"A simple accident." A phrase that carried far more meaning than I had thought.
"Er... alright, could you elaborate on that?"
"Well, as I said, this machine has the purpose of transferring the magical abilities of a unicorn to a human being. As we humans have a very limited array of magical abilities, this was a high-priority project for you. And you wanted it completed fast."
"Why is that? Was I in some kind of hurry?"
"Truthfully, I do not know. However, it took you a total of two years to develop, and even now, it is only in its prototype stages. Who knows what state it is in now, after the accident."
"Alright, can we get to the issue of the accident now?"
"Patience, George. This is needed context."
I crossed my arms. "Oh, fine."
"Now, your initial tests of this machine came up as positive. You had tested it on small animals, ones that would not know how to use said magic abilities just in case something went wrong. Eventually, you brought up the courage to test it on yourself."
"Oh. I think I can see where this is going."
"Perhaps not. You see, it turned out to be a success. You emerged from the machine with the powers of an average unicorn. This significantly boosted your popularity among the citizens. They thought you would be able to give our entire race abilities that would allow them to match up to the ponies, in the event of conflict. But you weren't quite satisfied.
"You see, this machine requires the "magical essence", as you called it, of a unicorn to pass to one subject. This can manifest as any part of a unicorn, but you exclusively used hairs. You even sent some of our royal spies out to the Equestrian towns in an attempt to retrieve them. While they found a few over time, they were not easy to come across. What makes it worse was that after one use of the machine, the hairs were rendered useless."
"So... what did I do to solve this issue?"
"You began wondering what would happen if the hair used was not from a unicorn, but rather, an alicorn."
"...Like Celestia?"
"Celestia, Luna, any alicorn. We all knew how limitless their magic seemed, and you just had to get your hands on it. You sent the spies out again to retrieve at least one lock of their hair. Unfortunately, no attempts were successful. None were able to sneak into the castle from any angle, let alone make an attempt at retrieving any hair."
"So, what did I do, then?"
"You became obsessed. You just had to have a lock of their hair, so you said. It was the key to humanity's future. I was beginning to think you had gone insane."
"...Sheesh. I'd think that too."
"However, you didn't quite go off the deep end for one good reason. You eventually decided on the old adage that if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.
"At least, along with some help. I convinced Celestia to meet with me in my castle on the basis of 'mending our relations'. During our meeting, you appeared, disguised as an assassin. Pulling out a knife, you took a swipe at Celestia behind her back, aiming only for her hair. But, to the surprise of you and myself, the knife did not cut. It simply pushed the hair out of the way, it shortly returning to its eternal waving state. I must say, I felt quite sorry for you as you stood there while Celestia turned around."
I laughed a little. "Oh god, what did I do to rectify that situation?"
"You looked from her to your knife a few times, and then dropped it while slowly backing away. She then encased you in a bubble. Me and my guards were forced to 'capture' you, and place you in a cell until she left. Not after she voiced her own suspicions that I myself had planned an attack on her, however. I suppose she was right in a way, but I wouldn't say that really counts, you know?" He laughed a little, too.
"Heh, yeah. So, another failed attempt at getting some hair?"
"That's what we thought. However, as I came back to clean up the tea I had brought, I noticed something on her seat. A single long, rainbow colored hair, clearly from her mane."
"Seriously? Did I manage to cut one off after all, then?"
"That's what I had thought, but your examination of it later on revealed that it was a full hair. Perhaps we were simply lucky enough for one to fall off during her visit. Or perhaps it was the stress of the situation. We may never know. Not that you cared."
"Yeah, I was probably awfully excited that I had it in the first place, right?"
"Unhealthily so. Your obsession was not entirely quelled when you finally recieved the hair. You just had to test it, so you called me down to your lab. You were in bad shape, George. You had clearly been up for days. You were shaking at every second, while downing a gulp of coffee at every other. Various puddles of coffee laid on the floor. If you were in your right mind, you would have wiped them up. You were too caught up in what you were doing. I voiced my own concerns, but you were adamant. You had to test it there and now.
"You placed the hair in a compartment on the machine, and went to select a test subject, when an idea crossed your mind. I remember the exact moment your eyes changed. Even I could tell what you were thinking. I told you repeatedly that it was a terrible idea, how dangerous it was, but you didn't care. You were going to test it on yourself. Coffee still in hand, you made a dart for the machine."
"...Oh, jeez."
