The God Particle

Chapter 18: Her Dark Premonition

James arrived at the administration building of the Academy, passing under the tall white pillars that held up the awning in front of the door. Once inside, he followed a corridor to the office. Various tapestries, banners, and portraits lined the walls of the hall. Among them, were the royal banners of Celestia and Luna, along with portraits of both princesses in regal poses. There were also portraits of various other ponies that he did not recognize, save one—Star Swirl the Bearded, who he recognized from a sketch in one of Twilight’s books. He assumed the rest of the portraits must be of other prominent academics in Equestria’s past who were important to the Academy.

He entered the administration office. Inside was a large oak counter with one earth pony behind it. Unlike Theory Point, he was not in uniform. His mane was medium length and blond, his fur light blue. He looked young, perhaps only eighteen or nineteen—a student at the Academy perhaps. He looked up from his work, regarding James through his hazel eyes.

“You must be Dr. James Peterson? We’ve been expecting you.”

“You have?” He blinked.

“Yes, Welcome to the Royal Equestria Academy. As you no doubt already know, you have to undergo an extensive testing and exam process before you are officially made part of the faculty. You’ll spend probably the whole day tomorrow doing that.” The pony paused and looked around for a moment, as if he were making sure no other pony were within listening distance. He continued in a slightly quieter voice. “But uh … between you and me? The exams and testing are basically a formality. So don’t sweat it too much.  The Princess wouldn’t have sent you here if she didn’t think you could pass them.”

The administration pony stood up and walked further back behind the desk, disappearing behind a large shelf that had hundreds of small cubbyholes in it. Mailboxes for the various faculty and departments, James suspected. A few minutes later, he returned, balancing a large box on his back. He set it on the counter.

“These are your uniforms,” the pony began. “You aren’t actually allowed to wear them until after you have completed exams and testing and been officially accepted. There’s several of each one, as well as a short guidebook in the box that will tell you which one to wear for various-”

“Wait a minute … You have uniforms for me already?”

“Of course. Her Majesty asked us to have them made a few days ago.” The administration pony gave him a strange look, as if the question he asked had an obvious answer.

So either she hoped I would accept the invitation to join the Academy, and was just being proactive … or she already knew in advance that I would accept it, James thought to himself. He hoped it was the former. He didn’t want to think about the latter very much. For the latter would mean that either his fate was already fixed and Princess Celestia knew what it was but was not telling him, or even worse, that she directly controlled his fate and he was basically her puppet.

“Are you still listening to me?” The administration pony interrupted his thoughts, giving him a slightly annoyed look.

“Yes. Sorry,” he responded, glad for the thought disruption.

“The guidebook will tell you which uniform to wear for various occasions and different situations,” the pony continued. “In a nutshell, most of the time you will wear the class 1B uniform—whenever you are out in public, when you are giving a lecture, when you meet either princess, and so on. The class 1A uniform you will only wear for special occasions—the Summer Sun Celebration, the Grand Galloping Gala, that kind of thing. Only a few times a year really.”

James nodded his head once, making mental notes even though the administration pony had said it would all be in the guidebook as well. The pony continued.

“The class 2A uniform is the one you will wear anytime you are out in the field where the class 1B uniform would not be practical. It has several optional accessories including heavy jackets. And finally, the class 2B uniform is the one you will usually wear in the research labs … Any questions?”

“… I’m sure I’ll have some later,” James commented, still hating the whole uniform idea. He was used to the very relaxed dress code at Fermilab where he had been allowed to basically throw on whatever he wanted on most days.

“Don’t fret too much about it. You can always refer to the guidebook. And it’s still much easier than if you had to learn all of the normal dress customs of Canterlot for those ponies that don’t wear uniforms,” he snickered.

“Right,” James responded, not sounding entirely convinced. “Anything else I need to know right away?”

“Yeah. The faculty dormitories are out the front door and down the road to the right. You can’t miss them. There’s a sign out front … That should be about it really. Again, welcome to the Academy.” He smiled now.

“Thank you. I look forward to getting started … and getting the exams out of the way,” James responded as he picked up the box and turned for the door.

“You need anything, come back and let me know,” the administration pony responded, waving with a forehoof.

“Thanks.” James nodded and left, working his way back down the corridor and outside, turning to the right in the direction of the dormitories. He’d go back to his guest room in the castle and get the rest of his things later.

He stopped in front of a white brick building with a sign out from that read ‘Faculty Housing’. It was three stories high. A cobblestone walkway led to the main doors. In front of the doors, to the right of the walkway, was a large carved statue of Princess Celestia, reared up on her hind legs. To the left, a similar statue of Princess Luna, such that one had to walk between the two of them, passing through their shadow to reach the doors. Subtlety is not a virtue at this Academy, he thought to himself as he looked back and forth between the two statues that towered over him, shaking his head slightly once before walking between them. Then he entered through the double doors, passing through a windbreak before pushing open another set of doors.

