Contentment.

That was the word.

The past few days had been filled with many positive emotions; joy, love, anticipation, glee, satisfaction...

But as he felt his mares sleeping around him, cuddled tight to him and each other, Lero felt, for the first time since this had started, content.

Lyra had been a rock, supporting everyone, but it filled his heart with joy to see how happy she was about what had happened, in the moments she let it show to him (she needed, after all, to seem not too eager). The problem wasn't solved, but Twilight was filled with new energy towards solving it, and no longer punished herself for her role in the events. And how unexpected Rarity had been - loving and caring, despite how distant they'd been before this all started.

But most of all... Rainbow was back. All of her. In their arms, in their hearts, and them in hers. He chuckled slightly, the four ponies pressing up to him tickling a memory of Dash... right before they left for Bramblewood, back when Dash had been the one wearing Rarity's mark.

“Well, Dash,” he murmured quietly, before kissing the sleeping pegasus on the forehead gently, “we lived up to your promise. The next time we were all under the same roof, I was the sandwich. It took a lot longer than expected, and with an extra ingredient, but I think it still counts.”

He watched her smile in her sleep. With that, he leaned back, and relaxed, able to fall into an untroubled slumber for quite some time.

* * *

Hot, steamy shower water cascaded down both their naked bodies.

Okay, maybe not. Lero thought to himself. However, the pony he was cuddled up with this time was definitely not the cyan-coated, rainbow-maned, winged one from the last time he had this dream. She was was much more distinctly lavender. Amusingly, Twilight still seemed to be dozing, cuddled up to him in the same pose she was in bed.

“Heh, nice of you to join me in the shower, Twilight,” he said, stroking her wet mane gently.

“Nnnnf.” She rubbed her head with her hoof, eyes opening blearily as she peered about, as if genuinely awakening. “Weird. None of my dreams ever looked like this before.”

“Your dreams?” Lero inquired, amused. “What makes you think this is your dream?”

“...Because I'm dreaming.” She and Lero stared at each for a moment, before Twilight went, “Alright, who should pinch themselves first?”

They both heard the noise of a throat clearing. “Mayhap I can offer insight into your situation.”

Both their heads jerked up, eyes wide. Lero immediately recognized the figure.

“Princess LunaAAAA!” Twilight's exclamation of surprise shifted to alarm as Lero unexpectedly grabbed her and pulled her into his lap.

“Greeting, Princess Luna. How can we help you?” Lero asked politely, still making every effort to hide his lower body behind Twilight.

Luna raised an eyebrow. “I was expecting some surprise stemming from my sudden appearance, but...”

“It’s Lero, Princess. Remember; he has a nudity taboo.”

“Ah! His nudity taboo... yes, yes, of course. So much like the Saddle Arabians, in fact!"

"I wouldn't know," said Lero, but Luna hadn't seemed to have heard him.

"How rude of me to be dressed more than my host. Forgive me, Sir Michaelides." With a smooth motion, the Royal Attire clattered to the ground. "Better?" the princess asked.

"No, Princess, it..." started Twilight.

"...It'll be fine," Lero cut her off. Twilight looked quizzically back at Lero.

"But Lero..."

"Luna's a friend. Besides, I'm not going to needlessly correct one of the two alicorns I can look in the face without breaking out into a cold sweat," he whispered back. "Just... stay in front of me, okay?"

She nodded, and with that, looked over to Luna. “Forgive me, Princess. To what do we owe the, ah, visit?”

“My apologies for offering no warning, but my sister was convinced to provide you with a particular piece of information about… well, ourselves, that mayhap could provide some added insight into your current situation.”

“Er. Not that I’m not grateful, but why now?” Twilight asked. “And why here?”

“Because the information I am about to reveal is an Equestrian state secret. We ask, and in this case, must command, your discretion in this matter, of course. As for ‘why now,’ it is only of extremely late that my sister was… convinced to reveal this information to you.”

"Convinced?” Twilight paused. “...By whom?”

“By your dam, Twilight.”

“Ah,” she said flatly. “Of course. Made a gigantic scene, I bet.”

“I was not present, but I have heard that she perturbed a few of the guards. Beyond that, the matter was private.”

“Well, that’s a small relief. Wait, she convinced Celestia…? Wouldn’t you need to be convinced, too?”

“Actually, Twilight… I favored entrusting you with this knowledge from the start, but in matters this sensitive, both of us must grant our approval.”

“I… Why?” Twilight asked plaintively.

“Why would I trust you… more than your own mentor trusts you, Twilight?”

“Yes.”

“...Do not think uncharitably of my sister, Twilight. It is not an issue of not trusting you, it is a question of protecting her people. This day is no longer a time where we face mighty evils in battle, and our people follow behind us simply that they might survive. Now many ponies put their own interests over the wellbeing of our nation. I have learned that peace can be more treacherous than the more overt perils of war. I have… ever been the risk-taker compared to Celestia. And… Twilight, you saved me from my madness, and returned me to my beloved sister. I am… biased in your favor, perhaps on a deeper level than my sister.”

“...I… Thank you, Princess Luna.”

Lero cleared his throat. “Forgive me for asking but… Why am I here? Especially in regards to state secrets?”

Luna turned towards him. “The entire reason for the Exemption List was that there be those who could understand and aid Twilight in her efforts.”

Lero thought a moment. “I get it. In other words, when Twilight wakes up from this, tomorrow morning, I’ll be able to say, ‘It wasn’t just some meaningless dream. I saw it all too, so you'd better take it seriously.”

Luna nodded. “We would've included more on the Exemption List, but it was imperative to limit the number involved and… my sister wanted to give you a show of trust, Lero.”

Lero paused. “...She’s still trying to get me to forgive her, isn’t she? I already have.”

“She believes that you think that. But then you quake when she draws near.”

Lero sighed. “I can’t help that.”

“She knows. But is it not in her nature to stop. She is the Sun,” she said, as if that explained everything. “But as for why you are here? There is scarcely a place more resistant to eavesdropping than a dreamscape called into existence by my power.”

“...You called into existence? This was my drea... Were you spying on me?” Lero sputtered, though there was very little anger, more bafflement and surprise.

“It… is not my intent to spy. I am Princess of the Night; it is my duty to ensure the wellbeing of my subjects as they dream. As Celestia extended citizenship to you, my responsibility extended to your dreams as well. And you have proven yourself a conundrum most interesting, Lero.”

“How so?”

“You… do not dream like ponies. I cannot step into your dreams as easily I can a pony’s, and when I do, you always seem to notice that I am there — but you interact with and remember me as you would any other element of your dream. That is, doing as you wish, and most poorly, respectively. Ponies never see me unless I wish it, and always remember when I address them... after all, what would be the point of speaking to them in dreams of which they remember naught?”

“So… what’s that have to do with ‘dreamscapes?’”

“A compromise. I find that should I pull your dreams into my dream realm, I can interact with them as I would a pony’s.”

