Short stories about the interaction of science and magic.
A collection of short stories styled after the works of Isaac Asimov. The sad tag is there because there is no Science-Fiction tag. With no continuity, I cannot declare any characters in good conscience. More stories will be added as I see fit.
It’s hard to believe that it’s been 14 years since the launch of the first independant space colony. How is life treating you in space? I heard a rumor about you not being able to come back. Something about tissue atrophy. Will I have to come up there if I want to see your face again?
Anyway, I found something amazing. It’s a really old journal I found in the sewers of Old Canterlot. I dated it to 300 years after the Nightmare Moon Incident. You know the period, just before the war with the newly formed Lunar Republic. I tried to get it translated, but nobody I found has any knowledge of the dialect. I am sending it to you in the hopes that you might be able to.
Your friend,
Relic Seeker
December 27, 14(AC)
Dear Relic Seeker,
Unfortunately, the rumors are true. Bones weaken in zero-G, so my body can no longer support its own weight. On the plus side, life expectancy here is very high in zero-G, 100 years on average. You should come visit. The colony at LaGrange 5 is a good spot. It’s mostly an an agricultural center. Very beautiful.
The journal is another matter entirely. It is a very revealing piece that highlights the height of the degradation of the Equestrian monarchy. It was not merely the wrong dialect, but encoded, which is why an ordinary translator would have trouble. The translation of the first entry is enclosed. To prevent confusion, I translated the dates into the ANM (After Nightmare Moon) calendar.
Sincerely,
Data Patterner
January 3, 263 (ANM)
It’s been twenty years since the disappearance of Celestia and things are not looking bright. The power struggle is still going with no sign of stopping. There was another assassination today. I don’t even remember the last king’s name. I suppose it doesn’t matter now. He only reigned for three weeks anyway.
The only thing that doesn’t change in this country is the secret police. A year ago, one of my friends disappeared. Overnight, his home was empty. I told the police and they declared that he never existed. One day, somebody asked a question about the king in public. He was never seen again. Last week, the statue memorializing the Elements of Harmony was demolished. It was declared, “Disruptive to the common order.”
I’m beginning this journal as a record of my findings. This kingdom is falling apart. I will discover what is happening and why.
December 30, 14(AC)
Dear Relic Seeker,
After further examination, I have found this journal to be one of the most important finds in decades. He hit upon the Great Postulate centuries before Spacial Reasoning. The part concerning this discovery is here.
Sincerely,
Data Patterner
February 24, 280 (ANM)
Another assassination today. There has been nothing to report. It is truly depressing.
Today, I heard a story about an empire of eternal crystal, ruled by an alicorn. It is completely gone for some unknown reason. The time frame is almost the same as Celestia’s disappearance. There is no way this can be a coincidence.
I continue to examine everything for a pattern. Something is wrong. It’s not the government, but something else. Tomorrow, I plan to look at the old census and see if I can find a correlation.
February 25, 280 (ANM)
I found the records. I wish I hadn’t. The data is clear. The population of unicorns has been on the decline for centuries. In fact, this extends to all of the races with a stronger connection to magic. Worse still, the population decline is showing an almost exponential decay. There must be a reason.
I am taking this data to the king. I need access to the higher level records. Especially the magic books. I must find the extent of this correlation.
March 14, 280 (ANM)
The connection is definitely magic. I have been digging through the archives of magic books. All of the higher level books are completely blank. The magically locked door holding the “Spell of Infernal Ruin” was unlocked. It’s magical lock was of the highest known level. No one but Celestia could have broken it, yet it is completely gone.
When I opened the scroll, I found a few scattered glyphs, but nothing in any known language. The spell was supposed to be in modern Equestrian.
March 30, 280 (ANM)
They are coming for me. I have very little time. I will hide this in the sewers and return for it, should I escape. The king will die sooner or later, and then I will be forgotten.
My findings are as simple as they are terrifying.
Magic itself is fading.
The most powerful unicorn of her time was Twilight Sparkle. No-one after her even came close to her power. In fact, on the Rantile scale, Twilight only scores a 5. Earlier unicorns scored as high as 10. Over the next century, the levels continued to drop. The most powerful unicorn as of the last census (Celestia’s disappearance) scored a 2 on the scale.
