Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum
Luna had taken every precaution to ensure her nightly duties were taken care of. Her sister was always so understanding when it came to this night. The candles in her room cast long shadows over her as she donned her cloak. Though, in truth, the cloak was nothing but a formality. A holdover from years past that she simply hadn't let go of. The kingdoms she ruled now were nowhere near as treacherous as they had been. She needn't hide her face to foil an assassin anymore. The guards were well trained, and the castle walls all but impregnable.
Her saddlebags had been packed, and she deftly hoisted them upon her elegant shoulders. Luna would ordinarily use the door, but like her cloak, old habits were hard to break. She stepped to the balcony, embracing the fresh night air as the moon began to rise. She spared no more than a glance at her former prison before spreading her wings and gliding down into the courtyard. From there, she strolled.
It was a rare occasion that she should enjoy the beauty of her night. A notion she found absurd when she truly thought about it. Of course, there was a time when she would have all ponies bend their knee toward the glory of her night. That was an eternity ago, she reminded herself. But, it did have much to do with her journey to start with. In fact, she would not be making this trek had it not been for her rebellion against her sister. She considered it her penance, though she felt she deserved a much harsher punishment. The solitude of the moon was nothing compared to what she had later learned upon her return. Her Night Guards were fiercely loyal to her and her alone, after all. That loyalty would cost them.
It pained her to think of it, so she banished the thoughts.
Not now. Not until we reach the Garden.
The gardens looked splendid in the moonlight. Where there were usually guards patrolling the hedge mazes and rose bushes, there was nothing but the cricket songs to remind her she was not alone. The Royal Guards had been forewarned to leave the gardens out of their patrol schedule this night.
She remembered the uniforms the guards used to wear. The ones she recalled from the time when she and her sister ruled together, after the banishment of Discord. They looked similar to the ones they wore now, and indeed, she often found herself referring to Shining Armor as Lord Shield, the commander of the Royal Guard from before her own banishment.
Luna felt the blush creep up her cheeks every time she misnamed one of her advisors with the name of one long since dead. It was trouble enough she had to adjust to a society that had progressed without her for a thousand years, suddenly she was expected to recall names of ponies she'd known for a comparative 'blink of an eye?'
Every now and then she'd catch a noble snickering behind their hooves when she was at a loss for words for a certain object or an advisor's name. It infuriated her to no end. She'd have had their head if Celestia hadn't foolishly abolished the official position of 'Princess' Headspony' during her absence.
Finally, she grew close to her destination. In the back of the gardens, a thorny, overgrown rose bush crept up the back wall, its vines clinging haphazardly to the stony surface. With her magic, she moved the bush aside, revealing a wrought iron gate, tangled into the bush where it tried to grow around it.
Another year to try again, she mused, turning her attention to the lock on the door. There was no key, but instead simply the image of the moon blocking out the sun, the corona visible on the top left corner as it began to traverse across the sky.
"Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum," she whispered into the metal, as the image began to shift. The moon covered the sun completely and the gate swung open, its rusted hinges squealing in protest. She had to hunch over to get through it. She had forgotten who this door had been built for.
Inside the secret garden was a crumbling old marble gazebo, with a statue just as neglected as the rest of it resting in the center. It depicted one of her valiant Night Guards, with his hoof planted firmly in the chest of one of Celestia's Royal Guards. At the time, it was meant to inspire her noble warriors to fight for her, to further her glory even if it cost their lives. It was meant to assure them that nothing could stand against the shadows of the night. To assure them that war against their brothers was not only necessary, but vital.
Only now, it shamed her. It reminded her of the beast she had become, and the horror she had visited upon the little ponies she was supposed to protect. Untold thousands died in what would later be referred to by scholars and historians as 'The War of the Two Princesses'.
How many of her loyal guardians had she sent to their death, she could not even begin to imagine. The face of the statue was cracked, and wild vines grew around the columns and archways of the old gazebo. This was the place she had met with High Master Shade, the commander of the army she had been building in secret. Elements of it had been placed in every major city across the kingdom, lying in wait for her order to strike. The plan was simple, as she recalled. Her armies distracted her sisters, while she took on Celestia one on one.
