This story is a sequel to Light's Rising, Shadow's Fall
Years ago, after the fall of Discord, Luna had done all she could to preserve the happiness of the foals who were left homeless and parent-less. This is the story of how the Light of Equus itself preserved her kingdom after her fall to her Nightmare, and how the Princess of Shadows, Darkness, and Light came to be.*^
This story is based on the song and video Children of the Night from YouTube. All rights of both the song and the video belong to their respective owners. My Little Pony and its respective characters are owned by Hasbro; this story is written in accordance to all free speech laws.
*Dark tag is added for future chapters, as there are some dark themes involved in later chapters of the story.
^For those of you that are interested in being a pre-reader, PM me here on fimfiction for my unpublished view password. You can also search for each chapter in Gdocs; keep in mind that you will have to puzzle out things like italics and underlining, as I use the tags that fimfiction uses for font editing. Yes, I know, that's what copy/paste is for, but I'm lazy. I'd rather just upload the Gdoc and be done with it; less work that way.
Edit, August 26th, 2016: As of the newest chapter, the Incomplete tag has been reinstated. Also, the Gore tag has been added due to graphic scenes. Seriously folks, I had no plan in adding that tag, but you know muses; they're like women in that they can always change their minds.
*Slap!*
Ow! Grumble...
I like how they abolished some powers that they once welded. I wonder what Luna is up to.
Yeah, she's being sneaky, isn't she?
The plot is moving on very nicely, good job! I like how you came up with some history for some characters- Sombra, Luna and so forth on!
6044116
Well thank you. Expect more with Sombra; he's not quite finished yet. Though for details, you're prolly gonna have to wait for the companion/prequel fic, once I get the first chapter done.
Maybe you will fill in some of the story but at the moment it feels disjointed. Your first 2 chapters in the past then we pick up with Rainbow Dash and Twilight traveling in the Crystal empire. Why are they there what has happened before
6087294
It seems that way only because I have yet to write the chapter that links the two time periods. Don't blame me, I'm really not the one that's in control here, as I'm writing the story as it comes to me. Normally, I plan my writing out, rather than write organically.
6087323 I shall await that chapter it might help people like the story better to understand what it going on
6087820
Not that there is much planning, but that chapter is currently in the planning stages now. I'm something of an inconsistent writer, and only write when the mood hits. Not only that, I've been an avid reader for most of my life, and I've been branching out. (Honestly, I've read more vampire-based fiction in the last few months than I have in the last couple of decades).
Excellent chapter. The reactions to Rainbows ascension were handled very well, as were the reactions to what she did to those Crystal Ponies serving The Lord of Darkness. I'm not sure I can say I enjoyed Twilight reading Applejack the riot act, although I can kinda understand it at the same time.
Anyways, looking forward to the next chapter, and the other Princesses reactions to the newest Alicorn. Until next time!
6285662
That scene came out of left field for me. Seriously, I had no intention of even writing anything like that. Worse, I used poor AJ as a punching bag. Even if it's honestly something I could see AJ really doing.
I guess it likely came about because I needed some way to show the downside to Harmony, as Twilight told her. Honesty is all well and good, but there is such a thing as being too honest.
In any case, thanks for the comment. About time I start getting some of those.
Is there a free shareware version of Photoshop or something of the like? I'm needing cover art for this and Light's Rising, Shadow's Fall, the companion/prequel fic to this one.
I've tried cropping a picture from the PMV that inspired this fic, but it turned out to be crap.
HELP!
I caught the mistake in posting. Working on my next chapter, and I accidentally uploaded the Gdoc onto the wrong slot.
My bad.
Expect the next chapter sometime soon; I'm almost done with it.
Nice chapter, getting to know more of Nightingale and the others. Looking forward to when she and Luna meet up. Things are progressing very nicely, looking forward to the next chapter!
6327343
Yeah. New ponies keep popping up. Every time I think I have the ones I want set, another one jumps out.
Oh, a little tidbit here; if a pony doesn't get a name, it means that they're little more than cannon fodder. Usually anyway.
