Everything you thought you knew about equestrian history is WRONG. This fanfic follows the creation and the TRUE history of Equestria through the eyes of a secret society, the Children of Night. Each chapter are/will be intertwining short stories that divulge on the history and back story of the holidays, landmarks, artifacts, families and events important to Equestrian culture. It is told through the point of view of Diamond Apple, a unicorn in the earth pony dominant apple family. While reading this story you should think to yourself "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,
In mere months the first generation of our order spread all across the world. We had secret settlements from, Neighppon to Saddle Arabia. Apple Gem had elected her masters as she had been instructed by our princess, Luna. To that end, we named ourselves Children of Night. Soon summer would be around the corner and Apple Gem grew weary of her travels, so she settled down in Neighppon.
Neighppon was a land of wonder; bathed by the strongest moonlight, giving the Children of Night much power and stamina. The more moonlight they absorbed the healthier and stronger they grew. The land was everything that Apple Gem could want. The land thrived during the moonlight. Wildlife was docile and accepted the ponies. The natives had supported them, and joined together in a makeshift kingdom. Apple orchards littered the land. During the fall the hills would be littered with patches of pink from the cherry blossoms. Neighppon was to become a nation built up by the Children of Night. This was not enough for Apple gem. She desperately wanted to be by our princess’s side. But while she was vacant in reality, in her dreams, Luna was always there.
Apple Gem was an avid dream walker, a traveler of the Astral Plane. This place was the last means of communication between herself, her comrades and Princess Luna. She frequently used this ability of astral projection to visit the princess and converse with her. Only Luna could see and communicate with astral projected beings in the physical world. Luna would be awake in Equestria as Apple Gem would be asleep on the opposite side of the world in Neighppon and vice versa.
After each visit with Luna, Apple Gem grew stronger in her control with magic. Luna became her mentor. Each night She vsited Luna, she grew closer and closer to the Princess. She began seeing how much pain she had to go through. Apple Gem grew to gain a stronger connection with the astral plane, nearly as powerful as Luna. She could communicate with her subordinates through the plane. She even discovered a new ability given to her by the Astral Plane. She was the very first dream walker. She taught the ability to her master, and it was used to its full extent. She was able to access the Astral Plane during her day in Neighppon and during Luna’s Equestria night. Not many of the ponies Apple Gem had taught and worked with could Astral Project during the day. One night, when Apple Gem came to Luna, she had seen something amazing. Luna had finally ascended into her final form. It came with natural armor and ethereal mane. She was taller and had a more intimidating physique as well as a darker coat. She had ascended into her Goddess form. She was faster, had greater control of her magic, and could connect stronger with the life force known as Magic. While it was magnificent, there was a price to this ascension. Luna could only be in this form for no longer than thirty minutes.
Apple Gem knew what this new form meant. The time had come to get back at the tyrant of the Equestria on this year, 1600 Before Liberation. She gathered her army of ten-thousand strong from Neighppon and set sail for Equestria. With their unicorn master, the massive Children of Night snuck back into their home country to meet their old leader and creator, Princess Luna.
“Let us be ready! We will usurp the evil one and give back to the ponies what is rightfully theirs! Freedom to all!” exclaimed the confidant Luna.
“Huzzah! Long live our princess!” replied the army.
The day of battle soon approached them, as they marched toward the city of Ponympus disguised as a several groups of traveling merchants. On the first day they entered the town in large groups, and entered the town. On the second day, they settled into the town. The third day they recruited a group of rebels who wanted to overthrow Celestia as much as they did. The fourth day was a day of preparation. They stockpiled on elixers, magic potions, weapons, arrows and many other items needed for war. The fifth day they scouted the castle. On the sixth day they rested, but something made the atmosphere in the town very dull. The atmosphere was negative, everypony felt uneasy. On seventh day, the infusion of Children of Night and the denizens had been complete, and they rested until time had come to attack. Upon Luna’s signal, a small group would storm the castle. After the attack, the rest of the Children of Night that were left in the city would create an opening for retreat. We had planned for the best, the setup was perfect, but how did it go so wrong? How could our Princess’s foresight be wrong?
