Moonrise: The Birth Of The New Lunar Empire

by Drunk Luna

Chapter Three

“Please, my darling, calm yourself,” Luna whispered soothingly, rubbing her daughter’s back. “Tell me what’s wrong, sweetheart.” Circe took a deep breath, trying to rein in her tempestuous thoughts before speaking.

“Mom, Celestia is not who you think she is,” the purple mare said. “She--" Circe was cut off by Luna's raised hoof. The mistress of the night's clear cyan eyes narrowed into a scowl.

"I will not hear any more negative words about your aunt from you, young filly," Luna said sharply. "My banishment was my fault. My sister is not perfect, but I had to take full responsibility for my actions." Her eyes flitted downward for a fraction of a second, then returned to meet Circe's.

"I do not trust her," Circe muttered. "Look at all the history books, Mom; Celestia has completely erased you from Equestria's story. None of your accomplishments, contributions, nor anything else pertaining to your reign pre-banishment is being taught in any of the nation's schools; in fact, you're only ever mentioned in passing as Celestia's younger sister whose jealousy sealed you in the moon for a thousand years. It's nothing but propaganda to make your sister look like a hero." A wave of pain washed over Luna's face, but she quickly regained her composure.

"I will not believe any of your preposterous claims until you have shown me concrete proof of such unbelievable material," she said coldly. "Furthermore, even if such works do exist, there must be at least a few articles and essays that disprove their points. Did you search the library at Canterlot University? I'm sure there are plenty of scholarly articles that argue in my favor." Circe shook her head sadly. Even after hours of combing through countless academic journals, history textbooks, and peer-reviewed essays and articles, she had not found a single written work outlining the actual causes of Luna's downward spiral.

"Mom," Circe said softly, "history is written by its victors. While I was researching, I learned..." she paused, choosing her words carefully, "...I learned about a supposed clandestine parliamentary session, which took place about three months before you turned into Nightmare Moon. Celestia held this meeting so that the laws of succession could be amended, but she issued a gag order to your private secretary so that you would never know about it unless you had a foal of your own. The history books all stated that you were 'out of the country on a royal tour of Saddle Arabia, the United Arab Equines, and Thoroughbredistan,' but that didn't make any sense, since your private diaries proved that you were in residence in Canterlot at the time. Anyway, these new succession laws, which are still in effect today, are summarized on this page. Though it is technically impossible for any law regarding you, Celestia, nor your heirs and successors to pass through Parliament without the signatures of both rulers of Equestria, Celestia swore before all the MPs that you had expressed your desire to abdicate, and that she would personally deliver this document to you to be signed as soon as the session adjourned. I have looked through enough of your personal diaries to know that this signature is not yours." She thrust a sheet of paper under Luna's nose. "Mom, Celestia forged your signature in order to hide an important matter of state from you. That is not even the worst part, though; read what the law itself says."

Luna's stomach dropped as she began to read the contents of the document:

Should one or both of Their Majesties die unexpectedly, only the offspring of Her Most Excellent Majesty Celestia, By the Grace of the Sun, of Equestria, the Commonwealth, and of her other realms and territories, Princess, Co-Ruler, Sovereign of the Day, shall remain in the royal line of succession. Any offspring of Her Most Excellent Majesty Luna, By the Grace of the Moon, of Equestria, the Commonwealth, and of her other realms and territories, Princess, Co-Ruler, Sovereign of the Night, shall be removed from the royal line of succession, at which time Equestria shall immediately change its government structure from that of a diarchy to that of an absolute monarchy over which the sun shall always shine. Anypony who publicly or privately threatens, criticizes, slanders, or questions the legitimacy of the glorious rule of Her Majesty The Princess Of The Sun as their sole head of state or questions the legitimacy of Her Majesty's heirs and successors, shall be arrested, imprisoned, and tried for sedition and possibly high treason in Her Majesty's Crown Court, at which time they shall be sentenced to death by immolation if convicted for the latter offense. If a subject witnesses such an act and fails to report it, he or she shall also be arrested, tried, and possibly convicted of sedition, which is punishable by life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, or high treason, which is punishable by death. May the sun never set on Equestria. Long live Princess Celestia.

"N-no." Luna's voice shook. "This... cannot be real. Celestia would never forge my signature, although she probably tried to justify this law by saying that I failed to act in a manner befitting a ruler of Equestria." She looked at the bottom of the document again, then shook her head in shock, her face contorting with anger and pain. "I can forgive her for neglecting me. I can even forgive her for banishing me, but the fact that she threatened my supporters with death is unfathomable to me. She's... a tyrant."

Author's Note:

Okay, so yeah, I got that last part from the saying "the sun never sets on the British Empire."

Comments

[The Sound of Loneliness]

11540578
I think a lot of us agree with you. At the very least Nightmare Moon should have had more screen time. Her design is superior to that of either one that Luna had and seeing her discarded at the very start was a monumental waste.