Dawn Patrol
Littlemoth dances behind my eyelids.
Hooves stamping the rhythm of the reel,
flanks swaying, tail lashing,
until I close my eyes and
she is ripped screaming hurtling through the void
sister bowing crowned head
as her cries fade into the silent arc of the moon
I shove Littlemoth from my thoughts
and suddenly can see the mob behind her,
the stiff and ghoulish form
of Peridot holding a torch.
I can't
I can't
I can't let them know.
screaming hurtling through the void
sister bowing crowned head
How could Princess Luna snap?
"Rumor is," Sextant said, "she felt
like ponies didn't love her."
I guess that explains the night without a moon,
when it chased the sun over the horizon
and we saw a skyful of brilliant stars:
the lightgivers were warring over Equestria
before Celestia banished her sister.
Back in Equestria, Sextant said,
the Night Watch and Nightmares
rose up against the rest of the Guard,
and even the civilian Nocturne hoisted arms.
"Well, we've had none of that here," I said.
"Not with so many dead of marsh fever.
You'd better make for Maretaban
and let the sickness run its course."
I watched his ship come about,
and flew back to Myinnkyun
to finish my patrol.
Cabotage said he was expecting
a trade ship from Ponsylvania,
so I scared them off too.
As soon as word of the war spreads
(screaming hurtling through the void)
They'll chase Littlemoth and …
I can't.
I can't save them all,
and I can't watch Myinnkyun turn on them,
but I can show Littlemoth the love
Celestia couldn't show Luna.
I can take her hoof
as I did in our dance,
as I do in our tender moments
in passing in the streets,
and we can wing over the walls
and brave the jungle.
If we can make it past the Mooken
we'll fly down the Maregui
to the maneland.
Just as soon as I can get off patrol.
Just as soon as I can get her alone.
It is here that the meaning of the title finally makes sense to me.
To which my response is; Oh no. Followed by another seventeen 'no's' spat out like machine gun rounds.
6425717
It is moments like this that make years of fanfic commitments and slaving over stories all worthwhile.
And finally we get enough info to figure out some basic terms from the first chapters.
I find it odd, though, the night of their fight would have been without a moon. NM was winning until the last moment, and Celestia would have put everything back in order. But OK, I'll set that aside.
6439847
This may be a case of poor memory and/or headcanon overtaking canon, but: wasn't it established in S3 that during the sisters' original fight, it was during the daytime, and NMM eclipsed the sun?
For purposes of this story, that's what happened: both sun and moon were over Equestria simultaneously during the fight. Earlier chapters established that Myinnkyun is so far from Equestria that they're basically on the opposite side of the world.
6440463
Aaah. See, I always think of Equestria as being flat. I'm not sure what the point of NMM's rant would be if it just meant endless day somewhere else, especially somewhere that ponies were. On the other hand, she was a bit imbalanced... If we have any canon references to globe maps, that would zap that thought. Someone saying 'global' doesn't need to wreck it, though, since that could refer to the globe which the sun and moon glide around on.
6425717
I think you’re referring to the fact that Dawn Patrol finding out that the town’s population of Nocturine are in danger or something else........?
8867194
I'm not Numbers, but having written it, my suspicion would be that this is the point at which the full scope of the problem becomes clear. Everyone's got their own little issues, and everyone's upset, and the place is clearly a powder keg waiting to ignite, but this is where we learn the greater context which is going to light the fuse and blow the whole island apart.
At which point, the "Last" part of the title makes clear the number of survivors.
8869217
Also, though it took me some time to realize: there's an implication that with Luna now banished, ponies have stopped dreaming.
(That wasn't something I necessarily intended to imply from the original story, and I don't think it's necessary; even if ponies continued dreaming, Myinnkyun couldn't dream any more if everyone died. But it's an elegant reading, in its own way, and adds a layer to the tragedy which the epilogue reinforces.)