3 – In Where Arty Sees Himself
~ 3 ~
In Where Arty Sees Himself
The sun had reached its apex in the mountainous horizon by the time Artemis found himself standing in front of the mirror, wearing a faulty smile upon his muzzle. On one hoof, he looked rather stunning in his new royal items, the black coat looking more and more like an improvement over his former harness. Somewhere along the design he picked up a spare set of glasses and put them on. It gave him a scholarly disposition.
On the other hoof… it felt as if the coat was there all along. That it was the royal garb before, even though Artemis knew the harness was there first. The memory whiplash taxed his mind, and he stood silently in front of the mirror, his eyes glazed and unmoving.
This scared both the royal designer, and Twilight.
“Um, your majesty…” the designer began, “Is the coat not suitable to your liking?”
“What? Oh, um, no, I very much like it,” Artemis automatically replied. The lunar prince still stood unmoving, and unblinking.
Artemis swore that for just a brief second, he saw Princess Luna in the mirror, wearing the original harness, and staring right back at him.
“Is everything alright in there?” a muffled voice asked. All three ponies turned to see the door open and Princess Celestia walked in, with an unreadable smile on her muzzle.
“Yes. I must admit it feels as if I am still in my harness, as if this coat always belonged to me. Tis like I am reunited with an object instead of having it gifted to me.”
“Well that’s great,” Celestia said. “Then we can get started on the press conference.”
All the other ponies in the room visibly blanched.
“Pr… press conference!?” Twilight yelled.
“The media is going to see my work so soon? But I think we may need some finishing touches!” the designer complained.
“Bu…bu… bu…” Artemis tried to articulate his shock, but failed. Instead he spouted gibberish, clearly surprised that ponies were going to see him so soon.
“We can’t have a press conference now! Why did you call for a press conference?!” Twilight asked.
“It wasn’t my decision, they called for one. In the short walk between your chambers and this one, Artemis, some guards saw how you were decidedly a male and started rumors. Soon, those rumors reached the maids, then the head maid's, then some of the lingering nobility in the castle, and then their peers, and now the newspapers and magazines. Canterlot Express was the first to ask me questions, and wanted to publicly ask Artemis some questions.”
Twilight was at a loss for how information could spread so fast in the castle. “But… but how? It’s only been a day since Luna was turned into Artemis!”
“Rumors spread faster than fire, under the right circumstances. School fillies like you were would know that better than anypony,” Celestia answered. “Also, I am pretty sure some maids act as listeners for some tabloids, more or less.”
“But… but you heard the royal designer, he still has to finish the design of the coat, and we cannot be seen without our regalia!”
“Actually, it would only be some stitches in some areas, and not really noticeable stitches either…” the designer was silenced by a very angry glare from the lunar prince.
“Come on then, Arty, you’ve had plenty of experience answering questions from the presses. Why are you so hesitant?” Celestia asked.
“Ar, Arty?” Artemis pointed out the nickname Celestia just used for him.
“Of course! I called you Lulu, now I call you ‘Arty’!” Celestia answered with an innocent smile.
Arty glared at Celestia as she walked up to him, not so approving of the new nickname. Artemis never liked nicknames as they sounded demeaning, even if it was only with his sister. Celestia, once she stood up to him, faded the smile from her muzzle and now stared at him with another one of her unreadable expressions.
“Lu-Artemis, you look g-good,” Celestia sputtered, “I mean, you look well. The coat suits you, and I’m sure no pony is going to criticize you simply because you don’t look like a mare anymore.” Celestia smiled, “You have nothing to worry about, sister.”
Artemis looked down, conflicted about going out to the masses. All those ponies, staring at her/him, wondering if Artemis would act differently than their previous moon princess. Would they be angry? Would they laugh? Would they demand the prince be taken away until the real Luna came back, convinced that he was a copy of the Princess? All Artemis wanted to do right now was to just stay in the room and hide from the scary ponies like a filly from her monsters.
Except… she wasn’t a filly anymore. She was a mare. Or, a stallion, at least. Stallions aren’t supposed to be scared, they’re supposed to face the problem head-on.
Sometimes even literally head-on, bashing in being their solution.