“Is that why I’ve been having these… vivid dreams lately?”

“Mayhap. I believe to your mind they seem as though real experiences instead of dreams.” She paused, as if to say more, but unsure if she should.

Lero, however, alleviated the need to. “...Were you trying to tell me something in those dreams, Princess?”

“...It was my effort to provide advice and guidance, yes. I knew how fraught with peril this was for you here, and I wanted to provide assistance without tipping my hoof too much.”

A moment of silence passed between them before Twilight cut in. “So! What are you going to show us?” Lero smiled slightly. She couldn’t hold down her urge to learn for long.

“I am going to reveal to you the story of the first swap.”

“I… first swap? So this did happen before! Just like we theorized, remember, Lero?”

“Not quite in the same way, but yes… Though with far worse consequences. There were reasons we took the precautions we did this time around.”

“But how could you let this even happen a second time!?” Lero interjected. “If you knew how dangerous the spell was, how could you sit back and let Twilight cast it!?”

“Because, Bellerophon,” Luna responded, with a notable firmness in her voice, “My sister has given us sufficient evidence to convince us that one day the fate of Equestria may depend on Twilight finishing that spell. We did not agree to this lightly, but once convinced, we did not ‘sit back.’ This is as much on our head as it is our sister’s.” She sighed. “But knowest that we take no joy in your suffering. It pains our hearts to see you all in such a state — especially mine, as you will see why…”

Luna shifted back dramatically, spreading her wings, the dreamscape shifting around them. “The tale begins shortly after Celestia and I had obtained the Elements of Harmony…”

* * *

The three dream-travelers found themselves in a strange terrain, one that was familiar to Twilight and Luna; to Lero, it was simply bizarre. The ground was a purple checkerboard pattern. Card houses rose to the height of palaces.

“...Where the hell is this? Wackyland?” Lero commented, as a school of cuttlefish swam upside-down through the air nearby.

“Discord,” Twilight said, with a pointed stare at the cotton candy clouds overhead. “This must be one of the times he ruled…”

“Indeed. The first, in fact.” Luna added. “Such a long, long time ago, it was...”

“I feel like Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol,” Lero said, shifting a little closer behind Twilight. “If only I had his pajamas on me.”

However, before the Moon Princess could inquire into the human’s strange reference, the voices of three newcomers caught their attention.

“Hark! There he rests, atop yonder hill!” called a masculine voice.

“Knave and beast! He sits atop a throne, instead of hiding his face in shame at the chaos he hath wrought!”

“‘Tis the King of Chaos, himself, sister. Not a whit cares he for shame. Even such an unnatural sight as this is pleasing to him.”

“Wait!” cried Twilight, as they all turned around towards the trio of ponies who had spoken. “Luna, that’s Princess Celestia! And you!” They watched the Moon Princess nod at her past self. “And...!”

“Starswirl the Bearded!” Twilight and Lero chorused the name, but with vastly differing tones. Luna briefly boggled to hear such intense admiration from her and such deep contempt from him, spoken in tandem.

It was impossible for Lero or Twilight to mistake this unicorn stallion for anyone else. They knew his face well from illustrations in the many history books Twilight had pored through: wizardly robes, a long, flowing beard, and a belled pointy hat that jingled with each step.

However, before Luna’s two guests could further their exclamations, she continued her role as guide. “Indeed it is. I have brought you to witness a momentous event of the far past: the day I confronted Discord and ended his mad reign alongside my sister.”

The Alicorn Princesses and Starswirl the Bearded stood yards away from an enormous throne. Though it faced the opposite direction, Lero could see a distinct horn and antler visible over the top of the throne. Just when it seemed they would approach Discord as a trio, Starswirl came to a resolute stop.

“Take courage, goodly Sisters,” Starswirl told the young alicorns. “I’ve versed the both of ye in my strongest magics. But alas, here I must remain: I cannot go with ye.”

“Coward,” Twilight heard Lero hiss behind her.

“I fear I would be naught but a target for Discord’s fell hexes and be made into a lever fer him to use against ye,” Starswirl went on. “Trust in yourselves. Trust the Magic of Harmony. Gird your hearts against any fell lies and half-truths yon beast might sayeth to corrupt thy spirits. Never lose sight of your task. Were this Emperor of Chaos to realize how dire a threat the Elements are unto him… methinks we would likely never have another chance.”

“Verily, we shall triumph, teacher,” spoke Celestia. “And all thanks to thee.”

The two Princesses pressed their faces against him in a close nuzzle, one that Lero himself recognized as one that ponies gave to those that they were close to. Much to the human’s surprise, he noted Starswirl seeming discomforted and embarrassed by this show of closeness.

Finally, it seemed like too much for the unicorn to take. “Enough!” declared Starswirl, stepping back and ducking his head down. “Off with ye! Discord shan’t be smited if you both dawdle the day away with an old stallion.”

The young alicorns looked disappointed, but nodded, turning to stalk towards Discord, who sat on his distant throne.

“Old stallion? He barely looks out of his thirties here!” Twilight protested as she, Lero, and Luna followed behind the sisters, who approached their foe at a slow gait. Lero took a second to sneer coldly at the wizard lingering behind, sitting out the final battle.

“And yet, history tells of Starswirl’s many deeds from before the unification of the three pony tribes, does it not, Twilight Sparkle?” Luna commented idly.

Twilight blinked, that obvious fact clicking with her. “Hey, yeah, how is that possible...?”

“In good time,” Luna replied.

“...Wait, where are your cutie marks?” Lero suddenly exclaimed, focusing on the sisters’ bare flanks.

“There was an earlier battle where Celestia and I attempted to end Discord’s reign simply by overpowering him with our Alicorn might,” explained Princess Luna. “He spared our lives but stripped our cutie marks from us to remove our special talents, in hopes that such would end our efforts against him. And to amuse him greatly, as is his wont.” Suddenly, she motioned for silence, as the sisters drew near the chaotic throne.

The high-backed horned throne suddenly spun about to face the sisters, revealing the beast himself, Discord, in all his mismatched glory… laughing at the alicorns.

“Oh ho ho ho! This is so much fun! How about a game of pin the tail on the pony?” He taunted, holding up a certain familiar pastel rainbow of an astral tail.

Alarmed, Celestia gasped, looking back at her doubly-defiled rear, before glaring back at the creature. “This will be an end to thy games, Discord!”

“Oh, I doubt that,” he responded with a careless shrug. The draconequus was snacking on some black pellets from a bag he’d procured somewhere, letting out a brief shudder of delight as he swallowed one. Then he offered a handful of the pellets to the princesses in a grand gesture, clumsily scattering them everywhere as he did. “Hungry?”

The princesses did not respond; they simply glared at him stoically as a few stray pellets bounced off their heads.

“Suit yourselves.” He shrugged, hungrily, messily, and obnoxiously devouring them like popcorn.

