Goddess Luna

## General

No matter what name you know her as, — Sel Lunh, Laluhn, Death, the Demon Lord — Luna's influence will reach you. Receive it with comfort or fear, it shall come. Worshipped by the opportunistic, the humble, and the resilient, Luna's role as the Goddess of survival is far beyond solidified. Devotion to her is at its best in Eastern Equestria, no more so than the Moon Pony Ministry.

### Appearance

A dark veil of black clouds surrounds Luna like a mane, suffocating and untouchable by her elder sister's light. Her grey coat is marked with black bands, some mimicking gills, others resembling a ribcage. Her large leathery wings blot out the sky when outstretched, said to sound of rolling thunder when flapped. Her large ears point to the sky, hearing all manner of secrets shared amongst those within Equestria. A crescent curved horn sits at the center of her skull, the black color bleeding down her muzzle. Her red eyes remain always watching, keen and unavoidable.

### Values

As previously mentioned, Luna is the Goddess of survival. Many of her stories center self preservation and opportunism. Risk assessment and adaptability are two key virtues for a model Luna worshipper, being smart will almost always trump being successful. That being said, if you pass up a wonderful opportunity that had little risk, you are likely to be reprimanded for it. What opportunities warrant what risk changes everywhere you go within Equestria, each society has its own takes after all.

### Imagery

The moon and her phases all have their homes in the centerpiece of Lunar artwork. Most often paired with dappled starscapes and thick black clouds, the night and gloomy storms are a common feature in religious paraphernalia. Precipitation, from snowfall to raindrops, is another symbol of the Goddess of the night. Dimly lit candles, crashing of ocean waves, and a whistling wind all find homes in her depictions. Animals that represent her most often are bats, moths, bears, and manticores.

## Stories and Myths

### Overview

The events described below are both a mix of historical and religious fabrication. For Luna worshippers, this is the way of the world and how it came to be. While those stories vary, their facts ever contradicting, wit will guide you to the truth.

### Demon Banishment

When faced with something as absolute as a demon, survival is uncertain, even in favorable terms. Equestria and the creatures within it had not known hunger yet, especially not to the extent a demon does, did, and will. They knew only peace and existence in a dazed bliss until they learned terror and grief at the wills of the demons. Driven away by magic, barred from entering Equestria by her sister, the demons picked off every stray pony they could get in their grasp. To rectify this, Luna instilled a hunger in the ponies, letting them empathize with what they previously could not. She told warnings of what would happen if they inched too close to the border and, with new understanding, they heeded them. And that could be enough.

### Floating Isle Origin and Divine War

The story of the floating islands and their origin is vastly different from how it's told in Celestial myths. While one is a war story, this tells a calmer tale. Luna raised the land in the heart of her followers' homeland and made it a safe haven for those truest to her ways. On the island they would never have to hurt for food or shelter. They could live pampered in this paradise, a reward for surviving well. Celestia saw this as a tactical move against her, an ember that would ignite into a divine war. So she did just the same. But instead of a paradise, she raised an island to host and train an army. The army in question proceeded to attempt an attack against Luna's beloved followers.

### Birth of Rain

Rain is said to be born out of Luna's love of independence as it hurt to watch ponies rely on the tyrant Celestia for plentiful harvests. She wanted the ponies to be fully free and to be able to live on their own. She opened the sky and let the water bless the fields and nourish the plants below. Ponies started taking care of themselves and not call on Celestia when they needed food. Celestia naturally saw this as a personal attack on her divinity and retaliated by gifting the ability to create scorching flame on a whim to her followers, hoping the bright lights piercing her dark night would bother her sister. Instead, Luna taught the ponies how to use the flames to their benefit rather than to blind and harm.

## Afterlife

### Respite

Luna's afterlife is a land shrouded in endless winter. Though the snow seems to be building to a storm, those who find themselves here are warm and comfortable. The cold no longer threatens them and they are content with the refreshing breeze that whips across the grand expanse they now call home. They sit beneath an endless starscape, each snowflake and star a memory, either of their own or someone they held dear. Luna's faithful stay in Respite until stories of who they were in life stop being told, though writings are vague on where they end up afterwards. The living say their loved ones are in the snowflakes during winter and the stars of Luna's dark firmament, they call the deceased 'Startrails' in the same manner ghost or angel may be used. Many stories describe the stars and snow to be one in the same, and many more claim that the individual stars that sit closest to the horizon are the souls of their loved ones.

## Holidays

### Winter Solstice

The beginning of the Lunar year is a big event and arguably the biggest holiday the followers of Luna celebrate. They host large parties with hundreds of other ponies. What happens during these parties is typically up to the hosts but one thing is always present, moon iconography. More festive ponies will hang lanterns from their ceiling depicting the moon, her phases, and many stars. There will often be tapestries and outfits made in honor of the new years beginning. Cities with a large nightlife often thrive during this time, pulling an all nighter is tradition during the Solstice.

### Hearth’s Warming Eve

In the heart of winter, Luna worshippers get together and celebrate their families that helped them get through the winter. This is a popular holiday but extremely family focused to the point there are rarely decorations in public spaces outside of bigger cities like the Batpony capital. Families will get together and, as tradition tells, share stories. The eldest go first and the next is the second eldest, it continues like that until the youngest in the party, if old enough to speak, will tell a story. These stories are usually from personal experience but sometimes the older ponies share myths and religious tales to mystify the younger family members.

### Day of Silence

While the ponies who follow the sun's light celebrate the longest day of the year, those who follow Luna fall silent for a day. They do this to lend solidarity to Luna in her grief. The bigger cities that worship Luna ask tourists to participate or at least respect others' wishes not to speak. Those with vocal tics who can't help but break the silence are exempt from judgment if they speak during the Vow of Silence.

### Midsummer's Fast

During summer, most ponies find themselves relatively wealthy in terms of food. Since Luna has survivalist views, plentiful food is not something to be taken advantage of. To show that they could handle a sudden famine or lack of food, they fast for a full day, from moonrise to moonrise. Those who can't or shouldn't survive under those conditions are considered and allowed to eat. Luna would never force harm upon her beloved subjects.

## Followers

* Moon ponies
* Batponies
* Moth ponies
* Deer
* Rams
* Somnia
* Icarids
* Seaponies
* Unicorns