//------------------------------// // 5: Reconnection // Story: Lunar Convergence // by Lord_Artemis //------------------------------// “It is not a date! We are just… meeting to discuss the new scientific phenomenon that was created by our meeting.” Luna glared indignantly at Twilight, a variety of dresses swirling around the duo. “You said that already, but why else would you ask for my help in picking out your dress?” Twilight smirked as she stroked one of the fine gowns appreciatively. The Lunar Aspect wasn't making a very convincing case for herself, and her nervous energy was quite entertaining for the younger princess. “I just… always… it is proper to look one’s best when meeting with foreign dignitaries. This is no exception, no matter how unprecedented this interaction of nations might be.” Luna huffed and busied herself inspecting her choices of garments. “Well, I can't seem to imagine Artemis showing up in a dress, so you…” “You know what, fine! I will forgo the dress, just so you and sister will let me hear the end of all this nonsense.” Luna snapped at her, making Twilight recoil slightly at the reaction. “Sorry, I was just picking on you.” Twilight said gently, earning a remorseful grimace from Luna. “No, it's alright, a lot has been going on, and I think I need a break.” The two princesses shared a supportive smile and Twilight hugged Luna with a wing. ~~~ “It is not a date! We are just… meeting to discuss the new scientific phenomenon that was created by our meeting.” Artemis glared indignantly at Dusk, examining the sets of armor on the stands in the armory. “Mmmhmm… Still sounds like a date to me.” Dusk muttered sarcastically, earning a sideways glare from Artemis. “Whatever the case, I guess you will still be dressed in your formal wear, so why are we here?” He glanced over the stands in front of them, each holding a different set of Lunar Prince-sized armour. “Well, I was actually going to ask you about that. Wouldn’t it… send the wrong message to dress like I was going to the Gala when I am just meeting up for these strictly scientific purposes? I mean, I don’t want to presume too much, and on our first da… encounter, I don’t want to come off as if I had something more on my… Oh stop it!” Artemis swatted the younger prince who was snickering behind a hoof. “Hey, it is pretty funny watching you and your brother get flustered. It makes me feel better about my overreactions when you can’t even get dressed for a date without breaking out in a nervous sweat.” He laughed as Artemis busied himself in an obvious attempt to get him to stop talking. “I mean, it’s not like she will care, right? She kinda is you, so you could show up in a dress and she wouldn’t mind.” He continued to laugh at this mental image, until he had to quickly leap forward to support his fellow prince, a heavy piece of armour hanging awkwardly on his side. “I guess I can’t quite use my magic like I would want… Stop laughing!” Artemis shrugged the plate off of himself and glared incredulously at Dusk, who was still chuckling uncontrollably. “I got the giggles, sorry!” Dusk tried to assist, but he kept wiping tears from his eyes as he laughed, overcome by the ridiculousness of the situation. Artemis’ glare mellowed at his friend’s joviality, and soon he was laughing too. “But I am not wearing a dress. That is right out.” ~~~ Luna watched as her reflection shifted from hoof to hoof nervously, not quite wanting to cast the portal spell to activate her mirror yet. She had forgone a dress, but had opted instead for her regalia and a layer of makeup that wasn’t as subtle as she would normally go for, but was encouraged by Twilight to try. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and lit her horn. When she reopened her eyes, the blazing portal was opened,and she stepped through. Her hoof then met the lunar regolith, and the perfectly black sky seemed to almost spin around her, the tiny dots of her stars wildly denying her any frame of reference. The travel was always this jarring, but that didn’t bother Luna. She actually took a slight comfort in the familiar sensation. She then looked around, and as far as she could tell on the vast white horizon, she was alone. Hmm, I always thought that I would be more punctual than this as a stallion. Dusting off a flat stretch of ground, she sat to wait. ~~~ Artemis adjusted the now-grey band he was wearing, and nodded appreciatively to Dusk, as he cast the portal spell for him. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and tapped the band. He felt the magic crawl across his skin, and when he opened his eyes, he caught a quick glimpse of his reflection before the mirror burst into magical flames. He stepped through, but was washed with panic as his hoof failed to stabilize him on the lunar regolith. The sky spun, and Artemis’ eyes fleeted about wildly in the star speckled void overhead. He fell forward, landing dizzily in a cloud of white dust. After a few deep breaths, the Lunar Prince peeked around himself, relieved when he saw nopony else was there. Good thing she isn’t as punctual as I am, that would have been most embarrassing. Standing up with a little difficulty, he dusted himself off and began scouring the flat white expanse for any sign of his female counterpart. Not immediately seeing her, Artemis started walking, slightly curving to the left, as he knew the most efficient way to search a sphere (or oblate spheroid) would be on a spiraling path. Given that he could hear a bit better to his right recently, he decided to put his good side outwards, and keeping his left side towards the inner side of the loop, in the direction of already searched ground. ~~~ Luna twitched slightly as she tried to figure out which direction that burst of magic had come from. Good thing she had been focused and attentive, otherwise she would have missed the subtle signs of magic use. Now the only problem was that she couldn't tell what direction the pulse had come from. It almost seems to have come from all directions equally… but I don't see how that could… suddenly, she understood what was going on and charged a teleportation spell. It shouldn't have taken me that long to remember that “everything is south of the north pole”, though in this case, it applies to any point on a globe and its antipode. In a brilliant flash of white light, Luna departed, teleporting to the exact opposite side of the moon. ~~~ Artemis’ head jerked quickly over his shoulder at the magic he felt off to his left side. Right where he had first arrived, a flash of magic heralded the