On Twilight, Good Night · 9:29pm Nov 25th, 2017
I sorta mulled over whether or not I was going to blog about this fic, because I don't particularly care to do big retrospective blogs. Not really my style. But, you know what? This is going to be my out of character moment. And why not? This fic was three years of my life.
Three years later and I still can't get over how utterly gorgeous Silfoe's work on the cover art for this fic was. God, she does brilliant work, right?
I've made mention of this several times before, but three years ago, I was going to quit writing fanfiction. I'd dabbled in some things over on ffn (yes, yes, gag and pull disgusted faces) and here, and I really wasn't happy with any of my work. I thought my narrative was shoddy, my dialogue didn't fit the characters, and organizing any of my plot points ... uh ... yeah, let's not talk about that. And worldbuilding? Hahahahahahaha!
I thought I couldn't do it. I convinced myself that I'd never be able to do it.
But then, one day, I got lonely wandering around the site. I wanted some people to chat with who shared my interests and might recommend some things to read. So, I requested an invitation to the old TwiLuna Skype group, where I met several people who would become some of my oldest friends in the fandom: Auramane, Fuzzyfurvert (who I promised I would have some mock Sunset in this blog), Macho Madness, Noble Thought, Nebula, Pearple Prose,(who dropped off, then returned recently), Spacecowboy, TheLastBrunnenG, Timaeus, Ultra, and Silfoe.
All of them were pretty great people to chat with, and they all had some amazing ideas. It was enough to make me consider even poking at words again. Hell, I wanted to write TwiLuna with them! But there was just no problem:
I had no ideas.
So, Brunnen linked the old TwiLuna idea prompt list and let me look through and pick out any one I that caught my eye. Funnily enough, it wasn't one of those things where I sat there, pouring over ideas for hours upon hours, nixing them one after the other until finally, I pulled something from the cavernous abyss I like to call my brain.
Nope. I just looked at one and went "Huh. Twilight finds out that Celestia and Luna were once worshipped as goddesses of Death and Destruction. That's interesting. I might play with that some."
Slowly, but surely I did. With the help of several of the above people, I began to bounce ideas back and forth on the worldbuilding. But I didn't want to really go for the Death and Destruction thing. Rather, I wanted to put my own twist on it and connect it to something far more close to home for our favorite Princess of Night—her fall. I wanted to explore a different version of events that led to that fated fit of jealous rage which transformed the loving, lonely Luna into the maniacal Nightmare Moon.
So we hatched some domains for her, Celestia, and Cadence.
Luna, originally, was going to hold dominion over the Night, the Stars, the Moon, the Tides, the Arts, and Harvest. I ended up removing the Tides and Harvest before ever writing the story. I felt she had enough as it was. Celestia, then, would govern over the Day, the Sun, Law, Order, the Growth of Crops, Motherhood, and, of course, she was the Defender, even though it was contrary to her benign, loving nature. It was that which would lead to Luna taking a burden neither were fit to bear upon her shoulders and taint her soul with centuries of battle, blood, and dark magics in the name of protecting her beloved ponies, unknowing that it would be the undoing of her bond with them.
Cadence was tricky. She was meant to have a big conflict with Luna, who was going to see her as Celestia's attempt to replace her, which would've had some merit. She was Celestia's first student. The first to ascend, ready to take on her own mantles. Celestia would raise her on stories of Luna's heroism and love, hoping that the young princess could take some of her sister's mantles to ease her burden. And her pain.
Instead, Cadence was only compatible with one of Luna's domains—the Arts. Her natural dominion fell over the Three Loves—familial, friendship, and romantic—Sexuality, Foalbirth, the Oceans, and, if I recall, Healing. In addition, she had a rather tragic aspect to her. She was fated to see her powers blossom when she fell in love and found it returned by one or many ponies. With her lovers' bond, she would stand on par with her beloved Auntie Celestia. But when they passed on to the next life, all of her power would be ripped from her, as painfully as her heart broke when they breathed their last, and she would be as weak as a filly once again and trapped in her young body. A phoenix cycle which would repeat again and again, because she simply couldn't stop herself from falling in love. And for that reason, she could be rather ... well, doting. What's more, she would be one to hold onto her lovers even in death. She would paint them, by hoof, and keep her works in a splendorous gallery to be shared only with those closest to her, so that she could always come to visit them. Naturally, her future lovers could join her if they wished and hear stories. Thus, they would know that when their time came to and end, they, too, would stay with their Princess of Love forever.
