//------------------------------// // Domains // Story: Their Variables // by Meta Four //------------------------------// It was a beautiful night in Ponyville—except for Luna’s Moon shining in the sky. “Luna’s Moon,” Twilight mentally called the pale disc floating serenely above. No doubt, everypony else in Equestria who happened to look up tonight would also have a similar moniker for the heavenly body. After all, Luna’s was scribed across the Moon’s face, in great loopy letters. “What does it mean? What does it mean?” Twilight paced back and forth in the bedroom of her crystal palace. “What’s Princess Luna doing by signing her name on the Moon? Is it a secret message? A cry for help?” Spike, standing in her bedroom doorway, rolled his eyes. “Twilight …” “Or what if Luna didn’t do this? What if something overpowered her, and this is the only warning we’ll get before it attacks the rest of Equestria?” “Relax, Twilight!” Spike said. “The last time the Moon changed, everything turned out fine.” “No ...” Twilight spun to give her Number One Assistant a harsh look. “The last time the Moon changed, a crazy alicorn came back and tried to bring about night eternal! And the only reason everything ‘turned out fine’ is because I saw the signs and gathered my friends to wield the Elements of Harmony against her!” Twilight spun once more to gaze up at Luna’s Moon. “And how can I make everything turn out okay this time, when I don’t even know what this sign means?” “Maybe it’s not a sign,” Spike said. “Maybe it’s just a prank that got out of hoof. You remember how nuts Luna went for April Loons Day, right?” Twilight shot him an I’m too tired to deal with this look. “Spike, it’s September.” Spike held up his hands. “I’m just saying, let’s wait to panic until after we get an urgent message from Canterlot. Besides, I bet Luna will clean all this up by tomorrow night, anyway.” If Twilight had taken him up on that bet, she’d have won. The next night, the Moon rose, still bearing Luna’s name. Furthermore, no news or explanation had come from Canterlot. Twilight turned away from her window. “Spike, take a letter.” Dear Princess Luna, I assume you’re aware of the recent changes to the Moon’s face. Now, I don’t mean to pry into how you govern your domain. But these very visible changes have made me, and everypony else here in Ponyville, curious and perhaps a little bit concerned. So I hope you don’t mind my asking: Who wrote your name on the Moon, and why? Your friend, Twilight Sparkle My dearest Princess Twilight Sparkle, It is but a simple question you ask, with a simple answer. I wrote it. And I did so because it’s my Moon, and I wish to impress that fact upon everypony. Now, nopony can possibly forget whose Moon it is! May the blessings of Harmony be upon you! Princess Luna Dear Princess Luna, Thank you for your quick reply. But, to be honest, your answer just raises further questions. Why is it so important now, after you’ve been back for over a year, to remind us that the Moon belongs to you? Considering the public appearances you’ve made (very favorably received, I must add), ponies are less likely than ever to forget you or the vital role you play! Writing your name in the night sky just seems excessive. And it’s not like there’s another Moon up there that anypony might confuse with yours, right? Actually, are there any plans to stick another Moon up there? If so, perhaps it would be best to announce these plans beforehoof, to minimize the confusion amongst the citizens. Your friend, Twilight Sparkle Twilight, Your last letter was most amusing. A second Moon! How droll! Of course, there is a realm with four Moons—three for the night and one for each day—but neither I nor Equestria would ever stand for such gaudiness. Nay, one Moon shall suffice, otherwise how would we see the glorious stars? Blessings of Harmony, Luna Dear Princess Luna, That’s reassuring, but it still doesn’t answer my biggest question. Why is it so important that everypony knows it’s your Moon? Your friend, Twilight Sparkle Twilight, Because it is my Moon. Truly, I do not see why somepony as intelligent as you could not grasp this. Blessings of Harmony, Luna Dear Princess Celestia, Have you talked to Princess Luna about what she did to the Moon? I’ve written to her, and can’t get a straight answer about why she did it. I’m a bit worried. But you know her better than I do, so I’m sure you can clear this matter up easily. Your friend, Twilight Sparkle Dear Twilight Sparkle, There is really no need to worry. I’ve spoken with Luna, and I can assure you we both see eye-to-eye on this issue. Your friend, Celestia Twilight forgot to close her bedroom window curtains, so she woke up to the light of Celestia’s Sun shining right on her face. Her initial reaction was to roll over and try to