Celestia continued. "You see, before Discord reigned, there was no need for control. Weather controlled itself. The sun and the moon moved on their own. You see, the whole system worked on gravity. This planet, called Equus then, orbited around the sun. The moon, likewise, orbited around Equus. Everything was in balance. In Harmony."
Twilight stared open-mouthed at Celestia. This went against all known facts.
But it made sense to me. It made all too much sense now.
"Then Discord came to power. He didn't deliberately destroy anything, but he was irresponsible. The moon, the original Moon, was flung into a high orbit around the Sun, now collapsed into a white dwarf star."
"With no heat to sustain them, the ponies were dying. Discord saved them, of course; after all, what fun are dead ponies?"
Celestia shuddered.
"After we defeated Discord with the Elements of Harmony, the world turned dark. Everything turned cold and desolate. Luna and I created the sun and moon you now see today out of our own magic. We took a portion of our already considerable power, and kept our ponies safe. But we were weakened, and ponies were not happy with us."
"Why not?" Twilight said, confused. "Didn't you save them?"
"Yes, we did. But we hadn't realised the extent of Discord's destruction, and in so doing, almost doomed them all. They were angry, Twilight. And in a way, they were right."
"We were too weak to be of any help, so we left. We left to live in peace. The ponies created the stars to cover up Discord's damage. Never again would a pony see the real stars, the distant stars. Never again would they find the urge to explore. They isolated themselves in their fear. And fear brings hatred."
"Everypony feared what they did not know, what was strange, what was different. They started fearing each other as well. They separated into tribes, and constantly fought. And so the Windigos came. The three tribes came together, and as you know very well, Equestria was founded. And we returned."
"Long ago we were made into legends, stories for ponies to tell their children. But now that we were real, ponies adored us. Forgetting our mistakes and remembering our heroism, they insisted that we be their rulers. You see, there was a grand debate going on. Who would be the ruler of this new nation of Equestria. Seeing our alicorn forms, it was a perfect compromise. Every race was represented. And they were. And we resumed control of the sun and moon."
"Why did you keep this a secret? Why not tell anypony else?"
"Because, Starry Night, I was frightened."
"Frightened?"
"If ponies knew the truth, if they knew what we had done so long ago, would they reject us again? Perhaps not now, but I was just so used to suppressing that truth that I had forgotten it. I'm sorry."
"So that star that I saw?"
"It is the original sun, now less than a hundredth of its original brightness."
"And the Nightmare?"
"Has been banished to the original Moon."
"But if there is no magic on that Moon, how did she regain it?"
"I...don't know. That is troubling. But we do have one assurance."
"And what is that?"
"The Elements of Harmony."
This time it was me who let out a sigh. "Somehow I don't think she'll allow herself to be beaten by the same trick."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, the Elements take about three full seconds to activate and fire. Suppose she moves out of the way."
"I understand what you're saying, but I don't think the Elements can miss."
"But even if that's true, just one Element missing, and the whole thing doesn't work."
"Plus, we have to think of the future."
"What do you mean by that?"
"As you said before, it is against the nature of the Elements to destroy. Even at their fullest power, they could only banish it to the moon. It is quite far away, but is by no means a permanent prison."
"Discord eventually broke free. Nightmare Moon eventually escaped. The Elements are a temporary solution at best."
Celestia thought for a moment. "What do you suppose we should do?"
"We need to strike first. We can't wait until the Nightmare becomes powerful enough to return. We need to ensure the future safety of Equestria."
"We need to go to space."
"How do you suppose we do that?"
"I have no idea! But I will find a way."
Celestia stood. "You have given me quite a lot to think about. You may go on with your plan. But forgive me if I make plans of my own. Thank both of you for bringing this to my attention. You may leave if there is nothing more you wish to discuss."
"Thank you."
Twilight and I started to leave the room when she motioned for me to stay outside.
"Just a moment. Princess, could I talk to you for a moment in private?"
I sat down on the stone floor of the corridor outside, my armor making soft clinking sounds against the stone. I suppose Inwas a bit curious about what they were talking about. But right now, the more pressing matter was my own.
How was I going to get to space?
Pegasi had a height limit, I knew that intimately. I had tested it quite thouroughly. In fact, my race with Rainbow Dash started at that limit.
I will always remember that day. In that moment, I thought anything was possible.
And it very nearly was. I remember the ease of how I retained that phenomenal speed, the way I could do impossible maneuvers, the way the air seemed to support that which was clearly impossible.
Wait. That was it.
The ambient magic may stop at that height, but does that magic, the other field past the barrier, do the same?
This was not impossible.
There was a chance.