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Organised by
RogerDodger
Word limit
2000–8000
A Stitch
The young wizard watched on from his dark corner as the old unicorn before him inspected his reflection within his large mirror, busying himself with the task of getting dressed for this most harrowing of days. The voyeur smiled upon seeing that the aged one was not using his magic to complete these seemingly mundane tasks.
“Why didn’t he tell me? He should have told me!” the faint echo of a mare’s distressed lamentations carried into the room upon the afternoon breeze.
“Soon. Very soon,” the aged one muttered to himself, his voice hoarse, riddled with weariness and regret. Moving away from the mirror, the elderly unicorn trotted toward the bookcase beside which the young stallion currently sat hidden.
“How could he? He could have stopped this,” the aged one murmured to himself.
“How could he? He could have stopped this!” came the mare’s identical cry a few moments later. Witnessing this phenomenon, the young wizard felt his heart leap, and at once, grew remorseful.
The old stallion reached up to the bookcase’s highest shelf, and into the back of its darkest compartment whilst the young wizard, nearly tumbling from his hiding place, attempted to get a better look. The belled and cloaked pony struggled and strained until, finally, he pulled from the darkness a sealed scroll, tattered with age, and completely covered with dust.
“My stars,” he groaned, blowing the grime off of the thing. Then, with the scroll grasped firmly between his teeth, he turned to leave his workroom.
“I want to see him! Tell him to come to me right this instant!” the mare’s voice echoed throughout the room. Both stallions glanced briefly toward the window. Her tone now seemed more afflicted than ever.
At last—and rather unexpectedly—the old one’s tired gaze locked with that of the young wizard’s. He seemed to see within them a similar pain to his own. That was understandable.
When the aged stallion finally closed the door behind himself, the spying mage—a far more youthful, but not too youthful—Star Swirl stood up from his hiding corner, and placed his hat back upon his head. He didn’t have to follow the old one or watch anymore of what was to come to know how this entire afternoon would transpire. This day had long since been committed to his memory; he had made the trip to this fateful moment at least a dozen times before, after all.
Activating the large mirror that sat in the center of the room with his magic, he waited until it was awash in a glow of blue light, and stepped through the threshold.
Star Swirl levitated a cup of tea to his lips, and sipped deeply as he gazed upon his own reflection. His expression was grim, quite pensive as he steadily stroked his long, brown beard.
Surely, this wouldn’t make me a hypocrite… would it?
He pushed back in his rocking chair, and allowed it to teeter for just a moment.
I expressly told her that trips through the mirror could not be indiscriminate, that we could not yet understand the consequences of such actions. Yet, I am still drawn to that place, that day. I must make sure. I must be absolutely sure...
The young wizard groaned as he rubbed his aching temples. The question of ethics was a difficult one when it came to using his powerful magic mirror. After all, nopony who had come before him had ever managed to master temporal and dimensional-based spells. In this he alone was a pioneer. Thus, it seemed to make sense that he would also be the one to wrestle with the precarious question of how the magic should be used so as not to cause harm to anypony in this plane or another.
It had proved simple for him to space out his journeys until relatively recently. He and his faithful student and dear friend, Celestia, would usually just pass through, pick flower specimens, sample some of the odd dimension's cuisine, speak with a local leader, and call it a day. However, none of the strangeness that he had witnessed in those other places had ever managed to strike him as truly disturbing, heart-rending even—until exactly one month ago.
That trip had been a quick one. He and the princess had passed through the mirror, and were spat out into what, at first sight, seemed to be a regular, Canterlotian evening. However, after only a brief moment of glancing up toward the sky, they quickly realized that it was anything but. At first, the evening appeared lit by a gorgeous full moon which, in and of itself, wasn't that astonishing, but the strange quality of this particular twilight happened to be, instead, the odd hue of the sky. It was an amalgam of orange, deep lavender, and black that, while quite beautiful, was clearly not typical.
Momentarily pulling their attention away from this odd sight, the pair had decided to walk about the town to question the local ponies about the odd appearance of the heavens. Instead, they were shocked to find the city's streets completely deserted. In that moment, surrounded by unnatural silence, they had mutually come to the conclusion that something was terribly amiss, and that they should promptly take their leave. Conjuring up his portal, Star Swirl and Celestia hastily moved to step back through to their own temporal plane when the loud sound of an explosion as well as a shrieking laugh halted them.
Looking in the direction from whence the sound had come, the two travellers had but a moment to glimpse a plume of black smoke escaping from a large, rolling patch of darkness in the distance—the Everfree Forest, specifically, the two alicorn sisters’ castle. Terrified, the young mage managed to steady himself just long enough to rush them both back through the portal toward home.
It was something that he had yet to stop mulling over ever since. A terrible occurrence had taken place in the Everfree sometime in the future. Had it involved the princesses? Were they alright? He had to know.
It is decided then. For the safety of Equestria.
Standing up and taking a deep breath, the brown-maned unicorn surrounded himself in his blueish magic aura, and directed a beam toward the enormous glass before him. Having activated the portal, he then quickly stepped through.
When he opened his eyes, he again found himself in the depths of the Everfree. Looking up, he could see that the sun was out, and the air menacingly quiet, and the Castle of the Two Sisters sat peaceful and undisturbed in the middle of the creeping vines and ever encroaching shadows of the forests waching over them all.
From where he spied the window to the throne room—whilst hiding inside of a rather itchy, purple shrub—Star Swirl could just make out brief flashes of white, beaming light. Thus, when the echoing sounds of two mighty alicorns quarreling carried across the winds, he was less than surprised. At least the flashes of magic light seemed a good thing at the moment. That meant that the sisters probably wouldn’t notice if he were to enter the castle unannounced.
The flares were ceaseless, and bathed the entire throne room in blue. Even the corner where Star Swirl had discovered a new hiding place behind a large, carved stone fixture seemed exposed by the fury of what he could now determine to be Princess Luna’s magic. His heart raced as he listened to the dispute ensue between the mare and her older sibling, Celestia.
"Sister, you are blinded by emotion. I implore you to see reason. Our purpose has been made clear. We are protectors. We are leaders. It is my day and your night that allow all ponies to survive, to thrive. Considering this, it seems trivial to think that you might hold such fury over who does and does not marvel at your stars."
"So sayeth the pony who relishes in her subjects' love and attention all the day long!" Luna exclaimed, letting off another beam from her horn. "So sayeth the pony who is afforded the luxury of seeing her subjects!"
The dark alicorn bowed her head where she stood between the double thrones. Her lips seemed to fumble for words through tried emotion.
"Dost thou dare attempt to comprehend the loneliness of it, sister? The isolation..." she croaked. "At times it seems that my only companions, my only friends are my stars."
"Luna," Celestia sighed pityingly. "You know that I am always here for—"
"It is not enough!" the dark mare bellowed, anger filling her once again. "Thy day, thy subjects, thy travels into town... Even the castle itself buzzes and bustles with life, all whilst I slumber, forgotten!"
She took a step forward. Her voice became menacing, ominous.
"When I wake, I wake into darkness, into silence. For sixty years it has been this way, Tia! The only reprieve I am given are the occasional evening galas and balls that thou dost attend. Balls in which I could never participate. I starve for want of some small form of interaction, I—"
Luna's head dropped in defeat, her flowing, starry mane obscuring her face in shadow.
"I fear I am going mad. Canst not thou comprehend? C-canst not we come to... to some compromise, sister? P-perhaps for but a week, once every year, the moon can remain in the heavens, or...or perhaps we could simply exchange the hours, that all the ponies might remain awake during... I knowest only that I desire a change in some way...any way."
The look on the younger alicorn's face was pitiful, desperate as she searched her sister for some inkling of understanding.
"Well? Hast thou no kind word for me? Thy beloved sister... who suffers so?"
Tears began to roll down her cheeks as she watched Celestia inhale deeply as if she had come to some great and difficult decision.
"T-Tia... please."
"I'm sorry, my sister. I truly am," Celestia began, her voice low, shaking with regret. "However, there is a balance that we both know we are sworn to keep. The moon and the sun have risen and set the way they have since time immemorial. You must consider what detriment it might bring to our subjects if we were to change this. They are most important, Luna, more important than either you or I."
Luna seemed stunned. Her cyan eyes glimmered with disbelief before, surprisingly, she dropped her head again, and broke out into a low, hiccuping laughter. It was the kind of laugh that could effectively sent chills down one's spine.
"I should have known it," Luna choked. She twirled with abandon where she stood, the look in her eye growing more enraged, more crazed. "Oh, I could have guessed it! Her Royal Highness, our beloved martyr and bleeding heart, Princess Celestia, making sacrifices for the sake of her ponies, sacrifices that so happen to cost her nothing. How noble of her! How just!"
Celestia's expression, at once, grew indignant. She grimaced, taking a step forward toward her wildly chortling sister.
"It does hurt me to see you suffer, Luna. But you would have me put all of Equestria in danger for your silly, little qualms? You are a princess! I suggest that you grow up, and accept the burden that comes with the weight of your crown. I suggest you learn to start making these difficult decisions yourself!"
