The God Particle

Chapter 22: Canterlot Life and Times

Twilight Sparkle had not attempted to open any more portals since the near disastrous attempt two weeks ago. However, she had been busy pouring through the events of that night in her mind. One interesting thing she had discovered is that the thread connecting the two dimensions was more stable than she had originally thought. It had not weakened any since she originally found it when probing James' mind. At least that meant she might have more time to solve this problem than she originally thought. But then again, she didn't want James to become any more culturally assimilated than he already was. Maybe she should simply talk to him about it? She feared that would only start an argument. He would tell her he thought it was what she wanted and he thought she would be happy. She would try to explain to him that it wasn't her goal … No, talking to him would get messy. Spike was right, she knew. What she had done had been very dangerous. But she had been so close to success. No, she would not abandon her quest now. Not so close to victory. She would continue to try to find a way to send him home. She would just be more careful from now on, she reasoned. With a look of determination on her face, she reviewed the notes she had already taken. Then she pulled more books off of her shelf, starting her efforts anew.

...

James finished writing the syllabus for his next semester and replaced the cap on the inkwell, putting the quill back in its stand. Using his other hand, he rubbed his writing hand a little bit. What he wouldn't give for a computer with a word processor. Or even a typewriter. There was one benefit to having to write everything in longhand though. His handwriting had become impeccably good, where as it had been nigh unreadable before he arrived in Equestria due to writing everything on a computer. He wasn't sure if his skills at writing the Equestrian script would translate into equally good handwriting in the Latin alphabet. When was the last time he had even written anything in the Latin alphabet? Come to think of it, he wasn't sure he had used it at all since arriving in Equestria, other than the one time he wrote out a translation chart with Twilight comparing the Equestrian alphabet to the Latin alphabet. That had been more for her curiosity than for his benefit. She never actually allowed him to use it when she had been teaching him to read Equestrian. She said it would get him in the habit of mentally translating each character in his mind instead of simply reading the Equestrian script as it was. And that would slow down his reading speed substantially.

He placed the completed syllabus in his document folder and took it with him as he left the dorm. His breath condensed in front of him in the cold, each step making a crunching sound as he walked on a thin layer of snow. The Academy campus was mostly deserted right now. He turned left, stopping by the printing building to drop off the syllabus so all the copies could be made for his students. Then he headed over to the lab. This was the last week he would be able to devote solely to research. Next week, the new semester would start. And the near deserted Academy would once again become a city within a city, teaming with the young ponies that were Equestria's future.

...

"I don't know what to tell ya, Eric." A blond haired man put down a magnifying glass and pulled his glasses up, turning to look at the physicist. "If it's a fake, it's the best fake I've ever seen. There's no evidence of Photoshopping or other digital manipulation. No clipping, no errant shadows, nothing."

"A green screen?" Eric suggested.

The other man shook his head. "I'd still find imperfections. There's something else too … The photographic paper this is printed on, and the chemical traces left from the development process. They're nothing like I have ever come across in any photographic development process I've seen. And I've seen most of them." He handed the photo back to Eric.

Eric was silent for several moments, thinking to himself. "It's probably just something he had taken at a carnival or amusement park or something. Some kind of weird souvenir from a theme park. Thanks for your time, Pete … You still won't tell anyone about this, right?"

"You have my word. I won't tell anyone. You are probably right. It's probably something he had taken at a theme park and just had sitting around the lab in his desk. Maybe some cheap imported photographic paper from Taiwan or something. That would explain why I've never seen that type before. I'm sorry it brought up painful memories for you, Eric." He frowned. "He didn't have any family, did he?"

He shook his head. "No immediate family. But I feel awful for his parents and sister. Losing him like that so close to Christmas. They never even got true closure because his body was never found. But the accelerator tunnel collapsed in on itself. Part of it runs underneath the lab. He's probably buried under thousands of tons of concrete and dirt. It's unlikely they will ever find him. And of course, they aren't looking anymore."

There's a lot of families whose loved ones' bodies were never found, unfortunately. This city wasn't built to handle a quake that powerful. No doubt there are hundreds of bodies still buried under collapsed buildings.

Eric nodded slightly. "Well, thanks again for your time, Pete. And I appreciate you keeping this under wraps."