arrival of Princess Luna. Looking truly divine as she set hoof on the surface, Artemis felt an unfamiliar sensation overcome him, and he bowed in respect. The action was old and practiced, but since his parent’s departure, he hadn’t truly encountered a being that demanded his reverence such as Luna clearly did. She looked beyond beautiful and emanated a gentle grace that would doubtlessly be the envy of any mortal mare in her presence. There was something about her that comforted Artemis, but still his heart raced in excitement and even fear. Straightening up, he strode forward as confidently and evenly as he could manage, trying to ignore the clicking and popping he felt and assured himself that they would not be heard. Luna’s eyes cast about until they alighted upon Artemis and she couldn’t help but smile. Actually meeting face to face cleared some of her concern, as he was recovering quite well in her eyes, showing no sign of injury or lasting effects of their last encounter. Through the mirror, she couldn’t quite tell the condition of her male version, but in person he didn’t at all resemble the twisted form she had seen last time she had been on the moon. Her pleasant mood tinted slightly as she noticed that he looked almost too recovered. Is the magic in his world much more advanced than mine? He doesn’t even have a scar from the crystal… She noticed that he was walking in a stiff manner that set off warnings in her head. Taking a deep breath, her heart rate slowed from its frantic pace, and she stepped forward to greet him, with slight trepidation in the back of her mind. “It is wonderful to see you again, Princess Luna of Equestria. I am… you know who I am.” Artemis said, trailing off a bit from his formal greeting as he ran out of familiar territory. “I guess I don’t need to go through introductions, So, um… Hello.” He smiled a bit and extended a hoof towards her. Luna, for her part, had a slight urge to hug him, but decided to stay to the safe path and just shake his hoof. “Hi there, it is great seeing you again. You are looking wonderful. I mean, um, your recovery is working wonderfully. Or I, uh, is it?” She cleared her throat and started again. “How is your recovery going? That is what I meant.” Artemis let out an awkward chuckle, very purposefully holding his limbs still so they wouldn’t give away his ruse. “The medical ponies at Canterlot castle are without peer, and their methods are magical wonders of science. I have also enlisted the help of my brother and his former pupil, because their alicorn magic is strong enough to overcome just about anything. A few scratches here, a bruise or two there, easy pickings for the highly trained.” A lie is easier to tell if it holds some truth. Luna narrowed her eyes slightly. “Your injuries were more than just scratches and bruises, and you know it. I was there, remember?” She added a brief laugh to the end of her statement to try and make it sound less harsh, but her counterpart's behavior was rubbing her the wrong way. He mumbled something vaguely defensive, chuckling after the words “alicorn resilience” and he turned a bit to his left. An awkward silence reigned, and the two ponies looked up to the beautiful shadowed face of Equestria below them. Artemis shifted a little, but froze when he saw Luna glance at him suspiciously. She is on to me… I have to change the subject, get her thinking about something else. He knew deep down that he couldn’t keep this up, but still a frantic and confused voice persisted, urging him to maintain the illusion for some reason. “I still can't figure out what is happening with my- our moon.” Artemis stated, breaking the silence. Luna raised an eyebrow, and he continued, “Dusk, Solaris, and I have spent all this time almost constantly trying to understand how we can meet here, and why this moon is over both of our Equestrias. All we have found so far has pointed to a merging of both moons, but...” He shook his head, his thoughts wrestling with the confusion and embarrassment at not solving this riddle already. “Twilight, Celestia, and I have been coming to similar conclusions, and all three of our group have been able to coherently think for more than just the past few days.” Luna said, smirking as Artemis opened his mouth to respond, and pressed a hoof to his lips to halt him. “So that means you are likely correct.” He smiled and dipped his head, and Luna removed her hoof, trying to make the brushing of her hoof against his cheek and down the side of his neck seem accidental. “I guess with all that magic and the mirrors, we just made them...” Artemis started, nodding to himself. Luna locked eyes with him and nodded at the same time, joining him and finishing his thought in unison. “...One Moon.” The two alicorns blushed and looked away from each other, and both felt their heart rate quicken. “Why don’t we take a seat? I am sure there is much we can discuss.” He used a hoof to begin idly dusting off an area. Luna internally shrugged and summoned forth a small chair from her room back in Equestria. The Lunar Prince’s eyes widened slightly, just enough for Luna to notice. “Well, I don’t plan on sitting on the ground this entire time, do you?” She asked, hiding her suspicion under a light laugh. Artemis was at a loss. He couldn’t very well explain that he didn’t posses the ability to use advanced magic like that yet. At the same time, though, he was not going to sit on the ground and look up for their entire conversation. “I… well, I don’t exactly have any furniture left. You see, my room was relocated, and I couldn’t even guess where my version of that exact chair would have ended up. You wouldn’t happen to have its mate sitting across the desk from it?” Artemis quickly covered for himself, recalling the former layout of his room. “I actually do, now that you mention it. I am amazed at how similar our worlds are, even the chairs in my room reflect yours.” Luna felt conflicted at this. She was concerned about Artemis, finally understanding the motherly drive that Celestia always showed over her throughout the eons, but also realized this and wanted to leave him alone. And of course, she had to overcome her body's natural curiosity about such a strikingly attractive stallion being in such close proximity. Clearing her throat, she decided to drop it, like she wished her sister would do sometimes, and summoned the matching chair from her room. If he feels like it, he will tell me. “Thank you, I am still not fond of standing for all that long.” Artemis smiled, and Luna nodded graciously. Taking a