The Lunar Diaries

by Shadowed Song

Rating: everyone
Tags: Adventure, Princess Celestia, Twilight Sparkle, Princess Luna, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Alternate Universe
Length: 3949

After cracking the codes on Luna's personal diary, Twilight Sparkle uncovers a thousand year old conspiracy. She must race against to time to save not only herself, but the rest of the world.

After cracking the codes on Luna's personal diary, Twilight Sparkle uncovers a thousand year old conspiracy. Luna wanted to come home and apologize after her banishment was over. What happened to make Luna return as Nightmare Moon?

Twilight must race against to time to uncover the truth, and save not only herself, but the rest of the world.

Big thanks to Zephyr for encouraging me to continue the story far beyond what I had originally planed.

Published 2014-04-11 15:00:04 UTC
Last updated 2014-09-27 05:54:14 UTC

History is Written by the Winner

Dear Princess Celestia,

The past few weeks I have been working on translating the Lunar Diary from Old Equus. During that time, I found multiple discrepancies with what Princess Luna told us and what she wrote. She claimed that what little time she was conscious on the moon, she was plotting on how to overthrow you. She also claimed that she wrote this after we reformed her, as a way to preserve her memories of the past. I believe she misled us; the entries are purely about her experience on the moon. I was first tipped off by the number of entries:730500. I was wondering why she would stop at that number, since the last entry doesn't cover her return to Equestria. I started playing with the numbers, trying to find a pattern. I eventually found it, it's actually quite simple: 730500/2=365250

The thing that startled me the most is that the first three numbers are the amount of days in a year; that can't be a coincidence. I wondered if maybe the number represented days, so I tested my theory: 365250/365=1000,684932: almost a thousand years.

The Lunar Diary has enough entries to have been written in twice a day for a little more than a millennium. I decided to factor in leap years and run the equation again: (365250-1000/4)/365=1000 The exact amount of time Princess Luna was on the moon. Two entries a day for a thousand years is 730500 entries.

A few other things I found when trying to find out the number's secrets

7+3+0+5+0+0=15 The number of centuries between the first time she noticed that ponies liked you better, to having Nightmare Moon removed from her psych.

7*3*5=105

1+0+5=6 The number of elements.

Once I discovered that the diary could have been written during the time Princess Luna was on the moon, I searched each entry for hidden text or codes. I found it in this entry.

Diary of the Lunar Princess: entry 73050

Original entry from my first diary, with some punctuation added.

Today Year 213:

Today I made a new friend is his name is Sparkling Sree; He's the an earth pony. Me and my sister were at Prince Bright Eye's hundredth thousandth birthday. It was also our parents ten thousandth anniversary. Tia says this isn't the proper spelling, she will find it of for me later. My sister my is so smart; she knows everything. She taught me that the banished. Changelings were banished by mom. She's so A strong, she controls Hundred every star in the sky. In years, the future, I hope to do the same. Dad says we shouldn't feel trapped limited by our cutie marks, but I know I want on to control my mom's moon. night. We got our marks a few decades ago. I know We don't know any other Alicorn fillies who got their marks as soon as I us. Uncle tells us we should shouldn't brag, but it but does make me be feel special. Quite a few of the other angry fillies are angry that they or don't have their marks yet. They get so mad. upset. I feel sad, so very sad. Actually, I've I find it hilarious they get so distraught. It's almost time for lessons, how I wish I could spend this time play instead. But apparently I have to watching listen to our the tutor ramble on about ponies history. I wish I was an grow, adult; they do what they want and. I guess they have to do it things too. This saddens me. makes me sad. They Adults might actually almost have more rules than us fillies. I don't want to lost lose the chance to have fun almost the all the time. Chance I won't have a second chance to become at my fillyhood. I would do something anything to stay care free, all the grown seem so better, bitter at times. I guess lessons are simply just a necessity because I wanted of being a filly. The only thing I want from growing up is power and authority. respect. Tia Celestia just told me power corrupts ponies, I know we don't want that. You've We've always had power, it's how we use it that matters. Spent these past years We've spent the past few years learning magic. I can lift a herd of cows, almost. They didn't blaming blame me when I dropped them. I still blame yourself myself for it, I got distracted by a passing cart. I was so scared when I dropped them, I ran into the forest. I thought they would punish me for my descent into Nightmare Moon. for messing up. I wish I wish I had stayed the instruct was going to congratulate me on just managing to lift them. I could I can't fix that now. My parents talk to you,talked tell you to me about how sorry I am how worried they were. That it wasn't your fault. That it wasn't my fault I dropped the cows. There may or may not have been things There was nothing I could have done to keep the cows up. You could have done to help me. Tia was reading over my shoulder. That will teach her to try and read my diary. I really have to get going. I'm going to encrypt the rest of the entry with a there are a few things a don't want ponies to read.