In the castle Luna had been prowling about. The castle was grand, baroque in style. It was sturdy, adorned with stained glass mirrors and statues. She reached the throne room, bucked the door open and approached Celestia’s throne only to be stopped by the loud, booming sound of her sister’s voice.
“Not another step,” commanded the intimidating white alicorn. She walked in from behind her large throne.
“Sister, it is you! Just the pony I wanted to see!” replied Luna.
“Enough. Did you really think I would sit idly by as they basked in your precious moonlight?” Celestia taunted. Luna’s eyes opened wide, her heart stopped. She felt weak, and heard a scream in her head. It was one of the Children of Night. More screams came to Luna as her children fell and passed on into the astral plane.
“I knew about your coup, did you not foresee it too? Your fate?” laughed Celestia, a wide grin on her smug muzzle, “There can only be one Princess in Equestria, and that princess… shall… be… me!”
The castle walls crumbled by the force of Celestia’s mighty stomp and outside, Children of Night fell. The enemy had finally revealed themselves; The Communion of Light engaged the Children of Night in a battle. The Children of Night were outmatched. Celestia had brought together the best of her army, who deified her with cult like obsession, to create the greatest force the world had ever known. Luna turned to her children and watched as they slowly fall alongside civilians of Ponympus and turned back to her sister.
“How could you? It’s enough for you to be fighting my children, but why order the death of the innocent?! ” screamed Luna.
“That is because I can! Do not you see Luna? We are Gods!” declared Celestia, “We govern the celestial bodies, and you should have followed in my footsteps! You never fit to rule. I will be the sole ruler of this land!”
Luna crouched and lunged at her sister with the aid of her wings at a blinding speed. Their horns contacted, and the resulting explosion of energy disintegrated what was left of the castle walls. Back and forth the sisters went, in a titanic battle throughout the ruins of the castle. Their scrimmage lasted the whole night. Bolts of yellow and blue light flew through the sky; boulders from the ground were being hurled into the air towards the Celestia. The earth shook as the two titans battled. Mountains were formed, oceans disappeared. Utter chaos ensued. The sun was coming up. Luna had reached her limit; the sun was up and imbued Celestia with unimaginable power. It was time, it was Luna’s turn to show her sister what real power was.
“Let the moon eclipse the sun! For the sun does not eclipse the moon!” shouted Luna towards the sky.
The Moon quickly filled the sky and blocked out the summer sun. The remaining Children of Night celebrated as this eclipse amplified their strength. It was their turn for victory. The light of the moon, amplified by the light of the sun behind it, forcibly ascended Luna into her Goddess form. Celestia no longer had superiority; Luna’s reaction time was quicker than hers. Unharmed denizens of Ponympus looked toward the sky as they saw blue and yellow trails of magic clash. Crystals were flying out of the ground and flew up toward Luna as she used them to refract and absorb Celestia’s magic. Amongst the chaos in the sky, Luna lunged one last time at Celestia, causing a sonic boom. Her horn pierced through her elder sister’s right wing. They both fell to the earth; Celestia was a wreck.
She looked up to see Luna standing before her. Luna prepared her final attack and charged and struck. Luna swung her head, but froze mid swing. Her body pulsated in pain as she just stood there as a rock. It had been thirty minutes. She reverted to her previous form, drained of energy. Celestia chuckled and looked at her with a large grin. Luna stepped back and looked toward the sky. The moon had disappeared.
“How cute,” Mumbled the crippled Celestia, “you really thought you had a chance?”
Luna could not use her magic, she was done for. She turned to her subjects; she turned to her Children of Night.
“Retreat my children! Apple Gem, take our order and hide once more!” she screamed. Her forces retreated, but she could not go. Luna jumped before the Communion of Light and Celestia to buy her Children of Night time. As they retreated, one Apple Gem turned around and saw a horror she did not think she would ever see. Luna was on the floor, writhing in pain and struck down by her own sister. Her body slowly began break apart into particles of magic.