She is now the Prince, and He will be the new master of the night.
Artemis drew out a long breath and looked at Celestia with a somewhat hesitant smile. “Very well then. If our subjects wish to know their new ruler of the night, even if it is only a temporary change, then we shall not keep them waiting.”
Celestia put her hoof around Artemis’s neck. “And that’s the sister I know. I’ll be there if some of the mares do get a little rough, don’t worry.”
“Mares? Getting rough?” Artemis asked.
“Oh! Um…” Celestia slightly recoiled. “You… do… well look.”
Celestia directed Artemis’s attention to the mirror. “Take it from me, Arty. You do look stunning as a stallion. Nice touch with the glasses too.”
“Yeah! I mean, who wouldn't like you?” Twilight added, getting as excited as Celestia about Artemis’s first time out with the public, albeit being a bit forced into the situation.
“Speaking as a stallion, I certainly would bow to you, Prince Artemis,” the royal designer nodded.
Again, Artemis found himself staring at the mirror. While he did notice before how handsome he looked, he didn’t fully realize it until now.
He was dreamy.
Luna was the warrior princess in earlier times, and now that translated to a body worthy of commanding respect among troops, but yet still toned so as not to be intimidating in any social gathering. His mane was kept short, but yet the starry blue made him seem a bit ethereal, a stallion that all the younger mares dreamed about for their romantic nights.The glasses, while not really useful because Artemis never had a problem with his eyesight, still provided a sort of wisdom and learned experience to his character, a trait that might lead students to “ask to visit their personal library”.
All in all, Luna would totally fall in love with Artemis. A brief thought entered his mind that he may be entering some levels of narcissism that shouldn't be known if he keeps thinking about himself this way.
He turned back to Celestia. “Very well, then. When shall the conference take place?”
“It should be about…” Celestia looked around in the room for a clock. She raised her brow, however, when she couldn't spot one immediately on the wall. She quickly paced around the room, looking for any sort of timekeeping mechanism.
There wasn't one.
“You… you don't have a clock here?” Celestia asked the designer.
“No, I do not. When I am in need, I shall work immediately, and not stop or rest even when the sun is up or down!” the designer said proudly, holding his head up high.
All three princesses looked at the designer like he was some crazed stallion, with Twilight looking the most shocked. “How do you… how do you even know when to go out to eat or to even sleep?” she asked, scared of any answer the stallion might give.
“Oh, I um… I don't really go out to eat, I have a little stove over in the other room,” the designer pointed over at another door on a side wall next to the entrance, “and I stay in my quarters for most of the day. I don't sleep until my work is completely finished.”
Twilight deadpanned. “You… seriously have to get out more. Especially in this castle.”
“Now, now,” Celestia interrupted with a chuckle, “Is the pot calling the kettle black here, my former student?”
“Dah, uh,” Twilight sputtered, “Well he should take it from me then! Don't waste your life just doing one thing in one place.”
“Enough,” Artemis firmly spoke. “It is around a quarter to the hour of two, sister. We would guess the conference will be at the hour then?”
“A quarter to two? How do you even…?” Celestia asked, surprised that Arty even knew the exact time like that.
“We looked at the sun outside. Really sister, you have been on this world for how many years and still don't understand the passage of time from your sun?” Artemis lightly scolded.
“I uh… we’re stalling!” Celestia spoke out, trying to avoid the question with a lot of eagerness. “We need to go, we need to go, yes it was at six, we need to go now!”
Celestia trotted to Artemis's posterior to lay a hoof upon the firm rump, causing the mare to tilt her head slightly as a small innocent grin adored her muzzle. In what Artemis would later consider a pat on her behind that Celestia would defend as a push, the stallion legs lagged behind him as he they were forced to pick up along with the rest of his frame out the door.
Twilight quickly followed them, although her eyes were staring through the window at the groups of ponies gathering just outside the castle. Flashes of cameras going off prematurely as notepads flipped open to record this single event for all of history. A stutter; a pause that lasted a second to long; a wrong answer to a question that everypony in Equestria was worrying about…
Twilight glanced back at the two sisters, now one brother, who trotted next to one-another. While the sister looked over the brother with a soft smile, the stallion himself kept his eyes straight on what awaited him. Even if he held an expression that was unsure of itself, his legs did not falter as he pressed into the next pair of doors. She followed after the two royals, a dire expression on her face as she worried about the outcome, even though Celestia promised to Artemis that she wouldn't let anything happen to him.
