Soft Reset - A Novice Chronomancer's Guide to Tempomancy

by Foxvolt

5 - Difficult Problems, Simple Solutions

DIFFICULT PROBLEMS, SIMPLE SOLUTIONS

"Do you remember the Chaos Wars, dear sister? The day our kingdom was destroyed?" A bright golden aura wavered around Celestia's horn, pointed forward and commanding the sun's retreat for the night, and it obeyed. Through centuries of fighting and retaliation it had learned that to struggle against the Alicorn Goddess was a futile effort. It obeyed Celestia's command obediently and without hesitation, not unlike a well-trained dog. And so was her legacy, the pony that tamed the sun.

The princesses sat together upon the balcony of their castle. They looked out over the land as evening gave way to twilight, the scant minutes between the two sisters' duties where their emblems were both absent from the sky. The horizon tinted purple and red, and a lighter azure glow sparked to life as Celestia's golden magic faded.

"I fear that to forget those days wouldst be to forget myself," Luna said bitterly. "Our kingdom suffered grievously under Discord's regime."

Celestia sighed. "Yes… though I suppose we should view it more positively. We survived the war, and we were able to rebuild again within a generation after its conclusion…" She unfurled a large wing, extending it to envelop her sister beside her. Though when she made the contact Luna flinched forward, and her magic wavered as the stars being painted into existence blinked, sputtered and died. The sky reverted to an empty canvas, and the two sat in an uncertain stillness under an empty sky.

"Wherefore wilt thou not punish me for my transgressions?" Luna broke the silence, staring out over the still city below them with a distant expression.

"You believe punishment would correct your mistakes?"

Luna lowered her gaze, feeling ashamed. "To fix and to atone art very different things. So many things could have gone differently if only we—"

"Lulu," Celestia interrupted gently, and this time there was no flinch as she rested a large wing over her sister, pulling them together to reconcile the distance that yet remained. "I've forgiven you, I forgive you. I'm sorry that I failed to see your distress sooner. I know you hear me, but I need you to heed me. Self-destruction will not save either of us. You will get better.” Celestia closed her eyes briefly, gathering strength for what seemed like an impossible task. "In spite of our differences, there is much that binds us. We share the same mother, we share a kingdom, we share a home. That is enough for me, Lulu; I cannot ask the universe for anything more but you."

Celestia opened her eyes to look back into her sister's, and they shared a long moment before Luna finally succumbed to tears and slumped forward against their wings, leaning heavily onto Celestia's shoulder. Celestia wrapped around her sister's body with another embrace, cradling her head to her chest, and allowing her sister to cry until her sobs subsided to sniffles. She stroked her ephemeral hair, smoothing it away from her face and murmuring small comforts. Finally, Luna raised her chin to look up through tearstained lashes, studying Celestia's expression. Her tone trembled slightly, and she spoke in a low voice full of uncertainty.

"What happens now?"

Celestia smiled sadly, and gently drew her sister's chin down to kiss her forehead. "We continue living, sister. Even in times of crisis, life must go on. Everfree needs you just as much as it needs me."

The words were a cold reminder of the state Luna's attempted coup had left the Everfree in, but the heart behind them was warm. Both sisters held each other close once again, though Luna continued to stare at the cold stone balcony supporting them, her eyes hundreds of thousands of miles away.

"Forgive me…" Luna mumbled, as she suddenly slipped under and away from the embrace. Celestia hastily flapped her wings to right herself and furled her brow as the azure tint built up around Luna's horn again, but before she could raise a question the night sky exploded into color. New constellations shone through the bright twinkling backdrop, a multi-hued aurora began to unfurl itself over the forest from west to east, and a pink-and-blue mesh of cosmic inspiration framed the gleaming white moon as it settled into its' resting place in the night sky. The ponies of the kingdom gave a collective awe-inspired stare to the display, including Celestia.

"I've... Never seen such a work from you, Lulu!" She got to her hooves and walked beside Luna, who seemed to be struggling under the weight of the multitude of Alicorn-tier spells she continued to weave in and out of reality. It truly was beautiful, but it wasn't worth hurting herself.

"It is beautiful, Luna, truly, though save your strength for tonight, the nobility will require a level head," Celestia gently prodded. If her sister were to save any possible political fallout with the nobles and council, bleeding herself dry of mana was unlikely to aid in her chances of defending herself.