"No problem, man," the other man responded as Eric turned to leave the building. He could almost believe his own story that it was probably just a photo from a theme park or carnival of some sort. Except for one thing: the book written in the strange alphabet that he had found along with the photo. He hadn't shown that to Pete, or told him about it. Once he had figured out that it was English, deciphering the alphabet was not much harder than cracking a simple substitution cypher. That's basically all it was, with the addition of some extra characters for different phonemes. Of course, it had still been slow going since he had to translate each character of the book. Never the less, he had managed to read a little bit of it. What he had read was as fascinating as it was unbelievable. He would have dismissed it as the work of some fantasy novelist … if not for the photograph he had found with it …

...

The winter days continued to drag on as James stayed busy in both the lecture hall and the lab. Winter gave way to spring, melting snows and renewing rainfalls. As promised, he found time to write to Twilight this time. They had exchanged several letters over the course of the winter. By the time all the snow had melted, a frustrated James and Theory Point had basically hit a dead end with the object they were studying. Other than giving off small amounts of radiation, it seemed to have no purpose. The only conclusion he could come to is that whatever its intent, its creation or manufacture had been such a spectacular failure that it had none of the properties the scientists who had made it were hoping for. That was unfortunate, as it gave them virtually no leads to follow as to what its creators were up to. But he doubted that anyone could have figured out the object's intent given the sparse information and data that they had to go on. There had been no more unusual events … at least none that Celestia or Luna were telling him about.

One clear spring morning found him walking in the castle garden next to Princess Celestia. The two of them strolled leisurely along the floral lined paths. Birds sang their choruses, as if serenading The Princess on her walk. The garden flowers were in full bloom washing the landscape with vibrant colors and the pleasant scent of rose and lilac. Honey bees flew back and forth, collecting their nectar and pollinating the garden. The sun shown like a sparkling diamond in the clear blue sky. It would have been the perfect day, were it not for the cloud of frustration hanging over James.

"Unfortunately, progress remains slow, Your Majesty," he said with a sigh as he strolled along next to her. "The item continues to appear to be useless. It's not enriched enough to undergo any kind of sustained fission, so it would be useless for any type of bomb or nuclear reactor. It's not generating enough heat to be useful as a radioisotope thermoelectric generator. Grasping at straws, we even considered potential beneficial uses. It's not radioactive enough to be useful for radioactive food sterilization. And the isotopes are a heavy metal that could not be used for any kind of medical purpose since they would be extremely toxic and remain in the body for years."

The alicorn nodded slightly. "And the notes you recovered?"

"Too sparse to be of much use," he said in a dejected voice. "If only the fire hadn't consumed most of them and we had more to go on."

Celestia paused for a moment, continuing her leisurely pace as he walked next to her. If she were at all concerned about what he had told her, she gave no visible signs of it. She spoke again in a calm and collected voice.

"Very well. Thank you for all your hard work on it, James. Have Theory Point help you disassemble the lab. And place the item into secure storage."

"Yes, Your Majesty," he responded sadly.

She stopped, causing him to stop as well. Her gaze was still one of certainty and confidence. As if she were firmly in control of everything.

"What troubles you, James?"

"I have failed you, Your Majesty." He lowered his head towards the ground.

She shook her head and placed her muzzle under his chin, giving a gentle upward push so he would look up at her again. Her gaze was calming to him, like a pure summer morning in a quiet meadow.

"No, you haven't. You did the best that you could with the information that you had. And that is all anypony can do. I have complete confidence in you, James. Nopony could have done any better than you did."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." He was still depressed though. She picked up on it.

"Do not lose sight of the information you were able to obtain. You learned a lot about what the item is not. And that information could prove to be just as useful as if you had learned what the item could be. You have nothing to be ashamed of, James."

The air of authority and power around her when she spoke continued to awe him—as it had awed him the first time he was near her. She spoke with the confidence of one who was firmly in charge. Firmly in control. And he found it comforting. Comforting to believe that no matter how bad things seemed to be, she was always firmly in control. After all, if she were always in control, then things would always work out.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," he responded again.

She resumed her leisurely stroll and he started walking next to her again.

"Perhaps whoever, or whatever made it has given up," she suggested.

"I fear, Your Majesty, that they may just be lying low to give the smoke some time to clear. They probably know their mishap was detected. They might simply be lying low for awhile now to let the attention they attracted dissipate … Or they might still be at it, but being much more careful."

She nodded. "Well, if that's the case, it's only a matter of time before they slip up again. And when they do, we will detect it again. And then we might have more for you to go on." She stopped, turned her head to look at him again. "Thank you for walking with me, James. It has been a pleasure. I must attend to other duties, but we will talk again soon."