Once inside, he found himself in a common area, well furnished with red velvet cushions and chairs. A large wooden table dominated the center of the room with smaller tables in various other spots. Against the east wall, a stone fireplace glowed with warmth, the crackling flame inside keeping the outside chill at bay. A blackened kettle sat on the ledge in front of it and there was a pole hanging inside of the fireplace above the fire—for hanging the kettle, James supposed. On the mantle above the fireplace were several tins full of different varieties of tea. Mugs sat on a small table next to the fireplace. Against the west wall, a well-stocked bookshelf ran from floor to ceiling, taking up the length of the entire wall. He made a mental note to look more closely at the books later. On the south wall, behind him where the door was, the ever present banners of the two princesses hung on either side, their constant reminder of the diarchy ever present.

He followed the only hallway that led out of the room, walking down the corridor until he arrived at a wooden staircase. He followed it up to the second level and walked down another hallway until he came to the door outside his assigned room, trying to balance the box on one hand now as he fumbled with the key in his other, eventually getting the door open and stepping inside.

The room was the size of a typical hotel suite. It contained a small kitchen area, partially walled off in the back corner. A bed, already furnished with white cotton linens, was against one wall. The opposite wall held a stone hearth with a fire already burning in it—somepony had already prepared the room for him it seemed. Next to the bed, against the wall, was a large oak desk with drawers on both sides. Above it, a four row shelf, currently empty and waiting to be populated with books. The smooth stone walls were currently bare, but there were hooks in them at various places intended for hanging pictures to help personalize the room. In front of him, the far wall had a single window with a view looking out towards the castle. Next to it, a small round table big enough for maybe three. It was definitely nothing compared to the opulence of his guest room at the castle. But compared to the dorm rooms he had lived in during his undergraduate college days, it was luxury.

He set the box down on the bed, took one of the folded uniforms—it was the class 1B one he’d be wearing most of the time—out of it and let it unfold. It was of a blue-gray color, very much like the uniform Theory Point had been wearing. The right side chest area of the uniform was adorned with the banner of Princess Celestia, the left side graced with the banner of Princess Luna. The right sleeve, just below the shoulder, bore the flag of Equestria. On the left shoulder, a round patch with a drawing of an atom on it. The top of the patch read ‘Royal Equestria Academy’. The bottom, underneath the atom, ‘Department of Science and Engineering’.

He unpacked the rest of the uniforms and hung them in the wardrobe so they wouldn’t wrinkle, leaving the guidebook on the desk for now. Then he left the room and the building, making his way to the underground secure storage facility below the physics lab. Upon arrival, the unicorn guards stationed at the heavy, reinforced door allowed him to pass with little trouble, having been told in advance that he would be arriving.

Inside, he found Theory Point had already brought down a fair amount of equipment, starting to convert the underground bunker into a makeshift lab.  The back part of the unicorn was sticking out from behind a tall shield she was adjusting.

“Steal that from the x-ray lab, did you?” he quipped.

“Oh, Hi James … Steal it? No … I just sort of borrowed it … without asking first … and with no intention of returning it anytime soon.”

“Uh huh …” he responded in an accusatory tone. “I see you’ve been busy down here. Nice work.”

“Thanks. Although I still don’t know how we are going to study this thing safely. Probably have to rig up some kind of remote control system that lets us move it around without getting close to it.”

“Basically what I was thinking too … You might want to avoid the castle for a while, by the way. You’re on Princess Luna’s shit list. Just giving you fair warning.”

“What? She’s mad that I skipped the debriefing?” the unicorn said protectively, as if she’d just been accused of something terrible.

“You could say that.”

“I have a responsibility to my students.” She huffed in annoyance, sounding remarkably like a normal horse snorting. “Tell her to take it up with them if she doesn’t like it. I was ten minutes late for lecture as it was.”

“Yeah … I think I’ll let you tell her that. I’m staying out of this one,” he raised his hands defensively.

“And what about joining the Academy? That topic came up I am sure.”

“It did. I said yes. I still have to pass the exams, of course.”

She smiled. “You'll pass. Don’t worry about it. I’m glad you decided to join. It’s going to be fun working with you.”

“That’s what the administrator at the office told me. That I would have no problem passing. I’m still nervous though.”

“Don’t be, you’re probably smarter than most of the ponies who will be giving you the exam,” she reassured him.

“If you say so.” He didn’t really sound convinced.

“You’ll be fine,” she said again. “Now come on. We have work to do.”

The next several hours were spent installing a track on the ceiling behind the shield Theory Point had 'borrowed'. They mounted a mechanical pulley in the track and attached a long steel rod to it, allowing the rod to move back and forth along the track when they manipulated the pulley from behind the shield. At the end of the rod, they attached another track with another pulley system, perpendicular to the first track. To that, they attached another short length of steel rod with a mechanical grabber on the end that could be opened and closed using a lever from behind the shield.