seat, the prince found himself at a loss for words yet again. Luna quirked an eyebrow at him, and he looked back to realize that his left wing hadn’t folded quite right, and was sticking out at a bizarre angle. He chuckled nervously as he used a hoof to engage the hinges in his unseen braces, but he could tell that his female counterpart was beginning to see through his deception. Should I just tell her? I know she is at least as clever as I am, but this spell should be to hide my broken form perfectly. Dusk gave it the all clear, and he is better versed in interpersonal relationships than I, and it could be argued magic as well. I just have to trust him. Luna cleared her throat after the silence had stretched, and Artemis bolted back to attention. “Lovely view, eh? What do you think we would see if we could view the ground from here? Or whom, rather; your subjects or mine?” He posed the question quickly, and though Luna was getting concerned, she also found this to be an intriguing question. “Well, I can see the Canterlot mountain range, which I personally… umm.. I guess your world has that as well, doesn’t it?” Artemis nodded thoughtfully in response, and the princess tapped a slippered hoof to her chin. “I could fetch my telescope, though I know that isn’t very good for detail. I don’t suppose that we will see our own world in turn, like when we use the mirror portal… I mean, there is a certain amount of light hitting your eyes, and I can see the reflection of an image that matches what I see.” She leaned closer to him, and the prince suddenly realized that the chairs they were sitting in were quite close indeed. She gave him a soul searching look, which Artemis tried to play off as her examining the reflection of Equestrian, but there was something about her piercing gaze that struck a chord in him. He leaned in without thinking, until a hoof couldn’t fit between their snouts, and the two near-mirror images grappled with the truly intense experience. Logical puzzles petered to a halt in the background of both their minds, and they were lost in eyes they had seen daily before, but this time looked new. Both jolted back to awareness at the same time, and quickly turned to hide matching blushes. The two were falling back into mirroring each other's’ actions, and both wondered what could be the cause. In order to break the cycle, Luna summoned her telescope and quickly stood up, her suspicion that Artemis wouldn’t follow suit confirmed as he grunted slightly but did not rise with her. Pretending not to notice, she stepped forward and peered down the looking glass at the broad face of Equestria below them. “I can’t see anypony, but I do… no, there is no reason you wouldn’t have the castle in the Everfree as well… And Canterlot castle looks… hold on, what is that?” Without removing her eye from the tube, she gestured for Artemis to approach. “That is where the research wing would be, but the barracks look to be overtaking the entire west wing. This is definitely your world, which means that it takes from the most recent transit. You made it here after me, and so your portal...connected your world to the moon… Unless… no, there are not two Equestrias in the sky...right?” Artemis grinned to himself as his companion teleported away excitedly, giddy as a first year attendant of Solaris’ school for gifted unicorns. He was excited by this new discovery as well, but couldn’t manage to bring up the will to get up from the rather comfortable seat, and decided to stay put in favor of relative comfort instead of pain. A bright flash, and Luna trotted up to the seated stallion. “No, the other pole does not face towards my Equestria… though it is difficult to get a sense of direction when teleporting around of the uniform and pretty unremarkable stretches out here. How about we both scry each other again, and fly in opposite directions until we can’t see each other. I know it won’t be that reliable, since I can’t fly in a straight line up here to save my life.” “I can’t either, but that would make coming back here that much more difficult, and meeting twice, no, exponentially more difficult. Let’s just stick together for now, why don’t you have a seat?” He indicated the seat next to him hopefully, but the princess was too energetic to sit around. “No way! Come on, let’s go explore! I have never had anypony to do this with!” She reached down to him and grabbed his left foreleg to pull him up. Her hoof clicked when she tried to clutch him midway past his hoof, and Artemis’ eyes shot wide. Luna gasped,and stepped back in horror as the image of the prince peeled away. Her first instinct was that her male counterpart was just a changeling, but the magic slid slowly, not bursting like flames, and beneath was something arguably worse than a black insectoid body. His coat was matted with blood, as was his non-ethereal mane. Raw cuts ran along the side of his head, and stitches glistened in his flesh in far too many places. His stiff movements earlier made sense now, with the large mechanical frames on half his limbs, and the large white bandage on his abdomen was a dark red-brown in the center. Luna’s skin crawled at the irregular bumps and ridges of splintered bones under his skin, and shuddered at the metal pins stuck completely through parts of his injured frame. “It’s not what it looks like! Well, it is, and it isn’t what it used to look like, but… uh… I can explain.” Artemis stumbled forward to comfort Luna, but she recoiled at the sight of his joints rolling, stitches straining, coat snagging. This was much more similar to the state he was in the last time she had seen him, and even though this appearance made more sense, the sudden reveal shocked her. “I am healing as well as the doctors could hope, and there was no reason to go around looking like… this…” Luna heard the self-consciousness she was so used to feeling, but in his quavering voice. “So I had Dusk help me whip up a little… image protection for the head of state that should never be seen as anything less than invulnerable. I knew that my subjects wouldn’t feel safe as long as I looked like this.” He tapped the band now visible on his scraped leg, and shivered as his visage corrected. “No! I knew you were hiding something, but I didn’t know… You don’t have to hide anything from me.” Luna touched the band again, stopping the spell, all the while locking eyes with Artemis. She stepped in and extended a wing comfortingly over his back, gingerly avoiding his injuries as best she could. “I am not like other ponies, and I am most certainly not