring her fur to its much more aesthetically pleasant pinks. "Eh, maybe in a few years then. I bet I could pull off a mean Chrysalis."
"It'd be harder to pull off a nice one," Rarity tittered and sent the measuring tapes to check any changes in Pinkie's pleasantly plump proportions. She gestured down as she worked her way to Pinkie's legs. "You'll need to take off the boots too—"
"Super Boots," Pinkie and, surprisingly, Fluttershy both corrected her.
"Either way, they're in the way of me measuring your ankles for the cuffs."
Pinkie hopped out—thankfully at a normal height. She'd seen firsthoof just how high those boots could let one leap and she liked her boutique without a skylight, thank you very much—and stood still enough for the measuring tapes to do their job.
But Rarity found she couldn't quite put the boots out of her mind.
"Fluttershy, I have to ask. For those boots- super boots, why did you choose such a—" Lurid, she wanted to say but didn't. "—vibrant shade of green? It's rather a clash with Pinkie's coat. Blue would have been better. Or even red, at a stretch."
Fluttershy tilted her head and shrugged. "If they were red, they'd be Ultra Boots," she answered opaquely, "And I need special materials for those that I don't know where to find."
It made about as much sense as how her badges worked. On a whim, she turned her Hoarder's Eye to the quartet of green booties, just to see what they'd say.
<<Super Jump Boots>>
A magical tool that allows the wearer to jump very high for a devastating impact. You can have it in any color you like, so long as it's green.
Sometimes she swore the little informational boxes had a mind of their own. And a cheeky one, too.
"...Right. Anyway, what even do you need them for Pinkie? You're quite bouncy already and I'd have loved to take you on a filly's day out to shop for some fashionable footwear."
"It's-" Pinkie crouched low and cast her eyes about the room before leaning in and finishing, "a seeeeeeecret," she whispered loud enough to be heard anywhere in the boutique. "I need them for part of a big project I'm working on. Don't tell the others, I want it to be a surprise!"
Hardly a strange request from the resident expert on surprises (and quite a few other things, as she liked to remind everyone). But secrets were cousin to gossip, and the hunger for juicy details was ever-present.
"Oh, don't tease us like that! You've got to tell us something."
"Weeeeell... okay!" Pinkie grinned. "I'll give you a hint. It has to do with synergy."
Synergy? As in, between different abilities? Or the abilities of different ponies? It made sense, if she was collecting some of Fluttershy's creations and planned to combine it with something of her own. Though it was a bit of a disappointment that the secret was rather less juicy than she'd been hoping. "Well, if my weaving or Hoarder's Eyes can be of any help, don't hesitate to ask. Or my more mundane abilities, if you need another outfit after I finish these matching medical uniforms."
Fluttershy sat up slightly. "Oh, that reminds me." She rummaged in her bag for a moment before pulling out a small glass bottle with a tuft of white inside. "Here's today's sample, if you don't mind checking."
"Not a problem, darling." A moment of concentration turned her Hoarder's Eyes upon it and she was greeted with a familiar text box.
<<Clean Glass Vial>>
A slim glass bottle, formerly containing Dover Brothers' Cheese-Stuffed Olives. Currently used to hold a medical swab.
Rarity refrained from rolling her eyes. Was this her comeuppance for thinking of the boxes as cheeky earlier? She tried again, focusing with greater intent.
<<Dirty Cotton Swab>>
A cotton sample swab dipped in a mildly caustic chemical. Commonly used in doctor's offices to collect viral or bacterial samples from patients' mouths or other orifices.
"Is everything alright?" Fluttershy asked.
"Fine, fine. The Eyes are just being difficult today."
Once more, with gusto, and a rather pointed consideration towards using the Eyes to reorganize her thread cupboard again.
<<Caustic Chemical Sample>>
A complex organic compound unknown to Equestrian science from a juvenile [ERROR]. May react violently under certain conditions. Used for [ERROR].
"Got it," she announced. "Oh! There's a slight change. Nothing new, but the description changed from seedling to juvenile."
"Does that count as a birthday?" Pinkie mused. "It's not been anywhere near a year yet but that sounds like something to celebrate. What kind of cake does Priscilla like?" She gasped. "Can a plant even eat cake?"
"I haven't tried giving her cake yet, but I know she likes magical insects. I give her parasprites as treats for good behavior."
