Inside one of the Castle of Friendship's many libraries, Twilight was busying herself by going through the catalog of her new customized holo-reader that Midnight gave her. She was awed by the sheer number of literary works that were stored within such a small device. From complete biographies of historical figures of Tellus to the myriads of fictional stories from countless authors of various races and origins.

"This is incredible, Spike! So much knowledge contained inside a device that's only the size of my hoof! I mean, look at this," Twilight did a swiping motion with her hoof upwards at the projected rectangular screen, "'The Life and Times of Madame Chrysalis, Venerated Hero of Lingtopia', she's a hero in their world! And this one, 'The Adventures of Derpy: The Oncoming Storm', isn't she the mailmare? Oooh and this one, 'Beginner's Guide to Battlemace Lore, by Shining Armor, huh, so that's where he is. Still weird how he's not one of Midnight's siblings." she muttered.

Spike stopped reading his comic book to look at the excited princess, "Does it have Power Ponies there? I wonder what they're like."

Twilight continued swiping some more, "Hm... hold on, let me check the comics category."

Spike was about to add a comment when he burped out a scroll in a blaze of green fire. He caught it in his claws and read it.

Twilight stopped her scrolling for a moment, "What does it say, Spike?"

Spike looked back at his adoptive sister, "It's a letter from Celestia, she wants us to come to Canterlot for something important," he read the post-script at the bottom, "And she wants you to bring Midnight as well."

Twilight immediately shot up from her seated position, "Wait, like now?"

"Uh..." Spike read through the letter again, "Yeah, she wants you to-"

"Okay, Spike! We need to go! Come on!" Twilight said as she lifted Spike with her magic and rushed to the archives.

"Woah! Twilight, we don't need to rush. I'm sure she won't mind." Spike assured as he was floating next to the panicking alicorn.

"If Princess Celestia wants us to go now, then it must be for something really important. I just hope Midnight's not too deep in the archives. Even with Golden Feather's map, it can still get pretty confusing finding your way in there." Twilight said determinedly.

Twilight let Spike go as they both entered the Archives of The Forsaken Triumvirate, it had been decorated a lot more since the last time they visited. The base structures that held up the immense bookshelves now appeared more ornate, the platforms themselves were painted white and gold, making the entire room feel less industrial. The Nova Core itself is now contained within a large tube with cables connected to the thick plate-like base. The massive computer at the opposite side of the entrance was also sleeker in design, with its control panel's wiring and hardware encased in a gold-colored material. Coincidentally, it was being actively used by the alicorn both of them were looking for.

Twilight approached Midnight, who was using her pinions to type away on the computer's keyboard, "Um, Midnight? Could I have word with you?" she asked politely.

Midnight stopped her typing and turned around, "Hm? Ah, princess. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"We got a letter from Celestia asking for us to go to Canterlot. She said it's for something important." Twilight explained.

Midnight tilted her head, "Us? As in you, Mister Spike, and I? Truly?"

Twilight nodded, "Yes, and we're about to go there now. Better hurry or we'll need to catch a later train."

"The train?" Midnight remembered they still used steam locomotives here, "Why use such an... inefficient mode of transport when we can simply blip there?"

"Blip?" Twilight asked.

Midnight put a hoof to her chin, "Oh, right. I keep forgetting that I certain terminologies may not exist in Equestria. Blipping is a transportation spell that is usually used for emergency transport. It allows the caster to bring multiple beings or objects at once, and bypasses any and all forms of teleportation barriers. It does not possess the risks of teleportation, as it automatically places the individuals being transported on the nearest open space. The only drawback is that it requires a lot of energy to cast. Luckily, as a transcendent alicorn, I am able to cast such a spell without experiencing the drawbacks."

Twilight nodded, she wished she had brought a piece of parchment and a quill to write all of this down, "Alright, if you think it'll get us there faster."

Midnight lit her horn, the rings of magical fire around her eyes glowed brighter, "Very well. Princess Twilight, Mister Spike, please remain where you are as the spell is in progress. Our destination in Canterlot Castle, yes?"

"Yes. How is the spell going to work if you haven't been there before?" Twilight asked.

Midnight extended a wing and touched two primary feathers together to form a circle in front of her, "One does not simply decorate the heavens without a keen sense of direction."

