Mirror: Book I - Mind

Sparkling ribbons of light shone through the tall, arched windows like gold and white trails illuminating Town Hall’s main foyer and lobby space. The entire chamber was decorated with banners showcasing the Equestrian Science Committee’s insignia along with large, bold text which read “PONYVILLE E.S.C. 10” Some had mistaken the “10” for the year while others had mistaken it for the tenth committee meeting, wherein reality they were both right, even though they still found room to argue about it. The Ponyville Science Committee branch had risen five years before their first meeting, which took place at the beginning of the Second Diarchy Age, and thus the annual meetings would be in tandem with the year number as they progressed throughout the years.

Along the rotunda walls of the main lobby, several enthusiasts, lab researchers, and officials sat in their pews. A one Dr. Whooves was one such enthusiast and member of the committee, eagerly waiting for his turn to step up to the podium to deliver his speech regarding his latest research notes and technological breakthroughs. He nodded with mirth to the ponies beside him, in front of him and behind, but none seemed to care nor really share the same attitude he had been displaying that morning during his walk from his laboratory and to the Town Hall meeting. The mumbles and murmurs of the crowds ceased almost immediately as everypony’s attention was drawn to the podium at the center. Princess Twilight Sparkle ascended the steps and produced a neatly stacked sheet of papers to read from, clearing her throat to deliver her introductions.

“Good afternoon, everypony.” Her highness began. “Physicians, astronomers, mathematicians, alchemists, professors and enthusiasts alike, it is my honor to welcome you all to Ponyville’s tenth annual Equestrian Science Committee. In just the past few decades, our technology and research development has increased tenfold, wherein we have achieved extraordinary breakthroughs most specifically in the fields of weather manipulation and…agricultural business.”

Twilight immediately became wary of her wavering tone, especially on those last two words. The statement alone seemed slightly out of place for a science meeting, but she gave it a mental shrug and simply continued to repeat what was to be read off of the papers. She delved into the talk of increases of production flow concerning certain estates and their gross incomes. Organized weather patterns to help said estates, prototypes of equipment and technology to, once again, help said estates grow in their business. It felt like a monotonous list for an accountant reading off numbers with a bored, tired drawl. Twilight almost didn’t care that the one-sided discussion was getting plenty of approving nods from the majority of Ponyville’s finest “agricultural experts.” Where is the science? She thought inwardly.

Finally, she turned the page and her eyes brightened, schematics and diagrams were already in her midst. Patents by the name of Dr. Double-T Whooves laid beneath the drawings, and the Princess almost immediately spotted the stallion perking up from his seat as if by his senses alone he knew he was up to speech.

“And without further ado,” Twilight hastened. “Please welcome, Dr. Whooves.”

As the stallion stood and nodded to his bystanders, there were very few hooves rapping and clopping against the wooden boards, reverberating imitations of pencils and notebooks dropping to the floor, by mistake. Perhaps that’s exactly what they were. Whooves shuffled his way past the other members and to the front, giving a curt nod and grand smile to the Princess, whom warmly returned the favor. He fixed his tie, stepped up to the podium and drew breath for a long awaited speech.

“Gentlecolts, and gentlemares.” He began. “Like the weather, science as we know it is constantly changing in this day and age, and today I present to you a manner in which you will witness the field of technology change like your eyes have never witnessed, nor has your mind ever fathomed. After a particularly traumatic series of events, which was when I stubbed my hoof in my greenhouse last Tuesday, I beheld an astonishing vision. That vision, my fellow scientists, was the new and improved form of the transistor!”

From the far corners of the room, snickers and little groans alike could be heard being passed between one occupant and the other. Twilight gave little notice to their annoyances on account of the Doctor’s presentation, more fixated in the stallion’s showings, but even so the mutterings and mumbles managed to enter her scope.

“This again…” One grumbled.

“Silly, little doctor…” Another chuckled. “…and his silly, little toys.”

Hardly a scientist in sight. Twilight thought.

Seemingly out of nowhere, a projector screen rolled down in front of the banners and a light switched on, revealing a drawing of a simple box with three separate prongs protruding from the base. Twilight Sparkle’s eyes were dazzling with curiosity and wonder, while the rest of the meeting expressed silent gazes of confusion and face-hoofs.