The designer stayed in the room, slumped in a sitting position and looking down with a sad frown. “But… but I don't like getting out of the castle,” he mumbled to nopony in particular.
Stats
Page generated in 0.211 seconds
Total duration
1,044 users online
1,924,298 hits today, 2,280,440 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Yes update
Hahahahaha, I love this,
Nice job!
Happy Birfday!!!
Also dreamy Luna ftw! Hah. Dream. Pun.
Happy Birfday to you. Loving the work.
I feel sorry for the designer.
Poor stallion.
7648810
I agree with the sentiment
Is Celestia lying? I feel like Celestia is lying.
Eh. True enough.
I suppose this is proof that this Celestia isn't channeling Molestia. She would have already jumped Luna by now if that was the case.
Happeh birfday
Bapppy hirthday... wait that's not right. Birthday happy... still not right
Happy birth week... hmm good enough
Also great story I would love to read more
Oh behave
Happy birfday ill have a brownie in fact ill have 2 one for you one for me
Well, solving problems head-on is a good solution. Just not all the time. And not literally
Still, good on you, Arty. Go there and face the scary crowd. Make them all swoon over you. Even the designer himself said he'd bow down to you! Quite the ego booster. Also begs to question the sexuality of said designer. Oh well, nothing wrong there either way.
Also Celestia tries being coy, and gets away with it because everyone's focused on more imminent things. Clever.
Twilight giving advice not to live one's life antisocially was a beautiful irony. Oh how the times have changed.
Sun burn!
Happy birthday.
Yes finally mass reactions!
*chapter ends*
Noooooo
Happy Berfday!
Those who think Tia shouldn't be seeing Arty in a sexual way remember:
She is a mare who is hundreds of years old who likely never let herself fall for others that often do to being (semi)-immortal/Alicorn,etc. And Arty as a fellow (semi)-immortal/Alicorn there room for... I don't know offsprings?
Unlike humans who ain't that affected by pheromones do to our abysmal sense of smell doesn't mean equestrians (horses & ponies) share the same handicap. http://www.horse-of-dream.vsau.ru/inter/smell-e.html
And yes I'm making shit up lol XD
7649168 uuuhhh incest?. you know that is a bad idea right?
7649433
True, but strong emotions and/or desire for kids don't much care for such things.
Plus magic/alicorn/plot BS might make incestual birth defects a non factor
7649642 alicorn magic can not make (genetic failure's) not happen
this video talk's about inbreeding:start's at 2.37
7649728
You seem to not be considering that this be the magical land of Equestria where genetic degradation may not occur. In layman's terms, there are no bad mutations to present.
The exact science is something I don't want to have to type out in response to a comment.
Happy Birthday.
Happy birthday~!
Also.. aww.. poor Royal Designer... :C
7649433 No more a bad idea than having kids with someone whose family has a history of disposition to some of the same diseases...which people do all the time. One generation of incest isn't actually a particularly huge risk unless you have a really bad disease that runs in the family. It's when you start doing it for multiple generations that it becomes a major risk. And you know, the whole 'immortality' thing is kindof a perk that overrides any other issues. Would kinda suck to outlive your beloved spouse by about, oh, forever.
7648695 Indeed, it's a linguistic term, but it's much older than modern English. Remember that other languages (including earlier forms of English) have arbitrary gender. Modern English mostly abandoned gender (since we don't bother to conjugate or decline to it), and remains intact mostly in pronouns. As such, arbitrary gender itself mostly vanished, being replaced by 'natural gender', however both specific and general exceptions to the use of natural gender still remain, especially in non-persons. (as I pointed out in animals and ships) So yes, while sex-based (natural) gender is the default, there's plentiful basis to override it.
Happy birthday.
7650812
Erm, actually, yeah, they kinda do. It's called linguistic drift.
