Twi Fidelityby WilliamLiChaptersWeird Science!Here Comes the SunRhapsody in BlueInterlude - Good VibrationsWeird Science!A puff of smoke shot out at Twilight Sparkle’s face, causing her to cough. She groaned in exasperation. It was going so well. It must’ve been something with the amount of electricity going through the wires. Wiping the sweat of her forehead, she proceeded to find out the origin of this problem. Meanwhile, her young assistant Spike had been looking at her and her contraption in the library’s lab. There were parts and components that Spike didn’t recognize strewn everywhere. Blueprints and used graph papers littered Twilight’s work table. ‘5 days,’ Spike thought to himself, ‘She’s been like this for 5 days. I mean, I know she can get determined, but still. Hey, I wonder if I still have any ice-cream left in the fridge…’ “Spike.” ‘...I should probably buy some more...chocolate could do…’ “Spike..?” ‘...or maybe vanilla? Last one I bought was…’ “Spike!” “Gah!” He exclaimed, being shouted out of his thoughts. “Uh, yes, Twilight?” “Go to the town market and buy me a drink, will you? My throat is getting dry, and I need to keep myself well nourished.” Twilight said, levitating some bits to Spike. “Twilight, don’t you think you should take a rest? Maybe just a quick fiver?” Spike asked, concerned about the well-being of his friend. “Later. I am just on the verge of a scientific breakthrough.” Twilight’s back was turned against Spike. “Do you remember when I found those waves that were discovered in space?” Spike did not remember. “Um...yeah?” “And how that those waves were strangely similar to the ones that Vinyl Scratch’s music table produces, and that they have no definite source?” “Uh…” “And that they may be transmissions?” “Transwha-” “And that there is just the slightest ofpossibilities that these transmissions are not of this planet?” That last line jabbed at Spike. Not of this planet? “So...you’re saying that there’s aliens?” “Exactly!”, Twilight responded with gusto. “Extraterrestrial beings! And not only that, extraterrestrial beings that can project waves that can be re-captured as data. which is what I’m trying to do, which makes it relatively safe to conclude that they have intelligence!” She found herself working herself up, speaking quickly. She couldn't help it. “Oh. Okay.” There was a pregnant pause as Twilight took in what Spike just said. “‘Okay?’”, Twilight exclaimed as she turned and look at Spike in disbelief, “There might be beings from another planet, or even another galaxy away transmitting messages, and your response is ‘okay’?!” “Twilight, we have a draconequus that can bend the laws of nature at his will, a portal to another dimension where I’m a dog, two princesses that control the sun and the moon, and Pinkie Pie. Somehow I don’t think aliens can top that.” “But, but...think of the possibilities!” Spike shrugged. “Eh, maybe I’m jaded. What do you want for your drink? Soda or simple water?” What Spike didn’t tell Twilight is that aliens did excite him, and in any other case he would be intrigued. But looking at what this whole alien thing was doing to her friend, suddenly aliens don’t seem so interesting. “What? Oh, uh…” Twilight’s mind was still reeling from Spike’s very blasé response. “A simple bottle of water will do, Spike. Now if you’ll excuse me, I must get back to my work.” She shooed Spike with her wings. It was obvious to the both of them that it was in a joking manner, but it still hurt Spike in a small way. “Twilight...” Spike wanted to continue talking, but her head had already turned, dug deep into her work. With a sigh, he set off. Twilight looked at Spike as he left, thinking to herself. Spike’s lack of excitement about the whole thing was not really surprising to her, but more of a slight revelation moment. ‘I guess I can be a bit pushy. I mean, not everypony likes science as much as I do.’ She thought to herself. Her friends were proof of that. Not that they weren’t supportive of her, but it was obvious that science and learning were not the first thoughts on their minds if asked about their favorite pastime activities. Oh well. Tinkering with her machine further, her lab was quiet, with only the sound of mechanical items clanging into one another on accident, and her thoughts. The concept of time was slowly starting to fall back to the wayside again as she focused solely on her work. ‘...Maybe I should take a break, like Spike said. Being cooped up in my lab for days on end is probably not good for my health. Yeah, my fur feels very-’ “zbbzbzzzzyou’relisteningtothebestofeverybzzzz...” And just like that, her thoughts of resting a bit were forgotten. Staring at her machine, her thoughts went as follows: ‘BYCELESTIATHEMACHINEWORKS!’ ‘OHCELESTIATHISISTHEWAITWASTHATSPEECH!’ ‘ALIENSTALKOKAYCALMDOWN!’ But her excitement would not let her calm down. She could feel it boiling up within her, just wanting to burst. A scream of triumph, a shriek of success, even a squee, anything. Her breathing starting to become labored, and a wide grin grew on her face, as the mere thoughts of what the implications this could bring brought her to a high. ‘Oh, screw it. I’m alone, aren’t I?!’ “EEEEEEEEEE!”, she let out, followed by unintelligible gibberish of squeals. She danced around her lab in pure delight, not letting the fact that she dances like a drunken mare with gallop plop getting in her way. But wait, her work isn't complete yet! She must polish it! Complete it! Figure out what these extraterrestrials do with these waves! Hurrying herself to her worktable, she doubled her efforts on her machine. Bits and pieces are quickly inserted and removed, to only be re-inserted later. She was working so fast than even she was starting to get confused. Twilight’s brain was on overdrive. Nothing mattered now, only work. “Come on...a connector here, a diode there...the tuning knob’s off, gotta fix that…” “bzzzzzember, we are Music FM, playing everything music 24/7, 7/7! Now stay tuned, cause’ things are about to get weird with our next track, Oingo Boingo’s big hit, Weird Science!” Twilight ceased all movement. Mu...music? Did it just say music? Thoughts plowed into her head like an anvil. Not only did extraterrestrials exist, but they have cultured enough to produce music? And adding to that, their cultures are similar enough that the alien language was almost seemingly identical to Equestrian? Nouns, verbs, adjectives, all strikingly similar? And they even have the concept of fixed duration of time? This was just too much to her. The analytic part of her mind has ridden a question mark into the deep end, taking any coherent thoughts with it. What was left of her mind could only think of this: ‘Music...I think I need music. Yeah, music. Alien music? Music.’ Oh, the calculative part of her will come back in a bit, just not right now. Right now, all she could think of was alien music, as the song started to play. … As the song progressed, Twilight’s thoughts slowly returned to her. ‘...Apparently the alien world has similar musical instruments, too? I think hear a trumpet. Oh wow…’ ‘Hey, you know what? This song’s not bad! I like it!’ ‘...Oh wow, the lyrics remind me of myself, too. Probably accidental, but wow! I really like this song!’ ‘...What’s a hand? From the sound of it, some sort of appendage…’ ‘Living tissue? Warm flesh? Is it trying to resurrect something? Isn’t that very dark magic? ...wait a minute, Twi. You have no idea how this alien’s culture works! I mean who knows? Maybe resurrection is a normal thing there!’ Her head started to bob to the song. Twilight was really feeling the rhythm of it, every beat and every quick double trumpet blare. She especially like the part with the trumpets. It just felt so good to dance to. She did not expect to react such lukewarmly to an alien song. ‘I really like this part! This is a great song!’ ‘...Voodoo dolls and chants? That’s not really science though, is it? No offense to Zecora.’ ‘Simulating the turning off of a machine using their instruments? Within the context of the lyrics, that’s ingenious!’ Twilight felt...weird. She didn't expect to find definitive proof of alien life, but what really surprised was her very liking a song from said alien life. She never heard anything like it, and that entwined her in a way. She's had her fair share of songs that she can't say she hated, but this one was strangely unique, coming from another planet aside. Its composition, its rather eccentric singer, and how that such a wide variety of different sounds can fit together so nicely. “Nice song, Twilight. Who’s it from?” “Spike?!” Twilight had failed to notice that Spike had come back with bottled water in claw, and from the looks of it, for quite a while, too. He was munching on some ice-cream, looking at her nonchalantly. “That’s my name, don’t wear it out.” He quipped as handed out the bottled water to Twilight. “Oh, thanks. Oh, the song?! If you can believe it, Spike, the song’s actually from-” Her words were cut short by the voice coming out of Twilight’s invention. “And that was Oingo Boingo’s ‘Weird Science’! Remember, if you have any requests, don’t hesitate to give us a call at 1-888-xxx-xxxx, and you’ll hear your song straight from the radio to you! Simple as that!” Twilight reached and shut off the machine, but not before remembering where the tuning knob’s position was. She will visit it again, that’s for sure. “Twilight, who was that?” Spike asked, pointing at the origin of the announcer. “That, my dear Spike, was an alien.” Twilight responded with a strange sense of calm. All the initial hype and excitement now dialled back to acceptance. “Really? ‘Cuz that sounded like a regular pony to me.” “I know, right? Believe it or not, that is from an alien source.” “...Really aliens?” “Really aliens.” Spike took that message surprisingly well. Twilight thought that he would at least had a look of shock. Perhaps he really was jaded after all- “Oh wow, this is great! I wonder what could they be saying!” His reaction was delayed, but in the end it showed. Spike looked at Twilight with curiosity in his eyes and excitement in his voice. “...Spike? I thought you said you didn’t care much for my project.” “Oh yeah, about that,” Spike looked down, his claw reaching for his back. “I don’t know, but I think seeing you work so hard might have put me off the whole ‘alien’ bit. I was intrigued, for sure, but I didn’t want to see you work your back off so hard for something that might not even exist. I mean, we’re sure they exist now, but still,” Spike looked at her again, ”...I was worried about you.” Twilight blushed. “Oh, Spike. That was so sweet. Come here, you!” She tackled Spike into an embracing hug. Spike wanted to object, but decided to savor in the moment. “Hey Spike...how long have you been there?” “You mean here? Oh, for quite a while. It was nice to see you let loose a bit. That song really softened you.” “Well, I guess I needed the