//------------------------------//
// 5.0 Years Before 
// Story: The Fall of Nocturnia 
// by HypernovaBolts11 
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	Long before all of your heroes came to be, there was a great city, placed atop a mountain for all to see, where each and every day was spent in complete silence, and every night was spent hard at work. The grandeur of polished marble walls, doors, and floors, all trimmed expertly with fine, shimmering gold, was a beacon of quiet permanence that shown glory and wealth across the land.

The cathedral, proud and boisterous of its own greatness, stood in the middle of the city, acting as its beating heart. Each week, the citizens flocked to the grand building, where they would talk, argue, joke, and laugh. The next night, they hurried to the hippodrome, where they would watch games, extraordinary and proud in all the land, cheering for their teams.

Everypony attended, be they rich or poor, mare and stallion alike. They would watch the blues and the greens, racing, jousting, calling proudly to one another, "Vinco!" They laughed and smiled and waved to their friends. The games were their pride and joy in all the world. Nothing could ever be more glorious to the city than a great game.

The rest of the week was spent in bustling business, as the rich ponies donned their togas, lavishly purple, displaying wealth and power to all who saw them, then went about their daily business.

One such pony, who was neither great nor perfect, smiled to himself as he adjusted his flowing purple cloth. He shook his head a bit, then whipped his white mane back. He looked at his reflection in the mirror, and smiled at his sleek black coat. Last night, he had been another senator. Tonight, this night, he was consul.

He turned around, and smiled to himself as he left his bedroom. He stepped into the hallway, decked with marble columns and shimmering in the torchlight. He paused when he spotted his wife bounding down the hallway, a great smile on her face. He closed his bedroom door, and smiled warmly as she stopped in front of him.

Her coat was a dark blue, like the ocean on a calm night. Her mane was a flowing cloud of blue smoke, dotted with the finest stars in the night sky. Her long horn was well kept, as she filed it nightly. Her green eyes were radiating a newfound joy, one her only seen upon her once, on their wedding night.

She was wearing a crown, simple and elegant in its design, carved from the blackness of the darkest part of the sky. Her chest was guarded by a black brace, which had a white crescent moon on it. She wore no shoes, nor did she require anything more than her own self to be the most beautiful thing in the world.

Her name was Selena, and she was smiling wider than she had in a great length of time. She placed a kiss on her husband's lips, and said, "We have news, Nocturnus, such great news for thee!" She bounced up and down excitedly, her eyes filled with joy unlike any in the world.

He nodded to her, and opened his mouth. He coughed, a mechanical whir accompanying the sound. He cleared his throat, and twitched his ears a few times, directing the computer he'd made for this task to speak. A mechanical voice said, "Do tell, Selena. Do tell."

Selena stood still for a moment, her eyes locked onto his. "Thou speaks!" she exclaimed. She bounded in circles around him, her ears pinned back in perfect glee. She took a deep breath when she came to face him again, and said, "Pardon us, we cannot believe that thou hath a voice!" She embraced him, and wrapped her wings around his neck, placing a gentle kiss on his lips. "Do go on."

He twitched his ears again, his eyes narrowed in concentration. The computer whirred again, and the mechanical voice said, "I wanted to surprise you. It seems as though I didn't have to, as you have surpassed yourself." He immediately shook his head, and corrected himself with another series of ear movements, "Surprised yourself."

Selena nodded, biting her lip. "We... We have spoken with the doctor," she said. She grew antsy, shuffling her hooves in unabashed excitement. She smiled wider than ever and said, "We have a child on the way."

Nocturnus froze, shocked. He moved his ears frantically, trying to form the millions of different emotions running through him into proper words. "We... Love you... How?" the computer spoke. He eventually gave up, and wrapped his leathery wings around her, holding her in a warm hug. "Thank you," he managed. A tear formed behind his eye, and he wiped it away with a hoof.

Selena said, "'Tis a colt."

He stood there, unable to even think, much less speak. He couldn't tell what to feel, but his mind was in an even worse state. Panic, fear, glee, pride, and a million others ran rampant within him, and he couldn't sort them out. He didn't even try after a while, and simply nuzzled her. He added, "Goddess, thank you."

She said, in a warning tone, "Be careful when thou speaketh of our mother." She nuzzled him and smiled. "Thou wilt become a father."

"You're going to be a mother," he answered in his mechanical voice. He tightened his grip on her, and began to cry against her neck. "We're going to be parents." He sniffled a bit, and imagined the public reactions they'd get. A fair portion of the city's population didn't even believe that she had a physical form, but this would prove them wrong.

He knew that, as consul, he'd be commanding an army for most of the coming year, but he wouldn't part from his child. He asked, "How long will it take?" He wondered what his old friend would have said, had she been there. He knew that she'd have been proud of him, of his life, his grand campaign that would come of his new position.

Selena said, "We and the doctors have estimate a five year gestation period. Thou shall be back in the senate by then, and we may have many more followers." She leaned back, and wiped her husband's tears away. "Our son shall be the talk of the world for decades to come."

"I care not for his popularity, Selena. He's going to be the happiest little thing on the planet. He'll have the second best mother who ever was. Your mother being the best, of course, as she brought you into being, and you're all I need," he said. He placed a hoof on her brace, and smiled. "Selena... We'll be parents..."

"We know, Nocturnus. We know," she said. She smiled and leaned against him, gently nuzzling his neck.