Wordlessly, the princesses used their telekinesis to undo their saddlebags, each levitating three gems each out. Celestia’s gems were colored orange, red, and a spiked lavender. Luna’s were blue, purple and pink.

“Oooooh!” While spreading his arms in surprise, Discord carelessly dropped his bag of pellets, scattering its contents everywhere, especially the ground beneath their feet. ”What have you got there?” he asked, rubbing his chin.

“The Elements of Harmony!” Celestia replied definitely.

“And their powers be thy end!” Luna added.

Discord collapsed sideways onto his throne, laughing uproariously, before finally regaining control over himself. “You should see yourselves right now. The expressions on your face. So intense. So sure of yourselves. Ah ha ha! Hilarious!”

He wiped his eye, sitting up, the Princesses aura’s expanding, the elements of harmony starting to whirl around them, starting to glow in power, not even flinching at his mockery. “You know, you two are taking this too seriously. You two really really need to relax, unwind a little… Oh, I know the perfect thing... a song!” He stood up, and cleared his throat, a bandstand forming behind him. Discorded ponies, living instruments, coherent vortices of noise, braying warped animals, and various chaotic bric-a-brac struck up a discordant tune, and the Lord of Chaos… began to sing.

And once again, you're facing me,
with horns all glowing bright,
except you know I'll swap them 'round
give you horns on your behinds!
You've tried before and so you know
there's only one way this can end
with you all humiliated
and sobbing for your friends!
You know it's right, but you come back,
to try your luck once more,
and beneath those scowling brows,
I think I know the score!
Why would you come face me again,
when you'll just end up dismayed?
The answer is quite obvious,
you're hoping you'll get laid!
So put aside the pretense, mares,
and hike those tails up high,
because Discord can take care of you
and that heat you feel inside!
And if you weren't feeling it
when you woke up today,
you might be wondering just why
right now you really want a lay!
I may have lent a helping hand
to help you defeat your prudery,
just gave you two relentless heat
for an entire century!

However, during his musical number, the magical aura surrounding the two sisters reached its peak, and as they touched their horns. A vibrant explosion of color — a rainbow of light — erupted from them, arcing through the air toward Discord.

"Gorge thyself upon the full might and fury of the unfettered spectrum, contestor of thine own sire's herd!" Luna exclaimed loudly. However, the target of her ire was completely absorbed in his song, holding the final note so long, he was caught in a pose of holding his chest with one hand while making a grand gesture with the other, head back, mouth open, eternally cast in song as he was rendered into stone.

Lero was the one to finally break the silence amongst the observers. “That… was a hell of a song.” He paused. “...Princess, did you just call Discord a motherfucker?”

The Princess of the Night blushed furiously. “I was much more… colorful with my language when I was younger.”

“I’m confused.” added Twilight. “Why is almost everyone speaking in Archaic Equestrian? That wasn’t the common language of the time.”

“Indeed, They are speaking in Old High Equestrian. I am translating for ease of understanding.”

“Then why the archaic forms of speech?” Twilight persisted.

She blushed against. “It is… the one I am the most comfortable with.”

“Y’know, I’m noticing a distinct lack of ‘thees’ and ‘thys’ in Discord’s speech patterns,” Lero interjected. “What gives?”

“He always spoke as such,” Luna said. “Yet we could always understand him. One of his many oddities.”

“...As weird as that is, is there a chance you can translate the rest of this back to Modern Equestrian?" the human asked. "Otherwise, it can a bit hard for us to follow this story you’re trying to tell.”

“I... shall try.” Luna said. Her horn glowed, and Twilight and Lero each felt alicorn magic buzz around their ears.

“Guys? Something’s happening.”

Lero was right. The distorted scenery was warping back from its insane checkerboard landscape back into a simple pony village. Chaos faded, harmony returned to the land, and most notably, stolen cutie marks and mystical powers radiated back to all ponies everywhere.

“Discord’s changes are undone.” Celestia declared. “Only the most ancient of his tricks, the ones that the Magic of Harmony incorporated into itself remained. Most notably, here...”

A Sun and Moon cutie mark swirled about the sisters, finally, the Moon settled on Celestia’s flank, and the Sun on Luna’s.

The dark Alicorn practically hopped with joy. “Tia! Tia! Our marks are back!”

“Indeed they are, Lumina,” agreed Celestia, with a fond look back at her cloudy crescent moon mark. “Come, let us return to Starswirl, there is a victory to be celebrated!”

With a cheer, the Sun-flanked Luna followed her Moon-flanked elder sister back in the direction where their bearded mentor awaited them.

There was a long silence between the dreamwatchers. It was finally Twilight that spoke up.

“WHAT. THE. FUCK!?”

* * *

Lero’s face was an unemotional, stony mask.

Mostly because he was trying really hard not to laugh at Twilight’s complete over-the-top reaction. She’d been sputtering incoherently for the past several minutes, sentences shattered to fragments as they each fought to come out her mouth. Luna likewise simply waited patiently for Twilight to stop.

Lero leaned over to Luna, and murmured in her ear, “You just picked that moment for the most dramatic possible reveal, didn’t you?”

Luna just smiled, as it looked like Twilight was finally winding down.

“But — History, and the — Books! Every historical document ever… Sun and Moon — The swap! But how!? Couldn’t have — what did — Discord’s? But when… HUNH!?”

“Do you wish to let me explain?” Luna commented, not quite managing to hide all of her amusement.

Twilight was speechless for several moments, before inhaling deeply, collecting herself, exhaling, and nodding. “Yes, Your Majesty, I would love an explanation.”

“By now, you have probably deduced the simplest explanation. That I was once the Goddess of the Sun, and my sister, the Moon… and when Starswirl’s unfinished spell was first cast, we were its first victims.”

“But… how is that possible?”

“That question will be the focus of the next part of my story.”

And she led them away, the scene melting away into a wash of dreamscapes. From there, Lero and Twilight witnessed centuries of Equestrian history fast-forward alongside them as they walked behind Luna.

The Moon Princess was not without a sense of good theatrics. Every so often, the onrush of time would slow down to showcase landmark moments in pony history; the three pony tribes uniting under the Princesses, the construction of the Two Sisters’ Castle in the then-tame Everfree forest, the spread of Equestrian civilization, and contact with other races: most peaceful, but in some cases (most notably the griffons) not.

Lero kept having to nudge Twilight forward to keep her from staring at these in wonder as they passed.

Ponies came and went as the three dreamwalkers marched on. But one figure remained, ageless and constant as the Alicorn princesses... until near the end. This was Starswirl the Bearded, royal advisor and court mage.

“Wow... I never thought I’d see this myself…” Twilight commented. “I remember reading about Starswirl’s time as Court Mage. What was he like?”

Luna’s horn shone. The view shifted from a surge through time, to a collage of moments from Starswirl The Bearded’s life.

Scenes of Starswirl consulting the princesses. Scenes of him teaching unicorns. Scenes of him aiding the kingdom with powerful spells. And several scenes of him spending time with the Princesses.