B32x2

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

The first half is a simple code, the crossed out words are the real diary entry. The second half was a lot harder. I eventually figured out it was a Base64 encryption. Here is a fully decoded version.

Diary of the Lunar Princess: entry 36500

Today is the hundredth anniversary of my banishment. A hundred years, trapped on my moon. I know I should be angry or mad, but I'm not. I'm sad, so very sad. I've spent this time watching our ponies grow, and it saddens me. They almost lost the chance to become something better, simply because I wanted power and authority. Tia, I know you've spent these past years blaming yourself for my descent into Nightmare Moon. I wish I could talk to you, tell you how sorry I am. That it was not your fault. There may or may not have been things you could have done to help me. That doesn't change the fact that I chose my fate. I chose to let my bitterness and jealousy grow. I chose to use forbidden magic to increase my power. I chose to ignore my morals and kill thousands of innocent ponies. You are not to blame for anything I did. I am solely responsible for my actions. I can and will bear the burden of my guilt for all eternity. I would like to thank you, sister. When you banished me, you not only saved our ponies, you saved me from a fate worse than death. In a nine-hundred years, I will return a wiser and happier pony. I must cease writing now, I have a meteor shower to prepare. I send one stone to earth for each pony I hurt. It assures I can never forget why I'm here, nor what I've done. I hope to see you soon, sister. I miss you so much.

There is one thing I don't understand. If Luna viewed her actions as morally wrong, why did she come back to Equuis as Nightmare Moon? What happen up there? Maybe later entries will tell me.

Your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle

Twilight gave Spike her finished letter. "Please send this to Princess Celestia. I made a break-through on the Lunar Diaries."

Spike sent the letter. Almost immediately, he belched a small scrap of paper. "Twilight! You got a reply."

Twilight rushed over. "Already? That was very fast, even for Cel—"

Twilight Sparkle, start running. She is coming to kill you, just as she tried to erase and kill me. Meet me at our spot. Hurry. Luna.

Twilight stared at the letter for a few seconds. A faint whistling broke the silence. She dropped the scroll and ran towards her balcony. She jumped off onto the ground and started running. An explosion knocked her flying forwards. Getting back to her hooves, Twilight looked behind her. The library was a flaming wreck.

"Twilight Sparkle, do not run from me!" Celestia's voice thundered across the silent town. "Surrender and I will be merciful. You cannot escape the sun!"

Twilight started running again weaving through alleyways and jumping over fences. Behind her, building after building blew up, showering the town with burning chunks of wood. Ponies were running around, screaming. "Get to the Everfree Forest!" she shouted to the ponies nearest to her. The group ran to the edge of the residential area, stopping at the field that stretched between them and the forest. "Unicorns, cast shield spells or pick up piles of debris. We need to get to the forest without being cooked by whatever's up there." The unicorns complied. Soon the group was protected by a dome of garbage and magic. They took off across the field.

"Foolish ponies! You think you can outrun me?" Fireball after fireball hit the dome, obliterating the debris and pushing the magic to its limit. Unicorns passed out, pegasi were hit with cross gusts and earth ponies triped on rubble. As the shield shattered, the remainder of the group made it to the forest.

"Scatter!" Twilight and the rest of the group broke apart and ran deeper into the forest. She soon lost sight of the rest of the ponies. After a good twenty minutes of running, Twilight slowed down to a light trot. "Why would Celestia attack like that? She destroyed half the town. I really hope nopony was killed." Twilight continued along the moonlit trail, musing over the events of the last few days. Her train of thought was interrupted as she walked into something hard.

"Nopony was killed, but many were injured. Celestia wanted to incapacitate you and destroy any notes you had. It is very good you ran when you did. I do not know if I would have been abled to protect both you and your papers." Luna looked at the scared unicorn cowering before her. "My dear Twilight, I will not harm you."

Twilight jumped up and hugged Luna, sobbing quietly. "Why is this happening to me? All I wanted to do was learn new things. Now I'm fighting monsters and evil rulers every other week," she whispered. "I just want to relax and read a book."

Luna held her for a moment. "I understand. You will have time to mourn your loss of innocence later. For now, we must get to safety." Luna extracted herself from Twilight's grip and nudged her along the path.

Twilight took a deep breath, and started walking beside Luna. "What do we do now? And where are we going?"

"Now, we plan our rebellion. I have gathered numerous allies over the centuries. We need to be smart about our attacks. Being captured is worse than death. We are going to my old castle."

Twilight stopped walking. "How did you find me? In fact, how can either of you know what ponies do so fast? It's crazy for her to have read that long letter then teleport to Ponyville that fast. It's physically impossible for you to even know what was written in that letter."

