//------------------------------//
// Episode 5: Children Of The Night 
// Story: My Little Pony: Twilight's Reign 
// by MattTOB 
//------------------------------//

Twilight yawned, a long day of meetings finally over. "Well, only one thing left to do now," she muttered to herself.

Her hoofsteps echoed as she walked down the hallway to her Master Bedroom (formerly Luna's). Pushing open the tall double-doors, she entered the lavishly decorated room. As she walked across the room to the balcony doors, her magic reached into a drawer, pulling out the special device that allowed her to control the sun and moon. She stepped onto the balcony and turned the mechanism, and the sun set, the moon rising to take its place.

Yawning once more, Twilight turned back to the door, but stopped suddenly.

She could've sworn she saw movement inside her room.

"Hello? Is somepony, or some-creature, there?" she called out apprehensively, not really expecting an answer.

To her surprise, the top half of a head poked out from behind her bed. It was a young colt's head, basalt-grey fur complimenting a short silver mane. His two cherry-red eyes stared back at her with naïve curiosity, as well as the fear of having been discovered. In addition, Twilight couldn't help but note that his ears were extra fluffy, and his pupils were somewhat slit-shaped, but other than that, he was an ordinary colt.

Twilight internally breathed a sigh of relief, assured that she wasn't being snuck up on by a threat. She set the device down on the end table, then cooed in her most friendly voice, "Hello, little colt. What're you doing in my room?"

The colt stared at her for a moment before replying, with a voice that reminded her of Rumble, "Mother said I'm not really supposed to talk to strangers..."

"I'm not gonna hurt you, little guy," she reassured, stepping a little bit closer to the bed. "I just wanna know why you're in my room."

The colt closed his eyes and breathed, as though mustering up the courage to speak up, before finally saying, "I got curious, that's all."

"Oh?" Twilight stifled a chuckle. She knew how curious young ponies could be, remembering the CMC's and even herself as examples. "I can relate. What's your name?"

"C-Coleridge," he stuttered.

"What a lovely name, Coleridge. May I call you Cole?"

Cole nodded.

"Wonderful. I'm Twilight Sparkle, current reigning Princess of Equestria. Now that we're no longer strangers, could you please come out of your hiding place?"

The colt stared unmovingly at her for a moment, likely out of how intimidated he was.

"I promise you're not in trouble. I just wanna see you."

Another moment passed in silence, before Cole muttered "Okay," and obliged, stepping around the foot of the bed.

And what Twilight saw when he did surprised her immensely.

Cole was no ordinary pony. Where pegasus wings should've been, there were instead two leathery bat wings; his mouth held two small fangs; and his Cutie Mark was a crescent moon with a cat resting on the interior ridge.



Twilight had only ever seen ponies like this twice before: once, on the first Nightmare Night since Luna's return (they pulled her chariot); and another time, in the Nightmare Moon-centric alternate timeline she visited while fighting Starlight Glimmer (though that example was questionable, considering that Rainbow Dash was one of them in that instance).

"Wha..." Twilight managed to say, floored by the sight.

Cole embarrassedly stepped back, glancing at his wings with what seemed to be resentment. "I know, I know. That's why Mother didn't want me to–"

"You're a thestral!" Twilight cheered. "That's amazing; I've wanted to meet one for so long!"

The colt confusedly stood up straight. "Wait, you're not screaming in terror?"

"Of course not! Why would I be scared?"

"Mother said that we weren't supposed to reveal ourselves again, after what happened last time..."

Twilight winced. "You're talking about the first Nightmare Night after Luna came back, aren't you?"

Cole nodded, then further explained: "Ponies fled in terror at the sight of us and Mother. Mother said to hide ourselves until the time was right, but that time never came."

Sorrow stung at Twilight's heart. "That's awful...," she sympathized, reaching out to pick up the colt and hold him in a comforting hug.

Then Twilight's eyes widened. "Wait a second, who's your 'Mother'?"

Cole looked up at her, clearing his throat before reciting proudly, "She is the former Matriarch of the Night, the Starry-eyed Dreamwalker, She Who Was Banished For A Millennium, and Mother To The Thestrals. Though you may know her as Princess Luna Artemis."

Twilight's mouth hung agape. "What!?"





THEME

♪My Little Pony, My Little Pony
This is non-canon!

(My Little Pony)
Until you all shared its magic with me!

