Epilogue
Some years later…
Magpie walked alone through the forest, her helmet clicking lightly against her air-armor with every step. With such strides in lightness and efficiency, it barely felt much heavier than an oversized jacket. It helped that her armor was built for a crystal pony, and held only enough air for her to answer radio messages, without any of the complex tanks or scrubbers that other ponies relied on.
Her heavy saddlebags clinked together with every step, but she barely noticed the weight. Being made of stone had its advantages. One shovel, one set of stonecutter’s tools. Not the heaviest thing she’d ever carried.
Every minute or so she had to slow, referencing the positional tracker and the thin map she carried. She was still on track, and the flowers she’d brought remained protected in plastic film. Equestria had thousands of places to buy flowers—but none quite like these, carefully cultivated from the fruit trees that fed each dome.
Eventually she reached her destination, identifiable only by a column of rock rising from the trees, taller than even the largest oaks among them. She walked past the old monastery, barely more than a pile of windswept stone. She passed between the hovels where their farmers had lived, clinging desperately to every drop of rain the distant unicorns granted them.
The old road still ran through Buckshire, a gentle loop that followed the shape of the stone and the shelter it provided.
She stopped short, body shaking as she smelled the flames. Distant screams, desperate ponies fleeing for their lives. Buckshire had chosen their side, even if Magpie never had anything to do with it. They’d chosen badly.
The ash was all gone now. She thought she saw a chunk of awning emerging from the soil near the stone, where once a market had stood. The voices of the dead sung in her ears, and she hummed along with her sisters as she walked. The words were lost to her now, but she’d barely known them even then. It didn’t matter.
Past the market she found her destination, tucked into the shadow of the pillar.
There wasn’t even a patch of rust where once the graveyard gate had been. But the old willow still stood, a withered husk that hadn’t fallen over despite who knew how many years. She removed her shovel from the satchel, and began to turn over sod. She wasn’t trying for depth. She found the first monument a little way from where she expected, a stone cylinder cut from the black rock of their patron. It had always been forbidden to use the stone of their patron, with only this exception.
She wiped away the mud with the fabric of her suit, exposing the symbols. But Magpie hadn’t been literate then, and she didn’t know whose names were on it. She could only settle it back into place, and go back to digging.
“Excuse me!” someone called, voice echoing down from overhead. “Excuse me, you shouldn’t be here!” She looked up, freezing in place as she saw the figure.
This was a princess—though not one that Magpie had heard of from the world before. Someone new, the one serving as their envoy. “If you wanted to deviate from the official tour, you were supposed to file a request with—” She stopped, eyes wide as she looked between Magpie and her shovel.
“What are you doing here?”
She turned her back on the princess, turning over more old sod. “Something important. I apologize for… running away. Please don’t let my actions jeopardize your relationship with Tranquility.” She lowered her voice to a nervous whisper. “I’d… actually prefer it if you didn’t mention this to anyone.”
Princess Twilight Sparkle made an unhappy sound, settling down on her haunches not far from the first monument. “I make no promises until I see what you’re doing. If you’re here to rob from this place… what ruin is this, anyway? There are no historical sites here.”
“Buckshire.” She went back to digging, and it wasn’t long before her shovel struck stone. She paused long enough to wedge her blade under, then lifted. “It was one of the first to declare for the Lunar Rebellion. The Solar Guard wanted to make an example of us. They razed it before the first winter.”
She knew she’d found what she was looking for even with most of it still coated with mud.
Magpie lifted it with care, with strength her old self never could’ve managed. But she had the strength of a crystal pony now, she didn’t need half the village helping.
It wasn’t much of a pillar, all things considered. But even for Buckshire, she hadn’t belonged to much of a family.
Still, Magpie removed the leak-patching kit from her saddlebags, spraying the surface down with abrasive cleaning solution from within. What was meant to prepare plastic for a seal also worked well to help her get the slime and mud away from the face of the monument.
It wasn’t much to see, just a little heart barely visible after so many years. Below it she had drawn four lines, two larger and two smaller.
“You haven’t come to take anything,” the princess said, her voice subdued.
“No.” Magpie didn’t look back. She didn’t need permission from the princess, even if she was an Alicorn.
She took her chisel and mallet, then wrote.
It was not the same language her parents had tried to teach her. But she imagined they’d be proud of her, if they saw her writing on her own.
It took her almost an hour to carve their names. The princess sat behind her, silent and respectful as the sun gradually set behind the horizon and a full moon rose high over their heads.
Finally Magpie removed the plastic tube she’d been carrying, exposing the penumbra blossoms within. She settled them down before the grave, and cried until she didn’t feel like crying anymore.
Magpie rose, packing away her tools one at a time. If she really squinted, she imagined she could see a little patch of moon that was darker than the rest—the black metal of heat absorbers. “If you don’t mention this, I’ll owe you,” she said. “Er… Princess.”
Twilight nodded solemnly, tossing a scroll into the gaping maw of an ancient well. “As it happens, I just misplaced the rest of your itinerary, anyway.”
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Alright, this was much better than the previous version.
It’s been a journey.
i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/001/465/179/d39.jpg
Sequel?
10351384
Why?
yeah this feel much more satisfying a ending with the additional chapter it feels more complete
also im head canon twilight vising and squealing in joy at everything, so much to learn
That's a much better ending. Thank you :)
10351464
Because I love the story,
And I love the story’s Concept,
It was a REQUEST not command
That is much better. Thank you for such a wonderful story!
