Sol and Lune

by Waxworks

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As the days went by and the more he observed, the more Starswirl began to believe he was overreacting. Celestia was young, and she was prone to fits of anger in a position she was as yet unfamiliar with. She would learn, given time, and he would help, but he saw no fits of anger. Instead Luna was the one acting strangely.

Luna, compared to Celestia, held the night court. It was usually empty, without much for her to do. She found herself with free time where she had nopony and nothing to manage. She would come to visit him, asking him questions about his work, what he had found out, and beg for answers about the nature of the sun and Celestia’s power.

She had been pleased to learn about the sun’s weakness to the moon. The fact that the moon was absorbing some sort of power from the sun. He warned her not to get overly excited, as it seemed to be taking only the dangerous energy of the sun, but she delighted in hearing it. She would sit and watch as he worked, clinging to his stories of magic and adventure and his insights into the workings of the sun and moon. He eventually had to send her away so that he might work in peace. Her coy grins and constant winking at him, along with her inappropriate smiles made him uncomfortable. Like Celestia, however, he pushed it to the side as young mare behavior, trying to keep it out of sight, and out of mind.

Unfortunately, Starswirl didn’t realize that treating a young mare that way, especially one with a princess’s power, was a terrible idea. She was young, yes, but she was powerful. Powered by the same energy he himself had used to capture the sun.

With the princess distractions dealt with, and not seeing any untoward actions from Celestia, Starswirl began his collecting again. Celestia was unable to control the sun’s rays without help from the moon, so he took matters into his own hooves again. He collected morning light, noon light, evening light, every manner of light he could imagine. He gathered it all and he tested it, finding himself more powerful and more energetic than he could have imagined.

With his newfound energy, he ignored Celestia when she came to him complaining of headaches, mood swings, and depression. He gave her a quick physical and proclaimed her health, sending her to the doctor for further assistance, as he had much he wanted to test with the sun’s energy.

With his power he found other ponies that exemplified power and stability in Equestria. Five others who were the best at what they did, and that had stories told of them far and wide. He created the Pillars of Equestria with himself at the helm, solving dangerous problems and stopping evil wherever it hid. He was popular, he was powerful, and he was winning.

The more work he did as a pillar of Equestria, the more of the sun’s energy he needed. With it, he didn’t need to sleep. He could continue his work late into the night while the rest of the pillars slept. He could seek out evil on his own, teleporting further than every before, to take care of a problem before the others were even made aware. He had always been powerful, but with this, he was even moreso! More powerful, more magical, and greater than any other pony in the land. He was Starswirl the Bearded! Nopony could stop him!

Thus, he was unaware of what he was creating.

As his own power grew, so too were the emotions of Celestia. She became irritable during diplomatic meetings. She was upset at the smallest slights. She snapped at the servants. Luna saw it all, but she said nothing. It was only when Celestia struck one of the staff when they spilled her tea that Starswirl began to imagine anything was wrong.

“Why did you do that?” he asked.

“Do what?” Celestia said calmly.

“Hit her.”

“She spilled the tea.”

“That doesn’t warrant hitting her.”

“What does, then?”

Starswirl was silent. Luna just smirked.

He sequestered himself inside his laboratory for some time, leaving the other pillars to deal with whatever came their way. Something had changed, and he needed to know. He tested, studied, and examined everything, and came to a startling conclusion.

There had been drought before, but it was summer, and although the pegasi were working their hardest to keep the weather tolerable, it was warmer than it had been in previous years. When the sun came up, it was hotter than it ever had been, and many of the crops were dying. He had reports coming in from all over Equestria that there was going to be a shortage of food for the winter if something wasn’t done. It was even a problem the pillars were helping with, diverting rivers and helping to irrigate the crops wherever they could. In addition, there were some who were complaining of increased monster attacks. All of these reports were coming from the same areas. Starswirl was a scientist at heart, but although he couldn’t prove correlation between the two, he wasn’t one to dismiss something just because it seemed far-fetched. He was both a scientist, and a wizard. This bore further exploration.

So Starswirl traveled. He went to each of these places where the heat was becoming unbearable. To the locations where monsters thrived, and he studied them. As he studied, and as time passed, he became tired. As he became tired, he used his skills with the sun’s light to energize himself. The fate of Equestria hung in the balance and ponies needed him. He needed to help them, and he had the power. He had the skill. He had… the energy.

Or… the sun did.

He brought with him a piece of the moon that Luna had delivered, and with it he pulled the sun’s light to himself. He consumed it, and he was powered by it. Like the princess herself he was given the energy and magic he needed, and as he traveled and worked, the hotter it got.

Monsters swarmed from the forests. They swept over the land, consuming smaller towns and fields. They drove ponies from their homes and they attacked wherever and whenever they could. The lush villages and cities of the south were swamped by the encroaching heat, dying acre after after under the sweltering sun. Dust blew in from the badlands and covered the fields, eating away at the livable Equestrian landscape.

In desperation, unable to stop nature herself, Starswirl Teleported home to the Everfree where the castle of the two sisters lay hidden and safe. He begged for an audience with the princess of the sun herself, but he was rebuffed. She didn’t want to see him. She was tired, and irritable, and didn’t know how to fix the reports of ponies dying and suffering she had surely been privy to. Starswirl found himself outside of her inner circle, too caught up in playing the hero to see when a far larger problem was rearing its head.

Until Luna found him.

“Poor Starswirl,” she purred, sneaking into his room as he pored over scrolls. “Unable to help, unable to talk to our sister, and unable to think thy way out of this. Whatever wilst thou do? Perhaps a different princess could help. A princess with the ability to… contain the sun’s light?” she laughed.

He turned to look at her. She was all sinuous grace and sinister darkness. She stared at him, and he tried to figure out what was different about her eyes. She caught him looking and moved closer, putting a hoof over his withers.

“Wasn’t it thee who told us the sun’s light could be fixed by the moon? That there was danger in the sun? We are of the moon, but surely we can help thee. We could… take that light away from the poor cities. Give them a reprieve. Put it all where nopony can be harmed by it. We just need to… hide it in the moon, yes?”

It was a good idea, but something in the way she said it disturbed him. She was talking about containing the sun’s light. He was wary at first, but it sounded good. It sounded promising, even. He agreed.

“I have nothing else at the moment, so we may as well try. Your idea has merit, Princess.”

“Of course it does. We had a very good teacher.” Her lips tickled his ear. He was worried, but it was a small worry. He was more concerned with preventing the growth of the encroaching desert, and his assent was swift. Anything to help. The Pillars existed to help. It was with some difficulty he agreed to take her with him on his next expedition. She promised to be good and return home soon, and that sufficed. That was all he needed from her.

That wasn’t all she needed from him.