Then came Twilight. I wanted to write about Twilight as she was in season 2. Somewhat snarky, decently confident in herself, but with a tendency to squirm or get flustered if put under a spotlight. Her example would serve to help Luna better herself, as seen in Luna Eclipsed, and would be the guiding light for the lost Princess of Night to return in all her splendor. Not to mention, the light which would entrance her so to make her heart race as it hadn't done in over a thousand years.
Lovely ideas, of course, but they were far too headcanony. Far too "out there". Surely, no one would read such drivel by some no-name writer. Least of all by the guy who wrote A Joke Too Far. At least, that's what I told myself and all of my friends. Every day as I wrote it, until the day I posted it.
Three years later, I need to find some sauce to add flavor to the big order of crow I'm about to eat.
I've received so much praise for this silly little bit of headcanony fiction that it boggles my mind. I've had a wonderful artist tell me that the Gallery of Lost Lovers scene drove her to tears. I've had one of my closest friends poke me with a stick to finish this story. I've had multiple readers from differing Discord servers prod me to write the next chapter. I've had a brilliant wordsmith whose writing I've envied for years tell me that they utterly adored the story and awaited updates with bated breath. I've nearly brought myself to tears writing Luna struggling to hold down her nerves and unabashed joy at the prospect of finally hosting a Dusk Ceremony for her ponies, fretted that I would utterly fail to deliver on the promise of unrivaled majesty and get the ever-feared "meh, you dropped the ball" in the comments when I went to post that final chapter. And then ...
I had people telling me that they were moved to tears with it. Ultra yelled at me for making him cry at work. Commenters noted that they broke down in happy tears. Several begged for a sequel, and begged for assurance that Twilight Sparkle would indeed ascend to join the ranks of immortal alicorns so she wouldn't leave her princess alone. Why, I've even had a friend/story approver request the same, plus having Shining ascend so Cadence's tragic cycle of love and loss would finally end, and then asked about foals. Hell, I've had requests to add in RariLestia to the universe because of the way Celestia beat herself up for a thousand years while she waited impatiently for Luna's return, all the while standing guard over her most prized possessions, ready to destroy any who dared disturb what lay beneath her castle.
I had far more support and readership than I ever could've imagined for this fic.
I can't promise a sequel, both because I'm not sure if I could match the original or what specifically I would write about. But I can say that I appreciate you all taking the time to stick with it and read this silly bit of headcanony fiction I fumbled to piece together three years ago. If I do revisit it, I can promise you that I'll try my damndest to give you that same feeling you had when you read this one.
Though, maybe without constantly tormenting your favorite princesses. And with a bit less horror at the end, eh?
Now, with that said, I have another bit of majestic SunLight for you, faithful readers. This one goes out to Fuzzy.
Twilight: "Sunnyyyyyyyy!"
Sunset turns, smiling, until she notices that this Twilight isn't wearing glasses: "Princess Twilight? What are you doing here?"
"I've realized that my heart goes doki-doki for you and you alone, Sunny! I love you forever and I'm moving to the human world for good!"
"B-But I've got a boyfriend already! Flash and I patched things up and it's going really well!"
"... What if I got other Twilight in on this?"
"... Suddenly, the prospect of having both Twilight's fawning over me has removed any and all objections, and I am now going to break up with what's his name."
"YAYYYYY!"
*3lewd5me human smooching noises*
There you go, Fuzzy. Can I haz love and adoration naow?
That's right, remember you made me cry at work. Good tears, but I cried!
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I found myself loving many of your stories. I like the world you've built up. A village called respite, a village with changelings and adventure, Good night twilight, with its curiosities and conundrums of the heart, while Dear little pony book, which i recently caught up to date on, has made me laugh and sigh at Thorax's antics and way of thinking.
Another story you've crafted rather skillfully, would be "The shields protector" of which i haven't seen any updates as of late, but I am hopeful to see more. You MOVE my heartstrings with that one. I never thought myself a fan of shining x cadance, but your story changed that. I find myself craving more of your imaginative ideas!
So keep being awesome and stay polished, Carapace.
Well whatever you wish to call your story, I still think its amazing. I'd been following the story since it was fairly new and each chapter update was a welcome addition to my day and often one of the best things of that day.
I'm keen for whatever Tuna you write next whether it be a completely new idea or something to continue this one (if you feel it).
That RariLestia better make it if you make a sequel.