“Since you love your moon oh so much, that is where I will seal you, dear Luna.” exclaimed Celestia.
She raised her head and set the sun, but brought forth the moon. Luna lay on the ground shocked; she did not know her sister was capable of moving her moon at will. Luna had disintegrated and her essence flew to the sky. An image of a mare appeared on the surface of the moon. It was done, Luna was gone. Celestia used her magic one last time to set the moon and raise the sun, which had become a tradition on that day.
“Rise my little ponies! For this day, we have defeated a wicked pony, a pony who wished to block out the sun, and ruin this land. Forget not what I have done for you, but remember and believe that I am here for you, the ponies of this land. Give me your strength, as I must retreat for now, but know that I still will raise the sun and moon. You all may not see me but I am there.” exclaimed Celestia. She raised the sun and her warriors celebrated the new summer sun. The people of Ponympus emerged from the rubble and cheered for Celestia as she flew to the sun. They did not know who attacked them, but they still cheered. Along the horizon Apple Gem could only stand and watch their ignorance.
“Master Apple gem, they know not what they are doing! Some day we must come back here and speak the truth! We must tell them the true history of this day!” spoke Apple Gem’s second in command, Star Seeker.
“No we cannot. We must remain hidden and hope that someday, our princess returns. We cannot tell them the truth, for history is written by the victors and believed by the ignorant.”
Over half a millennium had gone by without the alicorn sisters, and in the absence of the deceptive Celestia, a new ruler had emerged and her kingdom was built upon a mountain formed during the great battle of the sisters. This kingdom was now called Canterbury. The land had recovered surprisingly well. Some say it was the leaving of the princess. It was like a golden age. We had a new Princess, the kingdom had recovered, newer generation ponies lived longer and healthier.
She was chosen by the people. She was everything they had hoped for in a ruler. Her name was Astraea, and Astraea was the alicorn of justice. In the year 1080 Before Liberation, Astraea was just a court lawyer. She never lost a legal battle. She had a great sense of justice, but she always doubted what she was doing. She doubted her ability.
Twelve years prior to her ascension to alicornhood, one trial had pulled at her heart so bad, she even considered quitting. The trial began, the pony defendant was a serial rapist and guilty of murder. His name was Penta Graham, and was a cult leader. This time he was in court, Astraea was to defend him. She would take any job to prove how perfect she was as a lawyer, even if she was unknowingly was defending a pony that killed her sister.
The trial dragged on, and Astraea could not choose. Her morals kept her from defending Graham, but her reputation was on the line. The first day started just like any other trial. However, instead of a ragged mare or stallion always walked through the door, it was a silver maneless stallion. His eyes were bloodshot and his face covered with a mask. He was tied in chains and a pentagram in the shape of a sun carved into his head.
Weeks passed and this trial seemed to go nowhere, Astraea was able to disprove every piece of evidence and dismiss them as coincidences. In her ignorance, the detectives gave her one last piece of evidence that made her crack. Her sister’s murderer was Graham. She gave up on the case and left, believing her involvement would be partial to the trial. She was later to come back to the same case, only against the murderer of her sister. Keeping her personal problems out of the case, she strove for true justice and convinced the jury to plead guilty. He was locked up forever, and she ascended by will of the gods. That day the earth pony became an alicorn, the first one seen in decades. Ponies all around decided she had to become their ruler.
Ten years after this trial, she became Princess of Equestria. With a new castle and ponies ready to obey her, she had nothing to fear except her suitors. She was a well-known pony, she was beautiful and powerful. She always knew what to do. She had to raise the sun during the Summer Sun Celebration in honor of their previous princess, Celestia. She never knew why, but she always had reservations about performing this task. Legend says that Celestia flew to the sun and resides there to heal from her great battle, but what of the moon? In this world there was balance. Every Yin had a Yang. Darkness had light. Land had the oceans. No record remained of the great battle. Any pony that she knew of who lived during that time had long since passed away. Life was still short for this golden age.
