Gather around children, and I will tell you stories of a time long ago. Back in the days when Princess Luna strode the night sky, bringing beauty and joy to the hearts of all ponies who truly appreciated the night, before she was banished to the moon by a jealous and cruel elder sister. It was Luna who created us and gave us our gifts, and someday if we are all loyal and follow the guidance she has left behind, we will see her return to take her place as our glorious Queen of the Night.
So pay heed, and listen closely. For it all started on a night like this...
(Started as a response to Aegis Shield's 60-Minute Writing Challenge. Parts of this show up in Genealogy (or the Mating Habits of Nocturnes Pegasi) as part of the Nocture Saga that I have been putting together.
Update: With an excellent narration by Bad Horse with the most amazing peacock I have ever heard.
I like that retelling of the story from the Night Pegasi view.
Well, it's certainly a happier end for the unwinged night ponies than being consumed by fell, forbidden magics...
I do love good fictional folklore. I'm eagerly looking forward to more.
I could actually see these as Celestia's favorite fairy tales. They portray her as an ordinary flawed pony and I get the impression that she is quite sick of the majority of her subjects treating her like a flawless perfect symbol of Equestria who can do no wrong.
The True Story of Nightmare Moon has now been reposted with edits from AlicornPriest. (Thanks AP!)
Update: With an excellent narration by Bad Horse with the most amazing peacock I have ever heard.
There’s a Zebra in my Bed - Narrated by Bad Horse
Now with a wonderful YouTube reading of *all* of the stories by Munngojerrie
Part 1, Chapters 1-4
Part 2, Chapters 5-6
Interesting, though it seems to contradict other parts of Night Pegasus lore. On the other hand, real folklore systems probably have their share of contradictions themselves.
1504300 Use the Brothers Grimm as a history book, see what happens
Actually trying to translate Grimm Fairy Tales into Grim Pony Tails is a lot more difficult than I first thought.
1505463 Sheesh, no wonder no one believed Twilight in the first episode...
1505476 The sky is falling! Look, it says so right here in this book! Also foxes eat grapes, women with large families live in shoes, and the first hooved ungulate on the moon was actually a cow, not a pony! It has to be true, it's written right here!
D'aawwwwwwww.
So awesome)
Soooooo cuuuuuuute! :3
That was wonderful.
Very impressive.
1741484 Tis true, it’s said, as many have writ, a zebra is hard to do
But with some time, and little rhyme, you can do it too
Celste => Celeste
I like these stories, but they are a little mean-spirited. They're not children's stories; they're subversive political propaganda. Deliberately, I think. Children familiar with My Little Pony might not like like them, because they show Celestia as such an unlikable character.
Also, "By the law, you are no longer allowed to stay in the castle” is immediately followed by "As for Princess Celeste, she was permitted to remain in the castle, as long as she obeyed her parents and ate her alfalfa." This is counter to the logic of fairy tales, in which arbitrary and capricious laws must always be followed (just like the seemingly arbitrary and capricious dicates of bedtime and eating vegetables made by parents).
1830926 Yes, the Night Pegasi children’s stories are *supposed* to be edgy and slanted anti-Celestia. They’re side stories from “Genealogy”, where the Night Pegasi are descended from the only survivors of the original Nightmare Night, who were all no more than 8-10 years old when their parents were transformed, and then killed during Nightmare’s battle with Celestia. With that traumatic beginning, and over a thousand years of service to the throne for the Night Pegasi, a lot of warped traditions show up. Then when Luna returns, there’s going to have to be a *lot* of editing on these old stories before anypony would feel comfortable having her read them.
By Tradition, Fairy Tales are bloody and filled with gore: Hansel and Gretel push the witch into her oven, the woodsman chops open the wolf to rescue grandma, the Princes who go to rescue Sleeping Beauty all die, the girl in the red shoes dances until she expires. This is the 200th anniversary of Grimm’s Fairy Tales (according to Google), if you wrote and published that kind of stuff today for our little crumb-crunchers, there would be protests outside your house and lawsuits. (And I let the little spoiled princess stay in the castle because otherwise it’s just being mean. The poor little thing. Maybe she’ll learn to be a good little princess and eat her alfalfa.)
The Zebra in the Bed story is just here because I didn’t have a good spot to put it, and it’s real children’s literature. I’d do a reading of it for youtube if I didn’t have a voice like an angry frog.
*Grins* Very cute and sweet. It felt a bit too quick, but that makes sense considering the time limit set
Interesting spin on things n_n
1830926 I confess I found myself feeling the same way and wondered how it could be redone so as to not come across as so subversive. I suspect the only solution would be to include a third character perhaps Discord, who would be cast out for failing the tests. Even then I think it might not lose that feeling of propaganda. I wonder if using an unknown character would prevent that or once the suggestion of something is made, it cannot be forgotten.
That said I can see Celestia getting a kick out of these, simply for the appeal of them praising her sister and implying she can let her hair down (or up.)
Very beautiful. This has more appeal than the others because it has more of a heart to it.