break, like you said.” “...So...what now?” “What ‘what now’, Spike?” “You just found alien life. Not only that, you found alien music. I would be freaking out if I wasn’t hugging you right now.” “Well...I honestly have no idea to go from here. I guess I should tell Princess Celestia? But a part of me wants to study this further first. The announcer did tell us to call a number, though I don’t know how.” Spike let’s Twilight go of the hug. “Well, whatever you do, just make sure you actually rest this time? I can’t have you suddenly dropping to the floor now, can I?” “Alright alright, I’ll take the occasional break....” Twilight thought for a moment. “I’ll know what I’ll do. I’ll try to contact this alien announcer of ours. Didn’t it say to ‘call’ him with a number? I have no idea how to do that, but I’ll try. Hm...but should I tell it that I’m an alien too?...Nah, probably not. We have literally zero idea on where they are, what they are. And didn’t it say that they only play music? Ooh, maybe I can ask them to play that song again! I’ll record it this time! Then I can hear it whenever I want! Oh wait, I can ask songs from it on behalf of my friends! Oh my gosh! We can analyze their music, study upon their culture! I must begin work at once! Spike, hand me those two things, will you?! Okay, so first we gotta-” “Twwwwiiii?” Spike nudged at her side, looking at her. “What did we just say?” “Oh, um, sorry.” Twilight calmed herself down. “Right now, a trip to the spa sounds about right. You wanna come along, Spike?” “Don’t I?!” Spike exclaimed, “My back’s been aching me. A nice long, and I mean long massage will probably fix it.” And so Spike and Twilight walk out of their homes and into Ponyville, Twilight’s eyes adjusting from not seeing the sun for so long. She found herself humming her new tune. ‘The breakthrough will have to wait’, she thought to herself, ‘Right now, I’m gonna enjoy some quality time with my friend’. Author's Note This is my second attempt at a fanfic. Basically, the spark came into my head when I read the fan-fic that I linked. It was recommended to me through Reddit and I was hooked immediately. I love ponies and I love music. Seeing them clash together made me feel go 'Why didn't I think of that?' So here we are. As for the song in this first chapter, I think it's very fitting, no? A song about science, of course Twilight should hear it. And I didn't choose 'She Blinded Me With Science' because I personally don't like that song much. 'Weird Science' is just so much more catchy. Criticism is very welcome! Here Comes the Sun“Wrench.” “Wrench.” “Wire.” “Wire.” “Cookie.” “Cookie.” Spike handed the treat to Twilight, who proceeded to eat it. It’s been 2 weeks since the initial discovery of the waves, and how that it was from and alien source. Twilight, of course, upon pondering whether she could contact these beings, set herself to work immediately, but not before getting a break on behalf of her assistant Spike. Now, as she neared the completion of her new found passion project, she found herself starting to fall back to old habits. A part of her mind was coaxing her to just ‘reduce’ her sleeping hours, since she’ll be able to finish her work faster. ‘Heck’, it cried, ‘she could've probably finished it within one week if she didn't slept.’ ‘But no,’ She assured herself, ‘I will not mess up myself. No more taking quick naps to be up all night, no.’ Behind her, Spike was lounging around, ready to give Twilight whatever she wanted. He knew better than to interrupt her when she was ‘in the zone’. He looked at the revamped machine that she was making, seeing how far it had transformed. The original design of it could be described as a box with a stick of metal and stuff jutting out of it. Spike vaguely remembered something Twilight said about the knob ‘frequency modulation’ or something. Frankly, he just wanted to see if the improvements that Twilight made to it actually improved it. “I’m done!” Twilight exclaimed. She took a step back to admire her work. “I think this might be it!” “Ooh, let me see it!” Spike inquired, “Oh wow, talk about an upgrade!” Spike looked at the new machine with curiosity and slight awe. The fundamental shape of the box was still there, but Twilight had really put in some additions to it. The wire was still present, but beside it was a rather big dish looking thing pointing up to the sky, with another piece of metal in its center, making it its peak. There were several more knobs, each with ascending numbers surrounding them in a circle. ‘Probably to fine tune these waves’, he thought. There was a cube in a corner, with one of its sides protruding out, riddled with small holes. Right beside that was a set of numbered buttons, ranging from 0 to 9. “So Twilight! You wanna test it now?!” Spike was excited, because aliens. “Not yet, Spike.”, Twilight responded, “I have to contemplate our options. I mean, yes, I might have said something about it when I first heard it, but now, just let me go through a few thoughts.” Twilight paced around her lab, thinking on just what to do next. “Okay, so we know that aliens exist. That is certain. And that they have advanced technology. Question one: Should we contact them back?” She said out loud. “What are you talking about, Twilight?!” Spike responded, “Of course we gotta contact them! It’s aliens!” “Hmm...yes, the fact that it’s aliens is very enticing, but for all we know, they could be bad aliens, Spike. A more...offensive type of aliens.” “Bah, I’m sure we can hold them off! We have the princesses!” “That’s a very immature thought, but yeah, the princesses are really powerful…” Twilight pondered, “Alright, we’ll give them the benefit of the doubt. They’re good aliens. Question 2: Should we tell them that we can hear them?” Spike was quiet for this question. This was something he hadn’t thought about. “From what I can gather, Spike, that wave was specifically transmitting music. Now, if their cultures are any similar to ours -and if I remember correctly, they are- then a music...station, if you will, is probably not the best way to inform them of our existence.” Spike was trying hard to follow Twilight’s brain. “So…” he murmured, trying to piece his thoughts together, “we don’t tell them we know them?” “...Yeah. That may not be the most sensible course of action, but I feel like it’s the best one.” She responded to herself. “And besides, with how our languages are so similar, maybe even identical, would they even take us seriously?” “...Nah, probably not.” Spike responded. “Alright then. So they will not know about us, which leads me to Question 3: What do we with this new information?” “I dunno, Twi. Should we tell the princesses?” “Yeah, that’s a must, for sure. But...I wanna hold on to my invention for a little while longer for...personal enjoyment.” Twilight felt a slight bit of selfishness. “Oh? Really? I think this might be the first I ever hear you say that, Twi. Good on you.” “I know I sound sel-wait, good on me?” Twilight reacted to Spike’s comment, “Why do you say that?” “I just think you should have more ‘personal enjoyment’, Twi.” Spike responded, “Now come on, start up your...what do you call it?” “Oh!” Twilight said out loud, “I didn’t even give my invention a name yet!” “Well? What should we call it?” “I...don’t know. Give me a few minutes.” Twilight thought about it long and hard. What did that announcer say again? Something...radio? “...If I remember correctly, Spike, I think the aliens called it a...radio?” “I have no idea. It’s been 2 weeks, and you’re the one with the good memory.” “Hmm...fine then, I shall call it a ‘radio’.” “Alright, it’s called radio, now start it!” “Just one last thing, Spike.” Spike groaned in response. “It’ll be quick. Just let me get my notepad and quill. Not studying this would be a travesty.” She levitated her notepad and quill towards herself and magically applied ink onto her quill, ensuring it does not run out mid-use. “Okay. I’ll start the machine now, Spike. Here’s to hoping it actually works.” She started up the radio. At first, only static filled the air. Twilight adjusted the knobs and such, hoping that her memory was correct on what the position of the original knob was, and how she separated it for more fine-tuning. “bzzzzzzzand that wasbzzzzzz” “Twilight! You had it!” Spike exclaimed. “I know! Sorry!” She quickly fiddled the knobs back to the position where the signal was received. “Now, will you look at that, 6 am!” “By Celestia, the machine works!” Spike shouted with joy, but was quickly shushed by Twilight. “Shhh, listen!” Twilight’s ears were glued to the speaker, with notepad and quill ready. “Do you know what I love best about the morning, listeners? When you’re out in the open, clear winds, morning dews, all that, and you’re just there, looking at the horizon, as the sun starts to show...isn’t that just great?” Twilight’s eyes popped. ‘Sun?! They have a sun?! This is amazing!’ She was quick to jot down notes, writing with feverish quickness. “But of course, they’re some of you right now that are still sleeping. Or maybe your sky’s cloudy…” ‘Sky? Cloudy? So they have weather too? So interesting!’ Twilight wrote down. “So for those of you out there who can’t see the sun, this next song I think is the next best thing. This is…” ‘Ooh! Music! Gotta record this!’ Twilight quickly magiced a recording spell. “...Here Comes the Sun, by The Beatles. Enjoy.” The announcer’s voice faded as the song began to play. ‘Ooh, they have, from what it sounds like, a guitar.’ ‘Oh, such nice voices! It’s way different than that last one!’ ‘...I think Princess Celestia might like this song a lot…’ ‘...actually, this whole song does sound like an ode to her…’ Twilight was listening to the song intentively, a smile slowly growing on her face as she felt comforted by it and its subject matter. As the last strums of the guitar came and went, she shut off the radio. “I don’t know about you, Spike, but I really liked that song as well.” “Yeah, it was very soothing.” he responded. “I really liked the singers’ voices.” “And it was about their sun, and how they welcome her, or I guess I should say it. Just what type of aliens are they, to be able to have such similarities like ours…” “Hey Twi, quick question.” Spike asked, “Has anypony ever made a song about Princess Celestia?” “Well…” Twilight thought for a moment, “None that I know of. There probably are some classical compositions made for the Princess, but about her...I’m sorry, Spike. Music is not my strong suit.” “No worries, I was just asking. Did you get a good recording of it?” “Oh, of course I did, Spike.” Twilight reassured him. “And you know, I think a certain somepony is really going to like this song we found.” Spike knew immediately who she was talking about. “But how are we going to explain this to the princess? They don’t even know that our radio thing exists yet.” “Which is why I’m gonna tell her right now. Spike, prepare a letter.” She levitated her quill that she was using to him. “Oh, of course, Twi.” Spike grabbed a blank scroll as Twilight cleared her throat. “Dear Princess Celestia,” she began, “First and foremost, I apologize for a lack of letters in these past 2 weeks. This was because I have been working on a secret project. Now that my project has finally finished, I think it’s time to share it with you. For the last 14 days, I have been working on these ‘waves’ that I have discovered that are not from this planet. Yes, Princess Celestia, we have proof of extraterrestrial life. Not only that, they are intelligent life with several very similar traits with ours. They have a concept of language, which is very similar to Equestrian, their planet has weather, and they even have a concept of fixed time! But what I discovered that might surprise you the most, Princess Celestia, is that they have their own sun, and presumably, moon too. I realize that that seems unbelievable, and that was why I didn’t inform you of it sooner. I was afraid that it might have been a hoax.” ‘Well, technically that was a lie,’ Twilight thought to herself, ‘but I guess there was some bit of truth in it. It very well could’ve been a prank. I’m so happy it’s not, though.’ “And what’s more, I have discovered that these waves that I was getting was actually a transmission of sorts. I have been successful in ‘catching’ these waves and changing them into data with my invention which I call a ‘radio’. With my ‘radio’, I also found out that these transmissions are actually music! Yes, alien music! I was so surprised by this revelation I didn’t even know how to respond! I understand completely if you need some time to take this all in. I’ll leave you to your thoughts on what to do next. If I may have a request, though, it’s that if I can retain my ‘radio’. I’ll happily provide you with the blueprints and schematics for it, but I would be very happy if I could keep my own one for study. One last thing. Just now I switched on my machine and a song was played. I recorded the song at first for personal reasons, but as I listened on, I realized that this song is just perfect for you. I shall fuse it to another scroll, and I will send it shortly. The song’s name is, quite aptly, ‘Here Comes the Sun.’ I have a feeling that you will really like it. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle” Twilight ended her letter. Spike proceeded to roll it up and breathed fire on it, sending it to Canterlot. “Spike, two blank scrolls, please.” Twilight requested. “Right away, Twi.” Spike did as he was told. Spike laid down the two scrolls for Twilight. She conjured the recording that she made. Carefully, she separated the recording into two, while retaining its full length. She infused one copy of the recording into the scrolls each. “Okay, now send one of the scrolls to Princess Celestia. I’ll store the other one.” “Done and done.” Twilight walked toward her cabinets where she stored her papers and diagrams. Everything was listed and organized neatly. Procedure notes for experiments went here, personal assignments were on that shelf there, etc. She would need to clear out some space for this new section. A new section whose contents will have to be sorted, tagged, listed and all that. A new section that she never knew that she would need. A new section that she would simply call, Alien Music. Rhapsody in Blue“Dear Twilight Sparkle, Your findings have certainly been astonishing. I will personally admit that at first, it was all quite unbelievable. After an overnight meeting with the members of the royal cabinet, we have come to the following terms: -This new information shall not be made public until further notice to prevent mass panic. I entrust you that you will only tell your closest friends,and that they too will not spread this. -You are free to experiment on this further with your own invention, but the Royal Academy has requested for your diagrams. They plan to investigate further on these waves. -In no way are you to tell these beings of our existence. If you must, pretend that you are a citizen of their world. We do not know whether they are a hostile species, and the council has urged you to be extremely cautious and ‘play it safe’. And as a final note, I indeed enjoyed the song. I must thank you for it, Twilight Sparkle. Yours truly, Princess Celestia.” Twilight finished reading the letter.She gave herself a moment to let this all sink in. Much like the princess, Twilight couldn't sleep the night before. A mixture of excitement over her new findings and what they may hold, slight worry of Princess Celestia’s response, and just the simple fact that she had a new section in her storage that she hoped that she can fill. All of this combined caused her to muse deep into the night and straight on till morning. Spike, on the other hoof, slept like a hibernating tortoise, only being woken up by the princess’ letter. Spike yawned and gave a groan of tiredness. “So, Twi-” his words were cut short when he noticed Twilight’s face. “By Celestia, Twilight, did you even sleep last night?” Twilight was ruffled. Sandbags hung under her eyes and her mane was unkept. She was swaying slightly, her body unsure if it will fall unconscious and collapse to the floor. “How could I, Spike? There was just so many things I could do.” Twilight replied drearily. “Okay, Twi. Alien music or not, you need sleep. Now just get back to bed and I'll wake you when I think you've slept enough.” “But the pr-” “Nonono, sleep now.” “...alright, Spike. I'll go sleep. But at least let me write my thoughts first. I don't wanna forget them.” Spike groaned again. “Ugh, fine. But the second you finish, you're going to bed.” “Sure will, Spike.” Twilight levitated her quill and a blank scroll towards herself, her eyes trying not to close in the process. She tried to write her thoughts down neatly, but the end result was more of a scribble of words than clear bullet points. “..buh there. Done.” Twilight said, her tongue slowly refusing to move. “Okay, now go to bed.” Spike slowly led Twilight to her bedroom. Somewhere along the line, the fatigue of lack of sleep came down on her hard. ‘Maybe not thinking about sleep helped a bit.’ Spike thought to himself. Finally they arrived at her bedroom. Twilight laid down on her bed and was immediately knocked out cold. Spike tried to pull a blanket over her, but gave up when she wouldn’t budge. Quietly, he walked out of her room and closed the door. “Now I have the place all to myself.” Spike said to no-one in particular. “What to do, what to do…” Walking down from her bedroom and back into Twilight’s lab, he noticed the note that she wrote on before going to bed. Curiously, he picked it up and tried to read what she wrote. ‘Let’s see...something something contact something something…’, thought Spike, ‘Jeez, Twi, you really let yourself go when you get tired.’ ‘something something auto-infusion of music to scrolls?’ Spike thought, ‘let’s see....will try to make radio record music automatically to lessen use of magic.’ “That’s not a bad idea.” Spike said once again to himself. Putting down the note, he gave a glance over the entire lab. His eyes landed on the radio, and an idea came into his head. ‘Maybe I coul-no!’ Spike was quick to reprimand himself, ‘This is Twilight’s big invention! What would she do if you broke it?!’ ‘I’m sure she can build anoth-’ ‘No!’ ‘You know you want t-’ ‘I do but that’s besides the point! I will not let you ruin her work, brain!’ To escape the clutches of his own curiosity, Spike thought it would be best if he went out to town. He’ll try to repress those thoughts. Maybe Rarity needs some help at her boutique. Yeah, that’ll keep him occupied for a while. The sun was already setting when Rarity finally let him go. Spike didn’t complain, because more time with Rarity is always good to his ears, but being a pin-cushion does get tiring after a while. ‘I wonder if Twilight’s already awake.’ Spike thought, ‘She’s probably wondering where am I right now.’ His question was answered when he heard something coming out of Twilight’s house as he neared it. It sounded like someone was playing the piano, and whoever was playing it was playing it good. Spike opened the door to Twilight’s lab, when he noticed that another sound had joined in with the piano. To Spike, it sounded like a very weird-sounding trumpet. It fitted pretty well with the piano, though. “Spike! Where have you been?!” shouted a voice that Spike recognised instantly. “Um, sorry Twi. Didn’t want to bother you.” “Well, now that you're here, be a dear and help me send these to Princess Celestia. The Royal Academy wants my blueprints for the radio.” Twilight levitated some scrolls towards Spike, who did what he was told. As he set fire to the scrolls, he noticed that Twilight’s radio had an upgrade. Right beside the thing, a black disk was laid flat on a metal surface. A needle was placed perpendicular to the disk, with wires connecting it and the radio. The disk was rotating, causing the needle to scratch on its surface. Twilight noticed that Spike was looking at the new add-on and said, “I asked for it from Vinyl Scratch. How it didn’t occur to me earlier to use her method of recording, I'll never know.” Spike nodded his head. That's why it was so familiar. “Oh, and the song’s name is ‘Rhapsody in Blue’, by someone called George Gershwin.” Spike nodded his head in silence again. It wasn't that he was speechless, but more that he had nothing to say. Music was playing, so he might as well listen to it. Twilight noticed Spike’s uncharacteristic silence, and didn’t want to break it. She liked the occasional peace and quiet. And oh, the piano was swelling. Twilight was really liking this piece. It had no lyrics, so in Equestrian terms it's more of a ‘composition’ than a ‘song’. ‘Also’, she thought, ’why is it called Rhapsody in Blue? I get the “rhapsody”, but why the color blue? Maybe “blue” has a different meaning to them?’ ‘But then, if we take that into consideration, the word “rhapsody” might have a different meaning to them, too. But that just seems unlikely, with the past two songs…’ ‘Maybe I’m digging too deep into this. Perhaps “blue” is a metaphor, if the concept of metaphors exist to them.’ Deciding to shut her thoughts up, she proceeded to just write what she felt about the song. ‘...unconventional piano style...no rhythm, not necessarily a bad thing…’ She didn’t know if the alien instrument actually is a piano, but they sound so similar she just assumed it was. The piano had changed to a full orchestra, it’s melody sweeping in the air like a gentle breeze by the ears. It fitted in perfectly. ‘...orchestra with piano as forefront…sounds near identical to Equestrian instruments.’ The strings and brass came and went, and for now it was the piano by itself again. If Twilight had to describe it, it sounded like as though somepony was improvising the piano notes as the piece went along, but whoever was improvising was very good at the piano. In a traditional sense, it’s completely off beat, but somehow it works. ‘He gives that stallion at the Gala a run for his money.’ Twilight thought to herself and chuckled. She let the music run its course in relative silence. The piano became frantic, slowly becoming faster and faster. And then the orchestra joined in, also disjointed and quick, as though it was in a hurry. ‘...A build-up up and then a big “BLAM”...’ ‘Build up again, more melodic this time…’ ‘...It sounds like the song is ending…’ The piano played its last notes, with the orchestra giving one last hurrah behind it. Twilight, after waiting a few seconds, determined that the song had indeed finished when the announcer’s voice returned, and switched the radio off. The record beside it slowly turned to a stop. “Well,” Twilight said, “that song wasn't half bad, now was it, Spike?” “...” “Spike?” Twilight turned around, finding it strange that Spike hadn’t responded. He had fallen asleep, probably lulled by the piano. The music had covered his quiet snoring. Twilight looked at Spike’s sleeping form. She hazily remembered him persuading her to bed earlier that day. A small smile grew on her face. Gently, she levitated Spike and floated him to his basket. ‘Sweet dreams, Spike’, she cooed to him before quietly leaving. Walking through her window, Twilight noticed that it was already night time. The moon was shining through it. Looking outside, she could see the dim night lights of Ponyville. There weren’t any streetlights in such a rural town, unlike somewhere like Manehattan, but replacing it were the lights coming from the windows from the small cottages. It was endearing, in a warm sort of way. ‘Manehattan...’ the word and place stuck in Twilight’s head. She didn’t know why. Maybe it was the music. “Oh my, I still have some things left to do!” Reminding herself, she quietly but quickly went back to her lab to finish her work before going to bed. She picked up the record and labelled it with the name and a short description of the song transcribed. Title: Rhapsody in Blue Maker: George Gershwin Description: A long composition, abstract, primary use of piano, classical. ‘It’s nothing much, but it’ll do.’ She thought to herself. Levitating the record to her storage space, she took out the scroll that contained the previous song, ‘Here Comes the Sun’, to transcribe it to a record. They take up less space than a scroll, she found herself thinking. Title: Here Comes the Sun Maker: The Beatles Description: Harmonic, 2/3 singers, suggests that alien planet has a sun, praising. With all that done, Twilight found herself stifling a yawn. ‘I really should go to bed now…’ ,she thought to herself slightly drowsily. She left her work-table in its messy form, and left for her bedroom. Tucking herself in bed and pulling over the blanket, she couldn’t help but be amused by these turns of events. She found herself quite anticipating the next day, for a new day equals a new song, and a new song equals...well, that was what excited her. She didn’t know what song would play. And as she closed her eyes, the piano of the Rhapsody in Blue guided her to sleep, its notes lulling her to dreamland. Author's Note Okay, first things first. I'm sorry that this took a while to upload, but college happened, so yeah. And on the same note, because of college, the amount of updates will probably be few and far between. But don't worry! This fic will not die unless I say it does. I still have some ideas left in me. Interlude - Good VibrationsTwilight Sparkle woke up from a good night's sleep. It was as though...a lot of time had passed. There was a strange feeling, a hodgepodge mix of slight existentialism and mellow longing... She shrugged this feeling off. Rest is all well and good, yes, but she had experimenting to do! With an eager gallop, she hopped off her bed and headed down to her lab, trodding quite hard on the wooden staircase. Something amazing was waiting for her, musical signals from stars away, and she couldn't wait to learn more about them! In fact, she was so excited she didn't notice a perturbed Spike groaning at a sleep disturbed. He grabbed his blanket and pulled it over his head. Just because he helped Twilight correct her sleep schedule yesterday didn't mean she had to do the same. Twilight didn't really know why she was being so hasty. Maybe it was because she wanted to listen to the music as soon as possible, since she did want to record all of them. Not exactly feasible, but she would go down trying! ...but there was something else. Something she couldn't really put her hoof on. A melancholic counterpart to her need. Why in Celestia's flowing mane did it feel like it'd been ages? These feelings kept gnawing at her even when she got to the machine, crude but functional as ever. Starting it up, pushing and pulling the mechanisms to their correct places, she knew what to do. She placed one of the blank records she got from Vinyl on the recorder, and finally, she turned it on. The machine buzzed to life. Spike was unamused. Any chances of him returning to sleep were dashed once Twilight figuratively blew past him to her lab. He hung in his basket, too lazy to get up but too worked up to go back to dreamland. He just laid there, and let the seconds ticked by. The seconds turned to minutes, and the minutes turned into a swirling vortex of unknown values as Spike's mind wandered. This was nice, just lazing like this. Not having a care in the world... ...but it couldn't last. He knew that. He really couldn't just stay in bed all day. If Twilight didn't tell him to get up his conscious would have, and the last thing he needed was someone nagging him. After an indiscernable amount of time, he rolled out of his basket, briefly lying face first on the floor before giving out another groan of lazed tiredness. Doing some stretches, he made his way down to get something to eat. As he pondered on if he should go out and get a hayburger or just cook something, he noticed that the main room was empty. He rolled in eyes, looks like Twilight was still in her lab doing the alien stuff. Taking a quick detour, he headed down there, opening the door and expecting to see a crazed Twi once again melting down over whether or not she had the correct type of screw. "...Twilight?" Twilight looked up to the entrance door to see his young assistant with a concerned face, and he had much to be concerned about. Twilight had been crying, he could see that. Her eyes were wet with tears and he could hear the hitch in her voice, the telltale sign of somepony trying to surpress a sob. Her magic was lifting her notepad and a quill, but they seem relatively unharmed. The machine wasn't on. Spike made his way down quickly. "Twilight, what happened?" he asked, "Did something go wrong with the machine? Did it break?" Twilight didn't respond verbally, opting instead to bring him in for a hug, her warm feathers enveloping him. "...no Spike, it was working." she began, using a hoof to wipe a tear from her muzzle, "...if anything, it was working too well." "What do you mean?" "...I just...," she wasn't sure how to proceed, choosing her words as she went along, "...I think I was in a sad mood...and the music made the sad...go away?" "...but why are you crying then?" "...I think it's probably better if I just played it." Twilight gently turned on the machine once more, but instead of tuning it to the waves she made it pick up what the record had transcribed. The record started to spin, and the tell end of the announcer's voice came through the speakers. "...classic, the song as it was originally meant to be, Good Vibrations by the Beach Boys!" Before Spike could say anything about the name of the song or the artist, the song hit him. Notepad and quill in magical grip, she waited for the music to start. 'The Beach Boys...' she scribbled, 'So there are beaches in this world too. The similarities really are somet- Her writing stops as the music actually began to play. It started with a voice singing, but something about it just hooked her immediately. There was a slight echo to it, and a strange instrument acting as a counter-melody. A drum came afterwards, and what sounded like a tambourine, each seeming like they were doing their own thing but also helped the overall song. This was some very methodical music making, and the voices seemed to get louder? This was completely different to the last on— Her thoughts are intruded once more as the song seemed to hit its chorus. The vocals were...so nice to listen to, and there was a strange "wuuuuaaooowwww" noise too! What is thi— More voices! There were harmonies and counter-harmonies! She wasn't even sure if those were the correct terms but it felt like it! The song returned to what it originally was, which finally prompted Twilight to quickly jot down what she just experienced. She never felt music like this, heard music like this before! The chorus came again, and it felt like it went through her. She didn't want to dance to it or anything like that, but just feel it. A complete change in song structure jams her head back to the song. The instruments, the vocals...what was this? This was something ethereal, this was... Twilight's mind blanked out as the music did its job. It was as though there wasn't a point to think about it. A wave of vocals suddenly hit her, along with a strange...bass sound, but she didn't write it down. Her eyes stared into nothingness as she wholly felt the title of this...song. Good vibrations. It wasn't until the song faded out, that Twilight faded back in. That...that was... ...absolutely amazing! By Celestia she had never heard anything like it! It was so...so... And just like that, a tidal wave of emotions hit her at once. Her funk that made her tune in so early, her absolute joy at finding this sound, it was so confusing that Twilight's body could only execute one response: cry. It was a happy cry. She was happy that she got the song, obviously, but there was more. She was happy where she was, at this very instant. She was happy to be who she was, for the past and the future, and all other things. She felt so happy. The song ended once more, with Twilight shutting it off. A silence hung in the air as Spike didn't know what to say. "...uhh, that was nice." was all he could muster. Twilight didn't even mind if Spike didn't "get" it. She was glad that he was here, and that was that. "...so...you wanna go get breakfast?" Twilight gave a small sigh of content. "Sure thing, Spike." Spike gingerly rose from Twilight's embrace, heading up the steps. Twilight followed suit. Yeah, she was glad. Author's Note ...so yeah. It's been a long, long while. I gotta say, I don't really have a concrete explanation as to why I dropped off. I just kinda...did. And to be honest, coming back definitely gave me a myriad of feelings, especially after the show has ended. This felt so long ago...since it was. To anyone that's still reading this, thanks.
