Children of the Night

Children of the night

Chapter 25

End of a tale

Diamond greeted her old friend, as the brown Alicorn arrived with her forces, to help them end the siege. They catched up on each other, since they had last seen each other.

"So, you have you own hive now? Sounds great! I just know you will do a better job then Chrysalis."

"I am honored you might think so. I do my best to enable my underlings to live alongside ponies. Something my mother has never ever even seriously tried."

Moonsinger face darkend.

"Yeah... I remember that only too well. Had I ended her back then, we might not have to deal with this crisis right now."

"Had you killed my mother back then, you might have made an enemy of me. Now, after that much time, I realize that it might have been for the best. But back then I was still young and idolized my mother too much."

"Can't really blame you. What daughter wouldn't? Oh by the way, hows the siege going? Any chance we can break that barrier?"

"I am sure we can break it with the help of your forces, but I would actually like to wait until the other two are here. We shouldn't rush things too much. My mother may be less inteligent then me, but she is standing with her back to the wall, and that maker her more dangerous then ever before."

"Ah relax. I could have taken her when I was an Unicorn. Now that I am an Alicorn, I have no doubt that it would be a quick fight."

"That might be true, but don't be too sure that you would be the winner Moonsinger. I can sense that you are quite full of yourself."

"Why shouldn't I? These insects can't stop me if I really get into it."

"These insects, as you call them, are my kin."

"Oh... ehm sorry... I didn't mean to offend you Diamond."

"No offense taken. But you should really choose your words more whisely. And besides, my point is still valid. Mother has absorbed so many feelings over the last months.... You can be sure that she is much stronger now then the last time you two met. Maybe even as strong as yourself."

"That is... highly unlikely."

"Unlikely, but not impossible. I know you are not a stupid pony, and I know you realize it as much as I do. The magic radiating from this barrier is enormous and threatening. I ask you to wait for Celestia and Luna to arrive before we attempt to breach it."

Moonsinger sighed. Sure, Diamonds drones where attacking the barrier all the time, but she knew that was only to weaken it, and preventing the magical shield from growing too strong. And yes, she knew that her friend was right. Chrysalis had fed so much over the last few months, that there was just no telling how strong she had gotten. As much as Moonsinger hated to admit it, but to wait until atleast her mother was in range, was the logical course of action.

"So... you are the newest addition to my family? Pleased to meet you again Moonsinger."

Cadance joined the two. The few Changelings standing on Canterlot walls, made not even the slightest attempt to attack them. On the other hoof, even if they wanted to try, they were unable to. Their queens barrier kept them inside, as much as it kept their attackers out.

"Family? I don't understand princess Cadence."

"No need to be so formal. We are both Alicorns, and further more, you are Lunas adopted daughter. Since Luna is my godmother, that makes you kinda my cousin."

Diamon began to chuckle.

"Don't you confuse Moonsinger. I can see it on her face, that she never thought about it like that."

Moonsinger gave the two an annoyed pout.

"I am not stupid! You just said so yourself. But yeah, I never thought about it that way."

"So "Princess Moonsinger", what do you say? Will you keep your head cool and wait for the others to arrive?"

"Not so easy, when you mock me with a title, I don't desire in any way!"

Cadance watched the two friends. She liked what she saw verry much. It showed that ponies and Changelings did not had to be enemies. They could, just as easily, become friends. Sometimes.... even lovers in her case.

The three commanders settled down, behind a shield spell Cadence had put up just in case, and enjoyed a late meal. It was as much a try to distract Moonsinger from her attack plans, as much is was just a simple lunch. Cadence had been shocked when she had seen her cousins forces. They were tired and exhausted. Some of them were even injured and needed medical assistance. She was sure that her cousin had maybe seen it, but was so determined to end all of this as soon as possible, that she had maybe misjudged her situation.

For several hours, the three of them just sat there. Had there not been the sound of magical bolts hitting the barrier, one might have mistaken the scene for a simple picnic between good friends. It was Moonsinger to notice it first. Her ears perked up and she looked to the horizon. There was a dustcloud rising up from the direction of the Mane forest.

"Alright! Mother is here. So let's start the action. I can't wait to see her face when the whole thing is over before she arrives here."

"Moonsinger. I thought we had agreed to wait for Celestia aswell."