As for learning from fairy tales, at least the lessons to take it with a grain of salt ring true
Very cute and sweet. A nice blending of the ugly duckling and the stories of the moon and sun.
*Grins and applauds* Excellent work! The original is a treat and this version is even better. Especially with Bad Horse's amazing reading. *swoons*
I can't help but wonder, whose voice it was that tempted the Griffons. Discord, maybe, or perhaps some being like him, a spirit of hate and strife, in the same way that Discord is chaos? Or something from wherever Tirek and Scorpan were from?
Also, was the fertile valley mentioned in the song named Dream Valley, by any chance?
4951235 This voice might just be a metaphor for a lust for power or racism or something, not necessarily a literal voice.
But then, just because somethng is a metaphor doesn't mean it isn't real, I guess
Very cool folk tale!
Commander Hurricane does sonic rainbooms, I take it?
4951375
In Equestria, I'd say its practically guaranteed.
That's a new origin for the wendigos, never seen them as being corrupted gryphons before.
Chilling in every sense of the word. A clever way to connect the cannibalistic origins of the wendigo myth with the frigid Equestrian variant and the legendary griffon love of horseflesh. It also makes Diplomacy By Other Means even more horrifying. A well crafted fable indeed.
4952609 Yes you have. Does this sound familiar?
The masters, suddenly alone, had no one to build them shelters or harvest their food. They froze, and they starved, and as they froze and starved the last of them, desperate, ate the flesh of her dead brothers. The gods – yes, the gods; this is a gryphon tale, remember – cursed her for this crime: they chilled her blood and filled her heart with an endless, aching hunger that could only be sated by strife.
It's from Cold In Gardez story The Last Trumpet's Call. I asked quite politely if I could file the serial numbers off and borrow the concept, and he agreed. (CiG does a much better chill-up-the-neck with his descriptions. I'll have to punch this up.)
4952770 Yes it does add a chilling (literally) aspect to Diplomacy by Other Means. And to make it worse in The Traveling Tutor and the Royal Exam, picture Twilight and Cadence alone in a huge room full of Griffons, listening to the Griffon Emperor recite this story.
Green Grass: So how did asking the Misty Mountains Wingmaster for permission to have Sunny in the wedding go, dear?
Twilight Sparkle: -*WHAM*-
Green Grass (after picking himself up from the other side of the room): What did I say?
4951449 Yes, I have Rainbow Dash as a descendant of Commander Hurricane.
4951235 Allow me to quote from the conversation I had with Cold In Gardez, who had almost the exact same question
CiG: Do you intend to clarify who the 'voice' is that called to the griffons? Who tempted them?
Me: Of course I don't plan on revealing what the voice was. That would suck all the fun and mystery out of the story :)
In hindsight, it parallels your "The Carnivore's Prayer" a bit, but from a different angle. In yours, the power of love and friendship (along with morals) compels a griffon to destroy his own kind to protect ponies for which he has no ties other than a morality.
Mine I approached from the simple angle of Griffon elders trying to find a way to keep their rebellious tercels from eating ponies. You can't pass a law, it would be broken in minutes, and probably would only get more ponies killed than before. You can't just declare that Celestia will roast any aerie who does this, because that implies that griffons are subjects to Celestia, or at least in fear of her, and would cause far too many burning aeries ("So it happened the last seven aeries who ate ponies. It won't happen this time."). Yes, Griffons are people. sigh.
So I went for Mythology. Always a winner. Summarized, it goes: "Griffons who eat ponies will unleash disaster upon the whole world. If you find one who breaks this tradition, kill it quickly." Sprinkle with Noble Griffon Pride, add a dash of Hubris, serve to all fledgelings when young and impressionable.
Who knows, there may even be a germ of Truth in this one.
4953012 Huh, well apparently it didn't stick. Mind like a steel sieve and all that.
Yeah too quick and also overly simplistic. It seems a little odd that he should be so unconcerned with his birth parents as well.
That's kind of ominous and creepy in a way. There were other night ponies, but they committed suicide.
1830926
This statement:
does not logically follow at all from this one:
Celeste has a birthright to living in the castle. Lune is being compelled to demonstrate that she is a Princess which apparently amounts to equivalence to Royal blood. Not that that makes any sense. Just because Celeste is a spoiled brat does not make her not of 'Royal blood'. And just because Lune is cultured, polite, etc does not make her a Princess.
---
I think you need to rework the inspiration to fit your story about Celestia and Luna.
This is a bonus in Georg's March Madness, and should be taken with a grain of headcannon salt. Enjoy!
The origin of species. Specifically, Quercus bibliotheca. A lovely little fable, all the better for being possibly true.
No kidding.
Oh, I like it, I like it a lot.
i woke the entire apartment building...
again
I really liked how Pumpernickel came up with this on the spot. It was a very considerate gesture on his part. Very nicely done.
Yo we ever gonna get more of these?
9898007 Good point, I'll put it on hiatus.
9898208
...not exactly what I was going for, but ok.
Aww. By the way, the image links on this chapter appear to be broken.