And again, gender is NOT a biological term, but one of linguistics. You'll notice all those words you listed come directly from Latin, not French. Further, gender can evaluate far more than sex: animateness, personhood, social role, etc. can all be evaluated by genders depending on the language. English's natural gender even uses personhood itself, since you can call any nonperson 'it', and no person 'it', regardless of sex.
Finally, I can argue that it actually means kind. The root, while meaning 'birth', is intended for use for clan/race/caste, not sex.
7650812
7650598
As it pertains to language, gender actually has little to do with biology. Even given the visual similarity of the words. Words are inherently arbitrary and while similarities between words CAN have a related meaning. It is not a given that they well. For reference, While Populate and Depopulate have readily associated concepts, it does not extend to Deceive and *Ceive
(* denoting an incorrect usage).
In fact, similar things can occur where it should but does not even with these patterns. Take for example:
Drive Dive
Drove Dove
Have Driven *Have Diven
"*Have Diven" follows logically to exist, following simple grammatical rules that apply to Drive. Why English lacks this, is not something most people concern themselves with, merely that it's not there.
Gender /happens/ to correspond to masculine and feminine in languages English speakers are frequently familiar with.
Also, Grammatical gender is not the most common case in human language. Wikipedia suggest only a quarter of human languages attesting gender at all.
Other such uses of grammatical gender include Neuter, Or go with animacy/inanimacy instead of Masculine and Feminine.
In the case of Gender, Biology typically has nothing to do with it (at the Human Language scale). It is more often these days a matter of comfort with the associated person and terminology. That dips more into the gender studies side of things though.
And, as much as I hate English for it. It DOES have meanings added or changed because ENOUGH people feel strongly one way or another on it.
Take say, Brohoof. It's probably not academic Engilsh (mostly, it is likely attested in some literature somewhere) and certainly not Elizabethan English, but passes the test of Native English speakers just knowing it. Take most any random user of this site, and they'll probably accept it as a word. And therefore it is English. Perhaps as an sociolect of "Brony English" or whatever. This too can extend to particular developments of language around particular online games. Or hell, sports. Terms outside of those contexts might make no sense unless you know the sport or game or social group.
That though is more a feature of unregulated language, which English being a global one, isn't going to change away from any time soon.
As for the older forms of English, from what I can recall of what's been brought up involving Historical Linguistics... It used to have /more/ use of gender than it does today.
Also, while the different pronouns for male/female exist, English will have not abandoned Gender. Even if it's only attested in a small portion of it.
In the genetic matters of incest, it is sometimes a case that successive inbreeding /reduces/ the chance of these genetic problems coming up, as for any recessive problem there is a 1 in 2 chance it wasn't passed on, assuming only one parent carried said trait.
So just as likely as it can pass on, it might not.
If it does not, and only cases where it was not passed on continues, it becomes possible to remove such issues as time progresses.
This may be exactly how Lab rats/Lab mice have essentially identical genetic makeups. Excessive, but non-fatal, inbreeding.
So while it can be a big risk, it can also remove such issues for further generations entirely.
...
...
...
Brought to you by my needless amount of time under the banner of Cognitive Science, Now with Biology, Psychology, Linguistics, Computer Science and Philosophy!
In case that was all too long:
Science, specifically Cognitive Science (the Linguistic Variety) has covered that definitions do in fact change. Sometimes just because people feel strongly enough about it.
Science, specifically Biology, has demonstrated that while inbreeding can have increased genetic issues that are previously present become a bigger issue, it can just as well remove said genetics in successive viable generations.
Historical Linguistics suggest English actually had more use of Masculine and Feminine gender.
Linguistics (typology) suggests that the default "gender" is to not use gender in a language (making the language non-gendered), where English is concerned, the default is the biological sex (or the lack thereof) with Masculine/Feminine/Neuter. A language may be non-gendered, but not individual (pro)nouns in a gendered language.
...
...
...
Sometimes I have a little fun diving into the deep-end of linguistics, it totally has nothing to do with having spent the better part of a decade studying it I swear!
7650958 Hah, most of the grammar stuff I either covered previously...or excised from my post to keep it concise :P
As to the incest thing, don't forget about immunological homogenization increasing risk of catastrophic epidemic. Takes many generations, and not quite as big a problem nowadays with all our medicines, but it's still a threat to a given population if it happens. Not really something Luna and Celestia would have to really worry about themselves, though.