Weird Science!A puff of smoke shot out at Twilight Sparkle’s face, causing her to cough. She groaned in exasperation. It was going so well. It must’ve been something with the amount of electricity going through the wires. Wiping the sweat of her forehead, she proceeded to find out the origin of this problem. Meanwhile, her young assistant Spike had been looking at her and her contraption in the library’s lab. There were parts and components that Spike didn’t recognize strewn everywhere. Blueprints and used graph papers littered Twilight’s work table. ‘5 days,’ Spike thought to himself, ‘She’s been like this for 5 days. I mean, I know she can get determined, but still. Hey, I wonder if I still have any ice-cream left in the fridge…’ “Spike.” ‘...I should probably buy some more...chocolate could do…’ “Spike..?” ‘...or maybe vanilla? Last one I bought was…’ “Spike!” “Gah!” He exclaimed, being shouted out of his thoughts. “Uh, yes, Twilight?” “Go to the town market and buy me a drink, will you? My throat is getting dry, and I need to keep myself well nourished.” Twilight said, levitating some bits to Spike. “Twilight, don’t you think you should take a rest? Maybe just a quick fiver?” Spike asked, concerned about the well-being of his friend. “Later. I am just on the verge of a scientific breakthrough.” Twilight’s back was turned against Spike. “Do you remember when I found those waves that were discovered in space?” Spike did not remember. “Um...yeah?” “And how that those waves were strangely similar to the ones that Vinyl Scratch’s music table produces, and that they have no definite source?” “Uh…” “And that they may be transmissions?” “Transwha-” “And that there is just the slightest ofpossibilities that these transmissions are not of this planet?” That last line jabbed at Spike. Not of this planet? “So...you’re saying that there’s aliens?” “Exactly!”, Twilight responded with gusto. “Extraterrestrial beings! And not only that, extraterrestrial beings that can project waves that can be re-captured as data. which is what I’m trying to do, which makes it relatively safe to conclude that they have intelligence!” She found herself working herself up, speaking quickly. She couldn't help it. “Oh. Okay.” There was a pregnant pause as Twilight took in what Spike just said. “‘Okay?’”, Twilight exclaimed as she turned and look at Spike in disbelief, “There might be beings from another planet, or even another galaxy away transmitting messages, and your response is ‘okay’?!” “Twilight, we have a draconequus that can bend the laws of nature at his will, a portal to another dimension where I’m a dog, two princesses that control the sun and the moon, and Pinkie Pie. Somehow I don’t think aliens can top that.” “But, but...think of the possibilities!” Spike shrugged. “Eh, maybe I’m jaded. What do you want for your drink? Soda or simple water?” What Spike didn’t tell Twilight is that aliens did excite him, and in any other case he would be intrigued. But looking at what this whole alien thing was doing to her friend, suddenly aliens don’t seem so interesting. “What? Oh, uh…” Twilight’s mind was still reeling from Spike’s very blasé response. “A simple bottle of water will do, Spike. Now if you’ll excuse me, I must get back to my work.” She shooed Spike with her wings. It was obvious to the both of them that it was in a joking manner, but it still hurt Spike in a small way. “Twilight...” Spike wanted to continue talking, but her head had already turned, dug deep into her work. With a sigh, he set off. Twilight looked at Spike as he left, thinking to herself. Spike’s lack of excitement about the whole thing was not really surprising to her, but more of a slight revelation moment. ‘I guess I can be a bit pushy. I mean, not everypony likes science as much as I do.’ She thought to herself. Her friends were proof of that. Not that they weren’t supportive of her, but it was obvious that science and learning were not the first thoughts on their minds if asked about their favorite pastime activities. Oh well. Tinkering with her machine further, her lab was quiet, with only the sound of mechanical items clanging into one another on accident, and her thoughts. The concept of time was slowly starting to fall back to the wayside again as she focused solely on her work. ‘...Maybe I should take a break, like Spike said. Being cooped up in my lab for days on end is probably not good for my health. Yeah, my fur feels very-’ “zbbzbzzzzyou’relisteningtothebestofeverybzzzz...” And just like that, her thoughts of resting a bit were forgotten. Staring at her machine, her thoughts went as follows: ‘BYCELESTIATHEMACHINEWORKS!’ ‘OHCELESTIATHISISTHEWAITWASTHATSPEECH!’ ‘ALIENSTALKOKAYCALMDOWN!’ But her excitement would not let her calm down. She could feel it boiling up within her, just wanting to burst. A scream of triumph, a shriek of success, even a squee, anything. Her breathing starting to become labored, and a wide grin grew on her face, as the mere thoughts of what the implications this could bring brought her to a high. ‘Oh, screw it. I’m alone, aren’t I?!’ “EEEEEEEEEE!”, she let out, followed by unintelligible gibberish of squeals. She danced around her lab in pure delight, not letting the fact that she dances like a drunken mare with gallop plop getting in her way. But wait, her work isn't complete yet! She must polish it! Complete it! Figure out what these extraterrestrials do with these waves! Hurrying herself to her worktable, she doubled her efforts on her machine. Bits and pieces are quickly inserted and removed, to only be re-inserted later. She was working so fast than even she was starting to get confused. Twilight’s brain was on overdrive. Nothing mattered now, only work. “Come on...a connector here, a diode there...the tuning knob’s off, gotta fix that…” “bzzzzzember, we are Music FM, playing everything music 24/7, 7/7! Now stay tuned, cause’ things are about to get weird with our next track, Oingo Boingo’s big hit, Weird Science!” Twilight ceased all movement. Mu...music? Did it just say music? Thoughts plowed into her head like an anvil. Not only did extraterrestrials exist, but they have cultured enough to produce music? And adding to that, their cultures are similar enough that the alien language was almost seemingly identical to Equestrian? Nouns, verbs, adjectives, all strikingly similar? And they even have the concept of fixed duration of time? This was just too much to her. The analytic part of her mind has ridden a question mark into the deep end, taking any coherent thoughts with it. What was left of her mind could only think of this: ‘Music...I think I need music. Yeah, music. Alien music? Music.’ Oh, the calculative part of her will come back in a bit, just not right now. Right now, all she could think of was alien music, as the song started to play. … As the song progressed, Twilight’s thoughts slowly returned to her. ‘...Apparently the alien world has similar musical instruments, too? I think hear a trumpet. Oh wow…’ ‘Hey, you know what? This song’s not bad! I like it!’ ‘...Oh wow, the lyrics remind me of myself, too. Probably accidental, but wow! I really like this song!’ ‘...What’s a hand? From the sound of it, some sort of appendage…’ ‘Living tissue? Warm flesh? Is it trying to resurrect something? Isn’t that very dark magic? ...wait a minute, Twi. You have no idea how this alien’s culture works! I mean who knows? Maybe resurrection is a normal thing there!’ Her head started to bob to the song. Twilight was really feeling the rhythm of it, every beat and every quick double trumpet blare. She especially like the part with the trumpets. It just felt so good to dance to. She did not expect to react such lukewarmly to an alien song. ‘I really like this part! This is a great song!’ ‘...Voodoo dolls and chants? That’s not really science though, is it? No offense to Zecora.’ ‘Simulating the turning off of a machine using their instruments? Within the context of the lyrics, that’s ingenious!’ Twilight felt...weird. She didn't expect to find definitive proof of alien life, but what really surprised was her very liking a song from said alien life. She never heard anything like it, and that entwined her in a way. She's had her fair share of songs that she can't say she hated, but this one was strangely unique, coming from another planet aside. Its composition, its rather eccentric singer, and how that such a wide variety of different sounds can fit together so nicely. “Nice song, Twilight. Who’s it from?” “Spike?!” Twilight had failed to notice that Spike had come back with bottled water in claw, and from the looks of it, for quite a while, too. He was munching on some ice-cream, looking at her nonchalantly. “That’s my name, don’t wear it out.” He quipped as handed out the bottled water to Twilight. “Oh, thanks. Oh, the song?! If you can believe it, Spike, the song’s actually from-” Her words were cut short by the voice coming out of Twilight’s invention. “And that was Oingo Boingo’s ‘Weird Science’! Remember, if you have any requests, don’t hesitate to give us a call at 1-888-xxx-xxxx, and you’ll hear your song straight from the radio to you! Simple as that!” Twilight reached and shut off the machine, but not before remembering where the tuning knob’s position was. She will visit it again, that’s for sure. “Twilight, who was that?” Spike asked, pointing at the origin of the announcer. “That, my dear Spike, was an alien.” Twilight responded with a strange sense of calm. All the initial hype and excitement now dialled back to acceptance. “Really? ‘Cuz that sounded like a regular pony to me.” “I know, right? Believe it or not, that is from an alien source.” “...Really aliens?” “Really aliens.” Spike took that message surprisingly well. Twilight thought that he would at least had a look of shock. Perhaps he really was jaded after all- “Oh wow, this is great! I wonder what could they be saying!” His reaction was delayed, but in the end it showed. Spike looked at Twilight with curiosity in his eyes and excitement in his voice. “...Spike? I thought you said you didn’t care much for my project.” “Oh yeah, about that,” Spike looked down, his claw reaching for his back. “I don’t know, but I think seeing you work so hard might have put me off the whole ‘alien’ bit. I was intrigued, for sure, but I didn’t want to see you work your back off so hard for something that might not even exist. I mean, we’re sure they exist now, but still,” Spike looked at her again, ”...I was worried about you.” Twilight blushed. “Oh, Spike. That was so sweet. Come here, you!” She tackled Spike into an embracing hug. Spike wanted to object, but decided to savor in the moment. “Hey Spike...how long have you been there?” “You mean here? Oh, for quite a while. It was nice to see you let loose a bit. That song really softened you.” “Well, I guess I needed the break, like you said.” “...So...what now?” “What ‘what