"You have figured it out, I see. Yes, you slipped on a puddle of coffee, propelling yourself into the machine while your own cup impacted with the control panel. Sparks flying from the machine, it quickly locked you in as you righted yourself inside. You almost panicked, but you suddenly stopped as a disturbingly huge grin formed on your face. You said something I couldn't hear, and then a flash of light filled the room. When I regained my vision, you were gone without one singular trace."
I stood up. "So that's what happened to me? I went insane and tripped into my own machine?!"
A grin formed on his face. "Rather embarassing, isn't it?"
"You have no idea!"
After a brief moment of silence, we both exploded in laughter at the exact same time. I'm still not entirely sure why, but it seemed appropriate at the time.
"Oh god," - I wiped a tear from my eye - "How goddamn anticlimactic."
"Well," said Tetesac, not bothering to wipe his own tears. "That is life."
After a moment of silence, he spoke again.
"I'll leave you to think about the whole thing. Make sure to consider my proposal as well. Take all the time you need, days, even. I can show you where your house is, if need be."
"Oh, sure, that would be great. Just let me sit down for a bit and consider some things."
"Yes, of course."
A moment after he left the room, Lyra walked back in. I sat on a nearby chair.
She walked up to me. "So, did you figure out what happened to you?"
"Yep. Turns out I was a mad scientist."
Keep updating, this is a very original story.
He fell into his own creation, got it.
...
A royal scientist who fell into their own creation.
Where have I heard that before...?
Bit of an inappropriate reference for the setting, I think.
6826105 Reference? I didn't intend for a reference there. What did I reference?
6826517
I meant the character using "Christ" as an expression. Since he's apparently not supposed to be a terrestrial human, it doesn't really make sense for him to reference a real-world religion in that way.
6826524 Ah, I see what you mean. I tried to stray away from any real world references (at least ones that George would make on purpose) but it looks like that one slipped my mind, him constantly saying "oh god" and such things. Now thinking harder on that subject, "oh god" still works due to the existence of deities, but "Christ" doesn't work as that's a specific religion. Thanks for catching that.
6826535 Well, to be fair, with the whole vendetta against humans, who knows how they'll take certain things. Perhaps he just missed. In their eyes they most likely feel that they can't afford to take that chance, especially in the heat of a moment like that.
6825712 Yeah, that was meant more to help establish that George isn't very physically fit. He's rather thin weight-wise, and not very strong at all, meaning he'd most likely get tired of walking faster than others would.
6826531
Yeah, that kind of thing just happens sometimes. I see stories here do that occasionally - it's such a common turn of phrase, you just end up putting into conversational speech without even really noticing. "Oh god" and such is generic enough that I think it's fine, though. I don't know, maybe you can establish Anthropians as being Crustian instead or something. If nothing else, it would give you something to have them properly blaspheme with.
6826570 Ah yes, praise the lord Cheesus Crust.
6826593
A new sermon every week, courtesy of Our Crusty Lord's high priest Titty Sack.
Wait. How do you forget knowledge? Those things should still be with you even with amnesia. Should I smell something mildly fishy, or just wait a bit til George gets into it again?
6826719 Well, George is the type to jump to conclusions.
6826748 Aaaaaaah! Then I await your twists and turns and saving Lyras dear reversed Discord! And I guess Celestia is not hating humans because of that incident. Please make it some stupid reason, so George can flip out.
Good luck coming up with the rest story!
Amnesia doesn't really work like that, actually. There are some rare cases where physical skills, like bike riding, were retained in individuals with severe, encompassing retrograde amnesia, because those are stored in a different location of the brain from regular memories, but in many other cases? People forgot even things like how to walk or speak. Knowledge about facts is a memory like any other. Its not like you only lose stuff that immediately relates to your personal identity or something. Brain damage is sadly never that convenient.
This is basically pop culture/"story" amnesia here. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but expecting it to adhere to real-world notions is probably pointless.
6827083 Yeah, I'll be honest, I'm not too well-versed on how it normally works, so I'm taking some artistic license with this.
6827243
It's for the best, really. Real-life injuries of that kind are tragic and horrifying. They don't make for good story material.
Wonder what would of happened if he got some of discord's hair?
6827083 Um... Should I list many real-life examples of amnesia (not nessesarily connected to brain damage) that works just like in stories? Reality is unrealistic, after all.