Friendship is my forté, I know just what to do
Hard work and sacrifice, be honest through and through
Have fun with all my friends, and laugh and dance and sing!
I'll be kind to every creature, and just most anything
Gotta go faster, faster, faster faster—
(Rainbow Dash!)
(...sorry)
Generosity's always in season, and I'm always the master
Loyal to my family, I know she can't be beat
I don't need a spell to guide the way, it's such an easy feat!

With us, the journey never ends
You are my very best friends!♪





Twilight could barely believe what she was hearing. "Wait, back up a second. Are you saying that you're the son of Princess Luna??"

Cole shook his head and clarified, "Only in spirit. In a sense, all thestrals are children of Mother Luna. 'She created the first of our ancestors from the wayward souls of sinners, offering them a chance at redemption, and for that, we call her Mother'. At least, that's what we're taught in school."

Twilight could hardly breathe. "I can't believe it; I thought I knew everything about Luna, and yet, here you are! I have SO many questions!" She began prancing in place as she used her magic to grab a notebook and quill from her bedside drawer.

Cole apprehensively stepped back. "I'm not exactly the most suited pony for that..."

Twilight blinked. "Oh, right; you're just a colt, after all... So, are there more of you that I can interview?"

The colt nodded eagerly. "Y-yeah! Lemme show you to our realm!"

"Your... Okay?" Twilight wasn't sure if she'd heard that right, but she went along with it regardless.

She tried to approach the door, but Cole blocked her. "Where are ya going?"

"Well, we've gotta leave my room if we want to see your realm..."

Cole chuckled. "No we don't, silly! The path is right there!" He pointed off at an empty corner of the room. "Well, it's only one of them, but that's the closest one!"

Twilight looked at him, then the wall, then him again, and replied as intelligently as she could.

"Huh?"

Cole positioned himself so he was facing directly into the corner, and scooted Twilight to stand right next to him. "Now, we look into the corner of the room, and cross our eyes!"

Twilight looked at Cole as though he were insane. The little colt crossed his eyes, and began walking towards the corner.

But instead of hitting the wall, he rapidly seemed to go out of focus, disappearing entirely before he even reached it. Twilight blinked, barely able to comprehend what she'd just seen.

"Come on," Cole's voice came from the area he'd disappeared into, "just cross your eyes and walk forward!"

Twilight, seeing no other options, complied.

What happened next nearly blew her mind.

When she crossed her eyes, as the afterimages of the wall separated, a tunnel seemingly opened in between them, Cole waiting patiently on the other side. She gasped, only having read about this kind of magic in theory. Cole beckoned her forward, and she obliged almost automatically, stepping beyond the imaginary threshold.

Blinking, Twilight uncrossed her eyes and looked at her new surroundings.

She was in a dark blue tunnel, dark stone pillars bracing the walls every thirty or so feet. Wall sconces holding magical fires hung between each pillar, casting an eerie blue glow onto the room, and tapestries depicting night skies hung from the rafters high above them. A long, purple carpet hemmed with gold thread stretched down the hall, ending at a set of black double-doors with silver handles and hinges. Behind Twilight was an outcropping of two small walls, angled to resemble the corner she'd stepped through to get here, and no doubt serving as the exit — there was even a control panel next to it, so one could select a destination.

All in all, this place seemed to serve as a sort of entrance hall.

Twilight marvelled at the architecture for a moment before realizing that Cole was already heading down the corridor. She quickly galloped to catch up, then fell into a slow walk behind him, the carpet muffling their hoofsteps.

Cole reached the doors, peered through the crack between them, then gave Twilight a 'quiet' gesture. The door barely made a sound as he slowly opened it, and they tiptoed through.

Twilight could barely silence a gasp.

They were on the second floor of a much larger room. It largely followed the same architectural design, except Instead of rafters with tapestries, there was an immense silver dome with murals depicting Nightmare Moon and the bat-ponies. At the center of that dome hung a large crystalline chandelier adorned with luminescent crystals shaped like stars. All along the walls, there were several more doors just like the one they'd entered through, and the balcony they were on wrapped around the entire room.

But what REALLY caught Twilight's attention was the ground floor. Hundreds, if not thousands, of bat-ponies bustled around between market stalls that peppered the room. The sight reminded Twilight of the Ponyville Marketplace during Hearth's Warming Season, and she had to clasp her hoof over her mouth to stop from gawking at it.

"You... You live here?!" Twilight looked at Cole, flabbergasted.

"All of us do," he nodded in reply. "This place is called Sanctorum Tenebris, which means–"

" 'Dark Hallows' in Old Ponish, I know." Twilight stated numbly. "It's amazing..."