Edit: In a personal capacity, I mean. They may very well have to worry about others having that problem as Princesses!
7651022 Your post seems to be a bunch of unfounded assumptions and misrepresentation of what I said.
First, when someone talks about 'birth', I think of entitled asshats talking about 'high-born' and 'low-born' people. The rest of that paragraph was just Adam West-style chop-logic resulting in a non-sequitur.
Second, Man is a noun, not a pronoun. Those uses are metaphorical, and, in English, nouns are not subject to gender. Nothing I said had anything to do with them. 'She's a man', for example, would be used to refer to transgender males identifying as feminine. Such an individual would likely even appear to be a woman.
7651012
I had figured I'd have written something quick and short...
This didn't happen quite so quick as I first thought it would be. And only looked at the first few layers of stuff.
Though your mention of linguistic drift must have ninja'd me as it wasn't there when I first read over my comment to post it.
I /may/ have spent more time on that post than spent reading the chapter after all...
For the biology side though, after a certain size of specimens of a given species, slight genetic randomization will create enough divergence for homogenization to affect a species after a certain (but not one I could define) size. So while particular families might get hit particularly strongly, I suspect there would be sufficient immunological, and genetic, variation to not be eliminated in one fell swoop. Also, Herd Immunity promotes homogeneous immunology to tramp out some particularly unwanted strains. Not all homogeneos traits are inherently bad. But if they are bad, they can get very bad for certain.
Last time I looked into the theory of evolution, it logically had to have started from a single cell. The random variation over huge amounts of time has lead to all current diversity.
With these things in mind... perhaps a prior Alicorn race had gotten all inbred to the point of the subspecies divide of what is currently the ponies. Dividing off based on styles of magic until eventually they no longer had all three aspects individually...
7651001
I have been referred to both male and female at different times. To the embarrassment of those who got it wrong on the first attempt.
You're eyes can deceive you, don't trust them!
Which is to say you can never quite be certain these days what the biological make up of someone is on first, second or so on glance.
...
...
...
I think I need a timer to cut off me tendency to wall 'o text...
7650598 i'm gonna have to disagree on that. if a kid/foal alicorn or not. have a heart disease. skeletal fibrosis. etc. immortality is not real
remember. alicorn immortality only mean's that they cannot die from old age. so if the foal has too many bad diseases it WILL die young.
so if the foal has a heart that is too small. osteoporosis/glass bone's. a cranium that is too small. a weak immune-system. etc.
it WILL die in less than 3 months.
doctor's say that is you're coefficient of inbreeding is over 10% you're at a really big risk. and sibling inbreeding make's the coefficient 25%!!.
if you watched the video you would remember king tut right?. remember that his parents where brother and sister and how was his condition?. oh yes he had a club fod lived only to 18 and could not have children himself
7651110
I just really wanted to work in a stars wars reference.
Obi-Wan Kenobi in this case, for those out there who haven't seen those movies.
7651065
That's the thing about pronouns. They're empty containers that can be anything. That is kinda the point of a pronoun. Otherwise, it'd just be a noun.
7651089 Did you really just disagree with my point, then use the evidence that supported my point to support your disagreement with my point?
First off, those were all covered under 'history of bad family disease', and second, the immortality was for everything else. You know, the social stuff. Hell, I wasn't even referring to the foals anyway, I was referring to Luna and Celestia themselves. And, because fiction and magic (double-plus redundant, there), the foals might be immune anyway.
And all those genetic diseases? How many people actually bother to check up on family medical histories to make sure that's not a significant risk before popping out children? Very, very few. Hell, there are much worse risk factors for congenital diseases that people both indulge in far more often and complain about far less often. The reality is that single-generation incest is, on an individual scale, a small risk. Obviously, on a population scale there will still be significant numbers who get the short end of the stick, but that goes for those who don't engage in (reproductive) incest too. It's when you take multiple generations, each compounding the risk, like royalty usually did, that it winds up as a major problem. Yes, Tut probably had dozens of generations of incest of one degree or another under his proverbial belt.
