A New Hope
Finding Your Place
by
Jake The Army Guy
Chapter Six: A New Hope
Nightmare Moon, Discord, King Sombra. The list of arcane creatures that Twilight Sparkle and her friends had defeated read like a who’s who of the most demented, terrifying creatures to ever disgrace the earth with their presence. Twisted abstracts and ancient demigods had stood before her, and thanks to her deep understanding of magic and friendship, they had all been found wanting.
Even discounting the world-ending nightmares she had prevented, Twilight Sparkle's list of accolades was unparalleled: a PhD, two Masters degrees, numerous publications in virtually every scientific journal of merit, and a best-selling book about her findings on the magic of friendship. In nearly all ways that mattered, Professor Twilight Sparkle ranked among the smartest and most accomplished ponies in Equestrian history.
And here she was, defeated by a big crown thingy.
Twilight sat on her haunches before her dining room table, which was currently doubling as her workbench, head rested on a forehoof. She blew out a sharp breath, clearing away an errant strand of her mane as she eyed the offending thing. It seemed to be mocking her; the polished gold and shined amethyst reflected dazzling colors and motes of light back at her, only adding to her growing frustration.
Battle-scarred implements lay strewn across the table: a state-of-the-art thaumatic laser scalpel, the crystal tip blackened and smoking; diamond-edged wire cutters, supposedly the strongest the botany department had to offer, deformed and cracked; a pneumatic pump attached to a wedge now with springs falling off it.
Twilight eyed them all with disdain through the jewelers loupe affixed to her face. For the better part of three days she had sat at this table, trying and failing at what should have been the easiest part of this whole process. She had tried everything she could think of, starting with the most delicate of touches, ending with violent brute force. At one point, she had even attempted the tried and true "Apple way of fixin' things." Two broken sledgehammers and one noise complaint later, she had finally given up and called for backup. A polite knock at the front door heralded the arrival of said backup.
She removed the loupe from her head and went to the door, passing through her modestly furnished apartment. Peering through the peephole, she saw Fido, clad in a smart button down and jeans instead of his trademark tweed. She opened the door and ushered him in. "Fido, thank you so much for coming."
"Not a problem at all, Twilight. I came as soon as I got your note. I..." He spun several times; the spacious apartment was spartanly furnished, which only made it seem bigger. The high ceilings allowed even his lithe six-foot frame room to breathe, A plush carpet tickled the bottom of his paws, and a large wood and glass coffee table dominated the center of the living room. "Wow, this is much larger than my apartment. You can afford this on our salary?"
She shrugged. "Book royalties."
"Ah." He nodded, still glancing around. "Perhaps I should finish that manuscript after all..."
She cleared her throat, snapping him back to reality.
"Oh, right, sorry. So, what is so important that I had to make a house call?"
"Well, I think I've solved Spike's problem," she said as she moved back towards the work table, motioning him to follow.
"Well, I hope it was worth endangering your career."
Twilight froze for a moment. "What?"
"The Dean spoke with me today. Traditionally, one takes their first sabbatical after their first year of teaching, not the first month."
Twilight snorted. "You'd think saving the world multiple times would give a mare some leeway..." She shook her head. "Anyway, like I said, I think I've finally solved Spike's problem." She motioned towards the living room and the two crossed the plush carpet floor towards Twilight's impromptu work space.
"Oh, so you've figured out how to route enough thaumatic energy to power Canterlot for a year into your brother without turning him into a deep-fried vegetable?"
A small chuckle escaped Twilight. "I had no idea you were so dramatic."
Fido scanned the destroyed implements. "Heh, with the amount of power you're playing with, drama is... hardly... th—" He finally saw the object sitting at the epicenter of the destruction. His eyes narrowed.
"T-Twilight, is... is th—" Fido cast a quick glance to her flank, then back to the purple gem, repeating several the process times. Finally, he rested his awed gaze at the table; specifically, at the shining golden tiara reflecting the warm overhead lights back at him, and the starburst-shaped amethyst atop it that seemed to physically buzz with warmth and power. "Oh... Oh, my, it is!"
Twilight herself was never a spiritual mare. When you wield the power of Harmony itself and your mentor is the physical representation of a living deity, faith becomes something of a moot point. While Celestia had never fully revealed her and Luna’s role in the cosmic sense, her occasional mutterings of, “Oh, for Dad’s sake,” tended to shine a light on things. Still, Twilight had never put too much stock in such things; her mind prefered the firm grounding of logic to the supposed nebulous warmth of faith.
That all being said, Twilight was very sure that what she saw before her qualified as a spiritual experience. Fido clutched his chest, panting slightly, and stumbled back a step. Twilight was reasonably confident that, had there been more room, he would have fallen to his knees. "Oh, by the Eternal Pack..."
Twilight took a very hesitant step towards the awestruck Diamond Dog. "Professor? Are you... okay?"
He cast his wide eyes to her. "Twilight this... this is the... the—"
"The Element of Magic. Yes, I know."
"No, professor, I don't believe you do." Slowly, reverently, he stepped towards the table. His hands reached out, but stopped short of touching the object of his devotion, hovering and caressing the air around it. "This is the holy grail of thaumatic geology! I-I-I-I never thought I would be this close to it!"
"Fido, please—"
"Tell me, what is its thaumic potential? Is it really immune to environmental effects?" His words flowed faster than even Twilight could follow. "Oh! Is it true that it has flaws and facets, but they only serve to increase its capacitance? I've always theorized that, much like friendships, the struggles make it stronger! Oh, oh! Can it really harmonize with an—"
Whap!
Fido snuffled and sputtered as a rolled up newspaper, floating in a purple haze, unceremoniously booped his nose, followed by Twilight's stern call of, "Down, boy!"
A thick silence fell as Fido rubbed his wet nose. He turned to her, his face a mix of shock and slowly rising anger. "Did... did you just—"
To his great surprise, her face was not one of horror or regret, but a smug grin as she flicked her confident eyes down to his fingers. He looked down at them, wiggling them a bit, then his mind clicked to memories of his impromptu muzzle from their last encounter. An incredulous grin spread across his face like wild fire. "Cheeky little filly..." He had to hold back a snort when her grin seemed to grow even more satisfied. "Very well then, Professor," he rolled the "R" hard, "what do you need of me?"
At this, her smile fell, the destroyed tools once more on her mind. "Well, I have the spell matrix figured out. Casting it is going to tax me quite a bit, but I think I can handle the strain."
He nodded. "Okay, so what is the problem?"
"I can't get the stupid, loopty-looping thing off the mount!" A pathetic stomp of her hoof called off the whining tantrum.
"And... why is that a problem? I mean, I'm sure he wouldn't enjoy wearing a tiara, but if it lets him—"
Twilight shook her head. "No, no, that's not it." She turned from him and gazed at the Element. "Every time I've tried to cast the spell, it's been rejected, which makes no sense. The gem is, for all intents and purposes, just an overpowered transistor."
"Hmm, I see," Fido said with a nod. "So it should be receptive to any spell you wish to put on it."
"Exactly! But there's something blocking it. I ran it under a thaumatic resonance imager, and there's some strange signature coming from the gold in the tiara."
Fido scratched his chin, eyeing the gem this time with a more appraising gaze, then looked to Twilight. “May I?”
