Children of the Sun

by Silent Whisper

Everypony's Got An Opinion

The first thing I was aware of was an all-encompassing ache, as though I’d taken a nasty spill down some stairs. The second thing I noted was that everything had not, in fact, magically fixed itself by the time I awoke.

I levered myself out of an awkward sleeping position and shook one of my hind legs awake. Pins and needles weren’t dignified. They didn’t befit a Prophet. I reached up to rub my eyes, and jerked my front hoof back when it brushed against something. A bandage. Right, I stared into the Sun. Because we were on the moon. Not under Equestria. Under the moon. We were on a whole different planet and it was entirely the wrong one. We were alone. We were floating in space without the Goddess there to help us, unable to guide us, she was so far away-

I blindly flung my magic towards my trash bin and barely got it underneath me before I threw up.

Water was good. Water would fix how I’m feeling. Or something.

I panted as I huddled over the trash bin, fumbling my magic towards the water bottle on my end table. I usually needed a drink after I woke up, anyway, but this was an even more dire circumstance than normal. I took a shaky breath as I unscrewed the cap and sipped from the bottle carefully. My mouth tasted like watered-down vomit, which was only slightly better than normal vomit, but it would suffice.

My stomach gurgled unhappily as I leaned back on my bed. Pinkie had said that my vision would be better in a few days, right? The bandages felt tight around my head. Too tight. I needed them off, off, off, if for no other reason than to make sure I hadn’t lost my sight completely. Gingerly, I tugged at the gauze strap on the back of my head and unwound the wrapping slowly. Layer by layer, the world began to glow a hazy orange.

The last strip fell away in my hooves, and I hesitantly squinted open one of my eyes. Ow. Light hurt, it hurt so much, but… I opened the other one a little bit. I could see. A little. Everything was blurred together, but I could make out the familiar, if fuzzy, shapes of my room. It wasn’t perfect, but anything was better than the agonizing white of yesterday.

Yesterday. Something was still nagging at the back of my mind about it, aside from the whole catastrophe itself. Why had Pinkie dismissed Honesty as an option so quickly? She was supposed to lead us by example, right? What was I missing?

I picked myself off the bed and lit my horn to straighten my cloak. Somepony at the Church of Daylight would be able to help me sort this all out. I didn’t know most of them by name or anything, but they’d always supported me before. Maybe some Priestess or Acolyte would be able to tell me why Pinkie felt we should keep it a secret. They might have some insight that I didn’t.

And maybe if I was able to tell them some of it, even just a little tiny bit, I’d feel better, and I’d be able to shake the feeling that something needed to be said. And maybe, I reasoned as I turned to make my bed, they’d agree with me about telling other ponies. Maybe I was right. I felt right, or at least not wrong. I didn’t know. It was all so confusing and life-changing and I felt like even just hearing that somepony else concurred that we should tell other ponies might make me feel a bit better.

First things first, though. I had to get to the nearest Church of Daylight, which was three levels down via the main spiralling walkway. I could see well enough to avoid most major obstacles, if I squinted, but I’d still need some way to not trip over anypony or uneven ground or… or magical moon-based things that didn’t make sense even though they’d existed all my life but now they didn’t make sense at all because everything changed and yet nothing had and-

Okay, deep breaths, Twilight. In, hold, then out. I was not going to work myself up again. I’d already have to ask somepony to wash out my wastebasket. I took another sip of water and concentrated on my magic. The tip of my horn sputtered to life as I reached a few wisps of magic down to the ground in front of my hooves. There. That should warn me before I tripped over anything uneven, hopefully. Nodding, I set out to try to navigate my way down to the nearest Church of Daylight.

At least the path from my room to the hallway felt a little more normal, now that I could see a little bit. My ears weren’t ringing like they were yesterday, and if I pushed down any thoughts of general panic, I could almost pretend it was an ordinary day.