Luna looked back at Twilight. "Have you forgot my power source? Anywhere the moon touches, I can see. I watched you write that report. As for Celestia, you do not think she has a spell that allows her to read paperwork at the speed of light? She handled the paperwork of all of Equestria and the surrounding lands for a thousand years, alone. I'm sure that you have many questions. I will try to answer them better at HQ, since we're almost there."

Twilight grumbled and trotted to catch up with Luna.

The Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters had been renovated. It looked more like a fortress than a palace. The ravine had been extended to circle the entire castle. All vegetation had been cleared away and trenches were dug. Large earth ponies patrolled the perimeter while pegasi and bat-ponies flew overhead. Inside the walls, various tents were set up. Twilight saw a blacksmith, a hospital, a mess, an armory and others she had no names for. Hundreds of creatures rushed from place to place. There were ponies of all three tribes, bat-ponies, dragons, griffins, minotaurs, timberwolves and even changeling.

Luna was heading straight for the Castle doors. "We set up our war room inside, for added protection. My generals are waiting for us." Twilight followed her inside.

Several ponies were crowded around a low table, arguing loudly. A large bat-pony noticed Luna's entry. "Gerneral on deck! Room!" All personnelle in the room turned to face Luna and saluted.

"At easy, comrades. Celestia has mobilized her troops. They will be here by morning. Silver Spike, Fiery Tail, get companies Alpha through Golf ready for battle."

"We have no time for them. We must decide on a course of act—" A loud explosion sounds through the cavern. Luna spun towards the entrance. "84756, 210043, 645244, 730250, 74. Remember and run. Don't let her catch you."

Several Night Guards ran into the cavern. "She's here! We need to go now, tele—"

A flash of light blinded Twilight. When her eyes re-adjusted to the dark cave, she gasped. Celestia stood over the bodies of the soldiers, grinning from ear to ear. "Hello, sister. I just saved these ponies. Why don't you let me save save Twilight too? I'm sure she would thank you after. You don't want her to die, right?"

So Everypony Sees in Black and White

Luna jumped in front of Twilight. "This has gone on too long, sister. You cannot keep wiping ponies minds when they find out something they shouldn't have. You have had free reign for long enough. It ends now!"

Celestia laughed. "Silly, silly Lulu. Wiping minds only works for a few years at best. When they remember again, I kill them. Just as I will kill you. Take comfort in the fact that Twilight will be happy during her final few years of life, living in my castle as a servant. Mindlessly obeying my every word."

Luna screamed as flames engulfed her. Twilight felt magic flood her body as everything went black.

Twilight woke up in a dark library, shivering and in pain. Scattered around her were the Lunar Diaries, her notes and a sealed scroll. She opened the scroll.

If you reading this, then something has happened to me. You are in the Moon Library, in my Lunar Palace. You will be safe there. Read the entries and make a plan. Don't any risks that would prevent you from attempting something else. If you get caught, you're dead. Use any resources you require.

Twilight gathered up the Diaries. "Well, let's get started."

Twilight stood in front of a bare portion of the library wall. "The Luna vault should be here. Where did I put the pass code? Aha! Movus nottus Tiaus largus buttus duetus eatus muchus cakus andus desertus!" The wall slowly disappeared. Inside the vault, there was countless scrolls, weaponry and gem-bound spells. At the back, a large banner hung on the wall. The crest was Two rapiers crossed under a full moon. "Wow! She has enough weaponry to outfit several armies worth of Battle Mages! Why didn't see just team up with any of Equestria's enemies, instead of depending on me? She must trust me a whole lot." Twilight made her way to the section marked 'Moon spell' and started her research.

"Yes! I assembled the spell properly! It only took me forty-two tries." Twilight held the orb up to a torch. The light was sucked into the orb, leaving cold black flames frozen on the wood. "Celestia won't stand a chance against this. I hope I won't have to use it."

Twilight stared at the blank page before her. "I can't believe what Celestia did. I looked up to her, I considered her my second mother." A few tears fell to the paper. Twilight took a deep breath and started writing.

Twilight Journal; Entry 1

I am writing this journal to keep track of my thoughts and the current events. It is my hope that if I should fait, somepony else will be abled to continue my work. Celestia, the current Alicorn of the Day has either gone insane or is evil; possibly both. In order to protect 'her ponies', she is brainwashing and killing anyone who doesn't believe she is the epitome of goodness. She even attacked her own sister, setting her on fire.

Twilight choked back a sob as she stared at the paper. "Oh Luna. Why didn't you just run? I'm just a unicorn, not much I can do against an Alicorn," Twilight whispered. She got up and stretched her stiff muscles. It was much colder in the Lunar Palace than she was use to in her own house. Luna has used her magic to send Twilight to the one place Celestia could not follow; the moon. She picked up a few papers that had fallen off the obsidian desk and sat back down.

