Over the ages, there were some from the generations of Children of the Night that grew weary of the lifestyle. Some chose to split off seeing the prosperity of the land of the sun, some chose to leave for love or wealth, some were simply tired of waiting eternally for a Mother who would never come home. In any case, the rules of the Children forbade one who left from ever returning nor divulging their secrets, and so these forbidden ponies would take on new lives and bury their old ones deep within their hearts.
Nopony today knows whether they might be descended from former Children of the Night, but there may be ways to find out.
"Arrr! Lower the starboard and fly the sails! There be booty aboard that pirate ship!"
A pinto colt, dressed in an eyepatch and with a wooden sword at his side, shouted nonsensical orders to his crew of significantly more experienced and older ponies. For their part, they oddly seemed to have as little a clue what they were doing as he was. There was, for starters, the bizarre circumstance that they were pirates preparing to plunder pirates.
Suddenly, a great storm rolled in out of nowhere. What was clear sailing turned into frantic rolling and torrential rain, as waves rocked the boat from side to side. The colt screamed in terror was a great wave built to their right, threatening to capsize their ship.
As quickly as the storm rolled in, it was gone, along with the colt's crew. Though it had been daytime a moment ago, now a full moon shined brightly overhead, with a silhouette of a regal alicorn against it.
"Princess Luna!"
"Pipsqueak..."
The figure descended, revealing herself to be Pipsqueak's favorite princess: Luna, the raiser of the moon and the guardian of dreams. He ran up to her and embraced her eagerly, which she returned with motherly affection.
"I'm dreaming, aren't I?" Pipsqueak asked, not yet letting go of the hug.
"Aha, you are indeed. You have imagined yourself a beautiful ship, though. What do you call her?" Luna asked.
"Oh, the, uh... E.S. Luna," Pipsqueak answered with a blush.
"You named your privateering ship after the ruler of your patron nation? Touching, but a bit suspicious on the high seas," Luna replied with a humored smile.
"I'm not very good at lucid dreaming yet," Pipsqueak said with a laugh. "Wait, what time is it outside?"
"Almost noon. You've slept in... again. It does mean I can stay a while, though, which I always appreciate," Luna said.
The alicorn laid down on the deck of the ship, and Pipsqueak happily accepted the unspoken offer to lay down in the curl of her body. Her body didn't have the warmth one might expect from another pony. It was more like a cool, wet towel draped over one's body in the blistering heat of the summer, though without the actual wetness. He had found it weird at first, but he had begun to grow accustomed to it, and loved it now.
"Can you tell me more about the Night Guard, now?" he asked.
This was a regular question for him. The silent and barely-seen Night Guard was comprised of what many called batponies, and they were never seen outside the presence of their Princess. Nopony knew their duties, their origins, or their numbers. It was considered by many the most secretive organization in Equestria - at least, that the common populace was aware of. Luna remained tight-lipped about the details, even to her favored child.
"I'm afraid not, Pipsqueak," Luna said. "But I believe, after all of this time, I can answer a different question of yours."
"You can? What question?" Pipsqueak asked, tilting his head.
"Why you're such a 'night owl', as the ponies say," Luna replied. Her warm smile shifted ever so slightly. Pipsqueak thought he saw sadness on her face. "Do you know the true story behind my Nightmare Night?"
"The true story? I know the legends. They say you tried to make eternal night, and ate fillies and colts. Why? What really happened?" Pipsqueak asked.
"Is that what they say? You don't believe it, then?" Luna said.
"Of course not, that's silly! You don't eat ponies."
"Hah, I know. However, it is true that I attempted to create eternal night. There even were a dozen foals who disappeared by my hooves. Neither intent was malicious, though," Luna explained.
"After Discord was defeated, the foundling nation of Equestria was weakened. Many foals had been left with neither father nor mother. I approached my sister with a proposal: taking the orphaned foals away to a new colony, where they could grow strong under my watch. Tia, though, refused my proposal. She thought it would divide the weak nation too much, and in hindsight, she may have been right."
"But you did it anyway, didn't you?" Pipsqueak asked.
"That's right. I took twelve orphaned foals - six of each gender, four of each race - to a colony many miles away. For years, I raised them as my own, but eventually, I grew too greedy. My Children of the Night loved my moon and stars, and lived under my watch rather than my sister's. I wanted all foals to adore my night as they did, and my envy turned me into... into a monster," Luna said sadly.
"Wow... but what does this have to do with me?" Pipsqueak asked.
"I suspect you may be descended from my Children, though many, many generations distant. This might be why you and your mother both sleep heavily during the day and are energized at night. It's just a theory, but... I hope it's true," Luna said.
"You hope?"
"Yes, because it would mean that my Children did not die without my guidance. And even more than that, it means that they live on... in you, my favorite colt." Luna smiled and nuzzled against the Earth-pony, who happily returned the gesture. "You should awake, Pipsqueak, but we can discuss this again tomorrow."
"Yes, Princess! Thank you!" Pipsqueak shouted. "Good morning!"
"Good morning... Pipsqueak..."
Luna's voice grew distant, and then the foal was awake, lying in his bed with sunlight filtering through his curtains. He turned away from the bright sun and looked up to a moon-shaped clock on his wall, telling him he was twenty minutes late for lunch already.
"A Child of the Night... I like it."