Luna's face went blank, and the throne room went deathly silent, so much so that Star Swirl could hear the frantic pattering of his own heart.
"Difficult decisions, she says," Luna hissed, beginning to pace to and fro behind the thrones, her eyes trained upon her sister like two, honed daggers. "Such as thy difficult decision to sacrifice thy own sister's wellbeing, perhaps her very life, for the sake of our precious subjects?"
Celestia's lips tightened.
"Luna, you know that isn't what I mea—"
"Oh, no, my sister. I understand what thy intent quite clearly. A sacrifice must be made. A difficult decision," the dark mare laughed menacingly. "Thou hast made thy decision. One Equestrian princess seems to be enough, in thy opinion... a ghastly decision, indeed. Perhaps I can find it within myself to do as thou dost suggest, and also make the same decision, sister."
There was a rumbling in the stone. Slight at first, it grew into the type that worked to kill one's courage. Star Swirl stifled a gasp as he watched the dark princess' eyes begin to glow. Her elder sister recoiled in confusion and dread.
"Oh, yes, difficult decisions, indeed," Luna continued to prattle on to herself, mocking her elder. "Well, my dear sister, I feel I've finally come to one of those difficult decisions. I've decided, as thou hast, that there need be only one princess of Equestria. There can only be one princess of Equestria, and that princess shall be me!"
Thunder roared and lightning lit the chamber in a blinding flash as Luna screamed, stomping her hooves wildly. When Star Swirl regained his vision, to his terror, he found that she had managed to blow an enormous hole into the throne room wall by means of her own fury, alone. This must have been the explosion that he and Celestia had witnessed whilst roaming the streets of Canterlot.
Sitting there in the darkness, watching the story unfold in disbelief, it seemed like a nightmare. Things became a blur, happening too fast to memorize it all. The moon had risen to block out the sun. The sky had turned that sickly hue. Luna, poor Luna, blinded by her own rage, had corrupted herself, inadvertently infecting her very being with darkness. The young wizard's mouth gaped open as he watched her transform, and without hesitation, advance upon her own kin.
Her cold, cruel words preceded a battle the likes of which the wizard had never before witnessed. Stone shook and broke free. Walls crumbled, and the very air burned as the two celestial sisters fought for the fate of their land. Celestia was struck, and he watched her fall. Fearing her dead, he rushed outside to get a better vantage point.
There was a flash of light, a beam made of all the colors of the rainbow. It had happened far too quickly to make sense of it, and when Star Swirl again opened his eyes, the world was silent, smoking and scarred, hot with the remnants of battle. Slowly, but surely, the sound of choked sobbing grew louder until it created such a din, that it drowned out the noises of the evening Everfree.
Stumbling about the rubble, the wizard peeked his head around a ruined bend to glance into what was once a courtyard. There he saw her, Celestia, sitting in the grass, broken and battered. Her head was thrown back as she wailed, her eyes wide and directed toward the sky. Gazing upward to see what it was that had made her so distraught, Star Swirl gaped when he saw it. That once unblemished full moon now carried with it the evidence of a heartbreaking tale: Poor Luna's face, now still and serene upon its white, shining canvas, serenely gazed down upon them all.
Celestia disappeared in a flash, teleporting, in her grief, away from the ghastly scene. It didn't take much effort to figure where it was she had gone—Canterlot castle. The unicorn king Bullion had amicably vacated it quite some time ago in light of the sisters’ impending move to the city, and it now lay empty, awaiting the triumphant appearance of its two, new princesses, one of whom would never arrive.
The sound of Celestia’s wailing shook Canterlot castle the entire night. Her grief-stricken screams carried upon the winds, and across the courtyard, into a small, stone window of a large cellar.
Staring at that window from a distance, the young wizard sat stunned, contemplating the events of the night. His eyes went wide as he finally grasped the gravity of all he had seen, and when he gazed again upon that old cellar window, he was shocked to find a face—old, gaunt, and white of beard—staring back.
Their identical eyes met and locked with deep understanding. The old unicorn in the window bowed his neck, and nodded knowingly in his direction, and from where he sat in the shadows, the young Star Swirl nodded back.
"Banished to the moon, thou sayeth?" Luna croaked, dropping her cup of tea in disbelief. Both sisters gawked at one another from where they reclined on either side of the young wizard. Celestia glanced at Star Swirl as he sat looking quite distraught, stroking his brown beard.
When the mage had appeared before them in their Canterlot throne room, harping on about impending sorrows to come, it hadn't really surprised Celestia at all. After all, she had been aiding Star Swirl with his time travelling experiments for years at this point. Thus, the matter was quickly taken with the utmost seriousness, and they had gotten down to the business of discussing the wizard's harrowing tale over tea.
It was a tale most troubling, indeed, that of a cosmic battle between sisters, and subsequent sorrow and regret. It never occurred to the eldest princess to question her wizard companion, especially since he had broken one of his most important rules of time travel, namely never revealing her own future to her. Seeing the sincerity in his eyes, even Luna, as frosty as she was, couldn't help but trust his word.
"Well, wizard, although I cannot fathom why I might commit such a heinous act, I suppose that thy words should still serve as a warning to me."
"To us," Celestia corrected her, reaching over to touch her hoof tenderly. "This news can only help us both. I do not know if you have yet to feel the inklings of such regrettable sentiments, my sister, but regardless, I would like to express to you right here and now, my dedication to preventing these terrible things from coming to pass on account of my own blindness. You and your night shall be revered as they should be, and I would hope that my efforts would bring us both even closer together."
Luna's expression, at once, brightened.
"I... I'm touched, Tia. I... I’m sure I don't know what to say."
Celestia smiled, and turned to face her wizard friend once more.
"Perhaps we should both simply say 'thank you' to our dear friend, yes?"
With that, both sisters rose, and bowed their heads before Star Swirl in reverence. The wizard smiled, and sighed in relief. Surely, his mission had proved successful.
Immediately, upon his return from that future night of terrifying battles and sorrow between sisters, it didn't take long for Star Swirl to resolve himself to telling the princesses all that he had witnessed. He had weighed the risks, and decided that they were worth taking. Therefore, the only thing left to do would be to have audience with them to warn them of the entire ordeal.
Slipping around his workbench, headed toward the door, the young wizard flinched when, suddenly, a blinding, blue light engulfed the room. Spinning about, he was stunned to find that his mirror's magic had been activated. Stepping closer, he peered at the thing in wonder, readying his own magic in case somepony unexpected should traverse through the looking glass.
A few moments later, through the light and into the room stepped an old, gray stallion, his golden eyes, completely identical to the young Star Swirl's, save for them having grown weary with age. As the white-bearded pony exited the mirror, the young wizard’s knees collapsed, and he fell back upon his haunches in shock. He now could just make out a glimmer of joviality upon his older self's aged face.
"Oh, come now. I don't look that old up close, do I?" the old stallion chortled, taking a seat before the younger version of himself. He remained silent for a moment, understanding how strange such a meeting must have seemed. After a beat, he let loose a soft chuckle.
"My, what I wouldn't give to have my brown-mane restored. You couldn't imagine the types of stains one manages to acquire when—"
Noticing the younger wizard's grim expression, the old stallion sighed, and shook his head.
"Ever the serious scholar, aren't you, Star Swirl? Don't worry. That will change with time, I can assure you," he laughed. "I realize you still have much to do. Thus, I'll make this as hasty as possible."
The old one leaned forward, his expression now grown quite serious.
"This particular path that you have resolved yourself to take shall not amount to the good that you are hoping for."
The old wizard took a moment to remove his hat, and scratch his ivory-maned head.
"I regret to tell you that in a world where Celestia and Luna were made aware of the battle you witnessed on that fateful evening, their land exists in a state of unbalance. Celestia, fearing the resentment of her sister, eventually grew to allow the evening too much leeway. The nights in my world, young Star Swirl, last so long as to not allow the cultivation of enough food for Equestria. The darkness is vast, and ponies suffer whilst the two sisters are lost in their false delusions of contentment and camaraderie. What you have done should not have been done. You should follow your own good advice. Do not warn them."
Sighing in response to the distraught and stunned look upon his younger version's face, the old stallion plopped his hat back atop his head, and stood, preparing to head back into the mirror.
"I know your heart, young Star Swirl, because it is also mine. I know you care for your dear friend, but I feel I must tell you that in this case, it might be best to allow destiny to run its course without interference."
He took one step into the mirror, and turned back at the last moment, passing young Star Swirl that same, jovial smile.
"By the way, cherish those limber knees, young stallion! I can assure you that you will miss those the most when they are gone!"
Bathed in a flash of blue as the old one disappeared back through glass, the stunned, young Star Swirl allowed his brow to slam down against his workbench. Turning his head to the side to stare off at nothing, he let loose a long, weary groan.
I haven’t the time to make sense of this. Think, you numbskull. Think!
The proper solution to all this couldn't possibly be so complex, could it? After all, the one tried and true rule that applied to most of the universe's conundrums was that the best solution to any problem was also usually the simplest.
