Crossing Over the Arcane Hiatus

Chapter 11: Prophecies and Quantum Mechanics

Chapter 11: Prophecies and Quantum Mechanics

“That was fast!” Twilight happily cheered. Spike had just barfed out a letter from Princess Celestia and read it aloud to all of us.

”My faithful student Twilight Sparkle,” She began,

”We have had some time to read through what information you have gathered. The fact that your work is incomplete, along with that it was delivered two days early implied it was of dire importance.

And indeed it was.

The news has been met with widespread criticism across the Royal Equestrian Chamber, and in response the material has been entrusted with our top scholars and scientists for analysis. The High Council itself has requested inquiry into our friend and desires his immediate presence in Canterlot, as well as yourself and the rest of the Elements of Harmony. I have sent a chariot to take you here and it should be arriving at noon. It of the utmost importance that you do not tell anypony about the current situation, let alone leak any of the information you gave us.

Sincerely, Princess Celestia.”

“What information?” Spike asked.

“Oh right, you weren’t here last night. We can’t tell you, sorry.”

“I was here! …Sleeping.”

“I’m sorry Spike.” Twilight frowned. “But this is a direct order from the Princess! You cannot come, and please do not tell anypony where we are going.”

“Fine…” Spike got up and walked out of the room.

“Wait wait wait. Did she say at noon? That’s in ten minutes! I still need to get the clouds cleared!” Rainbow Dash cried out.

“What? Ah thought ya could clear the sky in ‘ten seconds flat’.” Applejack smugly retorted.

“Yeah, well… there are a lot of them today!”

“It’s alright Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy got up, “I can help you.”

“Alright, but we need to be quick!” Rainbow Dash shot out of the room leaving her signature contrail. Fluttershy slowly floated away and after her.

“So, the High Council wants to see us?” Rarity asked to no one in particular. “They must be really interested in this.”

“Well why wouldn’t they?” Pinkie Pie spoke. “How would you handle it if you just learned your world is a cartoon show?”

“Pinkie Pie, dear…” Rarity tried to get through to her friend.

“Oh, right. Teehee.”

“What’s the High Council?” I intrigued.

“The High Council, second to the Princesses, is the highest authority in Equestria,” Twilight answered, “And the Royal Equestrian Chamber below them. The High Council consists of six ponies; hoof selected by Celestia herself, and they are Celestia's top advisors. Not much else is known about them though. It wouldn't be a far cry to call them a secret society.”

“Um… excuse me everypony, but the chariot is here.” Fluttershy stuck her head in through a window.

“Fluttershy! Get back out here and help me!”

“Oh… sorry.”

The flight to Canterlot was something of its own. The royal guards touched down, got all seven of us to cram into the chariot, and we took off. For some reason they didn’t want Rainbow Dash or Fluttershy to fly, and of course Rainbow Dash argued. After we got to about three thousand feet, it became obvious why; our escort was being escorted. Two Pegasus guards appeared and flew in formation with us, and a second chariot came up in front of ours. There was a Unicorn guard (I’ve never seen one before) in the chariot. This guard’s armor was the same in every way to the pegasus guards, but his helmet bore a snow white crest instead of blue. His gray coat was a stark contrast to the rest of the chariot, and his horn began to shine with a pale green. A small bubble formed above and around our chariot, enveloping it completely for the remainder of the flight.

And for the remainder of the flight; Twilight looked around in awe at the bubble, Applejack slept, Rarity tended to her mane, Fluttershy and I were in the corner cowering in fear from height and claustrophobia, Rainbow Dash looked bored, and Pinkie Pie kept trying to get us to play a game of ‘Eye-Spy’.

The party came to a stop in the middle of the castle courtyard. One of the walls embedded into the side of the mountain. The bubble that encased us disappeared, and our escorts flew away leaving us alone in the yard. The courtyard itself was significantly small compared to the rest of the castle, but was still larger than most parking lots. Rectangular in shape, eight paths converged to an enormous marble fountain in the center that must be two stories tall. Well-kept hedges ran along all the outer walls, only to stop to make way for a doorway. At the opposite end, one of the doors opened up from a building the stuck out of the mountain, with Princess Luna walking out to greet us. Even though the sun shone bright and there was no wind, her mane still moved fluidly and small stars twinkling in its transparent shade of blue.