That feeling of comfort faltered a bit once I made my way out of the relative silence of the dormitories. I could see the outlines of ponies in the hallway. Some of them were sitting or leaning against the wall, off to the side, relaxing in between shifts or taking a quick break during one. Groups meandered up and down the walkway, taking up as much space as they could without getting in anypony’s way.

I couldn’t clearly see their faces, but as I stepped into the hall, I could see them watching me, and I could hear their conversation topics change. Dimming my horn as low as I could, I made my way down towards the Church of Daylight. It was easy not to look at their faces when I couldn’t quite make out their expressions, but it was much trickier than normal to look regal and above it all.

My hoofsteps hesitated as a pony tried to block my path. I couldn’t make out who she was, and I don’t think I’d have known her name even if she wasn’t a blur. “Hey,” she snapped, tossing her pink and blue curls out of her face. “My friend said you went to the Solarium, and now no one’s allowed up there. Did you do something?”

I pressed my lips together and walked around her without answering. I could hear her scoff, and somepony muttered “Rude” under their breath, but I tried not to let it look like they got to me. I had a standard to maintain as the Prophet, after all. Their comments were beneath me.

I numbly walked around a few ponies sprawled out on the cool stone floor as I lost myself in thought. I’d know my way to this Church of Daylight even without paying much attention. It was right off the main hallway, unlike the others, which were deeper underground and spread out among the living and working areas.

Unlike the Solarium and the Central HUB, most rooms didn’t get relocated very quickly as ponykind built up and up towards the surface. There was too much to move to make it a reasonable task, so while some of the living areas and kitchens had been moved since I was a filly, most were still situated snugly in the deeper reaches of- well, the underground of the moon.

Naturally, the Priestesses of the Church of Daylight weren’t always that thrilled to be so far away from the Surface and the Goddess. I was fortunate enough to spend a lot of my time in between giving guidance and overseeing official ceremonies in the Solarium, but most of the rest of the Church members worshipped, contemplated, and carried out their ministries to the Elements in one of the many Church locations far, far below.

I stopped at a junction in the hallway and reverently brushed my hoof against a statue of the Goddess, the likeness of which had been crafted from one of the past Prophet's vague description of what he saw. Her mane billowed out behind her as she sat upon a regal throne. The base of the throne was worn down and smoothed by the thousands of hooves that had touched it before me. I felt a bit of awed humility send shivers up my spine before I turned and stepped into the Church’s main chamber.

The members of the Church of Daylight may have been unhappy that they couldn’t shift their location easily, but they made up for it by decorating it in honor of the Goddess.

Shards of colored glass spun up the walls in every hue, creating abstract mosaics. Each Church was different, but this one featured representations of the Elements. I couldn’t see them clearly, but I could picture them in my mind: starbursts of gold for Generosity, a lavender sea for Honesty, sprawling green trees for Kindness, blushing red swirls for Laughter, and a pair of interlocking blue hooves for Loyalty.

This particular Church focused more on the Elements than the Goddess itself, which meant less fervent worshipping and more acts of service and debate on the Elements we used as guides to become more worthy of the Goddess’s light. It wasn’t the sort of Church I preferred to be in, when I was giving my Prophetic guidance, but it was the perfect place to start looking for some answers.

Spread out across the floor were plush rugs worn down by the hooves and rears of hundreds of reverent worshippers. There weren’t any rites or ceremonies going on at the moment, so instead of orderly rows of seats, cushions lay sprawled out across the floor for general use. Against one of the walls, a table stood with pamphlets and glasses of water. Ponies sat down wherever they pleased, chatting softly to one another or with heads bowed in prayer.

Above my head, balls of mana twinkled and shone with a warm friendly light. They were supposed to represent the light of our Goddess, along with providing general illumination, but for some reason they made my stomach turn. Something about the way they were scattered against the high arched ceiling reminded me of the cold light of the stars when I... when...

No. I was not going to fall apart in public. I took a deep breath in, then let it out slowly. I needed to talk to somepony official enough to get some sort of guidance or answers. My eyes ached with the strain, but I looked around for somepony that didn’t look too busy. Being a Prophet had its perks, in that nopony really thought I was a bother if I interrupted them inside the Church, but I didn’t want to cause any more of a scene than I had to today.

