Twilight Sparkle lounged in her favorite sitting room, sipping a fresh cup of tea. It wasn't she who'd furnished the space - that would be Celestia - but now it was hers, and she often took those rare breaks from her myriad duties inside. Sometimes she curled up on a sitting pillow, reading a new book, while other times she simply relaxed. At the moment, though, she had company. Starlight Glimmer sat half across, half-next to her at a table of light wood, here to catch up.
Placing her teacup upon its saucer, Twilight ended the lull in their conversation with a smile. "You know, I'm surprised you haven't asked me for any advice, yet."
Starlight chuckled at that, brushing a stray spec of dust off her maroon blazer. "Well, your new physique certainly makes you look wiser, so I was tempted to." She gestured at Twilight, her recent growth spurt and billowing mane giving her more than a passing resemblance to her mentor. "But," Starlight continued. "I've been running things at the school for a longer timespan than you did, now. I have enough experience with the young ones that I'm able to trust myself."
Twilight's smile widened with pride at that. Her former student really had come so far; she had nothing left to teach her. "You have no idea how elated I am to hear that, Starlight."
"I have some idea," went Starlight, sipping her tea through a smirk. "If I had to guess, knowing you, you miss having students. Maybe it's time you took another personal student of your own?"
Twilight's heart swelled. She had been considering the idea for some time now, but hearing it voiced aloud by somepony else lent it credence. The guilt of devoting so much of her time to one child, when she had a whole nation to run, larger matters to attend, made her reluctant. But if Starlight thought she would enjoy it, too, then—
A polite knock at the door cut off Twilight's meandering musings. Facing the entrance, she blinked. "I'm not expecting another visitor at this hour. Who is it?"
"It's the author, Stygian, your highness," answered one of the guards on the other side. "He said he had something important to discuss with you. Should I let him in?"
Oh, what a pleasant surprise! She hadn't seen the time displaced unicorn in quite a while. "What have I told you all about my friends? Of course send him in," Twilight said.
The door opened soundlessly, and in trotted Stygian, wearing an olive green jacket and a serious expression. No longer a waifish teen, he'd grown almost as much as Twilight herself since the day they'd first met. "Hello, Stygian! It's good to see you again."
Starlight waved once. "If it isn't the famous Pony of Symbolism. What's up? You have something urgent for Twilight?"
Stygian hummed, taking the third seat at the tea table. He glanced between Starlight and Twilight. "Oh, it's not that dire. But it could change Equestria forever."
Intrigued, Twilight's brow rose. It was usually a different author who came to her with that sort of thing. "Really? I recall you take occasional trips for fun and for research. Did you find something on one? Ooh, wait, is it a lost text?" Now she was really hoping it was a lost text.
He nodded. "I did happen upon something: a realization. Which then led to a plan. I came to Canterlot to share it with you."
Twilight hadn't been expecting that. Disappointed, but still intrigued, she waited for him to elaborate, but then Starlight spoke up. "I can go, if it's private. Or, like, a head-of-state only deal."
She was already moving to stand, but Stygian gestured for her to remain. "It's fine, Starlight. I'm guessing you'll soon hear about it from Twilight one way or another."
Starlight settled back into her cushion. "Alright."
Since Stygian seemed to be treating this matter with gravitas, Twilight did so as well, mirroring the look on his face as their eyes met. "Okay, Stygian. What's this plan of yours?"
"Before that, Princess, a question for you: do you truly understand just how far society has come since the time I was born?" Stygian asked.
"Well, I am more well-read than most ponies when it comes to history. Or anything, really," Twilight confirmed. "But compared to you, who actually lived millennia past? No, I suppose I don't."
Stygian's eyes had begun to shine with an inner fire, and Twilight was swept up in his passion as he replied. "Oh, you won't believe how much! The printing press, harnessed lightning, the steam engine, plumbing! Magic is no longer the scholar's primary focus; we have science, math, and more. Illiteracy is all but gone, and so too are many of the backwards, baseless customs that went with it. Governments are in place, with the reach and horsepower to provide stability. And food is a right, not a privilege."
"When you put it like that, I suppose it is a dramatic set of changes," Starlight noted. Twilight, meanwhile, was wondering where exactly he was going with this.
"And yet," Stygian continued, "We ourselves are almost exactly the same. If you put myself or Meadowbrook or Somnambula next to any other unicorn, earth pony, or pegasus, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference. We're still the same herbivores that roamed the ancient plains, herding together for protection."
Twilight's eyes widened in understanding. "You're talking about evolution. The gradual adaptation of a species."
"Exactly so," Stygian said, pausing to pour himself some tea, whet his throat. "Nopony ever speculated such a thing was possible in the old days, let alone true, not even Starswirl. I had hardly thought much on the topic myself, since learning of it. That is, until I recently visited Mount Aris. I was shocked to discover that the hippogriffs had an artifact that could turn themselves into seaponies and back, whenever they wished, permanently! With nothing but that Pearl to keep her people safe, the old queen created at brand-new species in an instant!" he exclaimed, placing his hoof on the table. "And none of them seemed to realize the implications."
