Luna Is a Stallion and All the Mares Love Himby B_25Chapters1 – In Where There Are Explosions and Shock2 – In Where There Is Fear and Some Name-Changes3 – In Where Arty Sees Himself1 – In Where There Are Explosions and Shock~ 1 ~ In Where There Are Explosions and Shock “Ugh…my head…” Luna groaned. She kept her eyes closed in pain as she put her hooves to her temples, trying to wiggle the ringing out of her ears. “Oh dear Faust I’m sorry!” Twilight screamed as she ran up to the fallen moon princess, the front half of her body covered entirely in soot. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, imsorryimsorryimsorry!...” “Silence!” Luna roared in the Royal Canterlot Voice. “Mine ears are ringing more than the warning bells, I would desire to have peace and quiet!” Luna continued rubbing her temples until the ringing finally subsided. The ringing from Twilight’s constant apologies, however, never stopped. “Imsorryimsorryimsorryimsorryim…” Twilight paused. Luna thanked the higher powers that be that she could have all the ringing peacefully subside… “Luna? Is that you?” Oh dear Faust, what did she do NOW? “Yes, Twilight, it is your princess, Luna. Has some aspect of myself changed for you to not...” Luna stopped speaking. Either her ears were still not working correctly… …Or something about her voice had changed. “Twilight, is that my voice that I hear?” Luna asked in confusion. “Or have one of the guards sat down next to me without my knowledge?” If her ears were right, then it was a decidedly male voice that was speaking her words. “Oh no…” Twilight said worriedly. “Luna, the experiment went wrong. Completely and utterly wrong.” “As we have concluded with the explosion, but what else has happened?” Luna finally opened her eyes. A very exasperated Twilight was staring at her with wide eyes and thin pupils. “Luna, I don’t want you to panic right now, but…” Twilight trailed off. She took a deep breath, “But you appear to be a stallion…” “I am a WHAT?!” Luna gathered her footing and sat up in shock. She quickly stood up and ran to the nearest reflective surface in the room, which was a window near where the explosive experiment had taken place in her quarters. She gasped at the reflection. There, standing in her place, was a gasping stallion, with a shorter and not flowing starry blue mane, a dark blue coat reminiscent of the night sky (and slightly marred with soot from the explosion), and a broader build with a longer muzzle to accentuate the fact she kept trying to deny. She was a stallion instead of a mare. She was a Prince instead of a Princess. “CHANGE US BACK CHANGE US BACK CHANGE US BACK!” Luna yelled, the Royal Canterlot Voice in full blast. “Calm down, Luna! I’m sorry-“ “THOU STATE YOUR APOLOGY ONE MORE TIME AND WE SHALL HAVE YOUR HORN IMPALED THROUGH THINE EYES!” “Listen to me! You’re not thinking correctly right now. Please, calm down!” Twilight’s own special yell, the Royal Ponyville Voice, was still something she needed to work on. However, the message was clear, and after a couple of breathing tricks courtesy of Princess Cadence, the princess/prince of the night did calm down. Though she, or rather he, was still angry. “Twilight…What has happened to the artifact?” “It… it’s gone. Starswirl’s Sphere is gone! Oh no, this wasn’t supposed to happen! You must believe me, I never thought that-” Twilight began. “The Sphere? It’s gone?!” Luna was getting furious again, and Twilight kept hoping she wasn’t going to be banished for this. Or banished when she fixes this. “This wasn’t in the notes. The Sphere was supposed to only change the color of your coat, not explode. I don’t understand, how could it change a pony’s gender instead of their coat? A biological change like that shouldn’t be possible!” “Tis magic, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna scoffed. “You should understand that where science can never hope to tread water, magic floats with ease. Starswirl and I would debate and argue for months on end over these matters. Some of his artifacts I stowed away more out of spite in losing said arguments than for the safety of Equestria.” Luna, to Twilight’s relief, appeared to have calmed down again after her second outburst. She released a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding, then met the critical eye of the lunar princess/prince. “You did read and study over the notes for the spell, yes?” “Of course I did!” Twilight exclaimed. “I was Princess Celestia’s student, I know how to prepare for new spells!” “Celestia did teach you how to read Starswirl’s notes, yes? You have studied other artifacts of his that weren’t taken?” Twilight smiled sheepishly. “I, uh, I never actually learned how to read Starswirl’s script. I just tried to translate it when I studied some of the spells he invented…” The lunar prince lifted a hoof to his eyes. “Blasted sister… let me see the notes.” Twilight looked around and found some documents on the floor, slightly singed around the edges from the explosion, but more or less intact and readable. She smiled awkwardly and handed over the notes, meeting Luna’s disappointed gaze. “Hwaet…” Luna began in the Old Equiish script written in the notes. Starswirl was the first unicorn to actively transcribe magical runes into a dialect easier to understand, so magic users in his time could understand more spells than what the high-class unicorns were allowed to teach. He wrote his spells in a poetic form, believing that magic was a concept that can be used for both studies and every-day life. Luna silently thought that try as he had, Starswirl’s intellect could never have truly realized the vast potential of magic, which was rather hilarious to see him constantly become frustrated over. Finally, he recited one section that made him stop and re-read, a confused look on his face. He looked at Twilight’s translation, and sighed loudly. “You mistranslated a rather important section. Rather than using a being’s magical force to enact outward changes, such as a changing the colors of a coat as you hypothesized, the spell would use the being’s nature to change their bodies. Did my sister never teach you how to properly translate old Equiish? I know the language was dying even as I was turning into the Nightmare many moons ago, but has the language been so warped so as perfect translations are all lost to time?” “She…” Twilight hesitated, “…admitted to me that not even she could remember all of the language. She said I could study the language as a side project, and we skipped it during our lessons…” Luna stared forward, not daring to blink for 20 solid seconds, before again setting his hoof on his forehead. “Twilight, please remind me, after I use some anti-body magic shampoo, to start creating a translation spell that will utilize my knowledge of Old Equiish, and have it readily available for scholars of this era to use and fix whatever spells they may have mis-cast in the ages since my banishment…” “Oh, uh,” Twilight reeled back in slight shock, “Of, um, of course princess. Or should I call you-” “We are a princess, and we shall always be a princess, never a prince!” Luna yelled unexpectedly. He quickly trotted over to his washroom, slightly blushing at the ridiculousness of the whole situation. “And for the love of Faust, please do not tell our sister of this, or we shall never hear the end of ‘Prince Luna’ from her…” After Luna closed the door, Twilight picked up Starswirl’s