Aha! There was a Priestess, sashaying between cushions and rugs with a peaceful glow on her face. I squinted, trying to make out the symbols on her robe. A Priestess of Generosity, it looked like, judging by the blurs I took to be square-ish. Perfect. I wouldn’t mind a Generous ear to confide in.

I strode up to her, doing my best to look regal and all-knowing, and not like I was afraid I’d trip over the hem of my own robe. “Sister, I have something to confess. May we talk in private?”

The Priestess smiled serenely, and gestured me over to a side room. It was small and pod-like, preferred by those who valued Honesty for a quieter, magically-muffled chat. A part of me, a most shameful part that I never let show, wondered if that’s because everypony else couldn’t stand to listen to them debate for more than a few minutes. “Of course. We value Honesty, just as we value you. Speak, Prophet, and I shall listen.”

I waited until she shut the curtain with a golden flick of her horn before I slumped against the wall. “I don’t even know where to begin. I was speaking to the Head Priestess yesterday, and, well, something happened. I don’t know, it’s like-”

One of her ears flicked as she gazed at me attentively. “Yesterday, you say?” When I hesitated, she gave me an encouraging smile.

“Yes, this was yesterday.” I relaxed against the wall, releasing some of the tension I’d been holding in my shoulders with a sigh. “She told me to go to the Solarium, and… oh, maybe I should back up. The stories we’ve been told are-”

“Did she say anything else, sister?” The Priestess interrupted, brow creasing.

I blinked and frowned. One of us was getting ahead of ourselves, and I wasn’t sure if it was me. “Huh? I didn’t get to that part yet. But specifically, the tale we know about-”

“I think you’re forgetting something,” she insisted, but gently, like a caretaker correcting a foal, leading them to think of the right answer on their own. “What did she tell you about sharing this information?”

“You-” I bit the inside of my cheek. Crap. “You know?”

My eyes watered for a moment as her horn lit up, illuminating the space with its gentle glow. She wrapped a golden thread of magic around my leg, and I could feel the soothing matrix of a comforting spell I hadn’t felt since I was a filly. It snaked up my chest and caressed my cheek, wiping the moisture away from my eyes. “We were told that you might struggle in your challenge to remain silent about something. Ah, the greatest among us face the greatest trials, indeed!”

I sputtered and shifted my weight away from where her spell warmed me. The magic fizzled out, and a part of me missed its absence. “But I just need some guidance on what to do. I know that Loyalty is important, but-”

Her hum drew me short, and she reached out again with her horn’s gentle glow, brushing a few strands of my mane out of my face, the picture of a concerned confidant. “And it is your Loyalty that inspires us. You have no idea how much your devotion to the Elements and the Goddess Herself gives us strength. Of course, if you require guidance, I’m sure the High Priestess would be happy to hear about-”

“No!” Her ears pricked at my outburst, and I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself and regain my usual sense of aloof piousness. I was the Prophet, and Prophets don’t act as though they have something to hide. “I mean, no, thank you. She’s already made up her mind about this, and I guess her reasons make a sort of sense, even if I don’t agree with them.”

“If I may, dear Prophet?” She tenderly picked up my hoof, and I barely resisted the urge not to yank it away. It had taken ages to get ponies to stop reverently touching my cloak, and I didn’t want everypony to start thinking it was okay to hold hooves with me out of the blue. Even though nopony could see us, it was still the principle of the thing. Magic was one thing, but actual hooves...

“Suuure,” I said, trying to subtly pull my hoof back. It didn’t work.

She gave me another one of her infuriatingly calm smiles. “Sometimes, Loyalty is a simple matter of trust. We must trust that the ones above us know what they are doing, and listen when they ask something of us, even if it’s hard.”