Diamond was uncomfortable with the thought that Moonsinger wanted to start the charge, but was unable to talk her out of it. Each step crackling with power and eagerness, Moonsinger took position in front of her forces. Her horn glowed with magic and a small ball of pale white energy formed on it's tip. With a flick of her neck, she threw it at the part of the barrier, that covered the main gates to the city. To her own suprise... there was a hole blasted into it. She hadn't expected that, even through all her boasting earlier.

Not willing to question a good thing she sounded the charge with the traditional gardens battlecry.

"FOR MOTHER! SHOW THEM HOW DANGEROUS THE DARK CAN BE!"

All of her forces started to move, following close behind her, as she charged at the hole in the barrier. As she passed into Canterlot city limits, Moonsinger felt a joy, she had never expected possible. It was her first time in the lands capital, and she liked what she saw. Something was amiss, and Moonsinger noticed it, even so she was marveling over the beauty of the city. First of all, there were no defenders waiting for her as she still stood inside the gateway. The second was.... Where were her forces? The moment she stopped, they should have run past her. Moonsinger turned around, to find her soldiers beating on the barrier that was, once again, fully intact. She tried the same thing she had done earlier, and shot one of her magical bolts at the barrier....

It had no effect... She ran up to it and bucked at the barrier, but other then a loud thundercrack like sound, when her hooves struck it, there was no damage on it. Moonsinger shook her head. She had underestimated Chrysalis, and had run head first into a trap. And such an OBVIOUS one for that. All this time she had been concentrating on ending the war, that she had not thought ahead. She had not done, what would have been the only natural thing and what had saved her hide more then once.

"Why didn't I ask myself what I would have done? What's wrong with me?"

Luna galloped up to the barrier, having seen Moonsinger run into a hole in it, that had closed behind her daughter. She pushed her other children to the side, until they had noticed who was approaching, and cleared a way for her. There she was. Moonsinger stood just inside the gate, trying to break the barrier again. Luna could not believe it. She had to tell her daughter....

"GET-OUT-OF-THERE!"

She shouted, but it was too late. Small holes opend in the ground beneath her daughter and thirty-nine spear shot up from the floor, to impale everything they came in contact with. It was one of the few defense mechanisms she had been able to convince Celestia of.... And now that same one was impaling her own daughter...

Moonsinger saw her mother move her lips, but couldn't hear a single word. She tried to read her lips, but then a click sounded through the gateway. As she looked down, from where the click had come, she saw several holes, that had been covered with metal plates, open slowly. A second later, several spears shot out of them. Moonsinger tried to evade them, but to no avail. She tried to teleport, but her magic was not working for some reason... As she danced to her right, to evade one of the spears, another one shot through her left hindleg, pinning her in place. With a scream, she fell to her knees, when two other spears, pierced her wings, almost ripping them off. The pain was almost too much to bear for her right now. When two of the wooden deathsticks impaled her sides, her head dropped to the ground. The ones that came from the ground, she may have been able to outrun... But the ones that now came from the wall, made every attempt on escape impossible. Laying there, she turned her head to face her mother, who was now hitting the barrier in the same manner, she had just moments ago. Her voice barely above a whisper, she adressed her mother.

"H...elp...m"

She never got to finish her sentence, and Luna never heard the words due to the barrier. A final spear shot up from just under Moonsingers skull, impaling it and ending Moonsingers suffering....

Luna stood there... her eyes wide open and filled with tears. Her beating on the barrier became weaker and weaker, and she dropped down to all fours at first, before she sat on her haunches, unable to take her eyes of off her dead daughter. For a moment everything else went silent around her, until a black figure with green grimy mane walked cautiosly into the gateway. It started to prod at the now dead Moonsinger and started laughing.

Luna felt a rage well up in herself, that she had not felt in more then a thousand years. Tears still streaming from her face, she struggled to her hooves, and brushed off every hoof that tried to assist her. The magic that now whirled around her, started to change, from a pure pale white, to pure and nightmarish black. Like flames that burnt everything they came into contact with, her now black mane and tail reached out enveloping the whole barrier that kept her from getting to her daughter.

The Changelings looked up at the blackness that enveloped the city. They shrinked back in fear, as the darkness became absolute and blotted out even the light of the sun. They all looked up at a sky... that was nothing but black... just like a nightsky that had no a single star in it.