notes again, and began casting a spell to try and repair the singed documents. “Why would Starswirl create a magical artifact in order to change genders? Was there something in the kingdom that warranted magical gender changes? Maybe a far-away land was suffering from a severely skewed gender ratio, and had asked him for help?” She pondered over the implications of the Sphere while looking over the notes again, making sure to closely read over the script to fix any translations she mistakenly made. Finally, after a period of time, Luna came out of her washroom, steam rolling out from the door. Except she was still a he. “It would seem Starswirl meant for the artifact's power to last beyond conventional methods of cleaning magic…” Luna stated. He was still in the process of drying himself off from the shower, water trickling down the front of his chest, as massive in power and stature as a royal could sculpt themselves to be, his legs bulging with strong muscles that looked to be able to move mountains now… …Twilight not so subtly tried to slap away the blush rising to her face. Luna didn’t notice. Luna stepped over to the window again to see his reflection. “It would seem my mane has reverted to their original form, instead of the royal form,” she noted. Twilight realized that Luna’s hair was now a pale blue color, instead of showing a visage of the night sky that was a trademark for regal Luna. “Maybe it was the magic shampoo?” Twilight suggested. “Possibly, yes. But my mane stems from my power, perhaps…” Luna lit up his horn, and soon enough his mane started to glow dark blue. However, while the starry night did come back, it was not flowing as his sister’s mane would. “Hmph. Tis better than nothing, and slightly better than my regular mane,” Luna said. “What’s wrong with your regular mane? It looked nice on you,” Twilight replied. “It is not something you would need, even as an alicorn yourself. But as for us, we are the embodiment of the heavens, and we must show the appearance of being in tune with the night. Although, with my mane now being shorter, along with this form…” Luna sighed, “It would seem we may have to answer to Celestia to see if she can help us change back before any of our citizens see us-” “Luna! Twilight!” Just then, Princess Celestia slammed the door open and quickly trotted in, a worried expression plastered over all her features. “I heard an explosion in the palace, and the guards said it appeared to come from your quarters. They said they thought it was something of Twilight’s doing, but when you two didn’t answer the guards outside asking if you were okay, they went to tell me something may have went wrong. What in Equestria haaaaa….” Celestia, once she trotted up to the duo, finally fully gazed at Luna for the first time since she came into the room. After a second of silence, Twilight noticed that the Princess’s cheeks were steadily growing red, and her legs backed up. Celestia’s wings shot out, standing at attention for all to see. 2 – In Where There Is Fear and Some Name-Changes~ 2 ~ In Where There Is Fear and Some Name-Changes “Twilight, while I am fine with you performing experiments on your own, and with my… ‘sister’, no less, why did you not come to me when you found Starswirl’s Sphere?” Celestia wore a disappointed frown as she circled the now seated Twilight, who held her head low, and Luna, who continued to silently watch the exchange. “We didn’t think we needed to, or I didn’t, at least.” Twilight raised her head so that she may finish her thought while looking into her teacher’s eyes. An action that stopped as soon as her eyes fell upon Celestia’s tall, staring form, causing Twilight to lower her head once more. “I didn't think that you'd want us to do anything.” Luna saw above Twilight’s dejected form the split second of sadness that crossed Celestia’s face, before it faded away with a small sigh. Twilight could feel herself tremble as the all-powerful sun princess towered above her, making her feel small and inadequate, the guilt of her mistakes seemingly magnified. Her eyes tensed up when she saw the princess lowering down to her. In the coin slot that was Twilight’s vision, the ruler of all of Equestria no longer glared at her, but in fact had a mischevious glint in her eyes. “Twilight, you know that as long as you have good reasons, I always allow you to work on your projects. While you aren’t my student anymore, as your once teacher I still would like to see how you are continuing your studies, especially now that you have a student of your own.” Twilight let go a of a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. She took a few moments to compose herself before smiling at Celestia, thankful for her mentor’s understanding mentality. Celestia looked back at Luna, still expecting a short muzzle and a smaller body than the stallion sitting in front of the sun princess. “Let’s focus now on the problem. Luna, which sphere was it?” Luna let his eyes wander around while he mentally scratched his head for an answer. He payed a little too much attention on the details in his room being blue, dark, and a little too sparky for his tastes. In fact he had a thought that his room was a little too… ‘filly-like’. A short “ahem” from Celestia brought his mind back to the sphere. “Twas a blue sphere, not unlike a painted pearl, and it came with a manuscript in his writing for a new spell that we had not even heard of when he was alive, much less now.” “Blue sphere, new spell… oh dear,” Celestia suddenly realized. She stood and paced around the chamber, mumbling to herself, and the only word the duo could hear was “Starswirl”. Celestia finally stopped and looked at Luna. “That must have been an incomplete project, I believe. There were several he did not tell us, remember?” “So Twilight casted a spell that wasn’t even fully finished? Then what counterspell can be made?!” “Calm down, Luna,” Celestia ordered, the lunar prince looking with worried eyes at Twilight and his sister. “I’m sure that Twilight, in time, can figure out a counterspell based on how she casted the original spell. She is the brightest mind in magic save us, if she worked on Starswirl’s spells once in order to ascend, she can develop a counterspell for another of Starswirl’s designs.” “Actually…” Twilight began with a sheepish smile, “the spell is in old Equiish, it might take me months to translate it from its source to work out the counterspell.” The three alicorns sat in silence as Twilight’s words rang incessantly within their imaginative minds, stirring images of Luna wearing outfits ranging from a knight to a rogue for Twilight, and for Celestia, a scene of Luna entering her chambers wearing tight fitting butler clothes played. Luna witness himself upon a stage with ponies looking up him with the moon glowing behind his back, like how he had always dreamed when his sister had stolen the spotlight in their youth. Only, he was stepping backwards with tears welling in his eyes as his stallion subjects laughed about checking under the sheets before asking for coffee, and the mares whistling at the tush that just fell off the stage. “We would be stuck in this form for… months?” Luna’s voice cracked at the end of his sentence that revealed fear that had broken it in the first place. “Um, yes…. Don’t worry, I will work with Starlight Glimmer to make sure we can make the counterspell as soon as possible!” Twilight tried to calm down