I suppressed a groan. “Of course, I apologize. I appreciate your insight. That was all I needed.” I stood and pulled open the curtain, tugging my hoof from her grasp at last. When I didn’t see her move out of the corner of my eye, I looked back. She was giving me a strange look, as though she was studying me, and trying to hide it. I managed a fairly convincing smile. “Thank you for your help,” I added, and left the room.

Okay, so the Priestesses in general would probably not be of much help. If Pinkie had told that one, she’d probably have reached them all. Still, maybe I could just ask somepony else, and be a bit subtler with how I brought it up. I gave her a wave and scanned the room as best as I could while still looking in control. Prophets didn’t squint uncertainly at the smattering of ponies wandering around. I could’ve sworn I felt the Priestess’s eyes on my back as I walked into one of the larger side chambers.

This one was slightly livelier than the other room. Pegasi were perched upon a few ledges above my head, which I couldn’t imagine was comfortable, but they seemed to like it. A small group of younger ponies - barely older than foals, it seemed - were taking turns reading from a book and laughing amongst themselves. Against the wall, a pair of earth ponies seemed to be having a slightly more reserved discussion.

I couldn’t fly, so I wasn’t about to bother the pegasi. I wasn’t likely to be able to convince them to fly down, anyway; they seemed to cherish their nooks and crannies. The foals looked too excitable to have a serious chat with, so I gave the earth ponies a friendly wave as I approached them.

“May the Sun be with you!” I said smoothly, sitting down next to them. The one on the left grinned so wide I could see the white of his teeth even with my blurring vision, while the one on the right gave me a respectful nod.

Neither of them seemed irritated that I interrupted, at least as far as I could tell, so I continued. “I was wondering if I could have a moment of your time. I have an issue that I’ve been debating upon with… a friend.”

The one on the left somehow beamed wider. “Of course, sister! What can we help you with?”

The one on the right nodded their head. “It’s an honor to assist the Prophet.”

I tried not to look too relieved. “My friend and I were talking about something important. It’s something that’s really big, and I want to tell everypony about it, but the Hi- my friend said that we shouldn’t tell everyone, because they’d get upset. But I think that it’d be worse if everypony found out we didn’t tell them, and I don’t like hiding the important thing for very long.”

“I see, I see,” murmured the pony on the right. I paused, waiting for their input, but they didn’t seem to want to say what it was they saw.

“So,” I said, after the silence stretched on a bit too long to be comfortable. “What would you do? Presuming that this big thing was something that would change how everypony looked at, well, everything!”

The other one gasped and put a hoof to his chest. “Has there been another revelation? Have you received a new vision?”

No, I wanted to say, I just lost mine. “Not quite. It’s a different sort of… thing. Not a prophecy from our Goddess. Our High Priestess said that-”

“So the High Priestess had a vision?” I opened my mouth to correct the left pony as he clapped his hooves, but he didn’t seem to notice. “You know, I’ve been wondering how she’s been doing these days. The party yesterday was really something special: a real shindig, if I do say so myself! I didn’t see you there, but then again, you don’t really go to parties, do you?”

The one on the right rolled their eyes. “I think what our dear Prophet means is that her friend is the Big Boss herself. It makes sense, of course. Pinkie is everypony’s friend. But why would you question what she says?”

“Well, I just don’t think it’s right to keep quiet about-”

“Hey!” The chipper pony perked up as though an idea had struck him square between the eyes and rattled in the empty space where his brain was supposed to be. “You can just foresee what’s gonna happen in the future, right? Can’t you look ahead and see for yourself?”

“That’s not quite how that-”

“No,” said the calmer pony, leveling their gaze to my own. “You know as well as we do that the Big Boss has her reasons, no matter how strange. It is in everypony’s best interests that we follow them, is it not?”

“Well, I guess, but-”

“You can’t just guess at these things!” The left pony slammed a hoof down in emphasis. Its fall was muffled by a cushion, though, and didn’t quite have the effect he probably wanted. “You’re the Prophet! Look into the future and ask the Goddess what to do!”