"It is not for them-" Luna muttered, closing her eyes tighter as the pain of high-tier magic began to catch up with her. "It is for thou, Sol. And for my beloved-" A small circle began to etch itself into the stone balcony below her, and she poured her magic and soul into it. It was draining, and it threatened to blow her away at a moment's hesitation, but she continued to channel herself into the spell, painting something for her sister and her sister alone.

Celestia's eyes ran up and down the straining form of her sister, and it became clear this was more than her custom spellcraft for raising the moon. The sigils carving themselves into the stonework were transposition-related, and even an alicorn didn't need this much power for raising the moon.

"Luna, what are you doing?” Celestia reached a hoof forward towards her, but as soon as it crossed the threshold of the magic circle, now nearly complete beneath her, she felt her hoof slammed down into the balcony, a tiny crack spiderwebbing a few inches outwards. "Luna, Luna stop this! Luna, where are you going!?" She tried again to reach her, but again her hoof was forced down onto the cold stone by a massive well of artificial gravity surrounding the circle.

Luna heard the rising concern and panic, but couldn't meet her sister's gaze, her shame was too great. It wasn't fair for Celestia to suffer trying to protect her, and even if she did they both knew there was no stopping whatever affliction had its' dark grasp over her heart. Magic just wasn't there yet, if it ever would be. And until it was, she would only continue to hurt and undermine the both of them. This was the right thing to do.

"I wilt not be meeting the nobles, nor the council. I shall repent in my own way, until the den comes whither i can be freed from this affliction." A fresh stream of tears began to form, but were quickly plucked and forced to the stone ground by the growing intensity that was weighing her down. "I am sorry, verily, sister. This is for the best for both of us, and i wilt not allow thou to jeopardize thy visions of Equestria for me." She pressed her forehooves against the stone a final time, the tears falling thick and heavy now, and in the corner of her eye she saw Celestia casting spell after spell, golden dancing lights and beams trying and failing to pierce the boundary of her nullification barrier, to destroy the stone balcony, to force her way inside. Celestia was screaming, begging for her to stop, that she didn't have to do this, but the roar of her magic overpowered them both, and she was left to collapse beside Luna, staring up helplessly as she watched her sister begin to glow brightly, a bubbling blackness rising up from her hooves in retaliation to this final act of defiance.

Luna forced one final look down at the white Alicorn whose heart she knew she was breaking, and immediately regretted it. Never before had she seen her sister so wholly defeated, in such anguish. Not even with her dying breath did she display such raw sorrow, collapsed and begging for her to stay.

And that was the last the two saw of each other. As quickly as the spell came, it blinked out of existence, and Luna along with it. As the darkness fell Celestia's senses returned to her, and she realized she was alone.

She turned around slowly, searching the balcony, the room, the skies for any sign of Luna, but found nothing. She pulled herself back onto the floor and looked about her, heaving short, labored breaths as panic overtook her. She was gone. Luna was gone, off to a land unknown or worse.

The breath caught in her throat and she froze, slowly turning her head until she was staring at the etchings in the stone floor beside her. Perhaps it wasn't too late, with a wide enough recollection spell, if she could reverse engineer the order of runic coordinates, she could bring Luna back from wherever her destination was. Fi. Epsi, relay. Vit. Epsi. Mité, Divine. Lunis-

Celestia's heart faltered. Staring hopelessly at the array before her, the reality stuck that it would be impossible. She stumbled forward, then slowly lowered herself down into the last place her sister stood and curled into a ball to cry. She laid there, sobbing into the stonework for hours beneath a beautiful and intricate canvas of night featuring the head of a mare imprinted on the moon.

- - - -

Luna was pissed. And oh boy, do I mean pissed. You know that feeling you get when an earth pony that could accidentally break you in half look at you like you just trampled his mother's grave? Take that, but the earth pony is Big Mac with anger issues, and multiply that by about eighty. For a second, I'm scared to speak out of turn for fear she might obliterate me for stacking just one last straw on her back. Judging from the shaking dragon I'm half hugging, Spike's got about the same instinct.

For a moment she stands in the doorway, and just stares directly at me. Oh buck, did I trample somepony's grave on accident? Did I say something? Does my scent offend? The nurses probably didn't sponge bath me in the half a day I've been here, oh horseapples I didn't bathe and it's offending Princess Luna and now she wants to-

"Twilight, why do you quake so?" Luna questions, and I find myself prostrating at some point between detaching from spike and jumbling together the second paragraph of my apology for not preparing for her hospital visit in a more befitting manner, or at all. The next few moments are a blur, and I hear the Clinks of her horseshoes as she approaches me, and envelops me with her magic.