"Parasprites?" Rarity asked, "Fluttershy, please don't tell me you've started breeding—"
Her measuring tape jerked in the air and her train of thought derailed as she felt a familiar tingle start in her horn. Someone was about to get something new. She didn't hold much hope for getting it herself, but she was hardly jealous. Her Hoarder's Eyes were undoubtedly the most useful (and most in-demand) of their abilities. Perhaps if she was lucky it'd be another tool they could all use. The Horadric Cube had been instrumental in her recent creative success, after all.
But the feeling didn't dissipate. Instead it grew, stronger and stronger until it paradoxically felt like she was on the precipice of sneezing through every part of her skull except her nose.
Then all at once it vanished.
*tic*
An idea popped into her head. A set of tiny gears.
*toc*
Another idea. A gemstone, one designed to store and channel mana.
*tic-toc*
The shape of a spell, but unlike any she'd ever seen before. It—
*Tic-Toc-TIC-TOC*
A logic gate in brass and copper. A long string of numbers. A fragment of a memory of a lecture hall. An equation rich with terms she didn't know.
*TICTOCTICTOCTICTOC!*
Terms she did know, and a dozen more as knowledge flowed into her mind as swiftly as if it were her own thoughts. Mathematical formulae strung together like the notes of a Heartsong. Clockwork mechanisms more complex than any watch or clock she'd ever seen, yet that she could visualize as easily and completely as a dress she'd patterned herself. And memories too. Some fuzzy and indistinct, as though glimpses of a dream, others as vibrant as if they happened only yesterday. Years spent working, studying, training. Striving to be the top of her class. Sleepless nights spent hunched over her desk, working by candlelight with a slide rule and tweezers. Landing a job at... somewhere prestigious. A government office? An apprenticeship she both loved and hated under a lunatic genius whose mere memory filled her with both respect and disgust. She was lost in the flow, adrift and rudderless on sea of information and experience, years worth of study in magic, mechanical design, mathematics, and—
—and then a party popper went off right next to her ear.
She blinked as reality reasserted itself and the memories skipped like a jostled record player before fading into the background. Not gone, but no longer occupying every inch of her awareness. As though she'd experienced nothing more than a particularly vivid flashback.
"Hurray!" Pinkie cried as confetti rained around. "Congratulations on your third, Rarity! That makes you tied with Twilight and Fluttershy and only two behind Rainbow Dash. I was starting to think you'd never get another one."
The outburst was enough to ground her properly in the moment. "Have you been keeping score?"
"Not score," she corrected, "just a record. In case there might be a pattern."
"Congratulations," Fluttershy added with a small smile.
"Thank you," Rarity replied. Still feeling woozy from the rush of information, she lit her horn and summoned her fainting couch, taking a seat as it appeared behind her. She pressed a hoof to her temple. "Just give me a moment to compose myself. There's a lot to sort through."
"Should I get you a glass of water?" Fluttershy asked.
"That'd be lovely, thank you."
She closed her eyes as the pegasus left the room. She wasn't in pain, per se, but she still felt rattled as dichotomous thoughts ground against each other. Different facts that she 'knew to be true' yet which couldn't possibly exist simultaneously. It was... taxing.
She opened her eyes as she felt a gentle pressure on her side. It was Pinkie, sitting down next to her and leaning in. Her friend rubbed small circles on her back as she spoke softly. "Mind whammy hitting you pretty hard? They’ll do that. I remember when I got all my degrees shoved in my head. I felt like an overpuffed party balloon about to pop for two days after."
Rarity chuckled ruefully. "It's definitely an adjustment. It doesn't hurt but... things feel off."
"I know. It changes how you see the world. Right after I got my big one, I just couldn't stop noticing stuff. Like, I knew how my oven worked but I didn't know, you know? And then I did know and suddenly it was like I was seeing it for the first time. Then repeat that for... everything.” She pulled her other arm around to turn the cuddle into a proper hug. “It gets better. You’ll adjust and it just becomes a part of you."
It wasn’t often that she got to see the quieter, more reflective side of her normally chaotic friend. But it was a comfort to know that she wasn’t alone and that somepony understood these strange feelings she couldn’t quite put into words. "Thank you, Pinkie. Hopefully this will pass faster than your experience did. This knowledge is... a lot, but I doubt nearly as much as your every-degree-under the sun."
"How much is a lot?" Fluttershy asked as she returned with the water and aspirin.
Rarity downed them both before she replied. "About seven years worth."
"You got new memories? Like Applejack did?"
"Four years studying at the Imperial College and three apprenticing at the Bureau of Magecraft under... someone whose name I can't quite recall. Strudel? A brilliant but insufferable boss." Rarity rolled through the new knowledge in her mind, marveling at how it all felt both new and familiar at the same time. “It's certainly strange, and I can see now what Applejack meant by new memories being disorienting. The broad strokes are there, but my classmates and teachers are all blurred away."
