{DAY 31}

”Well, I just thought it be imperative to strengthen the relations between our species, after all, throughout my entire life, or through all of our books, we have never even heard of your species,” I just laugh a bit waving away the comment.

“There's no need, after all I'm the only human on this world,” She stares at my with a bit of concern as I take a sip of my drink, “And it's not because all of us are extinct or something, more like I'm the only one to be brought here…”

”Do you mean to say you come from the Distant Lands?” a new location? Where would that be…

“Ah, no, believe me if you wish to but I am not of this world,” The concern turns into doubt, to finally acceptance.

”Alright, I suspect you're not lying…” Huh? So easily?

“Huh? So easily?” Wait, did I just say that out loud…

”Well for one, from what I heard, you don't have a Thaumaturgical System, do you?” I sigh, staring into my cup, swishing the liquid inside as I lean back a little.

“No, I don’t,” I say, looking up from the cup to her to see her silently stare for a bit before the Unicorn by her side backed off in fear.

”It seems your telling the truth…” The Unicorn came back with a relieved expression, as I turn to the mare who was still by my side to her have the exact same expression, ”Considering the fact you're not reacting…”

Reacting? Reacting to what?

She seems to pick up on my confusion and brushes it off.

“What does not having a thaumaturgical system have to do with me being truthful?” I ask.

”Well it all comes down to the nature of magic. Every creature needs magic to survive, as magic is the energy of harmony materialized,” She explains, taking a sip of her tea, ”So all creatures can see magic, however, Ponies are the only ones who can utilize magic at will because they are the most harmonious creatures in all of Equestria. ”

That checks out… Humans aren't really known for being lovey lovey kindness bombs. Sure there are people who are like that, but it's not the majority.

“So…?”

”If a creature has no thaumaturgical system, it means they aren't harmonious. The reason harmony is needed for a species to survive is not because it’s necessary to be alive, but because creatures without it would have all killed each other and caused a self-extinction… Which means you couldn’t have possibly come from a world with the same laws as this one,” So essentially, magic is a byproduct of Harmony, and not its own thing… Is that why the ponies have been so kind? Because they're evolved to be harmonious? And the reason no other species exists is because…

“Well that doesn't seem right…” I murmur, and she seems to pick on it as she smiles.

”And why is that?” She responds in a questioning tone, as if probing me for an answer she already knows.

“Well, for one, isn't that outlook quite pessimistic?” I try to respond politely but I'm not sure if that came out as conceited…

”How so?” She takes another sip of her tea as a look that I could recognise anywhere displayed itself on her face. Curiosity.

“What you said aligns with a psychological and moral dilemma. Nurture vs Nature, aren't all individuals unique with free will? No two people, or ponies, are the exact same, even if they have similar Cutie Marks,” I close my eyes in a bit of thought as I think of my wording, “But if harmony is native to the race then shouldn't there be no bad ponies? I don't know much about your history or laws, but I assume murder is illegal, yes?”

”Yes it is, why?” She seemed a bit taken aback by my question.

“Well, the only reason murder is Illegal is because someone, or rather somepony, has killed another pony within your history. If ponies were as you said and the most harmonious being alive then such a thing shouldn't happen,” I take a sip of my tea before some words roll out of my mouth before I could stop, “To me it just sounds like your trying to arrogantly place yourself at the top of the moral hierarchy.”

It was much too late for me to stop. That dirty habit of talking too much had finally caught up with me now, and it's even worse since I haven't talked to somebody for so long.

It took a few seconds for me to realise that I had just called out an entire race’s ideological issues in front of their ruler's face.

I feel two glares from both my side and in front of me, probably from the two ponies also at this meeting.

I was about to apologize and correct myself before I heard something rather strange.

Laughter.

”Pfft-” I looked up to see Princess Celestia struggling to hold down a laugh, looking down and to the side away from me, a more innocent smile plastered on her face. It took a few moments but I heard her take a breath and she returned to normal as if nothing had happened, still wearing that innocent smile, ”Is that truly how it seems from an outside perspective?”

“Well… you may have said that I'm a prankster, but I don't really lie with this kinda stuff,” I seemed to have piqued her interest yet again as she responds.

”And what would ‘this kind of stuff’ be?” I stop myself as I begin to think.

“Hm… It's hard to explain? You asked for my opinion on newfound knowledge, so of course I would give it,” I don't forget to apologize though, “Oh and I'm sorry for what I said, sometimes my mouth moves faster than my brain and I just end up leaking my inner thoughts…”

She stares at me for a good moment, sucessfully stifling the laugh this time before I think over my words. I basically just confirmed that what I said was my true, honest to god opinion. Which they were, but it would’ve been better if she didn’t know that. She was also seemingly mentally weighing the pros and cons before asking me a question.