Well, I guess I had a good life.

I squeeze my eyes shut, awaiting my inescapable fate, and feel two metal regal-clad hooves clamp down on either side of my face, forcing me to stare forward. I open my eyes, and instead of a portal to tartarus is Luna, tilting her head quizzically at me before she frowns.

"Perhaps the medication they prescribe in Ponyville require stricter regulation. Nonetheless, I require you to be coherent, Twilight Sparkle. Remain still," As if I could struggle out of her magical grip even if I wanted to.

I see a second layer of her magic layering over the relatively dim glow of her telekinesis aura, and there's a sudden pressure on and throughout my body. It's not particularly painful, but it's extremely uncomfortable, as if the muscle and bone and cells and sinew were all being categorically separated and re-arranged inside of me, atom by atom, molecule by molecule. The sounds of the room dither and distort, my eyes unfocus and my heartbeat is the only thing I can hear clearly, but even that's beating on double-time. I'm not sure if it's a shiver that runs down my spine or if it's part of her spell, but as per her intent I remain unable to do much more than squirm mid-air throughout the process of what I assume to be healing evocations from her personal spell repertoire.

The soreness in my chest begins to subside, and I feel the fractures in my hooves literally knitting themselves whole again. There’s a slight ringing in my ears that I'm not entirely unfamiliar with, the kind that comes a full day after a Vinyl concert. I feel my hooves touch the floor, but I don't think I'm ready to stand quite yet and I instead slump onto the floor, panting and sweating in my newly tuned-up body. I feel what I assume to be Spike's clawed hand on my back jostling me around, and I don't have the energy to react. I crack open an eye to see an out-of-focus white earth pony emoting aggressively towards Princess Luna, but it quickly dissolves into a black blur.

- - - -

I'm awake. I'm awake!

"I'M AWAKE!" I yell out bolting upright in my hospital bed, head swiveling all around me. I expect to be greeted by the shock of soreness from my many bruises, but I find that all my limbs are operating flawlessly and without pain to boot, which is a pleasant surprise. Better than that, even, I feel absolutely fantastic! My eyes must be the exception, though, because though my eyes are open I can't see anything. I hear a lot of shuffling on either side of me, and the sounds of hooves and armor rising and moving towards me.

Calm, stay calm, rationalize and compartmentalize. I can't see because it's nighttime, I was last awake in the evening. The shuffling is likely hospital staff, the armor is either royal guard or Luna's personal guard, meaning there's a good chance that she's also in the room.

"Princess Luna? Spike?" I force out calmly, and I feel a familiar hand on my shoulder as Spike climbs up next to me and starts fiddling with something. A moment later there's a sleeping mask dangling from his claw, and I'm met with a candle-lit room occupied by two Lunar guard, one Royal guard, a princess, Spike and myself, all of whom are looking at me expectantly. I offer them an expectant stare in return. Thankfully Luna picks up the slack.

"Twilight Sparkle, how do you feel? I apologize for not requesting your consent prior, though you seemed impaired at the time." She tightens her mouth a bit as she apologizes. While she is right, I wouldn't really consider it justification, though I'm far too concerned with getting some answers out of anypony than I am arguing semantics right this moment. Before I ask anything I glance to my left at the single window in the room and see moonlight streaming in through the half-pulled curtains. It's a full moon, and it's plenty to see by even without the candles. So nighttime, I was right about one thing then.

"How long have I been out?" I ask plainly, inviting anypony to answer though I look to Luna. Thankfully, I get a straight answer.

"Nary an hour, I allowed your body to rest for a time while I attended my nightly duty, then roused you from your slumber. I am informed of the events of the last two days, Spike has shared the disturbing tales of possible stalking and we've taken the liberty of bringing your Papers salespony in for questioning as well. I am told he is without fault, though I will personally assure it by daybreak." She pauses for a moment to let me digest it all, but continues before I can ask another question. "The pegasus mare Goldfish is being detained in a temporary nullification chamber whilst we await your recovery. Whilst I would question her myself, I see it pertinent to allow you the first attempt, as she seems eager to speak with you. Yes, I will take you to her now. No, nopony else was hurt, and yes your friends are aware and have been told not to approach until this is resolved."

I blink at that. I guess that explains why none of them came to visit in the time I've been out, Spike surely would have mentioned if they had. A nullification chamber, though?

