Holy Wars

“-OOOOO!” A bright flash of light cut me off as I realised I wasn't in the castle anymore. My battle armor clanked as my blood soaked hooves hit the dirt. I dropped my bloodied sword to the ground as a wave of emotion took hold of me. The only remaining night guards stood behind me as they looked up in sorrowful awe at the sky.

The stars aligned with the moon. I couldn't bear to watch it as tears clouded my vision.

“It wasn't supposed to be like this!” I shouted up to the heavens, hoping Celestia would change her mind. I cried harder than I ever had before. She didn't deserve this, even through all she's done, she didn't deserve this.

The stars shone out behind the moon and permanently etched the mare in the moon onto its surface, sealing the fate of the one I held the closest. I let out a pained cry. All I had worked for, all of the lives I had ended, and only failure to show for it.

There was nothing left for me now but to hope for a quick death. I laid in the cold dirt and sobbed as the sun pushed the moon out of the sky.

“Silver, we have to go. They'll find us here,” One of the guards said through a broken voice as he pulled me out of the dirt.

I nodded. We were the last, we were the condemned. We were going to be hunted and killed to the last pony, and we all knew it. The only thing we had left to do is run.

______________________________________________________________________________

        I marched into the castle with a massive smile on my face, and party fares covering me from hoof to horn. There was never another party like the summer sun festival. Every servant in the whole castle was released to celebrate that day. The entire town of Concordia was alive through the night, shouting and singing and dancing. It had to be the best time of the year. As the party drew to a close, I decided to retire to my place in the castle in Luna’s servants quarters to begin my duties for the next day.

        But as I walked through the empty castle corridor, I only heard muffled sobbing through the celebrations outside.

        “Hello? Who is there?” I called out. No answer came. I decided to find the source, since no pony should be sad and alone on this day.

        I followed the sound through the halls, losing my smile to the cries of this melancholy soul. As I neared the Royal bedchambers, I recalled one particular princess of the night was absent from the celebration this day.

        “Luna? Is that you?” Though no answer came, the source of the pained sounds where no doubt emanating from her bedchambers. Determined to help her majesty, I summoned the bravery to enter her door.

        I pushed open the large wooden door to find Luna hunched over before a mirror, crying for some reason unbeknownst to me.

        I continued my trek into her dark, spacious room and finally spoke up. “Your majesty, whatever is the matte-”

        Luna swiftly turned around to look at me as soon as I spoke with the force of a bolt of lightning. Her eyes focused on me and I stopped dead in my tracks, petrified. Her gaze pierced my very essence, her eyes stared with a maddened gaze that promised everlasting pain to whatever wrong was before them.

        I could have died by that gaze alone, but after a split second, she recognized me and her gaze eased at my presence.

        “Oh, Silver, it is only you.” Luna brushed the tears out of her eyes. She sighed and then trotted over to the balcony. “These are most troubling of times.”

        I trotted up to where she was sitting and sat as well, “Whatever has you so upset on such wondrous occasions your majesty?”

        “Oh Silver, that is precisely the problem. Ponies are out in the streets celebrating my sister's sun,” she said, motioning to the ponies enjoying themselves in the street.

        “But Princess, it is a day of nation wide celebration, why do you cry over such a wondrous occasion?”

        “On the eve of the celebration, I had asked of my sister to have an identical celebration for my moon, on the longest night of the year, so ponies may relish in my marvelous creation as well.”

        “That sounds like a great idea, what did Celestia have to say?”

        The princess began to let her emotions get the better of her as tears began flowing once again, “She shunned the idea before I had even finished. She remarked that no pony would waste their night in the harsh winters celebrating the death of their crops to a dark, meaningless sky,” She said, completely breaking down again.

        “She could not have meant such a thing, perhaps she was simply overdrawn by other events and took her anger out on you,” I said, attempting to console the saddened princess.

        “While I envy your optimism Silver Line, I cannot help but disagree. She was quite stern with the rejection, she did not even grant me the time to explain myself further, claiming she had ‘more important matters to attend to’. As if her own sister was not deserving of her presence.”

        “I-I’m so sorry princess.” I inched closer and hugged her, hoping it would console her. She put an arm around me and cried as a broken mare. Any other pony and the mere thought of getting this close to her majesty would be daunting, but I had grown especially close to the princess of the night over the years of serving her. I could say that her and I were quite close friends, close enough to share moments like this.

        “I just do not understand, Silver. Ponies relish and play in the day my elder sister brings forth, yet they shun and sleep through my beautiful night, and Celestia decrees this as how things are supposed to be,” she said through a veil of tears.

        “Not I, Princess. I love to witness your lovely night in its entirety on every occasion.”

        She broke the embrace to smile at me, which made me feel all the better, but it did not last long. “I know, Silver. It is so precious to me that you do so, but you are only one of few. While your perspective is dear to me, the majority see me as useless and forgotten.”

        “Princess, I assure you they do no such thing. You are adored by the masses.”

        “I am not so sure. My sister rules with absolute power, leaving me with little but the night itself to ‘bring harmony to the land’,” she said with a roll of her eyes.

        “It is true that she rules over you, but what can we do against it?” I asked rhetorically, but the Princess had summoned an air of determination at the words.

        “Do you trust me, Silver?” Luna said with a hopeful gaze.

        “With my life, your highness.” This brought a determined smile to the face of the Princess, with her starry mane brightening as it whipped in an invisible wind.

        “Good. Silver, you are one of the best friends I have ever been blessed with.”

        “Think nothing of it, the blessing is all mine.”

        “Silver Line, I must ask a favor of you. I assure you this is of utmost importance.”

        “Anything for you, your majesty,” I said as I straightened up.

        “There may be something we can do to turn the tides of my sisters regime. On the eve of the morrow, the castle will be ours,” she said ominously.

        Her eyes sharpened and I was momentarily filled with fear. She had the look of a mad killer while she laid out the plan to me, and my role in it.

        This was going to be the start of the bloodiest war that Equestria has ever seen.