Twilight raised an eyebrow, "Wha-"

In an instant, a whirlwind of cyan energy enveloped the three beings. As the twister of energy dissipated, the three were gone, as if they were never there in the first place.

"Are you certain about this, sister?" Luna asked as she and Celestia were waiting for their guests to arrive in the throne room.

Celestia nodded, "Very. I'm sure she'll be happy to know what we've planned for her."

"Hopefully the astronomers won't be hard to convince." Luna added, "They already caused so much commotion when I returned the concept of phases back to the moon. I would imagine adding more stars to the sky will cause them to be completely outraged."

"They may need to adapt first, yes. But after seeing those pictures she sent with her proposal, don't you think it'll all be worth it?" Celestia countered.

"I suppose. The one with the crescent moon was definitely a sight to behold. I wonder what those colorful clouds are?" Luna thought aloud.

Suddenly, a twister of cyan energy manifested right below the dais of the thrones. The sisters readied their horns in case of a magical attack or ambush, but soon dimmed them as they saw Twilight, Spike, and Midnight appear out of the maelstrom of magic.

"-t do you mean by... Huh?" Twilight muttered as she saw her surroundings.

"That was fast." Spike commented.

Celestia and Luna smiled at their visitors, "Welcome, Twilight, Spike, Midnight. You gave us quite the scare just then."

Midnight bowed to the co-rulers, "Apologies, your highnesses. I did not mean to startle you."

Celestia waved a hoof, "It's fine, Midnight. You simply caught us off-guard, as we have not seen such a spell be used in quite some time."

Twilight raised a hoof "Princess, you said we needed to come here for something important?" she asked.

"Indeed, Twilight Sparkle. We have some matters to discuss with you regarding the Grand Galloping Gala as well as Midnight proposal." Luna answered.

Twilight turned to the transcendent alicorn, "Proposal?"

"That is a matter that we'd like to discuss with her privately. For now, come with me, Twilight, Spike, I would like to ask of you something." Celestia said as she led the young princess and dragon out of the throne room.

After the three exited, Midnight turned her gaze towards the lunar princess, "Why would we refrain from informing them? If I may ask."

Luna shook her head, "It's for the best. I believe you've stayed with Princess Twilight long enough to know how she may react to certain aspects of your world, especially ones as significant as this, considering it may reform many significant aspects of astronomy."

Midnight nodded, "Understood. You wish to discuss about my proposal of rebuilding the Star Forge, yes?"

"Yes. I will admit, we are rather curious as to how you 'forge' these stars of yours, and how the Star Forge works as well." Luna said.

"Then perhaps a demonstration is required?" Midnight asked.

Luna raised a hoof, "After Celestia is done speaking with Twilight and Spike. For now, I have a couple of questions myself. Mainly regarding your world, er, Tellus, was it?"

"Yes. The world I come from is called Tellus, and the nation I hail from is Skyros." Midnight informed.

"Right. You see, I am most curious about the Nightmare Moon of your world. You said she was your sister, and that I am her daughter. How does that... work exactly? As far as I am aware, Nightmare Moon was an alternate form I took during..." Luna trailed off, "Ahem, essentially, despite being separate entities, she is still technically a part of myself, the embodiment of my follies given physical form. Yet in Tellus, Nightmare Moon predated me, you told us she created the moon with the help your Starswirl, who is her and your brother. She has had me as her biological daughter for millennia and is likely married. Do you know how that could possibly happen?" she asked.

Midnight sighed and shook her head, "Unfortunately, I have no clue myself. The way our world differs from yours is fairly significant, as I have come to realize. Though I have done some research ever since I first came in contact with the world from beyond the mirror portal, it is still inconclusive. For now, I have simply learned to not question these differences too much, lest I lose my sanity trying to comprehend it."

The conversation was just about to continue when Celestia returned back into the throne room. She approached the two other alicorns as she closed the doors behind her.

Luna turned her gaze towards the returning princess, "Finished already, sister?"

Celestia nodded, "Yes. She seemed to be quite excited about it, I wouldn't be surprised to if she's making a checklist as we speak." she said with a slight chuckle.

