//------------------------------//
// The Era of Shame and the Vigil’s End (1000 V) 
// Story: The Vigil 
// by Visiden Visidane 
//------------------------------//

A dark blue light enveloped the mighty gates of Mount Nocturnal, prying them open in a display of magical might not seen among the thestrals for decades. The stone mechanisms, disused for more than a century, juddered and groaned. With one more push, they flew open. The strain proved too much for the right gate. Its hinges cracked, then broke, sending enormous panels of ancient wood to the floor with a thunderous crash. Dust and pulverised wood flew out in thick clouds, diffusing the first rays of sunlight that flooded into the city for centuries.

Princess Luna flew out of the clouds, her face covered by dust and her increasing anxiety. Only silence greeted her entrance to the city after that crash, silence so deafening that she almost regretted coming here at all.

The city of Mount Nocturnal presented a beautiful silhouette to the fresh source of light now pouring in: tall spires of obsidian and crystal gilded by silver, a towering palace at the center with a plaza shaped like a crescent moon in front of it, shrines both great and small, each topped by a moon in a different phase, and a massive temple-like building by the northern side of the cavern. Gone were the days of multiple smaller caves connected by passageways that Luna remembered. This was a glorious nation, built by a stalwart race that was proud of its culture.

At least, it was.

The streets were empty and the buildings were abandoned. A closer look showed the cracks and disrepair, natural symptoms of a lack of care. Princess Luna drew her wings closer to her as she settled for a walk. The air was still and heavy, unnaturally chilly even for a place far from the sun’s light.

“Hello!” Princess Luna called out. “Is anypony here?”

Luna heard and read about the most recent events involving Mount Nocturnal in preparation for her arrival. After the Night Queen’s attack, the Thousand Suns reported a great flash of magic from the mountain. Shortly after, the gates closed. Never to open again until now. Messengers were sent and scouts were deployed. They reported a frightful cold within the mountain and a pervasive darkness, likely the work of the Night Queen. Messengers returned with word from the battered and broken thestrals that Equestria need not fear them anymore. They were wrong for electing for themselves a queen. They had closed their gates and would quietly wait for either their princess or their demise. From then on, the thestrals never again made their presence widely known anywhere. On very rare occasions, one might spy a small group of them out foraging or discreetly trading, always with shame and resignation on their faces.

At this, Luna had rushed to Mount Nocturnal. She had wronged her most loyal followers so terribly and all she could think of was kneeling before what was left of them and begging for forgiveness.

“Anypony!” she called out again. “Anyone at all...”

A faint series of hoof steps and a the flutter of leathery wings answered her desperate call. Elated, Luna looked ahead. A small group of thestrals had gathered before her. Luna’s heart ached at the sight, out of joy for finding even a small group of those who survived her folly, and out of sorrow at the sight of so few.

They could not have been more than four or five families, by the look of them. Barely the population of a miserable hamlet nestled in the ruins of such a mighty nation. They were a precious glowing cinder in the ashes of this bonfire, one that had flared up and died in her absence.

One of them walked forward, a stallion so ancient that he could barely stagger a few steps. “At long last,” he said in a voice so soft that Luna strained to hear. “Our Princess has returned as was promised to us. Your Highness, I am Onyx Guard, last of my line. Blessed are we who stayed vigilant to the end.”

With that he went to his knees and bowed his head until it touched the ground.

“No!” Luna said, startled. “Please rise, it is I who—!”

Luna placed her hooves on the old stallions shoulders, eyes widening as she realized what happened. Onyx Guard stayed where he was, perfectly still as if still in attendance. The rest of the thestrals bowed as their old city echoed with the Princess of the Night’s weeping.