“Imagine,” the doctor continued, “the transfer of information within the blink of an eye. Not a second, not milliseconds, but nanoseconds! With this small yet complex piece of technology, we open up to ourselves an entire world of possibilities.”

“And I’m afraid it will have to stop there.” A deep, Trottingham accent sounded throughout the lobby.

Dr. Whooves froze, the second voice had included itself with an entirely separate podium on the opposite end of the chamber. Where had it come from? And how had he gotten here so fast?

“Dr. Pace…?” Whooves gulped loudly.

“It’s always a pleasure to see you as well, Whooves.” Pace grinned. “Derailing yet another assembly, I see?”

“Derailing?” Twilight stepped forward. “Dr. Pace, is it? I’m sorry, but you must be mistaken. Clearly we are following the agenda as scripted.” She presented the papers.

“I am so sorry, your highness.” Pace humbled. “But it appears somepony had delivered to you an altered version of the schedule. Dr. Whooves, would you be so kind as to explain this?”

“I haven’t a thing to do with it!” The doctor growled a little involuntarily. Ears flat on his head he recoiled and cleared his throat to correct his speech. “This is a science based assembly, not a business meeting.”

“That may be so, but it doesn’t change the fact that the funding for you little project has been denied.” Pace grinned even wider.

“What?” The doctor went pale.

“I’m sorry, did you plan to wait until the end to hear this news? Woe is you, Whooves. Now it seems as though you almost have no reason to be here any longer, isn’t that right?”

“I…I don’t understand.” Whooves pressed a hoof to his forehead. “The research was flawless, the diagrams are perfect.” He shut his eyes and gritted his teeth to contain his frustration, giving a calm stare of ire to the colt across the room. “Whatever happened to doing things in the name of science?” He asked desperately.

Pace gave no answer but a simple chortle and a casual shrug. The spotlight on his side dimmed away as the stallion turned and walked away from his podium, leaving Whooves at a loss of what to do or where to go next. Twilight stood idly by in the midst of the unfolding dilemma, a small spark of sympathy begging to burst out and comfort the poor doctor with everything she could deliver. Alas, the meeting was only roughly halfway through its course, and after Whooves quietly reseated himself, the Princess returned to the podium and flipped to the next page.

The double doors slid apart and released a stream of science on-goers and enthusiasts babbling on about the endless list of agricultural businesses and their profits and how they planned to develop more harvesting technology for next season, gathering more bits and so on and so forth. Who was Whooves kidding? In a town full of farmers it was only natural they’d apply science to such things, and though he saw the good it might do for Ponykind, the doctor felt he was missing the greatness he could achieve from his ancestors and for his successors. The tan, chestnut brown maned stallion with a collar and green neck tie lumbered behind the rest of the members with heavy hooves, looking up to the lightly clouded skies with a longing gaze. He hung his head and began for home.

“Doctor!” A female tone called to him.

His ear flickered and brought him to turn the other direction, where to his astonishment the stallion was coming face-to-face with a concerned looking Princess Twilight Sparkle.

“Your majesty!” Whooves pushed his muzzle to the floor boards. “My sincerest apologies.”

“Doctor, I’ve only had glimpses of your research and your work is amazing!”

“I’m so sorry, it won’t happen again-” The stallion blinked with disbelief, looking up. “Come again?”

“Let me just say that I am so happy that the topic of transistors was put on the table. I’ve been trying to wrap my head around the concept for months, but it looks like you cracked the code.” Twilight responded with mirth. “An Alicorn such as myself may use magic instinctively, but it’s only natural that an earth pony such as yourself would look to utilizing certain conductive minerals. Whoops! I’m sorry, did I say that out loud?” Twilight blushed and laughed nervously.

To think a Princess would ever apologize to me. For what exactly? I’m not sure. Whooves thought to himself. Perhaps it would develop a new anomaly to base some ridiculous invention off of. The stallion shook his head and snapped himself back to the conversation at hoof.