an increasingly panicky Luna. “We do not want to be a stallion! What would our citizens think of us now as we aren’t the embodiment of night!” Luna whined. “Well…” Celestia suggested, “we can make your look work as a master of the night rather than a mistress.” She raised her horn and lit it blue for a few seconds, before it dissipated. Immediately, a unicorn with a blue mane and an expertly curled grey wig walked into the room with other ponies behind him, including another unicorn that held a red case with a white cross on it. “What in the...? Celestia, what have you-” Luna reeled back at the sudden onslaught of ponies suddenly descending around him. “Twilight, Luna, meet our royal fashion designer for events, so to speak,” Celestia elaborated. The black royal garb around Luna’s neck slid off harshly, Luna realizing it was chaffing on him. In the brief second he gaped, he felt a stick of wood reach into his mouth, the pony with the white cross suitcase using a tongue depressor to inspect his throat. “And he is our new royal physician, as our old physician has just retired a couple days ago.” “Argh ag ur?” Luna eloquently placed his question. Once the tongue depressor was out, he said again, “Why the physician now, sister?” “Tch, you’ve been through a magical body change. Who knows what else the change could have done to your body!” the physician scolded him. “Now stay still, you’re more skittish than a colt on his first check-up.” Luna obeyed, letting the designer take his measurements while the physician performed a check-up on the new prince. Then a rather unpleasant moment happened. One of the aspects of the check-up involved inspecting the undersides of the patient. Luna, however, was not expecting this. “WHAT IN BLAZES ARE THOU DOING!?” He yelped when he felt a hoof touching a very particular part of his body. “It’s standard procedure to check genitalia, your highness,” the physician bluntly stated. “You are not a mare anymore, but it seems you have an amply shaped pair for a stallion.” Luna looked down and indeed saw the “pair” the physician was talking about. He blushed heavily, making slight gagging sounds as if he couldn’t believe what he had seen. “Hmm…” the designer hummed while inspecting the measurements and taking notes. “Luna would not suit you as a name anymore, now that I think about it. What would be a colt’s name for a creature of the Night?” “A… name?” Luna finally spoke after his little episode, although his face was still beet red. “But tis only a temporary change!” “No matter, your highness. If you wish to still be seen as a ruler to be respected, you must choose a male name while you are seen in this form.” Now the designer had grabbed a sheet of paper and started quickly scribbling. “Oh, um…” Luna was at a loss for what name he wished to pick. He looked to Celestia for assistance. “Hmm… How about ‘Artemis’? I seem to recall a legend about another creature of the night with that name,” Celestia suggested. “Artemis… I suppose it is a sufficient name until we find the counterspell,” the newly-named Artemis accepted. “Well, Prince Artemis, I would like your opinion on this design for your new royal garb,” the designer said, before flipping the piece of paper in his grasp to show the prince his first sketches. Instead of a dark harness, the new garb featured a dark coat, with slight extensions on the wings, and the moon insignia was on the front of the coat, in generally the same area where it was on the harness before. Artemis briefly mentally pictured the coat on him, and he thought it would look rather nice on him as a more approachable royal then a royal to be feared. Perhaps they will appreciate a lunar stallion more than a lunar mare. Perhaps they may love Artemis more than Luna. Luna was Nightmare Moon, Artemis was… Luna who is now past her mistakes. “Well? Do you like it?” the designer asked. “Yes, but imaginations can be so attractive. Let us see what the coat may look like in reality before we dare to show our face to the citizens,” Artemis agreed, trying carefully not to sound too excited at the prospect of practically new clothes. “Then let us come to my quarters, where you can choose the exact color for the coat and the moon insignia,” the designer walked out of the room, with Artemis following behind him. “I’ll go with you Lu-, uh, Artemis. I can help with some of the measurements,” Twilight followed behind the prince of the night. Soon, all the ponies left the chamber, leaving only Celestia to stare in their direction. While she felt a little disheartened that Twilight didn’t think about her when she performed her experiment, she felt a little rush of excitement at the results. A prince of the land might be more welcomed in Equestria, especially by the mares. And, Celestia had to admit, the coat would look kinda cute on Artemis. 3 – In Where Arty Sees Himself~ 3 ~ In Where Arty Sees Himself The sun had reached its apex in the mountainous horizon by the time Artemis found himself standing in front of the mirror, wearing a faulty smile upon his muzzle. On one hoof, he looked rather stunning in his new royal items, the black coat looking more and more like an improvement over his former harness. Somewhere along the design he picked up a spare set of glasses and put them on. It gave him a scholarly disposition. On the other hoof… it felt as if the coat was there all along. That it was the royal garb before, even though Artemis knew the harness was there first. The memory whiplash taxed his mind, and he stood silently in front of the mirror, his eyes glazed and unmoving. This scared both the royal designer, and Twilight. “Um, your majesty…” the designer began, “Is the coat not suitable to your liking?” “What? Oh, um, no, I very much like it,” Artemis automatically replied. The lunar prince still stood unmoving, and unblinking. Artemis swore that for just a brief second, he saw Princess Luna in the mirror, wearing the original harness, and staring right back at him. “Is everything alright in there?” a muffled voice asked. All three ponies turned to see the door open and Princess Celestia walked in, with an unreadable smile on her muzzle. “Yes. I must admit it feels as if I am still in my harness, as if this coat always belonged to me. Tis like I am reunited with an object instead of having it gifted to me.” “Well that’s great,” Celestia said. “Then we can get started on the press conference.” All the other ponies in the room visibly blanched. “Pr… press conference!?” Twilight yelled. “The media is going to see my work so soon? But I think we may need some finishing touches!” the designer complained. “Bu…bu… bu…” Artemis tried to articulate his shock, but failed. Instead he spouted gibberish, clearly surprised that ponies were going to see him so soon. “We can’t have a press conference now! Why did you call for a press conference?!” Twilight asked. “It wasn’t my decision, they called for one. In the short walk between your chambers and this one, Artemis, some guards saw how you were decidedly a male and started rumors. Soon, those rumors reached the maids, then the head maid's, then some of the lingering nobility in the castle, and then their peers, and now the newspapers and magazines. Canterlot Express was the first to ask me questions, and wanted to publicly ask Artemis some questions.” Twilight was at a loss for how information could spread so fast in the castle. “But… but how? It’s only been a day