Nullification chambers are basically sensory deprivation zones, created by layering a multitude of modified one-way silence wards, light absorb-and-reflect barrier domes, and magic nullification fields tuned to one or several schools of magic, namely divination and evocation-classification if I remember correctly. Chain a pony down in the middle of one of those and they’re basically out of options without a counter-nullification charm or help from the outside. You can set them up anywhere you have room for all the magic circles, like a prison cell or a living room, but they’re also capable of being set up as a mobile detainment center, so the term ‘chamber’ isn’t necessarily all-encompassing.

"But why is that necessary? My friends aren’t involved in this!" I protest, as firm as I'm comfortable being in my position. I trust Luna, but I've still never been sure where we stand with each other in terms of respect and social affordances.

"This investigation and ordeal is to be contained. Details pertaining to the organization she represents are considered Indigo Cosmic."

Holy buck. Indigo Cosmic is above even most military clearance, only Shiny and a select few intelligence branch leaders would have access to whatever it is she's talking about. The frustrations and mental drain of the last day are immediately replaced by a spark of curiosity. It catches quickly, and I begin blazing through hundreds of possibilities of what such a highly-restricted label could categorize this event as. Thankfully I'm indulged before I get too lost in thought.

"I'm told you were studying Chronomancy despite the royally decreed restriction, is this true?" Luna asks. Her tone's very intentionally neutral, but I can tell there's something burning behind her eyes when she asks.

"Yes, though I was stumped when it came to thermal recalibra-"

"A moment, if you please. The details are insignificant at this time." She trots closer to the bedside, and even sitting upright on an elevated bed she's still taller than I am. "From what tomes did you draw your references, and what temporal equations were contained therein?"

That's a tough one, it almost takes me a full second to recall the authors of the books. "Several theoretical works written by Clover, at least two of the Quantum Informality series, and a redundant copy of Magic Circle Thermodynamics from the Aspiring Mage series, though that came later." I recite, confident in my answer. "Quark boundary-limiters were mentioned, though most of the suggested integers required for temporal manipulation were obscure, ridiculous or outright impossible. Which, as I was saying, is where the thermal problem came up, and you should know the rest," I nod to Spike, who looks between the two of us and nods back to me.

Luna seems unimpressed.

"And those are the only tomes you claim to have had access to?" Again, there's this feeling like she suspects me of something, but she's hiding it behind a poker face Celestia could be proud of.

"I mean, yeah, I think so?" I grind my gears for another full second, and I'm fairly confident those are the only materials with relevant content I cross-referenced. The only other book I had was … "Star-Swirl's Book of Prophecies, but that didn't have anything relevant inside of it."

...

This is the part where Luna's supposed to say something back, but she's still just standing there with that blank stare into my soul, and there's an eerie hush that falls over the room. Out of the corner of my eye I see Luna's two personal guards glance at each other and blink, and I wonder if I said something wrong. I glance at Spike, and he's just as unsure as I am.

"Sorry, I think I'm missing something-" I begin, and there's a crack in the poker face. Luna's eye twitches violently, and I cut my words off before I accidentally bring a shovel to a graveyard. She stays composed, albeit with great effort, and she raises her head to stare at the ceiling while she thinks what to say next.

"How did you acquire such a tome, Twilight Sparkle?"

"What do you mean? It's public domain, the book's hundreds of years old. I found a copy of it lodged in the fiction section between Moby Duck and The Mopey Huntsmare, is it rare?"

Luna looks back down at me, and to her credit she's suppressing whatever it is that's bothering her pretty well.

"Not rare, Twilight, non-existent. Such a work was never published."

That's not right. That can't be right.

"That can't be right. That book was there when I took responsibility for the library, I remember coming across it day one when Spike helped me re-re-organize the booking and filing system, I remember it specifically because even after I read the whole thing it sounded like nonsensical ramblings, nothing like his other works. That's why I thought to ask you about him years ago in Canterlot, after Blueblood's charity announcement!" I know she remembers what I'm talking about, because the same dark cloud falls over her face as the one from the day I asked her about Star Swirl.

"Princess, I think it's important you tell me what's going on. If this is really an indigo cosmic tier threat, I already know too much to be left in the dark." I'm gentle and particular about how I word that, but it's true. There's clearly something she's not telling me, or everypony. I'm not going to question her if she decides to shut me down and handle it herself, but if I'm going to be helpful then exchanging information is the first step to formulating a proper hypothesis.