“Of course, it is only natural, isn’t it?” He dismissively agreed, and sought for explanations to cover his silence. “The transistor is a simple invention with complex properties, but only for the fact that it may function on microscopic levels. That idea alone is what I believe fueled the breakthrough in this technology.” The doctor furthered. “The idea is not to make transistors bigger, but rather make them smaller.”

“That way you can use more transistors at a time and condense the work flow.” Twilight concluded.

“Precisely! Think of a bee hive, the uniform shape of the honeycomb and the way each and every hexagon is interlinked with one another. Where there ought to be space for the edges of the next hexagon over, that is the space of the next hexagon over because the hexagons share their edges together. That is the goal of not only interlinking multiple transistors together, but to reduce and condense the size of the transistor itself in adherence to the semi-conductive properties.” The doctor’s smile seemed to fade a little. “Alas, just as a honeycomb can only contain so much honey before growing wet and soggy, a transistor can only take on so much energy before succumbing to overheating. I do wish summers here were shorter, or to at least be back up in Trottingham where the weather is colder.”

“Actually, Doctor, this is why I came to you.” Twilight explained. “I believe I can develop a suitable remedy for these problems you’ve been running into. In fact, I already have a few procedures lined up that I’d like to test out.”

“My word, you have?” Whooves stood there, jaw-dropped.

“I’ve already devised the requirements for suitable funding, so you won’t have to worry about getting any from the committee.” Twilight’s gaze fell. “It really is a shame they failed to see the potential in your work. I think you spoke some brave words back there, the assembly really should be for the sake of science. It’s what it was built for, after all.”

Whooves’ jaw had nearly hit the floor by this point, and he had to shake his head again to click back into reality. “Your highness, this is a miracle, truly it is. I’m only curious as to what you believe you might gain from it? Surely I am in your debt?”

“As I said before, I’m willing to work together with you, your work has sparked inspiration in some of my own research as well.” Twilight went on. “Tell me, Doctor, have you ever heard of trying to find the key to the mind?”

“The key to the mind?” He repeated.

“It’s a personal term I use in researching the neurological transmissions within our brains.” Twilight pointed to her horn. “I theorize that we might be able to trace these transmissions like pathways and study their behavior, and in that sense one might be able to unlock the secrets of the mind. Just think about it, we could better interpret our dreams, replicate pieces of information from the past that we’ve totally forgotten about, all through means of science. To find the path to the center of it all, that is the key to the mind.”

“This all sounds astounding, but something tells me this kind of experimentation may very well require a test subject, and a live one at that.” Whooves noted. “You wouldn’t be willing to have a willing occupant, I presume?”

“That would be myself, of course.” Twilight confirmed.

“Your majesty…”

“Please, I know what you’re going to say, but think of the possibilities first!” Twilight pleaded. “There have been plenty of researchers in history who gave themselves up for the endeavor of science.”

At this statement the Doctor had immediately and understandably became very worried. His mind wandered back to days spent in Trottingham, when the endeavor of science was the only thing he ever yearned for and the only thing he ever cared about, above sleep, above eating, even above those he came to love and lose. Though she might have been a Princess, Whooves knew the mare was very young, experienced in some fields, but unaccounted for in others. Clearly she had it in her mind to bring the consequences down upon herself and herself alone should anything go wrong, all whilst unknowingly neglecting the fact that in her efforts she just might end up hurting the things and the people she cherished most in this world.

Science has wrought as many plagues as it has cleansed in this world. The memories returned to him. If only there was a way to cleanse the plagues which you wrought. If only, if only…

“If only we had more time!” Came a distant voice.

“Yes…Yes, that’s it!” Whooves twirled around, laughing wildly. “Time is the answer!”

“Uh, a hello to you, too?” Amethyst Star recoiled.

“Heavens and stars, I didn’t see you there.” The doctor took a step back and fixed his tie. “So sorry, dear Amy, have I spoiled your date?”

“He’s not my-!” Amethyst growled and shut down altogether, hanging her head and sighing deeply as she turned to her partner. “This is the Doctor, the stallion who came from Trottingham. He’s a good friend of mine.”

“Ah, a doctor!” Ronin stepped forward, almost bowing his head on instinct. “I specialize in flowers and many herbs myself.”