"The pleasure is all mine, Your Majesty" He bowed before her. Then she spread her wings, and took to the sky. He looked up watching the Solar Princess take flight. It was truly a site to behold. Even in their most ambitious dreams, no bird could even comprehend, much less hope to ever approach the grace and majesty with which she flew. He watched as she approached the castle, flared her wings gracefully, and landed lightly as a feather on one of the castle balconies. Then she folded her wings, and disappeared inside the archway. He felt reassured, comforted, and refreshed. His conversations with her had that effect on him. Then he continued along the garden path towards the lab.

...

"So how did The Princess feel about it?" Theory Point asked, packing up a radiation detector, her horn glowing as she magically moved it over to a cart.

"She understood. Said it wasn't our fault. That we shouldn't blame ourselves. That if we couldn't figure it out, she was sure there was no pony in Equestria that could." He picked up a box of equipment he had just finished packing, walking it over to the cart.

"Well, that was nice of her at least. The Summer Sun Celebration is just around the corner. I imagine you are looking forward to seeing your friends from Ponyville again?"

"Yeah. It should be a good reunion. It's been … almost five months since I saw them last. I've told Twilight about you in my letters. She's looking forward to meeting you."

"You are going to ask her to dance with you at the Celestial Ball, right? "

"Actually, I hadn't planned on it."

"Oh, but you have to. It's Canterlot tradition. As important as she has been in your life, you simply must ask her to dance. She would probably be offended and hurt if you didn't."

"I doubt Twilight even knows how to dance actually … She doesn't seem like the type who would be into that kind of thing."

"She was raised among Canterlot royalty. Trust me, James. She knows how to dance."

"Well uh … that's good then … But I don't know how to dance," he fumbled, embarrassed at the admission.

"Oh? Well, I guess you'll just have to learn then, won't you?" she responded flatly.

"Who's gonna teach me? You?"

"Me? Oh goodness, no. Do I look like the type of pony that would know how to ball room dance in such a formal environment?"

"Well, that doesn't help me then, does it." he said flatly. "I wish Rarity were here. I'm sure she knows how and could teach me."

"Relax, James. I'm sure you'll find somepony who can teach you. This is Canterlot after all. Unless you have two left hooves. Then there's probably nopony that can help you out." She snickered.

"You sure know how to inspire confidence in a guy, you know that, Theory?" he said sarcastically.

"Yeah, yeah. You've told me that before."

"Come on, lets get the trunk loaded up." He motioned to the trunk containing the object, walking over to it and grabbing one side.

She walked to the other side of the trunk, her horn starting to glow.

"You ready?"

"Yep." She nodded. Then the two of them lifted the trunk and started moving it towards another wheeled cart in the room. After a few seconds, he shook his head.

"Hold on … Set it down." He lowered his end towards the floor, Theory Point doing the same, the glow around her end of the trunk and around her horn fading. "This thing is heavier than when we brought it down here."

"That's not possible. You must have gotten weaker. Letting the physical exercise slip are you?" she snickered.

"I'm serious, Theory. This thing has gotten heavier. I'm sure of it … Lets take it out and weigh it."

"If you insist." The unicorn shrugged. "Seems like a waste of time to me though," she griped as she helped him move the trunk back into place. He opened the latches when they had set it down. Then they both moved back behind the shield and James used the remote grabber to open the trunk and remove the object, carefully moving it over to the scale and setting it down. He raised an eyebrow at what he saw. It was Theory Point who spoke first.

" … Ok … So I was wrong."

"It's gained mass," he added.

"How is that possible?"

"I don't know … Lets measure it."

She nodded. Unfortunately, the grabbers were not capable of doing work so detailed as manipulating a pair of calipers. That meant they had to go behind the shield and expose themselves momentarily to the object's radiation again. He wasn't that concerned about it, however, as the radiation emissions from the object had always been low, and had dropped off substantially further in the time that they had been studying it. They measured the object as quick as they could, then went to the other side of the shield again.

"It hasn't changed size at all," Theory Point said.

He nodded. "It's increasing in density. It's adding additional matter, but it's also becoming more tightly packed to keep the object the same size."

"Is it self replicating?"

"I don't know … And where is it getting the extra mass from? Is it converting its own energy to mass?"

"I don't know," Theory responded, echoing his own response. "Have you ever seen anything like this?"

He scratched his chin briefly with thumb and forefinger. "Never. Nor have I ever read about anything like this happening. I don't think anyone has ever seen anything like this before. At least not where I am from."

She nodded. "Nothing I'm familiar with either. Or have ever read about."

His face took on a concerned look as he started scratching his chin again. "If it keeps adding mass indefinitely …"

"It will collapse under its own gravitational pull and we will have a black hole on our hooves," Theory Point finished for him.