The wizard scratched his brown mane, and grimaced as he tried to figure what might possibly be an easier solution than attempting to talk the problem out with both princesses directly. Yet, apparently, things had turned out far worse than he could imagine if his future self had felt the need to traverse through space and time to warn him that he had fouled it all up.
Still confident that he had not yet tried everything there was to be tried in aiding the situation, he sat up straight, and again began to run ideas through his head. As a few thoughts shifted here, and some memories of past experiences shifted there, slowly but surely, he was hit with fresh perspective.
Disregarding his older self's warning, Star Swirl supposed that while nothing seemed amiss about speaking with the princesses of their impending future battle, perhaps he had simply gone about it all in the wrong way. Perhaps the conversation should not take the form of a warning of things to come. Maybe, instead, it should be a lesson in humility, one that might staunch the possibility of anypony’s feelings ever getting hurt.
Nodding with resolve, a confident smile having spread across his face, Star Swirl rose from his seat, plopped his hat back on, and headed toward the door.
He found Celestia in the royal library, pouring over a varied stack of spell books whilst sipping on some tea. Upon seeing him, she gently closed the book that she had been reading, and smiled.
“Good day, Star Swirl. I was wondering where you were. I haven’t seen you all morning.”
“Yes, well, I’ve been very busy with my time travel spells as of late. However, I was wondering if perhaps you had a moment to speak with me about something that has… been on my mind.”
“Of course, my friend,” Celestia replied, tossing a cushion before her so that the young wizard might sit. “Come.”
One would be hard pressed indeed to think of the Princess Celestia as "arrogant". However, the pride the alicorn held in the prosperity of her kingdom and the proficiency of her reign was something quite clear to the eye. Princesshood suited her well, and if there was anypony who was aware of that, it was she.
Of course, even the most justified of prideful emotions held within it the potential for debasement, and Star Swirl knew that the seed of corruption lay dormant within the hearts of all ponies, even himself… even Celestia.
Surely, he thought, she will take this well. She will understand.
“Be wary of my own pride?” Celestia stated, her nose wrinkling in abhorrence of the notion that she might be too prideful. “Star Swirl, I simply can’t understand what it is you are referring to. I’ve never been arrogant, and if I am prideful, it is not so much for myself as it is for the pride that others take in me.” The alicorn moved to levitate her cup of tea toward her mouth, and then took a long sip. “I don’t see how there might be anything wrong with enjoying being told you’re doing a good job.”
“This I understand, Celestia,” the young wizard began. “But, all the same, you must be vigilant that such a pride does not take root within you so that you might believe you have a right to it regardless of the feelings of others.”
Now, the princess seemed perturbed.
“Whose ‘feelings’?” she nearly spat. “I suggest, my friend, that if you are aware of something that I am not, that you simply let it be known. Be clear with me. Of whom do you speak?”
“No, no. I tell you this simply because leaders are ponies with feelings and emotions as well. This is something very important for all leaders, particularly, to know. Pride is a destroyer. Arrogance brings sorrow. You must be mindful to always consider the feelings of others before—”
“Well, I should think that I’m very good at it, Star Swirl! This is a diarchy, after all. What is more humble, less prideful than sharing rule?”
With resolve, the princess placed her cup back down upon its saucer, and stood.
“Come. We should consult my sister. No one is closer to me than she.”
Star Swirl, feeling an odd sense of growing apprehension, rose to his hooves, and followed the princess close behind.
They found Luna in her chamber preparing to take her rest before sunset. Upon entering the room, the younger princess bid them to sit, seeing the concern plastered upon their faces.
“Sorry to disturb you, sister,” Celestia chirped, plopping down upon an indigo-colored cushion at Star Swirl’s side. “I’m afraid we have a very important question for you that couldn’t wait.”
“Of course,” Luna said as she busied herself with removing her crown, and levitating it to rest upon her vanity table. “Ask away.”
Celestia and Star Swirl both cocked a brow at one another before the younger princess again turned toward them.
“Well, it’s a laughable notion, really, but our wizard friend, here, has apparently deemed it an important issue. I obliged him by coming to the one who I know the best and love most,” Celestia babbled on. She never noticed Luna rolling her eyes as she began to remove her breastplate. “And, well I suppose I... I mean, we just wanted to ask… Do you find me… arrogant? Err, prideful, I mean.”
Spinning about, Luna gazed at her elder sister, appearing quite unfazed by the inquiry. Never missing a beat, she sighed, and then moved across the room to put her shoes in the corner.
“Well, of course thou art prideful, Tia. I sayeth this in thy presence quite often.”
Celestia seemed genuinely stunned.
“What? I—I always thought you were joking whenever you said those things to me!”
Luna gave her an exasperated look.
“Joking… right. I conjure but one joke per month, at best. But to answer thy question, yes, thou art a tad arrogant.”
Noting the distress this caused her sister, Luna sighed, again rolling her eyes.
“Well, it isn’t something over which the world should end, methinks! Everypony has their faults, do they not? Thou art still a fine princess.”
Celestia rose to her hooves.
“Nothing for the world to end over, you say? You just told me I’m prideful and arrogant! How is that nothing for the world to end over? You know that I try my very best to—”
“We are not saying you don’t, Princess,” Star Swirl interjected, becoming increasingly unnerved by Celestia’s reaction. “It is simply a thing to be mindful of, is all.”
“I must be mindful,” Celestia scoffed with disbelief. Her brow furrowed as she then pointed toward her sister who was just starting to close the drapes over her enormous windows. “Well, what about Luna? What about the princess of the night, and her ever persistent surliness? Her overly-strict mannerisms? She can’t even fetch her own tea, for Myself’s sake!”
“Tia, thou hast said ‘Myself’s sake’,” Luna chided her boredly. “Thou art a bit arrogant. Confess.”
Huffing with indignation, Celestia turned to face Star Swirl again, ignoring her sister’s words.
“Aren’t you going to warn her of these things, wizard?”
“Oy!” Luna exclaimed, sounding quite offended. She left what it was she was doing, and marched right up toward her sister.
“Thou shouldst know, dear sister, that while perhaps thou remainest content with forsaking the traditional Royal Canterlot Voice—one of alicorn kind’s most treasured cultural customs—and forsaking punctuality whilst lazing about after sunrise each and every day, that some of us still hold these things in high regard! Thou dost freely accept each and every habit of each fleeting age in which thou livest with no respect or reverence for thy own heritage! How shameful!”
“How dare you?” Celestia hissed, her eyes catching fire. “How dare you chastise me about self respect, Luna? How many times have you deliberately shown up late at court whilst we are supposed to be hearing grievances? How many times have you disrespected yourself by treating so abhorrently those poor attendants that serve you? You run them ragged!”
Star Swirl shrank at the sight of the growing animosity between the two. This wasn’t exactly how he had hoped this scenario would play out. He timidly raised one hoof and cleared his throat in hopes of halting the bickering.
“Errrm, pardon me, Your Highnesses. I believe the most important thing to remember is to be mindful of oneself.”
Both princesses turned upon him with looks of utter indignation.
“I am!” they both shouted simultaneously, then turning to glare at each other. “No, you aren’t!”
“P-princesses, I think that—” Star Swirl began again, determined to get through to them.
“For what reason doth thou linger here, wizard?” Luna finally exclaimed, eyeing him angrily. “Hast thou not yet said what it is that required saying? Perhaps it is time that thou takest thy leave.”
The young wizard looked toward Celestia, his close friend, for some sort of aid, but it seemed that she could no longer break her incensed gaze away from her younger sister.
“I think that would be a good idea, Star Swirl. I believe my sister and I have much to discuss about all that you have said,” the white alicorn stated ominously.
He couldn’t leave it like this. He knew that if he should go now, there was sure to be trouble.
“Please, my friends. I—”
“Get out!” the two sisters screamed, turning upon him.
Star Swirl, shocked to see them both so furious that their horns flared bright with magic, spun about, and made haste out of the chamber.
Bathed in a flash of blue as the old one disappeared back through glass, the stunned, young Star Swirl allowed his brow to slam down against his workbench. Turning his head to the side to stare off at nothing, he let loose a long, weary groan.
I haven’t the time to make sense of this. Think, you numbskull. Think!
The proper solution to all this couldn't possibly be so complex, could it? After all, the one tried and true rule that applied to most of the universe's conundrums was that the best solution to any problem was also usually the simplest.
The wizard scratched his brown mane, and grimaced as he tried to figure what might possibly be an easier solution than attempting to talk the problem out with both princesses directly. Yet, apparently, things had turned out far worse than he could imagine if his future self had felt the need to traverse through space and time to warn him that he had fouled it all up.
Still confident that he had not yet tried everything there was to be tried in aiding the situation, he sat up straight, and again began to run ideas through his head. As a few thoughts shifted here, and some memories of past experiences shifted there, slowly but surely, he was hit with fresh perspective.
Disregarding his older self's warning, Star Swirl supposed that while nothing seemed amiss about speaking with the princesses of their impending future battle, perhaps he had simply gone about it all in the wrong way. Perhaps the conversation should not take the form of a warning of things to come. Maybe, instead, it should be a lesson in humility, one that might staunch the possibility of anypony’s feelings ever getting hurt.