When she nodded, Fido reached down to the tiara. He reverently ran his hand over the gilded frame, then gently picked it up. “Ooh, it’s... tingly,” he said with childish glee as he held it to his face.
Twilight watched the display with a smirk. “If you’d like a moment alone, I could leave for a bit.”
“Oh, get off it,” he snorted in response. “Do you have any idea how many times I have begged the princesses to allow me to study this?”
“Twenty-seven times over the past six years, according to Princess Luna.”
“Heh, then you should know that this is somewhat of a moment for me, and I’d appreciate you not ruining it with snark.” His eyes flicked to her thigh. "Tell me, Twilight, how is it that the element resembles your cutie mark? I doubt that destiny is that specific."
She shook her head. "The elements are sympathetic to their user, taking whatever form is required of them. Celestia tells me that when she and Luna used them against Discord, they were horn rings."
“Hmm, and for you it becomes a tiara.” He arched an eyebrow at her. “Fantasies of princesshood, eh, Professor Sparkle?” He chuckled at her slight blush, continued his appraisal, moving the tiara this way and that, studying every facet he could. "Twilight, tell me, how thoroughly have you studied the element?"
Twilight cast her eyes down a bit. "Well... I have but, um..."
"But what?"
"Well," she fidgeted slightly, "I've run countless tests on the gem, everything from thaumic resistance to radioisotope dating."
"But?" he repeated.
She sighed. "I've run plenty of tests on the element, but I never thought to test out the metal."
"Mm-hmm... have you ever tested its lumen rating?"
"Yes," she said with a nod. "A positive rating, holding steady at three point four lumens."
"And its thaumatic conductivity?"
"Through the roof! I used the most sensitive scanner I could get my hooves on, and I couldn’t find an upper limit."
At this, Fido's tail froze behind him, and Twilight could see an excited tremble in his hands. "And... it's nigh impossible to damage it?"
"Yes," Twilight said.
Fido suddenly let out a quiet yip, and his tail began wagging furiously behind him, creating a light whap everytime it slapped against his trouser leg. "I knew it, I knew it! Bloodsteel!"
Twilight giggled at the display. "What?"
"Oh, um, old... old Diamond Dog legend." He turned to face her, though his eyes remained firmly locked on the tiara. "This isn't gold. This, Twilight, is lucrettium."
She blinked. "Luca... Luca-what, now?"
"Lucrettium. An extremely rare ore, one of the the strongest natural materials known to exist. Only several kilos have ever been found." He finally tore his eyes from it and looked to her. "I'd be willing to bet that this, along with the other Elements of Harmony, are the largest concentrations on the planet, and probably the purest."
Twilight followed him as he gently set it back on the cloth. "So, how can we remove the gem?"
He frowned. "We can't. Lucrettium is a highly potent thaumatic medium, meaning that at power levels like this, the gem and the metal are most likely bonded at a subatomic level. Now, it may be possible to..."
His voice faded into the background; Twilight's eyes were focused on the gem. She had long since memorized its every facet and flaw, every shaped surface reflecting her furrowed brow back at her. Tiny motes danced in the imperfections, a kaleidoscope every time she moved her head. This jewel was as much a part of her as Spike; the two were both pieces of her heart, she just had to make them fit.
Fit...
"What if we melted it?" Twilight nearly whispered.
"... Then the molecular structure co—" Fido jerked to a halt and looked back to her. "I'm sorry, what was that?"
"What if we melted the metal?" She looked up to face him.
"Melted th... Professor Sparkle!"
She arched her eyebrow. "What?"
"You can not melt the bloody Element of Magic!" he shrieked.
She flicked her tail. "No, not the jewel, the tiara!" His expression was unchanged, so she continued. "You said the gem and the metal were magically bonded, yes?"
"Correct."
"Right. So," she turned her furrowed brow back to the tiara, "we can't remove the metal, but thaumatic metal becomes malleable at high temperatures. So..."
Fido gasped, walkin back to the table. "So, if we heated it to, say, three thousand kelvin, it should lower its resistance enough to—" He frowned. "Wait, no... no, if you heat it that much, the metal will be highly susceptible to outside radiation. At those temperatures, even the slightest bit of background radiation could contaminate it, possibly to the point of failure. Could you cast some sort of shielding spell?”
“No. With the amount of focus I’ll need for the actual spell, I couldn’t maintain both spells simultaneously. But we could use—”
"Gemstones!" they cried in unison.
Twilight raced back to the table. "If we charge a gemstone, perhaps—”
Fido appeared next to her. "—a mana-saturated emerald, with the shielding spell—”
She turned to face him. "—at the very least fifteen thaums worth—"
He turned to face her. "—then the spell will last long enough for us to perform the procedure—"
"—without compromising the gem!"
"You're a genius!" they cried in unison.
The nervous energy in the room danced between the two as they looked into each other’s eyes.
After sharing the glance for a few more seconds than decorum called for, both turned away, their cheeks flaming beneath their fur. Twilight cleared her throat. "So, uh, how can we heat the metal that much without throwing it into the sun?"
"Hmm." He knelt down to carefully study the tiara, stroking his chin. “Tartarian brimstone should do the trick. If ignited by a—hmm, one kilo should do it, so maybe red... no, a green runic flame will burn hot enough to melt the bloodsteel."
Twilight felt the familiar feeling of nervous energy that always accompanied a breakthrough snake its way down her limbs, her left forehoof tapping a steady rhythm on the plush carpet. "So, where can we get some?"
"Well, it is very rare. The nearest supplier I know of is down in Mareami."
Twilight's hoof froze and her ears fell. "That would take... nearly a week to get here."
"Yes, yes it would." He let out an exaggerated sigh and folded his arms across his chest. "If only we knew a handsome, brilliant, and devilishly charming thaumatic geology professor who happened to have several kilos in his personal collection."
"You're right," Twilight said, squinting her eyes at the tiara. "But where could we find such a pony?"
Several moments of silence.
Fido huffed. "You know, with you, Twilight, it's a bit difficult to know when you're being sarcastic."
"You're daft."
"I'm a genius."
Fido let out a sharp bark of laughter. "No, you're a nutter, and I won't hear another word of it."
To Twilight's simultaneous delight and ire, the addition of Professor Igneous had allowed them to accomplish more in the past two hours than she could have hoped to in two days. After a trip back to his loft to collect the brimstone and some tools, Fido now sat next to Twilight—the sleeves of his shirt rolled up, exposing his jet-black fur—making adjustments to his runic sleeve using a small device that Twilight had never seen before. The past two hours had been a flurry of theoretical speculation, highly advanced spellcasting, and the kind of high-end mathematical equations that would make most ponies' brains smoke.
Needless to say, the two were having the time of their lives.
Twilight looked up from the emerald she was charging, causing the beam of magic running from her horn to the gem to bend and twist, and grinned playfully at him. “I’m telling you, Fido, I’ve done it before!”
"And I'm telling you that time travel is impossible! The Laws of Harmony would never allow it! A single paradox could annihilate the entirety of creation!"
"The paradoxes resolve themselves."
Fido snorted. "Oh, don't give me that 'time is immutable' rubbish. Rexinious' Multi-verse Theorem demands that anything that can happen, will."
"Ah, but you forget Starswirl's Causality Principle," she chided, waving a hoof in the air. "Any and all actions must had direct observable consequences, no matter how small or large."