4734712 That is legit one of the highest compliments I've ever gotten ;;
4734715 Thanks, man. And I'll take that under consideration :>
4734722 <3
4734770 Oh wow, I'm glad you've liked all of them! I had a ton of fun developing the stories for each, especially Respite, as that's one of the most in-depth projects I've worked on. I'm actually working on the sequel to that one. As for TSP ... there were some issues that kinda soured me on it, but I am glad you feel so strongly about it. I was always worried that I didn't portray their relationship as properly romantic as they worked through their problems.
4734776 That means a ton to hear. Thank you very much ;;. As for the future, who knows? But I'll endeavor to make it the best possible story I can if it happens ^^
Honestly, I can't even describe how amazingly beautiful your story was. I was very late to the party, because I started reading when you were about to post chapter 45, and I tell you, I regret not knowing about this for so long.
You've brought joy, sadness, tears and all kinds of emotions with this story, developed an extensive backstory to Luna's fall that deeply moved me and probably many others, and even made Cadence kinda likeable! (which is an achievement on it's own)
I hope you don't deprive yourself of all this well deserved praise, even if you think this is just a "silly bit of headcanony fiction".
4734790
I feel you portay it just fine, Carapace. I hope its kinks get worked out ^^
It's nice to be appreciated, isn't it?
Thanks again for writing it! I’ll go on record and say we don’t need a sequel, but an epilogue answering a few questions (Princess Twilight?) might not be a bad idea if you are so inspired.
I really liked the headcanony goodness from the story, by the way. Especially Night Court.
I know this means very little in the sea of praise, but I honestly and deeply loved this story. I was always so happy when a new chapter posted and so pissed that it ended too quickly.
4734822 Ahhh, that was mostly me reflecting back on what I thought of it three years ago. Honestly, this is probably the fic that saved my writing. I'm glad you enjoyed it so much!
4734788 We shall seeeeeee
4734826 Thanks! Who knows? Maybe I'll figure it out!
4734836 It is, yeah. Just odd looking back and remembering how afraid I was and how sure I was I'd mess things up.
4734884 Idk if it really needs an epilogue, as I think that might take a bit away from that ending note. And thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed the headcanony stuff!
4734962 Aw, well I'm glad that you enjoyed it so much! I'm sorry that you felt it ended too soon, but I'd sorta been planning on that being the ending spot for a while. It was quite a hike for me to get there ^^;
4734976
Honestly one of the few things that keeps me writing is FanOfMostEverything enjoys it
This story was a great journey from start to finish. I got into the story rather late (because I only got into the MLP fandom halfway through season six) and I've always regretted missing out on so much of the fandom at its height, so seeing a story being written from a pre-season 4 perspective kind of made me feel like I was taking a step back in time and felt part of the fandom during those early days.
What stuck with me the most in this story was your version of Cadance. When seeing authors write Cadance I notice very few authors actually do something with her being the Alicorn of Love. At most authors have her do some matchmaking, but I rarely see her truly embody love in the way Celestia and Luna embody day and night. The idea of Cadance being Alicorn who waxes and wanes with the love she embodies, yet keeps all of them in her heart for eternity is something I've never seen done before, and it made Cadance in my mind explode with so much potential that I genuinely regret the show would never do something with this. I still adore the show's Cadance (and seriously wouldn't mind a few more Shining/Cadance episodes) but this Cadance, your Cadance, was for me one of the heights of this story.
Hey wow, it's done! I've probably been watching this story ever since I came here, and I can finally binge it, yay!
Now write some SunLight, you have obvious talent for it
4735362
Fuck no. I ain't writing that shit :P
I'm surprised you thought so poorly of your head canon, it's really rather brilliant. Usually the differences between the two sisters isn't expressed as more than which three elements they get, and Luna being more prone to action and thus known to lead the army into battle. You however gave each one distinct personalities and proclivities, areas they were distinctly suited to, ways that define them as individuals. Then there's how you depicted Luna's fall, typically it's just taken the way the show says it with little depth, but you created a tragedy, one Celestia was blind to which is a stroke of genius and gives Luna so much more depth than usual.
Then there's the court, a term that usually draws one to think of in terms of a court of law, or something similar, as in Celestia's court. But in Luna's case, it has more in common with the phrase 'to hold court', a more casual setting of friends, colleagues and friends, something so much different and more in tune with the Luna you've given us.
All in all, incredibly creative, and should you choose to do a sequel, I'm sure it'll be great. As to content, slice of life could work, or perhaps following the nox (bat) ponies, what became of them after her fall, their fall and re-birth as it were. Or continue to explore Twi and Luna's relationship, especially how it fits with canon, I for one would like to see how this changes Twilight's life.
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