Nodding with resolve, a confident smile having spread across his face, Star Swirl rose from his seat, plopped his hat back on, and headed toward the door.
Before he could leave his chamber, the entire workroom exploded in a wash of blue light. Turning around slowly, a sense of dread descending upon him, he watched as, again, the old, gray version of himself made his way through the looking glass.
“Oh, no,” the young wizard muttered to himself.
"Oh, come now. I don't look that old up close, do I?" the old stallion chortled, taking a seat before the younger version of himself. He remained silent for a moment, understanding how strange such a meeting must have seemed. After a beat, he let loose a soft chuckle.
"My, what I wouldn't give to have my brown-mane restored. You couldn't imagine the types of stains one manages to acquire when—"
“Yes, yes!” the young Star Swirl interrupted, not too keen on having to relive the entire scene over again. “What news have you brought me?”
The old stallion cocked a brow at him, clearly filled with intrigue.
"This has happened before, hasn’t it?" he asked, his wrinkled smile growing wider. “Fine, then I shan’t keep you. You are very busy, I suspect.”
The old one leaned forward, his expression now growing quite serious.
"This particular path that you have resolved yourself to take shall not amount to the good that you are hoping for. I am afraid that your... discussion with the princess today, and the subsequent animosity it causes between the two will only work to bring about great havoc. As innocent as your intentions may begin, you shall inadvertently plant a seed of spite within the both of them. In time—a long time—these seeds shall grow, and Equestria shall fracture, split into two bordering empires ruled by two vengeful princesses. Ponies shall suffer, used as pawns in the dark ambitions of both Luna and Celestia in their efforts to reign supreme over the other. What you have done should not have been done. You should follow your own good advice. Do not speak with Celestia."
The old stallion stood, preparing to head back into the mirror. He watched sadly as his younger self dropped onto his haunches, distraught and weary.
"I know your heart, young Star Swirl, because it is also mine. I know you care for your dear friend, but I feel I must tell you that in this case, it might be best to allow destiny to run its course without interference."
He took one step into the mirror, and turned back at the last moment, passing young Star Swirl that same, jovial smile.
"By the way, cherish those limber knees, young stallion! I can assure you th—"
"Yes! I am aware!" the young wizard cut in impatiently, bounding forward to push the old one the rest of the way through the mirror. The glass flashed brightly, and then his workroom was left in dimness once again.
Sighing to himself, Star Swirl pulled the hat from atop his head, and dragged himself over toward his workbench where he then plopped down upon his sitting stool. Trying to rub the pain out of his aching skull, he closed his eyes momentarily to think on what his old self had told him.
How? How could it be possible that to allow this terrible course of events to occur would, in fact, turn out to be the best course of events? Could he find it within himself to do this to his beloved friend?
Taking a deep breath, he grimaced. His eyes shot open with fresh determination.
No. I cannot.
Experiment after experiment, idea after idea, try as he might, the results were always the same. Before he had even the chance to leave the room to act upon his plans, that accursed, old him would traverse through the mirror to stop him with news of some ghastly future that awaited Equestria if he did. Each visit brought tidings more horrifying than the last, and each and every time, the old, white-bearded unicorn would take his leave after saying the same thing:
"I know your heart, young Star Swirl, because it is also mine. I know you care for your dear friend, but I feel I must tell you that in this case, it might be best to allow destiny to run its course without interference."
By the day’s end, the young wizard was exhausted, on the brink of tears, and all out of ideas. His mind seemed void save for the haunting words of his future self which, by this time, had been committed to his memory. He didn’t want to admit it; he didn’t even want to think it, but ultimately, something now told him that the old one—whichever version it might have been—had not been mistaken. That ‘something’ was the nagging fact that out of all the old Star Swirls that had paid him a visit, the only one who had not shown up today was the version of himself from the future where he had told Celestia and Luna nothing and had allowed them to battle, thus implying that that future had ultimately turned out alright. The old unicorn’s warning was justified, and it was something he would have to accept.
Surprisingly, upon his doing this, Star Swirl found that he felt far more at peace. With fresh resolve, he stood, put on his hat, and walked toward his mirror. If this were to happen, if he were to keep this future occurrence to himself until the day that it came to pass, many years from now, then he would have to make just one more trip, right that instant. It would be far into the future, farther than he had ever travelled before. There would be many risks, but for his dear friend, they were risks he was willing to take. Activating the mirror with his magic, the young wizard took a deep breath, and stepped through the light.
He practically fell back through the mirror upon his return, grasping, and scrambling for whatever clean parchment he could find along with his inkwell. A unicorn obsessed, he picked up the quill in his magic aura, and voraciously began to write. As his mind raced with visions of what he had seen on this final trip, a relieved smile slowly began to stretch across his face. Taking a moment to wipe a tear from his eye, he finished the note, rolled the parchment up, and sealed it with wax.
Levitating the thing in his magic, he then made his way toward his bookcase. Raising the parchment up toward its highest shelf, he carefully tucked the thing far inside its darkest compartment until he could no longer see it. Nodding with satisfaction, he sniffed back his sadness, and turned away to, finally, get back to his other studies.
Oh, what am I to do? What am I to do?
Star Swirl, now grown old and gray, observed himself in his large mirror. The words in his mind formed silently upon his lips.
Plucking his cape from where it hung upon a nearby rack, he used his teeth to fling it around his back. Momentarily rearing up onto his hind legs, now shaky with age, he then clipped the cape’s clasp shut about his neck. Heaving a great sigh as he landed back upon all fours, he reached under his long, white beard to pull it free from where it was bound beneath his collar. The stallion then took another look into the mirror, inspecting his reflection to make sure he had dressed himself properly.
This was something that he had not done for a very long time, namely dressing without the use of his magic; however he had made a promise to himself all those years ago that when this day finally came, it would be a day that he lived without his powers. He could at least afford one of his best friends that courtesy.
Why didn’t he tell me? He should have told me!
The words ran through his mind swiftly, having long ago been memorized. This time, as his lips moved, he heard a faint echo of the same statement drifting in from the small window of his cellar.
“Why didn’t he tell me? He should have told me!” a mare’s distressed lamentations carried in ever so faintly upon the breeze.
“Soon. Very soon,” he muttered to himself, his voice hoarse and riddled with regret.
Moving away from the mirror, he walked over toward his bookcase. As he did so, for the first time, he caught sight of the young, brown-maned stallion—dressed quite similarly to himself—sitting quietly, and watching him from a dark nook in the corner.
“How could he? He could have stopped this,” the old stallion murmured as he now resolutely made his way toward the shelves.
“How could he? He could have stopped this!” came the mare’s identical cry a few moments later.
He reached up to the case’s highest shelf, and into the back of its darkest compartment. After a moment of prodding and balancing on a single hind hoof, he pulled out a sealed scroll, tattered with age, and completely covered in dust.
“My stars,” he groaned, blowing the grime off of the thing. He then turned to leave, the scroll grasped firmly between his teeth.
“I want to see him! Tell him to come to me this instant!” the mare’s voice echoed through the window.
Heading for the door, the old stallion allowed his eyes to wander about his cellar one last time. This time, his eyes met with the identical ones of the hidden unicorn stallion. His expression told him that he was feeling a similar pain to his own. That was understandable. Quietly, he closed the door behind himself, and stepped out into Canterlot castle’s courtyard, awash in sunlight.
The old mage took his time making his way across the yard, all the while knowing that nothing could prolong or hold at bay the unfolding of the day’s events. Just as time had powered on for an eternity before him, so would it continue to do so long after he was gone.
The sun was warm upon his neck, the grass still dewy beneath his hooves. The taste of the old scroll in his mouth was odd, rough and bitter. It was as if he could sense the heart-rending emotion leaking out of the very words it contained.
Staving off the feeling of fear that soon began to creep up his spine as he turned to walk on the path toward the Great Hall, the aged wizard, instead, chose to close his eyes. He dulled his senses, and directed his mind onto those sincere words he had kept to himself since youth, words that, to his relief, he would finally get to reveal to his dear friend:
Dearest Celestia,
I write this small letter well aware of the many moons of regret ahead of me, even unto the end of my life, as well as the many moons of grief yet to come for you, even long after I am gone. Though the time may twist and wind itself in ways which we least expect—and despite the foolish attempts of my youth to call myself its master—I have come to realize on this day that time has no master, and will do as it pleases. You will feel grief that I, in my limited ability, had no means to change it, and yet, I come to you, here and now, with tidings of hope.
While I cannot dare to alter the path you tread, or that of your beloved sister, I can still choose to follow it. Having done so, I willingly opt to break the one, unquestionable rule I have established concerning traversing through that temporal plane. It is a rule that you know well, and it is broken here to tell you that your grief shall not last forever, my dear Celestia. In fact, one day you shall be happier than you have ever been before, and surrounded by new friends, new pupils, loving subjects, and long missed family, and all of the precious things that had once seemed lost shall be returned unto you many times over. I hope that when they do, you will remember me fondly, my friend. With this, I take my leave, and bid you safe travels on your journey to that distant day.
