Chapter 24: In progress.

I’ve been in Equestria for over 1500 years, and the memory of what I did to Luna and Celestia is still there, like a dull ache that will never go away. As an immortal, I’m going to have the next few thousand years to get used to it. Despite that, only thirty years have passed back on Earth. I wonder what’s become of Luna since we traded places. Is she alive? Dead? Married with kids?

My name’s Catherine, and you’re probably wondering what I’m babbling on about. If you’ll bear with me, I’ll start where it all began.

Tags (character and otherwise) will be updated as necessary. Rated teen for strong themes.

Character Sheet. (Work in progress.)

Cover art by Silfoe
High-resolution
Textless version

Edited and Proofread by:
Journeyman
thesaviour711
Greenback
Jay the Stormtrooper
Requiem17
Samaru163
Flammenwerfer
This list will be added to as people help. This includes single chapters and mutual favours.

Creative discussion and constructive criticism are welcome.

All OCs belong to me unless otherwise specified. Any likeness towards other characters and names is purely coincidental.

Update Features (D/M)
2017: 24/05, 24/06, 15/11, 19/12
2018: 21/02, 15/03, 9/04, 17/5, 4/6, 23/7, 29/08, 18/9, 26/10, 14/12
2019: 9/03
2020: 9/03
2022: 26/01

For years, Luna has endured the guilt of Nightmare Moon and subjected herself to the nightmares of the Tantabus as punishment. When she lost control of it, her friends in Ponyville were able to stop it and things seemed all right for a time...

...but what about Celestia? What about Luna's closest friend, a pony who had no idea what was going on in her little sister's mind?

When Nightmare Moon’s rebellion tore across Equestria, leaving a trail of blood and horror in its wake, Princess Celestia knew that merely banishing her sister wouldn’t be enough. Her army was too powerful, and too bloodthirsty, to be left behind without a leader. When she finally turned the Elements of Harmony against her, she didn’t just banish Nightmare Moon. She banished thousands.

Now they’re in a race against time, to find a way to survive in an environment so alien that every aspect of it is trying to kill them. They face suffocation, freezing, boiling, starvation, radiation, meteorite impacts, low gravity… the list goes on.

Nightmare Moon thought she should be the ruler of all Equestria. Now, in a world nopony was ever meant to survive, her abilities will be put to the ultimate test.

This story now has a hardcover! If you'd like one of your own, you can grab it here: https://starscribe.net/

Editing by the indulgent and patient Two Bit and Sparktail. Coverart by Zutcha.

Note: I intend this story to be as faithful to our current scientific understanding of the moon, and I’ve consulted for help with the aspects outside my technical purview. That said, I fully expect to make decisions that some may see as mistakes, based on their own independent interpretations.

I am a storyteller first, and I realize it’s likely I’ll eventually make a mistake, or an arbitrary decision to simplify the storytelling over accuracy. I’m doing my best here, but this isn’t a NASA white paper. Set your expectations accordingly.

This story was commissioned by Canary in the Coal Mine on my Patreon, feel free to contact me if you’d like one of your own!

A thousand years ago Nightmare Moon fought Celestia at the castle of the two royal sisters. The destruction was devastating. Wild magic and falling stonework were too much for the pregnant mare to escape. Her dying wish was her foal could be saved. Sometimes wishes get answered in the most unexpected ways.

The Tantabus acted with a mind of its own. It had a goal, it had its own desires, it took the form of a unicorn, it wanted to live. The reason why will change Princess Luna's life.

Some people say that Celestia and Luna are useless. That they lounge in the castle while delegating all their responsibilities to hard working, underappreciated, exceptionally well-read students. That even when faced directly with threats to kingdom and country, they fold like cheap origami and wait to be rescued.

These people are correct. But there's a very good reason for it!

[Rated Teen due to a dark scene early on to set some backstory, and occasional comedic death]

Princess Luna ordered the Tantabus to torture her dreams every night so that she would never consider returning to the dark path she once trod as Nightmare Moon.

Luna should have remembered just how difficult it was for her to obey rules before she used her own essence to create what was, in effect, a smaller, more headstrong version of herself.

The Tantabus is determined to follow the true purpose of her command, no matter the consequences, large or small.

Or very, very small.

Now with a reading by ABagOfVicodin (who is open for fanfic reading commissions)
Done to go with the episode Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep?

Editors: Tek, Peter, Hilltopper2, Winston, Monarch Dodora

Now on Equestria Daily

This story is a sequel to Memoirs of a Royal Guard

From the outside looking in, life has never been better for Silent Knight. He is the first pony in a long line of Royal Guard ancestry to earn a commission, he has a loving mare by his side, and he bears the kingdom’s highest honor for bravely risking it all to protect Princess Luna. The future shines bright with potential, but the shadows of the past lurk at every twist and turn that lies ahead.

Guilt, anger, and regret are constantly at war in the depths of Silent Knight’s mind. Despite his best efforts to enjoy the life he has, he finds himself trapped in the past, reliving the moment when his unit was ambushed and his ponies were killed. He refuses to show any weakness, instead hiding everything behind a tough face to protect himself and those he loves. But his true feelings—and what he plans to do with them—shackle everything he holds dear with chains forged in secret.

Secrets of a Royal Guard is a comedy series with romantic, dramatic, and adventure elements. It features an original character cast and their interactions with the princesses they protect. It is recommended that readers be familiar with Memoirs of a Royal Guard.

Quill & Blade Universe

Everypony has a story. Some tell of heroic feats and grand adventure. Others tell of villainy against the forces of Harmony. The story of an average guard, however, is one of obscurity. They live in the background, unnoticed but ever-present.

Silent Knight assumed his tale would be like that of his father's: join the Royal Guard and serve Equestria. He would be just another helmet and spear, part of the rank and file. And that was all he ever wanted.

However, when Captain Shining Armor asked for volunteers to form a House Guard for the recently returned Princess Luna, it was Silent's hooves that stepped forwards to set his new life in motion.

Harry Potter was a lonely boy who one day wished for a friend. Luna, trapped on the moon, wished for the same. And so their wishes are granted. How will the two deal with each other? And what about Nightmare Moon? Needless to say, their lives are going to change in both expected and unexpected ways...

Other stories in the Lonelyverse:
Hooves, Plush, and Magic: The Untold Tales
The Wizard and the Lonely Princess: Hallowe'en Special
A Nightmare Christmas

Chapters 9-11 now re-written.

[Complete! With TVTropes apparently!]
Also, apparently, an animated trailer.

In a world of brass and steam, Twilight Sparkle had thought she had made a life-changing discovery with the invention of the telescope. For better or worse, she was correct.

Now her discovery has not only changed her life, but the lives of those she seeks out in her desperate attempt to contact the only other creature as lonely as Twilight herself.

It all would have been much simpler, but it had to be the one Twilight could only call The Mare on the Moon.

Decidedly not within walking distance, then.

[Featured on EQD before story was meant to be submitted. 4/03/2015]

[Editing team: Southpaw, Wolfvenom, Maskedferret, SwanSong and BluePaladin42, without whom this story would be a fraction of its current state.]
[Special thanks to Novel-Idea for the updated cover]