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In Front of You
“So what's the problem, exactly?”
Twilight gnashed her teeth together, and forced her voice to remain level.
“It's called the horizon effect, Spike. It usually applies to magical intelligences that can play games like chess, battle clouds, and so on. What happens is that the number of possible positions is huge, and the spell can only look at a small portion of them, mostly just a few moves down. The name comes from the fact it can't see anything beyond its horizon.”
“So, a spell can get stuck thinking that it's got the right move, when it's actually going to make a huge error!”
Spike scratched his chin pensively.
“Huh. Okay. And what does that have to do with finding my real parents?”
“It has to do with the fact that it's screwing up my results! This stupid dumb badly designed butt of a spell hasn't been working the way it's supposed to at all! It has told me, in order, that me, Princess Celestia, Mom, Shining and Cadence were all your parents! And no matter how much I change it, I can't get it to work! At one point it was thinking that Rarity's costume from the dragon migration was your mother!”
The sound of Twilight's heavy panting echoed in the library.
And then Spike smiled and rubbed her side.
“Hey, don't worry. I believe in you. You're only doing this because I asked you, and I'm sure you're going solve this. Now, come on: what do you say we take a break so you can relax?”
“You're right Spike. I was going to meet Rarity for tea anyway; do you want to come with me?”
“Yoo hoo! I'm up here, darlings!” said Rarity, from atop the gigantic river dragon on top of the hill.
“Rarity! And Steven! I didn't know you were bringing a guest with you.”
“Well, I wasn't, originally, but it just so happened that I met dear Steven at the spa, and we struck up a conversation, and well, we just have so much in common! Our love for fashion, for beauty, for rejuvenating baths...”
“Oooohhhh, yes! Aloe's heated stone bath is just to die for! I could have soaked in there for hours!” proclaimed the fabulous drake.
Twilight thought for some reason of the time Spike had taken a six-hour warm shower and used up all the hot water in Ponyville.
“Uhm, Twi, who's this guy, exactly?” Spike whispered in her hear while Rarity slid down to their level.
“Oh, right, you wouldn't have met him. He's a river dragon we met in the Everfree forest when we went to find the Elements of Harmony. He's actually quite nice.”
Twilight then watched as Rarity introduced the purple dragon to the other purple dragon and then left them to their own devices.
“Dear, is everything all right? You seem quite stressed, if I may say so.”
Twilight sighed, and her shoulders slumped.
“It's nothing, really. Spike asked me to find out who his birth parents could be, and so far I haven't been able to dig up anything.”
“Well, don't worry dear. At least he seems to have already made a new friend in Steven.”
Rarity pointed her hoof at the two. Spike was admiring the larger dragon's mustache, and expressing his approval.
Come to think of it, hadn't he been obsessed with mustaches for a while now? Twilight had stopped giving them to him, but he'd still ask for one every once in a while.
“Wait! I've got it! I can't believe the answer has been staring me in the face all this time and I didn't even notice it!”
Spike turned around to look at Twilight, curious.
“Spike! Take a letter. We're just going to ask the Princess directly who your parents are!”
Spike looked at her flabbergasted.
“Oh—right. That works.”
Spike quickly scribbled down something and sent it on its way while Steven watched with interest.
“I hope she replies soon, I really want to kno—BELCH!”
“Gimme gimme gimme! I want to know what the answer is!”
Twilight snatched the scroll out of the air, while Spike rolled his eyes.
Then she read the scroll.
She looked at Spike.
She looked at Steven.
“Oh, you've got to be kidding me.”
Twilight gnashed her teeth together, and forced her voice to remain level.
“It's called the horizon effect, Spike. It usually applies to magical intelligences that can play games like chess, battle clouds, and so on. What happens is that the number of possible positions is huge, and the spell can only look at a small portion of them, mostly just a few moves down. The name comes from the fact it can't see anything beyond its horizon.”
“So, a spell can get stuck thinking that it's got the right move, when it's actually going to make a huge error!”
Spike scratched his chin pensively.
“Huh. Okay. And what does that have to do with finding my real parents?”
“It has to do with the fact that it's screwing up my results! This stupid dumb badly designed butt of a spell hasn't been working the way it's supposed to at all! It has told me, in order, that me, Princess Celestia, Mom, Shining and Cadence were all your parents! And no matter how much I change it, I can't get it to work! At one point it was thinking that Rarity's costume from the dragon migration was your mother!”
The sound of Twilight's heavy panting echoed in the library.
And then Spike smiled and rubbed her side.
“Hey, don't worry. I believe in you. You're only doing this because I asked you, and I'm sure you're going solve this. Now, come on: what do you say we take a break so you can relax?”
“You're right Spike. I was going to meet Rarity for tea anyway; do you want to come with me?”
“Yoo hoo! I'm up here, darlings!” said Rarity, from atop the gigantic river dragon on top of the hill.
“Rarity! And Steven! I didn't know you were bringing a guest with you.”
“Well, I wasn't, originally, but it just so happened that I met dear Steven at the spa, and we struck up a conversation, and well, we just have so much in common! Our love for fashion, for beauty, for rejuvenating baths...”
“Oooohhhh, yes! Aloe's heated stone bath is just to die for! I could have soaked in there for hours!” proclaimed the fabulous drake.
Twilight thought for some reason of the time Spike had taken a six-hour warm shower and used up all the hot water in Ponyville.
“Uhm, Twi, who's this guy, exactly?” Spike whispered in her hear while Rarity slid down to their level.
“Oh, right, you wouldn't have met him. He's a river dragon we met in the Everfree forest when we went to find the Elements of Harmony. He's actually quite nice.”
Twilight then watched as Rarity introduced the purple dragon to the other purple dragon and then left them to their own devices.
“Dear, is everything all right? You seem quite stressed, if I may say so.”
Twilight sighed, and her shoulders slumped.
“It's nothing, really. Spike asked me to find out who his birth parents could be, and so far I haven't been able to dig up anything.”
“Well, don't worry dear. At least he seems to have already made a new friend in Steven.”
Rarity pointed her hoof at the two. Spike was admiring the larger dragon's mustache, and expressing his approval.
Come to think of it, hadn't he been obsessed with mustaches for a while now? Twilight had stopped giving them to him, but he'd still ask for one every once in a while.
“Wait! I've got it! I can't believe the answer has been staring me in the face all this time and I didn't even notice it!”
Spike turned around to look at Twilight, curious.
“Spike! Take a letter. We're just going to ask the Princess directly who your parents are!”
Spike looked at her flabbergasted.
“Oh—right. That works.”
Spike quickly scribbled down something and sent it on its way while Steven watched with interest.
“I hope she replies soon, I really want to kno—BELCH!”
“Gimme gimme gimme! I want to know what the answer is!”
Twilight snatched the scroll out of the air, while Spike rolled his eyes.
Then she read the scroll.
She looked at Spike.
She looked at Steven.
“Oh, you've got to be kidding me.”