The drops in populations correlate to advances in physics. The birth rates dropped consistently after major scientific discoveries. Unicorn birth rate dropped by 50% after the Laws of Inertia. It bled a further 75% after General Relativity. From what I can tell, Quantum Physics killed the alicorns.
Another example is the dragons. It was a well recorded fact that something was wrong there. Dragons grow linearly with age to a nearly unlimited size. However, starting in the year 1270 (690 BNM) the larger dragons began to die off. The smaller dragons began to suffer from chronic exhaustion and heart problems. It is understood that the heart becomes less efficient as size increases. I now theorize that magic was keeping them alive in the first place. If so, its absence was causing them to lose efficiency. Regardless, it is too late to experiment. the maximum age for dragons dropped below maturity 100 years ago, resulting in their extinction as a race. This leads me to the final, terrifying postulate.
Magic works because we don’t know how the world works. I hear them. I have no more time. (blood obscures the remaining pages.)
A/N: Comments are greatly appreciated. Tell me what you think.
The pair strode down the sleek, white halls. Through a window, they stared at a slowly twitching shape. Pistons hissed gently as mechanical legs kneaded the floor. A blocky body jerkily moved back and forth.
“Progress is advancing at a steady rate,” The first stated, “The body design is becoming steadily more realistic.”
“Very impressive.”
“Do you think we’ll see a truly artificial intelligent robot complete in our lifetimes?”
“I don’t know. On the engineering side, things are looking up. We just had a breakthrough on a new alloy that holds more than twice the weight for half the mass.”
“I know all about that. I designed it. I am talking about the intelligence side. Can we ever hope to build a computer capable of simulating emotion or thought?”
“I don’t know. A better question might be this. ‘What will happen if we do?’”
“Well, I don’t know what to think on that side of things. If it is made, would it be smarter than us? Would it be able to understand us? Would we really have the right to own something that might actually be somebody?”
“I would say that that depends entirely on the nature of the intelligence. For all we know, it will want to serve. It may find pleasure in fulfilling its purpose.”
The first suddenly jerked to a stop.
“Is something wrong?”
With a snap, the body of the first broke down. Gears tore through skin and pneumatics were revealed themselves beneath. Smoke poured out of his mouth as electricity arced across his revealed mechanics. The smoking wreck collapsed to the ground, unmoving.
The pair strode down the sleek, white halls. Through a window, they stared at a slowly twitching shape. Pistons hissed gently as mechanical legs kneaded the floor. A blocky body jerkily moved back and forth.
“Progress is advancing at a steady rate,” The first stated, “The body design is becoming steadily more realistic.”
If you are reading this, then I am no longer alive. The years blend together. After a while, a day feels like an hour and an hour a day. Eventually, the world is a blur. Writing this feels like no more than a second, though I have labored for many hours.
As an immortal being, you will have certain responsibilities, but I am certain you will be able to take over my role. It’s in your nature, after all. The problem with being immortal, then, is the mortality of the mind. A mind can only hold so much. It has room for a great deal. However, even its full capacity cannot hold more than a drop in the bucket of infinity. Eventually, the time comes to reset the clock. While I was young, I valued the rising sun above all. It brought life and beginnings. Only with time have I come to appreciate the setting sun. You are welcome to disagree, but it seems to me that the ending is what gives purpose to life.
I don’t expect you to understand these words now, but if you do, it is your right to deny them. Indeed! Do so! Draw your own conclusions! The world is young, as are you. It is your birthday, after all. So go on, celebrate. Celebrate your youth. Don’t give a second thought to the future, you have so much of it. Wisdom will come with time. Tragedy will rear its head, but you’ll manage somehow, I’m sure. Don’t you dare mourn me. You are doing what I would have wanted. Indeed, what I did.
Your friend, Celestia
A/N: I would like to thank Ambion for graciously agreeing to proof this thing before I put it up. He gave it a great deal of cohesion and symbolism it might not have otherwise had.
I was contacting you about a disturbing event that happened today in the hopes that you might be able to shed some light on it. I and a couple of the other unicorns here have noticed a major increase in power over the last few days. I tried to lift a pencil the other day, only to find a new hole in my ceiling. I don’t want to talk about what happened at Rarity’s boutique. The hospital barely managed to dig out all of the needles.
