• Published 7th Jul 2018
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Sol and Lune - Waxworks



Starswirl the Bearded conducts experiments with light. He finds a connection between the sun and moon he couldn't have imagined.

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The Discovery

It was after much of the night had passed that he found something useful. Not in his books, as he had suspected, but from his telescope. After reading a passage from one Gloaming Shelter, he had returned to look at the moon, seeking out a particular crater. Gloaming had mentioned there was something odd about it, and Starswirl wanted to verify this pony’s information.

Upon seeking it out, Starswirl saw nothing of import, but his telescope caught something smoky passing in front of it. He pulled his head away to gaze out a the moon with his naked eye, but saw nothing. He put his face back to the eyepiece again and saw something smoky floating in front of the lens. It coalesced into a face, resting on the moon, smiling up at him. It winked, directly at his gaze.

He staggered backward. The image of the winking face was in his mind. Was it a trick of the light? Was it merely his imagination? He glared up at the moon. From this distance it was small and insignificant. Nothing about it seemed to stick out to him, and it was unassumingly harmless. So what was it?

Tentatively he put his eye up to the telescope again and looked through it. The crater he was looking at appeared to sparkle in the light. The strange, reflected sunlight truly did appear to “live”, as Gloaming had written. If he turned his telescope to the left and right, the sparkles changed. There was no face as he had imagined before, and no smoke, but something about the sunlight was affected by that crater.

Starswirl stared, moving his telescope inch by inch, trying to see what it was, until he became light-headed. He stepped away, done for the night. He began to write his own notes, making careful note of everything he had seen, including the winking face.


In the morning, after only an hour’s sleep, Starswirl hurried into the throne room to meet with the two sisters before they began their day. He needed to catch them both before Luna went to sleep. He couldn’t be caught with Celestia alone, or risk Luna’s wrath. Not yet, at least.

“Princesses! I have some possibly urgent news!” he blurted out as he barreled into the throne room.

“Starswirl! What a pleasure it is to see you. Luna was just talking about you,” Celestia said.

“Oh, was she?” He glanced over at Luna. She smiled a small smile at Starswirl and winked again. He winced.

“This pertains to both of you, as I believe I mentioned to Princess Luna last night. Did she tell you what we were talking about?”

“Most of it, I believe.”

“Then please, tell us what you found.”

“Yes, Starswirl. Do tell us,” Luna said slyly.

He informed them of his discoveries. Of the notes Gloaming had put to parchment so long ago, and his own discovery. He mentioned the face, though he did not tell them it had winked at him. He merely said that it “seemed aware” of his gaze. His concern was plain, but he kept his worried minimal. He didn’t know if it was dangerous.

“So it would seem there may be somepony living on the moon. How curious,” Celestia said.”

“We believe such creatures must be wondrous indeed, to live on such a beautiful thing as the moon. Dost thou know if my magicks affect their lives?” Luna said.

“I don’t know, Princess. It seemed harmless, and unharmed, even as you moved it through the sky, but I am concerned of the sun’s effect on it.”

Celestia’s eyes flashed. “And you believe the sun to be… dangerous?” she said.

“Yes, princess. As you know, before you arrived it was tearing the magic out of unicorns permanently. It was only thanks to your… unique physiology that we were saved from it. For that, we thank you.” He bowed deep.

“T’well may be that the moon counteracts the sun’s deadly rays, as raising and lowering the moon never did cause such terrible problems,” Luna said.

Celestia’s lips went tight. “I should like you to research this creature on the moon, and the moon itself. It concerns us, and our alicorn physiology. If there is anything you need, do not hesitate to ask.”

“Of either of us, Starswirl,” Luna was quick to say. She winked at him again. He bowed and took his leave.

Starswirl crowed inwardly at the success of his conversation. He had their help! He had Celestia’s promise to assist him, and Luna was there! He was safe! He could ask either of them for help, and they would give it. Though he would still need to be circumspect about asking Celestia for help, as Luna might still get jealous. As long as he stayed away from Celestia, and made his requests via the servants, he should be able to get away with anything.

The first thing he did was return to his laboratory to make a list of supplies. He wanted to have pieces of the sun’s light from Celestia herself, and a sample of her mane. Its curious properties held some portion of the magic that kept the two sisters working, he was sure. If he could examine it all, he may get to the bottom of their confusing abilities quicker. He just needed a sample, and he would be able to study it in peace.


He drafted a quick letter to each of the sisters, asking for materials they may be able to grab for him, and some that he didn’t know if they could, but would be useful to have.

From Celestia: Light from the sun. A piece of Celestia’s mane. A sample of contained alicorn magic. The reflected light from morning dew. The first peek of the sun over the horizon. A glowing rainbow, and evening’s last light.

From Luna: Light from the moon. A piece of Luna’s mane. A sample of her alicorn magic. The reflected light of the sun. The center of a moonbeam. A sample of the moon’s rocks, and a piece of that crater Gloaming mentioned.

He had no idea if they could get some of them, but he made his request, then he waited.

Supplies began to trickle in. They were clever girls. He had taught them personally, and although he had no idea how to procure some of the items he requested, with their newfound powers, they were more than capable, and far more powerful (though not as clever), as he.

Luna came to him first. She had traveled to the moon directly for hers and had a piece of everything for him. Her eyes twinkled strangely in the moonlight when she appeared in his bedroom, all the items on the list laid out in an array at the foot of the bed. Her teeth gleamed in the dim light, the brightest part of her save the twinkling light of the stars in her mane. Her eyes looked… different? He wasn’t sure how, but she seemed far more “hungry” than usual. He had to rebuff her, stating that it was for the good of Equestria, and his work needed to come first for everypony’s safety, but it was a close thing. She was intent on him, and he was worried about that.


She left, but not without one last look at him and a small, wicked smile. He turned to the items she had brought, gathered them up in his magic, and carried them off to his laboratory for study.

There would be no more sleep tonight.

His request to Celestia took far longer to fill. He had more than enough time to study Luna’s items closely while Celestia sought the things he wanted. They trickled in while he studied, and he learned a great deal. More than he’d imagined.

To no great surprise, his and Luna’s thoughts were confirmed when he studied the moon rocks. Using the sunlight he had stolen from Celestia himself, he verified that the light of the sun was absorbed first, the moon’s rocks keeping the terrible energies of the sun within itself. The light that it subsequently sent back to Equestria was filtered. Clean. Safe. The moon’s light, while dim, was not the terrible, bare, hideous burning energy of the sun.

By the same token, it did not carry the same potential power that the direct sun’s rays did. It was dimmer, safer, but ultimately neutered. It did not charge the same way a unicorn might have. It could not be drawn from. It was useless. Sterile.

That did mean, however, that the moon was chock-full of potential energy. Using the moon’s rocks, he was able to create powerful effects. The rocks themselves were charged with the wicked energy available to the sun, but getting more of them without the help of the princess of the moon was impossible.

…at the moment.

Studying the sun’s rays might yield some powerful energy that could be used to get to the moon, where more could be gathered. He would have to experiment further. The possibilities were alive, however.