Trapped and separated from her friends in the crystal caves beneath Canterlot, Izzy discovers The Ephemeris, a gigantic machine designed to continue the cycle of day and night.  
 
Ever since G5 began, many of us (Myself included), have been left with numerous questions: Why did the three races segregate, what happened to the other creatures that inhabited Equestria? Why did Twilight create the unity crystals? Etc. But one major question that we’ve all had is how are day and night able to cycle if pony magic was gone for a time? For the longest time, the duty of shifting the time of day was left to the alicorn princesses, and the unicorns alone before them.  
 
Well, this is my own little way of answering that question:  
 
After the pony races and unity crystals were segregated, and the reign of the alicorns came to an end, the cycle of day and night was halted as Twilight could no longer use her magic to shift it. Some time later, during which Canterlot was falling into decline, a brilliant magic researcher and his team of expert engineers constructed a machine deep within the crystal caves of the city to continue the cycle without the need for alicorn magic. The magic and energy within the crystals of the caves themselves power the Ephemeris as well as enable it to directly control the sun and moon using two magical links. The machine is gyroscopic and moves constantly around the clock to ensure that the cycle doesn’t stop.  
 
Who this brilliant researcher/designer was remains a mystery.  
 
That’s my take on it. A bit of lore to add to the overall narrative of Equestria’s changing times. I also wanted to do something with Izzy for a change.  
 
By the way, you may notice how different this piece may look compared to other drawings that I’ve done in recent times. I’m trying out some new methods that put more emphasis on color rather than heavy shading. My previous pieces, while good, were starting to become repetitive because of my shading techniques. Everything was looking all brown and dingy. I aim to change with my new methods going forward.  
 
I also want to take the time to announce that my upload schedule has been changed from weekly to bi-weekly. So I’ll be uploading every two weeks from now on for personal reasons. Thank you. :)