“He’s not that sort of doctor, in case you didn’t know.” Amethyst informed.

“But a doctor nonetheless.” The colt persisted. “Ronin Edelhoof, pleased to meet you.”

The two met hooves and shook like proper gentlecolts. “It’s a pleasure to meet a foreigner such as yourself.” The doctor smiled. “You’ve come from Neighsia, I take it?”

“The Village of the Moon, to be precise.” Ronin smiled eagerly.

“Whickering stallions, what a story this boy is.” Whooves was breathless.

“He never bothered to tell me that…” Amethyst slumped.

“Have you two met the Princess of Friendship herself?” The earth stallion stepped aside and invited the Alicorn forward. “Her majesty and I were just discussing our latest endeavor.”

“Oh yeah, the one about the toaster?” Amethyst reminded.

“That’s erm…a project I’ve kept dormant, and for good reason.” The doctor quietly hoped his company would not discover the marks behind his ear. “But no, my good Amy, this one involves the business of transistors!”

“So, another word I can’t pronounce?”

“It’s only three syllables.” Ronin drawled. “But, ah yes, we know you struggle with those.”

Amethyst snuck the young colt a sneer, and turned back to lock eyes with the Princess. She and her majesty stared at each other with a hint of ire and uncertainty, more so jealousy coming from the young unicorn mare’s end. She turned and locked her gaze to the floorboards to avoid giving the Alicorn any accidental signs of hurt or suppressed revenge. Amethyst internally told herself she was better now, she was past those days, and yet the lingering thoughts remained. It was almost as if she needed to full-on tackle the Princess to the ground just to make herself feel better.

“Though I must admit, our Princess is quite the dare-devil. Her dedication worries me so.” Whooves mentioned.

“If you’re not up to the task after all then I’ll let you know that the offer still stands.” Twilight said to him. “After all, I am a Princess, I can take care of myself just fine.”

A hint of fury flared through Amethyst. She had to physically turn away to control herself. Ronin looked back at her with concern.

“Well, when you put it that way, how could I decline?” Whooves readied himself. “I’ll take your offer then. We’ll work together to make this project the greatest breakthrough in science since sliced bread.”

“It’s settled then.” Twilight extended her hoof, and once again Whooves raised his own and shook on it. “I’ll make preparations so you can meet me at the castle tomorrow morning. I’d love to stay and chat but it seems now I’ve got plenty of work to do.”

It nearly seemed as though, at least to Amethyst, that Twilight got a certain message about the shaken air surrounding the seething unicorn. As soon as the Princess had spread her wings and taken flight, Amethyst turned back to her company with a hard, solid stare.

“What was that all about?” Ronin questioned.

“Nothing.” She answered sternly. “It’s just…never mind. I’ll get over it.”

Ronin tucked his ears and leaned over to Whooves. “Do mares usually feel this competitive?”

“In all my years of scientific research, mares remain but a mystery, young lad.” The doctor confirmed.

“I can only wonder what kind of research went into your trials.” Ronin chuckled.

“Mares are quite simple, really. However, there is never a clear answer. Never.” Whooves explained. “Hypothesis: Is my secret admirer allergic to flowers? Test: I buy her a bouquet of carnations and present them to her. Results: A honey bee emerges and stings her on the muzzle. Her nose looks like a tomato and the left side of my face is numb and ringing like mad! Conclusion: I probably should have just bought her some chocolates.”

“And what if she’s allergic to chocolate?” Ronin asked.

“Great Whickering stallions…” Whooves pondered deeply.

“What’re you guys talking about?” Amethyst wondered.

“N-Nothing important!” Ronin answered quickly, his eyes darting around nervously.

As Amethyst gave the young colt a hard, speculating stare, a holler from across the Town Hall plaza could be heard from afar. Whooves’ attention was drawn out to a sprawl of tables and chairs sitting outside beneath the awning of a small diner cafe, and there on the adjacent end waving her hoof about sat Rose Luck, calling to the doctor with a swooning, inviting smile. Whooves took a few steps forward and called back to the couple at the stairs to say his goodbyes and deliver his good luck. After a moment more the stallion was off and seating himself with the young, floral mare.