"Hawking radiation predicts that any black hole it does create will be unstable and should evaporate. Should being the keyword."

"What if we simply destroy it? Maybe if it were below a certain mass it would stop whatever reaction is going on that is allowing it to gain more mass?"

"It's possible. But on the other hand, we might end up with multiple objects doing the same thing instead of just one." He paused and thought for a moment. "Well, lets unpack the logs. We know what the mass was when we first brought it here. We can figure out how fast it is adding mass based on how much it has added between then and now."

"Assuming it's adding mass at a constant rate. That's a potentially dangerous assumption," she pointed out.

"It's all we have to go on right now. We can keep measuring the mass and see if the rate is changing. But for now, at least we can figure out exactly how much mass it has added between then and now."

He walked over to the cart, removing the box that contained the research logs he and Theory had been keeping, taking one out and opening it up to the beginning. He did some calculations in his head.

"Well, the good news, if there is any good news, is that assuming it has been adding mass at a constant rate, it would be at least four years before it becomes a problem. That gives us time to figure out a solution. But again, that's assuming it's constant."

"So what do we do now? I'm drawing a blank here, James."

"Me too. I've never encountered anything like this before. Not even in theoretical physics … Lets put it away for now. We can weigh it again tomorrow. And later in the week. Destroying it at this point would be premature I think, and would ruin any chances we had of learning how it works."

"Are you going to inform Princess Celestia?" Theory Point raised an eyebrow.

He was silent for several moments before responding. "I don't think we really have anything to inform her of yet. Lets make sure the object is, in fact, still adding mass first. We have to consider the possibility that it isn't. Right now, we have no way of knowing if all this mass could have been added earlier and it's reached some stability or equilibrium point and is no longer adding any. I don't want to be like the boy who cried wolf."

"The boy who cried wolf?" Theory Point gave him a confused look.

"It's uh … a story where I'm from. About a boy who ran into town yelling about a wolf attacking his sheep when there really wasn't a wolf. It's sort of entered our lingo as a common phrase. Basically, it means I don't want to go telling The Princess that we have a potentially serious threat unless I'm reasonably sure that we actually do."

"That seems to make sense. Come on then, lets pack it in here. I still have papers to read before my lecture tomorrow. I'm pretty sure you do as well."

The two of them secured the lab and left, going their separate ways.

The next day, after James had finished with his two lectures for the day, he returned to the lab and weighed the object again. It had not gained any new mass. That meant either it had stopped adding mass completely, or the rate at which it was adding it had slowed down considerably. He also considered a third, but seemingly less likely possibility: That the object added mass in short rapid spurts and then went dormant for a while. After weighing, he secured the object again and left the lab, starting back for the dorm. He needed to think. The Royal Equestrian Symphony was playing tonight, and would be featuring a relaxing piece that he enjoyed. Sometimes he thought best there, able to lose himself in the calming music. Making up his mind, he changed direction, heading for the auditorium now instead of for the dorm. He had to inform Princess Celestia soon, he knew. On one hand, he didn't want to keep her waiting too long. But on the other hand, he knew she was busy, and he didn't want to bother her every time any new detail came up, especially when he wasn't even sure what that new detail meant. He decided he would wait until the end of the week. Then he would make his next report to her, even if he didn't learn anything new between now and then.

Arriving at the domed auditorium, he walked between the two statues of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna lining the entrance, then to the ticket counter. After purchasing his ticket, he proceeded down the hall, entering through the door way near where his seat was located. He found his seat, sat down on the lush velvet covered cushion, already losing himself in his own thoughts. He was brought out of them momentarily when the orchestra came on stage, to the applause of the ponies in the audience.

After a minute or so, a tuxedo wearing earth pony, the conductor, motioned for silence, receiving instant compliance from the audience. He turned, faced his orchestra. On the down-stroke of his hoof, the gentle flowing tones of the string section began to play, as soothing as a soft breeze through a meadow on a warm spring day. Why would you want to produce a small metallic object that adds matter over time? The soft sound of horns as a muted French horn section joined in. Or was it just an unintended side effect? And it's not what they wanted to produce at all? A distant rolling thunder from a few soft hits on the kettle drums. The black hole hypothesis doesn't make any sense. Unless you were fixated on being the ultimate suicide bomber. The horns faded as the woodwind section took over. And besides, Hawking radiation predicts it would be extremely unlikely to work anyway. The string section switched to a higher octave. Maybe the ponies don't know about Hawking radiation? A few more soft hits from the percussion section. Maybe they do know about it and have determined that Hawking was wrong?