~Star Swirl
“Why didn’t he tell me? He should have told me!” the faint echo of a mare’s distressed lamentations carried into the room upon the afternoon breeze.
“Soon. Very soon,” the aged one muttered to himself, his voice hoarse, riddled with weariness and regret. Moving away from the mirror, the elderly unicorn trotted toward the bookcase beside which the young stallion currently sat hidden.
“How could he? He could have stopped this,” the aged one murmured to himself.
“How could he? He could have stopped this!” came the mare’s identical cry a few moments later. Witnessing this phenomenon, the young wizard felt his heart leap, and at once, grew remorseful.
The old stallion reached up to the bookcase’s highest shelf, and into the back of its darkest compartment whilst the young wizard, nearly tumbling from his hiding place, attempted to get a better look. The belled and cloaked pony struggled and strained until, finally, he pulled from the darkness a sealed scroll, tattered with age, and completely covered with dust.
“My stars,” he groaned, blowing the grime off of the thing. Then, with the scroll grasped firmly between his teeth, he turned to leave his workroom.
“I want to see him! Tell him to come to me right this instant!” the mare’s voice echoed throughout the room. Both stallions glanced briefly toward the window. Her tone now seemed more afflicted than ever.
At last—and rather unexpectedly—the old one’s tired gaze locked with that of the young wizard’s. He seemed to see within them a similar pain to his own. That was understandable.
When the aged stallion finally closed the door behind himself, the spying mage—a far more youthful, but not too youthful—Star Swirl stood up from his hiding corner, and placed his hat back upon his head. He didn’t have to follow the old one or watch anymore of what was to come to know how this entire afternoon would transpire. This day had long since been committed to his memory; he had made the trip to this fateful moment at least a dozen times before, after all.
Activating the large mirror that sat in the center of the room with his magic, he waited until it was awash in a glow of blue light, and stepped through the threshold.
Star Swirl levitated a cup of tea to his lips, and sipped deeply as he gazed upon his own reflection. His expression was grim, quite pensive as he steadily stroked his long, brown beard.
Surely, this wouldn’t make me a hypocrite… would it?
He pushed back in his rocking chair, and allowed it to teeter for just a moment.
I expressly told her that trips through the mirror could not be indiscriminate, that we could not yet understand the consequences of such actions. Yet, I am still drawn to that place, that day. I must make sure. I must be absolutely sure...
The young wizard groaned as he rubbed his aching temples. The question of ethics was a difficult one when it came to using his powerful magic mirror. After all, nopony who had come before him had ever managed to master temporal and dimensional-based spells. In this he alone was a pioneer. Thus, it seemed to make sense that he would also be the one to wrestle with the precarious question of how the magic should be used so as not to cause harm to anypony in this plane or another.
It had proved simple for him to space out his journeys until relatively recently. He and his faithful student and dear friend, Celestia, would usually just pass through, pick flower specimens, sample some of the odd dimension's cuisine, speak with a local leader, and call it a day. However, none of the strangeness that he had witnessed in those other places had ever managed to strike him as truly disturbing, heart-rending even—until exactly one month ago.
That trip had been a quick one. He and the princess had passed through the mirror, and were spat out into what, at first sight, seemed to be a regular, Canterlotian evening. However, after only a brief moment of glancing up toward the sky, they quickly realized that it was anything but. At first, the evening appeared lit by a gorgeous full moon which, in and of itself, wasn't that astonishing, but the strange quality of this particular twilight happened to be, instead, the odd hue of the sky. It was an amalgam of orange, deep lavender, and black that, while quite beautiful, was clearly not typical.
Momentarily pulling their attention away from this odd sight, the pair had decided to walk about the town to question the local ponies about the odd appearance of the heavens. Instead, they were shocked to find the city's streets completely deserted. In that moment, surrounded by unnatural silence, they had mutually come to the conclusion that something was terribly amiss, and that they should promptly take their leave. Conjuring up his portal, Star Swirl and Celestia hastily moved to step back through to their own temporal plane when the loud sound of an explosion as well as a shrieking laugh halted them.
Looking in the direction from whence the sound had come, the two travellers had but a moment to glimpse a plume of black smoke escaping from a large, rolling patch of darkness in the distance—the Everfree Forest, specifically, the two alicorn sisters’ castle. Terrified, the young mage managed to steady himself just long enough to rush them both back through the portal toward home.
It was something that he had yet to stop mulling over ever since. A terrible occurrence had taken place in the Everfree sometime in the future. Had it involved the princesses? Were they alright? He had to know.
It is decided then. For the safety of Equestria.
Standing up and taking a deep breath, the brown-maned unicorn surrounded himself in his blueish magic aura, and directed a beam toward the enormous glass before him. Having activated the portal, he then quickly stepped through.
When he opened his eyes, he again found himself in the depths of the Everfree. Looking up, he could see that the sun was out, and the air menacingly quiet, and the Castle of the Two Sisters sat peaceful and undisturbed in the middle of the creeping vines and ever encroaching shadows of the forests waching over them all.
From where he spied the window to the throne room—whilst hiding inside of a rather itchy, purple shrub—Star Swirl could just make out brief flashes of white, beaming light. Thus, when the echoing sounds of two mighty alicorns quarreling carried across the winds, he was less than surprised. At least the flashes of magic light seemed a good thing at the moment. That meant that the sisters probably wouldn’t notice if he were to enter the castle unannounced.
The flares were ceaseless, and bathed the entire throne room in blue. Even the corner where Star Swirl had discovered a new hiding place behind a large, carved stone fixture seemed exposed by the fury of what he could now determine to be Princess Luna’s magic. His heart raced as he listened to the dispute ensue between the mare and her older sibling, Celestia.
"Sister, you are blinded by emotion. I implore you to see reason. Our purpose has been made clear. We are protectors. We are leaders. It is my day and your night that allow all ponies to survive, to thrive. Considering this, it seems trivial to think that you might hold such fury over who does and does not marvel at your stars."
"So sayeth the pony who relishes in her subjects' love and attention all the day long!" Luna exclaimed, letting off another beam from her horn. "So sayeth the pony who is afforded the luxury of seeing her subjects!"
The dark alicorn bowed her head where she stood between the double thrones. Her lips seemed to fumble for words through tried emotion.
"Dost thou dare attempt to comprehend the loneliness of it, sister? The isolation..." she croaked. "At times it seems that my only companions, my only friends are my stars."
"Luna," Celestia sighed pityingly. "You know that I am always here for—"
"It is not enough!" the dark mare bellowed, anger filling her once again. "Thy day, thy subjects, thy travels into town... Even the castle itself buzzes and bustles with life, all whilst I slumber, forgotten!"
She took a step forward. Her voice became menacing, ominous.
"When I wake, I wake into darkness, into silence. For sixty years it has been this way, Tia! The only reprieve I am given are the occasional evening galas and balls that thou dost attend. Balls in which I could never participate. I starve for want of some small form of interaction, I—"
Luna's head dropped in defeat, her flowing, starry mane obscuring her face in shadow.
"I fear I am going mad. Canst not thou comprehend? C-canst not we come to... to some compromise, sister? P-perhaps for but a week, once every year, the moon can remain in the heavens, or...or perhaps we could simply exchange the hours, that all the ponies might remain awake during... I knowest only that I desire a change in some way...any way."
The look on the younger alicorn's face was pitiful, desperate as she searched her sister for some inkling of understanding.
"Well? Hast thou no kind word for me? Thy beloved sister... who suffers so?"
Tears began to roll down her cheeks as she watched Celestia inhale deeply as if she had come to some great and difficult decision.
"T-Tia... please."
"I'm sorry, my sister. I truly am," Celestia began, her voice low, shaking with regret. "However, there is a balance that we both know we are sworn to keep. The moon and the sun have risen and set the way they have since time immemorial. You must consider what detriment it might bring to our subjects if we were to change this. They are most important, Luna, more important than either you or I."
Luna seemed stunned. Her cyan eyes glimmered with disbelief before, surprisingly, she dropped her head again, and broke out into a low, hiccuping laughter. It was the kind of laugh that could effectively sent chills down one's spine.
"I should have known it," Luna choked. She twirled with abandon where she stood, the look in her eye growing more enraged, more crazed. "Oh, I could have guessed it! Her Royal Highness, our beloved martyr and bleeding heart, Princess Celestia, making sacrifices for the sake of her ponies, sacrifices that so happen to cost her nothing. How noble of her! How just!"
Celestia's expression, at once, grew indignant. She grimaced, taking a step forward toward her wildly chortling sister.
"It does hurt me to see you suffer, Luna. But you would have me put all of Equestria in danger for your silly, little qualms? You are a princess! I suggest that you grow up, and accept the burden that comes with the weight of your crown. I suggest you learn to start making these difficult decisions yourself!"
Luna's face went blank, and the throne room went deathly silent, so much so that Star Swirl could hear the frantic pattering of his own heart.