now’, Spike?” “You just found alien life. Not only that, you found alien music. I would be freaking out if I wasn’t hugging you right now.” “Well...I honestly have no idea to go from here. I guess I should tell Princess Celestia? But a part of me wants to study this further first. The announcer did tell us to call a number, though I don’t know how.” Spike let’s Twilight go of the hug. “Well, whatever you do, just make sure you actually rest this time? I can’t have you suddenly dropping to the floor now, can I?” “Alright alright, I’ll take the occasional break....” Twilight thought for a moment. “I’ll know what I’ll do. I’ll try to contact this alien announcer of ours. Didn’t it say to ‘call’ him with a number? I have no idea how to do that, but I’ll try. Hm...but should I tell it that I’m an alien too?...Nah, probably not. We have literally zero idea on where they are, what they are. And didn’t it say that they only play music? Ooh, maybe I can ask them to play that song again! I’ll record it this time! Then I can hear it whenever I want! Oh wait, I can ask songs from it on behalf of my friends! Oh my gosh! We can analyze their music, study upon their culture! I must begin work at once! Spike, hand me those two things, will you?! Okay, so first we gotta-” “Twwwwiiii?” Spike nudged at her side, looking at her. “What did we just say?” “Oh, um, sorry.” Twilight calmed herself down. “Right now, a trip to the spa sounds about right. You wanna come along, Spike?” “Don’t I?!” Spike exclaimed, “My back’s been aching me. A nice long, and I mean long massage will probably fix it.” And so Spike and Twilight walk out of their homes and into Ponyville, Twilight’s eyes adjusting from not seeing the sun for so long. She found herself humming her new tune. ‘The breakthrough will have to wait’, she thought to herself, ‘Right now, I’m gonna enjoy some quality time with my friend’. Author's Note This is my second attempt at a fanfic. Basically, the spark came into my head when I read the fan-fic that I linked. It was recommended to me through Reddit and I was hooked immediately. I love ponies and I love music. Seeing them clash together made me feel go 'Why didn't I think of that?' So here we are. As for the song in this first chapter, I think it's very fitting, no? A song about science, of course Twilight should hear it. And I didn't choose 'She Blinded Me With Science' because I personally don't like that song much. 'Weird Science' is just so much more catchy. Criticism is very welcome!
Here Comes the Sun“Wrench.” “Wrench.” “Wire.” “Wire.” “Cookie.” “Cookie.” Spike handed the treat to Twilight, who proceeded to eat it. It’s been 2 weeks since the initial discovery of the waves, and how that it was from and alien source. Twilight, of course, upon pondering whether she could contact these beings, set herself to work immediately, but not before getting a break on behalf of her assistant Spike. Now, as she neared the completion of her new found passion project, she found herself starting to fall back to old habits. A part of her mind was coaxing her to just ‘reduce’ her sleeping hours, since she’ll be able to finish her work faster. ‘Heck’, it cried, ‘she could've probably finished it within one week if she didn't slept.’ ‘But no,’ She assured herself, ‘I will not mess up myself. No more taking quick naps to be up all night, no.’ Behind her, Spike was lounging around, ready to give Twilight whatever she wanted. He knew better than to interrupt her when she was ‘in the zone’. He looked at the revamped machine that she was making, seeing how far it had transformed. The original design of it could be described as a box with a stick of metal and stuff jutting out of it. Spike vaguely remembered something Twilight said about the knob ‘frequency modulation’ or something. Frankly, he just wanted to see if the improvements that Twilight made to it actually improved it. “I’m done!” Twilight exclaimed. She took a step back to admire her work. “I think this might be it!” “Ooh, let me see it!” Spike inquired, “Oh wow, talk about an upgrade!” Spike looked at the new machine with curiosity and slight awe. The fundamental shape of the box was still there, but Twilight had really put in some additions to it. The wire was still present, but beside it was a rather big dish looking thing pointing up to the sky, with another piece of metal in its center, making it its peak. There were several more knobs, each with ascending numbers surrounding them in a circle. ‘Probably to fine tune these waves’, he thought. There was a cube in a corner, with one of its sides protruding out, riddled with small holes. Right beside that was a set of numbered buttons, ranging from 0 to 9. “So Twilight! You wanna test it now?!” Spike was excited, because aliens. “Not yet, Spike.”, Twilight responded, “I have to contemplate our options. I mean, yes, I might have said something about it when I first heard it, but now, just let me go through a few thoughts.” Twilight paced around her lab, thinking on just what to do next. “Okay, so we know that aliens exist. That is certain. And that they have advanced technology. Question one: Should we contact them back?” She said out loud. “What are you talking about, Twilight?!” Spike responded, “Of course we gotta contact them! It’s aliens!” “Hmm...yes, the fact that it’s aliens is very enticing, but for all we know, they could be bad aliens, Spike. A more...offensive type of aliens.” “Bah, I’m sure we can hold them off! We have the princesses!” “That’s a very immature thought, but yeah, the princesses are really powerful…” Twilight pondered, “Alright, we’ll give them the benefit of the doubt. They’re good aliens. Question 2: Should we tell them that we can hear them?” Spike was quiet for this question. This was something he hadn’t thought about. “From what I can gather, Spike, that wave was specifically transmitting music. Now, if their cultures are any similar to ours -and if I remember correctly, they are- then a music...station, if you will, is probably not the best way to inform them of our existence.” Spike was trying hard to follow Twilight’s brain. “So…” he murmured, trying to piece his thoughts together, “we don’t tell them we know them?” “...Yeah. That may not be the most sensible course of action, but I feel like it’s the best one.” She responded to herself. “And besides, with how our languages are so similar, maybe even identical, would they even take us seriously?” “...Nah, probably not.” Spike responded. “Alright then. So they will not know about us, which leads me to Question 3: What do we with this new information?” “I dunno, Twi. Should we tell the princesses?” “Yeah, that’s a must, for sure. But...I wanna hold on to my invention for a little while longer for...personal enjoyment.” Twilight felt a slight bit of selfishness. “Oh? Really? I think this might be the first I ever hear you say that, Twi. Good on you.” “I know I sound sel-wait, good on me?” Twilight reacted to Spike’s comment, “Why do you say that?” “I just think you should have more ‘personal enjoyment’, Twi.” Spike responded, “Now come on, start up your...what do you call it?” “Oh!” Twilight said out loud, “I didn’t even give my invention a name yet!” “Well? What should we call it?” “I...don’t know. Give me a few minutes.” Twilight thought about it long and hard. What did that announcer say again? Something...radio? “...If I remember correctly, Spike, I think the aliens called it a...radio?” “I have no idea. It’s been 2 weeks, and you’re the one with the good memory.” “Hmm...fine then, I shall call it a ‘radio’.” “Alright, it’s called radio, now start it!” “Just one last thing, Spike.” Spike groaned in response. “It’ll be quick. Just let me get my notepad and quill. Not studying this would be a travesty.” She levitated her notepad and quill towards herself and magically applied ink onto her quill, ensuring it does not run out mid-use. “Okay. I’ll start the machine now, Spike. Here’s to hoping it actually works.” She started up the radio. At first, only static filled the air. Twilight adjusted the knobs and such, hoping that her memory was correct on what the position of the original knob was, and how she separated it for more fine-tuning. “bzzzzzzzand that wasbzzzzzz” “Twilight! You had it!” Spike exclaimed. “I know! Sorry!” She quickly fiddled the knobs back to the position where the signal was received. “Now, will you look at that, 6 am!” “By Celestia, the machine works!” Spike shouted with joy, but was quickly shushed by Twilight. “Shhh, listen!” Twilight’s ears were glued to the speaker, with notepad and quill ready. “Do you know what I love best about the morning, listeners? When you’re out in the open, clear winds, morning dews, all that, and you’re just there, looking at the horizon, as the sun starts to show...isn’t that just great?” Twilight’s eyes popped. ‘Sun?! They have a sun?! This is amazing!’ She was quick to jot down notes, writing with feverish quickness. “But of course, they’re some of you right now that are still sleeping. Or maybe your sky’s cloudy…” ‘Sky? Cloudy? So they have weather too? So interesting!’ Twilight wrote down. “So for those of you out there who can’t see the sun, this next song I think is the next best thing. This is…” ‘Ooh! Music! Gotta record this!’ Twilight quickly magiced a recording spell. “...Here Comes the Sun, by The Beatles. Enjoy.” The announcer’s voice faded as the song began to play. ‘Ooh, they have, from what it sounds like, a guitar.’ ‘Oh, such nice voices! It’s way different than that last one!’ ‘...I think Princess Celestia might like this song a lot…’ ‘...actually, this whole song does sound like an ode to her…’ Twilight was listening to the song intentively, a smile slowly growing on her face as she felt comforted by it and its subject matter. As the last strums of the guitar came and went, she shut off the radio. “I don’t know about you, Spike, but I really liked that song as well.” “Yeah, it was very soothing.” he responded. “I really liked the singers’ voices.” “And it was about their sun, and how they welcome her, or I guess I should say it. Just what type of aliens are they, to be able to have such similarities like ours…” “Hey Twi, quick question.” Spike asked, “Has anypony ever made a song about Princess Celestia?” “Well…” Twilight thought for a moment, “None that I know of. There probably are some classical compositions made for the Princess, but about her...I’m sorry, Spike. Music is not my strong suit.” “No worries, I was just asking. Did you get a good recording of it?” “Oh, of course I did, Spike.” Twilight reassured him. “And you know, I think a certain somepony is really going to like this song we found.” Spike knew immediately who she was talking about. “But how are we going to explain this to the princess? They don’t even know that our radio thing exists yet.” “Which is why I’m gonna tell her right now. Spike, prepare a letter.” She levitated her quill that she was using to him. “Oh, of course, Twi.” Spike grabbed a blank scroll as Twilight cleared her throat. “Dear Princess Celestia,” she began, “First and foremost, I apologize for a lack of letters in these past 2 weeks. This was because I have been working on a secret project. Now that my project has finally finished, I think it’s time to share it with you. For the last 14 days, I have been working on these ‘waves’ that I have discovered that are not from this planet. Yes, Princess Celestia, we have proof of extraterrestrial life. Not only that, they are intelligent life with several very similar traits with ours. They have a concept of language, which is very similar to Equestrian, their planet has weather, and they even have a concept of fixed time! But what I discovered that might surprise you the most, Princess Celestia, is that they have their own sun, and presumably, moon too. I realize that that seems unbelievable, and that was why I didn’t inform you of it sooner. I was afraid that it might have been a hoax.” ‘Well, technically that was a lie,’ Twilight thought to herself, ‘but I guess there was some bit of truth in it. It very well could’ve been a prank. I’m so happy it’s not, though.’ “And what’s more, I have discovered that these waves that I was getting was actually a transmission of sorts. I have been successful in ‘catching’ these waves and changing them into data with my invention which I call a ‘radio’. With my ‘radio’, I also found out that these transmissions are actually music! Yes, alien music! I was so surprised by this revelation I didn’t even know how to respond! I understand completely if you need some time to take this all in. I’ll leave you to your thoughts on what to do next. If I may have a request, though, it’s that if I can retain my ‘radio’. I’ll happily provide you with the blueprints and schematics for it, but I would be very happy if I could keep my own one for study. One last thing. Just now I switched on my machine and a song was played. I recorded the song at first for personal reasons, but as I listened on, I realized that this song is just perfect for you. I shall fuse it to another scroll, and I will send it shortly. The song’s name is, quite aptly, ‘Here Comes the Sun.’ I have a feeling that you will really like it. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle” Twilight ended her letter. Spike proceeded to roll it up and breathed fire on it, sending it to Canterlot. “Spike, two blank scrolls, please.” Twilight requested. “Right away, Twi.” Spike did as he was told. Spike laid down the two scrolls for Twilight. She conjured the recording that she made. Carefully, she separated the recording into two, while retaining its full length. She infused one copy of the recording into the scrolls each. “Okay, now send one of the scrolls to Princess Celestia. I’ll store the other one.” “Done and done.” Twilight walked toward her cabinets where she stored her papers and diagrams. Everything was listed and organized neatly. Procedure notes for experiments went here, personal assignments were on that shelf there, etc. She would need to clear out some space for this new section. A new section whose contents will have to be sorted, tagged, listed and all that. A new section that she never knew that she would need. A new section that she would simply call, Alien Music.
Rhapsody in Blue“Dear Twilight Sparkle, Your findings have certainly been astonishing. I will personally admit that at first, it was all quite unbelievable. After an overnight meeting with the members of the royal cabinet, we have come to the following terms: -This new information shall not be made public until further notice to prevent mass panic. I entrust you that you will only tell your closest friends,and that they too will not spread this. -You are free to experiment on this further with your own invention, but the Royal Academy has requested for your diagrams. They plan to investigate further on these waves. -In no way are you to tell these beings of our existence. If you must, pretend that you are a citizen of their world. We do not know whether they are a hostile species, and the council has urged you to be extremely cautious and ‘play it safe’. And as a final note, I indeed enjoyed the song. I must thank you for it, Twilight Sparkle. Yours truly, Princess Celestia.” Twilight finished reading the letter.She gave herself a moment to let this all sink in. Much like the princess, Twilight couldn't sleep the night before. A mixture of excitement over her new findings and what they may hold, slight worry of Princess Celestia’s response, and just the simple fact that she had a new section in her storage that she hoped that she can fill. All of this combined caused her to muse deep into the night and straight on till morning. Spike, on the other hoof, slept like a hibernating tortoise, only being woken up by the princess’ letter. Spike yawned and gave a groan of tiredness. “So, Twi-” his words were cut short when he noticed Twilight’s face. “By Celestia, Twilight, did you even sleep last night?” Twilight was ruffled. Sandbags hung under her eyes and her mane was unkept. She was swaying slightly, her body unsure if it will fall unconscious and collapse to the floor. “How could I, Spike? There was just so many things I could do.” Twilight replied drearily. “Okay, Twi. Alien music or not, you need sleep. Now just get back to bed and I'll wake you when I think you've slept enough.” “But the pr-” “Nonono, sleep now.” “...alright, Spike. I'll go sleep. But at least let me write my thoughts first. I don't wanna forget them.” Spike groaned again. “Ugh, fine. But the second you finish, you're going to bed.” “Sure will, Spike.” Twilight levitated her quill and a blank scroll towards herself, her eyes trying not to close in the process. She tried to write her thoughts down neatly, but the end result was more of a scribble of words than clear bullet points. “..buh there. Done.” Twilight said, her tongue slowly refusing to move. “Okay, now go to bed.” Spike slowly led Twilight to her bedroom. Somewhere along the line, the fatigue of lack of sleep came down on her hard. ‘Maybe not thinking about sleep helped a bit.’ Spike thought to himself. Finally they arrived at her bedroom. Twilight laid down on her bed and was immediately knocked out cold. Spike tried to pull a blanket over her, but gave up when she wouldn’t budge. Quietly, he walked out of her room and closed the door. “Now I have the place all to myself.” Spike said to no-one in particular. “What to do, what to do…” Walking down from her bedroom and back into Twilight’s lab, he noticed the note that she wrote on before going to bed. Curiously, he picked it up and tried to read what she wrote. ‘Let’s see...something something contact something something…’, thought Spike, ‘Jeez, Twi, you really let yourself go when you get tired.’ ‘something something auto-infusion of music to scrolls?’ Spike thought, ‘let’s see....will try to make radio record music automatically to lessen use of magic.’ “That’s not a bad idea.” Spike said once again to himself. Putting down the note, he gave a glance over the entire lab. His eyes landed on the radio, and an idea came into his head. ‘Maybe I coul-no!’ Spike was quick to reprimand himself, ‘This is Twilight’s big invention! What would she do if you broke it?!’ ‘I’m sure she can build anoth-’ ‘No!’ ‘You know you want t-’ ‘I do but that’s besides the point! I will not let you ruin her work, brain!’ To escape the clutches of his own curiosity, Spike thought it would be best if he went out to town. He’ll try to repress those thoughts. Maybe Rarity needs some help at her boutique. Yeah, that’ll keep him occupied for a while. The sun was already setting when Rarity finally let him go. Spike didn’t complain, because more time with Rarity is always good to his ears, but being a pin-cushion does get tiring after a while. ‘I wonder if Twilight’s already awake.’ Spike thought, ‘She’s probably wondering where am I right now.’ His question was answered when he heard something coming out of Twilight’s house as he neared it. It sounded like someone was playing the piano, and whoever was playing it was playing it good. Spike opened the door to Twilight’s lab, when he noticed that another sound had joined in with the piano. To Spike, it sounded like a very weird-sounding trumpet. It fitted pretty well with the piano, though. “Spike! Where have you been?!” shouted a voice that Spike recognised instantly. “Um, sorry Twi. Didn’t want to bother you.” “Well, now that you're here, be a dear and help me send these to Princess Celestia. The Royal Academy wants my blueprints for the radio.” Twilight levitated some scrolls towards Spike, who did what he was told. As he set fire to the scrolls, he noticed that Twilight’s radio had an upgrade. Right beside the thing, a black disk was laid flat on a metal surface. A needle was placed perpendicular to the disk, with wires connecting it and the radio. The disk was rotating, causing the needle to scratch on its surface. Twilight noticed that Spike was looking at the new add-on and said, “I asked for it from Vinyl Scratch. How it didn’t occur to me earlier to use her method of recording, I'll never know.” Spike nodded his head. That's why it was so familiar. “Oh, and the song’s name is ‘Rhapsody in Blue’, by someone called George Gershwin.” Spike nodded his head in silence again. It wasn't that he was speechless, but more that he had nothing to say. Music was playing, so he might as well listen to it. Twilight noticed Spike’s uncharacteristic silence, and didn’t want to break it. She liked the occasional peace and quiet. And oh, the piano was swelling. Twilight was really liking this piece. It had no lyrics, so in Equestrian terms it's more of a ‘composition’ than a ‘song’. ‘Also’, she thought, ’why is it called Rhapsody in Blue? I get the “rhapsody”, but why the color blue? Maybe “blue” has a different meaning to them?’ ‘But then, if we take that into consideration, the word “rhapsody” might have a different meaning to them, too. But that just seems unlikely, with the past two songs…’ ‘Maybe I’m digging too deep into this. Perhaps “blue” is a metaphor, if the concept of metaphors exist to them.’ Deciding to shut her thoughts up, she proceeded to just write what she felt about the song. ‘...unconventional piano style...no rhythm, not necessarily a bad thing…’ She didn’t know if the alien instrument actually is a piano, but they sound so similar she just assumed it was. The piano had changed to a full orchestra, it’s melody sweeping in the air like a gentle breeze by the ears. It fitted in perfectly. ‘...orchestra with piano as forefront…sounds near identical to Equestrian instruments.’ The strings and brass came and went, and for now it was the piano by itself again. If Twilight had to describe it, it sounded like as though somepony was improvising the piano notes as the piece went along, but whoever was improvising was very good at the piano. In a traditional sense, it’s completely off beat, but somehow it works. ‘He gives that stallion at the Gala a run for his money.’ Twilight thought to herself and chuckled. She let the music run its course in relative silence. The piano became frantic, slowly becoming faster and faster. And then the orchestra joined in, also disjointed and quick, as though it was in a hurry. ‘...A build-up up and then a big “BLAM”...’ ‘Build up again, more melodic this time…’ ‘...It sounds like the song is ending…’ The piano played its last notes, with the orchestra giving one last hurrah behind it. Twilight, after waiting a few seconds, determined that the song had indeed finished when the announcer’s voice returned, and switched the radio off. The record beside it slowly turned to a stop. “Well,” Twilight said, “that song wasn't half bad, now was it, Spike?” “...” “Spike?” Twilight turned around, finding it strange that Spike hadn’t responded. He had fallen asleep, probably lulled by the piano. The music had covered his quiet snoring. Twilight looked at Spike’s sleeping form. She hazily remembered him persuading her to bed earlier that day. A small smile grew on her face. Gently, she levitated Spike and floated him to his basket. ‘Sweet dreams, Spike’, she cooed to him before quietly leaving. Walking through her window, Twilight noticed that it was already night time. The moon was shining through it. Looking outside, she could see the dim night lights of Ponyville. There weren’t any streetlights in such a rural town, unlike somewhere like Manehattan, but replacing it were the lights coming from the windows from the small cottages. It was endearing, in a warm sort of way. ‘Manehattan...’ the word and place stuck in Twilight’s head. She didn’t know why. Maybe it was the music. “Oh my, I still have some things left to do!” Reminding herself, she quietly but quickly went back to her lab to finish her work before going to bed. She picked up the record and labelled it with the name and a short description of the song transcribed. Title: Rhapsody in Blue Maker: George Gershwin Description: A long composition, abstract, primary use of piano, classical. ‘It’s nothing much, but it’ll do.’ She thought to herself. Levitating the record to her storage space, she took out the scroll that contained the previous song, ‘Here Comes the Sun’, to transcribe it to a record. They take up less space than a scroll, she found herself thinking. Title: Here Comes the Sun Maker: The Beatles Description: Harmonic, 2/3 singers, suggests that alien planet has a sun, praising. With all that done, Twilight found herself stifling a yawn. ‘I really should go to bed now…’ ,she thought to herself slightly drowsily. She left her work-table in its messy form, and left for her bedroom. Tucking herself in bed and pulling over the blanket, she couldn’t help but be amused by these turns of events. She found herself quite anticipating the next day, for a new day equals a new song, and a new song equals...well, that was what excited her. She didn’t know what song would play. And as she closed her eyes, the piano of the Rhapsody in Blue guided her to sleep, its notes lulling her to dreamland. Author's Note Okay, first things first. I'm sorry that this took a while to upload, but college happened, so yeah. And on the same note, because of college, the amount of updates will probably be few and far between. But don't worry! This fic will not die unless I say it does. I still have some ideas left in me.
Interlude - Good VibrationsTwilight Sparkle woke up from a good night's sleep. It was as though...a lot of time had passed. There was a strange feeling, a hodgepodge mix of slight existentialism and mellow longing... She shrugged this feeling off. Rest is all well and good, yes, but she had experimenting to do! With an eager gallop, she hopped off her bed and headed down to her lab, trodding quite hard on the wooden staircase. Something amazing was waiting for her, musical signals from stars away, and she couldn't wait to learn more about them! In fact, she was so excited she didn't notice a perturbed Spike groaning at a sleep disturbed. He grabbed his blanket and pulled it over his head. Just because he helped Twilight correct her sleep schedule yesterday didn't mean she had to do the same. Twilight didn't really know why she was being so hasty. Maybe it was because she wanted to listen to the music as soon as possible, since she did want to record all of them. Not exactly feasible, but she would go down trying! ...but there was something else. Something she couldn't really put her hoof on. A melancholic counterpart to her need. Why in Celestia's flowing mane did it feel like it'd been ages? These feelings kept gnawing at her even when she got to the machine, crude but functional as ever. Starting it up, pushing and pulling the mechanisms to their correct places, she knew what to do. She placed one of the blank records she got from Vinyl on the recorder, and finally, she turned it on. The machine buzzed to life. Spike was unamused. Any chances of him returning to sleep were dashed once Twilight figuratively blew past him to her lab. He hung in his basket, too lazy to get up but too worked up to go back to dreamland. He just laid there, and let the seconds ticked by. The seconds turned to minutes, and the minutes turned into a swirling vortex of unknown values as Spike's mind wandered. This was nice, just lazing like this. Not having a care in the world... ...but it couldn't last. He knew that. He really couldn't just stay in bed all day. If Twilight didn't tell him to get up his conscious would have, and the last thing he needed was someone nagging him. After an indiscernable amount of time, he rolled out of his basket, briefly lying face first on the floor before giving out another groan of lazed tiredness. Doing some stretches, he made his way down to get something to eat. As he pondered on if he should go out and get a hayburger or just cook something, he noticed that the main room was empty. He rolled in eyes, looks like Twilight was still in her lab doing the alien stuff. Taking a quick detour, he headed down there, opening the door and expecting to see a crazed Twi once again melting down over whether or not she had the correct type of screw. "...Twilight?" Twilight looked up to the entrance door to see his young assistant with a concerned face, and he had much to be concerned about. Twilight had been crying, he could see that. Her eyes were wet with tears and he could hear the hitch in her voice, the telltale sign of somepony trying to surpress a sob. Her magic was lifting her notepad and a quill, but they seem relatively unharmed. The machine wasn't on. Spike made his way down quickly. "Twilight, what happened?" he asked, "Did something go wrong with the machine? Did it break?" Twilight didn't respond verbally, opting instead to bring him in for a hug, her warm feathers enveloping him. "...no Spike, it was working." she began, using a hoof to wipe a tear from her muzzle, "...if anything, it was working too well." "What do you mean?" "...I just...," she wasn't sure how to proceed, choosing her words as she went along, "...I think I was in a sad mood...and the music made the sad...go away?" "...but why are you crying then?" "...I think it's probably better if I just played it." Twilight gently turned on the machine once more, but instead of tuning it to the waves she made it pick up what the record had transcribed. The record started to spin, and the tell end of the announcer's voice came through the speakers. "...classic, the song as it was originally meant to be, Good Vibrations by the Beach Boys!" Before Spike could say anything about the name of the song or the artist, the song hit him. Notepad and quill in magical grip, she waited for the music to start. 'The Beach Boys...' she scribbled, 'So there are beaches in this world too. The similarities really are somet- Her writing stops as the music actually began to play. It started with a voice singing, but something about it just hooked her immediately. There was a slight echo to it, and a strange instrument acting as a counter-melody. A drum came afterwards, and what sounded like a tambourine, each seeming like they were doing their own thing but also helped the overall song. This was some very methodical music making, and the voices seemed to get louder? This was completely different to the last on— Her thoughts are intruded once more as the song seemed to hit its chorus. The vocals were...so nice to listen to, and there was a strange "wuuuuaaooowwww" noise too! What is thi— More voices! There were harmonies and counter-harmonies! She wasn't even sure if those were the correct terms but it felt like it! The song returned to what it originally was, which finally prompted Twilight to quickly jot down what she just experienced. She never felt music like this, heard music like this before! The chorus came again, and it felt like it went through her. She didn't want to dance to it or anything like that, but just feel it. A complete change in song structure jams her head back to the song. The instruments, the vocals...what was this? This was something ethereal, this was... Twilight's mind blanked out as the music did its job. It was as though there wasn't a point to think about it. A wave of vocals suddenly hit her, along with a strange...bass sound, but she didn't write it down. Her eyes stared into nothingness as she wholly felt the title of this...song. Good vibrations. It wasn't until the song faded out, that Twilight faded back in. That...that was... ...absolutely amazing! By Celestia she had never heard anything like it! It was so...so... And just like that, a tidal wave of emotions hit her at once. Her funk that made her tune in so early, her absolute joy at finding this sound, it was so confusing that Twilight's body could only execute one response: cry. It was a happy cry. She was happy that she got the song, obviously, but there was more. She was happy where she was, at this very instant. She was happy to be who she was, for the past and the future, and all other things. She felt so happy. The song ended once more, with Twilight shutting it off. A silence hung in the air as Spike didn't know what to say. "...uhh, that was nice." was all he could muster. Twilight didn't even mind if Spike didn't "get" it. She was glad that he was here, and that was that. "...so...you wanna go get breakfast?" Twilight gave a small sigh of content. "Sure thing, Spike." Spike gingerly rose from Twilight's embrace, heading up the steps. Twilight followed suit. Yeah, she was glad. Author's Note ...so yeah. It's been a long, long while. I gotta say, I don't really have a concrete explanation as to why I dropped off. I just kinda...did. And to be honest, coming back definitely gave me a myriad of feelings, especially after the show has ended. This felt so long ago...since it was. To anyone that's still reading this, thanks.