The more he thought about it, the more questions and fewer answers he had. He sighed quietly to himself. What he wouldn't give to be able to discuss it with Twilight Sparkle.

The orchestra became quieter as one pony began her solo piece … the gray earth pony named Octavia whose work he so admired. He watched her play, the intense focus with which she commanded her instrument. Every note perfectly pitched and timed. He admired her as much for her dedication, attention to detail, and discipline as for her skill and talent. Maybe it converts magical energy to matter? And the magical energy has dissipated now that it's away from its source? He knew that was grasping at straws now.

Time passed much quicker then he realized, absorbed in his thoughts as he was. He was finally brought out of them by standing applause as the orchestra finished its performance. He stood up applauding with the rest of the audience. Then he got in line with the ponies in the audience, filing out of the auditorium.

Once outside, he stood under the night sky, lost in his thoughts again. He would have to go to the Academy physics library tomorrow. Find out exactly what ponies did and did not know about black hole theory, Hawking radiation, and so on.

"You seem a little bit lost. Or like you could use a helping hoof." A feminine voice with a sophisticated accent from behind startled him out of his thoughts. He jumped slightly, turning around. Before him, stood the gray pony with the black mane and tail from the orchestra, her instrument case strapped to her back.

"… Lady Octavia?" he said in startled surprise, almost staring through her, as if he were looking behind her, still recovering from the shock of suddenly finding a celebrity he greatly admired standing in front of him and speaking to him.

She looked behind her. "Where?" Then she looked right, then left. "Oh yes, I guess that's me, isn't it." She chuckled a bit.

"Sorry. It's just that I didn't expect … Well, you know …" he fumbled over his words. "So, to what do I owe the honor of having the great Octavia stop to talk to me?" He immediately felt completely embarrassed, not realizing how fanboyishly fawning that sounded until he had already said it. Fortunately, she seemed to take it in stride.

"Well, as I said. You looked a bit lost. That and it's not often that we get visitors from other planets around here. I've seen you at the performances before. This is the first time I've gotten the chance to talk to you."

"Well, it truly is an honor." he responded, still somewhat nervously.

"I usually go out for a drink after a performance. Perhaps you would care to join me?"

He wanted to get back to the dorm. He had a lot of thinking to do after all. But then again, he wasn't sure that would be productive until he could get to the library tomorrow. And it would probably do him some good to unwind so he would be refreshed in the morning and ready to focus on the task at hand. And besides … it was Octavia … He could hardly say no.

"Sure... why not?" he smiled. "You'll lead the way then?"

She nodded. "Follow me." She turned and started to trot down the polished marble sidewalk in front of the auditorium, along one of Canterlot's more opulent streets. Expensive boutique stores with clothing from Equestria's top designers on display lined the sidewalks, interspersed with high class restaurants, some with outdoor seating. Aristocratic ponies dined at the tables, speaking in quiet tones. Some of them high level Government officials, others Academy faculty that he had not yet met. And still others, ponies who had made their fortunes catering to the expensive tastes of Canterlot's elite. All of the stallions were either in uniform, or in tuxedos, the mares in uniform or custom dresses. Sparkling water fountains lined the streets, light dancing in the waves of their illuminated pools, the soothing sound from their streams like water running through a calm stream in a forest.

She turned a corner, passing a few more restaurants. Then she turned towards a pure white building. Red carpet lined the walkway to the entrance. On either side, carved white statues of unicorns rearing up on their hind legs, as tall as three men. The horns on the statues were made from crystal, and lights inside caused the horns to sparkle in the night. Above the arched entrance, a sign written in calligraphy read The Sapphire Lounge A string of small white lights lined the arched entrance, like tiny stars rimming a constellation.

She led him inside. A white unicorn in a tuxedo greeted them with a nod, took her instrument case from her for safe keeping. Further in, to the left, ponies sat at a juice bar that seemed to be made of solid crystal, a tuxedo wearing unicorn stood behind the bar, mixing non-alcoholic drinks for the high class patrons. Tables, again appearing to be made from crystal, sat at the right side of the room, sapphire velvet chairs and sofas positioned around them. The center of the lounge was dominated by a water garden. Water flowed down a rock wall at least three stories high, and colorful tropical fish swam in the pool at the bottom. Passed the garden, well dressed ponies danced on a ballroom dance floor, a string quartet playing on a stage at the front of the floor. The Sapphire Lounge was, in every way, the polar opposite of The Underhoof that Theory Point and her friends frequented.