“I’m about ready to call it a day.” Amethyst sighed. “By this point I don’t think we’re going to get any further in our investigations than we already have.”

“Now wait a minute, you mentioned the doctor had a private greenhouse, right?” Ronin suggested. “We could look for clues there.”

“What’s the point?” Amethyst pouted. “If anything had happened to it Doc would’ve told me by now. I guess he’s just too fixated on his date.”

Ronin took a glance over at the new couple sitting outside of the cafe. Their smiles were genuine and their laughs out loud. The young stallion trained a speculative eye on the scarlet maned mare, even being able to spot her green eyes from so far away.

“If the doctor’s greenhouse hasn’t been hit like you said, then maybe that’s another clue.” Ronin speculated. “Think about it, every garden raid we’ve been to has been outside. I know there are very few greenhouses around Ponyville, but even so none of those have been hit.”

“That just means the culprit couldn’t get inside.” Amethyst answered. “It’s not uncommon to see a lock on a greenhouse, and I don’t think broken windows would be the stealthiest of choices for our masked marauder.”

“But that is my point, you see?” Ronin furthered. “What if our culprit didn’t need to break in at all? It would be smart for them to have a base of operations, don’t you think?”

“Are you accusing Doc to be a part of this crime?” Amethyst got up in her partner’s muzzle. “Listen, pal, I don’t know where you get your ideas from-”

“I’m speaking from relative experience.”

“What do you mean…?” Amethyst took a step back. “You were-?”

“Yes, I was once betrayed.” Ronin told her. “By my own relative.”

The young unicorn sat back quietly and considered her partner’s words. She was prepared to tell him that she and the doctor weren’t even related in any manner, but their relationship might as well have been bond enough, and Amethyst took that to heart. She believed the doctor would never do such a thing, never. He was supposed to create things that protected other ponies, not hurt them. She knew for a fact he had never hurt another soul in his entire career as a doctor.

“Relatives can be a fickle business,” a supercilious tone came from behind them. “Wouldn’t you agree, oh brother of mine?”

“I couldn’t agree with you more.” Another followed suit.

Amethyst and Ronin whipped around quickly, their gazes locked as the wind rushed past them and to the characters spinning wildly upon a background of rushing, rising arrays of colors. Two stallions, tall and creamy yellow, both unicorns with red and white manes, began to twirl and dance as though the circus were in town.

“Prepare for conglomeration.”

“In the heart of a capitalist nation.”

“We seek a fair trade.”

“In the midst of your garden raids.”

They both flared their horns, and instantly a plethora of trumpets sounded to complete their introduction.

“He’s Flim!”

“He’s Flam!”

“We’re the-”

“Flim Flam Brothers?!” Amethyst recoiled as though in defense. “I thought the Apples ran you clowns out of town! What gives?”

“Nothing can strike down the strong will of a good business, my dear.” Flam said to her, his mustache shuffling from side to side.

“You stole half the orchard’s supply of apples and tried to overthrow their cider-fest in the middle of their sales hour.” Amethyst reminded. “Not to mention you two lost to the Apples.”

“A strategic maneuver on account of our broken down wagon.” Flim quickly answered, stroking his clean shaven complexion. “You can’t always trust science, but you can trust a good deal.”

“And what might that be?” Ronin butted in.

“What the hay do you think you’re doing? Don’t encourage them.” Amethyst pushed the unicorn colt away. “These guys are nothing but bad news, everypony in town knows it. I don’t blame you because you’re new here, but trust me when I say these bit hoarders will charge you a hoof and a hind for nothing but junk.”

“Not to worry, my dear, the deal is a fair trade we can reassure you.” said Flim.

“You have something that we want, and we have something that you want.” told Flam.

“No bits required.”

“No refunds.”

“After all-”

“Trading is the oldest and fairest business of all!”

“Listen, Abtrot and Coltstello, don’t make me have to take you by the ears and scream into your face ‘we’re not interested’ because right now I’m granting you the kindness of telling you to take a hike.”

“She’s a stiff one, brother.” Flim said.

“I couldn’t agree with you more.” Flam reached into his vested shirt. “Perhaps our therapy cat, Meowf, shall suade her so?”

