For all of you who have read my stories before/are currently reading some... Sorry for starting a new one... Ahaha...
Anyway! This is a collab between me and my friend, Zane. And by collab, I mean that I wrote it, and he is doing illustrations. Which you can't see on here, so you'll be missing out, sorry!
Quantum Leap, the character, belongs to Zane, as well as the whole idea with the transitive property. I just made it into a story.
Of course, Lilyflower is mine. :) Enjoy.
Quantum Leap shifted his weight nervously as he waited impatiently in the grand hall outside the throne room. A confusing mix of emotions threatened to overwhelm the bright yellow pony—nerves, anxiety, and even excitement. His wings stretched and folded repeatedly, until one of the nobles waiting beside him coughed pointedly at the nerve-wracked pony.
In response, he coughed pointedly right back at the noble. He wasn't about to let some pompous stallion boss him around on today of all days! Still, he forced himself to stop fidgeting regardless, and focused instead on the reason that he was here.
Ever since reading about Twilight Sparkle's triumph over Discord with the elements of harmony, the pegasus's mind conjured an idea that just wouldn't let go. Always the scientist, Quantum Leap had to experiment for himself and unlock the secrets of this concept that had quickly taken a hold on his mind.
He just had to go to Ponyville, as soon as possible!
Unfortunately, the move and necessary equipment for whatever experiments he needed to conduct were expensive, and he simply didn't have the proper funds for it. That was why he was here today, finally after months of requests for an audience with Princess Celestia. It was why he was waiting in the intimidating, grand room, with its ceiling that reached to the heavens, and the great crystal chandelier that, when the light from the rising sun hit it just right, cast rainbow beams on the colorful stained-glass windows. Just looking at those decorated windows, stretching from floor to ceiling, made the nerves return with a vengeance.
The young stallion shook his head to clear it of those thoughts. There was no reason to continue down that road. Instead, he turned to the presentation he'd prepared; flipping through the papers to make sure everything was in order. Everything was, and the task was finished quickly.
He sighed and looked about the room again. There was a single couch on the other side of the room; so far away that it looked like an ant from where he stood by the great double oak doors. He fancied that he could see another noble pony sitting upon it delicately, but he knew that it was all in his imagination. Nopony could see that far, unless they had hawk eyes. Or griffin eyes, for that matter.
"So, what did you think of my presentation?" he asked one of the guards standing at the doors.
Said guard rolled his eyes. Earlier, Quantum Leap had given a mock presentation of his proposal to everypony present. Since then, he'd asked for the guard's opinion at least ten times, and that was more of an underestimate than anything.
"You'll do fine, as I told you the last nine times you asked," the white stallion said.
"Actually, it was the last fourteen times I asked. This was the fifteenth," Quantum Leap babbled nervously, earning himself another eye roll at the guard chose to ignore him.
Finally, the giant doors swung open. He jumped into the air in a mixture of surprise and utter excitement, fluttering his wings as his feet gently touched the ground. As soon as the royal attendant called, "Mr. Quantum Leap", he had already gathered his presentation board and pointing stick and was halfway inside the throne room.
It was another grand hall he'd entered, although probably only half the size of the other, he noted with his sharp eyes. A long, red rug trimmed with gold led from the door straight up to the two ornate thrones. In one of them sat the great alicorn of the sun—Princess Celestia. The other throne, where Princess Luna would be if she wasn't somewhere among the people, honing her social skills, sat empty.
Now in the presence of one of the most powerful mares in all of Equestria, Quantum Leap lowered his head respectfully as he slowly made his way up to the thrones. The sparkling white tiles dazzled him in the plentiful daylight filling the room through the large windows, which were so many and so close that it almost turned the sides of the room into walls of glass.
When he finally reached the foot of the throne, he bent his knees to bow deeply. "Good day, my most wonderful princess," he half-whispered, his voice filled with reverence for his beloved ruler. "My respects to the absent Princess Luna as well," he added, glancing at the empty throne.
With his head bowed so low, with his face almost pressed into the plush carpet, he didn't see the warm, glowing smile that Princess Celestia cast over her subject. "And good day to you, too, Mr. Quantum Leap. I am sure that my sister would return your greeting as well. Please rise, my beloved subject. I hear you have a proposal for me?" the solar princess asked.
His head popped up so quickly that he almost lifted himself off the ground with the force of it (considering all he knew about physics and such that would be a little ridiculous). As it was, he shook his wings a bit to cast off the left-over nerves. Standing up his presentation board, he cleared his throat and was all business.