A loud cracking sound spread through Canterlot, as the barrier Chrysalis has put up to keep the invaders out, broke. The queen was startled when she found her spell broken. She had assumed, that it could withstand more then enough punishment, but now Luna alone had broken it. Before she could see again, she could feel a grip on her horn, and a numbing pain, as it was broken off. Chrysalis screamed as the pain coursed through her head and tried to make out her attacker, but still the darkness was absolute. Not even any sound traveled though it. It was as if every ray of light, and every ever so small noise was devoured by it. She couldn't even hear her own breathing....

"What's the matter Chrysalis? I thought you wanted to see with your own eyes, what the power of Nightmare Moon was like."

"You are DEAD! I saw it myself! My drones mutulated your corpse! YOU ARE DEAD!"

"Oh, but yes. Nightmare Moon, is no more. I am princess Luna of Equestria. But our affinity with the darkness, is pretty much the same."

Lunas voice was calm and mocking at the same time, as she walked in a circle around Chrysalis. She had made sure that the only thing the queen heard, was her voice.... Other then Chrysalis, she could see just fine in this complete darkness. She could feel her children, Cadence, Diamond and even Celestia try to get in through the barrier her mane and tail had formed. She would deny them entry... This was now something between her and Chrysalis. If it was just a matter of political infighting before, it had now turned personal. Luna would not anypony lay a hoof on Chrysalis, until she was done with her.

Chrysalis started to panic, swinging her hooves into the darkness, bucking into nothingness.... but she hit nothing. Instead, she felt the wind being knocked out of her lungs, as she went on a unvoluntary flight, only to be stopped by a brick wall.

"What is the matter "Queen" Chrysalis? I thought you wanted a fight. Is this really all you can do? You are pathetic!"

"You are not fighting fair! Let me see and you'll wish you never came here!"

"Fair? You accuse ME of not fighting fair?"

She was pulled out of the wall by her mane, and sent flying into the darkness once again, until she hit another wall, head first this time.

"You lure ponies into traps, and use the defenses I BUILD against my daughter. You weren't even brave enough to try and defeat her in an open battle. I just return the favor."

Chrysalis struggled to her hooves, staggering slightly. The force with which she had hit a wall for the second time now, had injured her some.

"That stupid Moonsinger! Had my daughter not betrayed me, I would have ended her centuries ag...."

Another hoof struck her, cutting her sentence short. This time, she hit the ground, snout first. Before she could try to recover, she felt that somepony turned her to her back and pinned her legs to the ground with a spell.

"So you've won. What now? Will you kick me out like the last time? Imprison me?"

"You don't deserve any of that."

The coldness in Lunas voice made Chrysalis shiver, and realize that she was in for more then she had bargained for. Before she could speak again however, a hoof burried itself deep in her gut. She could feel her intrails rip at the force, and her spine break. At the same time, her head was enveloped by a spell that she did not recognize. Hit after hit, her bones got broken, her organs smashed and the blood pressed upwards towards her mouth.

"THIS-IS-FOR-COOKIE-JAR!"

One more hit connected with her stomach, breaking all the way through her, and into the asphalt this time.

"THIS-IS-FOR-FROSTMANE!"

And again a particular strong hit rained down on her. Chrysalis could feel that her body was now nothing more then a mush of crushed bones and flesh. She did not understand why she was not dead yet, or unconciouss. And why the hay did she still feel every part of her body? Then it hit her, like a hammerblow. The spell around her head.... It kept her alive and connected with her body... It denied her the sweetness of unconciousness or death....

Screaming all the names of her children she had seen dying, Luna continued to bring her hooves down on Chrysalis. By now she had beaten her so often, and so hard that the both of them had broken the face of the street, and had fallen into the sewer system below Canterlot. Suddenly Luna stopped, looking up, as her mane and tail barrier was broken. She felt it practicly burn away, and it hurt her verry badly. In just the blink of an eye, she found herself being pushed against one of the walls of the sewers by Solar Flare.

"Let me go!"

"No! I won't! I like you Luna, and I didn't want to help Celestia any more until she sees her own mistakes, but I can't let THIS HAPPEN! You are not fully turned yet. You have to fight it! Don't let your anger and remorse take you over. It is the fastest way to become a vile creature like my sister was one. I don't want to see a good Alicorn like you, turn into something like that, ever again."