Twilight could not quite overlook how darkly Lero glowered at each new appearance of Starswirl, baring his teeth.

Usually, Starswirl appeared embarrassed whenever the princesses openly showed him tenderness, cringing or blushing noticeably whenever they nuzzled him, hugged him, or — heaven forbid — kissed him on the cheek.

“You stonehearted, loveless block of ice…” Lero growled.

But though they weren’t as frequent, there were also moments where Starswirl’s guard was down, fully returning the princesses’ gestures of affection.

“Peh,” the human huffed.

“Starswirl was wise, skilled, powerful... the best advisor we ever had,” Luna told them. “This is not to cast aspersions on the fine ponies who took on the mantle of Court Mage after his passing. There was simply none like him. And Starswirl was… a friend. To my sister and I, at least. However, with everypony else, his gruff, aloof nature… well…”

A montage of scenes formed before the dreamwalkers, each showing the moon-flanked Celestia attempting to speak with Starswirl.

“My dear teacher,” she spoke, as they the two of them strolling together through a rose garden. “You don’t suppose that the company of other ponies may aid you in your studies?”

“Nonsense, Celestia,” answered Starswirl. “Others would only get in the way of my work.”

“Starswirl, hear this,” Celestia said at a later point in time, peeking into the stallion’s room as he studied. “Bluebell is hosting the most lively...”

“Leave me be!”

“Starswirl, this is a royal proclamation,” Celestia warned, while the bell-hatted stallion channeled a spell in an elaborate chalk circle. “As Princess of the Moon, I hereby order you to go out there and make some friends.”

“No.”

“...Not so much,” concluded Princess Luna.

“...Reminds me a bit of myself when I was in Canterlot… Who had time for friends? I… I’m not sure how to feel about what I just saw.” Twilight shook her head. “So... yeah. How is he doing that? You and Princess Celestia are ageless, but… How is he not getting older?”

“If you look closely... he is. Just at a snail’s pace.”

She summoned up an image of an elderly-looking Starswirl; Lero placed him at about ninety years old. “You should be able to figure this out yourself, Twilight. What was one of Starswirl’s specialties?”

“...Time magic.”

“Indeed.”

As they watched, the ninety-year old Starswirl cast a spell... and became young again! About thirty-five years young, Lero estimated.

Then time flashed forward for Starswirl, returning him to the age of ninety. But the old wizard just cast the youthening spell again, and he fell to the age of thirty-six.

Then fifty-four years passed in a few seconds. Old Starswirl cast his youth spell, and was returned to a thirty-seven-year-old.

Then fifty-three years passed in a blink, until Old Starswirl recast the youth spell, becoming a thirty-eight-year-old…

...A forty-year-old…

…A fifty-year-old...

“It’s… not working as well each time?” Twilight inquired.

“Indeed. Time magic doesn’t reset your age, just pushes back the years.”

“...And each time, more years to push back,” Lero reasoned. “Eventually it would catch up to even as powerful a mage as Starswirl.”

“Yes,” said Luna. “And that was what led to all this.”

A new scene faded in from the darkness. The two princesses were walking alongside Starswirl down a castle corridor. Age was clearly wearing on him, and the princesses shared looks of concern with each shaky step their old teacher took.

“We… fear for your health, Starswirl. Perhaps it is time for you to retire? Live your last years in peace?” Celestia suggested. “Working as Court Mage is taking much power away from you that could be used to maintain your health.”

“Or perhaps we can offer our assistance?” the sun-flanked Lumina offered. “We may not be as versed in Time Magic as yourself, but you said yourself that Alicorn magic exceeds your own.”

“Nonsense! I would not take your power for myself, nor hold back in the service of my nation!” He paused, seeing the worried and slightly hurt expressions his monarchs wore. His expression softened. “Do no worry, my dears, I have been studying the Magic of Harmony, and I believe I have discovered a certain magic that will solve our problems. I am certain I am on the cusp of completing it.”

“Then we will assist you!” Lumina enthused.

“No. This is my magnum opus, the pinnacle of my mystical achievement. Truly, all after will pale in comparison. I must do it myself.”

“If it must be so, old friend, then do it. You have our support,” Celestia replied, her sun-flanked sister nodding eagerly.

The old stallion smiled. “Thank you, sisters. I must take my leave.” They nodded, stopping as they reach the door to a tallest tower in the castle.

“Do you think he can do this, Tia? I… do not want to lose him. He is our oldest friend.” Lumina asked.

“As he is our friend, we must put our faith in him,” replied her moon-flanked older sister. “Come, Little Luna, it is time for you to set the sun, and for me to raise the moon.”

Nodding sadly, Lumina walked away with her sister.

"I'm sorry," Lero suddenly blurted out to Luna, staring at the alicorn sisters' cutie marks as he watched them go. "You say that you and Celestia were the first victims of the Swap, and I can believe that, but... are you sure that hasn't happened to you already?!"

"Quite sure," said Luna. "Does it looked like we've been swapped?"

"Well, with all due respect, Princess Luna... yes, it does," Twilight admitted. "Albeit, after achieving an equilibrium, like Rarity and Rainbow have. I mean, you look at Celestia, with all her bright, sunshiny colors, and, well, you wouldn't think she'd be suited to be in charge of the moon."

"And by the same token, I — with my mane and coat in such darker, nocturnal shades — make for an equally unlikely and unexpected Sun Princess, do I not?"

Bashfully, her two mortal companions nodded. Luna smiled, shrugged her royal shoulders, and looked back at her own cutie mark.

"Sometimes, there's a great cosmic irony to these sort of things. Believe me, you two were hardly the first to have that reaction to us. And you're just more used to seeing me and my sister as we are now. But come, now, why stand around talking when we can see what happened for ourselves?" spoke Luna, guiding the dreamwalkers with her, to show them a new point in time. Starswirl stood in a beautiful domed enclosure atop a tower.

“Whooooooa….” Twilight enthused, looking about. Magical equipment was everywhere, with chalkboards covered in arcane equations, mystical sigils glowing with power. “So this is Starswirl’s lab? I never dreamed I’d see it in person!”

“...That is what I think it is, isn’t it?” Lero said flatly, peering over Starswirl’s shoulder as the venerable old unicorn pored over a familiar black tome.

“That is, indeed, his last journal.” Luna replied, as he finished inscribing words on the final page.

“And... complete!” Starswirl said, walking over to a spell circle, placing the book on a stand before him.

Twilight’s ears flipped up in alarm. “Wait, he’s not about to do what I think he is?” She asked, horror tingeing her voice.

“Ruining everyone’s lives? Yeah, that’s what he does,” Lero said dryly. “Starswirl The Bearded: the author of all our woes.”

“That was never his intent,” Luna said flatly. However, before they could bicker further, Starswirl began his incantation.

“From one to another,
Another to one,
A mark of one’s destiny
Singled out alone, fulfilled.”