It is 1050 BL, and the 550th Summer Sun Celebration has passed. Astraea became intrigued with the concept of balance in the universe. As she often did, Astraea took up a disguises to leave her castle to explore the town and market. She could not be seen, as suitors would be chased without end, and be scolded by the captain of her guard and suitor, Surya Tenshi.
He was always a peculiar fellow. He devoted everything to the sun with a cultish obsession. He made sure Astraea was always on schedule when it came to affairs with the sun. He may have even been more devoted to the sun than to Astraea. Even his helmet, which he never took off, was decaled with imagery of the sun.
The day following the Summer Sun Celebration, a letter sent through magic mail had appeared before her. Her latest package had been picked up from her black market insider. Now it was time for Astraea to play the waiting game. For her first form of business, she must give have her captain of the guard retire for the night it was no problem, she did whatever she said. He was a very creepy fellow. Surya always tried to make his advances on her, blatantly flirting with her and always trying to obtain physical contact. She always had him around, he was her most skilled guard, but for some reason, he was nowhere to be seen this day. Astraea trotted along the courtyard to Surya’s residence.
“Why, hello there my lady,” came the familiar voice of Surya from behind Astraea, “were you looking for me? I knew you could not resist”
“Why yes,” stated the princess in disgust, “I have come to give you orders.”
“Direct orders from you? This must be important. Yes! I shall protect you in bed!” quickly called out the stallion.
“No... that is not it,” said the princess with a bright red face, “as you know this week is a week of celebration, so I am ordering you to visit your parents, tonight! You have not visited them in over 100 moons.”
“But I am your guard! I will not leave your side till death do us part! I shall protect you with my life, I do not need to give in to trivial things like family!” replied Surya confidently.
Astraea could not help but embarrassed, all of Canterbury could have heard Surya. She did not know what to say or do, but she knew he would honor her wish. She knew he was a knight, and there was one thing a knight could never back down from.
“Let us duel then,” stated Astraea, “as a princess, you must accept my orders. On top of that, you are a knight, and you cannot back out of this duel. If I win, you shall leave to attend to your parents from the end of the duel until the end of the week.”
“Alright then, I accept. I don’t mind exercising with you” moaned Surya.
The two ponies stood at opposite ends of the yard, they prepared themselves. Surya grinned, thinking he could best the alicorn before him. The leapt toward each other, and crossed hooves. Their eyes met. Astraea was disgusted with the lust in Surya’s eyes and shoved him back and he flew to the ground. She lifted her head tapped Surya on the head. The Dual was over.
On his word, Surya entered his abode to pack for his trip. She walked him to the door, and gave him a farewell, and walked away. as the door closed behind her, she felt uneasy.
That night, Surya had gone and the night was still. She put on her tunic, robe, face mask and left for town. Nausea fell upon her as she placed one foot into the shop of her dealer.
“She is plotting something I had a vision from the sun goddess!”
Astraea turned around behind her, she thought she heard Surya’s voice. He was not there. She could not sense him, and she did not hear any hooves. Her nausea subsided as swiftly as it came.
Upon collecting her spoils, she paid the vendor and swiftly darted away toward her castle to the crystal mine below. She hid her goods for up to a month to not gain any attention from Surya, as he had become concerned and angered with her continual obsession with balance. He always had guards search the grounds for any… taboo objects, but to never any avail. The mines were well hidden. Nopony knew of the mines.
August that year, she finally decided to dig up the spoils she hid the week of the Summer Sun Celebration. She crept down the hall, avoiding the guards. She came upon the hidden passage she knew too well, it was a set of stair wells and tunnels that lead her all throughout the castle. Upon the Final step of the stairwell, Astraea was plagued by a major headache. Her vision faded to blur and her eyes started spasm and she fell to the floor. Was this a seizure? She was not sure, but as suddenly as the ailments came they left. She shook off her worries and began walking.
