Children Of Night

by CheckerBoardAZN

History is written by the victors...

I am Diamond Apple, and I am of the few left of our society. I hail from the apple family, and yet they do not know of me. I am a unicorn; I travel in hiding to pass on these stories. I pass onto you the true story of the fall of Luna. Let me remind you that what you read in your precious history books is not always true. History is written by the victors.

This is a collection of short stories passed down through the ages. These stories take place 1100 years before the sealing of Luna; 50 years post liberation and reveal the truth behind modern Equestrian culture. These stories will also follow my quest and rise as a Children of Night. I will tell my story alongside the stories of my forefathers, so that their struggles against the facade of Celestia may not be in vain.

After an era long forgotten, known simply as the Era of Chaos, the divine sisters freed the ponies of old, and relieved the unicorns of their duty of rising the sun and moon. They built up the land and created a city known simply as Ponympus and made it home to the survivors of War of Order and Chaos. Not all was well. Despite their efforts, the land could never flourish as it did before the reign of Chaos. Luna, our Princess of the Night, came to see the pain and suffering of many of the orphans and proposed a new sanctum of which the children could grow to be strong and prosperous. Try as she did, Luna was never able to persuade her elder sister. Celestia forbade it out of anger, as it could have caused the collapse of the land she had worked so hard to build. Saddened by the cold heart of the elder sister, Luna defied her sister Celestia.

On the night now known as Nightmare Night, It is said is that our princess abducts children at night, never to be seen or heard from again. It is a night of fear to many, but to us, it is a night of salvation. We called it Night of Rapture. She had taken our forefathers to a land under the moon that we called The Sanctum. Bathed in the light of the moon Luna had ascended. She took the form she does now, flowing and shiny blue mane with a darker coat. Luna had ascended before Celestia, leaving much envy in the heart of the elder sister. They feuded and became distant to one another, causing much strife between the denizens of Ponympus. As more Fillies and Colts had gone missing, Celestia had become suspicious of her younger sister. She sent spies to follow Luna to The Sanctum on the 10th Night of Rapture. Upon arriving to the settlement, the spies were left in awe. The streets glowed with the light of the moon. There were buildings that resembled wells, which the ponies of the sanctum called them, ground scrapers. The buildings on the surface resembled the buildings of Ponympus.

The earth pony and unicorn spies, clothed in hooded robes, walked in through the city gates to be greeted by the unicorn guards. The guards saw through the spies. One left to notify Princess Luna, while one kept guard. Luna dove from the sky and landed in front of the spies. Their hoods flew off their heads from the force of Luna’s Landing.

“Oh it is you two, what might you two be doing here?” asked Luna.

“We have come back from the north to relay news to Princess Celestia of the situation between Equestria and the Crystal Empire.” stated the unicorn.
“So I assume that you were just walking by? What kind of fool you take me for? I can sense your thoughts through the astral plane.” stated Luna while glaring at the two spies. The two darted for the gates, only to be cut off by the guards of The Sanctum. Fearing what would become of her followers, Luna had asked our forefathers to come together and train as a group of warriors so that The Sanctum may be safe. A group of 300 of her best soldiers were brought together to train. As the years went on, the group only grew and grew.

20 years had passed, and that year Celestia had been crowned as sole Princess of Equestria on the arrival of the New Year. Luna was respectful Starswirl’s decision, and was happy for her sister. The days were easy and the nights were quiet. January was mundane and February was stressful for the sisters; months came and gone by. That summer the two sisters had been informed of an evil unicorn, who took hold of the part of their kingdom to the north. They struggled to keep diplomatic relations calm between the two countries, and both sisters came to mourn for the ponies of the country. Celestia and Luna flew toward the north in hopes to liberate the crystal ponies. The ensuing battle had taken a great toll on the two sisters; not every day did the sisters have to put down a unicorn powerful enough to usurp an alicorn king. In the end the sisters had fought in vain; they lost a vital part of their kingdom to the void of space and time. Their failure took a great toll on their minds.

Luna had fallen into a deep state of depression, and Celestia grew colder and shut herself from the world, only to show themselves to raise the Moon and Sun respectively. Luna visited The Sanctum more often until the night of the 30th Night of Rapture. New members of our order had been chosen, and went on their merry way to The Sanctum. Luna left later than usual; she was still suffering from her degraded mental state. It was nearly time for the sun to rise. Luna felt uneasy, and kept the little fillies and colts near. Something troubled Luna, but she did not know what, she felt like she was being followed. The closer they got to The Sanctum, the more they heard what sounded like little pops. The popping got louder and louder and louder. There was more bass as they walked closer. Luna could not believe what she was hearing. It tore her up as she denied her assumptions. They walked faster until they could smell charring wood.
“Make Haste, my little ponies.” The princess bellowed in fear.