“Ah, Twilight and friends, it is nice you were able to make it, and I apologize for the short notice. Once we understood exactly what was going on, we wasted no time getting you here. ‘Tia is inside waiting. Will the seven of you please come with me?”

“Of course, Princess.” Twilight bowed when talking to her and we followed Luna through the door she came from, closing it and presumably locking it with a faint glow of her horn.

“Um… Princess Luna?” Rarity asked but didn’t get an answer.

This part of the castle was far different from the others I had seen before. The nondescript door we entered through gave into a long, windowless hallway where the only form of light came from a spell cast by the Princess’s horn. The hallway was carved into the mountain; the floors and walls all the same dull, hard brown stone. Water trickled freely through cracks in the ceiling and walls forming shallow puddles on the ground below. They never got much more than an inch deep; the water easily seeped through the rocks and out of sight. Moss clung to almost every square inch of surface area, penetrating the several cracks that ran along everywhere. The hallway itself was as tall as it was wide, maybe fifteen feet. However there was no telling how long it was as beyond fifty feet darkness took over hiding everything behind shadows, only to be revealed as Luna approached with her spell and consumed again after she passed. We clung by the night deity’s side for the long, quiet walk ahead. The silence was almost intolerable since nopony spoke during the trek. Only the sounds of our steps and running water could be heard along with the faint buzz of the light emitting from Luna’s horn. Twilight and Rarity tried to cast their own spells but gave up since theirs could not go to any extent that could rival Luna’s. Finally, after about ten minutes we came to a large stone door that had an odd symbol carved into the door; some sort of geometric figure made of overlapping circles.

“The Flower of Life.” Luna said, closing her eyes and placing the tip of her horn on the center of the symbol. The light faded to that of a light navy-blue glow that barely made the door itself visible.

“Sacred geometry,” Luna continued, still not moving her head but slowly opening her eyes. “This is the visual expression of magic; magic which is what flows through all forms of life and interconnects them to each other, space, and time itself.”

The lines of the symbol slowly started glowing themselves, matching the color and intensity of the light of Luna’s horn. The color slowly changed into a deep purple and then into a pale turquoise before fading away. With that the soft glow from Luna’s horn also faded into pitch black. Silence and darkness quickly refilled the corridor. I heard Fluttershy squeak and Twilight started up her light spell for a second time.

“No need.” Luna spoke from somewhere in the dark, only to be partially illuminated by Twilight before she shut off her spell and returned the darkness.

“The door will open soon,” she added.

As if on cue, there was a loud clang followed by the friction noise of hard stone grinding against hard stone. Rays of light crept through tiny cracks as the door slid down through the floor. The small rays gave into a momentary blinding light the enveloped all of us. Our eyes quickly adjusted and standing before us on the other side of the doorway stood Princess Celestia with a timid expression. She bowed and so did Luna with rest of us following suite. I was only able to lower my head out of fear of slipping over the smooth surface of the stone floor.

“I am thankful you were all able to make on such short notice,” Celestia began, “do come in.”

She turned away and we followed into the dimly lit circular room behind her. The room was domed at the top and stood probably fifty or so feet high, and another fifty feet in diameter. The only source of light came from a small window carved out of the mountainside rock. A single stone bench wrapped its way along the circumference of the room, only stopping to allow for a pathway into the room. Off to one side stood an enormous, jagged obelisk made of obsidian. An integrate pattern of circles was carved into its face, each connected to others by straight lines. Somehow I thought I had seen it previously but whenever that was it escaped my mind. In the middle of the stone room stood Princess Celestia, and carved into the floor was another geometric pattern, but this one was comprised of touching circles that did connect like the obelisk nor did they overlap like the Flower of Life symbol that was etched onto the stone door. Luna turned back towards it and touched her horn to the ground, raising and closing the door.

“I am sure you must have many questions.” Luna walked over stood by Celestia who continued from where she left off, “However they will have to wait. I hope our explanation does answer them, but before I can continue I must first ask you all a question.”

Celestia leaned into the group, but we all stood our ground.

“What you had and will see, what you are and will be hearing, is of the highest in national security. So much as briefly mentioning anything outside of this room to any other living creature can and will be considered high treason regardless of position, political or otherwise. Swift, precise, and harsh actions will be taken against you if you so much as speak of this conversation.”