"Starswirl was talking about direct thaumatic experimentation!" he cried. "He didn't mean it as some... abstract theory allowing one to break every known law of physics and thermodynamics!"
"I don't understand why you're being so grumpy about this." She shot him a sly grin. "You forget to take your nap today, grandpa?"
Fido almost dropped the pen-like tool he was using. "Wha—I... I'm in the prime of my life, thank you very much!"
"You're nearly seventy. That's almost in the grave for a pony."
"Yes, and you're, what, twenty-five?"
"Twenty-eight."
"Ha! Still a pup! Why, when I was your age I'd had al—"
Fido suddenly tensed, accidentally driving the tool into a sapphire on his gauntlet, loosing a crack of electricity and a tiny shower of sparks. He sat still as death for a moment. "Did I... did I really just say 'when I was your age'?"
Twilight's only answer was a loud cackle and nearly dropping the gem she was working on.
Fido growled quietly. "Are you done with that gem yet?"
"I... am..." She squinted in a final bout of concentration. "... Done!" With a satisfied grin, she floated the now-humming gemstone into the table, setting it between the Element of Magic and the foul-smelling lump of whitish stone Fido had brought over. On the other side of the table sat a squat machine with a circular display and dozens of knobs on the front. Two wires ran from its back to the element, where a pair of pads were affixed. "The spell inside the gem should contain more than enough power to levitate the tiara and shield it from outside radiation for at least seven hours."
"Plenty of time, I'd say," Fido said, making a few final tweaks to his runic sleeve. "If my calculations are correct, it should take around twenty minutes for the bloodsteel to reach critical temperature."
Twilight nodded. "Once we have the stasis field set up, the thaumometer will let us know when the resistance is low enough to begin the spell."
Both professors stood up and faced the center of the table, canine and equine tails wagging in excitement. "Very well, then. If you would be so kind, Professor?" Fido said, giving an exaggerated bow.
Twilight chuckled, then turned towards the gem. A tiny spark jumped from her horn to the gem, which instantly glowed a bright purple. Next to it, a lavender aura surrounded the tiara and it rose slowly in the air, hovering about a foot off the table.
With everything now prepared, Fido took a step back and raised his arm. Gleaming gemstones pointed towards the floating tiara like a pegasi landing strip, capped at his end with a glowing ruby. He reached down to press it.
A high-pitched whine built up, causing Twilight's ears to flick down in her head. The gemstones inlaid on Fido's sleeve began to glow brighter in sequence; tiny wisps of magical energy snaked in between the stones, before reaching the last one by his wrist. The energy swirls around his open palm, and with a bright flash, a baseball-sized orb of green fire birthed in his grasp.
Twilight watched the whole scene with wide eyes. Tiny wreaths of magic danced around its surface, like a miniature jade sun. Every now and then, a line would arc to his hand, swirl around one of his velvet-like paw pads before leaping back to the emerald fireball. Twilight wetted her lips. "Isn't it hot?"
Fido shook his head with a slight smirk. "It's a runic flame, programmed to only affect the brimstone. Now," the playful look on his canine face fell to one of business, "while the flame itself will not burn anything but the stone, it will give of a fair bit of heat, so keep your distance, and do not look directly at the stone when it initially ignites. The flash could cause permanent damage to your eyes." Twilight gave him a slight nod, then turned away and closed her eyes. She cringed away in anticipation of a giant blast of heat, but after several moments of nothing, she peeked open her eyes, seeing Fido looking at her with a pensive gaze.
"Last chance, Twilight. Are you sure about this? Mucking about with something connected to one of the fundamental elements of nature?"
Her eyes didn't meet his; they were locked on the floating tiara in a look of deep determination. "Yes, I'm sure. And don't worry, both princesses know what we're doing, it's fine."
He nodded, turning back to the table. His paw tensed once more. "And, you're sure this won't explode in our faces and destroy half of Canterlot?"
Several extremely uncomfortable moments of silence later, Twilight blinked. "Relatively."
Several more moments of silence.
Finally, Fido nodded, facing the table once more. "Very well, then. Tally-ho." With one last shrug, he pressed the ruby on his arm.
Moments later, a deep whooshing filled the room, Twilight's mind instantly thinking back to all the times Spike used his breath to send a letter. The scientist in her desperately wanted to watch what was happening, but Fido's warning held her curiosity at bay. Some tiny part of her mind found slight amusement in the fact that this was the second time her vision was at risk because of him.
The building tone reached a crescendo as an impossibly bright flash filled Twilight's vision. Even through her eyelids, she could make out the outline of Fido next to her, shielding his eyes as well. In an instant, the bright light vanished, and Fido tapped her in the shoulder. "It's safe now, Twilight." She opened her eyes, and quickly widened them.
The ugly lump of off-white rock had transformed into a sparkling fountain of pearlescent fire. Flames of the purest white shot nowhere but up, creating a blazing column that surrounded the Element of Magic, bathing it in fierce heat. Sparks of all colors of the rainbow popped and fizzled off the tiara as it heat up, sending tiny flashes of color across the room.
Twilight slowly circled the table, mouth slightly parted in muted awe. The raging inferno did no harm to anything but the tiara, not so much as a scorch mark marring the ivory cloth beneath it. Twilight made a mental note to study up more on the particulars of thaumatic geology. "I... I didn't think it would be so... so beautiful."
"Yes. Neither did I," Fido mumbled.
Twilight tore her eyes from the flames to look at him. Fido was now on the opposite side of the table. The ivory light from the flaming stone highlighted his every feature in stark contrast from his jet-black fur. Reflections from the tableau of colors danced in his yellow eyes, bathed in the same awe as hers were, but they were focused on her.
They shared their gaze for but a split second. Just as Twilight felt the first inklings of warmth on her cheeks, Fido sputtered and turned to the side. "So, er, bloodsteel! As I said its an old Diamond Dog legend, dating back millennia."
While he spoke, he nonchalantly paced around the table, hands clasped behind his back. Twilight smiled at the sight; he looked like he was lecturing. "Do tell, Professor."
"Long ago, shortly after the Dawn of All, the immortals of the world were embittered in the first War of the Gods. The Celestial Parents, King Radian and Queen Terra, the great dragon god Calcipher, Nevlamas, Warrior Goddess of the Eryes, and King Lucaretta, the first High Alpha, all joined forces against the demon god Tirek. For months they raged, entire swaths of earth were destroyed or left uninhabited. Countless mortal lives were lost by their fighting."
Twilight watched him as he paced. The whole world seemed to fall away, only the quietly roaring flames and his voice.
"Finally, after so long a stalemate, Calcipher made the ultimate sacrifice." Fido gestured to his chest, sliding a finger down his shirt. "He sliced open his own belly, exposing his inner flame. Using the blood of the Immortals Lucretta forged in those flames a metal of unrivaled strength, one that could focus the very essence of the gods."
"Bloodsteel," Twilight mumbled.
Fido nodded. "With that metal, he crafted the Blade of Harmony, a spear sharper than Wolven teeth and stronger than dragon scales. King Radian took the blade and slayed Tirek, ending the Great War and returning harm—"
From behind them, a series of loud pops, like wet logs in a fire, accompanied by bright flashes of purple light. Fido and Twilight turned, and both were struck dumb by what they saw.
