Princess Celestia tries to raise the moon on three nights across eras. Each night, that which haunts her grows in power — and it is a power she dares not name.
A power she cannot name.
Proofreading and editing help by Chris the Cynic and Cynewulf. Cover art by Nadnerb. Buy this story! Contribute to the TVTropes page!
I can't wait to read this!
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I can’t believe you deflowered my comment section smh
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Oh, sorry! Just wanted to show my support. I always dig your stuff. It's very puggers.
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Bro you know that your comments are always pog af 🙏
I am merely making a funny
This is... wow.
The best night is made so beautiful and powerful in this.
And Celestia's struggle, as unknown as Luna and her lost beauty, is striking.
Don't know how to say anymore than that. It's impressive, literally.
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Thank you, pogchamp. I hope you stick around for the rest. 🖤
Interesting.
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Not gonna lie your name is pretty interesting too. It certainly made me chuckle when I saw my notifications.
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Does this one have pizza?
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No.
So... Just two more chapters?
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Yes, that’s what the author’s note says.
Oh well... I will probably enjoy them as much too~
I love the playful desperation in this line.
The sprinkles of observations about the moon and its powers, etymological constructs, connotations, etc. were a really nice touch. Really sold me on Celestia's turmoil, as well as the difficulty of the task she had taken far too much for granted. If I had to choose one bit that really stood out to me, it would be this paragraph:
This is the kind of delicious worldbuilding, lore, and, dare I say, spirituality I enjoy seeing sprinkled throughout stories. The impact of the moon on magic—maybe even as a source of it—is something I don't see explored often. I enjoy the fact that you're doing so here.
Looking forward to the next two chapters!
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Gods you just leave the tastiest, most dummy thicc comments.
Wonder how long she has to go before it reaches only near lethal effort.
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This story is intended to be rated E, so no lethal effort will be happening. That's not to say there won't be a struggle, though!
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I was more saying that what she is doing is already in the lethal zone as she can only survive it by being beyond normal physiology. So I’m wondering how long it will take before what she is doing would only nearly kill someone else.
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Ah, whoops! I must have misread things. That clears stuff up.
I can just imagine the inner screams that will occur if an astronomer happens to compliment Celestia over the new stars.
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He'd probably rate the display a 4/5!
Nightmare Moon/Luna: Let the games begin!
I could actually see this being canon, at least for a time. The guilt must be exhausting. Poor Celly.
Yeah, this is still Celly in denial and burdened by guilt for sure.
You are really conveying the amount of self-deception Celestia is employing through a variety of ways in this chapter. I really like the details about the clocks, as well as her sleeping in her regalia. Shows the weight of her tasks, and her shame, in concrete ways.
The reveal of the raised moon, along with the four-cornered stars, was vivid. Both in terms of description and emotion. And this kicks off almost three hundred years of more constant reminders on top of the ones that were already causing her so much pain. Talk about starting a long struggle indeed.
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She just thinks they look pretty! She's not a workaholic, no ma'am!
Pretty sure Celestia is going to have the mother of all imposter complexes by her sisters return.
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Pretty sure Queen Chrysalis has imposter complexes covered.
Excuse me while I show myself out.
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Two snares and a cymbal fall off a cliff.
Good story
Well, I wasn't expecting this to end before Luna came back. Then again, she isn't tagged as a character, and you are always pretty precise with your tags.
This last chapter has a lot more of a somber, melancholy feel to it than the others. The details about Celestia's (temporary) dependence/tolerance/addiction on the sleeping draughts, as well as her lack of artistry in comparison to Luna were especially poignant. The nights being shorter made sense in pragmatic terms, but also serve to further illustrate what both Celestia and Equestria are lacking (and have been lacking for almost a thousand years).
Another nice, evocative series of vignettes taking place in your broader universe.
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Haha I fooled you I got you now you have come down with a case of the Feels again mwhaha
Finally finished it! Every chapter of the story was very interesting, although I found the multitude of clocks in the second chapter to be especially eerie.
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Thanks for reading!
A pale immitation being praised by a love-blind kid, an armored security blanket and memories of self-indulgent whining, then bare minimum effort to check a box that STILL gets praised as the greatest thing ever...Celestia hasn't learned a thing in a thousand years...
My favorite bit is the lesson she teaches her MFS's before anything else; seek validation, avoid anything negative. No growth this way, no constructive criticism, no thick skin; just little neurotic, panicky clones afraid of failure...or overly ambitious, power hungry assholestrying to reach the carrot dangled in front of them.
I didn't think my disdain for "incompetent goddess Celestia" could grow anymore, thanks for proving me wrong
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Is there more in this world? This is the first of your stories I've read and I need MOAR!!!
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Hello friend, may I introduce you to the rest of the stories here.