After the Elements free her from Nightmare Moon, Luna asks Celestia, "What happened to my daughters?"
Celestia escorts Luna to the Canterlot Sculpture Gardens and shows her the Reliquary of the Heroes.
Under the statues of her millennium-dead daughters, Luna learns how they lived in the shadow of Nightmare Moon's treason, and how they died as glorious heroes of Equestria.
Sequel: With Her Majesty's Coast Guard.
Content warning: Pandemic. Note that this was published before current events.
Chapters (3)
_more_
9607163
I'm working feverishly!!!
Thanks!
Not bad, really dark but cool story so far! Oh...my, nice poem at the end!
I didn't know there were any public domain ones, great inclusion!
"Luna opened her eyes and looked around. Her vision darkened with each heartbeat. Her eyes watered.
The others in the stone chamber exclaimed something. Luna's blood pounded behind her eardrums, she couldn't understand the words. Her guts cramped, her balance lurched, and she fought the urge to vomit.
Luna felt darkness swirling, what happened oh gods what did she do the beast was taking her taking her mind and her body what horror had befallen...
There was more noise from the other ponies, but Luna ignored it. She felt a void open up, blacker than the dark side of the moon, and readied to strike. So close, the spell would have killed even Celestia.
She bit her tongue and tasted blood. Her heart slowed. Her rage died."
Oh, man...a few paragraphs in, and this already sounds like a grimdark, lol. O_O Oh, boi, we're in for a rough ride! XD
'Celestia's voice weakened. Her tears glistened in the hornlight. "I... I created seventeen noble houses on that blood-soaked field. So much valor, so much sacrifice... so much death."' Oh, boy...this about to get dark, boys! (I knew this would be, but I did not know what I was diving into, lol.)
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Thanks!
You might enjoy the original Lay, linked in the author's note.
Beautifully written.
9607276
Thanks! I shall do my best to keep it up.
You may have a very new account, dear author, but you are quickly becoming one of my favourite writers.
Bravo.
9607317
Thanks! I appreciate it.
Upvoted and tracked, then I read most of your other stories. You have talent! following and looking forward to more of your stories.
B.D.
9607425
Thank you! Much appreciated.
That poem left me in tears.
9607493
Thanks!
(I admit I just ponified a real poem.)
my heart!!!!!!!
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9607711
please continue!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
9607714
I'm working on it, hopefully Tranquility's chapter will drop in May and Equinox's in June.
9607715
yay!
Are we going to find out what happened to her other ear in the story, or is just a piece of the background?
9607984
I meant to imply she cut both off....
I'll see if I can rephrase to make it more clear.
Thanks!
9608061
So she did. I guess I misread it. Thought it had only been one.
9608083
No probs! Thanks for reading.
I saw the title and was interested then I saw the tags and though this is going to have some feels, I was right,
This hit the feels, especially after just seeing Endgame.
Serve Celestia? "Crown and Realm" appears to sound... vague in this context.
You! Shall not! PASS!!!
Wow as soon as I was reading Tranquility's Epic I had tears streaming down my face.
I believe that The Noble House of Armor is a descendant of Tranquility seeing as most of there member's become royal guards or captains of the guard.
9608710
For a second I suspected a different more blue fate. But then I realised that with how Celestia didn't argue too much against tranquility's description of her father, I wonder if he had more children after that
media.giphy.com/media/ziLadIVnOGCKk/giphy.gif
9608637
No spoilers!! But thanks for reading!
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Thanks!
9608700
Being a professor of literature, Tolkien no doubt was familiar with the original story. Thanks!
Alright, you snared me in your web, now feed on me spider while distracting me with the rest of this tale.
9608806
Don't worry, no spoilers.
How in the Hell, have I not seen a story like this before!? With this setting of explaining the what if, Luna had daughters before turning into nightmare moon. If there has been, then I've missed it and I'm basically holding my breath to see how this story continues.
You'll have to forgive me SockPuppet because I have put you on an unusually high pedestal for this story. I really do hope this story will continue and continue with the quality it has started with. But alas this is not my story and certainly do not plan on asking for anything (even if I have implied such a thing).