The once solid metal of the Tiara wavered and flickered, as if viewed from beneath the surface of a lavender lake. The occasional spark still danced from its ends, giving off fresh waves of ozone. The gem, however, still stood untarnished by the flame. Not even a single flicker of light bounced from the raging inferno.
Fido shook his head and quickly went to the scanner, pausing only to place his glasses back in his muzzle. He deftly adjusted several of the knobs. "Hmm, well... that was much quicker than I thought it would be.”
Twilight heard none of it; her eyes were locked on the gem floating inside the pearlescent blaze. She leaned in closer, feeling the scorching heat from the fire lapping at her face. The amethyst was still as death, despite the gently wavering metal it was attached to.
"Twilight!"
Fido's sharp bark snapped her back to reality. She shook her head and stepped back. "Okay, what does the scanner say about its resistance levels?
Behind her, Fido was twiddling with various knobs and switches on the machine. "Fifty seven point five thaums—” he frowned and slapped the side of the machine— “and dropping.”
A warmth spread across Twilight’s face; not from the brightly flickering blaze, but from within. She could feel it! This was the answer to Spike's problem. All his worry, all her agonizing doubts were finally going to pay off.
“Twenty-five... seventeen... ten thaums, and... holding steady at two point eight thaums.” Fido left the scanner and joined Twilight next to the table, pearlescent light reflecting from his eyes and fur. “I think that’s the best we can hope for. The brimstone will only burn for another ten minutes or so, so I’d suggest we get to it.”
Twilight nodded, then lit her horn. "Okay, beginning the casting." A wisp of purple magic snaked from her horn to the gem. The beam of light connected with the floating element, and a searing flash consumed Twilight's vision.
The sensation of nothing was very odd to Twilight. She was adrift in a sea of black nothing, an abyss that consumed her. Slowly, however, her senses began to return to her, from within: a harsh buzz in the back of her skull; a high-pitched whine, growing in volume, filled her ears; a foul taste of sour magic, like spoiled milk, danced on her tongue.
Twilight groaned and stood up, waving a cloud of dust away from her eyes to survey the damage. Her once pristine dining room looked like a coal mine. A thick layer of ebony dust clung to every surface, crackling with leftover magical energy from the violent reaction. Wispy tendrils of smoke rose from center of the table where the Element of Magic sat in mute defiance, like a puppy sitting amid a spilled trash can looking up at its owner with pride.
A sniffle came from behind her. She spun and gasped. Fido's entire form was black, but where his fur had been neatly groomed and shiny, it was now dull. Slowly, he reached up and removed his glasses, leaving his yellow eyes in stark contrast to his blackened frame.
He opened his mouth, coughing and sending forth a tiny cloud of smoke. "I think," he said, blinking slowly, "that we can chalk that up as a failure."
Twilight had already turned back around. Her lower lip quivered, and her ears fell against her skull. "It... it didn't work."
Fido slowly approached and knelt beside her. He bit his lip for a moment, then later an arm around her shoulder. "Twilight..."
"Everything went right," she droned, shrugging off his hug. "The numbers added up, the spell work was sound, but it... it just rejected it. Some kind of barrier..."
"Twilight, I'm so sorry. Look, maybe we can—"
"I need to go," she droned. She shuffled away from him towards the door. "Don't bother cleaning up. There's a guard at the front desk, so you can leave the door unlocked." With that, she left the apartment, leaving a great mess and a very sad Diamond Dog.
Mount Canterhorn jutted up from the picturesque landscape of the Everfree Province like a lavender finger pointing to the heavens. The city of Canterlot stuck out from its side atop an unthinkably large strutted platform held together by unicorn spells and near-unmatched earth pony construction, visible for endless miles away. Unlike others, the peak of the tallest mountain in Equestria was unmarred by ice caps or snow flurries; ancient pegasi magic kept summit the same temperature as the bottom. It was rumored that, should one reach the top, you would be able to see all of creation.
This, combined with the relatively gentle slope of its smooth face, made the summit the premiere destination for thrill seekers, mountaineers and common tourists. Even the most amateur of climbers could make it to the top with comparative ease.
The beading sweat on her brow and gulping breaths proved that Twilight Sparkle was not among even the most amateur of climbers.
Twilight stopped in her tracks, craning her head in front and behind to gauge her progress. A series of teleports had gotten her a little past halfway, but she needed to save her magic for the upcoming experiment, so the rest of the journey was on hoof. A mumbled prayer of thanks to any and all alicorns she could think of escaped her when she saw the bulk of the journey behind her. Ahead, the wide domed summit sloped away from her a mere few hundred meters; already she could see a thin column of inky smoke rising from just beyond the ridge line, signaling the creature she was seeking. With a deep, determine breath, Twilight willed her tired legs back into action and trudged forward, making a mental note to look into developing some kind of exercise regimen. It was hardly becoming of a savior of the world to not even be able to climb the gentlest of slopes.
The growing soreness in her legs served a decent distraction from the whirlwind raging in her mind. None of it made sense! She had double-checked her double-checks on the math and spell crafting, the element was heated to the point of lowest resistance, her casting was flawless! So why hadn't it worked? Even Fido had checked her work.
The brief thought of the Dog brought a tiny smile to her sweaty face. His presence made the time fly by. Twilight was thrilled that she found a friend who actually challenged her mentally, while at the same time had a cultured sense of humor, kind nature, sharp eyes that radiated warmth and intelligence, a smile that was somehow both intimidating, yet welcoming, like—
Twilight coughed and shook her head. The torrent of thought in her mind was bad enough; she didn't want to think about the tiny flurry building in her chest. The occasional bouts of comfortable silence, sneaked glances out of the corners of eyes, and warm smiles were the least of her concerns.
She set her shoulders and continued her trek up the mountain. The slope was gradually leveling off, and the faint scent of brimstone made her keenly aware of what should be dominating her thoughts.
First, her surrogate brother manifested magic more powerful than even she had thought he could. Then, it was revealed that the source of his magic was some alien sense of ownership over their former home and all their friends. Twilight let out a breathy chuckle remembering the awkward way Spike had tried to explain it to her.
Of course, this revelation carried with it the bombshell that weighed her steps down: Spike was finally leaving her.
Twilight finally crested the hill and saw him. Spike lay on his belly, his arms folded beneath him and both of his legs tucked at his sides, what appeared to be the most comfortable position for his new large body. The ever present flow of smog rising from his nostrils rose straight into the air, starkly framed against the purples and golds of the setting sun.
Twilight paused for a moment to compose herself before approaching. She collected her breath, but her mind refused to calm. Even though both herself and Fido had run through every single variable, her plan was audacious, dangerously so. There were so many variables, so many questions. As she stood behind him, however, only one screamed in her mind.
What am I going to do without my Number One Assistant?
"How long are you going to stand back there?"
Twilight jumped a bit at Spike's voice, booming and deep even in the open air. Spike chuckled and ran a claw through the fins on the side of his head. "Draconic hearing, next best thing to ESP."
She rolled her eyes as she crossed the last few meters to come to his side. "Well, I've always said that... you... must..."
It's true that Twilight had grown up in Canterlot, but her nature as a bookworm didn't lend itself to outdoors adventure, so she had only heard stories of the view from atop Mount Canterhorn. As she slumped down to her haunches next to Spike, she found that mere words could never have fully done justice to the beauty before her.