I need to know if this is a local problem. There are more unicorns in canterlot, so the effect should be much more noticeable there.
Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle
To whom it may concern,
Considering that your letter was transported along one of Celestia’s personal channels, indeed, one whose existence was unknown to us, we can only assume that you were very close to the princess. Your name is listed directly below Princess Luna on classification table. Quite frankly, you may be privy to information that even I am not. For this reason, you will receive an honest account of recent proceedings.
Last night, the guards went up to check on her highness only to find a wall of flames blocking their path. The guards outside reported flames spewing from the windows as well. Eventually, the stone of the tower melted away, revealing a perfect sphere of fire. The sphere of flame is still there, but cloaked by an illusion spell. We can only conclude that Celestia is at the center of the inferno. Notably an illusion spell this powerful had never been attempted until today. To answer your question, the magic amplification effect is not local.
Until this situation is resolved, we ask that you please keep this information to yourself.
Eagle Eye, Head of the Equestrian Intelligence Agency (EIA)
P.S. Letters of this type combust roughly ten minutes after being opened, so you might want to get it away from anything flammable.
The pair approached the orange glow at the peak of the mountain. The first tossed a stone, which slowed as it approached the orange light.
“What do you think?”
“It’s wrong.”
“What do you mean, wrong?”
“The only explanation I have is scaring me.”
“It’s a temporal anomaly, Isn’t it?”
“I believe so.”
The second’s horn glowed. As though in response the orange glow spread a little further, darkening to red at the center.
“Stop!”
“What?”
“It’s the temporal anomaly! I think it’s feeding off magic!”
General Notice: For all EIA agents rank 6 or higher
Luna is down, as is the backup, Twilight sparkle. We received a report first of a blue tinted shaft of light. It is reported to have been an accidental casting of the Invocation of Void. Casualties in Manehattan were kept to a minimum, but Luna seems to be sealed within the rapidly growing sphere of ice.
A rapidly expanding anomaly centered in Ponyville is also causing major problems. It seems to be an undirected application of raw telekinetic force mixed with random teleportation. The ever-increasing sphere is affecting the countryside like some strange mix of blender and hurricane. Evacuation orders are in place.
Our best team is working on finding a solution. For now, all agents are to get all magical devices and unicorns of level ten or higher out into isolation. We cannot afford more damage if this escalates further.
As of now, we are the head of the government. We can only hope to save the kingdom we have inherited.
Addendum 01:
According to the head researcher, a temporal anomaly is developing. It seems to be growing in response to the magic spike, signifying a connection. If it continues to develop, stopping it will become the chief priority of this organization.
Addendum 02
Due a catastrophic collapse in the chain of command, this document is hereby declassified and released to the general public. EIA is finished.
Transcript of conversation, Equestria Research Center:
“The theory doesn’t make sense.”
“Why not? The facts are pretty clear. Time is slowing and stopping because magic is becoming more powerful.”
“But why is magic becoming more powerful? Does it really fit that it would be causing this? I would think that magic would weaken if it were causing this.”
“I honestly don’t know.”
“So in reality, we may as well be back at square one.”
“What are the numbers saying? Do we have much more time?”
“We have three days before complete stasis.”
“I am afraid.”
“We all are.”
Observation Log: Universe 73, Branch 2, 34790 GST
Like most branches of Universe 73, instabilities in space-time provided the inhabitants with abilities that avoided such laws as cause and effect or thermodynamics. Because of these anomalies, visiting such universes has been impossible. However, in Branch 2, the instabilities focused more on time. This eventually caused the complete collapse. Near the end, we recovered a small scrap of parchment written roughly three minutes before final collapse. A transcript is enclosed alongside the other data. With this data we may be able to prevent another such instance.
We were to be married in a week. It was a scandal, I admit. She was the head researcher and I was just a grunt. She’s still standing there. I can barely make her out within the dull orange. I suppose this means her beauty will be preserved forever. Time is up. I have to get this written. I know what the problem was.
We spent our every waking hour trying to find a way to suppress magic. we reasoned that it was causing the temporal anomaly. We were laboring on a false and hopeful assumption. The reality is that time’s collapse was inevitable. Indeed, it was the reason magic existed in the first place. Now it is out of fuel.