"I do, Princess. Of course you know of your student, Twilight Sparkle's recent defeat of Discord using the elements of harmony," the stallion began, standing tall and proud.
Celestia gave him an amused smile. "Yes, I do, but it is hardly a recent event by now," she said without malice.
Quantum Leap cleared his throat. It had taken him a few months to secure a date to have an audience with the princess, so of course his presentation was a tad outdated. "Well, while that is true for regular ponies such as myself, I don't believe a few months can hardly be considered a long time for immortal alicorns," he said without losing his composure.
This quick answer drew a chuckle from the mare. "Fair enough. Please continue," she said.
He ran a hoof over his short electric-blue mane, suddenly wishing he'd invested in a bit of gel to smooth his messy mane. "Thank you." The scientist pony turned to the board to flip to the first page of his presentation. With the side view, his cutie mark was more visible—a picture of an atom and electrons circling the nucleus on rings. Such a cutie mark promised a deep understanding and talent for science, at least on the atomic level.
The first visual was simple, not yet giving any information on what his request was. It was a picture of the elements of harmony.
"As you know, to use the elements requires an understanding of what friendship is, and magic is the spark that binds them," Quantum Leap said, pointing unnecessarily to the picture.
He flipped the page to one with an overwhelming amount of words that Princess Celestia honestly couldn't read, even at the fairly close distance.
"Now, this may seem too long and too small, so I don't expect you to be able to read it before I turn the page. No offense meant of course, Princess," he added sheepishly. "But it is a list of various instances where magic, actually turned out to have a scientific basis, except we did not understand it at the time."
When Celestia raised a questioning eyebrow, he became flustered. "But, of course, magic does exist, only it follows a very mysterious, yet specific code that scientists have not been able to uncover!" he said. He cleared his throat again. "Moving on…"
The next page was an application of the transitive property. In big, bold type was "If a=b, and b=c, then a=c". Below that, in italics, it said, "In this case, friendship is 'a', magic is 'b', and 'c' refers science we don't understand". In all honesty, the relevance of the equation confused Princess Celestia.
Sensing his ruler's confusion, Quantum Leap was quick to explain. "This is simple really. As I stated just now, magic is often science that we don't yet understand. But, as the elements of harmony show, friendship is magic. Thus, if friendship is magic, and magic is science we don't understand, then by the Transitive Property of Mathematics, friendship is science we don't understand!" he finished, proud of his mastery of the topic.
Celestia nodded, indicating that she followed what he was saying. "I see. What is your request then?" she asked.
Quantum Leap put away the presentation board, which had largely failed as a visual. "I'd like funding to move to Ponyville and assist Twilight Sparkle in her study of friendship. The only difference is that I will be researching the scientific aspect of friendship," he told the princess.
Silence fell over the throne room as Celestia considered his proposal. The single minute felt like hours as Quantum Leap stood there, nervously awaiting Princess Celestia's response. He could feel himself sweating underneath his coat. There was no way she could refuse his request, after he'd waited so many months to secure this chance. His tail twitched nervously. He had to get this funding, he just had to.
Finally, Princess Celestia spoke, in a steady, careful tone that gave away nothing, much to the torture of the scientist stallion. "I have made my decision now," she announced needlessly.
He nodded eagerly. "Yes, Princess?" There was no way to conceal the anxiety in his voice.
"I have decided…" Another pause for dramatic effect. "… to grant you the funding necessary for your project."
For a moment, he couldn't believe his ears. She was granting him the funding. She was granting him the funding! "Yes!" he cheered, punching his hoof at the empty air in his elation.
Princess Celestia chuckled. "Please work hard and report any findings you make to me," she told him.
He barely registered what she said. "Yes, yes, of course! Thank you so much for this opportunity! Thank you, thank you!" he said. He bowed low.
"Farewell, Princess, I swear to work as hard as I can. Thanks again!" he said, jumping into the air and zooming from the throne room as fast as his wings could take him. He was gone before the princess could call out a good bye to him.
This was an event that was too exciting to just run along. He felt so energized that he simply couldn't get out of the air. So he flew out of the castle at high speed, swooping and narrowly evading pillars and various other obstacles. It was honestly a miracle that he made it outside without injuring himself or someone else at the speed he was going.
Once outside, he made a beeline toward the edge of Canterlot, where his friend lived. He couldn't wait to tell her the good news!