Thanks for the comment; precious few of those. I blame the fact that I have zero cover art; I really need some.
Well, if it means anything, I'm really enjoying your stories. Not just for the TwiDash.... although that's a big part of it, favorite ship and all... but because Rainbow Dash is my favorite character and love she's getting a big role.
6327609
Yeah, I love this ship. The odd thing about that though is that Twidash is my second favorite, though my first favorite ship when it comes to the Mane Six. My all-time favorite is Twiluna.
So you can likely guess my surprise when my muse hits me over the head with the idea to make my first major piece of fimfiction a Twidash story. I may try a Twiluna fluff piece down the line, or even a Luna/Dash (relatively rare, that one is).
Rainbow doesn't get much chance to shine, and that's a shame (best pony you know). I actually have a prequel/companion fic to this one that goes into greater detail about her transformation into an alicorn here. I should prolly mark it as a sequel, only it really isn't.
Yep, been reading both. I think right now the main thing I'm curious about is how the other Princesses will react to Rainbow being a Princess... and having a connection to Serenity. That's going to be VERY interesting... especially when they find out she was the one who did that to those Crystal Ponies.
6327698
Ah, yeah, that was going to be in this chapter actually, but Nightingale took center stage. The next few chapters will involve the princesses finding out, and leading into the events that will start the next phase of the journey.
I'm not really sure how the princesses will act, as you can never be to sure what Celestia does or doesn't know. I can give a little heads-up though; there's gonna be a few fight scenes for each princess. Even Cadance might get involved; she's like Shining in that she's really good with shields.
So is Twilight, for that matter. Shining is just the best when it comes to shielding; it's part of his talent after all.
Sorry for leaving you hanging on the confrontation. That was actually planned for this last chapter. Those plans didn't survive the cutting floor unfortunately.
Well, Twilight certainly let Celestia have it. First Applejack, now Celestia... Who will be Twilights next verbal victim? Another excellent chapter, until next time.
6363533
No one at present, as she got most of that off her chest in the other fic.
I initially didn't have such a scene planned, but I needed a reason for Celestia to be vulnerable to the Demon that was stalking her.
Also, a great deal of that is in response to the disconnect I feel concerning certain episodes. Magical Mystery Cure may be one of my favorites, but Twilight didn't even question becoming a princess?
Yeah, not likely; she's well old enough to realize that it's not all 'sunshine and rainbows'.
Short, but still packed with quite a bit of goodness. Learned quite a bit of things, including a bit more explanation as to Rainbows powers and we see Hope for the first time. Also enjoyed the 'pep talk' Rainbow gave Celestia. Until next time.
See, I know that children of the Night is ment to be peaceful... However Hocus Pocus is still one of my favorite halloween movies. So there is that little voice in the back of my head "What if luna used the children to gain power as Nightmare Moon?"
6463531
Not that kind of story I'm afraid, though you do have a point. That's something that will be addressed later on.
And I agree; that movie is actually pretty funny. I love how they actually used the concept of a 'virgin' in it, as it's always struck me as odd that virgins breaking curses and being sacrificed are always female.
Ah, so we finally get to see Rainbows Realm, sweet. Also enjoyed the banter that went on throughout the chapter, especially Rainbow balking at the coronation. Can't wait to see Nightingale involved. Until next time.
The celebrating begins!
6681800
Well, not quite. That will be the next chapter.
Though having the celebration was supposed to happen in this chapter.
It didn't because if it had, the chapter would have run snout-first into my only hard-and-fast rule; absolutely NO chapter is to ever go over twelve thousand words.
I know a rule like that is kinda stupid, but I have to have one like that. In case you haven't noticed, my writing tends to be more than a little wordy.
If I don't limit myself like that, I'll end up writing chapters that outpace the size of most fics. I'm sure that chapters twenty thousand or more words would turn off what few readers I've managed to acquire. And yes, if I was to really get going, I seriously could write a chapter that large.