your subject. Do not think the burden of maintaining an image solely rests on you, I too know the embarrassment of the public’s ever scrutinizing eye. When you are with me, you needn’t be prince nor lord. Just Artemis.” She flashed him a smile with all the comfort and warmth she could muster. Artemis’ heart raced at her touch, her proximity giving him jitters, her perfume tickling his nose. The ages past alone suddenly felt empty compared to this level of companionship, this feeling, this warmth. He swallowed hard to force back a tear, and nuzzled into Luna’s neck with an unrestrained need. Luna blushed and returned the affection, feeling her heart rate pick up as she was overcome by a sense of connection with the stallion. While he wasn’t nearly as easy on the eyes as when he had his magic working, the scars barely took away from his handsome looks, almost giving them a rugged edge that pumped her blood a little harder. After a few moments, a previously unheard clicking noise filled the air, and Artemis groaned in pain. Thinking quickly, Luna summoned cushions and pillows from her room, and guided her injured counterpart to a prone position that better supported his various mechanically bound appendages. He smiled at her gratefully, and the two began speaking softly as tears spilled forth from both. ~~~ “No, no, really he said that! And I tell you, the look on Dusk's face was priceless. I mean, he was a prince now, but since he had spent so long serving under my brother's command, he took it as an order. The colts down in Ponyville didn't know how to stop him, and by the time they put the fires out, Spines’ birthday was ruined, poor girl.” Artemis let out a great laugh, accompanied by the much higher pitched but equally fervent giggle of Luna. Neither had a clue how long it had been, but they were equally oblivious to any other care in the world. Such strong and fast had the two alicorns bonded that they were now laughing at old stories like long time friends. Artemis looked to his companion, and felt a burst of gratitude and affection for the beautiful mare next to him. Rising stiffly to his hooves and clearing his throat, Luna quickly rose to match him. In a rather impressive show of flexibility and effort, the stallion offered a deep and humble bow to the now blushing mare. “I cannot express in words how much fun I have had, and I wish I could thank you properly for the wonderful time you have treated me to.” A chaste kiss was planted on Luna's crystal slipper, and her blush deepened. A roguelike grin played across the prince’s face as he straightened, and even Luna could feel the tension in the air. “Perhaps… I do know a great place in Canterlot that still serves pancakes at this hour. Doubtless you know of the Greasy Griddle? It may be a little… humble for our likes, but nopony told me a dive like that could cook better than the royal kitchens.” “You don’t need to introduce me there, they have seen me many a time, and will give free pancakes at our request. My favorite is probably yours as well. The dark chocolate ones?” Both alicorns smiled in revere, until Luna quirked her head. “Won’t that cause a bit of a scene, though? It is cause for some commotion when even one royal visits the backstreets of the capital, I couldn’t imagine the commotion the two of us would make.” At this, Artemis flashed a smile and tapped his magical band, then again. “Why go as us, then?” Luna smiled mischievously in response, and huddles close for a conspiratorial whisper. “Go incognito? I don’t have a band like that one, but I could probably cast a spell like it.” “This spell in the band is formulated for maximum accuracy, down to the mane. You would have to hide the magic in that too, for you at least, but I think a simple disguise spell will have to work for both of us, despite how much I love your mane.” He offered a coy smile and flipped a hoof at her billowing ethereal hair, earning a barking laugh from the mare. “I guess that could be taken as just stroking your own ego, but I chose to take it as a compliment.” She stuck out her tongue at him and they both laughed. Luna opened her magical portal, and stepped through, offering a hoof back to help her injured companion. However, when she looked back, she saw that his leg ended abruptly at the surface of the portal, and Artemis’ face was screwed into an uncomfortable grimace. He had watched her step through into the scene he saw on the other side of the portal, but the portion of the princess that was beyond the portal was completely gone from view. Luna stepped back through, trying to shake the memory of the sharp edge of flesh she felt from his leg at the portals surface. It was wrong in a way that was hard to quantify, but she chalked that up to the fact that there are no perfectly flat surfaces or sharp corners on a pony’s body normally, and such an abnormality wasn’t natural. The two locked eyes, a dip in their spirits palpable as they remembered this new obstacle. “I guess I forgot that we still can't do that…” Luna said with a sigh. She kicked at the ground with a hoof, frustration playing out across her face as she yet again tried to come up with a solution. Artemis stepped away from the portal and sat down in contemplation. “Well, technically, I probably won't die if I tried the same spell I used to send you letters. It isn't quite quantum teleportation, since even though I will get sent through two diverging paths, all of my original atoms will end up back together on the other side. It is more like a stream forking into two and rejoining. Same stream out as came in.” Artemis gave a strained smile to try and make the possibility seem more palatable. “I would not take that chance unless I could be certain you will be alright afterwards.” Luna looked concerned, but both alicorns wanted some way, any way, to get past the ever-growing obstacle. Artemis mumbled something along the lines of “Can't come out alright if you don't go in alright...” but stopped short at the look he received. After a mutual sigh, the pair settled into a thoughtful silence, puzzling through the conundrum. “What if I send a lab rat through and see if he survives?” Artemis asked. Luna nodded, then added “He could survive but not function the same. The brain could get all rearranged.” The two began thinking aloud,answering their own and each other's questions as they both thought of them.“Maybe a mind reading spell before and after?” “Ehh, what does a rat think about, and how could we check for consistency?” “Well, the only way around this would be using a sentient test subject, so why not me?” Luna was at a loss at this, she knew he was right, because they were not going to find a more willing pony than Artemis, and neither could ask such a risk of anypony they knew. Still, though, something held her back. “Maybe we use a lab rat first, then try with you. Just to be safe.” Artemis looked into her eyes, and saw the same worry he felt. “Alright, I'll get one from the castle, my brother and Dusk are waiting at the mirror and can fetch one.” He turned and lit his horn, before a fizzling sound reminded him of his current ability with magic. Smiling sheepishly, he turned to look at Luna, who at the point was already summoning a portal for him. She giggled and shook her head as he thanked her and went through the swirling opening. ~~~ Artemis stood in front of his mirror staring at the strange sight that had awaited his return. Solaris and Dusk were both still in the room, but they were now standing on their forehooves, wings extended behind them. Straining their hindlegs, a heavy block was being held above their vertical form. This was not a usual stance for a pony, and from the red colouration and sweat of the two princes’ faces, it was apparently not a comfortable one either. “Okay, honestly, this isn't even close to the weirdest thing you've caught me doing.” Was the immediate response from Solaris, as Dusk settled for just a forced smile. Both alicorns were fidgeting their wings in an almost frantic attempt of staying balanced, and their horns were lit and cast an aura around the large brick they were holding. “That looks rather strenuous, why don't you take a break? Wouldn't want one of you to get hurt…” Artemis said with a sarcastic roll of his eyes. “We are doing this on purpose, and you interrupted a very interesting story that Dusk was telling. Go ahead and keep going.” His brother responded in an offended tone and nodded to his former pupil. “I… uhh… if it's alright with you, Artemis…” The youngest prince trailed off, not wanting to get between the two brothers. Artemis sighed and nodded. “Now you have gotten me curious. Go on.” “So Applejack was leaning against a wall with a full bale of hay on his hooves like this, claiming that a pushup, like… this…” Dusk grunted and lowered himself to the ground with his forelegs, wings flapping slightly to account for the movement. “... would be the perfect full body workout with load and pressure on every major muscle group. Then Blitz said the wouldn't work for him, since it wouldn't work out wings. I think he just said that because he knew that he could never lift a hay bale over his head normally, and going into a pose like this would highlight the fact that he can't stack up in brute strength with AJ.” “This is a pretty good extension of the workout for us winged types, though I am hardly putting pressure on them, mainly just flexing them.” Solaris flapped his wings slightly to prove his point. “No, this isn't what I was talking about, Rainbow actually thought of this one when AJ challenged him. I will admit, this could have been a great exercise to use when I first got my wings, it really works on dexterity and subtle movements that are critical to flying. That is of course why Blitz would think of it, he is all about nimble and quick motion. I proposed an alternative,” Dusk grunted as he leaned backwards slightly, falling a bit before he caught himself on the tips of his wings. Mirroring his motion, Solaris’ face went slightly more red with exertion as well. “This position is for strength. The hay bales replaced with a block of something heavy, and magic can adjust the force down on it while dipping into these.” The youngest prince strained as he lowered his body down with a bend at the knee and wing, and Artemis got an appreciation for the actual validity of this form. Truly, a strenuous motion would be quite… wait, I am forgetting something… Artemis shook his head and glanced around a bit before his eyes lit up with realization. “Dusk, while I can appreciate a good form as well as the next colt, I need some help rather urgently.” At the sudden call of his name, the young stallion lost his concentration, and wobbled slightly. Solaris’ eyes widened as a heavy brick perched on his former student’s hooves began to fall, and caught it quickly with his magic. “Sorry about that, but it is rude to leave a lady in waiting…” Artemis began walking towards his friends as they righted themselves. “Alright, I need a lab rat and both of your help. I am going through this portal to her world tonight!” His announcement had a level of gravity that couldn't be undercut by his goofy grin, and the other two princes raised their eyebrows at this sudden proclamation. “I'm actually kinda surprised you found a solution to this problem, not to say I'm not happy for you, of course. You mean a pony willing to be experimented upon, or an actual rat?” Dusk asked, smiling slightly at the high spirits of his friend. “I will answer that for him, since this whole mirror experience reeks danger.” Solaris’ magic flared, and a large white mouse appeared in a cage on the floor next to the mirror. “Just try to get this back to the academy once you are done; they don't grow on trees, you know.” Artemis summoned his small pink mirror and activated its sigils. After a few moments, the three princes could see three princesses in the mirror, all looking with mixtures of excitement and curiosity. This immediately got six different reactions (or perhaps three, if grouped): Solaris and Celestia smiled at each other, their gazes making their younger siblings nervous. Then, Artemis and Luna shyly glanced at each other, which caused Dusk and Twilight to smile to themselves. Then the two youngest saw each other. Directly. Looked each other in the eyes. For the first time. ~~~ “I guess they just couldn't take it.” Solaris said as he gently prodded the unconscious prince lying next to him. “Poor thing fainted just from seeing her male self. I admit it almost happened to me the first time…” Celestia said as she stroked Twilight's mane gently, and gave a completely unsubtle wink to Solaris. At this the younger siblings groaned and shook their heads in unison. “So… shall we continue without them? I know Twilight would want to see this, but I doubt the two of them will be any help with each other around.” Luna nudged the prone princess with a hoof, who responded with only a groan. “I would say so; given their reaction, I doubt they will want to cross to the other side any time soon. I find it strange, though, that Dusk would have this reaction. He