since Luna was turned into Artemis!” “Rumors spread faster than fire, under the right circumstances. School fillies like you were would know that better than anypony,” Celestia answered. “Also, I am pretty sure some maids act as listeners for some tabloids, more or less.” “But… but you heard the royal designer, he still has to finish the design of the coat, and we cannot be seen without our regalia!” “Actually, it would only be some stitches in some areas, and not really noticeable stitches either…” the designer was silenced by a very angry glare from the lunar prince. “Come on then, Arty, you’ve had plenty of experience answering questions from the presses. Why are you so hesitant?” Celestia asked. “Ar, Arty?” Artemis pointed out the nickname Celestia just used for him. “Of course! I called you Lulu, now I call you ‘Arty’!” Celestia answered with an innocent smile. Arty glared at Celestia as she walked up to him, not so approving of the new nickname. Artemis never liked nicknames as they sounded demeaning, even if it was only with his sister. Celestia, once she stood up to him, faded the smile from her muzzle and now stared at him with another one of her unreadable expressions. “Lu-Artemis, you look g-good,” Celestia sputtered, “I mean, you look well. The coat suits you, and I’m sure no pony is going to criticize you simply because you don’t look like a mare anymore.” Celestia smiled, “You have nothing to worry about, sister.” Artemis looked down, conflicted about going out to the masses. All those ponies, staring at her/him, wondering if Artemis would act differently than their previous moon princess. Would they be angry? Would they laugh? Would they demand the prince be taken away until the real Luna came back, convinced that he was a copy of the Princess? All Artemis wanted to do right now was to just stay in the room and hide from the scary ponies like a filly from her monsters. Except… she wasn’t a filly anymore. She was a mare. Or, a stallion, at least. Stallions aren’t supposed to be scared, they’re supposed to face the problem head-on. Sometimes even literally head-on, bashing in being their solution. She is now the Prince, and He will be the new master of the night. Artemis drew out a long breath and looked at Celestia with a somewhat hesitant smile. “Very well then. If our subjects wish to know their new ruler of the night, even if it is only a temporary change, then we shall not keep them waiting.” Celestia put her hoof around Artemis’s neck. “And that’s the sister I know. I’ll be there if some of the mares do get a little rough, don’t worry.” “Mares? Getting rough?” Artemis asked. “Oh! Um…” Celestia slightly recoiled. “You… do… well look.” Celestia directed Artemis’s attention to the mirror. “Take it from me, Arty. You do look stunning as a stallion. Nice touch with the glasses too.” “Yeah! I mean, who wouldn't like you?” Twilight added, getting as excited as Celestia about Artemis’s first time out with the public, albeit being a bit forced into the situation. “Speaking as a stallion, I certainly would bow to you, Prince Artemis,” the royal designer nodded. Again, Artemis found himself staring at the mirror. While he did notice before how handsome he looked, he didn’t fully realize it until now. He was dreamy. Luna was the warrior princess in earlier times, and now that translated to a body worthy of commanding respect among troops, but yet still toned so as not to be intimidating in any social gathering. His mane was kept short, but yet the starry blue made him seem a bit ethereal, a stallion that all the younger mares dreamed about for their romantic nights.The glasses, while not really useful because Artemis never had a problem with his eyesight, still provided a sort of wisdom and learned experience to his character, a trait that might lead students to “ask to visit their personal library”. All in all, Luna would totally fall in love with Artemis. A brief thought entered his mind that he may be entering some levels of narcissism that shouldn't be known if he keeps thinking about himself this way. He turned back to Celestia. “Very well, then. When shall the conference take place?” “It should be about…” Celestia looked around in the room for a clock. She raised her brow, however, when she couldn't spot one immediately on the wall. She quickly paced around the room, looking for any sort of timekeeping mechanism. There wasn't one. “You… you don't have a clock here?” Celestia asked the designer. “No, I do not. When I am in need, I shall work immediately, and not stop or rest even when the sun is up or down!” the designer said proudly, holding his head up high. All three princesses looked at the designer like he was some crazed stallion, with Twilight looking the most shocked. “How do you… how do you even know when to go out to eat or to even sleep?” she asked, scared of any answer the stallion might give. “Oh, I um… I don't really go out to eat, I have a little stove over in the other room,” the designer pointed over at another door on a side wall next to the entrance, “and I stay in my quarters for most of the day. I don't sleep until my work is completely finished.” Twilight deadpanned. “You… seriously have to get out more. Especially in this castle.” “Now, now,” Celestia interrupted with a chuckle, “Is the pot calling the kettle black here, my former student?” “Dah, uh,” Twilight sputtered, “Well he should take it from me then! Don't waste your life just doing one thing in one place.” “Enough,” Artemis firmly spoke. “It is around a quarter to the hour of two, sister. We would guess the conference will be at the hour then?” “A quarter to two? How do you even…?” Celestia asked, surprised that Arty even knew the exact time like that. “We looked at the sun outside. Really sister, you have been on this world for how many years and still don't understand the passage of time from your sun?” Artemis lightly scolded. “I uh… we’re stalling!” Celestia spoke out, trying to avoid the question with a lot of eagerness. “We need to go, we need to go, yes it was at six, we need to go now!” Celestia trotted to Artemis's posterior to lay a hoof upon the firm rump, causing the mare to tilt her head slightly as a small innocent grin adored her muzzle. In what Artemis would later consider a pat on her behind that Celestia would defend as a push, the stallion legs lagged behind him as he they were forced to pick up along with the rest of his frame out the door. Twilight quickly followed them, although her eyes were staring through the window at the groups of ponies gathering just outside the castle. Flashes of cameras going off prematurely as notepads flipped open to record this single event for all of history. A stutter; a pause that lasted a second to long; a wrong answer to a question that everypony in Equestria was worrying about… Twilight glanced back at the two sisters, now one brother, who trotted next to one-another. While the sister looked over the brother with a soft smile, the stallion himself kept his eyes straight on what awaited him. Even if he held an expression that was unsure of itself, his legs did not falter as he pressed into the next pair of doors. She followed after the two royals, a dire expression on her face as she worried about the outcome, even though Celestia promised to Artemis that she wouldn't let anything happen to him. The designer stayed in the room, slumped in a sitting position and looking down with a sad frown. “But… but I don't like getting out of the castle,” he mumbled to nopony in particular.