Wide beams of gold, crimson, and lavender sunlight kissed the Equestrian countryside for seemingly endless miles. The setting sun winked at them from behind a massive thunderhead snarling out of control over the Everfree Forest, but even the dark expanse of woods seemed tiny from this vantage. Entire cities, forests, rivers, and swathes of farmland blended together in a patchwork that stretched out to forever. Just at the bottom of their field of vision, the gem-and-gold-studded top of Canterlot spewed dancing motes of light upwards, a reverse waterfall of sparkling luminescence.
For once, Twilight's unrivaled vocabulary was found wanting. "I... it's..."
Spike's only response was to gently place a claw around her and ease her against his body, pulling her into the closest thing his impossibly strong body could equate to a hug. He chuckled at the sound of her rump dragging across the rocky summit, then gently pressed her against him, letting her body lean on his elongated neck.
Eventually, her body snapped out of the awe-induced shock that had claimed her mind, and she snuggled into his side, her eyes never leaving the scene before her. Slowly, her mind returned enough to feel her tired muscles moan in relief at the warmth radiating from Spike's glossy scales. The thick cords of muscle in his neck twitched and writhed beneath her, a soothing blanket that helped her further relax.
She had no idea how long they sat there together, snuggled against one another like they had for so many years, though their positions reversed. A thick blanket of silence wreathed the pair, but neither seemed to want to break it, nor were they inclined to; for the nearly life-long duo, communication by voice was moot. Every hitched breath, muscle twitch, and vain attempt to scoot closer to the other spoke more than words ever could.
The sun had dipped slightly lower in the sky, now almost touching the raging storm over the Everfree. In the distance, barely audible over their own breathing, the roiling thunderhead growled and gnashed against the magical barriers that prevented it from leaving its unnaturally natural home.
When Spike's booming voice finally cut the silence, she almost jumped. "Hey, Twi?"
"Hmm?"
He turned his great head to face her, a wistful smile just barely hinting at his sharp teeth. "You remember the first time Celestia let you babysit me without Cadance being there?"
After a moment's recollection, a very unladylike snort of laughter escaped her. "I still can't believe you ate the whole thing!"
"I was four years old!" He rounded on her, glaring down his snout playfully. "You were the one who decided to play dress up, and you were the one who decided to basically put a giant piece of candy on my head!" Loud bellows of laughter interrupted his train of thought. "Besides, you just sat there the entire time and let me eat the whole thing!"
Twilight scoffed indignantly. "I was twelve, and you were eating my mentor's favorite diamond necklace! I panicked!" The two collapsed in a fit of giggles. Spike fell to his side, and Twilight lay next to his massive belly.
"Did you really walk all the way up here?" Spike asked after they had collected themselves.
Twilight shook her head. "I teleported three quarters the way up and walked the rest."
"Why didn't you just teleport the whole way?"
"I've been working in a project lately that's been taxing my magic reserves more than I'm used to."
At this, Spike quirked an eyebrow ridge. "Oh, this your uber-secret project?"
"Uh-huh," she said with a nod and a smirk. "Think of it as... you're going away present."
Once those last words left her lips, the air between them seemed to drop in temperature by a few degrees. Their eyes suddenly fell away, darting back and forth, each trying to find someplace to look other than at the other.
Eventually, they both settled on the sunset once more. Spike rolled back onto his belly, but this time Twilight snuggled up next to his head. Before them, the golden and red sunlight just began to dim as the sun sank even further behind the wild Everfree storm. Clouds dotted the landscape outside the wild woods, but no shadows fell due to the suns failing position. At the very top of the sky, the faintest of dark blue was beginning to fade to black, making way for the Lunar Princess's tapestry. This all combined in a slight nip of cold, which Twilight fought by nuzzling harder into Spike's ever present warmth.
As Twilight sat in the most comfortable silence she could imagine, her mind raced with thoughts; feelings she wanted to convey, but failing to find the words to elucidate them. For the first time in a long time, trying to categorize their relationship.
For so many years, Twilight had simply designated Spike as one of her best friends, a constant companion through her greatest trials, but she soon realized that wasn't the case. Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy; these were her friends. What she felt for Spike was so much more.
So, if not friends, maybe Spike was family. For a brief time, she thought maybe these emotions were maternal. After all, Twilight had been the first face Spike had ever seen. However, the numerous times she heard Spike call Celestia "mommy" when he thought she couldn't hear was proof that he didn’t see her that way. Besides, what she felt for the dragon was stronger still.
Very briefly, thoughts of romance had flitted in her head, but they were quickly and summarily dismissed. Her longing to be in Spike's presence was not out of desire for partnership; more, it was exactly the way she felt for Shining Armor, which made it all clear.
When she had called Spike her baby brother, she had meant it as firmly as she could.
After another incalculable amount of time, Spike nudged her out if her reverie. When she looked to him, a playful, but slightly manic look danced in his slitted eyes as he gave his wings a small flap. "Hey, Twi," he nodded towards his back, "hop on."
She stared at him blankly for a few moments before the full weight of the words sunk in, and she jumped to her hooves, backtracking slightly. "Uh, heh, t-that's okay, Spike. I'll, uh... I'll just walk down."
"Oh, come on, Twi! You know you want to."
Twilight laughed nervously, her eyes everywhere but at the expansive wings he was tempting her with. "It's not a question of wanting! It's unsafe."
"Pft," Spike snorted with a large plume of smoke. "Come on, it'll be fine!"
"Spike, I—"
"Twilight." The sudden gentleness of his voice gave her pause. She finally cast her eyes to his. The manic playfulness was gone. In its place was a confidence and strength, the effect compounded by his gentle, warm smile. "Trust me. You'll be fine."
The words twisted like a rusty knife in her heart. Instantly, her resolve cracked, and she didn't just believe, she knew; Spike hadn't let her fall over the past nearly twenty years. He wouldn't let her now.
Her hoof steps were still timid as she climbed up the offered arm, a tiny squeak leaving her lips when he lifted her the remaining distance and gently placed her on his back just between his shoulder blades. Twilight nestled herself in, wrapping her forelegs around his neck, taking just a moment to feel the tightly-packed muscle that ran beneath her. Part of her was still amazed that this was the same chubby whelp she had known for so long.
Spike cracked his neck and crouched down. "Okay, hang on, Twi."
Her grip tightened as she felt the hard muscle beneath her tense. "N-now, Spike, you haven't flown with a passen-ggaaaaaaaa-haaaa-haaaa!"
With speed that caused the world to drop out of focus momentarily, Spike leaped up and took flight. Twilight barely had time to squeeze her eyes shut before her stomach flew into her hind legs and cold wind howled in her face, sending her mane whipping against her back. They fell forever, the nauseating sensation of weightlessness sending her insides tumbling, all the while Twilight’s hooves gripped Spike so hard she was surprised she didn’t pierce the diamond-hard scales.
Just as Twilight had finished her checklist of what her last will and testament should read, the torrent of air rushing at her face eased to a gentle breeze, and her stomach settled back in her belly. No longer falling, her body instead was rocked in a gentle up and down, as a parent would coo a foal to sleep, though she could still feel Spike's powerful wings flapping beneath her chest. She creaked an eyelid open.