She led him over to the bar, finding an unoccupied spot, where the two of them sat down. A bartender was waiting to serve them practically before they were even seated. Octavia ordered a drink with a name that he could not have pronounced if he had tried all day. Then the bartender looked at him.

"I'll have whatever she's having," he said, deciding just to keep it simple. He didn't know what any of the drinks were anyway, nor could he have pronounced their names, and he wanted to avoid the embarrassment of pointing at a menu item he couldn't pronounce.

She turned to look at him as the bartender left to prepare their drinks. "So, how have you been enjoying life in Canterlot? Quite a change from the small town life of Ponyville with Twilight Sparkle isn't it."

He briefly wondered how she knew he had spent time in Ponyville with Twilight. But only briefly. Alien being from another planet. Of course she knows. Everypony probably knows. I'm probably everypony's favorite tabloid fodder, he thought to himself.

"Well, now that I've gotten used to it, and made some friends at the Academy, I have to say, I'm enjoying it quite a bit. It's definitely a step up in lifestyle from anything I've ever experienced before."

"I'm glad to hear you have settled in well. I've seen you at the symphony several times. Is it anything like music where you are from?"

"We have symphony orchestras, yes. I used to enjoy the symphony back where I am from. Going to it here is absolutely fascinating though. A whole new catalog of music I've never heard before. And even some new styles."

The bartender arrived with their drinks, both of them thanking him. He took a sip of it. It had a sweet flavor composed of several fruits. Some of the flavors, he could identify, including a distinct hint of pomegranate. Others, he wasn't sure of.

"I imagine it must be … I would be fascinated to hear some of the symphonies from your world."

"Well, if only Twilight hadn't taken apart my iPhone, I could oblige you. I had quite a few of them stored on there."

"iPhone?" she looked at him curiously.

"Among other things, it's a music player that fits in your pocket and can store and play back thousands of pieces of music."

"Like a phonograph?"

"Something like that, yes."

"A phonograph that can fit in your pocket and hold thousands of pieces of music," she said with a sense of wonder. "That sounds like a truly fascinating device."

"It's pretty nice to have, yes. Relatively recent invention … I guess I never asked Twilight if she still had it. Maybe it could be put back together. Although I doubt the battery would have held a charge this long, and the charger didn't arrive here with me, unfortunately. I can ask her next time I write to her. She could bring it to the Summer Sun Celebration."

"Oh, that would be wonderful!" Octavia's eyes lit up.

"Yeah, well, don't get your hopes up too far," he said dubiously. "Even if she does still have it, and it can be put back together, like I said, I doubt the battery would have held a charge this long. And in that case, it will be nothing more than an expensive shiny paperweight."

"You have to ask her to dance when she comes to the Summer Sun Celebration, you know. It's Canterlot tradition."

"Yeah … My colleague told me that. There's just one small problem."

"Let me guess … You don't know how to dance."

He nodded slightly, looking as if he were embarrassed to admit it to her.

"Oh it's easy! Well, at least the basics are. Come on. I'll teach you." She smiled and motioned him towards the dance floor.

"What … now? With so many ponies watching?"

"Every pony out on that dance floor started out where you are right now," she reassured him. He continued to hesitate, looking out at the dance floor nervously for several seconds. "You know, in Equestria, it's considered extremely rude to refuse a mare that asks you to dance," she scolded him, but also grinned at him.

"Well … Alright … If you insist I guess, " He said nervously, standing up and allowing her lead him over to the dance floor. She took him to a relatively empty spot.

"When you approach her, to ask her to dance, you should bow to her slightly," she began to instruct him. "Then, you'll take her forehoof in your forehoof … uh … hand I guess. And she'll join you on the edge of the dance floor."

He nodded, doing as she indicated. It's like Dancing with the Stars here. Except in this case the star is the one that actually knows how to dance, he thought to himself. She continued to instruct him.

"Alright, then you put your right forehoof … hand here." she guided his hand to the appropriate spot. "And your left hand here. Got it?"

He nodded slightly. "I think so …"

"You're doing fine," she reassured him. "Ok. In partner dancing, one of you is the Lead, and the other is the Follow. As the names suggest, the Lead controls the dance, selects the steps, and so on. The Follow … well, follows the Lead."

"Got it," he responded simply.

"In Equestria, it's customary to let the mare choose whether she wants to be the Lead or the Follow. So you should know how to do both and be ready for whichever she chooses."

"Wait a sec. How will I know whether she wants to lead or follow? Will she tell me?"