“Therapy cat? Isn’t that like for ponies in a coma or who feel lonely or something? Hey! Are you trying to call me an old cat lady? I’ll have you know I-” Her speech cut out as her eyes dazzled brilliantly. “Aw~ aren’t you just the sweetest wittle guy? Who’s a good kitty?” Amethyst cooed.

“Now flip the switch, brother.” Flim reminded.

“With pleasure.” Flam activated the toy cat.

“Oh, is he purring?” Amethyst studied the cat. “Kind of sounds like a machine-GAH!”

Meowf lunged forward, limbs sprawled and claws unsheathed, gnashing like a wild, hungry piranha as it tore into the young mare’s mane. She spun around and danced across the walls, desperately trying to yank the cat off of her head, but to no avail. As the screams of an Amethyst bounced upon Ronin’s ears from the background, he decided to leave her be for a moment or two, deducing that she was getting what she deserved at least for the time being.

“You seem to be an adamant salespony, young lad.” Flam addressed Ronin. “You wouldn’t happen to be interested in our offer, would you?”

“I think I know who you people really are.” Ronin said coldly.

“Y-You do?” Flim was genuinely worried.

“Yes, my uncle warned me about your kind.” Ronin explained. “Salesponies like you litter Equestria from one coast to the other, constantly advertising, constantly devising ways to gather as many bits as possible. Does the pursuit of wealth not harbor a realization of greed?”

“Your uncle taught you well.” Flam flattered. “But this is a trade, my dear boy, not an exchange of currency.”

“You do that sort of thing all the time where you come from, right? Trading, I mean.” Flim followed.

“Just what exactly is it that you have that we want?” Ronin tried.

“Don’t you already know? It’s what you’ve been searching for all along.” Flam nodded to Amethyst, who was swinging the cat over her head and slamming him to the floor. The cat turned around and performed a Germane suplex on her. “You and your friend, that is. We hold practically every answer you’ll ever need to your little investigation you’ve got running.”

“I don’t believe you.” Ronin snorted.

“Why not?” Flim interjected. “My brother and I have trotted these lands for years, most specifically the Ponyville region, whereas you only stopped by a few weeks ago? A few days?”

“However could your knowledge compare to ours?” Flam stepped in. “You’re a smart, young stallion, of that I have no doubt, but just think of how much smarter you’ll be when you accept our deal.”

“You see, we too are a part of the science committee, and the talk about those transistors was like nothing we’ve ever seen before.” Flim furthered. “You know the Doctor, right? If not you then surely your friend over there does.”

Amethyst and Meowf were in a heated game of checkers. Meowf hopped over every one of Amethyst’s chips and got “king me” or something. I don’t play checkers, I don’t know how it works. She flipped the board in fury.

“All we ask for is a copy, even a simple excerpt of the transistor blueprints which your doctor friend has stored away.” Flam offered his hoof. “In exchange, we will deliver to you every detail imaginable, every source of information you could ever need to get this investigation of yours off the ground.”

Ronin looked down at his own hoof nearly hovering over to Flam’s as though he were about to accept the trade. The young foreigner had barely gotten a word in and these two were overwhelming him with their chatter, Ronin could barely think straight.

I don’t know what these transistors are or how important they’re meant to be, but despite it, Amethyst and I are desperate for leads. He thought to himself. We’re desperate for anything at this point.

“Deal?” Flim and Flam leaned in closely.

Ronin’s hovering hoof landed onto Flam’s and the two shook on it.

“Brilliant! We’ll be expecting those transistor blueprints later tonight.” Flam smiled widely beneath his mustache. “You know where to find them, correct?”

“Just meet us at the Lucky Clover, 9 o’clock sharp this evening so we can settle the deal.” Flim followed, and turned to his brother. “Shall we call back Meowf?”

“We shall.” Flam nodded, and clopped his hooves together twice.

Amethyst and the automated feline were in the midst of a broken cider bottle slashing fight. The cat dropped the bottle and scurried over to its owners, climbing up onto Flam’s back as the two nodded with knowing gazes towards Ronin and trotted off in the other direction. The lone stallion looked over and approached his partner desperately trying to fix the many disheveled porcupines that was now her mane.