“Truth…” echoed a mysterious voice. Astraea stopped only after having made one step. Truth is something Astraea always sought. She continued to the dark hallway. At the end of the tunnel she felt cold, but she felt safe, safer than her own castle could keep her. The amethyst wall was the only obstacle left between her and her prized spoils. She walked up to the wall. She prepared her spell to pass through the opaque crystal. Midway through the dense metal, he spell had failed, and she was encased. She was losing air and panicked, then darkness.
“Justice… seek the truth…” the voice called out to Astraea again. Astraea awoke in front of the adamantine wall. But something was different, she saw her shadow. Astraea turned around and it was not daytime, it was the light generated by the crystals. The dim blue light lit up the mine as she walked down the mine to her spoils. The box lay where it had been for the past month. The closer she got to the box, the more the light brightened. The mines had never done this before. She knew all too well it was a sign. The temptation was too great; she opened the box and inside, was a book. This was her first book from the black market. She eagerly sat down and turned the first page. The pages flipped through by themselves, and landed on the 1000th page.
“The Astral Plane…” called a voice from the book. Astraea’s eyes went white, the lights of the crystals dissipated and in front of her stood a mare. She could not see who the mare was, but could make out her blue ethereal mane. She felt safe in the presence of this mare. Her eyes reverted to their former state and out of the corner of her eye; she saw a glint from behind her. Her lavender mane, it had become ethereal, she had ascended. Astraea had only heard legends of such an occasion. She looked up at the mare before her
“Go, and do not falter, my child.” stated the booming voice. Astraea awoke the next morning in her bed, with her non-ethereal mane.
“Are you ok m’lady?” questioned Surya, “We found you passed out in the hallway last night.”
She didn’t want to answer, because all she could think about was what the Astral Plane could be. Surya told her it must have been just a dream. He told her to ignore it. The captain of her guard knew best. She kept her secret for some time.
The following week, she returned to the crystal mine to find that her box had been unopened. Was it only a dream or did she never open the box? She saw fresh hoof prints her size on the floor. She opened the book as she did before, and remembered the page the book had opened itself up to. Page 1000, this time, contained a picture. It depicted the moon, a picture of a blue alicorn and an inscription below it. The inscription was structured in a poem of some sort. The only legible words left were on the first 2 lines.
“Children of night….. Princess of Night and Moon.”
Astraea stopped. What she longed to discover, had finally been revealed. She tried her best to stand, but could not get up. She fainted and fell to the floor.
“We must commence with the communion soon” stated Surya with the Princess left half-conscious on the bed. Astraea did not understand what this had meant and she passed out once again.
Astraea awoke in an area, saw stars; she did not know where she was. She looked up at the moon, and heard a voice.
“Under the guise of night, you shall go to the castle of the two sisters. You shall receive all the answers you seek.”
It is now January, and Astraea had been ignoring all her suitors. Even Surya began to worry. Astraea was the closest with him. He walked to her room. He gave her a quick glance and heard her mumbling. He chuckled as he had noticed that Astraea had been talking in her sleep for some time.
“Astral Plane” came out of Astraea’s mouth as she slept. Surya’s smile dropped.
“Gather the Communion.” He stated to his subordinates. He knew it was time. The earth pony took off his helmet and headed to the highest tower in the castle.
February came around, and it was time for Astraea to follow up on her vision. The night of the 12th day, Astraea came flew through the night in secret to the castle of the two sisters, as she told it was called. She knew it as the Castle of Old, and that nopony has lived there since the disappearance of the old Princess.
She landed in the throne room of what supposedly once was a glorious castle. The moon had shown down upon the mare as she looked to the sky. Her mane had glowed with an ethereal simmer. She heard the sound of hooves hitting the floor, she turned around and there behind her stood a mare. This mare was much different from the mare from her visions. The mare stood there looking at her.