And I'm pretty sure that 25% is an ADDITIONAL 25% over a baseline 100% for a given random siblings. So random siblings might have 0.125% to inherit a significant genetic disease rather than 0.1%.
So yeah, people engaging in reproductive incest are definitely rolling with a handicap, but on an individual, reproductive scale, it's not nearly as big an issue as the religionists make it out to be. And people who don't take the effort to ensure their own risk is minimized shouldn't complain about the risks others take, either. Because if you don't make sure that both parties don't have any of the same risk factors, then you're potentially rolling with a much larger handicap.
Besides, we all know how this is going to turn out. Luna is going to impregnate every mare in Equestria, and then move onto the humans in the mirror-world.
More than half of the comments on this chapter are spouting science and the law of life.
7651372 I... I just wanted to tell a story...
;-;
7651372 I know right? Its glorious~
cdn.meme.am/instances/57132876.jpg
7651755 then tell it, we love it!
$&it is about to hit the fan!
7651755 Isn't that what we all want? But things people say tend to make Forums on their own. Sometimes the chatter moves away from the content of the story and how it is actually feasible.
7651759 media.makeameme.org/created/Its-getting-weird-b98rpi.jpg
7651372
7651755
I HOLD A STRONG OPINION ON [SUBJECT]. CLEARLY A FORUM DEDICATED TO MAKE BELIEVE STORIES DERIVIED FROM A MAKE BELIEVE SHOW ABOUT TECHNICOLOUR EQUINES IS THE MOST APPROPRIATE LOCATION FOR THIS.
[insert anecdotal wall of text supporting my view point,]
Can't wait for the next chapter
Since it is your birthday....... *Ender puts on a wizard hat* You get one wish!
7652674
Perhaps a bit far!?
As much as I love this story.
I feel this is getting more rushed as the chapters go on. I don't know why.... I just feel you need to slow down a bit and think about where you want this story to go. I think I even skimmed some words. I didn't realize that until now. Though perhaps this could be just me. 
Sure, I want to know what happens next. But it is not worth it if the chapters get worse and worse. Soon I could lose interest and not care anymore where the story goes...
Making the chapters longer would help this problem a bit. But try seeing this story a different way, if you do, you might find a better way and a better ending to this story. Heck, take a break for a few days and try not to think about this. Your mind will be refreshed and you might come up with something better.
I think some people can agree with me that they will wait if the chapters are better.
Quality over quantity is a very good example to fix this.
7658408 Keep in mind, I have 5 other stories I'm supposed to work on. And I have 3 one shots in the works, with two more stories going by their chapters slowly.
It's not that I rush, it's that I try to keep one scene at a time and then publish that chapter so I can have a little bit of a upload schedule close to each other.
Life's also been crazy lately (by that I mean more crazier than usual, just take a look at some of my blogs to see what kind of messiness my family gets involved in...) so I take it as slow as I can get without having readers being bored off that the stories don't update.
Also, I edit for some people, and I made the mistake of trying to promise to too many people that I can edit for them. So it's been a bit of a mess there.
Also, battlefield 1 just came out. Pretty sure that's gonna take my time up until the end of the month.
7653025
Oh don't get me started on those sorts of arguments...
7658489
There is a difference between finding one cute and finding one sexy enough to get in bed with.
I'm still reading this, so I'm not counting any chickens, but both the fact that this is labeled to have sex, as well as the well known amount of stories that include incest, even those that don't seem like it will til it's suddenly happening, really throws the high possibility out there. Not to mention the ambiguous wording used to describe what Luna has become in Celestia's point of view.
It's a question I'll find out one way or another.
7658560 Hey, no need to hide yourself behind spoilers. We're all mature folks here who can handle different opinions.
Most of us, anyway.
As for the fact about actual incest: Relationships are a two sided deal, you think Arty is going to realize how his sister is subconsciously coming on to him? Nah, we gotta get our comedy somewhere here.
Now here's a little thing to think about. Sexuality isn't just tied to gender/sex, at least for this story. So, Arty still has the same preferences as when he was Luna. If Luna, as a mare, was straight, at least for this fan-canon, what does that make Arty?
7641153 And now we're past 700.
It's been kinda crazy here...