"But Moonsinger... Moonsinger...."

"Shhhh.... I know Luna, but torturing her will gain you nothing."

With that, Solar Flare negated the spell that kept Chrysalis alive. The second she did, the Changeling queens eyes broke, and she ceased to be.

Luna slowly calmed down, her mane and tail slowly returning to their usual state, reflecting the night sky. Also her magical color, that still swirlled around her, changed back to a pale white. Solar Flare embraced Luna, stroking her mane with a hoof.

"Thank you Solar."

"I did NOT do this for you Celestia. You still have not learned your lesson. In my eyes, you are a toddler that has barely any living experience and is unwilling to see her own mistakes."

"I beg your pardon? I am over fifteen hundred years old!"

"And I am over thirty thousand years old. So who is the one with more experience here? You know what? Don't answer that. You disgust me! Upon seeing your nieces dead body, the first thing you do is to ask ME to safe your sister, not wasting a thought for Moonsinger."

"I am sorry she is dead, but there was nothing I could have done. Luna however needed help!"

"She didn't! That insect NEVER stood a chance against her. The only thing I must admit, is that it was good I prevented her from fully turning. Had she, then all of this would have ended much, much worse. And for now, YOU stay in the background, until this crisis is resolved. I watched your meddling LONG enough!"

"You can't do that! I am the ruler of all of Equestria!"

Celestia thought at her mental passanger, and tried to overpower her, just to be thrown back forcefully to the back of her own mind.

"Don't try to fight me Celestia. I am in no mood for your temper tamptrums."

Gently, Solar Flare lifted Luna out of the sewers, while the fight around them was now on for real. The Changelings fought bravely, but they had felt their queens death. The attackers were quickly overpowering them. In addition to that, more and more of the ponies, that were now free of the mindcontrol, joined in on the fight, not letting a single one of their tormentors escape....

That evening, found Luna sleeping under a tree, outside of Canterlot. The battle inside the city was over, and Celestia was already in charge of the goverment again. She however, had refused to be reinstated. Solar Flare had told her everything. How her sister had treated Twilight Sparkle, the one and only pony she called her friend outside the garden, along with how she had reacted to see Moonsingers dead body. Luna had enough. Over the last one and a half millenia, she had watched her sister plot and scheme, but now she was tired of it. She awoke when Apple Candy nudged her side gently.

"What is it Candy? Is it time for us to go?"

"No, not yet mother. Celestia insists that you adress your subjects, and then decide if you really want to leave."

"And if I don't want to?"

"Well... she said she'd just make sure we'd be confined within city limits until you decide to do it."

"As always, big sis doesn't leave me any other choice. Verry well. Let's get it over with. You gather the survivors and get ready to leave as soon as I am done here."

"As you wish mother."

Luna made her way to the balcony outside the throneroom. Beneath it was a large crowd of gathered ponies. Celestia had already prepared a new set of royal vestments for her. A new crown, breatplate and silver horseshoes, but Luna did not put any of them on, or exchange a single word with her sister, before adressing the crowd of ponies. They no longer were her subjects. She was no longer a princess, and that decission was final. Using the royal Canterlot voice, to adress all of them, she began her speech.

"My fellow ponies,

you are once again free. My children of the night, have performed that feat, together with help of my niece Cadence of the Chrystal empire, and her ally, Diamond the new Changeling queen. Don't fred my fellow ponies, Diamond has ensured that none of her drones will ever have to attack a pony. They will live peacefully alongside us.

Also I am hereby declaring the Everfree forest, an indipendend nation. Nopony will be allowed to approach it in the futrue, unless Twilight Sparkle. If any of you see her, please relay that to her. That is my last act as a princess of Equestria."

At this the crowd began to murmur.

"I am no longer "Princess Luna". I am simply Luna, mother to the children of the night. And as any good mother should do, I will, from this day on, stay with my children, in the Everfree forest. Don't think that I reside there is a permission for any of you to approach it though. My children will guard the perimeter, and warn everypony that comes to close. Ignore their warning, and you will have to deal with the consequences.

I wish you long and happy lives, you Equestrians. I am no longer one of you..."