“That’s not how my connection with-”

“Just keep your head down,” advised the right pony, taking a sip of water and reclining against the wall. “Things will work out the way they are meant to. And besides, Pinkie is an Honest pony. She’d tell us if it were something we really needed to know. I trust her judgement.”

“Yeah,” chimed in the other. “What was it that you were doubting her so much with, anyway?”

I could feel the conversation slipping away from me. There was no way I was going to get any useful answer from them, and the one on the right was unnerving me. What if they told Pinkie? “It doesn’t matter,” I said, steadying my voice as best as I could. “You’ve given me much to think about, thank you.”

The one on the right nodded, a smile forming on their lips. “Anytime, sister.”

The left one gave me a quick salute with the wrong hoof. “Happy to be of help!”

Idiots, the both of them. I waved at them once more before backing back into the main chamber. A stealthy look around told me that the Priestess I’d initially talked to was nowhere in sight; at least, as far as I could tell by the blurry outlines.

I sat down on a cushion next to a sea-green pegasus. He looked dazzled by the mosaics adorning the wall. A relatively new Acolyte, then. I gave him a few seconds before I cleared my throat, and he almost fell off his seat. “Ah, sister,” he chirped when he’d regained his balance. “How can I help you today? You know, I’m quite popular in this fine Church of Sunshine, but I’m always willing to have a chat with a pony as intelligent-looking as yourself.”

Oh boy. I steeled myself for a long conversation. “It’s the Church of Daylight, actually. I was wondering if I could have your input on something I’ve been thinking about.”

“Of course, sister! What important religious topic do you have for me today? I’m all ears. Metaphorically, of course.” He beamed at me, then at the glass-speckled walls.

Mentally, I wished I’d picked a different pony to converse with; but he’d do for a start, I supposed. “What do you think is more important, Honesty or Loyalty?”

The stallion pursed his lips, rolling his eyes to the lofted ceiling as though it held all the answers he sought. “Well, it’s not quite as bad as the whole Kindness vs Honesty debate, which, let me tell you, Honesty wins every time. Honesty and Loyalty though, now that’s something we don’t talk about enough, if I do say so myself! I bet there’s plenty of disagreement on that subject! Lots of thinking going on about that, I bet. Let me tell you, sister, it sure is a tricky question.”

I tried to suppress the urge to facehoof. “And the answer is…?”

He smirked. “Patience, patience. I see that isn’t your Element.” It’s not an Element, I wanted to grumble, but I held my tongue. Sweet Goddess above, this one was so much worse than the previous two.

The pegasus curled one wing around my shoulder. I smacked the edge of it away before it could wrap all the way around me. “Now, everypony knows that Loyalty is important, sis, but Honesty? Now, that’s a real thingie we could have a long discussion about. What’d you say your name was, by the way?”

“Twilight Sparkle,” I spat through gritted teeth.

“Ah, good. Can I call you Sparks?” He leaned his head against my shoulder. I scooched back until he nearly toppled onto the floor.

“No.”

“Alright, Sparks, so it’s my Honest opinion that Loyalty is a real doozy of a good thing, you know what I mean? I am a sort of an expert on the thing. Being Loyal. Listening to orders. Not questioning anything. But also, I like Honesty. Saying what’s on your mind. Like now, for instance. You’re looking rather flustered, Sparks. Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“Probably not,” I said, burying my face in my hooves. Just letting him talk seemed like the smartest solution at the moment, until I could figure out who else I could talk to.

There had to be somepony I was missing. Maybe the foals would have some strange amount of insight? Everypony said that I had been quite helpful as a filly, but maybe that was just me being a Prophet that had helped.

“Well, I’m thinking we should reconvene at a later time! Perhaps a tavern, down below? You know, the Tipsy Dip is my favorite hangout, at least for this week. Next week, who knows? You can’t stop the flow on this breeze!” He tossed his pale yellow mane behind his shoulders, not seeming to care that I had nothing to add.