”...How would you like a job?” She smiled in a more motherly way as she continued, ”From what I've seen from your visa request, you seem to call yourself a Wandering Scholar, correct?”

“It's a bit of a self-imposed title, but it's the one that describes what I do the best…” This quickly went from a meeting between two unfamiliar species, to a ideological debate, to a job interview real quick. What's next? A marriage request?

”Would you like for me to officiate that title?” It didn't seem all that important, but the stallion by her side went wide eye'd and looked between the two of us in shock.

”Your majesty, you wouldnt possibly be thinking of giving a non-pony…” He was halted mid sentence with Celestia raising a hoof.

I was still completely lost though.

”You see, due to some circumstances, the castle is currently lacking one of our twelve Royal Scholars, do you think you would be up to the task?” Less a job interview more a proposition… unless, has this entire meeting been a way of interviewing me for such a position? Just how far ahead did she plan since seeing my request? It's only been a single day… from a logistical standpoint, that alone is rather… frightening.

Stop! Victor, what's happening right now? Your getting swept up in Celestia’s flow, rather the power of this conversation is in her favour…

How can I take control from someone who is so skilled at directing the flow of conversation? I’m just a kind of anti-social nerd! One who’s only conversation for the past month has been with themself!

Think, Victor, Think! Wait, that's right! The best course of action is to think everything out clearly, with complete disregard for the power difference. To do that, I need to not be afraid of her position.

And for that to happen…

”Pragmatism”

I feel myself get ejected from my body, viewing the scene at an almost second person perspective. Like being a passenger in a car with a guy who mumbles out everything. I could hear every single one of my thoughts clearly, but it felt as if I had no sway on them. Merely a passenger.

I felt an almost thick and suffocating mask of emotion flash on my face.

“Judging by the fact that it has ‘Royal’ in the name, I'm guessing it's quite the prestigious title? As well as quite the important one if you are resorting to hiring non-ponies for the job…” I need to sway the conversation in my favour, list out why I am the one in charge of the conversation, “Are you lacking non-Royal Scholars who can take the position instead perhaps? Or rather are you lacking talented individuals?”

”Oh… quite the bold claim. I am simply displaying the ‘arrogant’ Harmony that allows my people to use magic, is that so bad?” She's trying to resolidify her stance as the one in power here… good, I think I can make use of this, ”Frankly I decided to grace you with such an opportunity out of pity, if you do not wish for the position, I have hundreds of ponies more than willing to take up the offer.”

“...Princess Celestia, from what I've seen you are an impeccable ruler,” She doesn't show it, but I could see a hint of boredom poke through her facade, “Which is why I know you will be willing to do anything to get your hands on something that can help your citizens.”

The boredom fades. All that's left is curiosity. Judging from her character and position, she's been flattered too much for it to really do anything to her at this point, however…

”I would like to believe I would,” She questions me with a smile, ”Why?”

“One Month,” What I am doing isn't flattery, “Within one month, assuming you give me the resources, I will create something that you couldn't imagine, even in your wildest dreams.”

It's a challenge.

“Something that no Scholar within your expansive kingdom would ever hope to create.”

”And what is this creation?” She asks with genuine curiosity.

“A machine that can store and sort hundreds of thousands of different pieces of information, be able to solve complex calculations within mere seconds, all whilst being able to fit onto a singular desk,” Yes that's right, what I'm proposing…

Is a computer.

”Your majesty, if I may, you cant possibly be expected to believe that, can you?” The Stallion beside her looks frazzled, completely unable to trust a single word I said. Celestia was about to intervene but I stopped her by doing it first.

“And what would I need to do in order to be believed? For me to make it?” The stallion seemed a bit stumped, but Celestia soon came in help him.

”I can see there being problems about this in the future… so the best way to remove any possibility of such arguments in the future…” I picked up on her insinuation and thought it through mentally.

“The best way to squash opposition into submission is a display of undeniable ability,” Celestia nodded, seemingly having come to the same conclusion.

”Then it's settled. Within exactly one week, you will face off against one of the current Royal Scholars in a friendly Mental Match,” She states it as fact and leaves it be, ”Until then, Victor will be staying in the guest room of the Royal Castle with full access to the Castle Library in a matter of fairness.”

“That's fine, Your Majesty, but…” She stops me and begins to speak again.

”Yes, from what I know you can’t read Equish, correct? If that’s so you will be provided with a temporary translator,” I nod my head, before I stop for a second…

“Your Majesty, if I may request, can I have a Tutor to learn Equish instead of a translator?” She seems quite confused by my request.

”Accepted, however that doesn't seem to be very beneficial for you…” I take a sip of my tea, leaning back with a facade of confidence.