Celestia paused and we all sank back against the wall. This was the first time I had ever seen her as being something to be afraid of, and the others must have felt the same way. Fluttershy and oddly enough Rainbow Dash were almost in tears and struggled to hold them back. Celestia approached us and continued,

“Do you seven; Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and… Christopher Roland; do you vow to never utter a word about the events of today and what will follow?”

“Yes, your highness,” the seven of us spoke out in startling unison.

“Good.” Celestia sighed, turning away into the center of the domed room and returned next to Luna’s side.

“I apologize for the severity of my tone, but times are serious now.” Celestia added finally before walking over to the tiny window. Her horn glowed with a faint bronze before gently fading. She turned and sat down on part of the stone bench, and motioned for the rest of us to do the same. Luna sat beside her sister near the window, and the rest of us sat on the opposite end between the door and the obelisk.

“This is the Fruit of Life.” Luna said, pointing a hoof at the symbol scratched into the floor. “It is the blueprint of the universe; it is the design of every planet, every being, every dimension, and every time.” Luna now shifted towards the obelisk.

“Obsidian.” She continued, “Hard and brittle, so it stands the test of time. Carved into it is the Tree of Life; symbolizing life itself and how it connects to other life and the physical world. Together, the Tree of Life and the Fruit of Life can be found within the pattern of the Flower of Life.”

Luna stopped and Celestia took over, “This obelisk has gone by many names; The Apple, The Harmony Stone, The Glass Tomb, but regardless of what it is called it has come to be known as The Dodecahedron. Albeit it has more than twelve faces, the stone itself is still quintessence. It is what the Elements of Harmony were originally extracted from.”

The room fell silent after that and jaws hit the floor. Everything remained quiet for another minute or so until Twilight spoke up.

“The elements… came from that?”

“Yes, my faithful student. However, the set is still incomplete.”

“What?”

“The Tree of Life: connected between every line is a circle, and each circle symbolizes an element. The Elements of Harmony are derived from Life itself and when all the elements have been removed from the obelisk and united; eternal peace can be brought to every creature on our world. Famine, disaster, corruption, all would be wiped clean. When combined with the Fruit of Life, they form the Flower of Life. Eternal peace and harmony can be brought to our planet and our universe, possibly others.” Celestia nodded in my direction.

“However we have only recovered six elements so far; Honesty, Laughter, Loyalty, Kindness, Generosity and Magic. But there is supposed to be ten. There is no telling when another element could be produced, which one, what it will be, or what circumstances are required. The last time an element was created was over two thousand years ago after the founding of Equestria, that element was Loyalty. You six are the physical embodiments of the elements, and after you eventually pass on another will take your place. We believe now that a new element is soon to be revealed from the obelisk.”

The Flower of Life carved into the stone door began to glow with a faint red. Celestia got up from her seat and walked over to it, placing the tip of her horn on the center. The symbol changed colors again into a turquoise before the door slid open and hooded six ponies walked in, each wearing dark red robes. Celestia returned to her seat beside Luna, and the robed ponies each took individual seats, three on each side of the princesses.

The High Council?

“Yes Chris, we are the High Council.” One of them abruptly spoke.

Did… did he just…

“Yes, yes I did.” He spoke again with a smile and they all removed their hoods. Only one of the six was female; a dark gray pegasus with an orange and red mane similar in style to Rainbow Dash’s, and she started to address us.

“We are the High Council, and I am Libra.” She began, motioning to her right at a light gray unicorn with a short black mane who sat next to Celestia; the one who seemed to have been reading my mind.

“That is Theo, and to my far left is Newt.” I recognized Newt as the same robed pony I saw during my last visit in Canterlot who had been talking with Celestia and Luna. He doesn’t seem too happy to see me for some reason.

“Over near Princess Luna is Thesus.” The brilliant silver coated unicorn nodded. His mane is also short but more of a pure white then the rest of his coat.

“Beside him is Noah, and next to him is Specs.” Noah was also an earth pony, a dull brown with a much darker red shaded mane. Specs was a pegasus, and as his name implies he wears glasses. His dark blue mane blended well with the sky-blue color of his coat.

“Now that introductions are over,” Thesus spoke, “we can get on to more pressing matters.”