“W-What? What did you just do?” Amethyst eyed her partner wildly. “What did you say to them?”

“Nothing! I just-” He hesitated. “Shook their hoof…”

“On what?!”

“The doctor’s blueprints, they wanted them.” Ronin explained slowly.

“Oh…Oh Celestia…” Amethyst pressed her hooves to the her temples. “This is bad, real bad.”

“Please, understand that I did this to protect them.”

“Do you realize what you’ve done?!” Amethyst shook Ronin by the shoulders. “Where else am I going to get butter for my toast?”

“I knew they were going to try to steal the prints anyways, so I cut a deal with them.” Ronin explained. “This way we have time to give them the ‘prints’ instead of the prints. You follow me?”

“We have to warn Doc about this-” Amethyst froze. “No, no we can’t! He’ll kill me, find a way to bring me back to life with science, and then kill me again!”

“They said to meet up at the Lucky Clover.” He added.

“The bar?” The young mare gawked. “Do they realize we’re, like, fifteen!?”

“The limit doesn’t apply in my country.”

“Well we’re not in your country, now are we?” Amethyst seethed for a moment before recomposing herself. “Enough of this nonsense, I’ve got a plan. C’mon, it’s about time you see Doc’s lab, I guess.” The mare prepared herself to trot off in the direction of Whooves’ home, only to watch a piece of her mane fall from her head and disintegrate into ash on account of Meowf’s plasma vision. “Right after I take a bath.” She decided.

There was nothing more satisfying than watching one’s own creation come to life, whether it be through chemicals or energized coils, either way it was the work of physics. Even though Whooves knew it all to be physics, the mere collaboration of molecules into atoms, atoms into protons, neurons and electrons, so on and so forth, everything still felt so alive to him. For there was living in the non-living, and vice versa. If the very elements that made up what was classified as “life” were thought to be devoid of it, then perhaps the idea of life as they knew it was something that needed serious reconsideration in the field of science.

“Doc?”

Memories of old invited their way into his mind. It’s only one more. One said. It’s not even alive. Another said.

“Yoohoo? Doc?”

Not alive, not yet at least…

“Was your science meeting that bad?” Rose Luck ha-rumphed. “Sheesh, Doctor, why don’t you answer me?”

He shook his head and blinked back to reality. “Why, no, it wasn’t. I mean, yes it was-I mean!” He attempted, and sighed in defeat. “My mind was on something else, that’s all.”

“Why not try living in the moment for once?” Rose teased, ruffling his mane. “That big ol’ brain of yours has gotta take a break sometime, don’t it?”

“If only I could help it.” He chuckled to himself. “Something always seems…amiss. Not exactly in a bad way, but neither a good way, even if I do get excited at each and every opportunity to practice my expertise. Well, almost every opportunity. Whether it be carrying the digits of a cart-rolling momentum equation or schematicizing a brand new butter tray, the call to think, plan, strategize and execute may never leave this tired soul, and that may be because the universe wills it so. The call is external, and the answer rises from within, my heart beats for science, for adventure, for…Have you…? Have you been listening to me? Rose?”

“Ugh, what a sore sight for eyes.” Rose drawled in the other direction. “Repulsive.”

Whooves blinked at the mare and trained his eyes in the direction she had her own, spotting a pair of figures in the distance. One was a perfectly normal looking unicorn with perfectly normal looking…ponyness and unicornyness aspects to her. The other, not so normal, by pony standards. A tall, pink, bipedal creature with brown moppy hair atop it’s tiny head, clothes from the shoulders and down to the calves of its legs. What had the civilians called it again? The monkey? Whooves decided that it needed a new name, then again he could just ask the lad, but where was the fun in that?

“Man.” Whooves stated.

“What?” Rose looked back.

“I had heard that word once before, and never quite knew where it came from or where to place it, until now.” The doctor confirmed, nodding calmly in the direction of the human. “That, my dear Rose Luck, is a man.”