"Some mares will just tell you up front, yes. But most won't. If she doesn't tell you up front, you will have to take your cue from her forehooves. If she wants be the Lead, you will feel her using them to guide you. If you don't feel that, it means she's waiting for you to take the lead. Don't worry. It's easier in practice than it sounds. I'll show you. I'll start by leading."

He nodded slightly, letting her take the lead and guide him. She started by instructing him with a few simple dance steps. The band was playing a relatively slow waltz, making it easier for him to keep up.

"Feet that way," she instructed, then counted off the steps as she directed his movement. Several minutes later he had the basic moves for the dance down reasonably well.

"You're doing good," she assured him. "Now I want you to try leading. And … lead switch now."

He tried to duplicate what she had been doing, as he felt her stop guiding him. Leading was harder than following, of course, since he no longer had any queues to go on. Still, after several minutes, and some prompting from her, he was able to do reasonably well at leading.

Eventually the waltz ended and he stepped off the dance floor with her. The quartet started playing a faster more tango like sound.

"See? That wasn't so bad was it? You did well for your first time." She smiled.

"Thank you for the lesson, Lady Octavia. I really appreciate it." He smiled back at her as they walked back to their spot at the bar.

"It was my pleasure. And you can just call me Octavia." She sipped her drink.

The two of them talked for a while longer, finishing their drinks.

"I got the tab," he said. She opened her mouth to protest, but he shook his head to stop her. "Really, it's the least I can do to thank you for the dance lesson." He smiled.

"Thank you." she smiled back at him. "Well, it's getting late. I suppose we should call it a night. I imagine we both have things to do in the morning," she said, standing up from the bar.

He stood up as well, walking with her towards the exit. "Thank you again, Octavia. I really appreciate it."

"You're very welcome. Thank you for the company tonight. We shall have to do this again sometime," she said as the two of them walked out through the archway, turning to go their separate ways.

Drinks and dance lessons with a favorite celebrity … Not a bad way to end the evening, he smiled to himself as he headed back to the dorm. The air was warm, the sky clear with Luna's crescent moon rising over the horizon. All in all, it was a perfect night in Canterlot.

...

The next morning, he was in the Academy physics library. He sat towards the back of the main room, which was relatively empty this morning. In front of him, several open books on astrophysics. It turned out that yes ponies had independently arrived at the same general ideas as Dr. Hawking when it came to Hawking radiation and the instability of small black holes. That made the idea that the object had been intentionally designed to produce one far less likely. In a way, that was relieving. It meant that a potential doomsday scenario in the form of a world consuming black hole was not likely what the creators had in mind. But at the same time, it was also frustrating. Not, not, not. It's not this, it's not that. That's all they had so far were nots. Even though Princess Celestia had assured him she had full confidence in him, he imagined she was probably still getting tired of hearing the phrase "It's not," followed by yet another thing they had been able to rule out as being unlikely. So far, this was turning out to be a process of elimination. And that meant things were moving at a painstakingly slow snail's pace. He sighed to himself, closing the books and collecting them into a pile, then putting them back in their shelves where he had found him. He left the library shortly before noon, frustrated at being no closer to any answers.

Arriving at the lab, he went downstairs, finding Theory Point was already there.

"Morning, James. The good news, or bad news depending on how you look at it, is that its mass hasn't changed at all since yesterday."

"Morning, Theory. I guess that's pretty much a mixed bag. Alleviates some potential fears, but leads us no closer to any answers."

"We missed you at The Underhoof last night," she commented.

"I was taking your advice and getting some dance lessons," he chuckled.

"Oh? From who?"

"Would you believe Octavia?"

"The Octavia? From the Royal Equestrian Symphony?" she raised an eyebrow.

"The same." He nodded.

"How'd you end up doing that?"

"I went to the symphony last night. She just walked up and talked to me afterward. When I was standing outside. She told me the same thing you did about asking Twilight to dance, found out I couldn't dance, and she offered to teach me."

"See, James? I told you you'd find somepony to teach you." She smiled. "Wasn't expecting you'd find somepony quite that prominent though."

"I'm sorry, Theory. I should have asked you if you wanted to come to the symphony with me. It was a last minute decision to go on my part."

She shook her head slightly. "Nah. Don't worry about it. I'm not exactly the symphony type if you haven't guessed. I'd have probably gone because you asked me to, and then hated every minute of it. I'd rather you didn't even ask."

"Well … That's good to know then."

"But Octavia better not be getting any designs on you," she grinned.

"You know that pushy unicorn scientist I went on a date with that one time? She's also rather possessive." He teased and grinned.

"You better believe it." She chuckled, then looked behind the shield again. "Alright, so what do we do about that?"