“Hey, we didn’t get to introduce ourselves.” Applejack said.

“It would be a waste of time, Applejack.” Thesus continued, “Besides, we already know who you are. However our focus isn’t so much on you as it is on Chris.”

Thesus’s horn started glowing with an intense blue light. A small stone ball started to from in front of him before it molded itself into a paper scroll. Twilight and Rarity were both stunned by this feat and watch as he floated the scroll across the room to Newt. Newt took the scroll and opened it, reading aloud whatever was written on it.

“The Arcane Prophecy…” he began but was cut off my Pinkie Pie.

“What’s an ‘arcane’? Can you eat it?”

“No you cannot. The word ‘arcane’ means secret; knowledge that is known by very few. You cannot eat it. Now allow me to continue;

Towards a nonexistent goal

Through splintered doors left ajar

Lost in space, a being as high a the crown will save the mother.

The human will wipe the ashes clear.

The bane will give a touch of gray to a world of color.

The blood will be spilled upon the mother with quickened grace.

On the outside looking in

Sorrow will shatter a broken nation.

But the mother will give the land new life

From the organs it gave itself.”

“That is the prophecy.” Newt concluded. The scroll turned to ashes before him and disappeared into the air.

“This prophecy has been interpreted in many ways.” Theo added, “but until recently most parts have still been less than clear. We believed at first ‘Human’ was a name or a place, but it in fact is you Chris; a human.”

“Now wait a minute.” I interrupted. “What exactly is going on?”

“Chris...” Celestia spoke, “This prophecy has survived countless millennia. It had been written eras ago by the first and long dead pony civilization that occupied the same land Equestria does now. They constructed this room, the obelisk, and therefore the Elements of Harmony. The prophecy has been passed down through countless years, and dozens of ponies thought they deciphered it only for their predictions to fail. We do not even know if the Arcane Prophecy has anything to do with the elements, but you are our first major development in a thousand of years.”

“Yes.” Noah nodded his head in agreement with the Princess.

“Lost in space, a being as high as the crown. You are almost as tall as Princess Celestia. You are also not of this universe.”

“Agreed.” Thesus went back to speaking. He’s obviously the leader of the council. “We have come to the conclusion that you are destined to benefit Equestria for the greater good, and it will happen fast and soon. Somehow you could potentially reveal a new Element of Harmony, and bring us one step closer to eternal happiness.”

Celestia returned to speaking, “As for ourselves, the interpretation of the Arcane Prophecy is still loose, yet it is stronger than it has ever before. The fact that our world exists as nothing more than a cartoon in yours further refines the third verse; A creature lost in space, and possibly the seventh as well. What it explains is that our universes are alternates. Whether you agree with it or not, to us it is concrete that this ‘being’ is you, and it goes on to validate other claims as well.”

“Chris, you will save Equestria. From what though is yet to be determined, but it will reveal itself soon.”

“That was…” Rarity started but never finished her sentence, her mind trailing off into space. We were back in the courtyard now, and our escorts would return by sundown so we still had a few hours left in the day to fool around in Canterlot. Everypony seemed to be looking at me, but they didn’t know what to say. I didn’t either. I didn’t know what to do. All Celestia said was that I’d be pulled back to Canterlot in time when situations develop. I blindly looked off into space and sat down on the ground. I picked up my crutch and held it in my lap.

For the time being, my broken leg hinders me. I can’t go anywhere without some form of supervision.

I don’t know where that thought came from, but the next think I knew I chucked it across the courtyard, the crutch landing with a splash in the fountain. Everypony was startled by this, and I laid down my back staring up to the sun.

“Um… I’ll go… get that.” Fluttershy nervously flew over to the fountain.

“Hey, Chris? Ya alright?” Pinkie Pie and Applejack stood over me.

“I… I-I don’t know,” I moaned. Pinkie Pie smiled and put a hoof over my forehead.

“So, why don’t we go see those scientists?” Twilight asked, “Princess Celestia said we could stop by Lab-7 today and they could explain to us more about what’s going on.”

“Hey Twilight,” I sidetracked, “When was the first time you came to Ponyville? Like how long ago did you move into the library?”

After a slight pause she responded, “I think it was seven years ago, maybe six. Why?”