The power that built as he cast the spell released itself as he finished. He stood there expectantly, silently. The unseen watchers from the far future held their collective breath.

“...Nothing happened!?” Twilight exclaimed.

“Nothing happened?” echoed Starswirl, looking over his still-ancient body. “That’s not… Have I made a miscalculation? I was so sure…”

Suddenly, the shadows all around them lengthened noticeably, all light dimming. “...What?” Starswirl looked outward…

...and his eyes widened in alarm at what he saw. The sun in the heavens was still alight. But instead of a sphere, the great fireball had now taken the distinctly crescent shape of a waxing moon. The sky, itself, had turned the murky maroon of a late evening. Every star and constellation twinkled visibly.

“...No. No, no, no, no, no! This is wrong! How did this happen? Why would the Princesses... The Princesses!” Wheeling about, Starswirl charged downstairs, as fast as his tottery old legs would allow for, hat jingling all the way.

Lero and Twilight almost followed after, but Princess Luna had not budged. She stood silent and transfixed by the diminished glow of the crescent sun. It unsettled Lero to see her stare straight at it for so long.

“...Princess Luna? Are we going to follow him?” Twilight asked.

“Yes, just… give me a moment. No need to hurry, we’ll catch up. It’s just this… this moment heralds the beginning of the very worst part of my life.”

“I… Oh.” With that, Twilight fell silent. After several awkward moments, Luna finally straightened up.

“Let’s go.” And under the star-strewn sky of early afternoon, they went.

* * *

Starswirl raced past the high balcony of the castle, only to pause, and backtrack when he realized that a white-coated Alicorn sat there, her horn glowing with a golden hue as she finished bringing up the crescent sun. “There. I don’t know why that was so hard today…” she murmured.

“Princess!” Starswirl exclaimed, striding up to her. “What are you doing!?”

“Ah! Starswirl, finished so soon?” Starswirl started to speak, but interrupted himself as he did a double-take at the sun mark now nestled on her flank. “Or did you just miss me?” replied Celestia, impishly, noting his look, but misreading his meaning. Starswirl simply stared at her, startled at the subtle, serene moon goddess’ overt flirtations, more worthy of her sister.

“But… pray tell, what did you mean when you asked ‘what am I doing?’” she asked, bringing him back.

“The sky! The twilight taking place an hour after noon, the stars sharing the sky with a crescent sun!” he replied vehemently.

“Starswirl, what are you talking about? The stars are all right where they’re supposed to be at this time of day. It’s always been this way.”

There was a sharp intake of breath from the cross-temporal audience at that line.

Her expression shifted to concern. “Are you alright, my friend? Did something go wrong with your spell?”

“No! Well, yes, but that’s not why I’m asking this! The sun is supposed to be a complete sphere!”

Celestia frowned. “It will be a while before it comes time for a Full Sun phase, Starswirl.”

Starswirl tilted his head so far left, his hat fell right off his head, landing with a flat, dull noise. “What do you mean, ‘Full Sun phase?’ The sun’s supposed to be a round ball all the time! Not have phases!”

Celestia’s look of concern deepened considerably. "Of course the sun has phases. Don’t you remember, Starswirl? I just finished my latest Third Quarter Sun, but that’s now done with, so I just switched the sun to a Waning Crescent. No different than I’ve always done since time out of mind.” She paused for a beat. “Well, except for right now, yes?” she replied, jovially, but frowned again as the only response she got was a disbelieving stare.

She pointed her horn towards the sun in the sky.

“Then, a few days from now, I’ll be making the sun vanish from sight, because it’ll be a New Sun phase..."

Starswirl the Bearded gave her such a look of utter horror, it was as though she declared she’d be extinguishing the sun entirely in a few days’ time. So she was quick to assure him, “But I'll bring it right back for its Waxing Crescent phase. Next will come the Third Quarter Sun, then the Waxing Gibbous Sun, and then a nice round Full Sun that you’re suddenly so anxious for. All I ask is a little bit of patience on your part.”

“Why… Why would you do that? Why would you hide the sun?”

“Because…” Celestia trailed off, suddenly staring blankly for a few seconds.

“...Princess…?” Starswirl ventured, concerned.

“Because otherwise it’d get far too hot for my little ponies!” she concluded, as if the interruption never occurred. “Why, could you imagine? Living day after day under a Full Sun? This world would dry up into one giant desert in no time! It’s plain for anypony to see that the sun needs to be given in carefully measured doses.”

“...But what of the plants and the animals? How will they cope with this change? We depend upon our crops for our survival!”

Princess Celestia furrowed her brow in confusion at the question. “They will thrive as they always do. What change are talking about, Starswirl? You’re suddenly asking strange questions about commonly known things. Are you... absolutely certain nothing is wrong with your memories?” Her look of concern was absolutely genuine, taking Starswirl even further aback. How could this be real?

It was then he spotted a large, dark figure walking down an adjoining hall. “...Never mind!” He turned and headed after the younger alicorn, leaving the confused Celestia. When out of earshot, he hissed, “Princess Lumina, wait!” to the retreating Sun Goddess.

Moon Goddess, now. He mentally amended, spotting the crescent mark on Lumina’s flank. However, the Princess failed to respond, neither speeding up to flee, nor slowing down to accommodate him. This did not put her out of reach, but the elderly mage had to struggle to catch up. “Lumina!” he hissed again. No response.

“I… Have to ask, Princess… 'Lumina?'” Twilight Sparkle looked questioningly to her princess.

“Lumina… was my name.” She smiled slightly. “Well, one of them.” She looked up and to the side, remembering. “Celestia of the of the Night Sky, Lumina of the Sunny Day... that's who we used to be. But after this… Well, I am Luna of the Moon, now and forevermore.”

“I… see.” Twilight replied before a more strident call distracted her.

“LUMINA!” Starswirl barked at he reached her side. She still failed to respond, her gaze blank, her actions measured, mechanical. “...Princess, what is wrong with you? Can you hear me? Princess!”

Silence.

“...Where are we going?” he mused to himself, as they started to climb a tower side-by-side, the Princess still unresponsive. After several more twists and turns, he realized where they were going. “...These are Celestia’s chambers.”

Several slightly baffled guards watched Starswirl and Lumina pass, but did nothing to stop the Diarch or the Archmage from entering.

“Princess, what are you doing?” he asked, as she strode into the room, mechanically levitating her crown, shoes, and necklace off her body, and stowing them away in drawers. Then she stepped into the bed, pulling the covers over herself, and the zombie-like blankness in her eyes finally faded… as she promptly closed her eyes.

A moment passed, then she began to emit tiny, cute snores. Several moments of disbelieving stares later, Starswirl walked over to the bed.

“LUMINA!”

“GYAH! IT WAS GLASS WHEN I GOT THERE!”

These exclamations resulted in several moments of confused blinking.

“Starswirl… What are you doing in my chambers?” the confused princess asked.