"Difficult decisions, she says," Luna hissed, beginning to pace to and fro behind the thrones, her eyes trained upon her sister like two, honed daggers. "Such as thy difficult decision to sacrifice thy own sister's wellbeing, perhaps her very life, for the sake of our precious subjects?"
Celestia's lips tightened.
"Luna, you know that isn't what I mea—"
"Oh, no, my sister. I understand what thy intent quite clearly. A sacrifice must be made. A difficult decision," the dark mare laughed menacingly. "Thou hast made thy decision. One Equestrian princess seems to be enough, in thy opinion... a ghastly decision, indeed. Perhaps I can find it within myself to do as thou dost suggest, and also make the same decision, sister."
There was a rumbling in the stone. Slight at first, it grew into the type that worked to kill one's courage. Star Swirl stifled a gasp as he watched the dark princess' eyes begin to glow. Her elder sister recoiled in confusion and dread.
"Oh, yes, difficult decisions, indeed," Luna continued to prattle on to herself, mocking her elder. "Well, my dear sister, I feel I've finally come to one of those difficult decisions. I've decided, as thou hast, that there need be only one princess of Equestria. There can only be one princess of Equestria, and that princess shall be me!"
Thunder roared and lightning lit the chamber in a blinding flash as Luna screamed, stomping her hooves wildly. When Star Swirl regained his vision, to his terror, he found that she had managed to blow an enormous hole into the throne room wall by means of her own fury, alone. This must have been the explosion that he and Celestia had witnessed whilst roaming the streets of Canterlot.
Sitting there in the darkness, watching the story unfold in disbelief, it seemed like a nightmare. Things became a blur, happening too fast to memorize it all. The moon had risen to block out the sun. The sky had turned that sickly hue. Luna, poor Luna, blinded by her own rage, had corrupted herself, inadvertently infecting her very being with darkness. The young wizard's mouth gaped open as he watched her transform, and without hesitation, advance upon her own kin.
Her cold, cruel words preceded a battle the likes of which the wizard had never before witnessed. Stone shook and broke free. Walls crumbled, and the very air burned as the two celestial sisters fought for the fate of their land. Celestia was struck, and he watched her fall. Fearing her dead, he rushed outside to get a better vantage point.
There was a flash of light, a beam made of all the colors of the rainbow. It had happened far too quickly to make sense of it, and when Star Swirl again opened his eyes, the world was silent, smoking and scarred, hot with the remnants of battle. Slowly, but surely, the sound of choked sobbing grew louder until it created such a din, that it drowned out the noises of the evening Everfree.
Stumbling about the rubble, the wizard peeked his head around a ruined bend to glance into what was once a courtyard. There he saw her, Celestia, sitting in the grass, broken and battered. Her head was thrown back as she wailed, her eyes wide and directed toward the sky. Gazing upward to see what it was that had made her so distraught, Star Swirl gaped when he saw it. That once unblemished full moon now carried with it the evidence of a heartbreaking tale: Poor Luna's face, now still and serene upon its white, shining canvas, serenely gazed down upon them all.
Celestia disappeared in a flash, teleporting, in her grief, away from the ghastly scene. It didn't take much effort to figure where it was she had gone—Canterlot castle. The unicorn king Bullion had amicably vacated it quite some time ago in light of the sisters’ impending move to the city, and it now lay empty, awaiting the triumphant appearance of its two, new princesses, one of whom would never arrive.
The sound of Celestia’s wailing shook Canterlot castle the entire night. Her grief-stricken screams carried upon the winds, and across the courtyard, into a small, stone window of a large cellar.
Staring at that window from a distance, the young wizard sat stunned, contemplating the events of the night. His eyes went wide as he finally grasped the gravity of all he had seen, and when he gazed again upon that old cellar window, he was shocked to find a face—old, gaunt, and white of beard—staring back.
Their identical eyes met and locked with deep understanding. The old unicorn in the window bowed his neck, and nodded knowingly in his direction, and from where he sat in the shadows, the young Star Swirl nodded back.
"Banished to the moon, thou sayeth?" Luna croaked, dropping her cup of tea in disbelief. Both sisters gawked at one another from where they reclined on either side of the young wizard. Celestia glanced at Star Swirl as he sat looking quite distraught, stroking his brown beard.
When the mage had appeared before them in their Canterlot throne room, harping on about impending sorrows to come, it hadn't really surprised Celestia at all. After all, she had been aiding Star Swirl with his time travelling experiments for years at this point. Thus, the matter was quickly taken with the utmost seriousness, and they had gotten down to the business of discussing the wizard's harrowing tale over tea.
It was a tale most troubling, indeed, that of a cosmic battle between sisters, and subsequent sorrow and regret. It never occurred to the eldest princess to question her wizard companion, especially since he had broken one of his most important rules of time travel, namely never revealing her own future to her. Seeing the sincerity in his eyes, even Luna, as frosty as she was, couldn't help but trust his word.
"Well, wizard, although I cannot fathom why I might commit such a heinous act, I suppose that thy words should still serve as a warning to me."
"To us," Celestia corrected her, reaching over to touch her hoof tenderly. "This news can only help us both. I do not know if you have yet to feel the inklings of such regrettable sentiments, my sister, but regardless, I would like to express to you right here and now, my dedication to preventing these terrible things from coming to pass on account of my own blindness. You and your night shall be revered as they should be, and I would hope that my efforts would bring us both even closer together."
Luna's expression, at once, brightened.
"I... I'm touched, Tia. I... I’m sure I don't know what to say."
Celestia smiled, and turned to face her wizard friend once more.
"Perhaps we should both simply say 'thank you' to our dear friend, yes?"
With that, both sisters rose, and bowed their heads before Star Swirl in reverence. The wizard smiled, and sighed in relief. Surely, his mission had proved successful.
Immediately, upon his return from that future night of terrifying battles and sorrow between sisters, it didn't take long for Star Swirl to resolve himself to telling the princesses all that he had witnessed. He had weighed the risks, and decided that they were worth taking. Therefore, the only thing left to do would be to have audience with them to warn them of the entire ordeal.
Slipping around his workbench, headed toward the door, the young wizard flinched when, suddenly, a blinding, blue light engulfed the room. Spinning about, he was stunned to find that his mirror's magic had been activated. Stepping closer, he peered at the thing in wonder, readying his own magic in case somepony unexpected should traverse through the looking glass.
A few moments later, through the light and into the room stepped an old, gray stallion, his golden eyes, completely identical to the young Star Swirl's, save for them having grown weary with age. As the white-bearded pony exited the mirror, the young wizard’s knees collapsed, and he fell back upon his haunches in shock. He now could just make out a glimmer of joviality upon his older self's aged face.
"Oh, come now. I don't look that old up close, do I?" the old stallion chortled, taking a seat before the younger version of himself. He remained silent for a moment, understanding how strange such a meeting must have seemed. After a beat, he let loose a soft chuckle.
"My, what I wouldn't give to have my brown-mane restored. You couldn't imagine the types of stains one manages to acquire when—"
Noticing the younger wizard's grim expression, the old stallion sighed, and shook his head.
"Ever the serious scholar, aren't you, Star Swirl? Don't worry. That will change with time, I can assure you," he laughed. "I realize you still have much to do. Thus, I'll make this as hasty as possible."
The old one leaned forward, his expression now grown quite serious.
"This particular path that you have resolved yourself to take shall not amount to the good that you are hoping for."
The old wizard took a moment to remove his hat, and scratch his ivory-maned head.
"I regret to tell you that in a world where Celestia and Luna were made aware of the battle you witnessed on that fateful evening, their land exists in a state of unbalance. Celestia, fearing the resentment of her sister, eventually grew to allow the evening too much leeway. The nights in my world, young Star Swirl, last so long as to not allow the cultivation of enough food for Equestria. The darkness is vast, and ponies suffer whilst the two sisters are lost in their false delusions of contentment and camaraderie. What you have done should not have been done. You should follow your own good advice. Do not warn them."
Sighing in response to the distraught and stunned look upon his younger version's face, the old stallion plopped his hat back atop his head, and stood, preparing to head back into the mirror.
"I know your heart, young Star Swirl, because it is also mine. I know you care for your dear friend, but I feel I must tell you that in this case, it might be best to allow destiny to run its course without interference."
He took one step into the mirror, and turned back at the last moment, passing young Star Swirl that same, jovial smile.
"By the way, cherish those limber knees, young stallion! I can assure you that you will miss those the most when they are gone!"
Bathed in a flash of blue as the old one disappeared back through glass, the stunned, young Star Swirl allowed his brow to slam down against his workbench. Turning his head to the side to stare off at nothing, he let loose a long, weary groan.
I haven’t the time to make sense of this. Think, you numbskull. Think!
The proper solution to all this couldn't possibly be so complex, could it? After all, the one tried and true rule that applied to most of the universe's conundrums was that the best solution to any problem was also usually the simplest.
The wizard scratched his brown mane, and grimaced as he tried to figure what might possibly be an easier solution than attempting to talk the problem out with both princesses directly. Yet, apparently, things had turned out far worse than he could imagine if his future self had felt the need to traverse through space and time to warn him that he had fouled it all up.