I can see the storm clouds above her head churning, and there's some incalculable thought process she must be going through to weigh what to do next. When she doesn't answer for a full minute, I gently follow up the pressure.

"How do you remember that it was never published? Star Swirl has plenty of published works, I've read all of them. I don't at all mean to insult you, Princess, but is it possible that with all of them you just happened to miss that this particular book was published or distributed?"

"Impossible." She fires back immediately. She blinks at me, holds her head still for a moment, then curtly walks away to stare out the window on the other side of the room.

And that solidifies it in concrete, there's something extraordinarily fishy going on here. She's not giving me any hints, and it's clear she's either uncomfortable or angry about some aspect of me knowing Star Swirl's book of prophecies even exists. Maybe that's the best place to start.

"He was your student, wasn't he? The same way I am to Princess Celestia." It's a shot in the dark, but even if I'm wrong there's the chance she corrects me and we get a good dialogue going. I don't get much of a reaction out of her, but after a moment she sighs and returns to my bedside. I feel like I should be standing for this, and I scoot over towards the edge of the bed before Spike stops me.

"Oh, no you don't." He crosses his arms, matter-of-factly.

"Spike, I'm fine, Luna's spell worked properly. I'm not even sore anymore!"

He still seems skeptical.

"Pinkie swear," I cross a hoof over my chest, raise it high in the air, and stick it in my eye. "Now c'mon, scoot."

He reluctantly hops off the bed himself, and he has his hands outreached to catch me if it turns out my hooves aren't ready to support my weight like I expected. I take it slow, though, and I find I'm as honest as I thought I was; There's no pain, no soreness, and I'm standing tall between the two of them. I feel a bit lighter than usual, actually, like moving is more effortless. I have a sudden urge to test my hundred-meter gallop time, but I quickly refocus as Luna clears her throat and begins giving me the answers I'm looking for.

"Star Swirl was indeed my pupil, our pupil, in an era long since past. Though admittedly she was much more distant with her students then. In so being, I was self-delegated to overseeing his studies and tutored him on subjects not widely known to the scholars of that age. Knowing how keen a mind he had, how swiftly he learned things, I realized he would rise to be a prodigy. But while such individual ponies do propel us through the ages with their developments, one of the many duties sister and I share is controlling the rate at which that development happens."

She tilts her head over her shoulder and stares at me, quietly gauging my reactions while I try to wrap my mind around these revelations. It makes sense listening to it, but there's a whole new layer when you start to dissect it. I'm beginning to feel a strange sensation in my gut again, but I can't make out what it is.

"You misinformed him to stem the development of time magic...” I think out loud, and my stomach knots over itself thinking about the circumstances that would have put him in. If I were led on with false information and I found out it was intentional, I would never be able to trust that pony again. And if it were a decade of research, or even a life-long pursuit? What if the princess had sent me to Ponyville under the guise of studying the magic of friendship, only to meter my research on a topic she disapproved of, or feared I was developing too quickly?

I don't remember growing wings, but I realize I'm hovering a foot off the ground, and Luna's concerned face is directly in front of mine. There's that ringing in my ears again, how long has it been that loud? I blink the haze from my eyes and shake my head, and suddenly I'm back in the present with them.

"S- sorry, can you repeat that?" I squirm around a bit, and Luna sets me back on the floor gently with a quizzical look.

"I said 'No.' Your presumption was incorrect. We naturally withheld some information from beyond his time, as we do with all our ponies, though knowledge freely obtained is free to be kept. Intentionally misdirecting the development of our ponies serves us little, doubly so with those we entrust a great deal to."

There's still another aspect that troubles me, something else I've just missed. The wording—'We naturally withheld…' She must mean his development path wasn't deliberate, or at least not planned. Why use that word instead of '…we made sure to withhold'—and why imply Star Swirl wouldn't become a prodigy if they'd told him everything up front? This is getting very off track, but it's too important to not bite.

"So you're saying you knew more about Star Swirl's research than he did, but chose not to tell him. Why?"

Luna stares at me in silence, and waits. She clearly wants me to infer why she'd withheld information on my own, but this is different from my studies. Friendship is something I had to experience, nopony could have just told me ‘Oh, friends are great! You should try it!’ and resolved my glaring flaws. Some tried anyway.

Quantum Thaumaturgy and Chronomancy are different, though. They're all either theoretical balancing acts, or very literal quill-to-scroll numbers. That is different, isn't it? If Luna were to tell me- Would it be cheating to ask her if she knows the solution to the thermal problem? She must, that's the only reason she'd detour our conversation so far.