He sighed slightly. "I don't know … I was hoping maybe you had some suggestions. Other than the mass it added and the fact that it is less radioactive now, the object hasn't changed at all since we found it."

"Maybe it feeds off magical energy?" Theory suggested. "Like it converts magical energy into matter?"

"I considered that hypothesis. But how do we test it? Casting random spells at it to see if we can get it to absorb one of them and convert it to matter would be rather dangerous I presume."

"Yes, it would be. Probably a bigger risk than even I am willing to take." She nodded in agreement.

He was silent for several long seconds. "Come on, lets go get some lunch," he finally said, re-securing the object. Then the two of them left, making their way to one of the many eateries on the campus.

At the end of the week, he delivered his report to Princess Celestia. Once again, she assured him that she had complete confidence in him and that she knew he was doing all he could. Still, he couldn't help but feel frustrated at their inability to make any further progress. But with the little they had to go on, there was only so much that could be done.

Another week passed. Then another. A month later, the object seemed as dormant as a rock, and just as useless. No more mass had been added, and nothing else about it had changed either. The progress they were able to make was just as dormant. There were no classes to teach during the summer break, and the amount of work they could do in the lab had dropped off. Never the less, for now, he was quite busy: Princess Celestia had drafted the entire Academy staff to help with preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration, which was only three days away now. Given his physics background, he was spending most of his time helping plan for power needs, ensuring that the musical venues would have adequate electricity and such. It was an interesting change of pace, and he got to work with and meet some new ponies. He was also working closely with Ele Matrix, the electrical engineer Theory Point had introduced him to earlier, and he got to know her much better.

Celestia's sun blazed in the sky as he left the dorm building on his way to the castle briefing room, wearing his light summer field uniform. Normally the campus was relatively deserted during the summer. But this week, it buzzed with activity. Construction ponies ran back and forth raising decorations, banners and streamers. Buildings were being decorated and tents set up. Soon, every dorm room in the student housing would be full of ponies from out of town—the student housing being drafted into service as extra accommodations for tourists. Every hotel in Canterlot was already filled to overflowing. The Summer Sun Celebration was, by far, the biggest public party of the year in all of Equestria. All over the city, ponies worked as they did on campus.

Shop owners along the streets decorated the fronts of their buildings and windows—for no vendor in Canterlot would ever be caught without their Summer Sun decorations up to attract customers to their wares. The smell of fresh baked goods scented the air as restaurants and pastry shops rushed to perfect the new dishes and confections they would unveil for the Celebration, keeping a tight lid on them as if they were a national security secret until the day the Celebration would begin.

At the train station, maintenance ponies would be inspecting the tracks and making any needed repairs to ensure they would be able to handle the extra train traffic, which would more than triple in the next two days as dozens of extra trains were put on to handle the arriving crowds. In three days, the population of Canterlot would more than double as ponies arrived from all over Equestria to celebrate the Summer Sun.

On the first day of the celebration, the Castle Courtyard would be open to the public, and there would be a giant feast for every pony who wished to attend. And it would all be free, paid for by the Royal Treasury. Celestia insisted on that. She also decreed that rail transportation to and from Canterlot was to be free during the three days before and after the celebration. She had further decreed that all lodging accommodations for ponies arriving from out of town were to be free. The Summer Sun Celebration was a celebration for all ponies, she had said. And no pony would be denied the opportunity to experience it just because they couldn't afford to travel to Canterlot, or afford accommodations once they arrived.

Food would not be a problem for any pony. Even the ones who didn't attend the public feast. Every restaurant and pastry shop in Canterlot would be handing out free samples of their new creations such that a pony could walk down any street and easily fill their bellies to overflowing.

James looked around at all the activity in awe. It was his first Summer Sun Celebration, and he had never seen such a massive coordinated effort to prepare a city for an event. It dwarfed even preparations for the Olympics where he was from. The entire city had come together, all working for one common goal: To ensure that the Summer Sun Celebration was the best that it could possibly be. Even though the Celebration itself hadn't started yet, the preparations charged the atmosphere, making it electric and full of energy. He was excited to be a part of them. It gave him a strong feeling of belonging. Of being part of something special.

Of course, he looked forward to the music, and eating too many samples of food and deserts from the restaurants and bakeries as much as any pony did. But what he really looked forward to was seeing his friends from Ponyville again. In two days, Twilight and the rest of the gang would be arriving on a train from Ponyville. He could hardly wait. And through it all, life in Chicago … life before Equestria … continued to fade further and further into the mists of ancient history …