They stood back and looked over the crude apparatus they had rigged together. It resembled one of those stuffed animal machines at carnivals where you guide the claw in an attempt to grab one and hope it made it all the way to the dispensing slot without dropping it.

“It's crude,” James commented.

“Yeah, well neither one of us are mechanical engineers, right?” Theory Point jested.

“We probably better practice on something harmless for a while before we attempt to move the real thing around … You know where we can get a bowling ball?”

“There's a bowling alley at the rec center. I could borrow a bowling ball from there.”

“You mean like you 'borrowed' the x-ray shield.” He looked at her dubiously.

“Something like that, yeah,” the unicorn deadpanned.

“Well, I guess we don't have any other options. Secrecy and all. A soccer ball would be too light and wouldn't be a valid test. Might as well go get it I guess.”

The unicorn nodded and turned, leaving the secure lab—leaving James alone to fret and worry about the exams tomorrow while she was gone. He passed the time by trying to recall every scientific piece of information he had ever known, concentrating specifically on the lesser used parts that he might be rusty on. But even more so than that, he concentrated on remembering everything Twilight had taught him about Equestrian culture, customs, ideals, history, law, and so on. He remembered what Twilight had told him about Academy staff being more than just experts in their field, and he knew that they would be looking for things other than just scientific knowledge. That was the part that concerned him the most. He tried to remember everything she had taught him about harmony, about balance, about loyalty, respect, and every other thing they had talked about. He was so deep in thought that he jumped, startled when the door opened, and Theory Point re-entered, breaking him out of his thoughts.

“Mission accomplished.” She grinned. “I got the heaviest one I could find.”

“Nice work. Let's put it on the table in there and see if we can pick it up.”

“You want to try it first?” she asked as she magically took the bowling ball out of the bag she had hidden it in, placing it on a table behind the shield.

“Sure. I'll give it a shot.” He went to pulley controls and lever they had rigged up, maneuvering the grabber over the bowling ball before lowering it. Then he squeezed the lever, attempting to pick it up. The first several times he tried, he missed completely, the ball not budging off the table at all. Then, on the eighth try or so, he was finally able to lift the ball off the table. He raised it, slowly, carefully.

“You got it. Try to move it to the other table,”Theory commented.

He did so, slowly moving the pulley so the ball moved to the right—away from the table it had been sitting on and towards another in the room. Just when he had reached the half-way point, the bowling ball slipped from the grip of the grabbers, crashing to the floor with the sound of a firecracker, causing both James and Theory to wince.

“Well, that worked well,” he said sarcastically.

“I'll say. You took a chuck out of the floor. Way to go.” She chuckled and pointed at a small hole in the concrete floor with her horn. A few chips of concrete, dislodged by the bowling ball turned wrecking ball, lay next to it. “They will probably take that out of your first payment,” she taunted.

“Hey! It wasn't my fault,” he protested. “The grabber is too weak. And it's too hard to hold the lever tight enough to maintain a solid grip on the ball. We need a stronger spring or something.”

They continued to make tweaks and took turns practicing with the apparatus well into the late evening hours. Luna's moon was high in the sky by the time they felt comfortable enough to start working on the real thing.

“Lets wait until tomorrow,” Theory Point suggested. “You'll want to get some sleep tonight for those exams in the morning.”

He was about to protest, but he stopped himself. She was right, he realized. Even if, as she seemed to think, he wouldn't have any trouble with them, attempting them with no sleep the night before would probably be unwise. He nodded. “Alright. Good work today.” He smiled. “Good night, Theory. I'll see you back here tomorrow … whenever I get done I guess.”

“Good night, James,” she said as the both left the secure lab.

Back in his room in the dormitories, James quietly undressed and got ready for bed. Climbing in and pulling the covers over him, he tried to get to sleep. But rest did not come easily, for he continued to fret about the exams and tests tomorrow. Something had changed in him, He could not put his finger on exactly what it was, or why it had changed. Back in Chicago, his biggest fear had been that he would be overshadowed—that he would lose the race to be the first to discover the latest breakthrough in high energy physics. Name recognition, glory, and fame in the world of science was what he wanted. To be featured on the front page of journals. To be mentioned in the same sentence as Albert Einstein, or Charles Darwin. His greatest fear had been not achieving that kind of importance—of coming in second best. When he first arrived in Equestria, his greatest fear was that he would never be able to get home to continue that work. All chance of ever being name dropped in the same sentence with Albert Einstein or Charles Darwin would be gone, never to be had again. He chastised himself for how selfish he had been, thinking of his career and his own glory before even his friends and family. Of course, later on, his greatest fear had become that he would never be able to see his friends or family again. But now, even that had changed. Now, he began to realize, his greatest fear was disappointing Princess Celestia. It wasn't that he was afraid of what she would do to him if he did disappoint her—he had come to trust her much more than that. Rather, it was that somehow he was beginning to feel bound to her. As if serving her were the most important thing in his life … as if he would forsake everything else in her name. He wondered if he would? He looked at himself in the mirror of his mind. At what he was becoming. He wasn't sure he liked what he saw. He looked out the window. Luna's moon was nearly directly overhead now, its light silhouetting the castle, the towers appearing as dark pillars reaching for the sky, bathing the ground beneath in shadow. He turned away from the window, closing his eyes. Eventually, he was able to fall into sleep. But it was a light and restless one.

o.O.o

The next morning found James pacing in front of a large set of double oak doors, waiting nervously to be called in.

