Ascendance

"Are you sure you're ready for this, Twilight?" Aerum stood over her while she lay partially sedated on an operation table. She looked back up at him and smiled, although there was a hint of sadness in the expression.

"Don't worry about me, Aerum." She looked away. "I may not like it, but I have to help all of you. Even if it means sacrificing my natural self." Her vision started to fade into black as the anesthesia took a hold of her. The surgeons began the operation.

Twilight looked into the mirror, thinking of the last thing she remembered before falling asleep. She saw her horn, now ornamented with the same black lines of Tiranium that the other scientists bore. She picked up a brush that lay upon the table next to her with the new form of magic she wielded. It felt different to her than the original magic she had once used. Her original magic was something she could feel on the inside, but this magic....this magic was only on the outside. It was just as powerful and potent, but she couldn't feel it. She began brushing her hair with the comb. 'Oh well', she thought, 'At least I actually have magic now.' She set the brush down when a knock rang against her door. She went over to the door and surrounded it with her magical field. The circuit lines coursed over its frame, and she pulled it into open position. Waiting in the hallway was Aeon.

"Hey there, Twilight! Just coming in to check up on you after your surgery. Most ponies can't use their horns until a few days after the procedure, but I saw you open the door with magic, so I'm not worried about you." He looked down for a moment to reform his countenance. "May I come in?"

Twilight stood aside and motioned into the room with her hoof. "Of course, come right on in." Aeon nodded his head and walked into her room, taking a seat on the bed.

"I was wondering if you remembered your past life's work well enough to enlighten me on some of the facts revolving around our magical connection to the planet. I've always wanted to know if there was more knowledge that you didn't put into your writings."

Twilight, now having at least some pseudo-connection to the planet, was able to remember her past life very well, especially the things she had studied. "Absolutely! I've actually been wanting to talk to someone about it." She sat down beside the young scientist on the bed. "My studies were initially sparked by my discovery of what today's ponies call Tiranium within unicorn cadaver's horns. When I collected my first samples, I didn't know what to initially expect, besides that there might be some dangerous consequences to experimentation. Nevertheless, I exposed the samples to different kinds of magic, and they all responded with uniform results. They amplified the already powerful magic that I was using, so I naturally assumed that the substance was a channeling device for magic. My assumption was confirmed when I did a brief side-study on unicorns who were magically disabled from birth. My conclusion on the matter was that every single unicorn with such disabilities had hollow horns with either scarce or no traces of the substance within. So then I started wondering about what magic actually was. If unicorns needed this metal to use it, then it obviously was a dual-part system. I conducted many experiments, most ending in failure, that would determine what magic was. Eventually, I developed a spell that allowed my visual perception to perceive trails of magic wherever they may be. I set up a test with a friend of mine called Rarity to see how the magic manifested whenever she used it. When she would pick up a flower with her magic, I saw something astonishing: There was a magic trail running from the flower to her horn; from her horn to her brain; and from her brain into the ground. The trail ended there, but I could tell that there was more to it. I refined the spell to its absolutely most powerful version, and repeated the same test. I couldn't believe what I saw. I still get goosebumps thinking about it." Twilight was now staring up into the ceiling, with a look of awe on her face. "I looked down into the ground, and saw.......a great network of magical trails running from an immense magical core within the very planet itself. I was even shocked to see one running through my own body. The connection lines where of so many different hues of color, I couldn't even begin to list all of them. My own was purple, and Rarity's was blue. But even beyond ours, there were hundreds, maybe thousands of other lines. I walked around Ponyville in complete amazement, because the lines weren't just connected to unicorns. I saw Pegasi flying around, with the lines shooting out of the ground to meet them, and Earth Ponies connected in the same manner. It was all so wonderful and incredible, because the ponies simply walked and flew around on their own business, completely unaware of this ubiquitous presence. But the most beautiful thing of all....was the fact that there were dimmer lines connecting all of the ponies with each other. When two of them got close together to talk or laugh, the lines flashed brightly and vibrated in beautiful patterns." She let out a soft chuckle. "I must of looked so silly, standing there in the middle of town with my jaw completely agape, tears of joy streaming down my face. I just never knew that the element of magic manifested itself so literally in the form of friendship and harmony. I was, by then, well aware of the common propensity for violence that lay deep within the Equine psyche, but what I couldn't figure out was why we still managed to get along not just effectively, but so naturally." She closed her eyes. "I can still picture the beautiful arching lines stretching from the underground network, shooting up in the sky to connect with the Pegasi, or snaking across the ground to connect to the Earth Ponies. Not a day went by after that where I didn't look at the network with my spell. Oh, one of the most beautiful moments I've ever seen was when I looked at my brother Shining Armor and his wife Cadence with it. The magic lines that ran through them were the brightest I've ever seen, and they made several loops in and out of each of their brains and hearts, tying them together in this knot of magic and love. The Elements of Harmony themselves were curious. They were not connected to the network, except for the element of magic itself. That's what leads me to believe that there are other types of networks that pervade the planet; not just magic. I never saw them in my lifetime, but I had a strong belief that they were there."