1 – In Where There Are Explosions and Shock~ 1 ~ In Where There Are Explosions and Shock “Ugh…my head…” Luna groaned. She kept her eyes closed in pain as she put her hooves to her temples, trying to wiggle the ringing out of her ears. “Oh dear Faust I’m sorry!” Twilight screamed as she ran up to the fallen moon princess, the front half of her body covered entirely in soot. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, imsorryimsorryimsorry!...” “Silence!” Luna roared in the Royal Canterlot Voice. “Mine ears are ringing more than the warning bells, I would desire to have peace and quiet!” Luna continued rubbing her temples until the ringing finally subsided. The ringing from Twilight’s constant apologies, however, never stopped. “Imsorryimsorryimsorryimsorryim…” Twilight paused. Luna thanked the higher powers that be that she could have all the ringing peacefully subside… “Luna? Is that you?” Oh dear Faust, what did she do NOW? “Yes, Twilight, it is your princess, Luna. Has some aspect of myself changed for you to not...” Luna stopped speaking. Either her ears were still not working correctly… …Or something about her voice had changed. “Twilight, is that my voice that I hear?” Luna asked in confusion. “Or have one of the guards sat down next to me without my knowledge?” If her ears were right, then it was a decidedly male voice that was speaking her words. “Oh no…” Twilight said worriedly. “Luna, the experiment went wrong. Completely and utterly wrong.” “As we have concluded with the explosion, but what else has happened?” Luna finally opened her eyes. A very exasperated Twilight was staring at her with wide eyes and thin pupils. “Luna, I don’t want you to panic right now, but…” Twilight trailed off. She took a deep breath, “But you appear to be a stallion…” “I am a WHAT?!” Luna gathered her footing and sat up in shock. She quickly stood up and ran to the nearest reflective surface in the room, which was a window near where the explosive experiment had taken place in her quarters. She gasped at the reflection. There, standing in her place, was a gasping stallion, with a shorter and not flowing starry blue mane, a dark blue coat reminiscent of the night sky (and slightly marred with soot from the explosion), and a broader build with a longer muzzle to accentuate the fact she kept trying to deny. She was a stallion instead of a mare. She was a Prince instead of a Princess. “CHANGE US BACK CHANGE US BACK CHANGE US BACK!” Luna yelled, the Royal Canterlot Voice in full blast. “Calm down, Luna! I’m sorry-“ “THOU STATE YOUR APOLOGY ONE MORE TIME AND WE SHALL HAVE YOUR HORN IMPALED THROUGH THINE EYES!” “Listen to me! You’re not thinking correctly right now. Please, calm down!” Twilight’s own special yell, the Royal Ponyville Voice, was still something she needed to work on. However, the message was clear, and after a couple of breathing tricks courtesy of Princess Cadence, the princess/prince of the night did calm down. Though she, or rather he, was still angry. “Twilight…What has happened to the artifact?” “It… it’s gone. Starswirl’s Sphere is gone! Oh no, this wasn’t supposed to happen! You must believe me, I never thought that-” Twilight began. “The Sphere? It’s gone?!” Luna was getting furious again, and Twilight kept hoping she wasn’t going to be banished for this. Or banished when she fixes this. “This wasn’t in the notes. The Sphere was supposed to only change the color of your coat, not explode. I don’t understand, how could it change a pony’s gender instead of their coat? A biological change like that shouldn’t be possible!” “Tis magic, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna scoffed. “You should understand that where science can never hope to tread water, magic floats with ease. Starswirl and I would debate and argue for months on end over these matters. Some of his artifacts I stowed away more out of spite in losing said arguments than for the safety of Equestria.” Luna, to Twilight’s relief, appeared to have calmed down again after her second outburst. She released a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding, then met the critical eye of the lunar princess/prince. “You did read and study over the notes for the spell, yes?” “Of course I did!” Twilight exclaimed. “I was Princess Celestia’s student, I know how to prepare for new spells!” “Celestia did teach you how to read Starswirl’s notes, yes? You have studied other artifacts of his that weren’t taken?” Twilight smiled sheepishly. “I, uh, I never actually learned how to read Starswirl’s script. I just tried to translate it when I studied some of the spells he invented…” The lunar prince lifted a hoof to his eyes. “Blasted sister… let me see the notes.” Twilight looked around and found some documents on the floor, slightly singed around the edges from the explosion, but more or less intact and readable. She smiled awkwardly and handed over the notes, meeting Luna’s disappointed gaze. “Hwaet…” Luna began in the Old Equiish script written in the notes. Starswirl was the first unicorn to actively transcribe magical runes into a dialect easier to understand, so magic users in his time could understand more spells than what the high-class unicorns were allowed to teach. He wrote his spells in a poetic form, believing that magic was a concept that can be used for both studies and every-day life. Luna silently thought that try as he had, Starswirl’s intellect could never have truly realized the vast potential of magic, which was rather hilarious to see him constantly become frustrated over. Finally, he recited one section that made him stop and re-read, a confused look on his face. He looked at Twilight’s translation, and sighed loudly. “You mistranslated a rather important section. Rather than using a being’s magical force to enact outward changes, such as a changing the colors of a coat as you hypothesized, the spell would use the being’s nature to change their bodies. Did my sister never teach you how to properly translate old Equiish? I know the language was dying even as I was turning into the Nightmare many moons ago, but has the language been so warped so as perfect translations are all lost to time?” “She…” Twilight hesitated, “…admitted to me that not even she could remember all of the language. She said I could study the language as a side project, and we skipped it during our lessons…” Luna stared forward, not daring to blink for 20 solid seconds, before again setting his hoof on his forehead. “Twilight, please remind me, after I use some anti-body magic shampoo, to start creating a translation spell that will utilize my knowledge of Old Equiish, and have it readily available for scholars of this era to use and fix whatever spells they may have mis-cast in the ages since my banishment…” “Oh, uh,” Twilight reeled back in slight shock, “Of, um, of course princess. Or should I call you-” “We are a princess, and we shall always be a princess, never a prince!” Luna yelled unexpectedly. He quickly trotted over to his washroom, slightly blushing at the ridiculousness of the whole situation. “And for the love of Faust, please do not tell our sister of this, or we shall never hear the end of ‘Prince Luna’ from her…” After Luna closed the door, Twilight picked up Starswirl’s notes again, and began casting a spell to try and repair the singed documents. “Why would