By Twilight's best guess, Spike had settled into a gentle flight around two kilometers off the ground. His expansive wings flapped in a gentle rhythm, while his body snaked up and down in a lazy, yet graceful pattern, swimming through the air currents with ease.
Eyes now wide, Twilight's face broke into a wide smile as the breeze tousled her mane behind her. Each time his body would rise and fall, she felt her stomach flutter slightly, though it was now a pleasant, almost giddy feeling.
"How you doing back there?" Spike turned his head to face her, the break in aerodynamics causing the breeze to whip her mane angrily.
Twilight answered with an excited whoop, throwing her arms up carelessly. "This is amazing!"
Spike beamed at the comment. "You ain't seen nothing yet. Hang on!"
Twilight did just that, and Spike gave his wings a mighty flap, then tucked them tight to his side, angling his body downward and bringing them into a steep dive. She cried out in joy again as he picked up speed. Her eyes teared up from the biting wind and her mane stung the back of her neck, but she couldn't have cared less. Despite his bulky frame, Spike sliced through the air at frightening speeds.
A mere few hundred meters up, Spike flared his wings and leveled off. Now much closer to the ground, Twilight could make out the individual trees that blurred by underneath them, smell the damp earth on the driving wind, and it only fueled her gleeful cheers.
Spike expertly ran through a series of tight turns and semi-steep dives. Twilight felt as if she were on the worlds fastest roller coaster, whooping with abandon on every twist and turn, though something told her that Spike was holding back a bit.
They had just arrived over the top of a large lake on the opposite side of the mountain when Twilight felt the cold tickle of magic across her back. "Spike, are y—"
Her question became a shriek as Spike deftly twisted upside down. Twilight hugged his body even harder, but chanced an open eye. Fading sunlight danced and played off the mirrored surface of the lake, a thousand blinking suns beneath her... or above her. Looking down, a blanket of sparkling green magic fell across her back, keeping her firmly between Spike's flapping wings. Slowly, she reached out a hoof for the sparkling lake, but couldn't reach.
Spike eventually flipped back over in a lazy arc. Twilight slapped his back as hard as she could, knowing his diamond-like scales would barely register the hit. "Don't do that!" she yelled over the loud buzz of the wind, a wide smile on her face.
"What? This?" Spike snapped his right wing out taut and jerked his body to the side. The rigid wing sliced into the lake with a loud roar, sending twin geysers of water careening up to the sky. Twilight yelped, but it quickly mutated into laughter. Spike held the position for several seconds, cutting across the surface of the lake, before finally righting himself and flapping his wings hard to get altitude.
"Rainbow Dash teach you that?"
"Nope," Spike huffed before leveling off about a kilometer off the ground. He inclined until they were facing Canterlot, the massive city now tiny in their field of view, then he turned his head to face her, showcasing his confident smirk. "That was a Spike original." His smile took on a predatory gleam, and Twilight once more felt the chilly itch of magic overtake her. "And so is this."
Before Twilight could ask what he meant, she felt a gentle tug on her hind legs, slowly lifting them off his body and into the air.
Her forelegs gripped his hide even tighter. "Spike!"
"Relax, Twilight, I got you." His magic tugged her a little stronger.
Her forelegs gripped him a little stronger. "Levitating me with magic you had less than a months experience with while several kilometers off the ground is the exact opposite of 'having me'!"
"Twilight..."
"Spike, you put me down or I will declaw you with my bare hooves!"
"Twilight!"
His booming shout almost made her lose her grip. She looked up, her frightened eyes meeting his pleading gaze.
"Please, just let go. Trust me."
Let go..
The words echoed loudly in her head. A sudden tiny spark launched a maelstrom of thoughts and calculations flying in her head faster than her current flight speed. Everything she knew about the Elements of Harmony, magic, life, friendship, love. Her eyes went wide despite the howling wind, and a smile spread across her face like a brushfire.
“Sympathetic to its user...”
She released her hold on his neck.
Spike noticed the sudden lack of a deathgrip. With a grin, he floated her over to his head and turned to look at her. Instead of the look of sheer terror he had expected, she wore the dopey smile he knew all too well. He chuckled and shook his head, then angled his body back towards the distant castle.
Several minutes later, Spike swooped down over the disused drill pad behind the castle, back-winging hard enough to rattle the broken-down barracks, and gentle landed on his claws in the center of the concrete pad. Tracking her with his glowing right claw, he gingerly set Twilight down before him. “So?”
Twilight looked up at him with an almost manic grin. “I take back all the things I ever said about you and Rainbow Dash being obsessed! That... that was amazing!”
“I told you!” he chuckled, easing down to a seated position on the concrete pad. “Almost makes you wish you had wings, doesn’t it?”
“Almost,” Twilight giggled as she paced back and forth in front of him, adrenaline from the flight and the revelation she’d had refusing to let her muscles settle.
Spike lounged on his side, propping his head up with his elbow. “So, you want to tell me what it is?”
“What what is?”
“I know you, Twilight, better than you know yourself.” He grinned at her, baring just a bit of teeth. “Up there, you got that, ‘look at me, I’m so smart I figured it out all on my own’ look you get.”
Twilight arched an eyebrow. “Wow, that was... specific.”
“Mm-hmm. Spill it.”
She chuckled and settled down on the concrete pad next to him. “When are you planning on leaving?”
Spike suddenly found the ground beneath him very interesting. “Well,” he said, picking at the ground with a claw, “I’ve been mailing AJ. She said that I can stay in the barn until we figure out what I’m gonna do on a permanent basis. Since I don’t have a whole lot to take with me, I was gonna leave, um... well, whenever we’d said goodbye.”
Twilight smiled warmly at him and nuzzled his massive head. When she pulled back, she reached a hoof up to his cheek. “Wait a few more days?”
“Can I ask why?”
“I just want to double and triple check my calculations before I go ahead with... well, you’ll see,” she said with a smirk. “So, can you wait?”
Spike held her gaze for a few moments, the two sharing more with their eyes than most ponies could with words, before Spike sighed loudly and rolled his eyes. “Ugh, fine! Jeez, you are so clingy!”
“Hey!”
bzzt
Twilight’s horn sparked to life, and a thin wisp of electricity shot into Spike’s flank.
“Ow!” Spike rubbed the spot on his rump, glaring at her. A tiny ring of blue lightning built up around his claw as he flicked a finger at her.
bzzt
“Ouch!” Twilight skittered back a few feet, staring at the tiny wisp of smoke rising from her shoulder. “Did... did you...” She turned her raging eyes to Spike, whose smile dripped smugness. As knowledge dawned on her, her shock and anger filled features morphed into a predatory grin. A bright purple shield popped up around her, and her horn began to spark wildly. Twilight squared her shoulders towards him. “Oh, it is on, lizard boy!”
Spike crouched down and raised his claw, which was now swallowed by a swirling vortex of blue electricity, and bared his razor-sharp teeth. “Bring it on, Sparkle-butt!”
Luna sighed, running a hoof across her tired brow. It was far too early in the evening for this. "General Wall, as I have told you before, I come from a time where discipline was of the utmost importance. When my sister and I were first crowned, it was common for soldiers to be reduced in rank for merely twitching a hoof whilst in formation."