“It's fine. I'll learn it all in a week.”

Walking into the guest room, I saw the blue mare in a dress leave behind me with a conflicted look.

I had to feign emotion in order to not allow for Celestia to pick up on anything, but there was a small sliver of time where Pragmatism was completely unhindered. Thankfully it had turned off as I walked over here.

It's a scary skill, that's for sure. The "Me” affected by Pragmatism is able to accurately assess and read people like a book, it takes every piece of information in my brain and utilizes it all at once on literally everything in order to not miss anything.

No matter how obscure… out in the forest, I never noticed it, but in this social situation, every single one of my thoughts were so… detailed.

My head was throbbing so incredibly bad. Like my very brain was going to explode if I thought any more…

This didn't happen when I was cauterizing my finger, but it hurts…

Why is it happening now but not then?

That's right! I was in a social situation… the thoughts of another sentient creature are very complex and I was using every single ounce of mental energy I had into predicting them, for the sole purpose of getting the most beneficial deal.

There were some things I regret about the meeting though, for example those shitty promises…

Through Pragmatism me, now dubbed “Prag-Victor”, I was able to assume that one month would be plenty of time to create a computer, especially when I would have the full support of an entire kingdom backing me up. Same with language, because of how many letters repeat in the texts I've seen so far, he deduced that the Ponish script is basically just heavily modified English.

I hear a knock on my door as I turn and open It to reveal a rather average sized violet Unicorn mare, a mane of a deep navy blue with two singular rose pink and dark purple stripes.

That's not the only thing on her flank though, as sitting there with a scroll in one claw and quill in the other was a small scaly child of a similar colour, bright green fins going up their spine and onto their skull. A look of frazzled dismay.

She was breathing heavily, a near manic look on her face. She was out of breath, obviously, but why…? Was she rushing over here for some reason?

”Is…It…True…?” I heard the pony whisper between deep breaths.

“...What?” I manage to edge out, a sense of strange dread overcoming me, as my sixth sense goes haywire. It was different from danger detection, this was more of a natural response than a skill.

The strange pony dashed forwards, cushion both of my cheeks with her hooves and bringing my face closer to hers as sweat drops down my forehead, "IS IT TRUE!?”

She shouted at near the top of her lungs, a set of incredibly excited eyes locking onto mine as I wince at the loud noise, my eardrums felt like they were going to rupture, and it certainly didn't help my headache…

I quickly swat away her hooves with my hands pulling away, her physical strength was nothing to laugh at but it turns out I had the advantage when it came to that, compared to her at least.

“Is what true!?” I manage to shout out, before an even more important, “Who even are you!?”

”My name is Twilight Sparkle,” She rushed through her introduction before gesturing to her back, ”And this is Spike, my assistant.”

”Don't mind her, she's just a bit…” The Lizard child trailed off, seemingly unable to find the words to describe her state.

I look down at her face, not an ounce of shame as she looks at me up and down with dull eyes.

Oh yeah. I know that look. Second time I've said that today, but it's true. Now that I say it… Those two are basically carbon copies arent they? At least in terms of personality. probably due Celestia's position as a Princess, she's much better at hiding it.

They both have the same curiosity. That strange internal, gnawing feeling to understand something in full. I could respect it, as well as understand it. I'm the exact same after all.

”I heard you didn’ have a thaumaturgical system…” She seemed to have regained a bit of her composure, a little less frantic but a heavy ounce of anticipation audible in her voice, ”Is it true?”

I was considering whether I should answer or not. But restricting information isn't really my style, so I decided against it.

“It’s true,” I give space for her to enter my room as I sit down on my bed. Thankfully my skirt was long enough for nothing to be visible even when sitting down. That wolf was really clutch… in more ways than one.

”Oh I have SO many questions!” She spoke with an air of restrained insanity… not really but it's a good descriptor, ”How are you alive without being able to absorb ambient Mana? What are those markings all over you? Are those wings on your back a cutie mark? How do you have one when your not a pony? When you don't have Mana? Why does one appendage have less flesh claws than the other? Why-”

I raise my hand and stop her momentum, as she simply just waits impatiently.

My head hurt so much… Holy hell, the throbbing just wouldn't stop. It felt like my brain was trying to bash through my skull with a rock. Whilst being stabbed half to death by a spear.

She really wasn't making it any better. Her incessant noise was causing it to get worse by the second. The throbbing pain seemed to match up perfectly with my own heartbeat as I winced a bit.

She seemed to notice this, as her voice died down and she gestured for Spike to get off, whispering something in his ear as he nodded and left the room.

