Penalt's Reading Corner - Birthday Edition · 7:10am Jul 12th, 2022
One of the ways to describe music is as sonic emotion. The emotions of joy, anger, fear, sadness and so forth, expressed as musical notes in chords and harmony. Various genres of music are often associated with various emotions. Country and Western is often associated with determination and melancholy. Classical music is associated with elegant manners. Rap with outrage and defiance, and so forth and so on.
In my youth there was published a now nearly forgotten animated rock opera called "Rock and Rule" featuring Debbie Harry and introduced a young and very sheltered Penalt to the unlimited power that is heavy metal. More than any other genre of music, heavy metal is expresses the sheer power of humanity. Our power, our desires, our sheer f****** will, all expressed in power chords and lyrics often screamed at decibels that would make a jet engine blush.
And placed firmly in that genre of power chords and leather is the story BY THE BLACK AXE OF NIGHTMARE MOON! by Tumbleweed.
Rainbow Dash discovers that Vice Principal Luna has a dark secret. A secret so shattering that it could destroy the facade of normality Luna has built up in her time in charge of the Equestria Girls. The secret that she was once the lead singer of a heavy metal group known as "Nightmare Moon and the Children of Darkness."
What follows is epic comedy as Rainbow Dash tries to prove Luna's secret to her friends through various misadventures that culminate in the return of Nightmare Moon to the stage as she is forced to battle against the dark wizard she once trapped in a song. However, like Angel in "Rock and Rule" Nightmare Moon discovers that she can't put down the risen evil on her own.
For what is Nightmare Moon without her Children of Darkness?
What follows is an epic battle that makes me wish we had gotten to see more of the history of the Luna and Celestia in the EQG world. Read BY THE BLACK AXE OF NIGHTMARE MOON! by Tumbleweed, and do so with some power metal in the background. You won't regret it.
As I write these words it is midnight of July the 12, and my birthday has just passed and this marks the sixth anniversary of my writing career. When I was young, I made a promise to myself that one day I would write stories that people would enjoy. I never knew that my trying to fulfill that promise to myself would lead to friendships in a community with support unlike any other.
When my life altered dramatically almost 4 years ago, this community was there to support me and build me back up again. When I erred, the people here reminded me of my principles and held me to the mark. When I was lost, you found me. When I was sad, you cheered me. When I doubted, you reassured.
True, I've made many mistakes. Pissed off my fair share of people. Wronged a few, righted others, but through it all, this community of creators have been some of the best people I could have possibly run across to help me fulfill my dreams, and dreams are where limits die.
Thank you for helping break free of my limits,
Penalt
aka
Penny Dreadful
Happy birthday. May the next year of your life see your path straight and your successes mount.
The Equestria Girls universe is both blessed and cursed with less world-building. Things just are. Nature abhors a vacuum, and the same is true for humanity; it is therefore little surprise that multitudes of attempts have been made to fill in the blank spots on the metaphorical map.
And since we know where There Be Dragons, something else is usually applied. Like zombies. Since Principal Luna had her moment of awesome above, let's look at her colleague and boss (and sister).
Principal Celestia Hunts the Undead by Rune Soldier Dan fills in some blank spots with copious amounts of comedic violence, blood, gore and other stuff you can set a heavy metal soundtrack to.
happy birthday!