Good plot, and you did clear up a few things, but... I'm still a bit lost. When did Rainbow almost bite it? What of the others?
Not to sound rude...but I thought this was about Luna's settlement? Or was that the Crystal Empire and I missed it?
I still love the story though.
Questions have been answered. All good.
Glad to hear this is not a Tyrant!lestia fic. I really can't stand those, mostly because there's little basis for them.
I like this. You have given Celestia a flaw common to all rulers, good or bad, that could easily make her a tyrant or a fool. She became a fool in this one, and was well on her way to tyrant before she got her wake-up call.
I also enjoyed the thought that each alicorn has their major flaw. Thanks for the seed of a headcannon! I'm a plant it and see if something will grow from it.
Awww... poor being of irredeemable evil!! Did the bad pony burn the scroll you worked so hard on?
From then on Twilight Sparkle's name was used in sentences like "He's such a little Sparkle!" "No duh, Twilight" "Great job, Sparkle" and so on.
7162011
You have to read the later chapters, but the settlement later becomes its own kingdom on Lune's surface.
Chapter five is when the details of the settlement Luna started become clearer. That's when my OC Nightingale is first introduced.
Thing is, a lot of what's referenced in this story is actually things that happened in Light's Rising, Shadow's Fall, which is the prequel to this fic. In that one, I detail Rainbow's journey towards becoming the Alicorn of Light.
I've done my best to make it so that people can read either this one or LRSF first, though I highly recommend you read the former. I'm not saying that just because I'm tooting my own horn; there's only so much I can reference from the other fic in this one without sounding like a broken record.
As to the Crystal Empire, I'll be going into more detail about how it was settled later on. It's not central to either story at the moment.
Interesting talk between Rainbow and Luna. Now, like you said, we see Luna start her journey... Shall be intriguing to see unfold. Until next time.
Not much to say here. Nice interaction between Rainbow and Luna, and of course Rainbow and Twilight. Until next time.
Vacation is in sight! How on earth will those nobles handle that?
7191041
At this point, they're going to complain no matter what Celestia and Luna do. Not that it'll make much of a difference, mind; most of the moneyed lot have less authority in Equestrian politics than Discord does.
So, Luna starts her move towards getting answers. Until next time.
7203198
Yep, things are moving apace now.
Narnia!!!!
7250219
Yes, but which book?
7250495 why, the Lion. the Witch, and the Wardrobe of course. And I agree by the way, working on both at the same time will only potentially spoil things that happened in the prequel and twist your arm to not making LRSF as interesting as it could be.
7250655
Yeah, that's perhaps the biggest issue I run into with these fics. I've been solving it by writing a few chapters in LRSF until I reach a certain point, then switch points. I'm kind of at that point now actually.
By the way, what tipped it off? Was it the coats, or was it the fact that it was an apple-wood wardrobe?
7250810 both. I watched the original movie, which was way closer to the actual book. Plus, Luna's dialogue mimics Lucy's dialogue when she first went through the wardrobe. And in Prince Caspian, they were sucked through via train not the wardrobe.
7251072
Yep. the wardrobe was actually made from the apple Digory used to heal his mother. They stopped after Voyage of the Dawn Treader with the movies.
Hmm, I wasn't aware that I matched the dialogue. I do love the Narnia books though.
So Luna and Nightingale meet again... Too bad there's not time for a happy reunion, with The Dark One plotting.
7267218
That's all he ever does; plots to fix plots that fell through because the plots before failed.
In other words, he doesn't have much of a life outside of plots; he should just give up making plots and go chase a few
Hmm, I wonder if anybody caught the other reference I sneaked into this chapter.
It passed by me actually, which is bloody strange. If you all know popular games involving costumed heroes, you'll likely catch it.
Idk, Silent Bell sounds pretty cool get a picture of an old church bell alone in some forgotten countryside, swaying in the night.
Or a cat that slinks around corridors, the only give away being the light reflected off the bell at their neck.
Or simply an ornate hand bell that sits and is never rung, simply being a testament to beauty.