Meanwhile, a young unicorn with a light blue coat stood at a long table in a small, cramped room. Above her head was the only source of light—a small dusty light bulb, flickering weakly. She paid it no heed as she bent over the clarinet in front of her, her front hooves planted on the tabletop in order to get a better look.
She prodded the instrument with her horn, twisting it to get a better look. Her eyebrows were furrowed in utmost concentration as she examined the clarinet.
Suddenly, she straightened up, flipping the long bangs of her navy blue mane from obstructing her vision. "Aha! There's the problem!" she announced triumphantly to the empty room.
The mare trotted over to one of the many cramped shelves that lined the room of her workshop. She scanned her tools until she found what she wanted. Her horn glowing, she lifted a small screwdriver from the clutter and brought it back over to the table. Bracing her hooves gently on the expensive instrument, she used the screwdriver to gently straighten out one of the bent keys.
Satisfied with her work, she set the tool down and levitated the clarinet instead. She brought it to her mouth and blew gently. The note, a G, resonated through the room, bouncing off the walls. The mare nodded, pleased that she had fixed the air leak. It was a common problem for clarinets, but also quite an annoying one.
She disassembled the clarinet and returned it to its case. Her assistant was so fired, after having dropped yet another instrument. Musical instruments were expensive, especially ones with so many keys as a clarinet, flute or saxophone. Only the most skilled unicorn musicians could manage the many keys and holes required to play them. Those were usually also the ones who had the money to spend on the quality instruments that she made.
Shaking her head, she sighed regretfully. No, she knew that she would not fire her assistant. That would just be so mean, and it would make her feel so bad. Maybe she would just give the colt a stern lecture and a slap on the hoof. Yes, that would be discipline enough.
She turned off the light and left her workshop, entering a larger room that was just as cluttered. This part made up the store of her building. Several instruments were set out on display, pushed neatly against a bookshelf, stocked from floor to ceiling with sheet music and music books. A couple pianos were in the middle of the room, staggeringly high prices taped neatly to each beautifully-made instrument.
With a gentle smile, the unicorn went to the cash register, which was placed on top of a display case filled with various accessories for each instrument—reeds, cork grease, valve oil, polish, guitar picks, various cleaning supplies, and more. Content that everything was in place, she sat and waited for the first customers of the day.
At least, until she heard somepony yell off in the distance. She frowned. Canterlot was a fairly peaceful city, after you got past the bustle and noise of the social centers. Even so, her music store was away from the busier areas, for that exact purpose, and so hearing yells was fairly rare.
She listened carefully as the yelling increased in volume. Apparently, whoever was yelling was coming closer…
The unicorn gasped in sudden realization. "Oh no!"
Pointing her horn at the window, she jerked her head upward. The heavy window followed with a creaking reluctance. "Oh dear Celestia, will you open up?" she pleaded using all of her magical might.
Unfortunately, all her magical might wasn't strong enough to get the window up in time. Just as she managed to get it past the halfway mark, a bright yellow blur crashed through with a mighty shout of "Lilyyyyyyyyy!" The wooden sill splintered and the window shattered, glass scattering about the shop at the high-speed blur came to an abrupt stop by banging into the opposite wall.
The shelves emptied themselves onto the crash-landed pony, dropping heavy volumes of music books onto both him and the instruments that he had missed. She gasped, running over to the pile of destruction.
"Oh no, oh no!" she cried, her horn glowing as she removed the heaviest books from the pile and returned them to their respective shelves. "Are you alright?"
The question was directed at one of the guitars that were trapped beneath the pile. She examined it closely as the cause of the destruction stumbled away from the books that had knocked him silly. The stallion staggered about, trying to regain his balance. He shook his head, trying to rid his vision of the bright stars that blinded him.
"Oh, don't worry about… about me, Lily, I'll be… fine," he said dizzily, finally deciding to sit down instead of attempting and failing to stand.
With a sigh of relief, Lily—actually Lilyflower—determined that her instruments were fine. That was when she noticed her friend.
"Oh my! Are you alright, Leap?" she cried again, this time hurrying over to examine her friend's wellbeing.
Quantum Leap nodded as he regained proper use of his eyes. An overwhelming amount of raspberry and black colors assaulted him. "Ack!" he yelped, jumping back.
Lilyflower jumped back as well. "What? What is it?" she asked, startled at his reaction. She looked around, but there was nothing in her store that was out of the ordinary.
He realized that the colors were just Lilyflower's eyes really close. Laughing sheepishly at his moment of fail, he shook his head. "Ahaha, don't worry about it, Lily. It was nothing."