I dont know how much time passed to be honest, but heard footsteps and my eyes landed on Spike’s claws gripping a cup of ice water out in front of me. I give my own regards with a nod and take the drink, gulping it down swiftly.

It seemed to help as the searing pain died down back to an ache.

I sit up, taking a deep breath before slapping myself awake. That specific action seemed to start both Twilight and Spike.

“What was the first question again? Mind if you elaborate?” She seemed quite concerned for my well being before she slowly began to speak.

”Are you sure…? You don’t seem well…” I look at her with eyes full of excitement, reciprocating her curiosity with my own.

Insanity breeds Insanity, Chaos breeds Chaos, Violence breeds Violence and Curiosity breeds Curiosity. She had caused my own curiosity to flare up with her questions. I already had some things that needed answering but I didn't really have the opportunity to ask till now.

“I promise I'm fine. However, If I answer your questions, I need you to do the same,” She nods her head reluctantly, a small glimmer of guilt on her face.

”Ah, yes… How are you alive without being able to absorb the ambient Mana? Creatures use their thaumaturgical system to take in Mana from the surroundings by breathing,” She explained, quickly discarding the guilt, ”They then use this ambient Mana to power their beating hearts, but you don't have one and are still alive, how?”

I think a bit. What she just described what basically just breathing normally… if they talk about magic I should trust it, right? After all I don't know anything about it… But if this ‘Magic’ answer is just a misunderstanding without understanding the fundamentals of respiration…

“You mind if I ask a question?” She nods her head, “Do ponies cough when exposed to smoke?”

”No, why would they?” So it's not a misunderstanding but actual knowledge…Wait does this mean ponies don't need oxygen to survive? They only need ambient Mana?

“Well, you see, Humans respire by breathing, like ponies, however we don't absorb Mana. Instead we take in oxygen, a natural element in the air, and have that diffuse into our blood, which we then use, much like mana, to power our muscles and heart,” If ponies respire using mana, then do they have blood? Perhaps Mana works like oxygen in that respect, “I asked about smoke because smoke has Carbon Dioxide, where Carbon, another element, and Oxygen combine. Since Humans can't process it, we cough, trying to expell the harmful compound.”

”Fascinating… I’ve never heard of such a thing…” She says with a look of intrigue.

“I mean that's to be expected. Outside of Magic, ponies seem to be…” I decide not to finish my sentence, “Well either way, next question?”

I spent the rest of my time answering and asking questions. Most of them being of the developmental state of this world. Asking if various items rang a bell in her head, if she recognised any mathematical theroms and such. The reason I'm trusting Twilight to give an accurate answer is due to the fact that she was curious. She seemed to be quite intelligent, as well as open to new ideas. The most surprising fact that I found, however, was the absolutely abysmal state of Equestrian Mathematics.

I assumed they would know a thing or two because they have trains, but turns out this place is heavily reliant on magic, probably causing an extremely stunted growth in STEM fields, even economics were sloppy…

I had asked if she had any idea about Supply and Demand, and nothing.

Remember how I said Equestrian Mathematics are abysmal? I asked her a simple mathematical question, 1768 + 1947, and she couldn't get it, no matter how much time I gave. I thought that maybe a more geometrical approach was nessecary, so I asked for the formula for the Area of a Circle… and she said she didn't know.

I asked if she knew what Pi was and she told me about the food. And finally, something that explained all of this…

Equestria, or rather ponies in general, have only really had a society for around 3000 years. Genuinely. Right now, Equestria is the Earth equivalent to Babylon.

And my last question, was something I actually needed to know. “What was a Mental Match”. Celestia had talked about me having one with a Royal Scholar to see if I was eligible to become one and the answer is quite exciting. Essentially, it's the same as a Renaissance Mathematics Challange.

If you didn't know, Mathematicians in the Renaissance had it incredibly hard. At any point in time they could be challenged to another mathematician. Where they would send each other a few questions, and whoever got the most answers correct won. Winning either fame, or their job security. If they lost, well… shame and humiliation was all that faced them.

However because of the nature of Equestrian Mathematics, all of the questions they ask would be able to be solved eventually within the time frame, so instead they give each other the questions in front of a government official, in this case Celestia, and they have to solve all the questions within a time limit.

So basically the world's most important pop quiz.

Either way… It seems that this is going to be way too easy…

All I gotta do is learn their number and mathematical symbol system, and I'm grunted to win.

Whilst the information was nice, there was something equally good that I got from this encounter.

[Level Up! 2 —> 3]

Author's Note

ARGGHHHHHH

It's technically not the next week so I'm SAFE! I'm so cool for keeping a "consistent" schedule.

The next few chapters are gonna have boring Mathematic/linguistic/nerd stuff that's integral to the plot so if u don't like that, SORRY!