We all know of how Princess Luna fell victim to Nightmare Moon's influence. We all know of how she returned and how she was saved by the powers of the Elements of Harmony, and how her sister Celestia was overjoyed that after a thousand years her sister had finally returned to her. The question is though, why did Celestia allow her beloved sister to be forgotten by her subjects?
This is the version of the story where that never happened. This is the story where in her grief, Celestia never let her ponies forget the princess they drove to darkness with their and her own neglect. Where she made sure that everypony remembered the day that they lost their guardian of the night. How would the story have panned out with this setup?
(This story is actually inspired by the story The Return of Princess Nightmare Moon by Aegis Shield. This is by no means a copy though. The story just got me thinking about the fact that Celestia really did in a way let ponies forget their was ever a Princess of the Night or that she was her sister. Hope you all enjoy.)
Honestly, this would have made more sense than letting her sister fade into myth.
Awesome!
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I agree
7282516 That was my exact thought when the idea came to my head!
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I have never understood why she did that, to be honest. As opposed to a holiday for foals, make it a day to keep her lost sibling's memory alive.
I could also see her, in a moment of rage, declaring an insult against Luna to be an act of treason. Lèse-majesté, basically, making it a legal offense to insult the dignity of the monarch.
I don't normally read, or upvote stories with just one chapter. But, damn. Keep it up! This will be one of the few stories I read as it's updated!
Ahhhhh, how I love realistic reactions from characters who don't act that way in the source material. Don't get me wrong I like Celestia, but her decision to let her sister fade into obscurity except to be viewed as a monster on a particular holiday, doesn't seem like the sisterly thing to do, or the smart thing for that matter.
Regardless this is cool, imma track this.
Also something I noticed:
Should be:
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YES!! FINALLY!! This is how I imagine Celestia would have reacted to the loss of her sister! And moreover, the reactions of the ponies, and her speech at them...it was perfect! Well done, and looking forward to how this goes from there. Favorite and liked, and I'm betting others will too!
This would be fine and dandy except... Celestia DIDN'T let her sister fade into myth. Let's go back to Episode 1 shall we? It clearly shows that she's still in the story alongside Celestia. I don't know WHERE this fade into Myth stuff came from but I guess it comes from Episode 2 where the Mane 6 were surprised by Luna being Celestia's sister.... when Twilight KNEW Luna was Celestia's sister and from what I remember did NOTHING to tell them..... so in other words.... bad writing.
Edit: However I do think I would like where this story is heading.
........ okay this is going into Tyrant territory now.
7283864 don't worry she calms down. Gold Bar will be ok. We all do things we regret in times of great distress
7283881 Yeah but that's REALLY pushing it and made out of anger rather then real reason. It's clear the guy wanted to apologize but Celestia just kicked him out like trash. While I agree his words about Luna were bad that still doesn't warrant him getting banished or losing his job. You know the.... ONE THING keeping his family afloat.
7283887 as I said. Don't worry
7283663 but Luna was forgotten. She is portrayed as being a jealous sibling, not sorrowful. She isn't even mentioned by her real name. She is only refered to as nightmare moon. Even by nightmare night she is only seen as the monster as that is all that she is remembered as. I know celestia calls her Luna but only her. Twilight doesn't know that she is her sister. No one even knows who she is when she appears accept twilight and again she only knows her as nightmare moon. She was forgotten. Reduced to a villain in a fable
7283949 Um... she was sorrowful. In case you missed towards the ending and even the flashback in Season 4's opening Celestia highly regretted sending Luna away. She had no other choice. She was called Luna and they do acknowledge that she's Celestia's sister.
7283887 Did he want to apologize out of true repentance, or to save his own skin? It's like when I was a child and was being punished for something, and I would say I was sorry. My mother would always ask.
"Do you regret what you did, or do you regret that you're being punished for what you did?"
I think we have our answer, in his case, in that he was still referring to Luna as Nightmare Moon, and suggesting a huge holiday of celebration instead of a day of remembrance.
In either case, Gold Bar's punishment served two purposes. First, to smack him around for insulting Luna, and secondly it was a bit of a warning to others that Celestia was serious. The edict carries real weight. Before they may have thought her earlier proclamation was due to excessive emotion. Now? Now they know.
However, you can also see that she was not being as harsh as she could have been. Lèse-majesté does not just make the insult a crime. It makes it treason, punishable by death if Celestia wishes.
In truth, Celestia barely did a thing to him compared to what she could have done. He and his loved ones are alive, with his most serious loss being his job with the government. They will recover, given time.
