Sol and Lune

by Waxworks

The Confrontation

Starswirl’s experiments continued apace, and secrets continued to be unlocked. Celestia was having difficulty acquiring the morning and evening sunlight, as she was in control the sun’s movements during the time when it was transitioning. He trusted her to her work, and focused on his own.

During this time Luna became more of an obstacle, however. She was paying more attention to him, and she seemed much more forthcoming after her trip to the moon. He paid her no mind and dismissed her time and time again, requesting to be left to his work. But his work continued, and he reached a point where he had questions that could not be answered without Celestia’s final deliveries. When Celestia could not acquire the sun’s light, he decided he might need to take things into his own hooves.

Without her permission, Starswirl left the sister’s castle, traveling to the edge of the Everfree forest. He took with him several small pieces of moon rock, and two of the jars he had created that could contain the sun’s light. He waited on the edge of the forest, between the sun and the sister’s castle, and prepared to capture evening’s last light.

As the sun lowered, he used the chunk of moon rock as a draw for the sun’s light. Its light-absorbent properties drew the sluggish light of the evening sun in, and his own magic siphoned it into the jar. The rich, colorful light of dusk slipped inside the container, and he sealed the lid, then hid the jar in his cart. With his prize, he packed up and returned to the castle, hooves clopping on the stone pathway.

Luna found him in his study as he was unpacking. His magic held the jar aloft, covered in a blanket when she barged in. He jumped in surprise, thankful that he hadn’t yet opened the passage to his hidden workroom. He turned to face her, forcing a smile onto his face.

“Princess! How are you this evening?” he said.

“We saw thee remained awake even after our sister completed her duties and retired. She was unable to acquire an evening’s last light yet again. Are you positive that thee dost not prefer to use more of our moon stones?”

“I could always use more of your moon’s rocks, princess, but I’m trying to understand both the moon and the sun. I can’t understand the sun by using the moon.”

“We think there is no purpose in understanding it with our sister’s help, since she doesn’t understand it well enough to capture its power herself.” She noticed the floating jar for the first time. “Speaking of capturing, is that not one of the devices thee gavest her to capture it? What hast thee contained?”

“Oh, uh…” Starswirl debated telling her the truth or lying. If he told her the truth, would she tell her sister? If he lied, she might find out, though, and get mad. He didn’t want her mad, but he didn’t want Celestia to know what he had done without her permission.

The answer was taken from him when Luna gripped the cloth in her magic and pulled it away. The dusk light filled the room. Despite its bright presence, Luna seemed to just become darker.

“Thou hast captured it thyself! How?”

“I… used one of the moon rocks you gave me to draw it in,” he said, deciding truth was better than a lie at the moment.

“Of course, of course!” Luna’s eye turned to thin slits as she stared at the light. Her mane turned a dark, inky blue. “The moon captures the sun’s light, and makes it its own…”

“Princess, please do not tell your sister. I needed merely to continue my research, I do not want to offend her.”

“Nay, thee hast our promise of silence.” She blinked and turned away, shaking her head. “We shall keep thy secret. Good… luck, Starswirl.”

She left suddenly, without any further words. He didn’t know if she was mad or if she was pleased. She seemed happy to know that the moon had helped him, but he wasn’t sure what else she was thinking. Nevertheless, he didn’t let that distract him from his work. He turned back to his laboratory and opened the door to his secret workroom, carrying the jar inside. Within, he began his studies of the light of dusk, carefully putting it through its paces.

What he discovered was a well of power much like the sun’s normal light. It was a slower magic fuel than the other, but with more potential. It almost seemed to coagulate as night fell, the moon’s presence congealing the light into a more concentrated form. A useful tool, and more indication that the two celestial bodies worked together to create a livable surface of Equestria.