She gave him a suspicious glare for a few moments, and decided to drop it. She shook her head to dismiss the subject. "Whatever. More importantly, why did you feel it necessary to fly in here as fast as you could (and, oh my Celestia, you fly fast) and destroy the new window I installed just yesterday and nearly break all my new displays. Again."
Quantum Leap laughed nervously again, remembering the last time he'd made some huge discovery, and just had to tell his friend about it right that minute. Only last time, the instruments hadn't survived the visit. "Really sorry about that, Lily. I'll pay for it again, I swear," he said.
The mare rolled her eyes and looked back at the mess she still had to clean up. "Of course you will. But that wasn't the question, was it?" she asked, sounding annoyed. She'd been looking forward to another quiet business day until the pegasus just burst into the store like it was the open skies.
Her question reminded Quantum Leap why he was here in the first place. With a burst of excitement, the stallion leapt to his feet. "I finally got an audience with Princess Celestia today!"
Lilyflower's eyes widened. "Really? Oh my dear Celestia, that's amazing!" she said, surprised. Then she suddenly pouted. "But… Why didn't you tell me? Me, your best friend?" she asked accusingly.
He dismissed her hurt with a wave of his hoof. "Oh, you know me, Lily. Once I heard, I was just too busy making my presentation absolutely perfect, because I didn't want to mess up this once in a lifetime opportunity," he explained.
She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "Wait, what presentation?"
Now it was Quantum Leap's turn to be hurt. "Oh, come on, Lily! The one that I've been talking about since Twilight Sparkle defeated Discord months ago!"
Clarity suddenly dawned upon her features. "Oh, right! The one about friendship and science and stuff," Lilyflower said with a nod.
He shrugged one shoulder. "Well, specifically, it's about my hypothesis that friendship is science that we don't understand," he said.
She gave him a flat stare. "Quantum Leap, I will kick you out of my store," she warned.
He laughed off her threat. "Anyway, I told the princess all about my hypothesis, and she agreed to grant me funding to move to Ponyville and conduct any experiments I need!" he told her.
There was a silence. Lilyflower felt life her heart skipped a beat, or two, or three. "Ponyville?" she asked breathlessly.
The upbeat pegasus was oblivious to her sudden change. "Yep!"
"Where…" She swallowed hard. "Where Twilight Sparkle lives?"
He laughed again. "Well, of course! I'm going to be studying with her! It's a little hard to do that when she's there, and I'm here in Canterlot!"
She bit her lip. "U—um, could I, maybe, go with you?"
The stallion stopped mid-laugh. "Wait, what? Why would you go?" he asked.
Lilyflower fidgeted, kicking at an imaginary stone on the wooden floor. "Well, um, business here is really slow and stuff, so Ponyville might be a little better, you know," she said, stuttering nervously.
He raised an eyebrow. "You think Ponyville, a tiny town of simple ponies, will be better than Canterlot, where all the greatest musicians, and your highest paying clients, are?" he asked slowly.
The mare stamped her hooves impatiently. "Ok, ok, ok!" she conceded, throwing her head back in frustration. "I just really, really, really, want to meet Twilight Sparkle. She's my idol! I mean, she's saved all of Equestria twice! It would just be so, so cool to meet her! Just once! Come on, please, please, pleeeeeeeeeaaaaaase!"
Quantum Leap laughed at her pleading eyes. "Oh come on, Lily, of course you can come. I mean, you have to pay for yourself, so I can't really stop you if you want to move to Ponyville as well," he said.
Lilyflower looked absolutely faint in her ecstasy. "Yes! I don't care if I have to pay, and I'll help you if you need help, and… Oh Celestia, yes! I'm going to Ponyville! I'm going to meet Twilight Sparkle! Yes, yes, yes!" She jumped around in a wide circle along the walls of her store.
Unnerved by one of his friend's rare fangirly expressions, Quantum Leap began to back up toward the smashed-open window of the music shop. "Um, ok then. We're leaving tomorrow, so make sure you're ready early in the morning. And you're paying for the coach, by the way," he added.
Since he didn't get back any response from the unicorn other than "Yes, yes, yes!" he decided that this was a good time to leave her company. She probably wouldn't even notice he was gone for a couple hours, if she even remembered why she was excited by then. Maybe he could even trick her into thinking that her attendant broke the window, and he wouldn't have to pay to get it fixed again.
With that warming thought, he once again took to the air and flew in the direction of his house, much more slowly, to enjoy the lovely Equestrian sunshine that warmed his coat and heart.
Today was the best day of his life.