Search
    Header Background Image
    When everything seems dark, don't be.
    Cover of Luna is a Harsh Mistress
    Pony

    Luna is a Harsh Mistress

    by Starscribe

    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!

    ePUB
    1. Chapter 1: Crash Landing
      2,717 Words
    2. Chapter 2: Desperation
      3,251 Words
    3. Chapter 3: Hollow Heart
      4,485 Words
    4. Chapter 4: Iron Crown
      3,846 Words
    5. Chapter 5: Dead Air
      3,816 Words
    6. Chapter 6: Fiery Stone
      4,301 Words
    7. Chapter 7: Lunar Company
      5,522 Words
    8. Chapter 8: Conflict Resolution
      4,703 Words
    9. Chapter 9: Lord Commander
      5,098 Words
    10. Chapter 10: Steel Salvation
      4,210 Words
    11. Chapter 11: Last Chance
      4,358 Words
    12. Chapter 12: City
      4,815 Words
    13. Chapter 13: Sunrise
      4,119 Words
    14. Chapter 14: Sow
      4,927 Words
    15. Chapter 15: Plow Under
      3,968 Words
    16. Chapter 16: Light
      4,052 Words
    17. Chapter 17: Aminon
      4,059 Words
    18. Chapter 18: Penumbra
      3,763 Words
    19. Chapter 19: Lightning
      4,106 Words
    20. Chapter 20: Stolen Wisdom
      3,939 Words
    21. Chapter 21: Spin
      4,568 Words
    22. Chapter 22: Colonize
      3,550 Words
    23. Chapter 23: Faithful Color
      3,902 Words
    24. Chapter 24: Dead City
      3,589 Words
    25. Chapter 25: Awesome
      4,094 Words
    26. Chapter 26: Corpse
      3,264 Words
    27. Chapter 27: Blind
      3,080 Words
    28. Chapter 28: Vision
      3,100 Words
    29. Chapter 29: Clarity of Mind
      3,394 Words
    30. Chapter 30: Clarity of Sense
      3,011 Words
    31. Chapter 31: Purple
      3,041 Words
    32. Chapter 32: Magpie’s Hoard
      3,254 Words
    33. Chapter 33: Secret Luxury
      3,121 Words
    34. Chapter 34: Near Grip
      3,079 Words
    35. Chapter 35: Rebellious Fate
      3,072 Words
    36. Chapter 36: Defiant Fate
      3,233 Words
    37. Chapter 37: Determined Fate
      3,700 Words
    38. Chapter 38: Sanctioned Fate
      3,069 Words
    39. Chapter 39: Armored Fate
      3,080 Words
    40. Chapter 40: Polar Fate
      3,278 Words
    41. Chapter 41: Sacred Fate
      3,032 Words
    42. Chapter 42: Pure Fate
      3,111 Words
    43. Chapter 43: Clear Fate
      3,031 Words
    44. Chapter 44: Returning Fate
      2,793 Words
    45. Chapter 45: Desperate Fate
      3,251 Words
    46. Chapter 46: Fate of Nations
      2,969 Words
    47. Chapter 47: Fated Siege
      3,353 Words
    48. Chapter 48: Fated Contest
      4,005 Words
    49. Chapter 49: Fate of Mercy
      2,953 Words
    50. Chapter 50: Final Fate
      3,163 Words
    51. Chapter 51: True Fate
      3,285 Words
    52. Chapter 52: A Fate, Whole
      4,619 Words
    53. Chapter 53: Crystal Sphere
      3,196 Words
    54. Chapter 54: Sluice Gate
      3,013 Words
    55. Chapter 55: Starlight Focus
      3,135 Words
    56. Chapter 56: Rotten Pillar
      3,125 Words
    57. Chapter 57: Iconoclast
      2,564 Words
    58. Chapter 58: Beat Cop
      2,535 Words
    59. Chapter 59: Ordered Rot
      2,560 Words
    60. Chapter 60: Friendly Ghost
      3,033 Words
    61. Chapter 61: Her Nightmare
      3,472 Words
    62. Chapter 62: Last Sunrise
      3,692 Words
    63. Chapter 63: Puzzled
      2,976 Words
    64. Chapter 64: Homecoming
      1,355 Words
    65. Chapter 65: Iron Quill
      4,267 Words
    66. Epilogue
      1,070 Words
    Note