“...Lumina, these are Celestia’s chambers.” Starswirl was quickly getting used to that stare. The one adults usually reserved for small children who said something incredibly insightful but staggeringly rude, or for the mentally disturbed ranting nonsense, or for the person who just revealed that he had a second head.

“...Starswirl, that is patently absurd,” she said, stretching out in a yawn. “And why do you mangle my name so?”

“Mangle your name?”

“Yes, this ‘Lumina’ nonsense. It sounded like your tongue was swollen up like a...”

“...Lumina is your name.”

Luna righted herself, drawing to her full height. “Enough of this, Starswirl. If this is a joke, I do not understand it. I am Luna! Princess of the Night!”

That caused it to click. The hints that Celestia had dropped, laid bare here. “...You think you’re her.”

That rewarded him with another stare. This one blank. “...Beg pardon?”

He gazed at the Moon Mark upon the dark alicorn’s flank. “You think you are Celestia, Princess of the Night.”

“...I’m afraid I must submit it is you that are confused. Our sister Celestia has always been Princess of the Day.” She paused, vexation shifting to concern again. “Are you feeling well, Starswirl?”

This again. “I’m fine.” Starswirl mumbled, busily ruminating to himself. The spell was supposed to bring the elements together; perhaps they’d done so more literally than he intended… If so, convincing the Royal Sisters of the truth would require more than just chatter. “Forgive me for disturbing your sleep, Princess Lum- Luna. I must go.” With that, he quickly departed the room, leaving an utterly baffled Alicorn behind him.

“Get some rest, my friend!” she called after him. “You work far too hard!”

Then she drifted back to sleep.

Starswirl, meanwhile, chased down a scribe, who was staring, slack-jawed at the sky. “You, come with me. We have several letters to draft.”

At every window they passed, ponies stood gaping at the sun.

* * *

“Come.” Luna led her two companions away from the moment. “While much happens now, the most relevant scene happens later…”

As before, they crossed thousands of miles in a mere couple footsteps, over and over again. They witnessed panic seizing hold of earth pony serfs and nobles alike when they looked up towards the alien skies. Pegasi struggling to control the weather due to sudden temperature shifts. Unicorn sages burying themselves in fruitless research and theorizing. Griffons, Saddle Arabians, and Minotaurs in their respective lands, arguing amongst themselves about what the transformed sun might signify. Many petitioners, pony and foreign alike, from mobs of unwashed peasants to the wealthiest of aristocrats, demanding audience with the princesses, getting only polite confusion in response.

Twilight wasn’t able to contain her questions anymore. “How did you deal with all those petitioners? How long were you two like this? How did it affect your relations with other nations?”

Luna responded before she could go further. “We dealt with them as best we could. It was extremely confusing and upsetting being barraged by questions and demands that, to us, made no sense, but yet were delivered with such genuine fear and anger. However, as we were scions of the sky, all eventually bowed to our will. This… negatively impacted our relations with other nations. However, I was not around, in the long term to see how those resolved. Nor was the disruption long enough to prompt significant response at that time.”

"Did Starswirl hide his involvement in your change, or own up to what he did to other ponies?"

“Yes… and no. As you will see, he revealed his involvement to specific parties, those relevant to resolving the situation but let it spread no further — for the same reason Celestia chose to hide it from everyone else later. It would have been counterproductive for it to be made general knowledge. What was the phrase my sister used…?”

“A strict need-to-know basis?” the unicorn guessed.

“Yes, that was it. Thank you, Twilight Sparkle.”

“Heh. Cloak-and-dagger stuff.” Lero chuckled ruefully. “Funny how that stuff exists here, in a world of ponies.”

Twilight smirked at him, remembering his stories of conspiracy and scandal amongst his world’s governments. “I guess one more similarity between our worlds.”

“I suppose. Though oddly, your scandals are fewer… but more dire,” Lero replied, continuing to watch the chaos unfold.

Twilight paused at that, but as Lero seemed to have nothing further to say, she turned back to Luna. "Do you think ponies and everything else on this world could have eventually come to adapt to Solar Phases? Given time?"

She was thinking about how the Apple family had eventually come to adapt to a Pinkie Pie that bucked apples, how Rainbow Dash had eventually come to adapt to being a caretaker, and how she, herself, had adapted to a Rarity who was their herdmate...

Luna smiled at her sadly. “It was, ultimately, never a question of the ponies, or other people adapting. It was that of nature. Continued disruption of the natural cycle would have had cataclysmic effects on the plants, animals and weather of Equestria. It would end inevitably in disaster.”

“Oh…” Twilight responded, before shaking her head, returning to more immediately relevant queries. "Did you see yourself in each other's places in old family photos?"

Luna laughed. “There were no cameras when we were young. Much less photographs of us. Not that there were no depictions of us. After we ascended into royalty, there were many an illuminated folio, paintings, sculptures, and of course, you know of my sister’s fondness for stained-glass windows. Though we did not see ourselves as one another, we did always see the wrong cutie mark.”

"So you didn’t suddenly see yourself as the elder sister, Luna? And Celestia your younger?" asked Lero.

Though she smiled in good humor, Luna shook her head.

“Weird,” Lero mused. “Feels like it shouldn’t be that way. Like the Swap went and forgot some of its own rules.”

“You think so?” asked Twilight. “I disagree. To me, it makes perfect sense that the princesses would still remember the order of their birth.”

“Why?”

“Imagine Applejack and Apple Bloom swapped with each other,” Twilight proposed.

“Oh boy,” said Lero. Just the thought of it; an Applejack-sized Apple Bloom…

Twilight smiled. “Now, we’re all aware how the Swap likes to stretch believability to its limits, right?”

Lero nodded.

“Well, I could imagine Swapped Apple Bloom with AJ’s three-apple mark and hat. I could see her being a very adult-minded little girl who’s committed to farming and remembers being my friend and an Element of Harmony. And, on the flip side of the coin, I could picture Applejack as a child-minded blank flank mare who spends her free time with Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, trying to finally get her cutie mark.”

Twilight took a breath. “But I don’t care HOW brainwashed you are; no one’s going to buy that Apple Bloom was born before Applejack. Not even them!”

Lero grinned wryly. “Well, they could always say there was some kind of accident with a time machine and a prophylactic. Or that the Apples have a history of growth hormone disorders.”

Twilight snorted. “Please forgive my monkey, your majesty. He imagines he’s witty, at times.”

“Not at all, not at all!” Luna laughed. “But, yes, I knew I was the younger sister, though everything else was… misattributed. Whom did what, whose possessions belonged to whom, our taste in food, our hobbies, who was whose friend, our…”

"How many doomsday prophets came out of the woodwork over this?" Lero interjected.

Luna’s mouth quirked at that. “Quite a few. However, as I understand it, Celesta ensured the prophecies they spouted did not endure beyond this age. At least, not about anything regarding crescent suns. Enough. We are here.”