is friends with plenty of mares his age, like… well, now that I say that, I can't call any to mind.” Solaris chuckled lightly as he tapped his chin with a hoof. Artemis flicked his brother with his wing and cleared his throat. “It is time.” to make his point, he levitated the lab rat out of its cage and over to the large mirror standing in the room. “If you please, that last version I wrote on the board should do the trick.” Solaris studied the block of magical equations and formulas Artemis indicated, and lit his horn. Across the mirror, Celestia looked around until she found similar writings from Luna, and her horn glowed with a matching brilliance. The air around the standing mirror began to sizzle and snap with energy, and the portal to the moon opened in a blazing flash. Checking each other through the small pink hand mirror, the two Solar Aspects nodded to each other in perfect sync. Both extended their wings as their eyes glowed white. Wind began to pour out of the portal as it blurred away from the moon's still surface. Artemis and Luna looked at each other with excitement and a small amount of fear, while the lab rat squeaked with no excitement at all, just fear. Keeping their eyes locked through the pink mirror’s surface, both let out a startled gasp and the image of the other disappeared and was replaced by black, before the spell stopped and the surface returned to mirror finish. This would have been a problem, except as soon as the blue alicorns looked up, they saw each other in the standing mirror’s face. Artemis had to restrain his urge to run through the portal right then, and glanced down to his small white companion, watching as terror played out on its tiny face. “Believe me, I want this to work more than you.” Artemis said, setting aside the smaller mirror and opting to try to calm the rodent with a gentle pat. On the floor, Dusk and Twilight began to stir, just in time to see each other again through the portal, and faint once more. Solaris, looking more like a burning star than a pony at this point, just shrugged to his brother and nodded to the portal. Luna and Artemis glanced at each other and took a deep breath. The rat was not happy getting any closer to the mirror, and as Artemis floated it's tiny body closer the surface, he felt bad for the flailing creature in his grasp. I wrote this spell. I know it works. Three of the awake ponies let out some sort of surprised yelp as Artemis stepped forward and extended his hoof. Before anypony could stop him, he breached the surface, and with an intense tingling, saw the end of his leg on the other side of the portal. Withdrawing a bit and noticing the dumbfounded stares, he smirked slightly. “What kind of scientist would I be to not completely be sure of a spell before risking another testing it.” The racing of his heart slowed slightly, and he looked at the rat he was still holding up to the mirror. “That being said, I will still pass you this little guy on principle of rigorous testing procedure.” Pushing the rodent through the portal slowly, he raised his eyebrows as he felt his magical grasp shave down at the portal’s edge. Luna saw the front part of the rat come through the mirror unsupported, and quickly picked up the hanging portion with her magic. It was still squeaking and looking around wildly, but it didn't seem to have changed much at all, other than all of its fur was standing on end. As the very end of its tail transferred into Luna's grip, she smiled widely at Artemis. Turning to set the rat down, she realized she didn't have a cage ready, and started to summon one before another idea occurred to her. “Send me that cage, if you would. Another test won't hurt, and I imagine a magical cage from the academy would be an interesting subject. Well, that and a rat. And you, too.” Artemis nodded with a smile and slid the cage across the floor to the mirror before sending it through. With a small clatter, the sigiled cage landed in front of Luna, who opened it and inserted the rat. Touching the symbol next to the small door of the cage, the lines inscribed on the metal lit, and the door snapped close tight. As the glow traced the writing along the miniature bars, the rat stopped squeaking and fidgeting as it had been since it's journey. “Looks like the docility enchantment still works, and the ray responded normally. That in and of itself counts as two major checks for the portal spell.” Luna said, making Artemis smile at their success. “That tells me, at least to a small degree, that this will be safe for living creatures and magic artifacts. I would count that as sufficient proof of concept.” “Alright, I know that you two were really looking forward to traversing the interdimensional today, but could we call that good for now? I am quickly getting burnt out on this spell.” Solaris strained to say, then groaned as his little brother gave him a pleading look. “I want this to be safe for you Luna, so I agree with him. Tomorrow we can try again, and do more testing to ensure the safety of both of you.” Celestia tried to put on a comforting smile, but immediately dropped it as Luna took her turn surprising everypony. As the last of her tail billowed out of the portal into Artemis’ world, Luna quickly turned to stick her tongue out at her glaring sister. “I guess that settles that, doesn't it?” Artemis smiled at his female self, taking a moment to admire the subtle differences and not so subtle similarities they shared. “Dear sister, we will send a letter through the mirror when I am ready to come back, so have a guard check my room tomorrow morning every so often.” Luna strode up next to her male self, and matched his smile. With a last roll of the blazing white eyes, Celestia released her magic, an act that Solaris matched without even looking. The portal closed, and the loose papers and other small objects in the room settled as the wind stopped. Solaris cleared his throat, looking at the mirror idly. “I think you forgot the rat over there...” He mused, before looking at his younger brother and his female doppelganger. “That is not really a problem, though. I will wait here with Dusk until he decides to stop being so dramatic, you go have fun you crazy kids.” From his smirk, Luna and Artemis felt slightly uncomfortable, and Artemis replied “We will have fun, thank you very much. And we are not kids, you know. You are barely older than me, anyways.” Luna giggled quietly at how familiar this felt, despite being in a completely new world with two ponies she had seen less than a dozen times combined. “Do you