Starswirl create a magical artifact in order to change genders? Was there something in the kingdom that warranted magical gender changes? Maybe a far-away land was suffering from a severely skewed gender ratio, and had asked him for help?” She pondered over the implications of the Sphere while looking over the notes again, making sure to closely read over the script to fix any translations she mistakenly made. Finally, after a period of time, Luna came out of her washroom, steam rolling out from the door. Except she was still a he. “It would seem Starswirl meant for the artifact's power to last beyond conventional methods of cleaning magic…” Luna stated. He was still in the process of drying himself off from the shower, water trickling down the front of his chest, as massive in power and stature as a royal could sculpt themselves to be, his legs bulging with strong muscles that looked to be able to move mountains now… …Twilight not so subtly tried to slap away the blush rising to her face. Luna didn’t notice. Luna stepped over to the window again to see his reflection. “It would seem my mane has reverted to their original form, instead of the royal form,” she noted. Twilight realized that Luna’s hair was now a pale blue color, instead of showing a visage of the night sky that was a trademark for regal Luna. “Maybe it was the magic shampoo?” Twilight suggested. “Possibly, yes. But my mane stems from my power, perhaps…” Luna lit up his horn, and soon enough his mane started to glow dark blue. However, while the starry night did come back, it was not flowing as his sister’s mane would. “Hmph. Tis better than nothing, and slightly better than my regular mane,” Luna said. “What’s wrong with your regular mane? It looked nice on you,” Twilight replied. “It is not something you would need, even as an alicorn yourself. But as for us, we are the embodiment of the heavens, and we must show the appearance of being in tune with the night. Although, with my mane now being shorter, along with this form…” Luna sighed, “It would seem we may have to answer to Celestia to see if she can help us change back before any of our citizens see us-” “Luna! Twilight!” Just then, Princess Celestia slammed the door open and quickly trotted in, a worried expression plastered over all her features. “I heard an explosion in the palace, and the guards said it appeared to come from your quarters. They said they thought it was something of Twilight’s doing, but when you two didn’t answer the guards outside asking if you were okay, they went to tell me something may have went wrong. What in Equestria haaaaa….” Celestia, once she trotted up to the duo, finally fully gazed at Luna for the first time since she came into the room. After a second of silence, Twilight noticed that the Princess’s cheeks were steadily growing red, and her legs backed up. Celestia’s wings shot out, standing at attention for all to see.
2 – In Where There Is Fear and Some Name-Changes~ 2 ~ In Where There Is Fear and Some Name-Changes “Twilight, while I am fine with you performing experiments on your own, and with my… ‘sister’, no less, why did you not come to me when you found Starswirl’s Sphere?” Celestia wore a disappointed frown as she circled the now seated Twilight, who held her head low, and Luna, who continued to silently watch the exchange. “We didn’t think we needed to, or I didn’t, at least.” Twilight raised her head so that she may finish her thought while looking into her teacher’s eyes. An action that stopped as soon as her eyes fell upon Celestia’s tall, staring form, causing Twilight to lower her head once more. “I didn't think that you'd want us to do anything.” Luna saw above Twilight’s dejected form the split second of sadness that crossed Celestia’s face, before it faded away with a small sigh. Twilight could feel herself tremble as the all-powerful sun princess towered above her, making her feel small and inadequate, the guilt of her mistakes seemingly magnified. Her eyes tensed up when she saw the princess lowering down to her. In the coin slot that was Twilight’s vision, the ruler of all of Equestria no longer glared at her, but in fact had a mischevious glint in her eyes. “Twilight, you know that as long as you have good reasons, I always allow you to work on your projects. While you aren’t my student anymore, as your once teacher I still would like to see how you are continuing your studies, especially now that you have a student of your own.” Twilight let go a of a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. She took a few moments to compose herself before smiling at Celestia, thankful for her mentor’s understanding mentality. Celestia looked back at Luna, still expecting a short muzzle and a smaller body than the stallion sitting in front of the sun princess. “Let’s focus now on the problem. Luna, which sphere was it?” Luna let his eyes wander around while he mentally scratched his head for an answer. He payed a little too much attention on the details in his room being blue, dark, and a little too sparky for his tastes. In fact he had a thought that his room was a little too… ‘filly-like’. A short “ahem” from Celestia brought his mind back to the sphere. “Twas a blue sphere, not unlike a painted pearl, and it came with a manuscript in his writing for a new spell that we had not even heard of when he was alive, much less now.” “Blue sphere, new spell… oh dear,” Celestia suddenly realized. She stood and paced around the chamber, mumbling to herself, and the only word the duo could hear was “Starswirl”. Celestia finally stopped and looked at Luna. “That must have been an incomplete project, I believe. There were several he did not tell us, remember?” “So Twilight casted a spell that wasn’t even fully finished? Then what counterspell can be made?!” “Calm down, Luna,” Celestia ordered, the lunar prince looking with worried eyes at Twilight and his sister. “I’m sure that Twilight, in time, can figure out a counterspell based on how she casted the original spell. She is the brightest mind in magic save us, if she worked on Starswirl’s spells once in order to ascend, she can develop a counterspell for another of Starswirl’s designs.” “Actually…” Twilight began with a sheepish smile, “the spell is in old Equiish, it might take me months to translate it from its source to work out the counterspell.” The three alicorns sat in silence as Twilight’s words rang incessantly within their imaginative minds, stirring images of Luna wearing outfits ranging from a knight to a rogue for Twilight, and for Celestia, a scene of Luna entering her chambers wearing tight fitting butler clothes played. Luna witness himself upon a stage with ponies looking up him with the moon glowing behind his back, like how he had always dreamed when his sister had stolen the spotlight in their youth. Only, he was stepping backwards with tears welling in his eyes as his stallion subjects laughed about checking under the sheets before asking for coffee, and the mares whistling at the tush that just fell off the stage. “We would be stuck in this form for… months?” Luna’s voice cracked at the end of his sentence that revealed fear that had broken it in the first place. “Um, yes…. Don’t worry, I will work with Starlight Glimmer to make sure we can make the counterspell as soon as possible!” Twilight tried to calm down an increasingly panicky Luna. “We do not want to be a stallion! What would our citizens