They sat there for a good while, Twilight marvelling at the sight, and Cole scanning the crowd for somebody.

"Coleridge the Curious, THERE YOU ARE!" A shrill voice suddenly shouted from behind them, making them both tense up (albeit for different reasons). They turned slowly, where they spotted a female thestral staring at them with both anger and disbelief. Her fur was a VERY pale mulberry color; her hair was slate grey, the mane tied up in a bun; her deep crimson eyes stared at them both judgingly; and she wore blue-and-silver armor that covered most of her body, including her Cutie Mark.

"Mom!" Cole winced, and Twilight silently gaped. "I was–"

"You snuck out without my permission, didn't you?" she interrupted disapprovingly, marching over to her son, "And after I expressly told you NOT to!"

"Mom, I–I–" Cole was starting to lock up in fear.

"I was worried sick for you! Do you have ANY idea what I would've done if I hadn't found you?! And who exactly is–"

The mare stopped dead in her tracks as she was now close enough to recognize the Princess of Friendship. She gaped for a moment, like a fish out of water, then stuttered, "Wh-wha – The P-Princess?"

Twilight nervously waved her hoof and greeted, "Hi."

The thestral turned back to her son. "Y-you... Wha...?"

Cole gave a guilty grimace. "I may have messed up a tiny bit..."

Then his mother fainted.





Twilight now sat just outside the double-doors to the thestrals' "City Hall" of sorts. Behind the large doors, she could faintly hear a dozen voices arguing, presumably over the predicament they now found themselves in.

After Cole's mother (who Twilight later learned was named Nightberry) recovered, she'd sent Cole home, and had Twilight follow her to where she was now. Along the way, Twilight had told Nightberry the events leading up to now, as well as everything she knew about thestrals. Then Nightberry disappeared into the room, telling Twilight to sit and wait.

So now, here she was, sitting in the hallway, jotting some notes into her notepad.

The voices from the room began to die down, and eventually, the door opened again, revealing another thestral. "You may come in," he said, stepping out of the way as Twilight stood up and entered.

The room looked almost exactly like the central rotunda, except it was smaller, and the contents of the room were closer to that of a courtroom. Several thestrals wearing suits sat in elevated seats, many more watching from a set area.

The thestral that allowed her in ushered her to the center of the room, where Twilight stood under the scrutiny of the congregation.

"Princess Twilight Sparkle," the thestral at the center of the elevated group began, "My name is Darkwing the Just. You have been summoned here today because you have discovered the existence of our realm. This court has spent the last half hour discussing what will be done about this, but there are still some questions that need answering before we can come to a decision. Do you understand?"

Twilight nodded. A thestral came up and had her swear the oath, then backed up again.

"The first question: what are your thoughts on our species and our home?"

Twilight held up her notes. "I find both quite fascinating, and my notes from the past half hour corroborate."

The other justices quietly discussed amongst themselves, but stopped when Darkwing held up a hoof. "The second question: Do you think the other citizens of Equestria would feel the same way, were they to learn about us?"

"Oh, most certainly!" Twilight nodded. "Equestria isn't like it used to be anymore; we've gained lots of allies in unusual places, like Dragons, Griffins, Kirin, Hippogriffs, and even the Changelings! The majority of ponies would certainly be willing to accept another group!"

The justices excitedly talked amongst themselves this time, and even Darkwing raised his eyebrows at the mention of the alliances. Then he held up his hoof again, and the commotion died down.

"And lastly," he began, eyeing the Princess, who shifted uncomfortably under his scrutinizing gaze, "would we be able to thrive in modern society, were we to return?"

Twilight considered this for a moment, then smiled. "I know of an establishment that'd be eager to help."

Darkwing raised his eyebrow questioningly.





Starlight sighed as she sipped her coffee. "Mornings are always the same, Phyllis," she began to vent to her potted plant. "Wake up, make coffee, greet the teachers and the students, and wait for something else to happen."

The past few weeks of running the School of Friendship had fallen into a sort of routine. Sure, there was some amount of variety in what the students would talk to her about, but it was largely the same day-to-day.

But today, Starlight's musings were interrupted by an unexpected knock at the door. She groggily got up and opened the door, but stopped cold in her tracks when she saw who was on the other side:

Thestrals. About a dozen thestrals stood waiting on the other side, with Twilight leading the group.

Starlight gaped at the sight. "Huh, that's new."