The Children of the Night

by legomaster00156

Those who Remembered

Author's Note:

Warning: there is some description of blood and near-torture in this chapter, though I don't go into a great amount of detail. It's definitely not gore.

Forget not our Mother, who dwells on the Moon and will one night guide us to the Stars.

Forget not the Twelve Saints, whose teachings guide us by Night.

Forget not the Great Tragedies. Forgive not the Day Ponies.

Bring not the Wrath of the Day Ponies upon us.

Walk always in the Night, and walk not in the Day.

Leave not the Children, for you will not return.

Deep in the caves across Equestria, a secret cabal of ponies has grown. Spread far across the land, they all share two traits: a love for the night, and a religious devotion to one they call Mother. Although spread far and wide, the largest cabal is found in a complex network of caves far to the south end of Equestria, where nopony else traverses. They call these caves the Garden of Shadows, and they call themselves the Children of the Night.

One does not become a Child of the Night, they are only born into it. Those who have allowed sunlight to touch their fur are denied any entry into the clan, though if born among the Children, the foal of a "Day Pony" might be allowed inside.

This is how Nightlight entered into the clan. A pegasus born of a Day Pony mother and a father who was a Child of the Night, she never once saw the brilliance of the daylight from her home inside the caves. Her mother would, when allowed to visit, tell her stories of how crops grew under the sun, and the world was aflutter with birds, beasts, and insects. Nightlight thought it was a bit silly. After all, there were all kinds of animals and insects out at night.

When she reached adulthood, she was to be taken before the priestess of the Mother for the first time. The priestess was a unicorn, though not all from the line were: her predecessor had been a batpony, and the priestess before that a normal pegasus. She was said to be the voice of their Mother, and the ruler of all Children, not just those in the Garden.

The way to the priestess was complicated. It took many turns and squeezes through narrow caves, in a maddening maze that few were allowed to map out. It was a very good system for keeping her safe, as the ponies allowed to do so would rather destroy their work and die than give away their leaders' location to enemies. As was custom, Nightlight had been made to find the way on her own, with only her own memorized instructions to guide her.

When at last she emerged in the correct cavern, she was struck with awe. The room was enormous. A long rock bridge ran over a deep underground lake, with a waterfall roaring overhead to keep the lake ever filled. At the other end of the bridge, a regal unicorn dressed in star-covered robes stood with two batpony guards. No other ponies could be seen in the room.

The most impressive thing, though, may have been what was behind the unicorn. Massive cave paintings, probably hundreds of years old, depicted thirteen heads.

The central figure was larger than the other twelve. It was a dark blue mare with wickedly sharp teeth and a crown upon her head. She had a horn far longer and sharper than any unicorn Nightlight had seen.

In a circle around the mare, twelve smaller heads also showed. There were six mares and six stallions, and from each of those, two Earth-ponies, two unicorns, and two pegasi. Nightlight hadn't seen any of the figures in the paintings before, but they must be important to be in the priestess's room.

Nightlight snapped out of her trance and walked across the long bridge to stand before the priestess. She was taught to neither bow, nod, or speak unless addressed directly. The address didn't come for a long time, as the unicorn seemed to be sizing her up with an almost predatory stare.

"You are Nightlight? Daughter of Owl Hunter?" the priestess finally asked.

"Yes, priestess," Nightlight responded, exactly as she had been taught.

"Your father has spoken highly of you and your hunting. He has recommended that you go through the ritual to accept our Mother's gift to pegasi. I have allowed it," the priestess said.

Nightlight's eyes widened. Her father had recommended that she go through the ritual? It was far beyond an honor to be recommended for it, as it not only displayed the Mother's favor, but made one a far better hunter. Seeing as her father had gone through the ritual himself even before siring her, she had always hoped for it.

"It would be a great honor, priestess. I will gladly go through the Mother's ritual and earn my wings."

The priestess nodded. She turned to the large paintings behind her and her horn began to glow. She began to pray loudly.

"Oh, holy Mother and Twelve Saints, look upon your faithful Child of the Night. See the loyalty and skill that she has blessed us with. Though born of a Day Pony, she has remained true to our family. Grant her now your blessing, and allow her to become a true hunter in the night."

A silver light descended upon Nightlight where she stood. Though a gentle light to anypony else, it was almost blinding to her as she stood inside it. She could look up and faintly notice now that a hole in the cavern high above opened to the night sky, and the light drowning her vision was the moon's.

The change began. She screamed in agony as her vision completely left her, and a metamorphosis altered her body right down to the bones. Her ears grew sharper, allowing her to hear more clearly the bones cracking inside of her. Her wings were the next and most major thing to change. The feathers fell off around her, leaving the flesh fully exposed to the cool night air. She could feel leathery folds growing between the individual bones where feathers once covered. Finally, they grew a few inches, giving her a larger wingspan. The third change was her teeth. Her old equine teeth painfully grew out of her gums and fell to the ground when she started coughing up blood. In their place, new teeth rapidly grew in, these ones more jagged and cruel, designed for tearing and devouring flesh as well as plants.

The change from that point on was still painful, but less so, and mostly cosmetic. Her fur took on a far darker tone, until it was almost as black as pitch - perfect for staying hidden in the darkness. Her hooves felt hardened, and her eyes turned into cat-like slits.

The light faded, and before the priestess lied a new batpony. Nightlight couldn't yet see, but she found when she opened her mouth to speak, the echo of the cavern was far more clear to her newly-sensitive ears. In fact, she could even faintly pick out where each of the other three ponies were in relation to herself by how the echo returned to her. Echolocation, she remembered her father mentioning - the ability to see with sound.

"Our Mother has smiled upon you, and found you worthy of her gift. Go now and rest. You shall hunt again tomorrow night," the priestess said, almost booming in Nightlight's ears.

"Thank you, priestess. May Mother guide your path," Nightlight said, finding her voice to be higher than it had been before.

Navigation back through the caves using echolocation was bizarre, and she hit her head many times before finding herself back in her own room. She fell into a deep sleep on the ground, exhausted from her ordeal.

Across Equestria, worried ponies could swear they saw the Mare on the Moon smile that night.