General Stone Wall beamed, the light bouncing off of her pearly whites almost as brightly as it did off the polished armor just barely covering her hulking frame. Beside her, a tan pegasus wearing a brown round hat stood at rigid attention, to the point where Luna was genuinely curious how much longer it would be before his spine cracked. "Then you understand, your highness! What the Drill Sergeant did was mer—"
"But," Luna interrupted with a flick of her silver-shod hoof, "even back in those dark times, soldiers were treated with basic equine dignity. Furthermore, the non-commissioned officer was thought to be professional beyond measure, and officers even more so. Does that standard not still stand?
"Well, yes, but—”
“Therefore, Drill Sergeant Tweak, would you care to explain how it is that you are being a professional and treating your trainees with dignity by threatening to,” she floated a piece of paper up to her snout, then flinched in disgust, “‘anally fornicate with his soul’?”
Tweak’s eyes flickered fearfully between his General and his Princess. “Well, you see, your highness, he... he really pissed me off!”
Luna growled and made to unleash the power of the Voice when a violent explosion rattled the windows of the throne room. Luna grabbed the side of her onyx throne to steady herself, and snuffled at a bit of dust that landed on her snout. “What in the—”
“Great flamin’ whoreballs!” General Stone Wall cried as she leapt back to her hooves. Either not seeing or ignoring the scathing glare from Princess Luna, the massive earth pony charged towards the entrance way to the throne room, already barking orders at the unicorn guards that stood by the door. “Get the lead out, you screw-headed pipsqueaks, we’re under attack!”
Luna growled and followed her out as another resounding crash came from beyond the walls of the throne room.
By the time they reached the outside perimeter of the castle grounds, a small army of Royal Guards were galloping behind Princess Luna and General Wall. Loud cracks of electricity and thundering crashes were still echoing in the air, and bright flashes could be seen just beyond the corner of the castle.
“Get me some damned pegasi in the air in case it’s a griffon incursion!” General Wall barked as she galloped along. “It sounds like it’s coming from the old drill pad. Set a perimeter around the inner walls, and lock down this damned castle!” As they neared, the bangs and flashes had finally died out, but Luna could taste the immense amount of magic in the air; it bubbled on her tongue like soda, and the tingling in her horn agreed that whatever was going on, there was serious magic being almost casually thrown about. Luna’s horn blazed to life, silver moonlight bathing the area. They finally reached the corner. The scene was eerily quiet for a moment. Luna looked to the general and opened her mouth, but a sound finally pierced the calm: snorting, breathy giggles. Sharing a confused glance, Luna and General Wall rounded the corner.
The old drill pad was decimated: the barrack buildings surrounding it were all knocked to the ground, and a veil of dust hung in the air above the piles of rotted wood; large chunks of concrete were blasted into oblivion, leaving only smoking craters, tiny wisps of leftover magic still arcing from the ground; and seated atop the massive pile of rubble and debris were a lavender unicorn and a large purple and green dragon, fur and scales singed in places, mane and head spines ruffled and wild, and both grinning like morons while desperately trying to breath under the fit of giggles that overtook them.
General Wall walked up to Princess Luna, who stared open-mouthed at the destruction before them, and cuffed her on the shoulder.
“Heh, kids.”
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"She had no idea how long they sat there together, snuggled against one another like they had for so many years, though their positions reversed. A thick blanket of silence wreathed the pair, but neither seemed to want to break it, nor were they inclined to; for the nearly life-long duo, communication by voice was moot. Every hitched breath, muscle twitch, and vain attempt to scoot closer to the other spoke more than words ever could."
Sweet Faust...
i.chzbgr.com/maxW500/7102672640/h9DFBA2F3/
Well dragons are something that you don't mess with.
The Elements of Harmony only have a fixed form when they are possessed by a lifeform with sentience, and while that lifeform is in possession of the element, the form is fixed and impossible to change. The only changes that can occur are changes in harmonic potential energy brought about by mutual agreement to an eternally binding variant of a contract to unite two lifeforms.
Hmm, it feels like this just might end soon...
Dang it! I still do not have a clue what Twilight was trying to do ...
D'awww. Twilight and Spike really tugs at the Heartstrings. Even though this is going to end soon, I love this story too much to forget about it.
Excellent work, Tweak. Keep it up!
"Very briefly, thoughts of romance had flitted in her head, but they were quickly and summarily dismissed. Her longing to be in Spike's presence was not out of desire for partnership"
Damn it.
Umm... "three hundred kelvin" is around room temperature...
So this super awesome metal does crazy stuff when heated up to... just above room temperature? And it requires special treatment to do so?
Apocalyptic, but sweeth for all.
2738714>>2739095
Fixed. Damn you, science...
That was well written, and further more it was awesome thanks.
This is quite the change of pace compared to your other story. Without the very strict and urgent time limit, you are able to settle down and flex your world-building and characterizing muscles more. And flex them you did. Lot's of interesting histories both personal and on a grander scale. This is, however, both this story's strength and weakness. Luminous Sky was straightforward and focused, with occasional sprinklings of world building. Finding your Place tends to ramble a bit more.
You've developed a tendency to have characters "explain themselves", though. Perhaps it's just how I perceive things and maybe I shouldn't have read your blog beforehand, but I'm starting to notice that you're using characters bring in your take on the show through heavy-handed explanations. Why does Celestia just sit around and send Twilight to do things for her? Well, Celestia explains this to Cadence and Spike. Isn't it rather unethical for a pony to be able to make others fall in love? Well, don't worry. Cadence explains it properly to Spike. Is Twilight Spike's mommy? Certainly not as Spike makes sure to call Celestia "mom" in one chapter. And if that doesn't tell you everything, Twilight's introspection in this chapter certainly will. It's understandable to want to bring in your take on the show. That's one reason to write a fanfic. I do it too. So my advice is to be cautious.
Now, for this bit...
Where is this coming from? Wasn't it just a story ago that she was arguing for faith versus Bentgrass's "pure logic"? Why the sudden about face? And what's this about faith being moot because you can see a living deity and wield the power of harmony? Being able to perceive something doesn't exclude having faith in it. And this shallow definition is coming from a pony who signed her letters as "Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle". Correct me if I'm wrong. Maybe there's a section in this story I didn't read properly or missed entirely. I just don't know where this is coming from.
2739646
I, uh... Damn. I never even thought of that. That's... Goddammn, that's an excellent point. I mean, here I was more speaking of her feelings on a cosmic level, the whole "if it can't be proven, it isn't real" thing. I think that belief in the demonstrated power of friendship and love and belief in a higher being would be two different things. Over her time in the show and beyond, she has SEEN friendship and harmony do amazing things, yet they are, as stated in Feeling Pinkie Keen and in Luminous Sky, demonstratable, quantifiable, scientific truths of the world they live in. At least in my little world here, magic is science, in so far as I would think the proper name would be "Thaumatalogy." So, at least in my head, it would be a separate thing.
But you do raise a good point. Do you really think the distinction isn't clear enough? I ask because this sounds like it could be a plot hole, one I may have to go back and fill. I'm not the kind of guy to randomly go back and RETCON shit, but you're an author I highly respect and admire, so I'm willing to take your advice. Is it too much a stretch?
As for the other bit, yeah, I do like to explore and explain things I see in the show here. Am I being too blunt about it?