"Did you learn anything fun?" Pinkie asked. "Are you joining our Doctor Buddies group?"
"Not yet, but I do know everything there is to know about computation orbs."
"Computation orbs?" Fluttershy repeated, "What are they?"
"Oh they're the most marvelous devices. A fusion of clockwork and crystal that can cast a complex form of magic spells derived entirely from mathematical principles."
It was an incomplete description, but it was the sort of oversimplified definition as she remembered learning it in her first year. What they cast wasn’t even truly spells in the way that unicorns knew them, but long equations that altered reality to produce magical effects.
The math was almost beautiful in its complexity, but too complex for an average mage to be able to handle through mental arithmetic alone. Most could manage some minor cantrips, parlor tricks at best, and maybe a rare genius could manage something of note, but mages like that were few and far between. But that was why computation orbs existed at all. To take the brunt of the effort off the caster. To eke out the maximum potential from the smallest bit of magical energy through ruthless mechanical efficiency. Orbs were a necessity to make magic a reliable tool.
But a part of her, the part that had been casting spells nearly everyday since she was five, said that was wrong. She didn't need to wring out every ounce of magic, she had mana to spare. She was a unicorn. She was meant to cast spells.
Granted, she wasn't Twilight with her once-in-a-generation skill and magical capacity, but she was hardly a slouch by any reasonable standard.
“I learned the ins and outs of their making. From gear alignments and crystal cutting to the underlying mathematics that allow them to function as anything more than expensive jewelry. My graduating thesis paper was a comparative analysis on how different types of gemstones performed at retaining programmed spells.”
There were dozens of spells that she remembered seeing at one point another in her studies, but only a half dozen or so that were considered “standard” enough to warrant full memorization. A shield charm, a ranged explosive spell, a minor spinning enchantment, and...
Her breath hitched as “old knowledge” bloomed into a new realization.
The golden standard spell for any computation orb in modern production. The measuring stick by which they were classified.
The Flight Formula.
A memory came to her then, unbidden and unwanted, of the most embarrassing moment of her adult life. When she'd gotten so wrapped up in her own ego that she'd tried to upstage the Best Young Flyer's competition in Cloudsdale. It'd taken barely an hour with a spellcast pair of butterfly wings to think she was not just equal to, but better than pegasi who'd been flying their whole lives. The sheer arrogance made her cringe even now.
But despite the shame associated with the memory, she couldn't forget the thrill of those few hours. The sheer visceral joy of flight was... well, afterward she understood much better why Rainbow Dash almost never landed.
But the Gossamer Wings spell Twilight had cast on her that day was a novelty. A bright and colorful toy designed to awe and astound a crowd more than anything else. It made the user a puppet, clad in a pretty dress and flitting about the stage while behind the scenes the automatic parts of the spell mechanically manipulated gravity and balance and air resistance to poorly ape what a pegasus could do naturally.
The Flight Formula that computation orbs ran was an entirely different beast.
It was thrust, plain and simple. Vectors of movement that had to be balanced against one another and the forces around it. It was a spell built from the ground up for precision control over movement in three dimensions, with only a token nod to creature comforts tacked on the end like a postscript.
It was like comparing a runway model's dress to Royal Guard armor.
Gossamer Wings let her fly but the Flight Formula would give her flight.
And it wouldn't be disabled by a warm beam of sunlight either.
Most mages required orbs because it was so difficult to keep the spell formulas fixed in their minds. But she didn't have that problem. As of moments ago, she knew the equations forwards, backwards, and inside-out. Not just how they functioned but why. Every aspect of a computation orb down to the last gear, with a complete understanding of exactly what each piece did and why and how that physical motion translated to shaping the spell.
Almost by instinct, she spun up the spell in her mind, calculating the vectors with the ease of long practice. She lifted and placed her hoof atop nothing... and the nothing held her weight.
It was still awkward to cast. Compared to the more instinctual Equestrian magic, it was like trying to write calligraphy with her left hoof. Sloppy, difficult... but not impossible.
And that was without even using an orb to do the heavy lifting! Once she made one... she could scarcely imagine the possibilities.
Of course, she couldn't go making herself a Type-50 orb right off the bat (let alone any of the cutting edge experimental models she knew of from her apprenticeship. Honestly, four cores in one orb? Whoever had approved the Type-95 clearly had a death wish). Even the more modest workhorse orbs in the Type-30 range were still monstrously complex, with hundreds of parts that demanded precise machining.
