A Sunset's Midnight

by Cynical Brony

Rating: teen
Tags: Princess Celestia, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Sad, Princess Luna, Tragedy
Length: 1422

Shortly after Princess Luna's banishment to the moon due to the influence of Nightmare Moon, the people that followed her riot and rise against Celestia.

Shortly after Princess Luna's banishment to the moon due to the influence of Nightmare Moon, the people that followed her riot and rise against Celestia.

Published 2015-10-19 21:00:01 UTC
Last updated 2015-10-19 21:00:01 UTC

Insurrection

The sky was alive, with the fires of the twin celestial bodies clashing, the force of the moon and sun fighting one another. The fight lit the sky, the very roof of the world bathed in orange and blue light, a beautiful synthesis of colors swirling in a cyclone of destruction.

As the conflict escalated, the Princess of the Sun, Celestia, fell, wounded by her sister Luna. She fell to the earth, onlookers across Equestria saw their light, their deity, fall from her mighty place amongst the sky to the earth, crashing into the castle of the Everfree. Moments later, all the citizens of Equestria could see a brilliant light emerge from the darkness of the forest, and an eruption of a multitude of colors beam themselves out into the night sky, into space, onto the moon where a prison was made.

And then, there was silence.

The people sat, heads low, tears on the ground as they had witnessed the fall of their leader, by the hands of the other leader, no less. Some had responded in mourning, some too shocked to do anything. Others didn't care, some too loyal to Celestia to see any other side. But the ones who held their allegiance to Luna, who's loyalties lied with the night, well...

They were angry.

While Celestia believed casting Luna to the moon would quell the darkness in her heart, another shadow came across her nation; the darkness which revealed itself as the very same thing Celestia had attempted to contain: Chaos. Ponies that across her nation, and sympathizers from around the globe, rallied behind Luna's banner, throwing the country into a state of discord.

While some had responded with posters showing hatred for Celestia, others had begun rallies demanding the throne be torn down. Others, however, responded with something much more violent. Houses that government officials resided in burned, them and their families still inside. Royal guards were ambushed by organized, violent protestors, never to return home to their families. Cities across the country suffered, while Celestia continued to live in isolation, depressed due to the loss of her sister.

Even as people were lynched, hanged, or segregated all over Equestria, nothing compared to the uprising in Canterlot.

Only two days after the banishment of Luna, things were at their peak, and tensions between the government and the citizens were at an all time high. In Canterlot, guards were found murdered, and in some parts of the great capitol city, you could be killed for having the wrong view.

Luna's loyalists had begun amassing within the walls, and started to plan how to take down Celestia. While the majority of the Royal Guard had alined themselves with Celestia, the few that didn't had supplied the soon-to-be rebels with spears, shields, armour, and various other equipment they could use for the rebellion.

Hundreds, maybe even thousands, had begun to march towards the castle with only one goal in mind: To end Celestia's unjust reign. A wall of Royal Guards positioned themselves in front of the inner gates leading directly to the castle, and when confronted refused to let them in. Cauldrons of boiling hot water, ballistae, cannons, and guards lined the battlements, waiting for the protestors.

They didn't have to wait long.

Upon rejection of entry, the crowd ushered forward, attempting to breach with force. They outnumbered the guards, over eight to one odds. However, the guards responded in kind, doing everything they could to keep the intruders out. The primary line of guards fell to the rioters, but the gates closed behind them, forcing the attackers to scale the walls with the very limited amount of siege ladders they had.

The rebellious citizens ushered forward, forcing the ponies in the front against the wall, where the cauldrons spilt their boiling contents below, literally melting people's faces, and made the air reek of singed flesh. The unicorns above fired waves of tar, the weight of which dragged people to the ground, boiling them from the inside out, their screams only music to the guards ears.

Yet, the ladders moved forwards, and the rebels climbed them. The ladders fell, over and over, but they continued to push them back up, and eventually, enough ponies were able to mount to the top of the wall to secure the base for them and so they were able to move to the controls for the gate. Once lowered, however, the true battle began.

The ponies swarm through the gates, rushing headlong into the guards waiting with spears and shields. People were pushed forwards, being impaled on the spears, and yet so many bodies were pushed up against the guards, the force of over a thousand ponies, forced them to retreat, even as their unicorns, pegasai, and siege weapons rained hell upon them from above. They moved forward, like a tidal wave, unstoppable, crushing everything that lied between them and their goal: Celestia.

And so the courtyard was theirs, but hard won. Melted, deformed bodies piled atop others with flesh torn from their bodies; no clean cuts, just large chunks of their torso, heads, and legs being ripped off.

Yet, despite this, the protestors persevered, battering the doors to the castle, eventually opening them and meeting a barrage of arrows and magic bolts. On and on, they fought literally climbing the mounds of their fallen comrade's bodies, inch by inch, in order to cross the castle. Once to the stairwell leading to the top, one could argue this was the most gruesome of all.

Literally everything besides the kitchen sink was thrown from above, hitting the ponies rushing below. So many bodies amassed that, once the guards ran out of ammo, they were forced to throw down bodies in a twisted version of Donkey Kong, knocking off as many people as they could, making them fall to their deaths stories and stories below.

And finally, once they reached the throne room, they found their objective: Celestia. Celestia, however, was more than a match for the splinter faction, and when looked at, the rebels found nothing more than dead, dull, eyes that shone of no mercy; no emotion, nullified by her sister's absence. She had been so heavily scarred, so distraught, that her emotions had left.

With no mercy, she gazed upon the rebels for a mere few seconds, before simply bringing down the might of the sun upon them, instantly vaporizing thousands at once, their bodies disintegrated, nothing more than ash.

With the tower being so high, everyone in the city was able to witness the enormous beam of light hit the castle, and they could hear the screams of all those being toasted alive. With tears and flame in their eyes, they realized they had no chance to take over, and simply gave up any thoughts of rebellion.

Over time, their children were taught not to stand against Celestia, and the schools had recognized that Celestia was a god, and as such, immortal and all-powerful. The story had changed to that of Celestia defending the country from Luna, who was simply too jealous of her, to that of Luna raving the country side, and after a final battle between her and Celestia, many of her followers decided to hold the country captive in their grasp. Following this, almost all of the ponies in Equestria began to adopt the notion that the rebel group was nothing more than a bunch of savages, and that Luna was a tyrant, whose goal was to merely end life in Equestria as we know it.

As such, this is why everyone bows to Celestia always thinks so highly of her; why they believe she's so noble, and how much of a benevolent leader she is, and how she would never harm a fly.

That ends tonight.

They say Luna's return to us, on this very night. I had gathered as many other sympathizers who still understand Celestia's wrath, and who remember what had truly happened during the Great Riots and, in accordance, will be there for Luna when she arrives. We are prepared, and we know with the True Princess of the Night's help, we can overthrow the false leader, and return Luna to her proper birthright!

Midnight Light,
Current Captain of the Night Guard,
Personal account, of "Luna's Return" retracted from Canterlot library for
treasonous details.
0000-00 A.H. (After Harmony), the day of Luna's return

Author's Note

Needed to write a one-shot, one day in order to show I can complete somethin'.
Criticism please.