Aeon had simply listened in wonder as she retold this story of discovery and knowledge. "Wow, Twilight." He looked at the ground, trying to picture the network. "I knew there was a magical force on the planet, but I didn't know that it was a network that connected all of us together." He looked up at her. "For the two and half centuries that you were dead, everypony has believed that there were only individual connections to the planet, but nothing about inter-connectivity, and certainly nothing about there being other possible networks corresponding to the different Elements of Harmony. I think the only thing we know much about on the matter is the way Tiranium works. You, on the other hand..." He pointed his hoof at Twilight. "You studied these things for almost your entire life, beyond the understanding of any other pony." He scratched the back of his head. "Heck, I'd even be so bold to say that you know more about it in terms of structure than Neterius himself."

Twilight blushed from the prolific complements coming her way. "I could give you a glance of what it all looks like. I remember the spell perfectly. As long as our horns are touching, you should be able to see the network as clearly as I do."

Now Aeon was blushing. "But Twilight, I might not be able to see it because of my modified horn. What if you can't either?" He was hoping she would be sure on something like this.

"I don't know Aeon, but it wouldn't hurt to try." She got up from the bed and closed her eyes. Her horn's Tiranium lines started to glow, and her hair started to hover around her head. A sort of wind began to circle around her, blowing around her mane. A bright flash of light emanated from her horn, and Aeon had to look away for a moment. When he looked back, she was looking straight at him. Both of her eyes had started glowing, and were completely white.

"It's working.", she whispered. Her voice seemed to echo through the air. She slowly approached Aeon and leaned her head in towards his. Aeon's eyes widened as her horn came closer to his, until finally the glowing spectacle touched his own horn. He felt a surge of extreme magical power that he hadn't ever felt before. He clenched his eyes shut from the overwhelming amount of power that coursed through his body. He felt a final, strong surge of magic that forced him to open his eyes. The world around him look much different. It seemed like everything material had faded into some background darkness, leaving behind only transparent shadows of their form. He didn't see anything at first, but then his eyes moved downward. He gasped for breath whenever his gaze fell on the floor; he could see a massive ball of bright, coursing light coming from deep within the ground. To his surprise, the ball was connected with him by a curved, flowing magical line. He looked at Twilight and saw the same thing, only hers appeared to much more powerful than his own. Twilight was now resting most of her body weight upon him; she seemed entranced by the intricate network that stretched out below them. Her hooves had wrapped around his torso, and he found that he had wrapped his hooves around her. He could feel her breath on his face, and the magic still flowing from her horn into his. Even though he couldn't see her pupils and she couldn't see his, they could each tell that the other was staring into their eyes. He looked down again to see a bright, thick, pink line form in between them that connected their hearts. It began to move and stretch in crooks around their hearts, which appeared as golden balls of light within their bodies. It eventually sewed itself into their hearts, and started to form a knot.

The scene suddenly ended, and the view of the network vanished as Twilight quickly pushed herself away from Aeon. Aeon seemed a bit shocked, but immediately understood why she did.

"I'm sorry, Aeon.", she muttered, quite flustered. "I just.....I just can't right now." She looked away from him, her face red hot with embarrassment.

"Twilight, it's ok.....I-"

"Please, Aeon. I......" She sighed. "I just want to be alone right now."