fall back asleep. But a few seconds later, realization sank in, and Twilight jolted awake, spinning to face Celestia’s Sun again. Thanks to her hardy constitution as an alicorn, Twilight now could gaze directly at the Sun for nearly a minute with no ill effect. That was more than enough time to read a single word. There was no mistaking it: Celestia’s was written across the solar disc, in the Princess’s own flawless cursive. Twilight groaned. Twilight resisted the urge to groan, and the urge to smack her head against the podium in front of her. She was on the front porch of Ponyville Town Hall, and nearly every citizen was gathered on the lawn to question her about the recent changes to the Sun and the Moon. Twilight didn’t bother scanning the crowd, but just picked the nearest pony with a hoof raised. It was Golden Harvest. She said, “I’m wondering—and I’m sure all the other farmers and growers are, too—how will this affect our plants? Everypony’s lives depend on plants, and plants depend on sunlight, and now all of a sudden we’ve got giant letters blocking part of that sunlight, so I think it’s a cause to be—” “I promise you,” Twilight interrupted, “there is no need to get upset. Princess Celestia increased the brightness of the rest of the Sun, so our plants are getting exactly as much light as before. I’ve taken several photometer readings to confirm this myself. Next question!” Davenport got picked next. “How did Princess Celestia do it?” “I have no idea. Next question!” Lily Valley leaped into the air, somehow hanging at the top of her arc long enough to shout, “Will these letters make the Sun explode into a supernova?” “Our Sun is too small to go supernova. And, if it did, in complete defiance of known magic, then the entire planet would get vaporized so quickly, we’d all be dead before we could feel a thing. Then all our souls would go to Elysium together as one big, happy herd. A supernova would be a great way to die.” Silence hung over the crowd for a few seconds. Twilight sighed. “No, the Sun is not going to go supernova. Next question?” Cloudchaser went next. “If Celestia and Luna are just doing this to mark their territory, like ‘This is mine! Don’t touch!’ then are they going to start slapping their name on other things they own?” “Yeah!” At Cloudchaser’s side, Flitter chimed in. “Are they going to sign their names on Equestria next?” “I don’t think so,” Twilight answered. Then under her breath, she added, “And I’m not going to ask, because I don’t want to give them any ideas.” Twilight’s gaze drifted past the crowd, towards the horizon. Celestia’s Sun was setting, painting the sky with brilliant streaks of crimson, pink, and orange. The Princess’s signature, so beautiful in any other context, had the effect here of an ink stain on an impressionist masterpiece. Either way, Twilight hadn’t meant for this question-and-answer session to run this long. “Wow, look at the time! I’ll have to end this meeting now.” The crowd murmured, so Twilight silenced them with: “If you still have questions … visit me anytime tomorrow, and I’ll be happy to answer them one-on-one. I’ll be in my Castle of Friendship. It’s the big, crystal eyesore on the edge of town. You can’t miss it. “But the most important thing is this: There is no reason to panic. Weird letters on the Sun and the Moon aren’t going to have any practical effects on our lives, so we should all just carry on, like before. That is all. Thank you.” The crowd’s murmurs sounded vaguely satisfied now. As they dispersed, Twilight allowed herself to slump against the podium. “Blegh.” Spike walked over and patted her side. “You did great, Twilight!” “If you say so.” “No, really! All of Ponyville was like—” He waved his hands in the air and spun his eyes in his sockets, “—‘Bluh bluh! Something changed and we’re gonna freak out about it!’ But then you were like—” He produced a pair of sunglasses and leaned against Twilight like she was a wall, “— ‘Heeeeeeey, it’s all cool.’ And it worked!” Twilight chuckled. “Thanks, Spike. What do you say we see if Sugarcube Corner is still open? I think we’ve both earned a treat.” “Yeah, that sounds—” “Aaaaaaaaaaaaaugh!” Lily Valley, Roseluck, and Daisy Wishes all screamed in unison. Then they fainted in unison. The crowd, which had only halfway dispersed by this point, was now frozen. Everypony stared at the horizon, murmuring amongst themselves. Twilight followed their gaze, then scowled. “Luna …” It was time for the Moon—Luna’s Moon—to rise. But it hadn’t. Something else rose in its place: a pale gray rectangle with black text on it. It read: —————————————————— THANK YOU FOR USING LUNA’S MOON. —————————————————— Please consider supporting Princess Luna by becoming a registered user. Registration costs only 30 bits, and unlocks special features, including: ● No ads ● Customizable brightness, tint, and apparent size ● Full range of phases (including the rare Blue Moon!) ● Early access to future Luna’s Moon updates ● Dream-based customer support [ ] Register now [ ] Continue using free trial version of Luna’s Moon The panic that Twilight had worked so hard to dispel was building back up again. A few voices in the crowd rose above the rabble: “What does it mean?!” “It’s Nightmare Moon all over again!” “Luna’s such a sellout! Worst princess ever!” “Everypony be quiet!” Twilight’s voice, magically amplified, overpowered the crowd. Once every eye was on her, again, Twilight continued, “There is still no need to panic. I will take your concerns to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, and I will do everything in my power to set things back the way they were before. In fact …” Twilight flapped her wings, rising several feet into the air and hovering there. “It is time that I took charge of my namesake in the heavens!” Her eyes glowed pure white, and her mane and tail lengthened, billowing in a breeze that nopony else could feel. “Just as I reunited Celestia and Luna, so do dusk and dawn bridge the gap between day and night! Henceforth, twilight is the domain of Princess Twilight Sparkle!” Her horn glowed, then a bright beam of magic shot straight into the sky. It persisted for several seconds, then Twilight descended to the ground. “There,” she said. “It’s done.” Ponies in the crowd glanced between the sky—completely unchanged—and Princess Twilight. “I know, I know,” Twilight said. “It doesn’t look like I did anything. That’s because it’s only visible to …” Luna, Princess of the Night, Guardian of Dreams, stepped onto her balcony. She gave her etheric tether to the Moon a slight, almost imperceptible tug. When the vibrations came back to her, she closed her eyes and breathed deeply, savoring the deep river of magic that powered the engine of the heavens. She glanced to the left, to the identical balcony where Princess Celestia stood. She nodded back at Luna. It was time. Luna gathered her magic about her. She could lower the Moon with her eyes closed, but she still preferred to watch as that silver disc slipped below the horizon. But this time, when she looked up, her eyes widened, and her jaw dropped—only sheer instinct stopped her from losing her grip on the Moon entirely. It was gone. Not just the Moon, but the entire dawn sky—everything above the horizon—was replaced by a yawning white void. Then Luna scowled and gave another tug at her tether. The Moon was still there—she could still feel it with her magic, but she couldn’t see it. A glance at Celestia confirmed that she was seeing the same thing; a glance at the two Night Guards flanking the balcony revealed that they didn’t see anything out of place. Then, black text appeared in the void of the sky—each blocky letter the size of a castle tower. “Curiouser and curiouser,” Luna muttered as she read the message: —————————————————— 401 UNAUTHORIZED —————————————————— Current user does not have permission to view: ● Z:/0000000000BB707/Princess/Sparkle/files/Sky/dawn_1003_09_22.webm If you think you’ve received this message in error, try the following: ● Confirm that you’re logged in correctly. ● Log off, then log back on. ● Contact system admin (sparklicious6@canterlot.gov.eq) about your account permissions. Twilight sat on the picnic blanket and gazed up at the night sky. Never before had the Moon—the signature was gone, so it was “Luna’s Moon” no more—looked quite so beautiful. But a deep chuckle drew her gaze back to Earth. “A beautiful sight, the sky above,” Zecora said. Then she nuzzled Twilight, resting her neck on the alicorn’s withers. Twilight leaned into her side and completed the rhyme: “But it can’t hold a candle to the mare I love.” Both Twilight and Zecora wore contented smiles as they nuzzled, basking in the warmth of their totally well-established romantic relationship that definitely didn’t pop up with zero foreshadowing at the end of some hypothetical narrative. Twilight opened her mouth to say something that no doubt would have been unbearably cute, but the words died as another text box suddenly appeared across her field of vision. So she groaned instead. “Twilight, dear, you look perplexed,” Zecora said. “What could make you feel so vexed?” “I thought my sister-in-law was immune to the recent craziness. I guess I was wrong.” —————————————————— ♥ UPDATE TO LOVE v11.0 ♥ —————————————————— You’re still running LOVE v9.2.5. The latest version of LOVE is available now, completely free! [ ] Update now! [ ] Update an hour from now! [ ] Keep reminding me to update, either until I give in, or the Sun burns out, whichever comes first! Twilight dismissed the box by selecting the third option. “Stupid nagware …”