7284003 No now they know ANYTHING that would dishonor Luna even something SMALL is going to get them in a shit load of trouble. Who's to say eventually Celestia goes overly emotional and nearly EVERYTHING may eventually be seen as offensive to Luna? We may know it's not true but they don't. As a benevolent ruler Celestia's job is supposed to be as neutral as possible rather then let her emotions run wild like she has so far.
7284008 That is a risk, and one which the author may touch on, but given who Celestia is? Her emotions will likely cool with time, so that only legitimate affronts will be sought out and punished, and not as harshly as the initial punishment.
Gold Bar was merely setting an example of how far she would go if given cause.
I would also point out that while Celestia and Luna were generally kind and gentle, they are also tyrants whose legal authority, in the show, is effectively absolute.
Finally, perhaps that was the point she was trying to make? That she is setting a Zero Tolerance policy.
7284027 Yes because becoming another Sombra is such a good idea after losing your sibling.
Edit: Also last I checked they didn't take over their country. They saved the whole damn world from Discord by turning him to stone.
7284031 You need to be less emotional and think about things. Harsh punishments =/= Instant Villain.
Princess Celestia has realized the abuse which her citizens heaped on Luna, as well as her own neglect, led to her fall to Nightmare Moon, leading to her exile. In a way, she is accomplishing two goals here.
1). Ensuring that Luna will be remembered favorably, and that the difference between Luna and Nightmare is kept alive in memory, so that when Luna returns she will be treated with decency and respect.
2). Punishing the heartless bastards who drove her beloved sister to madness.
Note, she did not order the history books expunged completely. She merely said that anything about Luna the books held which did not stand up to checks for accuracy would be purged. Perfectly reasonable.
I would also point out that Gold Bar essentially called Luna a whore.
If she were going mad here, she would be much more extreme. Likely she would have purged all of Parliament.
7284055 .... fine.
I like it so far hope to read more soon
7283663 "Mare in the Moon? But I thought that was just an old pony tail"
7284058 That was not a personal attack. Do yourself a favor, and do not take it as one.
7284079 Wow could that SOUND anymore condescending?
Edit: I am sorry I just get easily frustrated. I also think most stories involving Celestia acting well beyond what she should as ruler irks me and nine times out of ten they've ended with her becoming a tyrant.
7284086 That was not my intent.
Essentially, the royal sisters are tyrants, if not in the sense most people think of it. The word did not always have the negative implications it does today, meaning merely a ruler with absolute authority.
I would advise working on the easy frustration issue. It can lead to a lot of strife in places like this.
7284129 I understand.
7284055 Personally, I would have granted him one final night with his wife then holding a public execution.
They were celebrating Celestia getting rid of a horrible monster. Why shouldn't she be celebrated for getting rid of another?
Ponies are stupid.
Ok, as of right now, loving how this story is going. Not only are we getting some good character development for Celestia, seeing her in the grieving process, and indeed being VERY MUCH quick to anger due to that, but we are ALSO seeing the consciousness of the ponies of Equestria as they are now confronted with loss. The Summer Sun Celebration let them forget, and in turn forgetting meant that the whole cycle could begin again. Through memory, there is less risk of it. Granted, it could still go wrong, the Nightmare isn't gone completely, not by a long shot I'd say. But this will properly put Luna at odds with the entity as time goes on.
I'm also curious as to how the ensuing Centuries will play out. With Luna being someone generation of Ponies have never seen, and they all grow up without her to protect their dreams as she once did. This will make the following vigils more interesting as to how they effect Luna's banishment. Overall, I'm very intrigued, and the messages actually reaching Luna, and her reaction to Celestia's made my heart ache. Well done, and looking forward to more.
7284230 The impression I get here is that Celestia is trying to send a twofold message.
1). Those who insult or demonize Luna will be punished for it.
2). Having said that, Celestia is still in her right mind, and capable of showing restraint.
Considering how above her subjects Celestia is (regardless of how she acts), you have to wonder why Gold Bar thought it would be a good idea to insult her sister right in front of her. I probably could see someone losing their job for that, it would be like walking up to the Prime Minister and insulting their daughters. They're probably not going to take it lying down.
Talk about tear jerker
7283864 You have to remember. She is very distraught about what has happened, and extremely emotional having lost her sister. I could see this happening very clearly in my mind.
7284566 I assume you mean the U.K. Prime Minister, but if not, well...this still applies.
I would imagine if one of his Cabinet Secretaries walked up to David Cameron and told him his daughters were both whores, that individual would shortly be on the back benches again, at the very minimum.
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Haven't read it yet, but letting Luna fade into myth makes a lot of sense. Trying to tell ponies' that a pony they can't visit is substantially different than the tales which their parents passed on, that are technically true, is no easy task and might be impossible. By allowing them to forget just about everything, all negative connections can be removed utterly by time. Whether that is the best course ultimately depends on your headcanon of Luna and what exactly led up to her violent conflict with Celestia and how she was defeated.