think of us now as we aren’t the embodiment of night!” Luna whined. “Well…” Celestia suggested, “we can make your look work as a master of the night rather than a mistress.” She raised her horn and lit it blue for a few seconds, before it dissipated. Immediately, a unicorn with a blue mane and an expertly curled grey wig walked into the room with other ponies behind him, including another unicorn that held a red case with a white cross on it. “What in the...? Celestia, what have you-” Luna reeled back at the sudden onslaught of ponies suddenly descending around him. “Twilight, Luna, meet our royal fashion designer for events, so to speak,” Celestia elaborated. The black royal garb around Luna’s neck slid off harshly, Luna realizing it was chaffing on him. In the brief second he gaped, he felt a stick of wood reach into his mouth, the pony with the white cross suitcase using a tongue depressor to inspect his throat. “And he is our new royal physician, as our old physician has just retired a couple days ago.” “Argh ag ur?” Luna eloquently placed his question. Once the tongue depressor was out, he said again, “Why the physician now, sister?” “Tch, you’ve been through a magical body change. Who knows what else the change could have done to your body!” the physician scolded him. “Now stay still, you’re more skittish than a colt on his first check-up.” Luna obeyed, letting the designer take his measurements while the physician performed a check-up on the new prince. Then a rather unpleasant moment happened. One of the aspects of the check-up involved inspecting the undersides of the patient. Luna, however, was not expecting this. “WHAT IN BLAZES ARE THOU DOING!?” He yelped when he felt a hoof touching a very particular part of his body. “It’s standard procedure to check genitalia, your highness,” the physician bluntly stated. “You are not a mare anymore, but it seems you have an amply shaped pair for a stallion.” Luna looked down and indeed saw the “pair” the physician was talking about. He blushed heavily, making slight gagging sounds as if he couldn’t believe what he had seen. “Hmm…” the designer hummed while inspecting the measurements and taking notes. “Luna would not suit you as a name anymore, now that I think about it. What would be a colt’s name for a creature of the Night?” “A… name?” Luna finally spoke after his little episode, although his face was still beet red. “But tis only a temporary change!” “No matter, your highness. If you wish to still be seen as a ruler to be respected, you must choose a male name while you are seen in this form.” Now the designer had grabbed a sheet of paper and started quickly scribbling. “Oh, um…” Luna was at a loss for what name he wished to pick. He looked to Celestia for assistance. “Hmm… How about ‘Artemis’? I seem to recall a legend about another creature of the night with that name,” Celestia suggested. “Artemis… I suppose it is a sufficient name until we find the counterspell,” the newly-named Artemis accepted. “Well, Prince Artemis, I would like your opinion on this design for your new royal garb,” the designer said, before flipping the piece of paper in his grasp to show the prince his first sketches. Instead of a dark harness, the new garb featured a dark coat, with slight extensions on the wings, and the moon insignia was on the front of the coat, in generally the same area where it was on the harness before. Artemis briefly mentally pictured the coat on him, and he thought it would look rather nice on him as a more approachable royal then a royal to be feared. Perhaps they will appreciate a lunar stallion more than a lunar mare. Perhaps they may love Artemis more than Luna. Luna was Nightmare Moon, Artemis was… Luna who is now past her mistakes. “Well? Do you like it?” the designer asked. “Yes, but imaginations can be so attractive. Let us see what the coat may look like in reality before we dare to show our face to the citizens,” Artemis agreed, trying carefully not to sound too excited at the prospect of practically new clothes. “Then let us come to my quarters, where you can choose the exact color for the coat and the moon insignia,” the designer walked out of the room, with Artemis following behind him. “I’ll go with you Lu-, uh, Artemis. I can help with some of the measurements,” Twilight followed behind the prince of the night. Soon, all the ponies left the chamber, leaving only Celestia to stare in their direction. While she felt a little disheartened that Twilight didn’t think about her when she performed her experiment, she felt a little rush of excitement at the results. A prince of the land might be more welcomed in Equestria, especially by the mares. And, Celestia had to admit, the coat would look kinda cute on Artemis.
3 – In Where Arty Sees Himself~ 3 ~ In Where Arty Sees Himself The sun had reached its apex in the mountainous horizon by the time Artemis found himself standing in front of the mirror, wearing a faulty smile upon his muzzle. On one hoof, he looked rather stunning in his new royal items, the black coat looking more and more like an improvement over his former harness. Somewhere along the design he picked up a spare set of glasses and put them on. It gave him a scholarly disposition. On the other hoof… it felt as if the coat was there all along. That it was the royal garb before, even though Artemis knew the harness was there first. The memory whiplash taxed his mind, and he stood silently in front of the mirror, his eyes glazed and unmoving. This scared both the royal designer, and Twilight. “Um, your majesty…” the designer began, “Is the coat not suitable to your liking?” “What? Oh, um, no, I very much like it,” Artemis automatically replied. The lunar prince still stood unmoving, and unblinking. Artemis swore that for just a brief second, he saw Princess Luna in the mirror, wearing the original harness, and staring right back at him. “Is everything alright in there?” a muffled voice asked. All three ponies turned to see the door open and Princess Celestia walked in, with an unreadable smile on her muzzle. “Yes. I must admit it feels as if I am still in my harness, as if this coat always belonged to me. Tis like I am reunited with an object instead of having it gifted to me.” “Well that’s great,” Celestia said. “Then we can get started on the press conference.” All the other ponies in the room visibly blanched. “Pr… press conference!?” Twilight yelled. “The media is going to see my work so soon? But I think we may need some finishing touches!” the designer complained. “Bu…bu… bu…” Artemis tried to articulate his shock, but failed. Instead he spouted gibberish, clearly surprised that ponies were going to see him so soon. “We can’t have a press conference now! Why did you call for a press conference?!” Twilight asked. “It wasn’t my decision, they called for one. In the short walk between your chambers and this one, Artemis, some guards saw how you were decidedly a male and started rumors. Soon, those rumors reached the maids, then the head maid's, then some of the lingering nobility in the castle, and then their peers, and now the newspapers and magazines. Canterlot Express was the first to ask me questions, and wanted to publicly ask Artemis some questions.” Twilight was at a loss for how information could spread so fast in the castle. “But… but how? It’s only been a day since Luna was turned into Artemis!” “Rumors spread faster than fire, under the right