Anything earlier than a Type-20 would be too big to carry, but perhaps one of those older clunky models would work as a proof of concept.
But even beyond a computation orb's value as a tool was its elegance as an accessory. Gold filigree and flawless gemstones were an Equestrian fashion mainstay.
“...arity? Rarity?”
She snapped back to reality from the depths of her creative vision as Fluttershy gently shook her shoulder. "Sorry, what? I was... distracted."
"I'll say!” Pinkie giggled. “You were lost in the sauce. I zonked out a couple of times like that right after I learned the deep lore of the chemistry of baking. If you were out any longer I was gonna start seeing how much stuff I could balance on you before you came back."
Rarity lowered the hoof she'd rested on thin air and three spools of thread fell off her head.
Pinkie grinned unabashedly. “Or maybe I'd already started. But it wasn't easy! Your mane's too silky soft for stuff to stay put.”
She accepted the compliment as an apology and levitated the spools back to the shelves where they belonged. "Apologies. I was... overcome with possibilities. What was I saying?"
"You were telling us the new magic you remembered learning," Fluttershy supplied.
"Right. Of course. As I said, spells shaped by mathematical formulas. There’s quite a lot of them but I only have a few memorized. Minor utility spells, mostly."
"Neat. Does it work with regular unicorn spells?"
She pursed her lips in thought. "Hm. No. No, but if I had enough time I could probably convert a spell to magical formula. Though it wouldn't be a quick or easy process. I'd have to work out the math longhoof."
"Sounds like a job for Moon Dancer and her league of extraordinary researchers then," Pinkie grinned.
That sat… poorly with her, for reasons Rarity couldn’t quite put a name to. The idea of sharing this knowledge felt like a squirming worm in her heart. A small, oddly militant part of her insisted that the knowledge of computation orb inner workings was a closely held government secret that she'd taken oaths to never reveal.
...which was patently ridiculous. The knowledge was hers to do with as she pleased. She held no allegiance to an Empire whose name she couldn't even remember.
But what was the reason then? Why did another small, ugly part of her demand she hoard the information to herself anyway? As impressive as computation orbs were, they were hardly revolutionary. Your average pony on the street could casually cast a few spells that a mage would need a Type-40 or better to achieve, and a third of all ponies could fly under their own power.
And yet…
And yet.
She could always tell them later, right? Twilight and her research team had so much on their plates already. Really, she'd be doing them a favor by not piling more on.
But how to convince her friends of that?
"I think, perhaps, we should... refrain from telling Twilight about this one. I don’t suppose you two could keep this a secret for her? If only for a short time?”
Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy gave her mirrored looks of surprise. “What? Why not?”
“But we've always told each other about new abilities. That’s what our journals are for.”
“Well, she's already very busy researching all those as is, isn't she? So busy that she had to call in part time help. And I’m quite busy as well. I have that order for Sapphire Shore to make and I’m simply not going to have time to explain an entirely new branch of magic to her.”
No one was arguing, but from the looks on their faces she could tell they weren’t quite convinced.
“She’s gonna know,” Pinkie warned. “She and Moon Dancer can sniff out new magic better than Applejack can sniff out spoiling apples.”
“I know. But you know how she gets. We didn’t see her for three days after she learned about those runes that let her make spell beacons. And the math side means that Moon Dancer and some of her other researchers are going to want to learn as well. Four years worth of lectures isn’t something I can summarize over tea.” She shook her head. “The knowledge isn’t going anywhere. We’ll just… set it aside until a better time.”
Fluttershy was quiet. Rarity had banked on her innate desire to avoid confrontation and it seemed to be paying off. Pinkie, however, looked more contemplative. After a moment, she smacked one hoof against the other. “Explain it to me then.”
Rarity blinked. “Pardon?”
“I’ve got several doctorates in advanced mathematics. I’m sure I’ll pick it up quickly. Just narrate as you work and I’ll grasp enough to field any questions Twilight might have until your schedule clears up. That way, we don’t have to hide anything.”
It wasn’t what she’d planned, but it did give her better control of the information. Both sharing the information and keeping secrets from her friends made her uncomfortable… but maybe she could compromise. Pinkie wasn’t the type to pry and pester for every possible detail so it wouldn’t be hard to keep a few secrets. Besides, would it really be so bad to keep the flight spell to herself? For the time being, at least? It'd take weeks or months for Twilight's team to get to the level where they could start making orbs themselves.
And wouldn't it be something? To be the first unicorn to properly fly?
