'Phases of the Moon' Notes

Well, that got approved fast. Might as well bang these out before I hit the sack.

-The major theme here was my attempt at creating an expanded mythology. I did the same thing way back when with my first fanfiction, a Teen Titans story called 'The Call.'

-At over 9000 words, this is my biggest single upload ever. Nervous!

-The inscription above the door to the archives reads 'You will find the answers, or the answers will find you.'

-Brother Veritas went through several iterations during the gestation of this story. Originally he was an elder blind pony named Silver Ring. Then, I decided he should be... well, me. So he was Jade Ring. Then he was Nevermore. Finally I decided on the concept of the passed on title and there he was.

-The danger in the Far Lands is the first blip on the radar of a much bigger story on the horizon.

-The Second Dragon War is a reference to my original plans for the Continuity. The First Dragon War was ended when Princess Platinum married the Dragon King, and the Second broke out upon their deaths. That war was ended by Celestia and Luna, the spawn of the dragon/unicorn union.

-Donkey Hotey? Mareco Polo? Pony Puns!

-The Twilight of the Gods will play a huge part in the future.

-I can already sense the folks that are going to come at me with 'Faust said that Celestia and Luna arent't goddesses. Your origin is wrong.' To which I'll reply 'Kindly read my other stories, thank you.'

-I never could decide what the testimonies would look like. Books? Scrolls? DrTechno made the cover art with a scroll so I just went with that.

-There's that ancient unicorn again. Me and those dead languages...

-Luna's first lover was always going to be Starswirl.

-As can be clearly seen, this story takes place roughly a day before the Season 3 Finale.

-Discord's destruction of the Lands of Chaos is very much the story of Eden. Before Celestia came, the ponies under Discord loved the chaos simply because they didn't know any better. Once Celestia told them it was wrong, they rejected their master and lost their lands.

-Busara's chapter turned out very short and was nearly cut. In the end, I like what I had written and decided to keep it.

-Zeboran is bastardized Swahili. Busara means 'Wise.' You can translate the rest at your own peril. I made Luna's line as dirty as possible.

-The 'I don't like any of my wives' bit is directly lifted from 'The Ghost and the Darkness,' one of my favorite movies ever.

-Much like most bits of fanon I use, I saw a picture that fowarded the idea that Twilight had zebra in her blood and ran with that. I think it's a cool idea.

-Of course Twilight's ancestor wrote the Daring Do books. How else would she have the complete set?

-There was originally a chapter between these two about Highwind, the first Wonderbolt. I never wrote it because he was a boring character.

-I envisioned Sombra as somepony very similar to say, Emporer Palpatine in Star Wars; a deeply evil being who spent years preparing for one glorious moment of conquest.

-That little phrase about 'emerald fire' should sound very familiar to anyone who's read 'Paternally Yours.' You know exactly who Sombra's descendents are.

-You notice that this is the first chapter that Luna is speaking (for the most part) like a normal pony. This shows how comfortable she is around Nevermore.

-Writing Luna as she's transforming into Nightmare Moon was surprisingly fun.

-Nevermore will return.

-Truth time; the revelation about Celestia is the whole reason I wrote this bloody story. I wanted to come up with something truly shocking, something that no one would see coming.

-I'll give a special prize to anyone who can fully decipher both prophecies.

-The moment that Shining Armor turns down his chance at salvation actually disgusted me when I wrote it. He deserves every bit of misery coming his way.

-I really hope that ending has the 'Oh $#!+' quality I was going for.