Still confident that he had not yet tried everything there was to be tried in aiding the situation, he sat up straight, and again began to run ideas through his head. As a few thoughts shifted here, and some memories of past experiences shifted there, slowly but surely, he was hit with fresh perspective.
Disregarding his older self's warning, Star Swirl supposed that while nothing seemed amiss about speaking with the princesses of their impending future battle, perhaps he had simply gone about it all in the wrong way. Perhaps the conversation should not take the form of a warning of things to come. Maybe, instead, it should be a lesson in humility, one that might staunch the possibility of anypony’s feelings ever getting hurt.
Nodding with resolve, a confident smile having spread across his face, Star Swirl rose from his seat, plopped his hat back on, and headed toward the door.
He found Celestia in the royal library, pouring over a varied stack of spell books whilst sipping on some tea. Upon seeing him, she gently closed the book that she had been reading, and smiled.
“Good day, Star Swirl. I was wondering where you were. I haven’t seen you all morning.”
“Yes, well, I’ve been very busy with my time travel spells as of late. However, I was wondering if perhaps you had a moment to speak with me about something that has… been on my mind.”
“Of course, my friend,” Celestia replied, tossing a cushion before her so that the young wizard might sit. “Come.”
One would be hard pressed indeed to think of the Princess Celestia as "arrogant". However, the pride the alicorn held in the prosperity of her kingdom and the proficiency of her reign was something quite clear to the eye. Princesshood suited her well, and if there was anypony who was aware of that, it was she.
Of course, even the most justified of prideful emotions held within it the potential for debasement, and Star Swirl knew that the seed of corruption lay dormant within the hearts of all ponies, even himself… even Celestia.
Surely, he thought, she will take this well. She will understand.
“Be wary of my own pride?” Celestia stated, her nose wrinkling in abhorrence of the notion that she might be too prideful. “Star Swirl, I simply can’t understand what it is you are referring to. I’ve never been arrogant, and if I am prideful, it is not so much for myself as it is for the pride that others take in me.” The alicorn moved to levitate her cup of tea toward her mouth, and then took a long sip. “I don’t see how there might be anything wrong with enjoying being told you’re doing a good job.”
“This I understand, Celestia,” the young wizard began. “But, all the same, you must be vigilant that such a pride does not take root within you so that you might believe you have a right to it regardless of the feelings of others.”
Now, the princess seemed perturbed.
“Whose ‘feelings’?” she nearly spat. “I suggest, my friend, that if you are aware of something that I am not, that you simply let it be known. Be clear with me. Of whom do you speak?”
“No, no. I tell you this simply because leaders are ponies with feelings and emotions as well. This is something very important for all leaders, particularly, to know. Pride is a destroyer. Arrogance brings sorrow. You must be mindful to always consider the feelings of others before—”
“Well, I should think that I’m very good at it, Star Swirl! This is a diarchy, after all. What is more humble, less prideful than sharing rule?”
With resolve, the princess placed her cup back down upon its saucer, and stood.
“Come. We should consult my sister. No one is closer to me than she.”
Star Swirl, feeling an odd sense of growing apprehension, rose to his hooves, and followed the princess close behind.
They found Luna in her chamber preparing to take her rest before sunset. Upon entering the room, the younger princess bid them to sit, seeing the concern plastered upon their faces.
“Sorry to disturb you, sister,” Celestia chirped, plopping down upon an indigo-colored cushion at Star Swirl’s side. “I’m afraid we have a very important question for you that couldn’t wait.”
“Of course,” Luna said as she busied herself with removing her crown, and levitating it to rest upon her vanity table. “Ask away.”
Celestia and Star Swirl both cocked a brow at one another before the younger princess again turned toward them.
“Well, it’s a laughable notion, really, but our wizard friend, here, has apparently deemed it an important issue. I obliged him by coming to the one who I know the best and love most,” Celestia babbled on. She never noticed Luna rolling her eyes as she began to remove her breastplate. “And, well I suppose I... I mean, we just wanted to ask… Do you find me… arrogant? Err, prideful, I mean.”
Spinning about, Luna gazed at her elder sister, appearing quite unfazed by the inquiry. Never missing a beat, she sighed, and then moved across the room to put her shoes in the corner.
“Well, of course thou art prideful, Tia. I sayeth this in thy presence quite often.”
Celestia seemed genuinely stunned.
“What? I—I always thought you were joking whenever you said those things to me!”
Luna gave her an exasperated look.
“Joking… right. I conjure but one joke per month, at best. But to answer thy question, yes, thou art a tad arrogant.”
Noting the distress this caused her sister, Luna sighed, again rolling her eyes.
“Well, it isn’t something over which the world should end, methinks! Everypony has their faults, do they not? Thou art still a fine princess.”
Celestia rose to her hooves.
“Nothing for the world to end over, you say? You just told me I’m prideful and arrogant! How is that nothing for the world to end over? You know that I try my very best to—”
“We are not saying you don’t, Princess,” Star Swirl interjected, becoming increasingly unnerved by Celestia’s reaction. “It is simply a thing to be mindful of, is all.”
“I must be mindful,” Celestia scoffed with disbelief. Her brow furrowed as she then pointed toward her sister who was just starting to close the drapes over her enormous windows. “Well, what about Luna? What about the princess of the night, and her ever persistent surliness? Her overly-strict mannerisms? She can’t even fetch her own tea, for Myself’s sake!”
“Tia, thou hast said ‘Myself’s sake’,” Luna chided her boredly. “Thou art a bit arrogant. Confess.”
Huffing with indignation, Celestia turned to face Star Swirl again, ignoring her sister’s words.
“Aren’t you going to warn her of these things, wizard?”
“Oy!” Luna exclaimed, sounding quite offended. She left what it was she was doing, and marched right up toward her sister.
“Thou shouldst know, dear sister, that while perhaps thou remainest content with forsaking the traditional Royal Canterlot Voice—one of alicorn kind’s most treasured cultural customs—and forsaking punctuality whilst lazing about after sunrise each and every day, that some of us still hold these things in high regard! Thou dost freely accept each and every habit of each fleeting age in which thou livest with no respect or reverence for thy own heritage! How shameful!”
“How dare you?” Celestia hissed, her eyes catching fire. “How dare you chastise me about self respect, Luna? How many times have you deliberately shown up late at court whilst we are supposed to be hearing grievances? How many times have you disrespected yourself by treating so abhorrently those poor attendants that serve you? You run them ragged!”
Star Swirl shrank at the sight of the growing animosity between the two. This wasn’t exactly how he had hoped this scenario would play out. He timidly raised one hoof and cleared his throat in hopes of halting the bickering.
“Errrm, pardon me, Your Highnesses. I believe the most important thing to remember is to be mindful of oneself.”
Both princesses turned upon him with looks of utter indignation.
“I am!” they both shouted simultaneously, then turning to glare at each other. “No, you aren’t!”
“P-princesses, I think that—” Star Swirl began again, determined to get through to them.
“For what reason doth thou linger here, wizard?” Luna finally exclaimed, eyeing him angrily. “Hast thou not yet said what it is that required saying? Perhaps it is time that thou takest thy leave.”
The young wizard looked toward Celestia, his close friend, for some sort of aid, but it seemed that she could no longer break her incensed gaze away from her younger sister.
“I think that would be a good idea, Star Swirl. I believe my sister and I have much to discuss about all that you have said,” the white alicorn stated ominously.
He couldn’t leave it like this. He knew that if he should go now, there was sure to be trouble.
“Please, my friends. I—”
“Get out!” the two sisters screamed, turning upon him.
Star Swirl, shocked to see them both so furious that their horns flared bright with magic, spun about, and made haste out of the chamber.
Bathed in a flash of blue as the old one disappeared back through glass, the stunned, young Star Swirl allowed his brow to slam down against his workbench. Turning his head to the side to stare off at nothing, he let loose a long, weary groan.
I haven’t the time to make sense of this. Think, you numbskull. Think!
The proper solution to all this couldn't possibly be so complex, could it? After all, the one tried and true rule that applied to most of the universe's conundrums was that the best solution to any problem was also usually the simplest.
The wizard scratched his brown mane, and grimaced as he tried to figure what might possibly be an easier solution than attempting to talk the problem out with both princesses directly. Yet, apparently, things had turned out far worse than he could imagine if his future self had felt the need to traverse through space and time to warn him that he had fouled it all up.
Still confident that he had not yet tried everything there was to be tried in aiding the situation, he sat up straight, and again began to run ideas through his head. As a few thoughts shifted here, and some memories of past experiences shifted there, slowly but surely, he was hit with fresh perspective.
Disregarding his older self's warning, Star Swirl supposed that while nothing seemed amiss about speaking with the princesses of their impending future battle, perhaps he had simply gone about it all in the wrong way. Perhaps the conversation should not take the form of a warning of things to come. Maybe, instead, it should be a lesson in humility, one that might staunch the possibility of anypony’s feelings ever getting hurt.
