The Fall of Nocturnia

by HypernovaBolts11

4.5 Years Before

Selena sat still as the two bishops went about presenting their cases. She didn't really understand how or why this debate had become so pressing as to demand her attention as head of the church. She was always glad to be a part of her subjects' daily life, but didn't really think this debate was something worth caring about.

It wasn't like those who didn't necessarily follow the church's exact preachings were sentenced to eternal damnation, or those who did were sent exclusively to the afterlife. Everyone who was good, whether they followed the church or not, was going to heaven. Heroes spent their time in Elysium, sure, but unless someone was a really bad person, they weren't going to Tartarus.

She let a heavy sigh of relief as the second bishop finished stating her position on the matter. Such lessons of how death worked seemed so lost on these ponies.

She supposed that her job wasn't too bad. She got to dress as though the world had just been created, and she was in attendance to her very first birthday party. She was dressed in pitch black robes, with white stars all along them. Her hat was tall, curved, and pointed at the top, with a white crescent moon on the front of it.

Selena cleared her throat, lifting herself from her throne, and said, "Let it be known to thee that we are of one unified nature, divine and pony." And with that, the bishops began arguing amongst themselves, each side of the room launching produce at one another, mostly oranges, as bat ponies tended to like apples more than enough to not dare waste them in front of the Matriarch.

She slapped her forehead with a hoof, and said to herself, "We would not have a child on the way if we were not of pony nature." She then went silent, and realized her mistake. It would have become apparent sooner or later. Whether or not she would be the one to disclose such information was entirely up to her.

She spread her wings, and motioned for the rest of the attendees to calm down, shouting, "Calm thyself! We remain faithful to our husband, and it is his son."

Everyone went silent. They all knew that Nocturnus was away commanding his army, leaving the Matriarch with little to do, aside from church matters, which took a lot of time. She would never betray her husband, and everypony knew that, but she was the Goddess's daughter, and the very notion that she could have children was often joked about at the workplace.

Whispers of her announcement took less than a day to meet the farthermost reaches of the city, and, within a week, the whole republic was abuzz with the news. The Matriarch was going to be a mother. The Goddess was going to be a grandmother. There could be half gods.

But word of this news sat very poorly with another ruler, that of the Changeling Empire.

Queen Chrysalis hissed as she watched her guards take the messenger away. She growled as she considered this. The world thought that a motherly demigod was exciting news. They thought this, this, halfbreed, was special, while hundreds of her children were brought into being every day.

The messenger protested by adding more news to its previously spoken word. The queen heard this, and hissed, "Wait."

The guards turned around, holding the messenger drone to face the queen. It shook with fear as it looked up at her.

Chrysalis smiled as she contemplated this new information, and a plan began to materialize within her, a deeply disturbing plot, the machinations of a madmare.

If this child would be so special because it was half mortal, then if she had one, perhaps she would escape her sisters' shadows.

"Release it," she told the guards, who then dropped the trembling changeling.

---

Nocturnus sighed heavily as he shook his head, looking over the ultimatum that had been presented to him. This new king of the Crystal Empire had gone one step too far. The demands were ludicrous, impossible, and almost humorous.

He didn't want any war. The world had just settled into peace, but if he signed this, where would the new king stop? He would make ever increasingly radical demands, and he would be forced to comply if he didn't allow for war.

He would not sign it, and he decided to make sure that the new king understood exactly why.

The entrance to his tent moved, and he looked up from his desk.

Selena smiled at him, and rapidly closed the distance between them, placing her lips to his.

He found this all a challenge to understand. She should have been in Nocturnia, nowhere near his armies. But here she was, kissing him.

He smiled as she pushed him onto his bed, where he flicked his ears at her, signaling in a language they'd used to communicate since they'd known one another, "What are you doing here?"

She released him, and pressed a hoof down on his chest. "We wished to see our beloved husband. Why else would we be here?" she asked him.

He couldn't really argue with that, and, very quickly he found, he didn't want to.

---

The consul smiled in his sleep, snuggling up against his wife, who panted heavily as she regained her strength. She remained still for a long while, watching the sunlight grow stronger against the tent's wall, then stood up, donned her robes, and slipped out of the camp. As she walked, she burst into a ball of bright green fire, and grinned as she returned to her natural form, dressed in her customary armor of bronze and silver.

Author's Note:

These chapters are gonna stay this short as far as I can see. It's really only about setting up for the other stories in this series.