Miles was running. It was what he did best, after all. He had been running forever, it seemed. Cold pavement. Soft grass. Muddy earth. It all felt the same under his panicked hooves. He was running from something, but he couldn’t remember why.
The voice came again, “You can’t run forever, Miles.”
Cold reached out to embrace him. Though it tried to shut down his frantic legs, he pushed himself harder, running faster than ever before. Looming suddenly, a town flew past. Colorful and cheerful ponies happily pranced, not even noticing him. The world was dark and grey, but they acted like it was the middle of summer. Again, the cold bit at his heels. Again, he rushed onward.
Wretched and ruined, the houses lay broken. Rubble, weathered by years of neglect, filled the streets.
“You’ll die, you know,” the voice stated flatly, “You’re not supposed to exist.”
This did nothing to alleviate his fears. Indeed, they were magnified. However, his terror finally tripped the breaker. His legs locked, sending him plummeting to the ground. Fortunately, an abandoned mattress broke his stumbling collapse.
“It’s about time,” the voice sighed, “I was worried you might outrun me.”
“What do you want?” Miles gasped, struggling for air.
“I want to give you a choice,” The voice announced, finally stepping into the open. As grey as the rest of the world, it looked like nothing more than a statue. From the center of its face, a single blue eye stared at him.
“What are you? Why have you taken away the colors?”
“I have not done this. You have done it to yourself. You looked into the wrong places, found the wrong things. You could call me The Dreamer, or perhaps The Cadence, if it would make you feel better.”
“What did I find?”
“The truth. And that is why you have to choose.”
“Choose what? What truth?
“Think back. Think about your life before now. What do you see?”
In a flash, a picture came back to him. He was alone within a ruined palace. Sigils depicting the sun and the moon lay broken on the floor. Collapsed sections revealed the remains of a city. Blinking, the colors returned. Ponies, as happy as ever, danced and sang.
“Everywhere I go, I see nothing but ruin and desolation,” he answered.
“That’s because it’s reality. The world is dead. All of the ponies you have seen are nothing more than ghosts, the shades of a ruined world. They were saved by Celestia’s last action. She cast an illusion so intricate that it convinced them that nothing was wrong. They kept on living, believing that they had never died. You have slipped free of the illusion. You don’t have a body. Unless something is done, you will die.”
“So what’s there to choose?”
“Your choices are so very, very simple. You could die, leaving this ruin, or you could forget and live on, forever. What will you choose?”
Twilight soared through the sky on violet wings. The clouds fell away as the cold darkness of space embraced her. Soaring higher still, she found the burning eye of the sun staring down at her. It blinked once, and its voice spoke disapprovingly.
“No.”
Her wings burst into flame. The void yawned open beneath her. She fell, screaming.
Tock.
Twilight blinked. She was running from something. What was it? Behind her, a sound pierced the darkness, the first wail of a newborn foal. She turned in confusion. Why was she running? A figure wreathed in flame stood in the distance. At its feet, the child wailed. Its coat was purple and its horn glowing.
The sun flashed again, burning the world away.
Tick.
Twilight stood outside a store. Two ponies walked out, both herself and another she had never seen before.
“I’m sorry. We’re closing this place down.” The unknown stated, “We no longer have any need of your services.”
From above, a crescent moon fell from the sky, crushing the world into nothing.
Tock.
Twilight was running again. When had she started? Why was she being chased? Behind her, an armored figure charged, spear outstretched. On its forehead, the symbol of the moon glimmered dully. Tripping, she skidded across the ground.
“Why?” she asked the armored being.
The spear plunged down, the darkness coming with it.
Tick.
A stone statue stared down at her, its face a picture of sadness. A single tear dropped from its eyes, striking the ground at her feet. Crystal sprouted from the ground, wrapping around Twilight and dragging her down.
Tock.
She floated alone in a living sea. The glaring sun stared down as the water filled her lungs and the world went dark yet again.
Tick.
With a rattle, the world stopped and she was sent flying off into space. Tock.
The lances came quickly, driving her off of the cliff.
Tick.
She collapsed, unable to keep moving.
To-
Project Transcendance: Final Report
The lead researcher of this project volunteered to take part in it first. Her reasons were simple. The nature of the project did not lend itself well to testing on anything non-sapient. In much the same way, we could not be certain that it would work at all.