Aeon nodded his head even though she wasn't looking at him. He got up from the bed and walked out of the door, peaking his head back in for a moment. "I'm sorry to have bothered you, Twilight." He shut the door softly behind him. She heard him sigh in disappointment before he walked off.

***

Twilight walked into the large central chamber that Whooves had called her to. He turned around to see her approaching him. "Ah, Twilight! I was wondering if you'd gotten lost." He looked up at the large tower-shaped structure that stood upright in the center of the chamber. "This, Twilight.....this is our key to freedom." He raised his hoof, motioning to the structure. Twilight stared up at it with curiosity.

"What is it?"

Whooves chuckled. "That, my dear, is what we call a rocket-propelled spacecraft. It's a way that ponies can venture into the cosmos beyond this planet. Our key to freedom lies in the fact that the planet's magical network can only reach so far. If we leave its reach, we'll essentially sever our connection to it."

Twilight seemed appalled. "Why would you ever want to disconnect from it entirely?"

"Because that is how Celestia continues to influence us, and to control everypony around us. The only way we can be truly free from her is to sacrifice our magic to do so." He stared adamantly at the rocket. Twilight started to back away.

"Now wait just a minute, I don't want to live without magic. Magic is my passion. It's who I am!"

"I didn't say you had to come with us, Twilight. It would be preferable, but nopony's going to force you to."

"Then why do you even need me if you can just fly away in your spacecraft?!"

Whooves sighed. "We're not exactly sure what will happen when the magical connection leaves us. As far as we can tell, it connects to everypony at their birth, and doesn't disconnect until death. It might play a crucial role in what keeps all of the Equine race alive, and we wouldn't want to die just from venturing too far beyond the planet's surface." He turned to her. "That's why we brought you back, as I've told you. You know more about this magical network than anypony that has ever lived since your time, besides Celestia herself. We were hoping you would research a way to sever a pony's connection without killing them. Celestia can only dampen the brain's ability to channel the magic through the Tiranium in our horns, but the connection from brain to network still exists. That's what makes my modification procedure possible. We place a long resonation tube made from Tiranium into our heads, serving as a physical channel for the magic. The magic resonance has to be just right for it to work, so that's why we have to cut grooves in the horn and fill them in with Tiranium." He had been getting closer to her during this short harangue, and now, he was almost whispering into her ear. "Twilight, listen to me. If anypony can figure out how to accomplish what we've been working for, it's most definitely you."

Twilight simply looked at the ground. She didn't know what to do, or what to think about the situation. She remembered seeing Aeon in such a state of awe whenever he first witnessed the network firsthand. How could she take that away from somepony? How could she work against the natural process that she herself had come to involve herself so deeply in? Being even partially disconnected from it left her feeling empty and meaningless. She turned around and walked out of the chamber. Whooves simply watched her leave, heaving out a long sigh. Twilight walked through the halls of the laboratories, not wanting to end up anywhere specific. She eventually stopped and collapsed sobbing against the wall. She hadn't asked for this. She hadn't been twisting in her grave for somepony to come along and snatch her out of it, just so they could get away from one of the greatest ponies she'd ever known. How was it that this many ponies of such reason and morale had come to hate Princess Celestia? She had died happily in her past life, being content with knowing and discovering all that she had about the universe. No, she thought to herself. I won't do it. No matter what they say or do, I won't tear anypony from the network. Even if it turned out that it was possible without death, how many deaths would she have to cause to get it right? She could almost hear her friend's voices in the distance. She wished that they were real. That all of this had just been a bad dream. That she would wake up any second now to find that Pinkie Pie and Derpy had brought her a fresh batch of muffins for a surprise breakfast. She jumped a little when she felt a pair of hooves rest upon her shoulders. She looked up, tears dripping from her face, to see Aeon sitting on the floor beside her.

"Aeon.....I......I don't know what to do! I can't do this anymore! I can't! I just can't!" Her tears started to flow even more vigorously, and she quivered from her heaving sobs.

Aeon put his arms around her and held her closely. "Shhhhhh...Twilight. It's alright. It's alright. It's alright." He kept repeating this, softening his tone each time, eventually letting his speech fade into silence.