“Would you relax?” Theory Point admonished him. She had shown up with him to try to calm his nerves as he waited for the exam process to start. Whether she was having any success at all was debatable. “I told you, you are going to do fine.”

“Easy for you to say. You aren't the one that has to go in there.” He stopped pacing and looked at her.

“I was in the same boat at one time though. I know what you are going through. Trust me, you will do fine.”

He wished he had the same amount of confidence that she did. He was about to respond, but was interrupted by the sound of one of the doors unlocking and opening. A gray unicorn came out, wearing the Academy uniform with high ranking insignia.

“Dr. Peterson, we are ready for you,” he said simply, motioning for the human to step inside.

He turned back and looked at Theory Point one last time. She gave him a reassuring nod. “I'll be back here before you are done. Good luck, not that you will need it I am sure.”

He nodded his thanks before turning and entering the room, the doors shutting behind him again.

A very large, ornately carved desk sat at the front of the room, centered along the wall and in an elevated position. It stretched at least half the length of the entire wall behind it.  The only thing he could think of to compare it to was the Supreme Court bench. Behind the desk, sat no fewer than thirteen ponies, all dressed in uniform. Unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies were all represented. The unicorn that had led him into the room took him to a much smaller desk at the center of the room, in front of the bench where the others sat, motioned for him to sit down. He did so, and the unicorn trotted to the large desk in front of the room, joining the rest of the ponies there and completing the assembly of fourteen examiners. On the wall behind them, a large emblem of the sun and the moon, banners of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna hanging next to them. He looked back at the ponies at the desk. Their faces were expressionless, impossible to read. The uniformed ponies and military tribunal like atmosphere of the room was rather intimidating. It did nothing to help calm his nerves.

He glanced down at the desk he was seated at. A stack of blank note paper sat on it, along with a quill and an inkwell. Next to the note paper, a stack of graph paper. On the other side of the desk, a glass and pitcher of water.

“Welcome, Dr. Peterson. It is a pleasure having you here.” It was a male unicorn that spoke, sitting at the center of the desk.

“Thank you, sir. It is a pleasure to be here,” James responded, trying to hide the nervousness in his voice. He wasn't sure how well he had succeeded.

A female unicorn next to him spoke this time, “Before we begin. Do you have any questions for us?”

“No ma'am. Not at this time.” Actually, he had a million questions. But he found that he could not bring himself to ask any of them right now.

The unicorn nodded her head. “Very well. We will begin then. The exam will last approximately nine hours during which you will be asked questions by all of us. The questions will cover everything from math and science, to Equestrian ideals, values, culture, and history. You may use the note paper and graph paper to work out your answers. Answers will be given verbally, and you will give additional explanation about how you arrived at your conclusions upon request from any of us. There will be a break for lunch approximately half way through. During that time you are not to leave the lunch area, and you are not permitted to speak to anypony.  Furthermore, you are not to leave the exam area, or lunch area at any time without permission and escort, and you are not permitted to have contact with anypony outside of this room until the exam is complete. These proceedings are held in the strictest confidence. You are not permitted, either now, or at any time in the future, to speak to anypony regarding anything that happens or is said during these proceedings. Do you understand my instructions?”

“Yes, ma'am,” he responded, trying to sound as confident as possible. But the strict secrecy of the entire thing was making him even more nervous.

She nodded again, the expression on her face still as emotionless as ever. “Let us begin then.”

For the next several hours, the ponies took turns grilling him with questions. He was confident in his answers regarding any of the math and science questions that came up. Occasionally, they would ask questions that mixed science and magic. Those he was less confident about. He had several discussions about magic with Twilight though, and she had versed him in basic magical theory, despite the fact that he was unable to use magic himself. He tried to think the way she would when those questions came up. Often times, one of the ponies would ask for additional explanation, or ask him to explain the thought processes he had used to arrive at a certain conclusion about magic.  That unnerved him, making him think his answers were probably wrong. He hoped that even if they were, he would get partial credit for using sound thought processes and being able to logically explain why he had come up with the answer he did. The questions about Equestrian culture, customs, and ideals actually seemed easier for him to answer than he thought they would be. That surprised him in a relieving sort of way—for coming in, that had been the portion of the exam he was most worried about. As promised earlier, they broke for lunch about four hours into the exam. He had hoped they would provide him with some feedback about how he was doing up until now, but none was given. He picked at a salad and a peanut butter sandwich, butterflies in his stomach causing him not to have much of an appetite. He thought maybe his nerves would calm once the exam process had gotten underway. Instead, he found himself becoming more on edge as the hours passed—the moment of judgment creeping ever closer as Celestia's sun marched its relentless cadence from the Eastern horizon to the West. Despite his lack of appetite, he forced himself to eat the rest of the meal. He would need the energy to make it through the long hours that remained.