Maybe there was a different Priestess that I could talk to. I could always go down to one of the deeper Churches, though I wasn’t sure which one I should visit first. This was one of the more popular Element-focused one. Was this not an Element problem? Should I be asking my Goddess about what to do, instead of debating the topic with other ponies? It was worth a shot. I closed my eyes and tried to concentrate on her warmth and pure regality, but there was nothing. No answering vision. Just like usual.

“You know, you look really stressed. After you’re done with your friend over there, you should come check me out so we can talk about important things, like Loyalty, and Honesty, and how that bun might not be the best look on you. Don’t get me wrong, I love a mare with her mane up, but I think you’re hiding all your tension in it. Take a deep breath and let it all out, you know?”

“Mmhm,” I said, frowning and squeezing my eyes shut more. I knew that the Goddess herself wasn’t at my beck and call, but sometimes I wished that she’d just answer me when I needed it. I was her Prophet, and that had to mean something, didn’t it?

“Yeah, so come find me later, and we can have a very long and detailed conversation about Bravery and stuff, and we’ll see where the night takes us. But seriously, your friend over there seems like she’s trying to get your attention. Might wanna do something about that, you know what I mean? Don’t wanna leave a mare hanging and all.”

I opened my eyes as a bit of what he said registered. “Wait, my what?”

“Your friend, Sparks.” He pointed over my shoulder. I turned my head, and choked back a yelp.

A few inches from my face was a mare. Her stiff mane hung down around her dull stone-colored face. Wrapped around her was a robe that I’d seen a few of the High Priestess’s friends wear, though this one was a lot dingier, stained in rusty hues along a few of the hems, and one edge had frayed completely.

“Come with me,” she said monotonously, her face betraying no emotion. Something about that put me on edge far more than if she’d looked upset or angry or… anything else, really.

“Uhh,” I articulated back, fidgeting my hooves underneath my robes.

She turned and tilted an ear back towards me. “Now,” she amended, before walking towards one of the side rooms.

Comments

[Zobeid]

“What do you think is more important, Honesty or Loyalty?”

Are they really at odds? These ponies appear very devoted and trusting of the higher-ups in their society, all the way up to Pinkie Pie. However, loyalty runs both ways. Covering this up in the long run would be a betrayal of that trust.

In fact, I think we could follow this train of thought further and demonstrate how covering it up would actually break every principle that their society espouses. It's not only dishonest and disloyal, but also selfish, needlessly cruel, and mean-spirited.

[PhycoKrusk]

11013206
I actually understand Pinkie's angle on this, or at least what appears to be her angle, but her execution is wrong and even dangerous.

Like you said, at the least, this is a huge betrayal of trust, but not of the common pony. The is a betrayal of Twilight's trust. The church is something that Twilight has clearly trusted her entire life, and now its chief representative is doing everything that Twilight has been taught not to do.

Not telling everyone right away is the correct thing to do; that's the unfortunate burden of leadership at times. But she should not have broached the idea of keeping quiet as, "don't you think everyone will be really angry." The correct approach would have been, "you panicked when you found out, right? Don't you think everyone else might panic too? If everyone panics, a lot of ponies could get really hurt. We should keep quiet about this for now, and then we'll tell everyone one we know what we're going to do about it. If we have a plan, that will help everyone to not panic."

Still, there's something more to this Pinkie than meets the eye. Maybe she knows something we don't. Maybe she already had a plan?

[Thought Prism]

Yeah Zephyr Breeze was not the best pony to ask a philosophical question. 😅

[Zobeid]

11013216
To prevent panic in the streets!

No, sorry, that's not a correct approach at all. That's an excuse that politicians have used—in real life and (notoriously, sometimes laughably) in disaster movies, as their excuse to cover up inconvenient facts, and it's completely bogus. You would be hard pressed to search through history and find an example where bad news caused a society to suddenly break down in riots and madness. It just doesn't happen that way. But it sure makes a convenient excuse to try and defy reality and maintain the status quo.

