
Luna is a Harsh Mistress
Now with a print version: here!
When Nightmare Moon’s rebellion tore across Equestria, leaving a trail of blood and horror in its wake, Princess Celestia knew that merely banishing her sister wouldn’t be enough. Her army was too powerful, and too bloodthirsty, to be left behind without a leader. When she finally turned the Elements of Harmony against her, she didn’t just banish Nightmare Moon. She banished thousands.
Now they’re in a race against time, to find a way to survive in an environment so alien that every aspect of it is trying to kill them. They face suffocation, freezing, boiling, starvation, radiation, meteorite impacts, low gravity… the list goes on.
Nightmare Moon thought she should be the ruler of all Equestria. Now, in a world nopony was ever meant to survive, her abilities will be put to the ultimate test.
This story now has a hardcover! If you’d like one of your own, you can grab it here: https://starscribe.net/
Editing by the indulgent and patient Two Bit and Sparktail. Coverart by Zutcha.
Note: I intend this story to be as faithful to our current scientific understanding of the moon, and I’ve consulted for help with the aspects outside my technical purview. That said, I fully expect to make decisions that some may see as mistakes, based on their own independent interpretations.
I am a storyteller first, and I realize it’s likely I’ll eventually make a mistake, or an arbitrary decision to simplify the storytelling over accuracy. I’m doing my best here, but this isn’t a NASA white paper. Set your expectations accordingly.
This story was commissioned by Canary in the Coal Mine on my Patreon, feel free to contact me if you’d like one of your own!
- Chapter 1: Crash Landing 2,717 Words
- Chapter 2: Desperation 3,251 Words
- Chapter 3: Hollow Heart 4,485 Words
- Chapter 4: Iron Crown 3,846 Words
- Chapter 5: Dead Air 3,816 Words
- Chapter 6: Fiery Stone 4,301 Words
- Chapter 7: Lunar Company 5,522 Words
- Chapter 8: Conflict Resolution 4,703 Words
- Chapter 9: Lord Commander 5,098 Words
- Chapter 10: Steel Salvation 4,210 Words
- Chapter 11: Last Chance 4,358 Words
- Chapter 12: City 4,815 Words
- Chapter 13: Sunrise 4,119 Words
- Chapter 14: Sow 4,927 Words
- Chapter 15: Plow Under 3,968 Words
- Chapter 16: Light 4,052 Words
- Chapter 17: Aminon 4,059 Words
- Chapter 18: Penumbra 3,763 Words
- Chapter 19: Lightning 4,106 Words
- Chapter 20: Stolen Wisdom 3,939 Words
- Chapter 21: Spin 4,568 Words
- Chapter 22: Colonize 3,550 Words
- Chapter 23: Faithful Color 3,902 Words
- Chapter 24: Dead City 3,589 Words
- Chapter 25: Awesome 4,094 Words
- Chapter 26: Corpse 3,264 Words
- Chapter 27: Blind 3,080 Words
- Chapter 28: Vision 3,100 Words
- Chapter 29: Clarity of Mind 3,394 Words
- Chapter 30: Clarity of Sense 3,011 Words
- Chapter 31: Purple 3,041 Words
- Chapter 32: Magpie’s Hoard 3,254 Words
- Chapter 33: Secret Luxury 3,121 Words
- Chapter 34: Near Grip 3,079 Words
- Chapter 35: Rebellious Fate 3,072 Words
- Chapter 36: Defiant Fate 3,233 Words
- Chapter 37: Determined Fate 3,700 Words
- Chapter 38: Sanctioned Fate 3,069 Words
- Chapter 39: Armored Fate 3,080 Words
- Chapter 40: Polar Fate 3,278 Words
- Chapter 41: Sacred Fate 3,032 Words
- Chapter 42: Pure Fate 3,111 Words
- Chapter 43: Clear Fate 3,031 Words
- Chapter 44: Returning Fate 2,793 Words
- Chapter 45: Desperate Fate 3,251 Words
- Chapter 46: Fate of Nations 2,969 Words
- Chapter 47: Fated Siege 3,353 Words
- Chapter 48: Fated Contest 4,005 Words
- Chapter 49: Fate of Mercy 2,953 Words
- Chapter 50: Final Fate 3,163 Words
- Chapter 51: True Fate 3,285 Words
- Chapter 52: A Fate, Whole 4,619 Words
- Chapter 53: Crystal Sphere 3,196 Words
- Chapter 54: Sluice Gate 3,013 Words
- Chapter 55: Starlight Focus 3,135 Words
- Chapter 56: Rotten Pillar 3,125 Words
- Chapter 57: Iconoclast 2,564 Words
- Chapter 58: Beat Cop 2,535 Words
- Chapter 59: Ordered Rot 2,560 Words
- Chapter 60: Friendly Ghost 3,033 Words
- Chapter 61: Her Nightmare 3,472 Words
- Chapter 62: Last Sunrise 3,692 Words
- Chapter 63: Puzzled 2,976 Words
- Chapter 64: Homecoming 1,355 Words
- Chapter 65: Iron Quill 4,267 Words
- Epilogue 1,070 Words