Shortly, they returned to the exam room, took their seats. The endless barrage of questions and requests for in depth explanations began again. Hours passed. Celestia's sun continued its march. James felt like his brain was beginning to turn to rubber—like his legs would feel if he had spent all day running on a treadmill. Still, the questions continued. Despite the grueling mental fatigue he was starting to feel, he was not tired, the ever approaching moment of judgment keeping him on edge. Just when he thought he couldn't take anymore questioning …

“And I believe we are done here,” the female unicorn spoke again. “Dr. Peterson, if you would please wait in the lunch room while we discuss.”

James nodded and stood up. “Thank you, ma'am,” he said before walking towards the lunch room door again. After passing through it, it closed, and he heard it lock it behind him, preventing him from re-entering the exam room. That door was also the only way out of the lunch room, meaning he was locked in this room and isolated for now. He sat down at the empty table and waited. It was all he could do now. But the waiting was even more torturous than the nine hour exam had been. An hour passed. Maybe two. He lost track of the time. Finally, the door opened, startling him out of his thoughts.

“Dr. Peterson. Please rejoin us in the exam room. Remain standing at the front of the desk you were at.” It was the unicorn that had led him into the exam room earlier spoke, then turned and trotted back to the exam room and to his station behind the large desk.

James followed, doing as he was told and standing in front of the desk he had originally been seated at. All of the examiner ponies looked down at him from behind elevated large desk. A moment passed, although it seemed like an eternity to him. Finally, the female unicorn at the center spoke again.

“Dr. Peterson, it gives us great pleasure to accept you into the Academy faculty, and to welcome you as one of our own.” James felt as if a weight had been lifted off of him, relief flooding through him. The unicorn continued. “You are to report to the administration building at seven tomorrow morning, where you will be expected to be in class 1B uniform. One of us will meet you there to guide you through orientation on your first day. We remind you that these proceedings are confidential and you are not to speak of them to anypony. Always wear the Academy uniform with dignity, and respect. And always remember you represent Princess Celestia and Princess Luna themselves when you wear it. Congratulations, Dr. Peterson. These proceedings are closed.”

She banged her hoof on the desk once, making a gavel like sound that echoed off the walls. Then the ponies started to file out from behind the desk, coming down to the floor where he was. Now that the formal proceedings were over, they smiled for the first time since he had arrived, each congratulating him in turn. Celestia's sun was already getting low on the horizon when they wrapped things up, all of them filing out of the room back to the common area. As she promised, Theory Point was waiting for him. His smile answered her question before she asked it.

“I told you had nothing to worry about.” She trotted up to him. “Congratulations. And welcome to the Academy.”

“Thank you,” he smiled. “We should get to the lab and get some work done, with what little time is left in the day.” He started heading for the door, blinking as he was stopped and pulled backwards. Theory Point had hooked her foreleg under his arm.

“Oh no, you don't. You just got accepted into the Academy. That's a big deal. The lab can wait until tomorrow. Tonight, we party. I know just the place.”

He tried to protest, but she was already herding him out the door on the other side of the building, opposite the direction of the lab.

The top of Celestia's sun was just dipping below the horizon as she led him into the heart of Canterlot. He pulled his cloak tighter around his shoulders as the icy night wind bit at him. The smell of wood smoke hung heavy in the air as fireplaces and stoves worked overtime to keep the advancing winter chill out of the houses that lined the streets. Longingly, James remembered that it was Spring in Chicago right now. As they continued further away from the castle walls, the multistory exquisitely constructed stone and marble houses gave way to more common construction. He hadn't been to this part of Canterlot before. In fact, he hadn't even realized that Canterlot had a district that wasn't completely aristocratic and obsessed with appearances.

“You look surprised,” Theory Point commented. “What, did you think that all of Canterlot was stuck up and full of itself? It has areas where the commoners live. Like any other large city.”

“I was starting to think there were no commoners in Canterlot,” he quipped, still looking around at the changing architecture.

“Not everypony in Canterlot holds a high level government position, or is on the Academy staff—although almost everypony in Canterlot does work for the government. The ones that don't, provide services for the ones that do. But even within the government, there's a lot of more common jobs that need to be done to keep this place running. Construction, and so on.”

James nodded at her response, feeling relieved that there would be a place he could go to get away from all the aristocracy when he wanted to, without having to completely leave the city.

They approached a single story brick building. Strobe lights and a kaleidescope of entertainment lighting flashed through the two frosted windows on the front of the building.  The sound of amplified bass from techno music pounded through the walls. A sign on the awning over the door identified the building as 'The Underhoof', written in a Gothic style font. Under the awning, a simple gun-metal gray steel door with no windows served as the entrance. James opened the door for Theory Point, the pounding of the sub-woofers invading his ears now, then followed her inside.

A large muscular pony, fur as dark as midnight sat to the right inside of the door. His mane and tail were just as dark as his fur. He nodded and smiled slightly to Theory Point, leaning in close to her and saying something to her that James could not hear over the unremitting assault of the amplifiers. She said something back to him. He looked at James and nodded extending his right forehoof. James nodded back politely and extended his own hand, thinking the pony meant to shake hands. Instead, the bouncer pony grabbed a rubber stamp, and pushed it down on the top of his hand, stamping the image of a red pony with his foreleg and hoof raised in the air onto the back of it. He then did the same to Theory Point's forehoof, before she paid him with some bits.

Once she had paid for admission, she led him further into the building. A right turn, and they were in a large crowded room. Flashing strobe lights, like lightning on a moonless night assaulted James' vision. Green, red, blue, violet, and yellow lasers scanned across the room, rotating in a dizzying pinwheel of color, sometimes splitting into hundreds of beams before coming back together as one. 'Ponysonic' speakers hanging from the ceiling assailed his ears with loud electronic trance music, while waves of bass from sub-woofers next to the walls thumped in his chest. Ponies of all different colors whirled and spun around the dance floor, the strobe lights making them flash in and out of vision. Lasers and a rainbow of sweeping entertainment lights swept over them. Near the front of the room, on an elevated stage, a white unicorn with large dark rimmed sunglasses with a purple tint spun records, her horn glowing as she worked the controls on a large mixer and lighting control system. Her mane and tail were dark blue with light blue highlights in both, her cutie mark a bridged musical note. And through it all, the lasers continued to spin, the strobe lights continued to flash, the music continued to pound, and James continued to get more and more disoriented, mesmerized by the spinning kaleidescope of light.

A poke in his ribs from Theory Point's horn finally brought him back to reality. She motioned him towards a bar in the center of the room and he followed her to it, having to push his way through the crowded dance floor, ponies bumping into him roughly. Finally, they made their way to the bar and found two empty seats. The music continued to pound.

“Welcome to the other side of the tracks, as it were,” she said loudly to him, leaning in close to his ear to be heard over the loud music.

He looked around a bit more, still somewhat in shock that Canterlot even had a 'the other side of the tracks', having believed up until now that the entire city was completely blue-blooded high-class society. Then he leaned in close to Theory Point's ear again. “You are somewhat of a non-conformist, aren't you …” he said loud enough to be sure she could hear him over the music.

“A lot of ponies from the science department hang out here,” she responded. “It's sort of … the unofficial nerd gathering spot.” She looked out over the room. Then her horn lit up and she made a waving motion with her head, beckoning a couple of uniformed ponies near the entrance over to them. “In fact, there's a couple of them right now.” The two ponies in question nodded in response to her and began making their way through the crowd over to the unicorn and human pair.

“I didn't even know you had entertainment lasers in Equestria. I never saw anything like this in Ponyville,” he said to her, leaning in close to her ear again.

“Lasers? No. You are forgetting. She's a unicorn,” Theory responded.

He raised an eyebrow. “It's some kind of illusion magic then?”

“Magic, yes. Illusions? No. The colored light beams are very real. Magically created beams of photons that emit light at various wavelengths.”

“That sounds like it would be very difficult to master.”

“No doubt it is. It took her years to master it. But she's widely regarded as the best DJ in Canterlot—perhaps even the best DJ in all of Equestria. It's her special talent, so her magic is focused on entertainment.”

He nodded and watched the DJ pony work again, the colored light beams arcing through the air, bouncing off small mirrors mounted on the ceiling, splitting, converging, changing color, pinwheeling around. It seemed to be almost natural for her. “From what Twilight told me, unicorns have to expend energy to perform magic. It must be tiring for her,” he commented.

“It is. Very tiring. She will be exhausted when the place closes tonight. But she loves doing it and wouldn't trade it for the world.”

The two Academy ponies finally arrived at the bar after navigating through the crowd—a dark brown pegasus with a short black mane and matching tail, and a light green earth pony with a longer yellow mane and tail.

Theory Point nodded at them before looking back at James. “James, these here are Delta Streak”, she motioned at the pegasus, “and Autumn Harvest”, she motioned to the earth pony. “No doubt you two have already heard of James. He completed the exam process today and will be joining us in the science department.”

The two ponies nodded to him and extended their forehooves. “Congratulations,” they both said in unison.

“Thank you,” James responded and shook their forehooves in turn.

“You will have a lot of fun working at the Academy,” the male pegasus continued. “But, watch out for Theory Point here. She's a wild one and will get you in a lot of trouble if you give her the chance.” He snickered a bit, getting a playful forehoof in the ribs from the unicorn in response. “What?” he protested. “I mean the mere fact that you brought him to this dive is-”

“Delta works on the aerodynamics team,” Theory interrupted, “which is part of the same department we are in. His never-ending quest? To design the perfect flying chariot.”