Events leading up to possible regicide:

July 16th; received The Lunar Diaries from Luna.
July 20th; decoded first entry.
July 21st; sent report to Celestia, summoned by Luna. Luna assaulted by Celestia. Twilight Sparkle sent to moon.
July 23rd; decoded entries specified by Luna.
July 28th; completed Moon spell.
July 29th; started The Twilight Journals.

What I found the decoded diary entries was horrifying. Celestia is not the benevolent ruler we thought she was. In actuality, she's a power-crazed dictator. Here are the Diary entries Luna instructed me to decode.

Entry 84756
My sister has done the strangest thing today. About 50 years ago, my sister outlawed talking about me. Now, she changed the school curriculum to teach a different version of our war. An evil entity known as Nightmare Moon descended from the moon to plunge the world into eternal darkness. She masqueraded herself as Celestia's long lost sister, then attacked once She was trusted. I do not know what she is trying to do, perhaps assure that when I return I won't be held accountable for my actions? I will wait and see how this plays out.

Entry 210043
I cannot believe it! She has successfully erased all mention of me from history. The only place I exist is in her personal notes and books. I truly hope I am wrong about what she's doing. If I am not, then I will have the fight of my life when I return. I am very glad I have perfected all my battle spells.

Entry 645244
I entered my Sister's dreams tonight. She dreamed about how she convinced our subjects to ignore me. She was the reason I was ignored. She caused my pain and sorrow. She wanted me to rebel! She wanted all the power to herself! I will never forgive her. She thought I was powerful before? I was holding back. Unlike her, I did not want to kill her her, only get some attention for once. Now, she will face the full power of the moon. She will beg me to end her suffering. Celestia will spend eternity as one with the universe. I will forcibly dissipate her essence across time and space.

Entry 730250
In a few hours I will be freed. I will return to Equuis as Nightmare Moon and use the Mind spell. It will buy me a few years to befriend these new Bearers. I will stop you, sister. I will free my subjects from your tyranny! I have known for a millennia that the Moon spell requires Magic itself to cast it. Now, you have handed her to me. Your destruction will be at your student's hand. Oh, the irony! You are the self-proclaimed defender of Harmony, and a Bearer of Harmony will kill you. Sweet dreams sister, for the Nightmare is coming.

Entry 74
Of course! Now I perfect my Mind spell. Too late for it to matter. I'm trapped on my own moon. I was stronger than her, so she used the Elements. We swore to never them on each other! Even if one of us turned evil. I'm not evil, am I? All I wanted was for ponies to look up and say "What a beautiful sky tonight! Luna works so hard, thank you, Luna." All I wanted was to be respected. To be loved. Is that so much to ask for? To be loved! But no, you took all the credit. You brushed my concerns about being feared and ignored off. Look where it got us! Separated for a thousand years. Why...

The Mind spell: will implant absolute trust for you in the target’s mind. Will wear off at a rate equal to their magical prowess.
The Moon spell: will convert a being whose power source is some sort of light, into distilled moonlight. If target is not on moon or near a moonstone, essence will dissipate forever. Instructions for casting in vault £|_|||@

Over the course of Luna's banishment, Celestia removed all traces of her existence. She also prepared to kill Luna the second she was released. I see no other option than to use the Moon spell on Celestia. She has murdered an untold number of innocent creatures. As the leader of the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony, it is my duty to bring Celestia to justice. I will assemble a force strong enough to take Canterlot. Before attacking, will of course give her the chance to surrender. There are spells that can bind even the magic of an Alicorn. If she refuses, I will have no choice but to use the Moon spell and trap her essence in a moonstone. I really hope I succeed. If I don't, I'm dead, or worse; a mindless servant.

End of entry

Twilight sealed the journal with magic, and picked up two short swords. "I'm coming for you, Celestia. It's time I taught you the error of your ways." Twilight charged up her magic and released the teleportation spell, picturing the Badlands. She opened her eyes to the library. "Why didn't I end up in the badlands? This is an easy spell, on Equuis." Twilight threw her swords at the wall. Only Alicorns could move between planetary objects. She sat down and looked at the ground. A book was laying open to a chapter named: How to Become an Alicorn. She picked up the book and started reading.

The spell to change unicorns into true Alicorns was remarkably easy. Inscribe runes inside a magical circle, say the the spell and voila! A new Alicorn. "Why haven't more ponies done this? It's so simple. Although it has an expiration, you can cast it as many times as you want." Twilight stepped into the circle and recited the ancient words. A flash of light blinded her momentarily. When she could see again, she had two beautiful purple wings. She dropped the book and teleported to Equuis.

A small piece of paper fell out of the book.

Caution. While transformed by this spell, do not use the Moon spell on a target who is under a gem-bound long term Mind spell. Backlash from all three spells will propel caster to nearest celestial body for no less than one millennium.