Carbon dating is only applicable to materials of biological origins. (Assuming, of course, that what they call carbon dating is the same thing we mean by it.) It's probably better to replace it with "radioisotope dating" which carbon dating is a particular case of.
2739945
Argh! Science fouls me once again!
Fixed, thanks for that!
2739766
It may simply be a matter of changing the word because we're coming from different definitions here. Faith used in this section seems to be referring only to believing in the existence of God/gods. Even that leaves me perplexed because she acknowledges that Celestia is a physical representation of a living deity. If faith is the belief in the existence of a higher power, shouldn't she be faithful then by virtue of the fact that she believes that Celestia exists?
I'm coming from the definition that faith is not just believing in the existence of something, but believing in its worth. Twilight is Celestia's faithful student, not merely because she acknowledges that Celestia exists, but because she believes in Celestia's worth as a teacher and in the worth of Celestia's teachings. She may be young and has a long road ahead of her, but she truly believes that the guidance she has received has prepared her well. This is why I say that just because you can scientifically prove that something exists doesn't mean that you can't have faith in it.
The truth be told, I don't even think it's a necessary paragraph. Twilight's strong scientific principles have been already established all the way back in Under A Luminous Sky and in the earlier chapters of this story. All this paragraph really does is confuse me with a different definition of faith than the one I'm accustomed to. It doesn't have anything new to say about Twilight Sparkle.
You may not even have to change it. If that's what faith means in your story then that's what it means. I think it's a shallow definition, but it's your call.
As for the other thing. It hasn't reached the point where it feels like I'm getting smacked by a chunk of ham in the face. I simply urge you to be cautious. Let your take on the show come out more naturally through their actions rather than explanations.
Fido and Twilight huh?
I guess you can call this...
-puts on sunglasses-
A Dog and Pony Sho-shot-
My reaction? The same as Twilights
AHA! Found you little bugger.
She instead of should? Or were you trying to make it look like she changed her mind from should to couldn't in order to make it more interesting? In the second case it might need a bit of rephrasing.
Well that was a nice little alicorn Twilight joke
Aaaaand I think that's it for this chapter...Oh no wait! The diamond necklace part was hilarious.
Keep it up.
Fantastic as usal sergant.
...
Hmmm that works as an ordering emoticon right?
2740500
Argh! Fixedededed. Thanks for that, I only had Piquo run through this once, since I was antsy to post, so there's bound to be a few derps.
Also, the original exchange between spike and Twi included SpikeDog jokes.
2740519
WOAH! That was fast!
And spikedog jokes?
...
Why do I have a terribly sudden urge to hear them?
2740533
Ehhhhhh... No. Sorry, but there's a reason they got cut... They sucked.
With the wonderful descriptions you use... to describe the Element of Magic as a "big crown thingy" had me giggling for ages.
I rather liked this chapter... and I have to say I'm enjoying the developing romance
2740721
Okay. I can see why they would suck.
*shivers as he made up some terrible ones himself wondering about it*
.......................................
I'm going to pretend to understand every word of the science they were speaking by smiling and nodding, seriously can we break that down to my level, which is very stupid
Also, why would you want to mess with one of the very weapon that could imprison a God/Goddess?
I like the history of the Diamond Dogs though, Bloodstone is AWESOME!!!!
Holy BUCK! She had thoughts of romance with Spike....*explodes* AWWWWWWW....only briefly eh? Well better then nothing, I'll take it
Mmmmmm....I'm sensing a small bit of romance with Twi and Fido, if so then I guess that's ok just please, break their words down so that me and people like me could understand it better
This always makes me cry a bit because I feel like a squirrel with a nail gun, stupid as shit. But that's why we improve, maybe one day I'll be like you and write like a BUCKING GOD!
Until then I'm content with writing like a really pathetic mortal
Wow, those two know how to play fight (warning, do not go near mortal unicorns with extreme magical talent or large fire breathing, magical wielding dragons, you will die....unless you're one of the Gods
)
NEXT!!!!
Also...more Derpy Hooves please
I've really enjoyed this story and this chapter was simply excellent! You put in such wonderful detail into your stories and I love the character development.
This makes me anxious for your Bentgrass/Trixie story! Keep it up!
2738714 I guess it must be very cold in Equestria....
Why do I get the feeling this phrase was not merely made up for this story?
Definitely would not be pleasant to be on the receiving end IRL, but it is absolutely hysterical to read about...
2761898
Yeah, there is a line we use, but it wouldn't make sense using pony cursing. Threatening to "ButtBuck your soul" doesn't have quite the ring to it.
Okay, that's one more for the favorites pile...
Also, SO MANY TYPOSUETHUIGHUVDSJBSIBV
I'd pick them out if you really wanted me to, but they aren't TOO distracting in the long-run of the story. 
Oh, and I really like seeing a character as well developed as Prof. Fido here in a fanfic. I really think you may just be playing dumb when you claim to not know what you're doing.
2783113
Well, obviously I'm not playing dumb if you found enough typos to bork yor brain!
If you could find the time to PM the mistakes you found to me, I'd appreciate it. No rush, just if you have the spare time.
2783165
I will get to them as soon as possable!
Also, I still stand by my offer to be your prereader.
Oh, my goodness, I am loving how well written this story is!! The banter! The humor! The emotion!! Oh, it fills me with sheer awe with every sentence I read!
More than once, I found myself in tears due to how hard I was laughing.
THAT, my friends, is how you write a good story.
2742699
Is it bad that I understood every single portion of the science lingo they were throwing around?
2851224 Nope, means your smart as shit, which is a great thing
2851593
*whew*
For a moment there, I thought I was the odd duck. Turn around, have fifty sets of eyes glaring daggers at me like, "That cocky little douchebag..."
I hope that's not the same crazy a-- b--ch Queen Terra from "The Immortal Game".
Tirek! The scary, badass villain from G1 My Little Pony.
Jokes about "Magical Mystery Cure"!
Oh, she was comparing him to Bentgrass! Okay so forget Lieutenant Cake. I guess he was just a one time joke. Just two stories, but there's already a pattern here. Twilight develops feelings for some pony or some thing in this case and doesn't really act on them. But really? Fido is a Diamond Dog! I guess for you anything is better than Flash Sentry.
I would have liked to have seen the scene where Spike tells Twilight of his need to return to Ponyville because it's his hoard. That would have been terrifically dramatic. Lost opportunity there.
Also, I don't know how long you've been reading "Harmony Theory" but I feel like the Element of Magic indestructibility and physical properties is inspired by that. I recall that being mentioned in one openings of one of the earlier chapters.
Wait a second, Twilight's plan involves melting down the Element of Magic? Twilight's plan involves melting down the Element of Magic? Even with the fact that they are only trying to remove the setting, I'm honestly kind of appalled at this.
Huh, so the Element said no? That's probably for the best, to be honest, I'm not sure any plan that requires the Element of Magic itself to power a spell is a good long term plan. What if they need it again at some later point? True, they got rid of the Elements in the show, but all signs point to a replacement macguffin in the works with the box and the keys and whatever Rainbow Power (
) ends up being.
Ahh, great scene between Twilight and Spike.
Even better!
I liked those closing scenes between Twilight and Spike. Almost made me feel as if I were watching a scene from a Disney movie.