Starswirl tested the sun’s light as far as he dared, using up what he had gathered within a few days. He tested it on attack spells, where he made some of the hottest fire he had ever felt. He tested it on defensive spells, creating a shield that was impenetrable to anything he could bring to bear. He tested it on creation spells, smithing a crude suit of armor with it in a mere hour. He was no smith, but it had bent and taken shape with ease. He tested it on transportation spells, breaking through his own teleportation defenses, much to his surprise. When he was tired, he tested it on energizing himself, and was pleased to see that it functioned far better than the sun’s light had helped him before. He was given the energy of a full night’s sleep in an instant!

Starswirl was giddy.

Using the moon as a filter, he had removed any noticeable negative effects from the sun’s light. He could use it however he wished, empowering himself, and suffer none of the consequences. He didn’t burn, he had more than enough magic, and he was energized. He didn’t need to sleep! With the moon rock and the sun together, he was unstoppable!

The princesses were unstoppable.

He sobered up instantly. If the two of them were to ever work together, they could be completely unstoppable. Princess Luna could be the focusing lens for Celestia, drawing out the dangerous energies of the sun, allowing the older sister to be the most destructive force Equestria had ever seen. That raised the questions of what was holding the older sister back? Did he tell them, or did he wait and observe, guiding them from the sidelines?

It was probably best to guide them for the moment. They had only had their abilities for a comparatively short time, and to give them ideas would be dangerous at best, and catastrophic for Equestria at worst. He needed to ask them personal questions, though. About their health. If Celestia was taking in the sun’s energy directly, was she being affected? Luna might be as well, but he loathed the idea of taking with Luna privately. He waited until the middle of the day to approach Celestia in one of the few moments she had to herself. Being their mentor, he did not think it out of line.

He approached her in the garden, stomping loudly to announce his presence. “Princess, might I speak with you?” he asked.

She turned to look at him and smiled. “Of course, Starswirl, what can I do to help you?”

“I have some questions about your health, if I may.”

“My health? I feel perfectly fine, what were you wondering?”

“In my research—”

She sighed. “I know. I have had difficulty pinning down the sun’s light you want. I’m sorry. It seems to slip away from me when I grasp at it. I don’t know why.”

“No, not that at all. I’m in no hurry. But my questions pertain to you, but that is interesting. But let’s come back to that. When you raise and lower the sun, does each action make you feel different than the other?”

She looked thoughtful, but nodded. “Yes, it does. Raising the sun feels far more energizing than lowering it. Lowering the sun feels like I am letting out a large breath of air after holding it for too long, if that makes sense.”

Starswirl was furiously writing this down. “Yes, that makes sense. A sense of relief, like something was pent up.”

“Yes, exactly. Conversely, as I mentioned, raising the sun feels like I’m stepping onto a road for the first time. Energizing. Like I’m preparing to run, fly, swim, or jump. A huge amount of potential energy. Though sometimes I feel… angry? It doesn’t happen often, but there are times I feel like I’ve been insulted. That doesn’t happen very often, and it passes quickly.”

“Oh?”

She laughed. “I’m sorry, I can’t describe it any better than that, save that it’s irrational and it passes quickly.”

Starswirl nodded and stroked his beard thoughtfully. “Alright. Thank you, Princess. I am concerned for your health, and my studies into the sun and moon have raised some curious questions.”

“Quite all right. I know you’re just doing your best. It’s what we appreciate about you, after all.”

“Of course, of course. I’ll be asking your sister the same questions, soon. But I don’t want her to think about them beforehoof. Please don’t tell her about this at all. The answers must be candid.”

“I won’t claim to understand, but you have my word, Starswirl. Thank you for your continued help.”

He nodded and left the princess behind. The only part of the conversation that had him on edge was her mention of anger. The sun was a powerful force, and Celestia, in the controlling of it, was a grounding of sorts for that force. She threw the sun’s earlier attempts at draining unicorns into question, preventing it from doing whatever it was it was doing. The motion on the moon, the power inherent in the sun. The more Starswirl learned about it, the more he was certain there was something else at play. Some power he couldn’t quite fathom. It was worrying.