They now stood in the Council Chambers of the castle; and there was an audience.

* * *

While the room itself was unfamiliar, the layout wasn’t: It closely resembled the rarely-used audience chamber of the Equestrian Council; the council that saw to various tribe-specific issues, or conflicts arising between the tribes, as well as other minutia beneath the Princesses’ notice. In modern times, it was rarely used outside of brief, routine sessions, and was almost never full.

This time, there wasn’t an empty seat in the house.

“Princess.” Twilight was frowning, looking from face to face. “I don’t recognize any of these council members, and I’ve read up extensively on all the ones we’ve ever had!”

“Then I can only suppose their identities were lost in my sister’s zeal to purge this incident from the annals of history,” Luna commented.

She pointed to two important-looking pegasi, both wearing ceremonial armor. The larger was a muscular, yellow-pelted mare with notable scars and a blue mane, whose tail was conspicuously missing. Beside her was a smaller, thinner, but more animated white Pegasi with fiery red mane.

“Commander Sirocco, and her aide-de-camp, Private Pepperpot, representing the pegasi,” Luna informed her companions. “Lost her tail in a battle against griffins, as I recall.”

The alicorn’s foreleg shifted over to point to a far more regally-dressed white unicorn. A diadem was perched on this unicorn’s head, embedded with light, shimmering green gems that were a perfect match for her mane. She appeared quite elderly, but with brilliant eyes. Her gown and makeup did their best to give her a youthful appearance, but the age lines were beyond any hope of masking. Beside her sat a mage-robed companion, with sunken eyes standing out against her lavender fur.

“Princess Peridot and her advisor, Equinox, who was Starswirl’s final apprentice. Both representing the unicorns.”

And lastly, the princess pointed out a pair of earth ponies. Next to the crowned unicorn’s finery, the earth ponies looked hopelessly plain. Apart from the hat shaped like a pastry. The wearer of this hat was a large mare, truly fat. Caramel-brown fur stuck out from her barely-fitting uniform in places it was carelessly tucked. A caramel-brown mane peeked out from under her absurd hat. Beside her was a much skinnier mare, her fur a dull red and mane slate gray.

“And Chancellor Treacle Tart and her Secretary, Claypan, representing the Earth Ponies.”

Sirocco, Peridot, Treacle Tart and all their attendants and subordinates claimed every seat, looking expectantly up to the one who had summoned them here: Starswirl the Bearded.

“I’m surprised to see you being the one to call us to session, Starswirl,” observed Princess Peridot. “I believe this is the first time, isn’t it? Usually you’re too busy mouldering up in that ancient tower of yours… Instead of say, in a field, where you belong.”

Starswirl's expression barely changed at the taunt, though there was a fire in his eyes, like a warrior spotting his favorite opponent. "Oh, Princess Peridot," he noted, in the flattest tone they'd ever heard. "How awful to see you again. You're looking hideous, as always. I hope you've been in bad health since I saw you last.”

Twilight was stunned. “What…!? How could she talk to Starswirl like that!?”

“Well, he was never exactly a model of congeniality…” Lero noted.

But Princess Luna shook her head. “The Unicorn nobility… vacillated in its attitude toward Starswirl. Some celebrated his talent, his accomplishments, his incredible longevity, others felt it… inappropriate for a stallion to have his station and skill. Peridot is amongst the later.”

“Enough of this.” Sirocco snapped. “Peridot, the fact that Starswirl would see fit to summon you, in addition to the madness of the sky should impress upon even you how serious this is!”

“Hmmmph.” Peridot’s wrinkled face screwed up in annoyance with them both, but finally, she conceded to their point. “Very well. Proceed.”

“Thank you, Commander, Princess.” The archmage moved up to the podium, looked out over the crowd, and began. “First, I must remind you that every word spoken here is to be held in utmost confidence and can never leave this room. That said, it should be painfully obvious why I have called you all here. We only need to look at the sky. We only need to see our leaders’ confusion in regards to it... not mention the shifts in their behavior.”

“And their cutie marks!” spurted out Equinox.

“Yes, of course, of course,” said Starswirl.

“Hopefully, our esteemed court wizard was competent enough to have uncovered the source before bothering to drag us all here,” interrupted the rotund Earth Pony leader. “Something more substantial than more groundless guesswork… oops! I meant ‘working hypothesis!’ That’s what you highbrow horn-heads like to call it, right?”

Grinning, she waved a flabby, fleshy foreleg at both Starswirl and Equinox.

“Don’t worry, this meeting won’t keep you long from your sweets, Treacle. And yes, the source is already known: it was me. I, Starswirl the Bearded, am directly responsible for all this.”

The chambers immediately erupted in exclamations and accusations and various shouts of surprise and dismay.

“Treachery!” shouted one.

“This is what comes from allowing a stallion this much free rein!” cried Princess Peridot.

“You demon!”

“Chop his horn off!”

“Chop his horn off and send him to the gallows!”

“SILENCE!” Starswirl’s magically amplified voice echoed around the chambers, and caused the room to shake. His audience went still, with nothing to be heard but dust drifting down from the rafters.

”...I gotta remember that spell.” murmured Twilight.

“Before you continue on bellowing at me, no, it wasn’t intentional,” the old stallion told them. “This I vow, on all my honor.”

“In other words: ‘Please show mercy, everypony! This wasn’t high treason! Just a feeble old stallion’s porridge-brained idiocy!” jeered Treacle Tart.

“My spell wasn’t even designed to affect ponies, much less the Princesses!” the wizard retorted. “It was experimental magic. The alterations was an unforeseen side-effect due to Their Majesties being bonded with the Elements of Harmony.”

“Wait… are we to understand that you used experimental magic on the Elements of Harmony!?” Sirocco balked.

“Yes, I have!” thundered Starswirl, sidling towards the window. “Many times before! Not only with the Princesses’ permission, but on their explicit orders. They felt it hardly befits us to depend on a set of magical artifacts to defend ourselves, when there’s so much we don’t know about how they function.”

Curiously, Starswirl pulled aside a small corner of window curtain to peek outside; a momentary glance, then his full attention was back on his audience.

“Before now, altering the Elements in any way seemed beyond even my grasp. Thus, the possibility of affecting the Elements’ wielders by proxy was — I repeat — an entirely unforeseeable side effect. Now that the issue of blame is done with, let’s get on to the far more relevant issue of fixing the problem.”

The three leaders looked at Starswirl, then each other, and nodded. “Agreed,” Peridot responded, disgruntled. “But you’ve not heard the last on this.”

“I’ll happily submit to your slings and arrows, once this is over. Because if we do not act….”

His horn glowed, as he yanked the the curtain behind him, revealing the sky. A starless, lavender expanse unveiled before them; however, the thing that drew their eyes and collective gasps was the moon. Which was now quite a far cry from its familiar, calm, soft, silvery glow.