How she could even begin to think of killing her own sister only showed how truly black was the evil that consumed her.
Luna felt tears well in her eyes as she looked up at her valiant Night Guard. It was not their fault she had doomed them all. They would sooner take a spear through the belly than disappoint their princess. Unfortunately, many of them did. After she was banished, the regiments of her army of darkness fought on, sometimes to the last stallion.
"I was such a fool..." Even after years of coming here to try and repent, the assuagement the visits brought were fleeting. Her horn glowed a midnight blue, the same color as her ethereal mane. The clasp of her saddlebag unlocked, and a bundle of cerulean tulips floated from her bag. She laid them gently at the foot of the gazebo, though even she dare not enter in. She wouldn't dream of defiling the hallowed ground of her loyal dead with the silly pony who'd caused them to throw their lives away so needlessly. A bouquet of sunspears floated down next to her own, startling Princess Luna nearly out of her cloak.
Her sister's gentle smile comforted her, though she was unsure how she'd gotten here.
"Celestia? But, how—"
A nod of understanding silenced her. "Did you think sisters can keep secrets from one another?"
Luna's expression soured as she looked back at the monument to her war dead. "They can, but only for a time, it seems."
There was a silence in the ruined garden, before Luna's thoughts demanded she speak.
"Sister, I recall I was all but erased from the history of Equestrian civilization upon my banishment."
Celestia nodded. "This is true. I admit, after I sent away Nightmare Moon, I acted a bit out of sorts. I was upset, as you could imagine."
"I don't blame you, sister. But, I must know..." Luna began, still staring at the monument. "Surely you knew of this? Why leave it?"
Her sister sighed. "When the rebellion was finally put down, the high council was crying out for the blood of your Night Guard. They wanted every pony with leather wings strung up by them. I must admit, had they caught me shortly after your banishment, I might have obliged, I'm ashamed to say."
Luna knew of her sister's rage all too well.
"But, I knew some had laid down their weapons, and no good would come of punishing an entire race for the actions of some." Celestia looked reverently up at the night sky, into the moon that had held her sister for so many years. "The night I was to come to my decision regarding the nightfolk, I discovered this place. At first, I was considering having this ground salted, but... I knew it wasn't you who did this. While you did allow it to happen, the ponies serving you were still my subjects. To forget them, to forget the past or the reason they fought and died, would do both you and I a disservice." Celestia looked lovingly at her sister. "We would do well to remember the past, dear sister."
Luna had long since hidden her face behind her hood. The empress of the sun noticed thin streaks of moisture running down her cheeks. "Luna, what's the matter?"
"It was I... I lead them down that dark path. I brought the unthinkable to our kingdom and I—"
Celestia embraced her sister, nothing but Luna's shuttering breaths echoing about the garden.
"Hush now, must we have this conversation again?"
They held each other in the stillness of the moonlight.
"Do you know what happened while you were away?" Celestia asked.
Luna pulled away, looking her sister in the eye.
"I know of some things, but I confess I haven't had the time to study up on the last millennia..."
"The Griffons protested our claims to the frontier lands. The conflict that would follow claimed thousands of lives. Two villages of ours, and one entire Griffon city burned. After that, the Diamond Dogs encroached on our diamond mines. After diplomacy failed, even more volunteered to go to war in my name, and many did not come home."
Luna studied her sister's stern expression. "How were you able to risk the lives of your subjects and still sleep at night?"
"I was able, because I knew those who would put their lives on the line to protect the ideals they live by and guarantee the safety of their families and loved ones, did so willingly. They knew perfectly well many of them may pay the ultimate price, and they still charged into the teeth of the dragon without a second thought. I knew then nothing I do could match their bravery."
"We protect the realm because we cannot die, but they do it in spite of the fact that they can." Celestia gazed at the worn statue. "There is nothing braver."
Silence washed over the garden once more.
"They were brave, your Night Guards," Celestia whispered.
Luna wiped a tear from her eyes.
"As are they all."
Author's Note
Happy Memorial Day! Hope everyone had a fun weekend, but also remembered why it exists in the first place!