Starscribe is a great writer, i dont think anything can make me like more than i already do.
Starscribe:
....damm man! You rules
At risk of repeating other commenters - yes. This is what was missing.
Thank you for adding this piece!
Thank you for that closure. That scene with Luna was totally worth including, and story is now legitimately complete. Great journey that was, both for characters and myself.
This is a better ending I think. I won't lie, I'm still really interested in the interactions between two radically different cultures, but that's a whole other story at this point(one I hope you write in the future but I won't get my hopes up).
The End
This is so much better.
Thanks for the story, Star.
Thanks for the story
Goddamn that’s been one hell of a ride.
It was great.
Thanks Starscribe.
Thanks for writing. :)
10351384
If you commission one, Strscribe will probably write one.
Or, write one yourself, for free.
Thank you.
That one becomes one of my top favorites of all times.
Finally got around to finishing this story. Brought a tear to my eye it did.
Literally found this story last week. Finished right when I started. Quite a good story in my opinion. I think Kitten is half right. The resolutions of most of the arcs were good, but it feels like there is a few chapters missing here and there.
Ie: A playdate with Cozen and Quills kids, the loss of the first commander, the first mission of the gate crashers, Penumbra dealing with the loss of her child (maybe wandering the sands finding the void seeker caved in), a chapter or so on Lunas purification and the rise of the corrupt. Or even a chapter of the moment they were banished.
I’m very happy overall with this story and even without these pieces sprinkled here and there it is a memorable story. Well done!
Wow, what an incredible read! I found this story a couple of days ago and finished it in a day's reading. This was such a powerful and impactful read and I could not put it down. The sci-fi and technical aspects were completely on point, but it was your brilliant characterisation that kept me reading. Amazingly done.
I found it very reminiscent of Arthur C Clarke's 'A fall of moondust', which is no bad thing, as I love that book too.
Hugely good read.
That was a moving ending and a great ride. Thank you for writing this!
Iron Quill’s story was great.
Faith’s story wag good.
It continued to degrade as things continued.
Worst part is Equestria somehow failing to notice activity on the moon.
Dang was this story a rollercoaster. Skipping time left and right, nonstop tragedy around every turn. killing off Penumbra like that and then coming back to write on her parents gravestone. hurts the feels waaaay too much. Thank you for such a powerful story.
10388915
OH GOD NO!!! NOOO!!!! I SAW THE SPOILER DAMNIT NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!
Why did I press CTRL+A? I feel like an idiot.
10430998
I spoilered it for a reason silly!
10431148
i.imgur.com/tns2F9K.png
I only read about a third of the spoiled part but then it was too late...
10553284
Yes.
Someone spotted typo a year later.
But my point was that reason of fiasco was that high-ranked officer went down with first wave of glider troopers (it wasn't just paratroopers), germans recovered documents and had whole plan of operation in their hands.
Congratulations for a good story, you may not be Asimov but even so, you did a great work, and if in a future you still have some ideas you want to expand it could not be too late to make a side-story or something and I imagine that those that liked this story could like that
any chance of a sequel someday ?
Just finished binge reading this over the course of the last two days, and I've got to say, that was quite the ride! As a fellow fan of Foundation, I really enjoyed the way you joined the disconnected story threads into a journey of a civilization told across centuries. This was really amazing work, you've proven to be my favorite author on this site (and honestly, one of my favorite authors period). Congratulations on finishing this amazing story!
11075995
Doesn't make it any less dangerous :p
Also I don't remember the context of this. Please don't respond to comments from over a year ago >.<
11076155
There's no expiry date on a conversation regardless of what forum moderators may have you believe.
I will respond to whomever I want.
EDIT:
wait that sounded really pretentious... oh, well11076442
Not the moderators, the people you're responding to. Can be a bit confusing especially for those like me with like, no memory >.<
Loved this story so much! The time skips caught me off guard, and I'd have liked to see more of some characters' stories, especially Faith! The skipping made me feel like I was missing out, but then it kind of grew on me. I appreciate it as a framing device, and it almost felt like the story was being told from Polestar's perspective at times, which would've been an interesting way to do it!
just finished binge reading this and i gotta say
you scratched that itch
i always wanted to read a story that focuses on luna being trapped for 1000 years moonside, so few stories seem to delve into the physiological aspect of that. and while this might not be that exact scenario oh her being alone and all it was far more entertaining then i could have imagined. also gotta say this is just such a great sci-fi take on mlp, read you other story message in a bottle and they do a great job with first contact.
over all i'm thanking you from the bottom of my heart for providing such great content to get lost in, you'll see more of me in the comments of other stories, i got a lot of your stories to catch up on.
ceya on the other page
11303373
Thanks so much for your comment! I'm proud of how both those stories ended up, but even happier when I hear from people who enjoyed reading them.
11346678
)
(cricket cricket cricket...
I don't remember what I was responding to with my comment...sorry
Ah, the satisfaction of finishing a story... I've had this story on the back burner for about... Well, almost exactly two years now from chapter 13. Glad I came back to finish it, I especially enjoyed the early parts of the story with the first Lord Commander, though everything else after was still enjoyable.
I just finished this story and just wanted to say that I really liked it.
It reminded me a bit of Red Rising with the rebellion on the colors.
Only the time skips were a bit jarring at times.
Following an entire civilization through the ages made it a nice read all in all.
I've been putting off reading this story for so long that I wish I had read it sooner it's a really great story, great like all your other fanfics.