Witht that, before Celestia was able to stop her, Luna teleported herself out of the city limits, to her children. All of them looked tired and sad.They were happy, on one end, that Luna would now stay with them, but were mourning for their fallen friends. Luna let her eyes glow, reassuring all of them with some mental words, before the group of a little over sixty thousand ponies, started to make their way towards the Everfree forest.

Sixty four years later

"And that was all great grandmother?"

A blue coated pegasus filly with orange mane and tail, asked her orange coated and grey maned great grandmother. The Unicorn put a hoof up to her chin and thought for a moment.

"I think so Dawn."

"But what happend to the elements of harmony? You never told me! What happend to them? And where was Rainbow Dash, when Pinkie Pie was brought back injured?"

"Oh, that... Well..... many ponies think that they left Equestria for good, since they could not forgive princess Celestia for using them like tools. Others have told me they think they have gone with Discord to another world entirely. As for Rainbow Dash... She had gathered up Fluttershys animal friends and had asked Twilight to teleport her to the peak of mount Unicornia. There, in the snow of the mountain, she build a small cross from branches the animals brought her. It is still there. Onto the cross, she bound two feathers. One was from her own wings, while the other was a feather from Fluttershy she had found in their cell. When they were done however, Twilight had been in a too deep depression to teleport them back. They only reunited, when they all left the place, and Rainbow sure gave Twilight a piece of her mind, for leaving her up there for three days."

"What do you think happend to them? I mean, you seem to know alot about it all."

"I think they are still in Equestria somewhere... waiting for the day they can forgive and forget what has happend."

"But isn't that kinda stupid grandma Glow?"

"What do you mean Dusk?"

"I mean... if the princess simply appologized, they would be able to work it all out. You always told me, that there is no problem that can't be solved by talking."

The older mare sighed and stroked the orange mane of her great granddaughter.

"Yes... but... some things are hard to talk about. One party has to make the first move... And it won't work out it one of them does not see they did something wrong."

"So the princess is now all alone?"

"She is not alone. She acts, as if all of this never happend. Even so I have heard that, more then once, she tried to get into the Everfree forest, but was turned away by the children of the night. She once even tried to force her way in, but that didn't go to well for her. The will to talk is definitly there in her, but I doubt she accpets, that many left her side, because of the way she acted."

"That's sad. I mean.... If Luna and the elements would just talk to her..."

Midnight Glow shook her head.

"You are to young to understand my little angel. And now, I think it time for a certain little filly to fo to sleep."

"Awww.... but I still want to know some stuff..."

"Safe it for tomorrow. I promise, I will answer it all, when we visit Canterlot tomorrow."

"Yay!"

Glow tucked the blankets in around her great granddaughter, and couldn't help but smile. She was happy that her granddaughter, Evening Shine, had allowed her to have the little filly over the weekend. Even so, at her age, it was not so easy anymore to deal with this much energy. She put the lights out with her magic, and quietly left the room, walking slowly down the hall towards her living room. On the walls were many pictures of friends and family.... Also of her travels all over Equestria. She had written down everything she was able to learn about the Changelings attack on Equestria in these travels, and had spoken with many other witnesses....

As she approached a shelf in her living room, she took one particular picture frame of it, and held it in her hooves. As she looked at it, she broke out in tears. The photograph showed all of her friends.... And all of them were smiling... now she was the last of them.... The last of them, except herself, had died three months prior....

"You are crying again? Is there anything I can do for you?"

A familiar voice came from behind her, and she spotted a blue earthpony stallion with a red mane. His cutiemark was a green book.

"I... am ok Discord.... You can change back to your true form now. The little one is asleep."

With a puff of smoke, the image of the stallion dissappeared and before Twilight, stood the draconus she knew so well. It had been him who had gotten all of them out of their prison, and had enabled them to flee. He had also been the one who had made it possible for them to hide so well.... Discord had used his magic to change all of their appearances.... And nopony ever had seen through it in all this time.

The draconus stretched, before he walked over to Twilight, carefully putting his paw on her back.

"Twilight... I must ask you to reconsider... Please accept my offer, and I will make you a fully grown Alicorn. You will be immortal and everything!"