“Because in the show, season two was about to be released in a few weeks before I ended up here. If what happened in the first episode happened seven years ago, whatever happens in the second season and probably any following season has already happened too.”

“Interesting…”

“Well, why don’t we go see those scientists? Maybe they can explain just how deep in this we are.” Rainbow Dash said, “And where is Lab-7 anyway?”

Twilight smiled, “I know the way, follow me.”

We turned down another long hallway and stopped before a large iron door.

“This is it.” Twilight gleefully knocked on the door.

“I do hope they can simplify what was being said before.”

“Rarity! We’re not supposed to be talkin’ about that!”

“Hey, I didn’t mention it specifically by name, nor have I said anything that indicates anypony involved.” Rarity scoffed and stuck her head up.

The door opened and a gray unicorn stuck his head out the doorway.

“Hello… what do we have here?” He looked around before stopping at Twilight. “Twilight, is that you?”

“Uncle Hadron?”

The two stared at each other in disbelief before Twilight cheerfully screamed and ran into the stallion embracing him in a hug.

“I didn’t know you worked in Lab-7!”

Pinkie Pie ran up to me and whispered in my ear, “It’s her uncle. He’s a physicist.”

“I think I got that.” I whispered back.

Hadron and Twilight released each other and then he diverted his attention to me.

“Oh my, you must be the human! Ha! Take that Strings! Proof I was right! Do come into my lab, all of you.”

It was a lab alright. Plain white walls, tile ceiling and floor, and several work stations lined up against one of the walls. Several papers and books littered not only them but the floor as well. On the opposite wall was a large glass window with a big copper pipe running across on the other side. The words, DANGER: HIGH VOLTAGE were spelled in out in big bold letters above the window which must have been at least an inch thick. There were also several hazard lights, a fuse box, chalk board with some equations on it, and a fire extinguisher on the wall in between the desks and the window.

“So too what honor do I owe myself of having the human in my presence?” Hadron excitingly asked.

“My name is Chris, by the way.”

“Chris! Ha! Chris Chris Chris!” He cheered. Rainbow Dash mimicked him behind his back getting Pinkie Pie and Applejack to giggle.

“We were hoping you could tell us more about the universe and how he got here. It would explain a lot.” Twilight spoke to her uncle. “It’d be really helpful.”

“Sure thing! You are not of this universe, right?”

“No, I’m pretty sure I’m not.”

“Good! You’re basically living proof of the multiverse theory! The theory states that an infinite amount of outcomes exists in an infinite amount of universes that all occupy the same space, but in an infinite amount of different dimensions. For example, there are infinite copies of me right now occupying the same space doing exactly as I am, but you can’t see, feel, hear, or interact with them in any way because they exist in different dimensions. Now say I walk over here to the right. Infinite copies of me did exactly what I just did, but other infinite copies would stay in the same place I had just been. It boggles the mind, but once you understand it it’s actually quite simple. Chris, the fact that you, a nonnative creature to this world, is here basically verifies the multiverse theory but could also prove that wormholes exist!”

These ponies sure do know more about science then I thought they did.

“The only logical way for you to have traveled between dimensions is through a rip in the space-time continuum; or an interdimensional wormhole. Some sort of event must have momentarily made our worlds contact each other, the two jumbled up a bit, and now you’re here! Do you have any idea what may have caused it?”

“It’s still kind of fuzzy, but I remember lightning and zero gravity. And a burning tree.”

“That was probably just the fabric of space tearing around you. Do you remember any more details?”

“Sorry but that’s all he wrote.” Rainbow Dash butted in. “Come on, our ride’s going to be getting here soon and I need to sleep! I haven’t gotten any good sleep in the past couple of days!”

“You got to go?” Hadron asked in disappointment. “Alrighty then… but do stop by again sometime! I’d love to show you to Strings and rub it in his face!”

“Alright, we’ll do that Uncle Hadron. Thank’s for explaining that to us.”

“Not a problem for my favorite niece!”

“Chris, did ya understand what he was sayin'?”

“Yeah, I got the just of it.”

“Good, cause ah didn’t.”

Interdimensional universe traveler, destined savior of Equestria from an unknown threat, and my crutch is wet. Somehow I’m not that entirely surprised.

Towards a nonexistent goal

Through splintered doors left ajar.