So here's to the hope that SockPuppet enjoys writing, enjoys writing about Luna's Daughters and is not too busy living his life to the fullest to spend a minute here or there to do some loved writing.
This was powerful. I'm tearing up a little from the emotional impact. This is not an idea I've seen before, as far as I know, and you executed it beautifully. You really captured Luna's grief, while also doing her daughters proud. Particularly, the line
really punched me in the gut. It's a great exploration of how hard it is to have someone you care for do great things at their own personal cost.
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Thanks to all! I'm working hard on the remaining chapters.
Jesus, man, I know that historically the way nobility honor their dead could be a bit morbid, but this is just awful. It makes me worry about the sculptor's state of mind.
9609471
Well, Tranquillity died in Celestia's hooves. She probably would have sent the sculptor to Tartarus for inaccuracy.
9609479
O, y'know, they could've just stuck with the first statue and not depict her being horribly mangled at all.
I'm not actually criticizing your story, just something in-universe that jumped out at me.
9609481
Oh, I understand it was an in-universe comment.
My thinking (which didn't get on the page) is that Celestia is playing the long game, and deliberately building a hagiography for the new nation.
So, wait...does Luna have any living descendants now?
Since she had "dozens of descendants" in addition to her two daughters, statistically some of those dozens should have living descendants now, but at this rate I'm expecting some more tragedy.
(And if she does have living scions, there's no guarantee that they'll want anything to do with her, assuming they know much of their family history...)
9609490
With Luna's lineage, no less. It should make her integration easier, to have her brood as the heroes of every foalhood.
It must still hurt like
.
I wonder, who are her closest living descendants? Has her lineage disappeared or did they spread so much as to make the whole of equestria the fruit of her own loins? Questions, questions.
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I have answers to these questions but they might slow down the narrative. If they don't get into the narrative after the final chapter, I'll write a blog post.
Eh...I prefer this answer to what happened to Luna's Daughters, if they really are the stone sculptures in the Canterlot Gardens...
This way, Luna's daughter's are technically still alive, she can learn that Celestia did HORRIBLE things to them 1000 years ago, AND she has a totally legit reason to go Nightmare Moon again!
9610042
Hahahha!
No, I'm playing this one straight but you should write that!
Poor Luna. I hope she'll be okay.
What if one of Luna’s descendants was Twilight?
9608700
Swearing service to "the Crown and Realm" instead of to the current mon- ruler makes a lot of sense, especially in that moment, as rulers come and rulers go, but the Crown and the Realm Endures.
Besides, an oath made to Celestia wouldn't mean much if a few years down the line, the head underneath the crown changes, either by abdication or decapitation or simply vacation.
9610938
Umm, and who exactly speaks for "Crown and Realm"? Quite important question just hours after very close coup attempt.
It's surely a good idea to kinda speak on behalf of something bigger (like "god" or "realm") for a leader when giving orders. Not so much when demanding loyalty.
It means quite much to Celestia (who else?). If so happens, new ruler would demand new oath to him/her personally, of course, --- that's no modern democracy.
9610966
Barring the Fausticorn being made canonicical or somepony invoking the name of the Creator Deity, Celestia and Luna are pretty much gods. Swearing an oath by the gods of that setting would be like the Japanese Imperial Family invoking their ancestors, in that EVERYONE knows who they are really invoking, but have some fig-leaf of deniability.
I took the "Oath to Crown and Realm" thing as more Celestia covering her bases if she discovers that she can't run both the Solar and Lunar Courts. As we've seen in the show, by the time of Luna's Return, Celestia is generally very hooves off and only really interceding if directly asked or if there is a situation that requires that level of arcane might.
9610573
What about Cadance? This could be the reason that she always calls Celestia Auntie.
9610573
My own headcanon is that the Sparkle family are Luna's direct decedents.
Stirring opening for some epic worldbuilding. Perhaps Blueblood? takes after Astur. Where did you come up with that name?