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The Shortest Possible Distance
Deep beneath the castle, a young Twilight Sparkle stood beside five other students, nervously surveying the examination room. A glowing orb in the center of the circular, roughly-hewn stone chamber filled the space with an oppressive yellow light. Surrounding the orb were lines of coarsely ground chalk, a mix of concentric circles and radiants, forming a circular maze. Small brick walls cast shadows outward from their seemingly random locations.
"Good day, students."
The voice was an elderly unicorn, Mrs. Gembreaker. Her gray mane was tied in a tight bun, and her salt-and-pepper tail somehow drew attention to the abruptly bisected crystal of her cutie mark.
"Today," she continued, "the goal is easy. Simply be the first to touch the orb in the middle of the runic structure and you shall have top marks for your exam. I shall give you one hint—a riddle, if you will—then you must begin."
Eyes lighting up, Twilight listened eagerly.
"The key to victory is traversing the shortest possible distance between two points."
Oh, that was good, Twilight thought. She knew that one!
"Now, begin!"
As the students spread out around the circle, a young colt walked up to a line of chalk. When he reached over it with a hoof, his eyes went wide and his body turned to stone.
"One down, five to go," Mrs. Gembreaker called out impassively.
Recovering her wits, a green unicorn stepped boldly through a gap in the outer circle. When nothing untoward happened, she smiled, and the rest quickly sought their own entrances.
Twilight Sparkle, slow on the uptake, followed another filly in. Both trod carefully between the chalk lines, working their way toward the center. Two layers in, Twilight paused by a wall to plot her route, while the other continued on.
The orb flashed, and the maze rotated again. Looking up, Twilight saw the nearby filly, along with three others, turned to stone. It seemed getting caught by a flash was the same as crossing a line: game over.
That left only her and one colt: Gleaming Facet. He was Gembreaker's grand nephew. A spoiled aristocrat, but no slouch either.
Twilight examined her position. If she ran, she could make it through several segments and possibly to another wall before the next flash, but it'd mostly be back tracking. Looking toward Facet, she realized he was in a much better position. A short length away was another wall. From there, one more rotation would give him a direct passage inward.
Facet saw it almost as soon as she did, and he sprinted for the next shelter. Realizing she had little chance, but not one to give up, Twilight ran too.
Doubling back certainly seemed to be the opposite of "shortest distance," but something about that phrase kept gnawing at the back of her mind. Everypony knew the shortest path was how to solve a maze, so it was hardly a proper riddle at all!
When the next flash subsided, Twilight looked out and saw Facet emerging from his shelter. "Nice try, Twilight, but I win!" He smiled and turned to Gembreaker. "The shortest possible distance between two points," he announced, "is a straight line!" He waved a hoof to indicate the now-complete passage directly inward.
No! Twilight thought. That's not right! The shortest possible distance isn't a geometric concept... It's a quantity! She closed her eyes and concentrated. She'd read about spells like this, but had never attempted one before. As she wove the auras about her though, it felt so easy. Simply take spacetime A and interpose with spacetime B. Her horn glowed, and there was the vague feeling of being lovingly extruded through a nine-dimensional taffy machine along with the faint taste of overly-enthusiastic lingonberries.
When she opened her eyes, Twilight was standing directly beside the orb and facing Facet. "Famous last words!" she yelled, in a rare show of assertiveness.
"The shortest possible distance between two points," Twilight proudly declared, "is zero." She reached out with a hoof and casually touched the orb, watching as Facet's bewildered face petrified. "Or uhh... more accurately," she corrected a moment later, "the, uhh... Planck length?"
The perennially dour Gembreaker couldn't quite contain herself, and the faintest hint of a smile crossed her muzzle. This one, she knew, was destined for truly great things.
"Good day, students."
The voice was an elderly unicorn, Mrs. Gembreaker. Her gray mane was tied in a tight bun, and her salt-and-pepper tail somehow drew attention to the abruptly bisected crystal of her cutie mark.
"Today," she continued, "the goal is easy. Simply be the first to touch the orb in the middle of the runic structure and you shall have top marks for your exam. I shall give you one hint—a riddle, if you will—then you must begin."
Eyes lighting up, Twilight listened eagerly.
"The key to victory is traversing the shortest possible distance between two points."
Oh, that was good, Twilight thought. She knew that one!
"Now, begin!"
As the students spread out around the circle, a young colt walked up to a line of chalk. When he reached over it with a hoof, his eyes went wide and his body turned to stone.
"One down, five to go," Mrs. Gembreaker called out impassively.
Recovering her wits, a green unicorn stepped boldly through a gap in the outer circle. When nothing untoward happened, she smiled, and the rest quickly sought their own entrances.
Twilight Sparkle, slow on the uptake, followed another filly in. Both trod carefully between the chalk lines, working their way toward the center. Two layers in, Twilight paused by a wall to plot her route, while the other continued on.
The orb flashed, and the maze rotated again. Looking up, Twilight saw the nearby filly, along with three others, turned to stone. It seemed getting caught by a flash was the same as crossing a line: game over.
That left only her and one colt: Gleaming Facet. He was Gembreaker's grand nephew. A spoiled aristocrat, but no slouch either.
Twilight examined her position. If she ran, she could make it through several segments and possibly to another wall before the next flash, but it'd mostly be back tracking. Looking toward Facet, she realized he was in a much better position. A short length away was another wall. From there, one more rotation would give him a direct passage inward.
Facet saw it almost as soon as she did, and he sprinted for the next shelter. Realizing she had little chance, but not one to give up, Twilight ran too.
Doubling back certainly seemed to be the opposite of "shortest distance," but something about that phrase kept gnawing at the back of her mind. Everypony knew the shortest path was how to solve a maze, so it was hardly a proper riddle at all!
When the next flash subsided, Twilight looked out and saw Facet emerging from his shelter. "Nice try, Twilight, but I win!" He smiled and turned to Gembreaker. "The shortest possible distance between two points," he announced, "is a straight line!" He waved a hoof to indicate the now-complete passage directly inward.
No! Twilight thought. That's not right! The shortest possible distance isn't a geometric concept... It's a quantity! She closed her eyes and concentrated. She'd read about spells like this, but had never attempted one before. As she wove the auras about her though, it felt so easy. Simply take spacetime A and interpose with spacetime B. Her horn glowed, and there was the vague feeling of being lovingly extruded through a nine-dimensional taffy machine along with the faint taste of overly-enthusiastic lingonberries.
When she opened her eyes, Twilight was standing directly beside the orb and facing Facet. "Famous last words!" she yelled, in a rare show of assertiveness.
"The shortest possible distance between two points," Twilight proudly declared, "is zero." She reached out with a hoof and casually touched the orb, watching as Facet's bewildered face petrified. "Or uhh... more accurately," she corrected a moment later, "the, uhh... Planck length?"
The perennially dour Gembreaker couldn't quite contain herself, and the faintest hint of a smile crossed her muzzle. This one, she knew, was destined for truly great things.