"Now Midnight, I believe you were planning to demonstrate your abilities?" Luna asked the primordial being.

Midnight extended a wing to the side, "Yes. You might want to keep some distance, your highnesses."

The princesses nodded and took a few dozen steps back, "Is this enough?" Celestia asked.

"Yes." Midnight stated.

She began to channel energy through the leyline on her extended wing, the sheer amount of magic released a humming sound. Her primary feathers curled inwards as they started to glow and emanate cyan flames, and the surrounding air rose in temperature for every beat of flowing energy. The flames swirled from the tips of each feather and coalesced into a brightly glowing orb about the size of a pony's head. The surface flowed and rippled for a moment before settling down in a flash of bright light.

Midnight slowly let go of the cyan orb and settled it on the glowing sole of her shoe-clad hoof. The newly born star slowly spun on its axis as it occasionally released small flares.

She looked back up at the awestruck princesses with a content smile, "It is done, your highnesses. The forging of a star. It is contained, so that it would not blind, sear, or flood you with radiation. If I had access to my Star Forge, I would be able to augment the properties of this star so that it is able to store and/or produce magic as a way of maintaining the stability of all forms of magic throughout this realm. I would also be able to produce stars more efficiently with molecular cloud nurseries within the Forge."

The sisters approached the star with some apprehension, "May I touch it?" Luna asked as she extended a hoof.

"It would be... unwise for an ascended alicorn such as yourself to hold a star, your highness. It will drain you of every bit of magical energy within your very being to add more fuel for itself. As we speak, this star is constantly consuming my own magical energy. If I were not a transcendent alicorn, I would have dropped unconscious the moment I made contact with it." Midnight explained.

Luna immediately retracted her hoof, "I see..." she muttered.

Celestia continued to stare at the roiling orb, "This very impressive Midnight. But how do you send it into the sky?"

"A simple warp blast will send it through a wormhole and transport it to its designated location, where it would then be able to grow into its true size and shine among its brethren in the heavens." Midnight explained once more as she gestured a sweeping motion with a wing.

Celestia nodded, "So will you send this one on its way?" she asked while glancing at a window.

Midnight shook her head, "Unfortunately, this star does not have the necessary augmentations to persist in this realm's environment. I will have to discard it."

Luna raised an eyebrow, "Discard it? How does one discard a star?"

Midnight lit her horn, "With this."

Beside her, a spiral-patterned dark purple staff with an ornament that resembled Midnight's Mark of Destiny on its tip appeared. It was as tall as Midnight herself, and the metallic surface of the staff itself refracted light in a way that gave it chromatic highlights. Midnight grabbed it in her magic and tapped it once on the floor. A long, glowing, crescent-shaped cyan blade appeared from the side of the star ornament in a flash of light. The blade was about half as long as the staff itself, and the tip narrowed to a point so sharp it can cut through a molecule.

"This is The Harvester, a tool and weapon that I use to cull stars, " Midnight paused for a moment, "And as a weapon for my duties as a Guardian."

The co-rulers took a couple of steps back, hesitant about the presence of such an object so close to them.

"And how do you use it, exactly?" Celestia asked tentatively, eyes locked on the large scythe-like tool Midnight was twirling around.

Midnight simply threw the star upwards. As it reached its peak, she swiped the scythe's blade, leaving a rippling effect as it moved through the air. As it passed by, the star simply vanished, swallowed by the rippling effect the weapon left behind. As Midnight stopped the scythe's movement, the surrounding fabric of spacetime warped and tugged itself back together in a heavy thrumming noise. Celestia and Luna felt the air around them rush to fill in the True Void left by the scythe's blade.

Midnight tilted her scythe and tapped its blade, "It is capable of erasing spacetime from existence when activated and forces the fabric of reality to stitch itself back together at all costs, making nearby matter to rush into one location."

Celestia and Luna dropped their jaws at this revelation. A tool that can erase space and time as if they were pencil markings on paper, wielded by a pony who is capable of holding a star on the tip of her hoof, and possesses a near limitless amount of magic?

"Quite the... interesting tool, Midnight." Celestia cleared her throat and smiled, "Now, about your Star Forge. We have agreed to permit you to rebuild it." she said simply.