As with the sun, the moon had also gone through its share of recent changes. Whereas the sun now cycled through phases, the moon now remained its fullest and roundest each and every evening. It was with good cause that ponies now swore that the moon had robbed the sun of its glow.

Astronomers had calculated that the moon had grown fifty times brighter than it had ever been known to shine… for the first week after the princesses had mysteriously exchanged cutie marks. The second week, it was two hundred times brighter.

Thereafter, nights were no longer a time where darkness blanketed the heavens. Even a ‘Full Sun’ was a tragically dimmer source of light than the moon now was, often compared to a dark and smouldering ember. Ponies could actually now gaze upon the sun for as long as they pleased without any fear of ruining their eyes… not so with the moon, though!

Tired ponies who were ready for sleep when the hour was late were lucky if their homes had basements or cellars to move their beds into. Otherwise, it was often a question of ponies keeping their eyes squeezed shut against the flickering glare of moonlight. Or thicker curtains for their windows.

This, though… what they were all witnessing now was new. A new step downward into further madness.

“She’s set it aflame,” spoke Private Pepperpot. “All of it. The whole moon.”

If not for the sun, it would’ve been the single largest fireball any of them had ever known. High above, in the luminous depths of the bright azure night, the whole surface of the moon blazed.

Its dark side.

Its bright side.

Every crater, mountain, and waterless sea.

All the moon burned: a sun that should never have been. All the ponies watching could scarcely have been more horrified if a population of Moon Ponies had been living up there.

“This will be our night sky forevermore. Or at least… until we’re left with a giant burnt-out cinder floating over all our heads for all eternity.”

That settled the mood of the conference, the burning moon casting a grim pall over the assembled.

“The first order of business is to establish how much time we have,” Starswirl pronounced. “Treacle? Can you brief us on the plants and animals’ reactions?”

She was silent for a moment as Claypan whispered into her ear. “Not well,” Treacle admitted solemnly, looking pointedly at some of the refined-looking Canterlot unicorns. “What’s befallen the sun and moon has been hard enough on us ponies, in terms of trespassing on our sleep, I think we can all agree.”

The fat pony waited a second for enough nods from the others around her, many of whom indeed looked worn and insufficiently-rested.

“But it’s been absolute bedlam for the animals of the wild,” she finished. “Just as an example, many of the nocturnal burrowers have been seen staying in their holes for days sometimes, awaiting a darkness that doesn’t quite come… until hunger finally draws them into the open, and then they’re desperate, starved, frantic, and foul-tempered, attacking whatever crosses their path, including ponies. The, er, day-loving animals haven’t been any better, really.”

“And the plants?” asked Starswirl.

Treacle Tart nodded at her assistant, Claypan, who informed the assembled ponies, “The more sensitive plants are starting to wilt. There are plants which thrive in direct sunlight and plants which flourish in the shade. With the sun so inconsistent, all these plants are suffering; many of which we use for food and medicine.”

“What about the weather?” Starswirl inquired, looking towards the pegasi.

“The rapid temperature shifts are not only playing havoc with the weather we create, but have spawned new, unpredictable weather fronts in areas we do not control, such as in Zebra and Griffon lands, or the sea, which often spill into our territory.” Commander Sirocco reported. “It’s taxing the weather services to their limits, to the point they’ve started recruiting civilian and military aid. We’re holding it together, but barely. Before long, it will spiral out of control, and we might see devastating weather events unlike any we’ve witnessed in centuries.”

“In short, we don’t have long before serious, possibly irreversible damage is done to our world,” Starswirl commented. “Less than a year, at most, by my reckoning. Therefore, it would be folly for us to wait for the princesses to ‘right’ themselves, even if we were sure that would even happen.”

There were nods and murmurs of agreement all around, particularly those whose attention kept drifting back to the moon, burning brightly through the still-open window.

“Then, let’s look at our most immediate option.” He glanced toward the elderly unicorn princess. “Princess Peridot? Would the Unicorn nation, by your and Equinox’s estimate, be able to take control of the sun and moon again, at least on a temporary basis?”

Peridot froze for a moment, before turning to Equinox, and whispering fiercely to her. They shot back and forth with hissed whispers for several moments before Peridot looked up, cleared her throat, and regained her composure. “That is an… interesting… and unexpected question, Starswirl. The simple fact of the matter is, our people simply haven’t practiced manipulating the heavens in generations. We’ve left that duty to the princesses for so long, it is now something of a lost art.”

“Not quite,” Starswirl said, using magic to stroke his long, white beard. “I may not be quite the immortal that Their Majesties are, but you still have one unicorn alive who still knows the old spells. It took untold thousands of us unicorns working in tandem, back in the day, but I remember what it was like to move the sun. Glorious.”

His hat jingled as he gave a little bow. “How long would it take to organize your people, Princess Peridot? I could school them in the old spells our kind once used to move the celestial bodies. Our lost art will be learned anew.”

For a second, the others looked hopeful. But then Equinox spoke up; “A question, Teacher. Do the old spell books contain spells for controlling a burning moon?”

Starswirl paused, thoughtful. “Well, no. No spellcrafter would ever have anticipated such a thing. And the fact that it’s on fire, yes, it would throw off the calibrations of the magic. But after some adequate experimentation and modification of the Moon Moving spell, surely…”

“Which would significantly delay efforts,” Equinox commented as Peridot sighed. “Not to mention organizing an entire nation of unicorns and educating them in magic is a Zebrantine production.”

“And by the time all that was done, we’d most likely be past the point of no return,” Princess Peridot lamented. “Worse, it’s doubtful we could wrest control, especially if the princesses would choose to fight us… which I suspect they would. I imagine Their Highnesses would most likely view our attempt to usurp the heavens from them to be slightly… treasonous.”

Starswirl sighed. “I figured as much… Which leaves us with only one other immediate option: I’ve been magically examining the spell itself, and its effects on Their Majesties’ minds. It’s solid, but not impregnable. There’s no question the princesses’ minds are deluded, but it might be possible to convince them of the truth, if we present a strong enough case.”

“Then why haven’t you already done this!?” Peridot interjected.

Starswirl sighed. “Imagine if the truth of your world was revealed to be a lie. If your conscious mind and your heart were suddenly in absolute conflict. Imagine being beset with conflicting impulses, neither of which you can ignore. It would be very… traumatic. Possibly maddening. You can see the reason for my hesitation.” There was a moment of sobering silence before he continued. “That said… I have studied various therapeutic mental magics, and I believe I can alleviate the negative impact. But I will not take such risks without the council’s approval. So, unless there’s an alternate proposal, I suggest we vote…”

Not other options were presented. The proposal was quickly passed.

“Then we need to get to work.” Starswirl announces, before his image froze, and wavered.

“Time to move on.” Luna said, as the meeting room vanished into the realm of dreams.

“What?” Twilight said, startled by the abruptness.

Luna paused. “This… is where things go truly wrong.”

Author's Note

Rikmach, thank you.