The one argument Pinkie Pie made that seemed sensible to me was: We don't understand this ourselves, so we need to do some research. Let's not give our ponies bad information before we even figure it out. Okay. . . So, I (in Twilight's place) might then say: Let's bring in a couple of other bright ponies, put our heads together, and study this for a week. Let's take another look up top (maybe with googles next time). Let's check the archives, see if any of our past visions need to be reinterpreted. Let's see if we can get Goddess to reveal anything. And then, at the end of that week. . . issue the report, with what we know and don't know. To everypony. That would be fair.

[PhycoKrusk]

11013510
I had this whole... tirade? We'll go with that. This whole tirade typed up when I realized that, in fact, you were agreeing with me.

Sort of, at any rate. At the very least, we agree that if this revelation is to be kept secret, it can only be while an action plan is being devised, and not a moment longer.

I further speculate that this difference in our attitudes is because you assume there is some level of competence and reason to be found in your neighbor, while I do not.

[Golden_Reflection]

11013510
Have you heard of the people panic buying toilet roll just because the news said supply at the time was 'limited' and so everyone thought "we're running out of toilet roll, let's buy more so we have some when it runs out" or what happened more recently in the UK with fuel (same thing). You don't think that Ponies, who we have seen panic about stampeding bunnies, would panic about having their entire world-view shattered?

[Golden_Reflection]

Yes, keeping it secret while you find out what you're going to do about it would be the the best course of action, so that you can then tell people what is going on and no matter their reaction to that then tell them you have a plan based on what you know and this is what it is.

Doesn't matter if they will panic or not, just that they know you have it as under control as you can have it.

[Jirodyne]

11013206

Yeah, I don't see the issue. To be Loyal is to be HONEST with them. So by being DISHONEST and LYING means you are NOT being LOYAL to that person. As it's placing YOUR thoughts and believes, ABOVE the one you claim to be Loyal to.

A Guard, Loyal to their King, would always answer him honestly when the King asks him questions. Just as if a King is loyal to his guards, the King would answer Honestly to his men, including being honest about suicide missions, and needing volunteers for missions that will get them killed, instead of ordering the blind.

Loyalty is a 2 way Street. They are loyal to you, so you become loyal to them. And if you lie, and are Dishonest, you break that Trust, and the Loyalty between you two. ESPECIALLY over something so massively important as this.

-----

This isn't a hard question or debate. In fact, that guy is 100% stupid to the extreme.

I am a sort of an expert on the thing. Being Loyal. Listening to orders. Not questioning anything.

THAT is not being Loyal. That is being Blind. There is Trust, yes, but not BLIND Trust. Sometimes you take a chance, 'Because it's a friend', but not ALWAYS.

[FanOfMostEverything]

Nopony expects the Maudish Inquisition! Her chief weapon is fear! Fear and surprise! Two weapons. Her two weapons are fear and surprise. And ruthless efficiency. Right, three weapons: Fear, surprise, efficiency, and fanatical devotion to the High Priestess. And an encyclopedic knowledge of regolith.

I’ll come in again.

I do feel bad for Twilight. She’s stuck between a rock and a hard place, and not just because Maud showed up. Hopefully Pinkie will have a more thought-out reason for the cover-up when next they speak. Can’t exactly keep the Solarium off-limits forever, especially not when all of pony culture is centered around digging up.

Also, isn’t interesting to see the Elements of Harmony don’t quite have their usual colors?

[Shaslan]

Lmao "pale yellow mane" - did Twilight just get almost-seduced by that greatest of womanisers, Zephyr Breeze?

[Twitchy Ears]

If someone told me there was a story, where it was Zephyr who got banished to the moon, I would have thought that's pretty neat. But now that I read it, I just feel sorry for Twilight and others

Interesting premise for a story. Can't wait to find out what happens next.

PS Did you take a philosophy class for extra credit or something? I'm getting serious philosophy 101 debate vibes from this chapter haha

[PonyofEntropy]

Added to the read list. Very good!

[Falkenlied]

Liking it so far! Looking forth to the next installment!