After a moment more of consideration, she agreed. “I suppose I can cover enough of the fundamentals in a lecture or two, if you’ve got the time.”
“Um, excuse me,” Fluttershy cut in. “I’m not very good with math, so if you have all the measurements you need, do you mind if I step out? I wanted to deliver some more healing treats to the hospital.”
“Of course, Fluttershy. Make sure they pay you this time.”
She squirmed and made a pained expression. "I know. I remember what you said, but it still feels bad to charge sick ponies."
Rarity shook her head as she mentally shifted to business mode. “And should the doctors work for free as well? Charity is well and good, but your effort has value and you deserve to be compensated for it. Don't forget that. Besides, you're practically healing them out of a job! A small portion of the hospital's food budget is a fine price for freeing up their time to focus on patients with troubles too severe for your juice and cookies to fix.”
“I offered to help with those too, but they said they legally couldn't accept actual medical help without some kind of certification.”
“Perhaps you should cross that bridge once we settle your current issues with legal paperwork.”
A few more goodbyes were said and the pegasus left the boutique. Rarity prepared the fabric that needed pinning and cutting while Pinkie made herself comfortable on the chaise with a sandwich she’d pulled from somewhere.
“Alrighty,” Pinkie said once she was settled. “I am prepared, O wise sensei. Teach me the secrets of New Math.”
“I might ramble a bit and drift between topics,” she warned. “I know the knowledge, but not how to teach it.”
“No problemo! My last perk gave me endless patience. Letting it all come to you naturally might help all the new thoughts settle in faster. Now hit me with that mathemagic!”
With a small laugh, Rarity turned the brunt of her attention to her sewing and let her memories drift towards what she remembered from her earliest lectures. “Mathematics is the fundamental language of reality. Indelible truths about the universe. All of nature is expressed through patterns, and mathematics is the way through which different systems speak and interact with one another. This is just as true with magic as it is with anything else. Given a formula and the inputs, you can calculate the output. But with the right formulas, you can influence a little piece of the universe’s pattern. Manipulate the output. That is what we call a spell. With the right pattern of gears to turn an equation into something physical, you can make an accessory that will cast it for you.
“We’ll start at the beginning with Cabbage’s Difference Engine, what some called the Mark 0 computation orb.”
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Again, this was a really good chapter. It took a while, but was quite worth the wait. REALLY loved Fluttershy's reflection on her morning routine (both how much has remained the same and on how few differences there were) - including the "feeding Priscilla" part. Absolutely adored the mention of how Rarity had, with some ironic help from the Flim-Flam Brothers, put a dent into her money problems and how Twilight was willing to look over her paperwork before reflecting on Pinkie's odd order before she actually met up with Pinkie and Rarity.
Rarity's reflections on using this meeting to check up on how much of an effect - certain relatively recent changes in her life - have had on Fluttershy's health (or how little in this case) as well as the worry concerning how Pinkie might accidentally create a new skylight if she isn't careful concerning the order that she made from Fluttershy were also great touches. And Rarity just unlocked a new perk as well.
Most definitely looking forward to more of this.
oh god i hope rarity does not let out her inner tanya the evil
faust help us all if she does
amazing chapter!
ohhhhh yes
I completely did not realize where her perk was from, didn't remember much about that aspect of the show. It's a bit weird how she's hoarding the flight spell for herself, but I can understand that her desire to be a pioneer would conflict with her generosity. The perk definitely fits well with Rarity, more than it would any of the others.
I reckon Ponyville will not have to worry about parasprite problem ever again.
Good to know the Mane 6's survival instinct has not become rusty from all these otherworldly power-ups.
Rainbow Dash might find it offensive.
That name actually has a pretty good ring to it. I hope it would become an official name.
Worth remembering that Fluttershy had a brief career as a supermodel... at Rarity's insistence, which means it'd be entirely reasonable for Rarity's thoughts to have mentioned it in the chapter itself.
Also, I don't mean to alarm you Rarity but you didn't actually go to the imperial academy so technically you've already stolen those secrets as far as Tanya is concerned. And given that I vaguely recall that series being part of the "Isekai Quartet" series where she actually made it back to her original world, this is no idle threat.
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We need to find a way to squeeze a word starting with 'n' in there at the end, so the acronym is 'LERN' Then we can abbreviate Moon Dancer to MD and we have 'MD's LERN'
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League of Extraordinary Researchers of New Ideas and Technologies "LERNIT"
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Love it!
I'm enjoying the focus on character interaction instead of endless repetitive research these last few chapters. You're seriously good at showing each character's personality!