"Implications? What—" Twilight froze mid-sentence, what Stygian was referring to suddenly all too apparent. How had she missed this until now? Her expansive vocabulary failed to manifest in any capacity, the alicorn only managing a sharp gasp.
Starlight, confused, looked from Stygian to Twilight and back. "Uh, care to enlighten me?"
"With the Pearl of Changing, or rather, the shards of it, we could transform the very races of ponykind - no, all creatures - into something new, something better," Stygian explained, breathless. "Our bodies could finally catch up to the civilization we've built! Imagine it: a future filled with naturally smarter, more empathetic creatures. Ponies like me and you, Starlight, vulnerable to lapse into foolish, criminal mistakes, would be a thing of the past. Kindness, as much of an instinct as breathing. The elimination of disease. Celestia, one could even bestow eyes capable of seeing exponentially more colors, unfolding once invisible depth and beauty! All this, and more! Possibilities beyond imagination!"
As each of his words reached Starlight's ears, they - and her jaw - dropped lower and lower. "That's... that's crazy."
"Crazy? It's inevitable," Stygian rebuked. "We've already upgraded basically everything else. Why not ourselves?"
"Because most ponies wouldn't want to!" Starlight blurted. "Speaking from experience, convincing ponies to go against the grain, shun the norm, is hard. Even if they understand it's for the better. And the more drastic the shift, the more resistance you'll meet. Changes on that level... ponies would be afraid. Afraid to tamper with nature, afraid they'll lose what makes them equine!"
"Fear is hardly a justification to halt the march of progress, Ms. Glimmer," Stygian said, pursing his lips.
Starlight returned his ire, no trace left of her previous, pleasant mood. "No, but ethics and morality are. For that undertaking of yours to work, you'd have to get everypony to change! If you didn't, there'd be racial tensions way worse than pre-unification! What are you going to do, force new bodies onto ponies who don't want them?"
"We force ponies to do a ton of things they don't necessarily want to do all the time, for the good of the country, with laws." Stygian crossed his hooves. "You think all ponies like paying taxes, or constraining themselves under every minor ordinance? That's the price we pay for harmony."
"This isn't even close to the same thing as paying taxes! You're talking about tampering with their very sense of self! Ponies - or whatever you want them to become - could easily start to think of themselves as monsters. Or worse, take action to fix the problem."
Stygian balked at this, flinching away from her. "That sort of thing wouldn't even occur to them afterwards! They'd be too busy pursuing their dreams, finding love. That's another benefit: families! No matter who or what your partner is, you would have the opportunity to start one, with the right biological modifications."
Aghast, Starlight scowled at him. "Oh, don't you dare pull that card for this! True love prevails regardless of circumstances, that's practically the definition! If anything, knowing their children would be warped too just adds to the list of dealbreakers!"
Stygian threw his hooves up. "We shouldn't have to fight the odds! Nor should we be content with the status quo: that's the whole point!"
"It's the status quo for a reason, Stygian. Forget harmony, if we ignored all the wishes of those satisfied with the present, and didn't work to keep it largely the way it was, Discord would be running rampant. The draconequus and the state of flux," Starlight clarified, her posture tense. "Helping one pony at a time resolve their problems worked for us, and it can keep working in the future. But trying to head off so many issues in advance just won't work: there'll always be unforeseen consequences. Most clairvoyants go mad trying!"
"Nothing is ever perfect, Starlight; I wouldn't say that. But we won't find out what immense good can be done if we don't try! And I am not mad for coming up with this, advocating for this," Stygian insisted. Then, he faced Twilight, pleadingly, as Starlight huffed. "You don't think this plan is insane, do you, Princess? Tell me; will you do it? Will you convince Queen Skystar to help us better all the world?"
Twilight didn't know what to say, her mouth working soundlessly. She'd been listening intently to both sides the whole time, without intervening, stunned by the fervor of their debate, and the topic at hoof. Stygian's concept of curated, instantaneous evolution was certainly revolutionary, groundbreaking. But that didn't mean it was for the best. Just because she understood where Stygian was coming from didn't automatically mean she agreed with him. This was indeed a crossroads of supreme consequences, for good or ill. Such a choice was not to be made lightly. And now that Twilight was aware, she couldn't just ignore it, the options weighing heavily on her mind.
As Starlight made clear, some ponies would vehemently object if she did what Stygian proposed. In the worse case scenario, it could lead to a hostile Equestria split into two, evolved ponies on one side and unevolved ones on the other. But the alternative was more of the same, for millions of years. Even if she worked her hardest to spread friendship, other conflicts could start anyway, new villains rising to threaten the peace she'd so carefully cultivated. Could Equestria even exist for that long, with or without her, made up of ponies holding fear and anger buried in their hearts? The answer, as of now, eluded Twilight, to her supreme dismay. She needed more time to think, perhaps consult some experts.
Realizing she had yet to answer Stygian, Twilight uttered "I... don't know."