He nodded and chuckled. “It's a winged chariot with flexible airfoils so the pegasi can control it easier and expend much less energy pulling it because it produces its own lift. It's streamlined to have a very aerodynamic shape. Imagine cutting the flying time from Manehatten to Canterlot in half! Do you happen to know any test pilot pegasi? I'm in desperate need of a test pilot. Somepony willing to take a lot of crazy risks putting this thing through its paces once we get it built?”

A certain cyan pegasus with a rainbow colored mane popped in James' head as soon as Delta mentioned 'crazy' and 'risks'. He couldn't help but snicker a bit. “There is … somepony that comes to mind.” He snickered again.

Theory Point then nodded at the earth pony slightly. And Autumn Harvest is in the agriculture department. Her passion is the pursuit of food crop perfection.”

The earth pony chuckled and shook her head a bit. “In more scientific terms, I'm working on a hybrid form of wheat that is both pest and weed resistant and can potentially double yield per field. More crops on less land, and less time to harvest them.”

James nodded. “Genetically engineered? Sounds interesting.”

“Not genetically engineered really, just selectively bred. Genetically altered food doesn't go over well with most ponies. They tend to fear it.”

“Ah. So is it-”

He was cut off by Theory Point again. “Enough of that for now. You three will have plenty of time to talk during the normal course of activities at the Academy. Tonight, we party.” She motioned towards the dance floor.

“Oh no we aren't. I don't dance.”

“Oh come on. It's not like we are in the castle ballroom. It's electronic trance music.  You don't exactly have to know how to dance.”

“No. I'm not going out—ow!” She poked him in the back with her horn, herding him out on to the dance floor now. “Stop that!” he protested, only to get another poke in response, forcing him further towards the floor. Before he could counter, she poked him again sending him forward a few more steps. The sea of ponies closed around him, and there was no escape. He was carried further out onto the dance floor like a piece of driftwood on an outgoing tide, flowing out into the ocean. He shot Theory Point a glare. She only feigned innocence in response.

o.O.o

Princess Celestia laid in darkness, as if a giant well of black ink had been poured over all of Equestria. She was cold … very cold. Her legs didn't want to move, the bitter temperatures rendering her muscles stiff and rigid. But she willed herself to move, forcing first her forelegs, then her hind legs under her, pushing herself to her hooves. She took a step forward. The ground cracked and groaned beneath her hoof, frozen dead leaves shattering beneath it—like once beautiful stained glass that had been reduced back to simple sand, the trees the leaves had fallen from having long ago given up their struggle for survival in the icy environment. Arctic wind penetrated the alicorn's fur like thousands of tiny daggers—ripped through the feathers of her wings as if trying to pluck them out. A crescent moon hung in the sky, but its light had turned blanch, barely penetrating through layers of swiftly moving dark cloud. An unearthly glow shown from the black trees as the pale light of the moon reflected off thick icicles hanging from the bare branches, like cold iron prison bars locking the trees in an arctic dungeon of winter.

She willed herself forward, forcing one hoof in front of the other, despite the protests of her frozen limbs. She moved through the forest. Nothing stirred, the wind whipping through the frozen branches the only sound. She had the disturbing feeling the wind and its sound were mocking her. Squinting her eyes to see better in the darkness, she thought she saw a small glow in front of her, like a candle burning at the end of a dark misty corridor. Life! She willed herself to move faster, her legs protesting with an increasing ache as she forced them into a trot. But that didn't matter now. There was life ahead! And the warmth of a glowing fire. Surely, whoever had kindled it would welcome her—allow her to warm herself by it. Her spirit rose inside of her, the aches and pains in her legs and frozen wingtips being forced into oblivion by the warm company she knew lie just ahead.

A scent entered her nostrils. The wood smoke from the fire, she thought. No … That wasn't it. She came to an abrupt halt, tipping her muzzle skyward and sniffing the air. The smell of death hung heavily on it. Her spirit sank, the chill extending to her core now.

Still, she forced herself onward towards the glowing fire, the ache in her legs and the pain in her frostbitten wingtips returning with a vengeance.

She entered the clearing. The bodies of dragons lay everywhere, still and unmoving, their corpses forever frozen in the positions they had died, their faces contorted and twisted in expressions of agony and despair. The frigid cold had been too much for the cold-blooded dragons. Huddled around the campfire, a group of smaller dragons still lived, desperately fighting against the frozen death that had taken their companions. They were too weak to speak anymore, but they stared at her, pleading with her to save them, their eyes begging her for the salvation only she could give them.