They darted to the top of the mountain as fast as they could. To the horror of the new members and Luna, there it was before them. The sky was a deep orange color. The smell of smoke filled the air. The Sanctum stood below the group in flames. The earth shook; denizens of The Sanctum ran for safety. A shimmer of yellow light caught Luna’s eye through the thick smoke. She fell onto her hind legs crying.

“It cannot be!” shouted Luna in tears.

It was her elder sister, Celestia. With a brief moment of eye contact, Celestia lifted her head and vanished in a flash of yellow light. Only she could recognize her sister, as she could see through her optical camouflage. Luna then cast on her gaze upon her settlement. The Sanctum was beyond repair. The earth had caved in on the ground scrapers. The perimeter walls had collapsed, letting in the orcs and goblins. Luna could hear the screams of her followers. She could see little fillies and their mothers passing on to the astral plane. The chaos subsided as Luna walked down the hill. An eerie presence around her and created a negative atmosphere. All the creatures of the forest ran back to their home. Luna sent the newcomers to a safe house where they could be safe. She slowly trotted along the rubble and craters that she had made a home for her children. She went with the members of her elite soldiers to rescue any surviving ponies. She could not bear the pain. The ponies she had tried to save lay before her, dead and lifeless. She cried, but beyond the realm of reality, the souls of her followers reached out to her through the astral plane.

“We forgive you Princess Luna. Do not forget who we are, what we lived for. Do not be sad, because we live on here in the astral plane.” stated a group of astral spirit ponies only the princess could see. Luna wept through the day, and the following night and the moon did not shine upon the earth.

Luna could not select a course of action. If she were to confront her Celestia, she would be imprisoned for treason, and her society would be hunted down. On the other hand, if she took no action, she would lose respect from her followers. A decision must be made. The following day she gave up the leadership role to her highest commanding officer, Apple Gem, and told the pony that they must go in hiding.

“Yes ma’am,” said the armored, pink-maned, peach colored pony. “What of you, my liege? What will you do?”

Luna prayed to the moon. The spirits of the night gave her the wisdom she so long desired. She was granted complete access to the astral plane and obtained the power of foresight. She knew what must be done.

“Take our story and pass it on. Keep the truth with you. Record what is going to happen, and pass it on until my return.” the princess sorrowfully instructed her right hand mare. “From this day forth, you are now their leader. Good luck Apple Gem. I will always guide you and those who follow you. Have faith in your Princess.”

Before Luna could fly too far from her group, the voice of the mare she left in charge reached her.

“We are your Children, My liege! We will be known Children of Night! We shall await for your return!” yelled the Apple Gem.

The ponies prayed to Luna, their collective voices could be heard for a long distance. Luna could hear their prayers, as she would be part goddess. Their prayer has stood the test of time, as we still use it to this day.

Blessed is thy night that thou have bequeathed upon us, thy Children of Night.

Oh Princess of Night and Moon, in our sorrow, bless us with wisdom and might,

So that the kingdom of the malicious Princess of the sun we may smite,

Who have become nothing more than the land’s everlasting plight.

May we have the power to break away the chains of light,

As well as the vigor to conquer all in our sight!

We beseech thee for thy divine foresight,

So that we may the will to fight

For your heavenly right.

Author's Note:

Obviously this is about the first nightmare night, and this was around 1100 BL( before Liberation)
This is my first fan fic so please be blunt and very critical. If you think it sucks, just say so and give me tips :)

Ponympus is the equivalent of Olympus. The castle of the sisters, as seen in the season 1 premiere, is the center of this city. Ponympus used to exist where the Everfree forest stands now.

Children of Night is an secret order of ponies that preserves the truths and relics of ancient Equestria much like how the Knight's Templar collects and protects relics of Christianity.

The Apple family is a part of the Children of Night order, but it is only if they are unicorns. The apple family is genetically earth pony dominant, and it's rare for them to have unicorns. Only unicorn Apples are inducted into the apple branch of the order. The Children of Night order is not only restricted to apples. Many other families are apart of this order.

Yes one inspiration for this was Children of the Night by Duo Cartoonist's video :)

Comments

[Flaring Dawn]

by the night i love this so far! MOAR

[Skeeter The Lurker]

Screw it.

I'll give it a go.

Let's see what you got.

~Skeeter The Lurker

[Kori Kitsune]

static.giantbomb.com/uploads/original/11/116059/2283704-PinkiePiePopcorn.jpg

[benjiboots]

this looks like its gonna be awesome.
writing is great, and the story is enticing (could use a bit more space between paragraphs to keep from turning into wall of text). this has promise.

you have my thumbs up and gold star. i'll be following.

[Blake Skies]

Seems a little rushed, however it was very well developed and i think your core theology is sound. you definitely have my favorite
And Five moustaches

[PrincessStarlight5511]

Pretty interesting so far. I'm really liking it. Hooray for the Children Of The Night!