really know how much older than you I am? ‘Barely older’, ha!” Solaris stepped closer to his brother and they stared each other down. “Of course I don't know how much older you are. Neither do you!” Artemis replied, raising his voice slightly. “That's not the point! I am older by the fact that I came first. Whether time had been created yet is hardly relevant.” “But we don't even know that either. Seriously, we could just be different sizes by design, due to the relative size of our charges. It's not like we ever asked Mother or Father.” That old argument… Luna shook her head and tugged on Artemis’ wing to draw him away from another pointless fight. “I was promised dark chocolate pancakes. Or are you more intent on bickering all night?” Both princes snapped their head to her, and upon stopping for a moment, flushed with equally deep embarrassment. The two mumbled something of an apology, until they were interrupted by the sound of Dusk groaning. With one last look at his brother, Solaris went over to help his former student up. Artemis took this opportunity to nod to the door and follow Luna out. ~~~ “No really, I love your wings. They look beautiful. I am just saying that having a horn gives us the freedom to use our magic and do everything normally. Plus I can't really even fly with my wings like this.” “Oh, come on, haven't you ever heard the saying ‘pegasi have more fun’? I bet we could have a lovely night on the town and easily pass off as a couple of slightly large pegasi.” Luna and Artemis stood next to each other, looking at their reflections in yet another mirror, this one installed in Artemis’ temporary chambers. Luna winked and her form flashed into the shape of a light pink pegasus with a long blonde mane pulled up in a ponytail. Artemis looked at her incredulously, though it was difficult to keep from staring, as she seemed to have put a little more effort into this disguise, and it showed in key… areas. Clearing his throat and making himself drag his eyes off her outfit that exaggerated her proportions and rather lewd cutie mark, Artemis quickly cast a disguise for himself, opting for a much more realistic unicorn stallion. He shook out his medium length mane of silver hair, and flexed his invisible wings, staring intensely at the point on his cyan back where they were secretly connected. No matter which way he moved his wings, the fur on his shoulders and the muscles underneath didn't move, which proved to be slightly more disconcerting than he counted on. “Oh come on, don't sell yourself short. I will be a unicorn too if yours looks a bit more like you.” Luna prodded Artemis’ shoulder, and nodded to how her hoof rested on his real coat almost an inch from where the illusion showed he should be. “All of the muscle will be hard to account for if you can't get an accurate feel from where you actually fit into the room. Knocking things over with your wings will need to be avoided, but that will be easier than trying to pass off a really wide berth around yourself.” Artemis chuckled and nodded, enjoying the symmetry of their minds as they continued to complete each other's thought processes. “Well, you will have to use quite a disguise if you don't want every stallion we meet to stare. Probably even some mares, too.” Luna's cheeks heated as Artemis touched a single invisible feather to the tight outfit she still had on. Her invisible horn quickly lit, and she shifted to a purple unicorn with a striped mane. “Very original. Look, even your cutie mark is stars.” Artemis deadpanned, raising his eyes at her in the mirror. “What, Twilight doesn't exist here, no one would even notice.” “Yeah, but even when Dusk was a librarian, I always remembered his color scheme. It is relatively unique, given the massive number of ponies I have known in my life. Also, I am so telling your Twilight that the first thing you change to is her, like she is the most unsexy pony you can come up with. I am sure she will be offended.” “Come on, I didn't mean it like that! I'm not a changeling, and I am not about to try casting polymorph just for grins. I just thought of librarian, and that is what happened. I wasn't going for ‘unsexy’ just a little more chaste than… you thought my disguise as Sugar Plum looked sexy? I should tell Celestia that one of the teachers at her school has a Prince looking for her…” “Okay, first, that is not what I said at all. Second, even if I believe you, and that was based on a teacher at your sister's school, there is no way she has your proportions, so changing your coat and mane colors doesn't count as a compliment for her. If anything, you should take it as a compliment… Stop looking at me like that, you are just trying to get me distracted.” Artemis felt his cheeks burning as he tried out a few more disguises in quick succession. After Luna got past her own blush and coy grin, she too started switching forms. Eventually, they got to the point where they were discussing their choices again, quickly critiquing their choices. “No, these look similar enough that somepony is going to ask if we are brother and sister.” “I mean, I like the glasses and all, but why in the world would we both have the same pair?” “Alright, these two look different enough from each other… umm. I hate to say it, but I just don't like the yellow mane color.” “Alright, now you are just getting silly. I actually went to that play, and while it was a female back in my world, I know who you are trying to do.” “That looks really good, keep that one. The scarf is a great addition. This is fun.” said Artemis, smiling as he inspected Luna, who now had a grey coat and a wavy purple mane with bangs that hung just over her face. A telescope and stars made up her cutie mark, which Artemis guessed she would pass off as an astronomer, which was clever. Her horn, in proportion to her body, was a bit long, but her disguise was otherwise reasonable for a mare on the taller end of the spectrum. “This is why mares take longer to get dressed, except most don't put on full magical disguises each day. I don't normally fuss too much about outfits if it isn't the Gala or something official, but I am having fun…” She trailed off as Artemis tried a new form. He had a white coat and a light blue mane that was short enough to not get in the way of his eyes. “Hold on with that one. With a bit darker of a mane, you could almost pass off for Shining Armor, back in my world. You're a bit taller though, and the horn is still long. I would keep that, except change your cutie mark, we can't both be astronomers.” “Alright, so I