circumstances. School fillies like you were would know that better than anypony,” Celestia answered. “Also, I am pretty sure some maids act as listeners for some tabloids, more or less.” “But… but you heard the royal designer, he still has to finish the design of the coat, and we cannot be seen without our regalia!” “Actually, it would only be some stitches in some areas, and not really noticeable stitches either…” the designer was silenced by a very angry glare from the lunar prince. “Come on then, Arty, you’ve had plenty of experience answering questions from the presses. Why are you so hesitant?” Celestia asked. “Ar, Arty?” Artemis pointed out the nickname Celestia just used for him. “Of course! I called you Lulu, now I call you ‘Arty’!” Celestia answered with an innocent smile. Arty glared at Celestia as she walked up to him, not so approving of the new nickname. Artemis never liked nicknames as they sounded demeaning, even if it was only with his sister. Celestia, once she stood up to him, faded the smile from her muzzle and now stared at him with another one of her unreadable expressions. “Lu-Artemis, you look g-good,” Celestia sputtered, “I mean, you look well. The coat suits you, and I’m sure no pony is going to criticize you simply because you don’t look like a mare anymore.” Celestia smiled, “You have nothing to worry about, sister.” Artemis looked down, conflicted about going out to the masses. All those ponies, staring at her/him, wondering if Artemis would act differently than their previous moon princess. Would they be angry? Would they laugh? Would they demand the prince be taken away until the real Luna came back, convinced that he was a copy of the Princess? All Artemis wanted to do right now was to just stay in the room and hide from the scary ponies like a filly from her monsters. Except… she wasn’t a filly anymore. She was a mare. Or, a stallion, at least. Stallions aren’t supposed to be scared, they’re supposed to face the problem head-on. Sometimes even literally head-on, bashing in being their solution. She is now the Prince, and He will be the new master of the night. Artemis drew out a long breath and looked at Celestia with a somewhat hesitant smile. “Very well then. If our subjects wish to know their new ruler of the night, even if it is only a temporary change, then we shall not keep them waiting.” Celestia put her hoof around Artemis’s neck. “And that’s the sister I know. I’ll be there if some of the mares do get a little rough, don’t worry.” “Mares? Getting rough?” Artemis asked. “Oh! Um…” Celestia slightly recoiled. “You… do… well look.” Celestia directed Artemis’s attention to the mirror. “Take it from me, Arty. You do look stunning as a stallion. Nice touch with the glasses too.” “Yeah! I mean, who wouldn't like you?” Twilight added, getting as excited as Celestia about Artemis’s first time out with the public, albeit being a bit forced into the situation. “Speaking as a stallion, I certainly would bow to you, Prince Artemis,” the royal designer nodded. Again, Artemis found himself staring at the mirror. While he did notice before how handsome he looked, he didn’t fully realize it until now. He was dreamy. Luna was the warrior princess in earlier times, and now that translated to a body worthy of commanding respect among troops, but yet still toned so as not to be intimidating in any social gathering. His mane was kept short, but yet the starry blue made him seem a bit ethereal, a stallion that all the younger mares dreamed about for their romantic nights.The glasses, while not really useful because Artemis never had a problem with his eyesight, still provided a sort of wisdom and learned experience to his character, a trait that might lead students to “ask to visit their personal library”. All in all, Luna would totally fall in love with Artemis. A brief thought entered his mind that he may be entering some levels of narcissism that shouldn't be known if he keeps thinking about himself this way. He turned back to Celestia. “Very well, then. When shall the conference take place?” “It should be about…” Celestia looked around in the room for a clock. She raised her brow, however, when she couldn't spot one immediately on the wall. She quickly paced around the room, looking for any sort of timekeeping mechanism. There wasn't one. “You… you don't have a clock here?” Celestia asked the designer. “No, I do not. When I am in need, I shall work immediately, and not stop or rest even when the sun is up or down!” the designer said proudly, holding his head up high. All three princesses looked at the designer like he was some crazed stallion, with Twilight looking the most shocked. “How do you… how do you even know when to go out to eat or to even sleep?” she asked, scared of any answer the stallion might give. “Oh, I um… I don't really go out to eat, I have a little stove over in the other room,” the designer pointed over at another door on a side wall next to the entrance, “and I stay in my quarters for most of the day. I don't sleep until my work is completely finished.” Twilight deadpanned. “You… seriously have to get out more. Especially in this castle.” “Now, now,” Celestia interrupted with a chuckle, “Is the pot calling the kettle black here, my former student?” “Dah, uh,” Twilight sputtered, “Well he should take it from me then! Don't waste your life just doing one thing in one place.” “Enough,” Artemis firmly spoke. “It is around a quarter to the hour of two, sister. We would guess the conference will be at the hour then?” “A quarter to two? How do you even…?” Celestia asked, surprised that Arty even knew the exact time like that. “We looked at the sun outside. Really sister, you have been on this world for how many years and still don't understand the passage of time from your sun?” Artemis lightly scolded. “I uh… we’re stalling!” Celestia spoke out, trying to avoid the question with a lot of eagerness. “We need to go, we need to go, yes it was at six, we need to go now!” Celestia trotted to Artemis's posterior to lay a hoof upon the firm rump, causing the mare to tilt her head slightly as a small innocent grin adored her muzzle. In what Artemis would later consider a pat on her behind that Celestia would defend as a push, the stallion legs lagged behind him as he they were forced to pick up along with the rest of his frame out the door. Twilight quickly followed them, although her eyes were staring through the window at the groups of ponies gathering just outside the castle. Flashes of cameras going off prematurely as notepads flipped open to record this single event for all of history. A stutter; a pause that lasted a second to long; a wrong answer to a question that everypony in Equestria was worrying about… Twilight glanced back at the two sisters, now one brother, who trotted next to one-another. While the sister looked over the brother with a soft smile, the stallion himself kept his eyes straight on what awaited him. Even if he held an expression that was unsure of itself, his legs did not falter as he pressed into the next pair of doors. She followed after the two royals, a dire expression on her face as she worried about the outcome, even though Celestia promised to Artemis that she wouldn't let anything happen to him. The designer stayed in the room, slumped in a sitting position and looking down with a sad frown. “But… but I don't like getting out of the castle,” he mumbled to nopony in particular.