"Sorry Discord... I can't accept your offer. I don't want to die, but I have a family now. Where you to make me immortal, I would outlive them all, and after all I've lost, I don't think I could bear that. And NO, don't even think about making all of them Alicorns. Don't forget the political consequences that might have. Remember what happend when it became appereant that Cadence is not having trouble controling her emotions, but has instead inherited an Alicorns immortality?"

"Yeah... how could I forget.... Celestia really is paranoid these days... Full out war with the Chrystal empire for ten years... "But don't they have peace now?"

"It's not really peace. It's a ceasfire. Celestia must learn that Cadence never had any ambition on her throne, but being alone has done strange things to her I suppose."

"You could talk her into it..."

"Maybe.... but I won't. I have hidden from Celestia most of my life now. I don't hate her anymore, like I used to do, but I still can't fully forgive her... Neither does Luna I think."

"Have you ever gone to see her?"

"Looking like this? She wouldn't have recognized me. And even if I did, the Wonderbolts patrol that area night and day. Don't you think they would immideatly report it if somepony was able to enter the forest and get out again, when Luna made it clear only I am allowed inside?"

Discord picked up a flyer that lay on a small table, trying to distrct himself from what he had felt. The life force of his last friend in the world, was fading quickly.

"So you really want to take her there?"

He said, waving the flyer in front of her.

"Yeah... The Chrystal grave they call it.... For me it is the tomb of my friends. I don't like it that they excavated it and now made it a tourist attraction."

"But they can't get inside. I made sure of that. Not even Celestia and Luna together could break down that door. Only you can open it, just as you wanted it."

"And I can't thank you enough for that. We might had to split up in hiding not to be discovered, but that way we can atleast be together in death...."

The elderly Unicon mare said, hugging Discord. The spirit of chaos returned her hug, with a tear in his eye....

The next day

Midnight Glow, her great granddaughter, and her butler Green Script, walked up the excavated tunnel, that was the entrance to the chrystal grave. Many tourists from all over Equestria came on this day. It was the fourty sixth anniversaty of Equestrias victory, afterall. All marveled at the Chrystal door emblazoned with five symblos...

Three Butterflies

Three Baloons

Three Diamonds

Three Apples

A cloud with a Rainbow lightningbold coming out of it....

Midnights eyes started to tear up, as she looked at it. The symbols had appeared in the order they had died, and she had made sure they were brought here, before.... the change happend. She felt a hoof on her shoulder, and looked into Scripts green eyes as she turned around.

"Are you okay miss Glow?"

"Y....Yeah... Please Script, go back to Hoofington ahead of me. I just remembered that I have something else to take care of in Canterlot, and that could take me a while. You know... my old age."

The stallion looked worried at his friend, but then nodded.

"See you later great grandmother! Don't be too long."

The young Pegasus filly shouted as the two ponies left the Chrystal grave ahead of her. She looked around one final time and saw the blue stallion mouth a single word, without speaking it.

"Farewell..."

Twilight waited until all the tourists had cleared and it had become quite late, before she walked up to the chrystal door that showed her friends cutiemarks. Soon... it would hold her own aswell...

She put a hoof on the door, and it reacted to her touch immideatly and slid aside. As she stepped inside, the chrystal walls began to glow with a dim, rainbow colored light. In the middle of the room, where six pedastals.... On each of them lay a chrystal, in which a pony seemed to sleep. Each and every one of them had been returned to the state as of the day they had first met. "Chrystal grave" seemed pretty much on the point the more she thought about it...

Twilight walked the line of her dead, and conserved friends. The change had come soon after their deaths, and they had all witnessed it with Fluttershy first... She had turned back to being a pegasus about an hour after her death. Soon after, her body was, without anypony able to explain why it happend, enclosed in a thick shell of chrystall. The same had happend after Pinie had died. Her strong muscles had faded, and her mane and tail had become poofy once again... before she aswell had been surrounded by chrystal....

By the time Rarity had died, the friends had already anticipated a change, but what had actually happend, had left them all speechless. Not only did her horn and eye regenerate, but she seemed to age backwards. Before the Chrystal had closed around her, she was, once again, just a mare of nineteen....

It had happend to Applejack and Rainbow Dash aswell.... and so it would to her, once she took her place on that last.... the sixth pedastal...

This was, when she felt an aura, she had not felt this close to herself in many, many years.... A soft, but trembling voice called out to her...

"I knew I'd find you here...... my faithfull student..."