“So the prophecy Apple Gem had spoken of has come true after all,” exclaimed the orange mare, “The last time I saw an alicorn was when she fell in battle.”
She could not believe her ears, Astraea thought of the princess of old. The legends do not say of any such things. The last alicorn in existence before her had been victorious over the evil natural forces of the land. In that moment, she remembered the book she once laid her eyes upon. She spoke out
“The Princess of the moon and night?” asked the alicorn.
“Yes, my dear Astraea,” spoke the old mare with a smile, “I have much to teach you.”
A pony came from behind the old mare with a piece of crystal. The mysterious pony and placed the gem before Astraea. She knew it well, it was Amethyst. With one touch the crystal gave her a vision.
Astraea witnessed a blue manned alicorn locked in battle with a white alicorn. It was a great battle, one that reshaped the earth. A mountain rose from the ground, it was the very mountain Canterbury was built on. Rocks flew, crystals shot from the ground. Astraea looked up at the ensuing battle and saw the moon rise. the scene goes dark. She could not move. The darkness was frightening, Astraea was scared. Astraea cried out for somepony to save her and her plea was answered. She felt the embrace of a wing over her body, and Astraea awoke to the castle of old. The crystal she had come to contact with was used as a sort of vision medium. About to speak Astraea was interrupted by the mare.
“It is not a vision you are having dear, I have never seen someone with such a connection since my commanding officer Apple Gem. Anyways, I have one job for you. You must complete this task, the world depends on it. I shall give you instruction at a later time.” said the mare as she read Astraea’s mind.
The day was already returning, and Astraea had stayed too long. Her guards would be up pretty soon. She could not fly back otherwise she would risk getting caught by the guards and seen by the citizens of towns along the way. She had had enough traveling for one night, so she closed her eyes as to rest. Astraea disappeared with the moonlight.
She awoke upon her bed, with all her energy. The series of events was too much for her to understand, but of all things she remembered her task. She was hit with another headache, and she saw the old mare. Astraea was communicating with the old pony, the mare was projecting herself to Astraea.
“Hello again, Astraea. You know why I appear before you. You must go and find the same crystal my apprentice had given you. From this crystal, you shall make as many amulets before the return of your guard. The amulets, they must be rose cut and carve onto them what you saw in your book. Carve 'Children of Night' onto each amulet” The old mare closed her eyes and disintegrated into particles before Astraea could respond.
Astraea was ready for her task; upon the setting sun, she would head to the mine and create the amulets. She only had 4 nights left before Surya would return. Astraea worked as fast as she could, but only could craft 6 amulets. One task remained, it was the last night. She ran to town as fast as she could, something in her heart told her she needed to hurry. She reached her dealer, and put her bag of amulets on the table and left without any need of payment.
The moon was out, it was full. the light shone upon Astraea and she looked up. Her mane entered it’s ethereal state. She appeared at the castle once more with a ghostly appearance. She saw the mysterious pony who was with the old mare, but the old one was nowhere in sight. She called out to the mysterious pony, and it looked at her, but did not say anything. it’s attention averted to the shadows. Astraea could not see the face, but could see that the stallion had a silver coat. She called out to the stallion but, the stallion did not notice her.
“What is the recipe, mage.” commanded a single, silver earth stallion hidden in the shadows.
“What shall I tell you?” asked the mysterious pony from the castle.
“You know what I need,” commanded the silver earth pony, “Give me the recipe from my vision, Star Seeker!”
“I am not Star Seeker, you just missed her.” replied the mysterious one.
“Do I look like I care? You are her student” shouted the stallion.
“You look as evil as the sun carved on your head.” stated the mysterious one.
“Do not play games with me. I am the king and grand-master of the Communion of Light!” snarled the silver stallion, “tell me the recipe otherwise I will you send you to your precious Astral Plane.”
“Very well then, I shall give you the recipe. You shall need one tuft of a cloud, a bright rainbow’s glow, and stir with a Pegasus feather, fast not slow. Then serve to a pony not in the know”