7283949 Don't forget the flashback scene in "Princess Twilight Sparkle". Celestia didn't actually beg or plead with Luna to lower the moon. All she said was" I will not fight you, you must lower the moon, it is your duty", which sounded to me like Celestia giving Luna an order as opposed to her begging Luna to stop what she was doing.
7285243 Personally I believe that was due to time restraints. The episode is in fact only about 20 minutes long. Hard to fit a long desperate plea into a 20 minute period. Also I want to point out that this is my own interpretation.
Eh, I find the Luna-apologism to be tiring at times. Gold Bar just comes off as a strawman rather than a character in his own right; I mean, regardless of what Celestia thinks, Luna did willingly become a would-be usurper with the combined intentions of sororicide and regicide.
We see Luna's untainted personality in Season 2, arriving in a storm of thunder upon a chariot pulled by batponies, wearing a cloak of bats and then proceeding to freak out the entire population of Ponyville. Is it any wonder ponies would have been leery of her? Hell, I don't even see what the common pony has to apologize for; it's not their fault the night is a time of rest and unwinding, especially with things such as nocturnal predators running around and when you consider that most ponies are diurnal.
The fault of the Fall can be laid at the hooves of Sunbutt and, to a greater extent, Moonbutt.
OK, all of Equestria is OOC...
7285340 Willingly? If memory serves, it is said openly that both Celestia and the populace ignored her, which in turn drove her into her actions.
I personally feel it is likely she was not mentally stable when Nightmare Moon made her approach.
7285623 Ponies tend to follow Celestia's lead, and their neglect of Luna was never malicious that we know, leaving aside a few cases. So it is likely if Celestia brought it to their attention, they would begin to regret what had been done.
There
For future reference, try not to spam the punctuation. !!??!! Does not portray excess emotion any better than simply one, maybe two marks, it just makes the writing look amateurish. There's a reason this method isn't used in pretty much any published works.
Other than that, decent start.
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I'd have to agree somewhat, though this being a thousand years prior to the show could be used as explanation for such extreme behavior. A lot can change in a millennium, even in a technologically and culturally stagnant country such as Equestria.
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I'm just not quite sure how "didn't appreciate her night" turns into "Ding Dong, the Witch is Dead!"
When you say 'moon shaped' anything, I'm not sure if you mean crescent or full. Like, the earrings are probably crescent moons since a full moon would just mean they were silver disks, but then I wonder about Luna's bed, which you also said was moon shaped. Like, is it just a big, circular bed, or is it a crescent mattress? The latter seems like it would be bothersome.
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...Wait, she isn't a Tyrant?
Any singular ruler over a governmental system can be called a Tyrant, although the word itself originates from the Roman Tradition of Tyrants, in which a random citizen would become absolute leader of Rome for a 6 month period, and then abdicate for the next. This system worked without fail or error for over a thousand years, until a power grab was made and Julius Caesar, rightfully, felt that he was being shafted.
Benevolent Dictators are a thing. And, unlike in the real world where they are generally killed or corrupted by/into a more brutal one, Celestia has the power to keep her position without any form of change from herself for others.
"You're gonna listen to me and do what I say cause you were dicks."
"Oh yeah, well make us!"
"No daytime then."
"Oh, shit."
"But-But how are we gonna eat, and not freeze?!"
"Well I don't know about you, but i have an almost limitless amount of this thing called magic, a near unassailable mountain fortress, friends who have repented or never were dicks in the first place, and a legion of loyal, pissed off guards. Wanna say you're sorry?"
"W-Well what about the other countries, like Saddle Arabia, and-and the Minotaurs."
"The minotaurs are right asshats too, the Diamond Dogs don't even eat vegetation, Dragons don't eat vegetation, meat, or give a fuck about actual heat, and Saddle Arabia is a protectorate of Equestria. They don't really gotta say sorry cause of distance, but hey! Social tension is gonna start to pressure you a bit soon, if nothing else."
Shame this is alternate universe and not cannon. This makes Celestia a MUCH better character than what we've seen.
But the series wouldn't have started if Luna's history wasn't burned out and the only thing about her was a fairy tale no one believed.
I prefer this story's take one their history.
7286009 why no both? have a silver disk with a cresent extrusion, representing the full, Gibbous and cresent moon, the bed can have a cresent headboard, with a psuedo-hidden trunk within, for bedtime reading, and personal items. boom, moon shaped. no I haven't read this, but I'll edit if it doesn't work.