Midnight dematerialized the scythe, and her eyes widened, "Truly? You would allow such a structure to exist in your nation?"

Luna nodded, "Yes, Midnight. I will be honest; we are highly curious of what you will do when given free reign over the stars. The pictures you sent were beautiful, and we hope to see it with our own eyes in the future."

Midnight kneeled and extended her wings, "Thank you, your highnesses. You are very kind rulers indeed."

Celestia raised a hoof, "Please, Midnight. You don't need to kneel like that, we are all equals here, are we not?" she thought for a moment, "Well, I suppose you would be our superior. Right, auntie?" she said with a sly grin.

Midnight shot up from her position, "P-princess! You do not need to refer to me as such! They may share your name and visage, but they are clearly different beings. I do not have the right to hold any authority over you in this world."

Luna caught on and waved a wing, "Nonsense, you far surpass us in age and knowledge, do you not? And you are responsible for essentially creating an entire aspect of the world, the night sky itself. Such achievements should be enough to warrant at the very least some form of respect. Wouldn't you agree, auntie Midnight?" she said teasingly.

Midnight's magical optics flickered, "I-I mean... W-well... But surely-"

Celestia chuckled at the flustered primordial, "It's fine, Midnight. We were just doing a little bit of teasing. Still, I want you to understand that you don't need to be so formal with us. We want to be your friends, Midnight, and last time I checked, friends don't refer to each other with titles and kneel or bow to greet one another. Please, you may simply call us 'Celestia' and 'Luna'."

Midnight stayed quiet for a moment as she stared into the friendly gaze of the two princesses in front of her. Again with the humility! What is it with Equestria's royals and being so... friendly? If this was Skyros, the royals would have thrown a tantrum at the very concept of having their authority be dismissed, even from a being who did have a higher rank than them such as Midnight herself.

'Then perhaps... I should humor them.' she thought to herself.

Midnight slowly nodded with an unsure smile, "Very well. Celestia, Luna."

"What the heck is that?"

Midnight turned around to find the source of the voice that asked, she found Rainbow Dash hovering behind her with a confused expression. The alicorn herself was standing on a cloud that overlooked a towering snow-capped hill next to the Castle of Friendship. She had taken the fragmented pieces of her Star Forge out of hammerspace and put them back together right at the tip of said hill and is now trying to observe the assembled fragments from different points of view to find imperfections in the Forge's structure.

The Star Forge itself was floating above the peak of the chosen hill, a massive midnight-purple octahedron about the size of the Castle of Friendship. It spun on its axis slowly as it loomed over Ponyville. Despite its large size, it did not cast a shadow upon the surrounding area.

"It is my Star Forge, Rainbow Dash. I have been given permission by Celestia and Luna to rebuild and use it to continue my role as the Forger of Stars. Once I have made sure the systems are properly intact after being stored in hammerspace, I will begin the production of stars to decorate the heavens of this world." Midnight explained.

Rainbow scratched her head, "So wait, you actually like, make stars? I thought it was just some cool nickname or something."

Midnight nodded, "It is true. I do indeed forge stars out of my own magical energy and the natural elements that make up reality. I hope to make the night sky of Equestria not feel as desolate as it is now, and perhaps aid Luna as well as the Nyx in maintaining the realm of dreams. Stars that I create have the ability to ward off fear magic and Nightmare Forces."

Rainbow nodded, "Uh-huh, so you're gonna make more stars?"

"Yes, and I certainly hope you'll enjoy the sights I will manifest into reality." Midnight replied.

Rainbow turned her gaze back to the Forge before shrugging, "We'll see."

Author's Note

So! Nothing too exciting in this chapter, I'll admit. Just Midnight showing off along with Celestia and Luna trying to acquire Midnight's trust by allowing her to make more stars. Expect more attempts with the other Tellusians in the future!

It seems like the school won't be the only structure to use that hill.

For reference, The Harvester functions like The Hand from JoJo.

Next chapter: Cosmos throws Discord into a quasar?! <(Yeah, this is where it's supposed to be)

If you want to share ideas on how this story should go, consider commenting!

Corrections and criticisms are more than welcome, I can't improve without those now, can I?
Have a good existence!
:)

"Remembered forever, the land of Equestria"