"What is the correct denomination for N's Delta over a fixed period of time, given predictable energy transfer rates?" I ask bluntly.

She doesn't respond, and more importantly she doesn't react. She doesn't move an inch. The lack of a tell is a calculated tell, she knows and she's purposefully not giving me any indication. I'm racking my brain, but I just don't understand what there is to be gained from stunting the entire school of magic behind one variable that she refuses to elaborate on. Unless...

"You're a chronomancer…?" I blurt out absentmindedly. It's obvious she knows the magic, Princess Celestia naturally would too, that's no surprise. But the reality that it's an ability she could actually be utilizing is what starts kicking my mind into gear. Could there have been some catastrophic event stemming from this school of magic that she's attempting to prevent? How far back did she go? How many times? Does she know what I'm going to say?

She continues to sit in silence, but she gives a subtle nod to her personal guard, and they take their leave to join the royal guard in the hall outside to give us the room.

"Yes, among many other things I am indeed a Chronomancer, though that may not mean what you believe it to. I cannot read your mind, I cannot reverse the flow of time, I cannot unmake that which has been made. Such magics are beyond even Alicorns, they belong only to the heavens." She walks beside me, and with a heavy sigh she doffs her neck regalia and tiara, tossing them at the foot of the bed. It's far too small for her, but she sits herself on the floor and leans her upper half on the top, laying her head squarely in her crossed forehooves. I can't remember the last time I saw her without her regalia on, but it catches me off guard to see her suddenly shift to that level of casual.

"Twilight, I cannot give you the answer that you ask of me, but I can give you what I gave him," I'm still standing, and suddenly I feel like I've been somehow disarmed; Politically, conversationally, all of the above. But with the promise of some kind of hint, my ears perk up and I sit beside her, resting my right forehoof on the edge and facing her as she turns her head to face me while it's resting on her own forehooves. Her stonewall expression is gone, and it's replaced by something much more somber, more detached.

"What is the solution to the thermal outflux?" She asks simply, staring at me with a casual conversational tone, as if she had asked what the weather for the day was.

Again, what?

If this is what she gave Star-Swirl, I have absolutely no idea how he managed the breakthroughs he did. I spent the tail end of the week just trying to rebalance that equation before Goldfish's note made its' way to me, and even that was an impossibility. Sending energy to the past violates two laws of thermodynamics, and at least a dozen basic guidelines for theoretical self-containment spellcraft practices.

"There isn't one. It's impossible to destroy energy." I finally reply, confident in my answer. I want to stand up and pace around, but I feel as if that would somehow be rude to the princess relaxing at the edge of my hospital bed.

"You are correct on only one account. It is indeed impossible to destroy energy." She continues looking at me with a neutral expression, and I'm not sure if she's uninterested or secretly rooting for me. I'm not sure which I'd more surprised by at this point, but she's giving me a chance, she's telling me in no uncertain terms that I shouldn't give up on this, and she thinks I can figure it out here and now, without references. Princess Luna believes in me, and with the history of thousands of years of pony academia and history on my side, I'll figure it-

"What if you just, I dunno, sent cold air forward in time before you cast the spell that generates the heat that gets sent backwards?" Spike suddenly hops on the bed beside my head, and Luna and I both blink a few times at the interruption, staring at him.

"No, that couldn't possibly work. That would require you to- to..." I trail off. Huh. That... Could work. If you adjusted for variable imperfections in the casting matrix and used a relay to ensure consistent flow going both forward and backward, I guess in theory you could...

I rack my brain, but I can't find a legitimate reason that it wouldn't work. I look over to my left to gauge Luna's reaction, if any.

Her eyes are wide and her mouth is just ever-so-slightly ajar. Spike sits at the head of the bed, looking back and forth between the two of us as we both just stare at him.

"What?"

Author's Note:

End of the Hospital Arc :^)

Comments

[AgentKorpsman]

11444596
What AI program art did you use?

If I may so kindly ask madame

[Foxvolt]

11450285
NovelAI, I generated a half-decent image with a lot of tags like 'Cosmic, space, Twilight Sparkle casting Time Magic, Asleep,' etc, then fed that image into it to fine-tune details until it looked half decent.

Costs $10 a month, but it's a fun toy to mess around with.

[AgentKorpsman]

11451020
Ah gotcha thanks for the info

[darklight731]

Everybody gangsta till the child starts spittin facts.