was thinking about that, one of the largest astronomical societies in Equestria is right here in Canterlot, so we could easily pass off as some ponies from out of town for a stargaze or something. Also, it would make sense that we stay up all night in that case, and our unparalleled knowledge of the night sky is practically part of the package.” “Okay, okay… That was my idea just taken a step further. I really shouldn't be surprised that you spend so much thought on the details like I do. Have you started thinking of a name? We really can't both have names with star in them.” Luna grinned as she looked at the two ponies in the mirror. They looked just like normal ponies, within a very small margin of error, and Artemis had chosen to keep his well toned muscular build. A little odd for an stargazer to be built like a bodybuilder, but I am not complaining. “I could be something like North Star, and maybe for you, something Gaze? Midnight Gaze maybe?” Artemis shrugged and looked over to see that Luna's disguise was changing slightly in the face, and after a moment, he realized she was just changing the disguise to include a light application of makeup. I am still going to have to fight the other colts off anywhere we go, but nopony is going to tell me that models can't also be astronomers. “What about Star Gazer? A little too on the nose?” Luna blinked a few times to clear up her mascara before realizing that there was no need, since it was all just magic on magic covered in more magic. As her mind went down this trail of thought, something occurred to her. She looked over at Artemis magically fixing his hair and positioning a newly summoned cap onto his head. Wrinkling his nose, the cap was replaced by a toque, making him look more like a snowboarder than an astronomer. He shook his head slightly and replaced it with a pair of earmuffs that matched his colors exactly. He wasn't just bringing those objects from somewhere nearby, he is creating them. This disguise spell by itself is a pretty intense magical task, but he is also adding items by crafting rather than summoning? That is quite a task for a powerful magician, much less a nearly crippled one, yet he looks to not even be trying too hard, just idly channeling. “What do you think?” Artemis asked, breaking Luna's train of thought as he showed off his new outfit. “I think I should wear a light coat and nothing on my head, just enough to keep warm, and it will also hide my real shape a bit better. Also has the added benefit of keeping my wings in check and warm while we are out there.” “You look about as unremarkable as you can, I think.” Luna said absentmindedly as she thought back to recent behavior of the injured prince. “Perfect!” Artemis smiled and trotted over to his desk, where he began scribbling out name ideas for the two of them. Last week he would have been limping across the room, not prancing around like a school foal. Could it be psychosomatic? Are his injuries impeding him less than he thinks they should? I saw how deep those wounds were, his body was physically broken, so that should offer him more trouble than this, even now. Regardless, he still had trouble when he forgot that he was even injured, he was even surprised by it. That could mean something, but I certainly don't know enough psychology to puzzle that one out. Luna sighed and vowed to herself to check with the castle hospital when she returned, but it was pointless to ruin their evening with serious matters that didn't seem to be a problem. She walked over beside Artemis, and looked down at his sheet. Orderly columns of names were paired next to each other, all slightly different variations on his original ideas. When she asked for her own sheet, he nodded to the top desk drawer on her side, before flipping his sheet over and continuing his list down the back of his page. Luna opened the drawer, and was confused to find a neat writing set, but the paper stack had a crinkled look to the sheets, and there was writing on them. As she pulled out the sheets and floated them in front of her to read, it dawned on her that these were discarded drafts of a letter, addressed to her, and in the same hoof writing that she saw on Artemis’ sheet off to her left where he was working. She was about to ask him about these, but she read across a few that started deviating from the traditional opening she found on the previous ones. Some were silly, some quite emotional and actually a little worrying, and a few that were rather suggestive, going so far as to one being almost explicit. Her body was heating up a little bit as she glanced over at her male self, and tried desperately to not visualize some of the situations he described. Failing that, she decided to quietly stack them back where she found them, close the drawer quietly, and step a few paces away to clear her head. Her cheeks were the same exact color grey as they had been before, and she realized that her reflection showed a very viable facade that could hide her involuntary reactions, or at least the bodily ones. She glanced back to make sure Artemis wasn't watching, and quickly reached up to force down her stiff wings so they would fold invisibly to her sides. “I keep trying to change it, but basic and on the nose seems the most… normal. What do you think?” Artemis turned as he posed the question, hoping to get some insight from his companion. At his questioning look, Luna realized she hadn't been listening for his last few sentences, and opted to just stand there awkwardly. “So… Star Gazer and North Star? You said not to have star in both names, but…” Artemis absentmindedly scratched the back of his head, shrugging an unstated question. “I was being facetious, don't worry. Those sound like ordinary ponies to me, I can’t think of why not. Plus, we are taking a while on this, I would rather be enjoying the evening out after all the time I've spent in the castle recently.” Luna smirked as she shook out her mane a little and posed in the mirror. “You think you have had enough of this place? I haven't even gone outside but a couple of times. I've been needing to stretch my wings, so to speak.” Artemis chuckled as he looked back to his invisible wings, and gave them a flap. He received a twinge from his left wing as an unseen metal brace protested against the flexing appendage. He summoned a coat and slipped it on quickly, allowing Luna the time to adjust her scarf and put on a warm pair of winter boots. “Lead the way, it's your castle.” Luna opened the door, and smiled as Artemis excitedly trotted out the doors.