It seemed like a success. After an extended period of development, Twilight had manifested all of the intended attributes. From what we could tell, she had become an alicorn. All of our tests indicated the same. No flaws or faults could be found with the procedure. Eventually, the deputy made the call. It was time to wake her up.
One hour later, her brain activity spiked. For several seconds, every reading was off the chart. Barely ten seconds later, all brain activity stopped. She stopped breathing and her heart stopped beating. Twilight Sparkle was pronounced dead on December 13, 1532 at 4:32PM.
After such a failure and loss, we cannot continue this project in good conscience. Perhaps we should never have begun it.
This collection was found among the personal effects of the late Princess Celestia.
transcript of recorded conversation: December 13, 2067 A.D.
“Doctor Grant.”
“Yes?”
“I know that this is insane, but could you please look this report over?”
“What makes it special?”
“It’s an organic compound. The author claims to have synthesized and tested it more than thirty times. According to the report, it has an anomalous effect.”
“What would that be?”
“When it breaks down, it puts out more energy than the energy of its mass.”
“How much more?”
“Almost double.”
“That’s impossible.”
“I tested it with less than a microgram of the stuff.”
“I sense that I’m not going to like the news.”
“The author was lying about testing it thirty times.”
“Why?”
“The shrapnel from the calorimeter exploding in my face convinced me that trying it again would be suicidal.”
“Show me the report.”
Summary of Project: Chaos Source
On this day of November 21, 2080 A.D. Testing will begin. The anomalous compound discovered thirteen years ago is having strange effects on space in the area in exists within. From what we can tell, this is actually a degradation of space itself. Certain organisms have demonstrated a capacity to affect the anomalies in an area augmented by this effect. We will attempt to isolate the factor that enables this.
The second phase is to develop a biocomputer designated 4.9.19.3.15.18.4. It should allow us to control the effect and to study it to a greater extent.
Summary of Project: Heritor
While Chaos Source attempts to control the effects of the anomalous compound, we will seek to use the same methods to avert it outright. Based on our understanding of the effect, it seems reasonable to believe that an engineered organism might be able to negate it outright. Intelligence seems to be a factor in the field, so we will be incorporating this into the base design.
Theoretical model 01-Sol seems to have the highest stability and will be generated first.
Theoretical model 02-Borealis shows certain unfavorable instabilities, but is worth testing. It can theoretically produce the most energy, which makes it worth the risk.
Theoretical models 03-06 offer the greatest stability and lowest overall complexity. They may prove less efficient than models 01 and 02, but will be able to reproduce, making them the most workable solution. They will be rolled out after a successful launch of the prototype.
Summary of Project: Harmonics
While the other teams attempt to use organic methods, this team will devote itself to developing a means of control using better understood means. The effect has measurable differences in the presence of certain crystalline structures. The team will move into orbit for experimentation in zero G.
February 14, 2114
I am writing this now to ensure that some record exists of these events. Sol promised to keep it safe if I could get it to her.
I was originally a high ranking researcher onboard The Cutting Edge, a research vessel working on Project Harmonics.
Project Heritor produced results first. Unit 01: Sol was produced almost ten years ago, followed by Unit 02: Borealis two years later. The mass production models were first created roughly one year after that. The project was completely successful. It produced intelligent, organic entities capable of manipulating and negating the degrading space around the anomalous compound. I personally met Sol, who is both kind and intelligent. I’m halfway convinced she can see the future. She instructed me many years ago about what to do today.
Our project, Harmonics successfully developed a device to completely negate the effects of spatial decay barely two days ago. The final product of this is being sent to Sol alongside this account.
Chaos Source is the problem. It is a refinement of the control aspect, with no attempt to dampen the effect. Within three seconds of activation, it had already turned the entire control team into daisies. That was ten minutes ago. Nuclear warheads are already in the air. They are trying to wipe it from the face of the earth. Things have progressed too far at this point. Humanity is finished. Last I checked, it was systematically destroying everything remotely human it could find.
With any luck, Sol will be able to figure out how to activate Harmonics. But with a king of madness and chaos on the rise, time might already be up.
A/N: To be honest, I tried to squash a massive premise into a very small space. I leave it to you to decide on the success or failure. Reviews are always appreciated.