6830164
No, you shouldn't, because real life doesn't work like TVTropes. Just because a few rare cases are similar to movie and story depictions does not mean that most of them are. Someone who has a stroke may wake up with a few days to weeks of their memory missing and having forgotten how to walk. That's the much more common type of trauma-induced amnesia. Forgetting everything about who you are but somehow not anything else? That's, for all intents and purposes, literally something that only happens in books.
6841996 Well, his powers are broken. That includes his "immortality", if he even is actually immortal.
I really like this story so far.
Question though, I know his god powers are broken but he's still a human right? That'd mean his human magic should work... Or did that get fucked up too?
6847418 Touche.
6847326
W̥ͅh̫͖̗̝a̜͡t̢͖̤͓͍̲,̪̙̹͓̖͍ ͖̫̳r̢̪̣͍e͈͍͚a̡l̨l͎̘̦̹̰̩̲y͉͍͔̞̯̪ͅ?͓̭͎̗́
̞͡Y̡͙̘ͅo̻̲̺͓ú̖̣̭ ̗̖̫̥̞̖͡d̫̤̠̹o̲͈ ̡͇̬͍̱̗̪͍n͓̯͚̗͝o̱t̸̺̘ͅ ͜k̨̰̪̜̺̘̠͕n̷̩̱o̥w͍͜ ̨͈̣̫̘̬̫͓o̲̞̺͓f̲͔̙̞̳ ̵̪̘̭̣ṯ̸̰̮̣h̟ę͔̹̫̥͚͕̫ ̤E̳͕͔̩̼l̗͇̝̙͙̰d͓̙̗r̛̭̲̻̤̟̙i͙͠tc̵̫͙̗̼̗͖h̦͍̖͕ ̨͎̼̰t̨̲͙̬͍̹̦o̺̤͖͎̩̳̙n͙gu̜̰e̤͈͓̠̬̥͢s͇͎͕̬?̱̗͇͉͢
̮̥̤͖
̣̣͙͕S̫̖̳͉͝e̯͕͖e͙m̹̙s̲͉͚̤̮̫͘ͅ ̪͈̱̺͜t͎̝h̦a̰͖͓̻͙t ̸̣̥͖̝̩̹̖y͕̰͓̮o̗̹̼͇͔͈u͍ ̫t̴͈̮h͚̦͉̟͙̯̺ę͍̫̹̰ ͚̪͇͕̙̭͉͟y̳o̲̮̪͙͉uņ͎̹͖̰̣̥̱g̭͉ ̳̱̻̥̹g̱̦͚̹r̪͎̭̘̳̦a͍̮̞͕s̜̰̺̪͖s̥̪h̰̻͎̫̘o͍͉̩̩̹͙̪p̧̬̦̳p̺̼ͅe̠̤͕͠ͅr͎̱ ̫̙͈͟h͖̺͚̣a͖̩̖͕v̞̗̦̝e ̝s̟̙̺̕ṯ̘͍̦ì̮̬͓͖̱̺̝l͓̙̤͈̳̲ͅl̥̣̲͝ ̸̫̻͎m͕͓u̴̙̗͓̫̟̗c̳̝̭h̡̗̗ ̥̹̳t҉o ͏̘̤̪͎̙l͏̩͔̜̝e҉̯̦̼͚ͅa̙r̬̩n̠͕͎̰.̷
̯̼͖̭̥̯(͎̝̮̬̹̕I͙̤̬̯̘̖͡n͍̭̼͇ ̙̳͔̮͎̠th̹̜͍͡i̖̖̰̥s̱͍̭͚̞ ̢͈͓̺̳wo̭̳̫͈̝̪rl̵̠̯͍̘ḓ̙͡,͈̺̱͕ ̙i͍͈̬͉̦t̬͝'̨̤͔s͙̝̮̜͔͕̦ ̩͈̹S͉̬̭̳P̱͕͖E̟̳̰A҉̻̣͕̜̣̝̻K̷͕̰͍̳̬̭ ̼͎̻ͅó̤̳r͚̼͖͍̗̩ ͈̬͚̕Ḅ͖̠̰̣E̬͚͔͕̩̝̦ ̲S͖̤͇̘PỌ̘Ḵ̖̙̜̮͢E̝̗͍̤Ǹ.̘̠̖̼)̝̦̬̦̪
Just letting you guys know, I recently made some minor edits to the end of the chapter "Falling Down" in order to clear up a plothole.
6848454 Hmmm, as the first keeper of the Endrick Archives... I suppose I must learn this language.
6848454
How might the king or other humans react to Gorge's immortality/broken powers?