She looked at them with compassion and sadness. Then she concentrated, willing her magical power to the surface, attempting to raise the sun. Nothing happened. Panic rose in her. She willed more of her power to the surface, bringing all of her reserves to bear. Her horn started to glow faintly, like a kindled fire starting to gain strength. A warmth emanated from her, the glow intensifying and illuminating the clearing. The ink black sky took on a brilliant orange hue as light begin to force away the darkness. Then, as quickly as it had come, the glow faded, and winked out, like the dying flame of an oxygen starved candle. The sun refused to obey her, even seeming to mock her efforts.

Her attention returned to the dragons. Their eyes had taken on a look of finality and resignation. She was their last hope. The only one who could save them. And she had failed them.

Her expression took on and even deeper sadness. Her voice cracked as she spoke. “I'm sorry … I can't.” was all she could say. The dragons remained stoic. There was no anger in their expressions. Only resignation and acceptance of impending death. Sadly, she turned and walked away, her head hanging low, her normally vibrant flowing mane and tail dull and motionless.

She forced herself to go on, plodding through the forest. The agony in her increasingly frostbitten wings was nothing compared to the pain and despair she now felt in her heart over her inability to save the dragons from the cold death that was sure to take them. They were as much a part of her kingdom as her ponies. They were her subjects … her responsibility … hers to protect and provide for. And she had failed them. Still, she continued onward, for there was nothing else she could do, though she did not know where she was going, or why. She didn't know how long she had been walking through the dark forest.

She raised her muzzle and sniffed the air again as another scent made its way to her on the cold wind. Again, it was the smell of wood smoke. She followed the scent, the forest slowly thinning out. As she stepped out of the woods, she came upon a farm. Sweet Apple Acres, she realized. The apple trees that still remained in the orchards at all were barren and lifeless, standing like dark twisted skeletons reaching towards the sky with limbs stripped of flesh, leaving only bone. Most of the trees had already met the ax, leaving only stumps cut off as close to the ground as possible—a last desperate act for any wood that was burnable without having to go to far into the forest, she realized with despair.

She made her way past the lifeless orchards, past the farm house that had been the residence of the Apple family. But now it was dark and crumbling. Even the siding on the house had been cannibalized for burnable wood, leaving nothing but a hollow shell—a symbol of the shell that her once beautiful and vibrant kingdom seemed to have become.

As she made her way towards Ponyville proper, the smell of wood smoke became stronger, choking the air in a smog like haze as it hovered low to the ground, the frozen air above the town preventing the smoke from rising. She made her way past the houses and buildings of Ponyville. Most were abandoned. Some had been looted by desperate ponies struggling to survive. Nothing moved in the streets, and the town appeared lifeless. She came to the library. The windows were dark. Still, she had hope. She knocked on the door with a forehoof, the sound eerily loud in the otherwise silent town. Nopony answered. She reared up, kicking the door with both forehooves, shattering it with a crack like a firecracker. No life stirred inside. But the library was exactly as Twilight would have left it on her best days. Books were neatly arranged on their shelves in perfect order. It was one of the few buildings in Ponyville that had been left untouched. Books, it seems had no value anymore. Only items that could immediately aid survival were considered to be of any worth.

She hung her head low and left the deserted yet pristinely preserved library, moving towards the center of town now. Then she raised her head slightly. Light ahead! From the windows of the town hall! She willed her aching legs to move faster, trotting towards the front of the building. She pushed firmly on the door. It opened with relative ease.

She breathed a small sigh of relief. Inside, her ponies were safe. It looked as if the entire town was gathered in the large meeting room. A crackling fire blazed in the hearth, keeping frigid death outside. Her ponies were thin from heavily rationing what little food they had left. But they were alive! And that's all that mattered. She could save them now! Even if she had to nurse every single one of them back to health herself, that is what she would do. They were her ponies, her charge to protect and provide for.

Desperately she tried to raise the sun again. But again, nothing happened. Panic rose in her as her ponies looked at her. Like the dragons, they pleaded with her to save them—for she was the only one who could save them. Desperately, they pleaded with her to raise the sun. And just as desperately did she try again, putting every last reserve of power she had into the magic. Still, nothing happened. The sun would not rise.

She hung her head in despair. Her student, Twilight Sparkle, looked at her, her face awash with confusion and fear.

“I'm sorry,” was all she could say again. She turned on her hoof, and galloped out of the town hall. “I'm sorry.” Her voice cracked as she fled back towards the forest. She galloped as fast as she could, ignoring the tears streaming from her eyes, catching on the wind, and trailing behind her. She galloped until she could gallop no more, Then she collapsed to the ground.

“I'm sorry!” she cried out to a world she could not save. Tears streamed from her eyes, sliding down her muzzle and turning to ice before they hit the frozen ground. She made no effort to wipe them away. “I'm sorry ...” She said again in a resigned voice. The tears continued to flow. She willed her immortality away and waited for death to take her.

A dark voice, more sinister than death itself, laughed in her ear at her misery—at the misery of her subjects. Then it spoke in a low voice, almost a whisper:

“This is how it all ends, Celestia.”