“You are so weird, y’know that?” The mare shook her head, sipping her latte and looking back in the direction of the pony and the human. They appeared to be mirthful and uppity in their discussion, whatever the two were talking about. “Whatever you or anypony else calls it, I don’t like it.” She justified. “I can’t believe the Princess lets that thing walk around town like that. Somepony should contain it or send it back to the forest where it belongs.”

“It couldn’t possibly be that harmful, or at least I don’t believe so.” The doctor commented.

“Have you spoken to it?”

“No, but that unicorn over there seems to be having a wonderful chat with the man.” He pointed out.

The couple snuck a look back to the boy and his friend prancing away into the streets of Ponyville with birds and butterflies buzzing about.

“I realize you have an innate fear of the unknown, Rose.” The doctor continued. “Trust me, I was perhaps just as frightened as you were when I first laid eyes upon the beast, but my perspective of the world allowed me to look the other way.”

“And just what kind of outlook is that?” Rose wondered.

“Well…” There was an astounding choice of words to pick from, the doctor could hardly contain his excitement as he began to expel his vision to the young mare before him. “There’s life all around us, dear Rose, and it comes in many different shapes and sizes, figures and forms. Tell me, have you ever looked deeply and longingly into another pony’s eyes? What do you see when you look into their eyes?”

“I see…” Suddenly, Rose felt the urge of romanticism welling up from inside, her half lidded gaze twinkling beautifully into Whooves’ brilliant, blue beads. “I see a strong, smart stallion, willing to do anything for a mare in need…” She cooed.

Whooves gazed deeply into Rose’s green stare. “I see toast.”

“Huh…?”

“Butter and toast!” The doctor laughed. “Astounding, isn’t it? The ability to see anything from everything, and vice versa. We all stem from the same cluster, the same origin point, why the possibilities are endless!”

“I fail to follow your gaze, Doc.” Rose Luck mused.

“As I’ve said before, there is life in everything around us. The birds, the bramble, the trees, and it doesn’t stop there. Take your teacup, for example, or the table we are sitting at. Who is to say that is not alive from outside of an abiotic classification?” The doctor furthered. “Organic chemistry can be quite the mystery maze, I agree, but does it not occur to these scientists that there are no fine lines in nature? Rudimentary classifications should not strictly indoctrinate what is and isn’t living in this world, or any other world for that matter.”

“Whoa, time out, you’re hurting my brain.” Rose chuckled to herself, shaking her head over the seemingly ridiculous claims this crazy colt was making. “You mean to tell me you actually think inanimate objects are alive?”

“In the traditional sense, no, but what I’m talking about are the very building blocks of creation. They govern both living and non-living things, or at least what we claim to be so.”

“No offense, Doc, but I think you’ve got the wrong perspective here.”

“Wrong perspective…?” The doctor scanned over those words for a moment.

“Trust me, it’s way simpler than you think it is.” Rose looked past the table and pointed in the opposite direction. “See that tree over there? Living. And that squirrel climbing up the trunk? Easy, that’s living too.” She looked down and picked up a small pebble from beneath her hooves. “See this rock? Dead. Well, not like it was living in the first place, but you get my point. Right?”

“I see…” the doctor hung his head. “...that you fail to grasp my understanding of things, but that’s alright. It was expected.”

“Oh, Doctor, it’s not that I don’t understand you it’s just that…” Rose pondered over her next words, albeit shortly. “Well, it’s just that I don’t have to think about it too much because there’s really no so much to think about. Easy, right?”

“Yes, it is easy, isn’t it?” Whooves responded glumly. “After all, that’s what science is for, right? To make things easier for us?”

It was at that point that the doctor sensed his words and mumbles falling upon deaf ears. There was no reason to belittle or desperately attempt to council those who didn’t understand, it was just the way other ponies saw things, how could they help it? Whooves only wished he could help himself see through a different light, if only to lift from himself the burdens which he hoisted upon his haunches since early childhood and onward. He knew it was his fault, he knew that these endeavors would take him places he did not want to go, and yet the calling was still there. Above all else, he pressed onward.

Living, non-living, either way it was all the work of physics. So what if a few lives were lost? It was all the work of physics. A few dozen? A few hundred? Would the numbers ever end? If only, if only…

If only I were never born at all. He thought drearily.