6855991
Ǐ͓͉̜͕̘̙̉ͦ̿̏N͕̺̼̫ͮͪͤ̋̓̋ͨ̀ ̆̂҉͏̗̝̠̰̟Ț̦̦͈͇̱̰ͧͥ̓̄͒ͮ̄ͤ́́͘̕Ḫ͇̟͔͈ͮ̊̅̋̈́ͣͣ̌̿͜I̷̢̦̝̖̖͙̖̣͇̗ͫ̆̆̃̋͆̓̽͞S͚̝͚͍͌̽͊̄͝ ͓̤̱͉̺ͤ̇̑̃ͪW͑̔̎̄ͪ̉͋͑ͣ͝͝͏̹̩O̸̖̹̖͔͍̲͈̱͋ͯͭ̆͜͢Ȓ̨̹͉̤͑͋͌ͯͥ̕L̗̱̼͉̮ͬ̂͌͊D̥̮͔̠͈̠̝̻̰̚,̡̺͓̦̅ͩ̑͛͝͞ ̧̞̤̔͒̓ͯ̎̕͠I̢̞͇̣͙̝̝͒ͅͅT͕̠͖̘ͫ͢ͅ'̵̙͇͉̞ͨS̷̛̻̞̯̮̑̋̀ ̠̮͍̙̼͚ͥ̈͑̌ͨS̑̐̾̋ͥ҉̞̜̖̼͙Pͧͯ͛̾͗̄̃͊҉͕̯͎̙̭̫̪͘E͐ͦͣ͆̽̂̓͐̒͏̶̯͚ͅĄ̶͚̠̖̝̪̹̟͍̟̽͗͡K̃͂̏̑̆̾̑͞҉̜͍͓,̧͈̘̱̙͔̍̏̆̑̀ ͙̮̩̦̜͐̓̈́͠͠ͅͅO̪̬̥̳̓̓ͣ͗̀̕͜ͅR̅̽ͫ̽̃͜͞҉͇͓̰̩͍̰̪ ̴̡̭̹͙͇̦ͧ̾̾B͆͑̓ͪ͂̆͂҉͖͚͔̝͝E̷̖̟̪̹̟̠̻̺̖ͮͩ̏͐̑͞ ̴̘̫͉̣͓̽̎̄S̷̡̰̘̣̮̼̿͑̒ͬ͗ͫ̏̚P͛̐̌͆͏̬̤̦̪́̕O̶̞̼̖̣̰̞͗̂̇ͮ̈͌͘K͉͇̱̼̥̟̝͖̦̓ͬͬ͊͗ͧ̀̀Ě̴͕̜ͧ͗̉ͤ̔͝Ṋ̛͕̋̃ͧͩ̐ͪ̚!̶̶̩̠̭̲̗͓̇͋ͨ̾ͣ͘
6857030 The combination of edgy text and forced Undertale references fills me with... confusion.
6857855
T͎̳̟͈ͫͪ̾̎ͮͦh͚̬͉͉̦̞̘̅͒̊ͫ̉̎̚e̺̦͈̤̘̼n̗̈̑͆̍̉̃ ̟͔ͪ̑̆̚m̫ͤͯ̉͂ͩ́y̹͕͂̏ ̼̟̺̭͗ĵ̮͓͇̫͔̰͖̒ͧͤ͑̎͗oͭ͆͆b̳̜͙̦̑͗ͣ ͖̤̳͙̟͔͕h͇͚͎̝̎e̩̺͉̘̪͗̄͊͌ͯrë̄ ͔̮͎͈̗͎͓͗̊̒̚i̲̰̯̺͖ͩ̐ͅs̗̆͂ͪ dͯ̿̚̚ôṅ̙͖̝̟͍͇͙̿e̼̯̟̱̲ͮͪ̌̍̓̂.ͣ
6857855 its called zalgo text generator. Click the link to invoke the edge-font.
just found this and read it in one sitting.
fun times.
This is gold.
Why does he call himself George Trestale if he has no idea who he is or where he came from? Sorry, just read the description …
Huh, I'm starting to see the humans of anthropia as a bunch of jerks, hope George doesn't stick around, they use him to attack equestria.
6982119 well I am glad I made your day
6971747 Ah, it's stated in the first chapter that he makes the name up on the spot.
Also, sorry about lack of updates, I got kinda burnt out on this story, so I took an (unplanned) break. Updates will resume soon.
Lolwut
6825945
Hey atleast he got cool powers and didn't get fragmented across time and space.