Nodding with resolve, a confident smile having spread across his face, Star Swirl rose from his seat, plopped his hat back on, and headed toward the door.
Before he could leave his chamber, the entire workroom exploded in a wash of blue light. Turning around slowly, a sense of dread descending upon him, he watched as, again, the old, gray version of himself made his way through the looking glass.
“Oh, no,” the young wizard muttered to himself.
"Oh, come now. I don't look that old up close, do I?" the old stallion chortled, taking a seat before the younger version of himself. He remained silent for a moment, understanding how strange such a meeting must have seemed. After a beat, he let loose a soft chuckle.
"My, what I wouldn't give to have my brown-mane restored. You couldn't imagine the types of stains one manages to acquire when—"
“Yes, yes!” the young Star Swirl interrupted, not too keen on having to relive the entire scene over again. “What news have you brought me?”
The old stallion cocked a brow at him, clearly filled with intrigue.
"This has happened before, hasn’t it?" he asked, his wrinkled smile growing wider. “Fine, then I shan’t keep you. You are very busy, I suspect.”
The old one leaned forward, his expression now growing quite serious.
"This particular path that you have resolved yourself to take shall not amount to the good that you are hoping for. I am afraid that your... discussion with the princess today, and the subsequent animosity it causes between the two will only work to bring about great havoc. As innocent as your intentions may begin, you shall inadvertently plant a seed of spite within the both of them. In time—a long time—these seeds shall grow, and Equestria shall fracture, split into two bordering empires ruled by two vengeful princesses. Ponies shall suffer, used as pawns in the dark ambitions of both Luna and Celestia in their efforts to reign supreme over the other. What you have done should not have been done. You should follow your own good advice. Do not speak with Celestia."
The old stallion stood, preparing to head back into the mirror. He watched sadly as his younger self dropped onto his haunches, distraught and weary.
"I know your heart, young Star Swirl, because it is also mine. I know you care for your dear friend, but I feel I must tell you that in this case, it might be best to allow destiny to run its course without interference."
He took one step into the mirror, and turned back at the last moment, passing young Star Swirl that same, jovial smile.
"By the way, cherish those limber knees, young stallion! I can assure you th—"
"Yes! I am aware!" the young wizard cut in impatiently, bounding forward to push the old one the rest of the way through the mirror. The glass flashed brightly, and then his workroom was left in dimness once again.
Sighing to himself, Star Swirl pulled the hat from atop his head, and dragged himself over toward his workbench where he then plopped down upon his sitting stool. Trying to rub the pain out of his aching skull, he closed his eyes momentarily to think on what his old self had told him.
How? How could it be possible that to allow this terrible course of events to occur would, in fact, turn out to be the best course of events? Could he find it within himself to do this to his beloved friend?
Taking a deep breath, he grimaced. His eyes shot open with fresh determination.
No. I cannot.
Experiment after experiment, idea after idea, try as he might, the results were always the same. Before he had even the chance to leave the room to act upon his plans, that accursed, old him would traverse through the mirror to stop him with news of some ghastly future that awaited Equestria if he did. Each visit brought tidings more horrifying than the last, and each and every time, the old, white-bearded unicorn would take his leave after saying the same thing:
"I know your heart, young Star Swirl, because it is also mine. I know you care for your dear friend, but I feel I must tell you that in this case, it might be best to allow destiny to run its course without interference."
By the day’s end, the young wizard was exhausted, on the brink of tears, and all out of ideas. His mind seemed void save for the haunting words of his future self which, by this time, had been committed to his memory. He didn’t want to admit it; he didn’t even want to think it, but ultimately, something now told him that the old one—whichever version it might have been—had not been mistaken. That ‘something’ was the nagging fact that out of all the old Star Swirls that had paid him a visit, the only one who had not shown up today was the version of himself from the future where he had told Celestia and Luna nothing and had allowed them to battle, thus implying that that future had ultimately turned out alright. The old unicorn’s warning was justified, and it was something he would have to accept.
Surprisingly, upon his doing this, Star Swirl found that he felt far more at peace. With fresh resolve, he stood, put on his hat, and walked toward his mirror. If this were to happen, if he were to keep this future occurrence to himself until the day that it came to pass, many years from now, then he would have to make just one more trip, right that instant. It would be far into the future, farther than he had ever travelled before. There would be many risks, but for his dear friend, they were risks he was willing to take. Activating the mirror with his magic, the young wizard took a deep breath, and stepped through the light.
He practically fell back through the mirror upon his return, grasping, and scrambling for whatever clean parchment he could find along with his inkwell. A unicorn obsessed, he picked up the quill in his magic aura, and voraciously began to write. As his mind raced with visions of what he had seen on this final trip, a relieved smile slowly began to stretch across his face. Taking a moment to wipe a tear from his eye, he finished the note, rolled the parchment up, and sealed it with wax.
Levitating the thing in his magic, he then made his way toward his bookcase. Raising the parchment up toward its highest shelf, he carefully tucked the thing far inside its darkest compartment until he could no longer see it. Nodding with satisfaction, he sniffed back his sadness, and turned away to, finally, get back to his other studies.
Oh, what am I to do? What am I to do?
Star Swirl, now grown old and gray, observed himself in his large mirror. The words in his mind formed silently upon his lips.
Plucking his cape from where it hung upon a nearby rack, he used his teeth to fling it around his back. Momentarily rearing up onto his hind legs, now shaky with age, he then clipped the cape’s clasp shut about his neck. Heaving a great sigh as he landed back upon all fours, he reached under his long, white beard to pull it free from where it was bound beneath his collar. The stallion then took another look into the mirror, inspecting his reflection to make sure he had dressed himself properly.
This was something that he had not done for a very long time, namely dressing without the use of his magic; however he had made a promise to himself all those years ago that when this day finally came, it would be a day that he lived without his powers. He could at least afford one of his best friends that courtesy.
Why didn’t he tell me? He should have told me!
The words ran through his mind swiftly, having long ago been memorized. This time, as his lips moved, he heard a faint echo of the same statement drifting in from the small window of his cellar.
“Why didn’t he tell me? He should have told me!” a mare’s distressed lamentations carried in ever so faintly upon the breeze.
“Soon. Very soon,” he muttered to himself, his voice hoarse and riddled with regret.
Moving away from the mirror, he walked over toward his bookcase. As he did so, for the first time, he caught sight of the young, brown-maned stallion—dressed quite similarly to himself—sitting quietly, and watching him from a dark nook in the corner.
“How could he? He could have stopped this,” the old stallion murmured as he now resolutely made his way toward the shelves.
“How could he? He could have stopped this!” came the mare’s identical cry a few moments later.
He reached up to the case’s highest shelf, and into the back of its darkest compartment. After a moment of prodding and balancing on a single hind hoof, he pulled out a sealed scroll, tattered with age, and completely covered in dust.
“My stars,” he groaned, blowing the grime off of the thing. He then turned to leave, the scroll grasped firmly between his teeth.
“I want to see him! Tell him to come to me this instant!” the mare’s voice echoed through the window.
Heading for the door, the old stallion allowed his eyes to wander about his cellar one last time. This time, his eyes met with the identical ones of the hidden unicorn stallion. His expression told him that he was feeling a similar pain to his own. That was understandable. Quietly, he closed the door behind himself, and stepped out into Canterlot castle’s courtyard, awash in sunlight.
The old mage took his time making his way across the yard, all the while knowing that nothing could prolong or hold at bay the unfolding of the day’s events. Just as time had powered on for an eternity before him, so would it continue to do so long after he was gone.
The sun was warm upon his neck, the grass still dewy beneath his hooves. The taste of the old scroll in his mouth was odd, rough and bitter. It was as if he could sense the heart-rending emotion leaking out of the very words it contained.
Staving off the feeling of fear that soon began to creep up his spine as he turned to walk on the path toward the Great Hall, the aged wizard, instead, chose to close his eyes. He dulled his senses, and directed his mind onto those sincere words he had kept to himself since youth, words that, to his relief, he would finally get to reveal to his dear friend:
Dearest Celestia,
I write this small letter well aware of the many moons of regret ahead of me, even unto the end of my life, as well as the many moons of grief yet to come for you, even long after I am gone. Though the time may twist and wind itself in ways which we least expect—and despite the foolish attempts of my youth to call myself its master—I have come to realize on this day that time has no master, and will do as it pleases. You will feel grief that I, in my limited ability, had no means to change it, and yet, I come to you, here and now, with tidings of hope.
While I cannot dare to alter the path you tread, or that of your beloved sister, I can still choose to follow it. Having done so, I willingly opt to break the one, unquestionable rule I have established concerning traversing through that temporal plane. It is a rule that you know well, and it is broken here to tell you that your grief shall not last forever, my dear Celestia. In fact, one day you shall be happier than you have ever been before, and surrounded by new friends, new pupils, loving subjects, and long missed family, and all of the precious things that had once seemed lost shall be returned unto you many times over. I hope that when they do, you will remember me fondly, my friend. With this, I take my leave, and bid you safe travels on your journey to that distant day.
~Star Swirl