A thousand years ago, our Goddess fought Nightmare Moon. When the Elements were activated, they banished all of Equestria underground, where we would be safe. I am a Prophet, All-Seer of the Church of Daylight. And our Goddess has granted me a vision that our efforts to reach the surface will finally bear fruit.
I can only hope Equestria's still up there.
This story is the sister story to Lover of the Moon, but both can be read independently of the other.
Coverart drawn by the incredibly talented Shaslan!
Thank you to my brilliant prereaders and editors: Zontan, Holtinater, Haphazred, AFanaticRabbit, Draconequues, Dioxin, Lofty Withers, Cynewulf, Red Parade, Vis A Viscera, Bill Cipher, Ruby, Flashgen, Moonshot, Luna, and to everyone that's supported me throughout the 3+ years of working on this fic and its sister fic.
And a special thank you to Axolu. You've encouraged me from the very beginning, and I couldn't have done this without you.
It's here!!!
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Hi! Could you mark your spoiler as a spoiler, please? I super appreciate the comment, though!
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You could just delete the comment yourself. Only fitting for such a dick move.
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Gave 'em the benefit of the doubt. Could have been a mistake, or an excited reaction, you know? Ah, well, I'll delete it now, it's been a bit.
When the surprise is revealed, I can't believe it's not butter .
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Wow, okay, that's rude.
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Sorry for the delay, I was out and didn't see your response until now. My apologies! Thought it was obvious enough.
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It's fine! I appreciate that you liked it enough to take the time to leave a comment. I just didn't want anyone scrolling down and the (relatively minor) spoiler be the first thing they see!
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Understandable lol, my apologies.
Oooh! This is looking good already! I love your descriptions and the way you introduce the background and how the legend goes.
Also, you know I’m not normally a Pinkie fan, but I absolutely love Big Boss/High Priestess Pinkie
Great job so far and I’m so excited for the rest!
Big Boss Pinkie Pie is my new favorite pony
I absolutely ADORE when people pay her proper attention and really give her some real substance. This is the epitome of that!! I love seeing her in charge, being smart and a good leader!!! That's so amazing!!!!!
In other news, this AU is AWESOME!! I'm so so so excited to find out more about why this happened, and what is on the surface. AUs are so fun to explore and untangle, and you did a brilliant job of setting this up to be intriguing and evocative, while not giving us TOO much info.
Okay, holding back other thoughts til after chapter 2 :D
This was a fantastic thing to preread, I remember we talked about City of Embers and how much we loved that story. This is a super creative idea that builds on top of that story and can't wait to see it pan out! Time to dive into it again!
Really nice start to things. Particularly the underground setting and the way this society works really grabbed my imagination, but that ending to chapter 2, woo. Curious where it'll all go, and where the rest of our familiar cast are in it.
Augh Silent this is so!!! Ah!!!!!
God, poor Twilight. I feel for her so deeply right now, and yet I can't even imagine what she's going through. To work towards a singular goal like that for so long, to have divine intervention pushing you towards that goal... And then this. Holy shit.
I am SO excited to see where this goes. I mean, pony space travel? Pony space pirates? Pony aliens?? Is Nightmare Moon still on the moon with them??? Anything could happen!!
I can't wait for the next chapter!! Wonderful start, and congrats on finally publishing!
It is finally here and I am pumped. This universe is so much fun to read about
and play around in. I'm so excited it's finally up and I'm very hyped to read more.10986746
Wow, yes!! I loved that series! The City of Embers influence is so clear, how did I not notice it? Honestly props to Silent for managing to differentiate enough that I was just wide-eyed and fascinated with the concept once again
Totally got sent to the moon eh? Bummer. Great story so far though.
A brilliantly written story! Another stellar concept from you, Silent. Cannot wait to see where you take this story!
I've had this story on my mind since you shared it with me in March. So glad you've decided to publish it! Good luck and have fun!!
so wait... instead of banishing nightmare moon, everyone was moved unerground? wouldn't the surface be a frozen wasteland when they get there?
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Their Goddess wasn't, was she? Celestia's probably still up there. I don't think the sun’s disappeared. :D
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hold on, celestia is on the surface? i did not know that.
Wowsers! Phantastic!
Talk about plot twists and complications! That is a GOOD one!
Oh. Well then. Certainly a twist on the usual formula. Definitely looking forward to seeing where you go from here.
well. This sounds... different.
That was beautiful.
The haunting moment of realization. .the detail of each eye opening...was uttertly stilling, chilling. It brought tear's to my eyes...
Nice hook and an intriguing premise! I've added the story to my reading list and I'll keep track of it! Onwards!
Egad, the mystery set up by this story is great! Can't wait to read more of it! Getting some Frostpunk and City of Ember vibe from this and it is great!
Yoooooo, now THAT'S a fucking TWIST
Dammit! I can only press the like button once! It needs to be pressed a hundred more times!
Celestia has a shit aim, doesn't she?
Now that is a twist.
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Sure does!
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You! Keep talking, you get me.
Damn, that's a good way to start a fic. Reminds me of a WoodenToaster song...
We all pay your crime on the moon...
-stifled chuckling-
anyway, great story!
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Depends, she might have ment to send them to the moon, they have been underground for at least a thousand years, who says they weren't just assuming they where still on the planet?
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I figured she was aiming for Nightmare Moon.
I was gonna do an embed, but it didn't work so I guess I'll just link it.
Now That's What I Call a Twist!
Oh,
I've got my eye on this story.
First of all, Great Story. Really interesting so far.
Second of all, I think people are overlooking something: Rarity.
She's not in the Tags (Five limit, but the author could've used the Mane 6 tag). She's also not on the cover image. So, that begs the question: Where is she?
Also, I wanna take a look at the Cover Image, since it's almost as interesting as the Story:
Twilight and Pinkie both have those cloaks. Perhaps a sign of their positions? It would make sense for a Prophet to have a fancy piece of clothing, while Pinkie's simple one could be explained as her either not wanting the fancy thing or her ruining it too much.
Applejack is probably still a farmer. However, since they're all underground, that means it probably involves more paperwork and resource management, hence the glasses. The physical aspects wouldn't be gotten rid of, hence the duster/jacket/whatever that is.
Fluttershy is probably the most difficult to interpret, considering I doubt they have a lot of sizeable animals underground. Could be related to some other sort of job, or maybe it's keeping animals out of the tunnels? I honestly don't know.
Rainbow Dash, on the other hand, is perhaps the most interesting. She's in the dark, so it's not as easy to tell, but she's not wearing as many clothes as the others; only a bandana. Plus, while the others appear to be looking at the sky, Rainbow is looking at them. Maybe she's a surface pony, either one they meet outside or who finds and enters their tunnel?
And, of course, there's still the lack of Rarity.
Welp, that's one heck of a twist. THEY ARE ON THE MOON!
After all this time, I still think about my first blind reading of the draft. Constantly trying to guess what was going on based on a few words here or there in the opening paragraphs. This story defied my expectations, and I am not disappointed. I need more.
Okay, I'm hooked, will they find their way back to Equestria? Is Twilight's blindness permanent? What are the others up to? How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop?
In all seriousness, I eagerly look forward to seeing what you have in store for us next.
Well that sucks (and not in any sort of fun, squishy way). I wonder what will happen?
... waaaaaaait...
If they are, in fact, where they are... who's been talking to the Prophets?
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:D
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... well then. Welcome to the music in my head: