The clang of swords against swords. Shields being cleaved with axes. The screams of soldiers getting their abdomens pierced by spears. Huge projectiles being thrown at walls. The soft whining sounds of arrow piercing the air. The thud from bodies hitting ground. Boots marching through mud. Rain against steel. Souls in pain, fear and agony.
The sounds of war in Equestria. The sounds that had been heard in Baltimare, Trottingham, Phillydelphia and Manehattan before, always with the royalists being on the losing side.
But Canterlot was strong, and had held stand against bigger enemies before. Tirek, Discord, Chrysalis, Sombra, just to mention a few. Canterlot would remain, they said.
Just as they said about Cloudsdale.
But in the end, even the proud Cloudsdale fell, and the only thing that currently stopped the uprising from taking Canterlot was the 20 feet thick wall, and the Royal guard led by Princess Luna herself.
And both of them were losing.
The date was 9th of March, in the 1027 year after the founding of Equestria. The last day of the war.
Inside the castle, neither the screams nor any other sounds could reach through the thick glass windows. The castle had always been an oasis of calmness during many crises, and this was just another one.
And many more will come. Even when we all are dust in the wind, this palace will stand as the home of the ruler of Equestria. A tall, dark-skinned woman, with hair floating like the ethereal morning sky made her way through the corridors. She stifled a yawn as she passed through the long corridors, accompanied only by two guards. Queen Celestia and her personal guard were heading for her quarters, after yet another war conference. It had begun at seven in the morning, and ended just minutes before, at eleven at night. She had met with her remaining generals, with the purpose of planning “the final strike” against the uprising, as General Claw put it.
Fool. Damn fool. They’re all fools. There will be no final strike, not from our side. It is a riddle for me whether he’s too blind to see it, or just too stupid and proud to admit it to himself.
General Claw and his officers were arguing for a great offensive though the main gates. That was where the uprising had their highest concentration, and an attack there would not only cut their army in two sides, it would also wipe out their leader. Others, like Great Marshal Humperdinkey, was in favour of an aerial attack, landing troops behind the rebellion army and wiping them out from the back.
Vanity. It’s all vanity. But I guess it’s unavoidable. They have no idea what they’re up against. Who they’re up against. I guess it’s sort of a good thing… to know which ones you can count on and who you can just…get rid of. She sighed. If only Luna were here. Those fools would know to keep their mouths shut with their commander-in-chief present.
She stopped in front of one of the few windows that directly faced the Battlefields. The thick glass let no sounds pass, but the view almost screamed as it was. The once green and flowering hills of Pegasopolis were now a mess of mud, blood and dead bodies. The fires… The machines of war… The soldiers, crawling over the field like ants… And somewhere out there, was Luna. Sword in hand, leading her troops restlessly forward in her dark blue armour. The nightmare, as the soldiers of Griffonia called her back in the days.
Luna… Well, I guess it was unavoidable. You wanted to be out there, until the very end. And who was I to stop you.
She walked on, her guards keeping their silence and stone faced appearance. One of them were of the mage people, and he lit the way using his horn. The other was of the earth people, and carried a sword almost as long as his legs. They reached her quarters, and she thanked them for their service and closed the doors behind her. She undressed, and put on her clothes for the night. But as she took of her crown, a thought struck her. This would be the day. I would have chosen it to be. And so would she.
She began to search the windows and the doors in the room. She stopped at the smallest window, the one facing the gardens. There was something there… It wasn’t broken, or sabotaged, but… someone had manipulated it. Someone who knew their magic, and knew it well.
She stroke her index finger along the window, trying to feel the magic signature. It was faint… No, it was disguised, but she recognized it. Even hidden under layers of decoy there was something familiar about it. She made a quick decision and called for her secretary. Moments later, a young mage with brown hair and glasses stood before her.
“Your highness?”
“Good evening, Raven. I’m sorry to call you this late, but there are some urgent matters to take care of. I need papers, quills, the royal seal and… it's quite a tall order so I have written it down. Take this, please.” She presented a note to Raven, who read it with surprise, but her voice did not betray her feelings when she answered.
“I will send a message to have it delivered then. Can I be of any other service for you, you majesty?”
The queen lowered her eyes. “No… No, that will be all. You may resume your leave for the night.” As the other woman bowed, and turned for the door, the queen reached out to her. “Raven!” She turned around, surprised by the emotion in the queen’s voice. “I just want to say…Thank you. Thank you, Raven. For everything. And I want you to know that I have not only seen you as my loyal servant… I’ve also considered you… a friend.”
Raven blushed, and stammered. “Y-your highness…”
The queen quickly withdrew her hand. She looked sad.
“I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable… It was just...” The queen regaind her composure. “It’s getting late. Good night, Raven.”
Raven looked at the Queen for some seconds, as if she tried to find a way for things to make sense, but in the end, she bowed again, and left. Celestia was alone, and couldn’t make herself to do anything other than to stare out the window.
The papers and the other equipment arrived after just ten minutes. Raven had been efficient as always. Celestia sat down at her table, poured herself a cup of tea, and began to write. For an hour she wrote, paper after paper thrown away. Nothing sounded good enough. When she decided the product she had in front of her was the best she could make, it was almost 1.30 in the morning. She sighed, sealed it, and went to bed.
It was now three o’clock in the morning, and the Queens quarters were silent, save for the soft breathing of someone sleeping. It was a somewhat suspicious silence, almost as if someone had thrown a slight silencing spell over the room. Then, some birds flew by the window, disturbed in their slumber by something and then all was silent again. However, soon the window the queen had eyed so suspiciously began to glow red, and a person clad in a dark robe materialized in front of it. The person walked straight over to the bed, and produced a dagger from under the robe. It raised its hand, but froze. Instead of stabbing the sheets, the person removed them.
Pillows. Nothing but a heap of pillows.
The person put down the dagger and spoke loudly to the whole room.
“Well, I supposed it would be a shame for the greatest mage in Equestria to be fooled so easily.”
The Queen, dressed in a white robe stepped out from her hiding place behind one of the curtains.
“But you still had to try.”
“The one who never tries, never makes progress.”
“That is true. It’s been a while since I last saw you…” and then, she added with a bit of trepidation. “…daughter.”
The other woman answered with a small streak of acid in her voice. “In deed it has… Mother dear.” Then she put her dagger back in her belt and went on, more calmly. “Five years. Five years, three months and two days. Not that I’ve been counting.”
Celestia smiled. “Of course not. Please, have a seat.” The Queen removed a screen to reveal a fully equipped tea table, complete with scones and pastries. She could not see the face, but she felt how the person rolled her eyes and frowned under the robe. “Sit down? With you? Are you really suggesting us to have a tea party? Now?”
“I would have been a bad host if I didn’t welcome ‘the true and righteous daughter of the sun’ in a suitable manner. You are the leader of New unicornia as well. So, even if it’s in the middle of the night, this must be adressed as an official visit. Please, sit down. I assure you I’m not going anywhere.”
The other woman laughed. “New unicornia. Hah. The name some joker in Canterlot came up with to mock us. I never liked that name.”
“But it did catch on.”
“Yes. But when everything is finished, I’m going back to ‘New Equestria’. This is a people’s movement, not the 'mages showing off'-contest.”
“Very wisely done, daughter. You have my support.”
The other woman was silent, but she probably rolled her eyes under the hood.
“Perhaps you are afraid to speak your mind in here? I have already taken that precaution. The whole wing is covered by a silencing spell. Nothing said or done will be heard outside these walls. “
The dark woman was still silent, so Celestia kept talking. She was rambling, but that was only noticeable if you knew her well.
“I must admit, I had no idea it was you at first. That little bar brawl in Baltimare were ‘the righteous’ first was known… did you join them before or after that?”
“After. Do you know what they called themselves first? ‘The sons of Tirek’. Pfff. When I joined, my first thing was to spread the new name. I guess that’s when you heard about them? Before that, no one outside of Baltimare knew of them at all.”
Celestia had sat herself down and poured a cup of tea while she listened. She only nodded as response.
“Of course, it was tempting to just roll with it at first… The original guys, you see, they wanted to just go to the castles, kick the doors in, kill as many guards as possible and then rape and molest you. Not that they would succeed, but… sometimes, you just want to take the easy way.”
Once again, she was silent. “I almost did. But I was actually listening to your lectures. ALL of them. I had to think like a general. And also, what was I to gain from that? 50 years in a dungeon? 100 years? And I still wouldn’t get what was rightfully mine anyway…”
Once again she was silent. Then she sat down at the table, and took a pastry.
“Hmm…. Blueberry?”
“Yes. Your favourites.”
The other woman took a bite. “Mmm… as good as I remember.”
“I had the chefs to make them, just for you. Have another.”
Celestia had helped herself to a scone with raspberry jam. They ate in silence for a while. Then, the other woman spoke in a completely different tone than before.
“I must say, I am a bit surprised.”
“Really? Why?”
“Well… This. No speech, no lecture, no attempts to persuade me to spare you… not your usual stuff.”
“Is that what you expected?”
“Yes. Actually, that was all I expected you to do. But you… You are just sitting there. Not one word of ‘you have to understand’ or any of that bull. You just let me…You’re listening to me. For the first damn time, you’re listening. You are not even trying to justify why you threw me out.”
Celestia blinked and took a sip if her tea.
"Do you want to know why?”
The woman turned her head. The hood made it hard to see, but her voice couldn't hide her surprice. “I already know the answer. I was an embarrassment to you. A possible threat, a no good grain. A..."
Celestia interrupted. "I understand that you believe that. And as much as it breaks my heart, that is what... I am terribly sorry. I interrupted you.” Celestia took a pastry, and waved her hand. “Please, go on.”
“Go on… as you would care.” The dark woman pulled down the hood of the robe to reveal a young dark-skinned mage woman, with red and yellow hair that seemed to burn like the sun itself. “Do you know who I was? What I was? Back then when I still lived in the castle?”
Celestia cleared her throat. “Pardon me. You where, are my daughter, Princess Sunset Shi…”
“I WAS NOTHING!” Sunset Shimmer’s arm shot out and crushed a crystal vase. “All of those years, all of those lessons… All of those noble suck-ups… Princess Sunset, you are sooo beautiful, Princess sunset, you are sooo wise, Princess Sunset, your mother must be sooo proud of you… I was nothing but YOUR DAUGHTER. No one cared about ME, what I wanted, what I needed. And the one who cared the least was my own mother. The sun, the shining ruler, the one who never could do wrong. Her royal bloody highness, Queen Celestia.” Sunset Shimmer paused to regain control of her breath. She glared at her mother, but after some time, her breath got steady and her eyes softened. “But I stayed. I waited like a good little princess. Because after all, I still had my birth right. I was the heir of the throne. Time was slow, but eventually I would get there. The humiliation you put me through… I just stopped listening. You neglected me, you stopped teaching me… But I stayed. And waited. And then… you threw me out. I…”
Sunset Shimmer rose from her chair, took a few steps until she stood, face to face with Celestia, holding on to the chair not to fall. "Why did you keep me for so long if I was so much of an embarrassment?"
She sat down again. "That is the only thing I don't understand. Why keep up with the lectures and classes if..." She fell into silence.
“I will explain it to you, I assure you, Sunset. But first, tell me some more about you. What did you do after you left the castle? What have you been doing the last five years?”
The other woman laughed. “You… You ask me what I have been doing.” As she kept laughing, Celestia realized she had made a slight blunder.
“I am sorry. You are the mysterious leader of the rebels. Wrong choice of words. I know what you have been doing, I want to know how you’ve been.
The younger woman laughed again, and almost fell over.
“Sorry, I just… I come here at night, trying to kill you and you just… ‘How are you sunset, have some tea’…“ Her legs got steadier, and she began to walk around the room, talking and gesticulating.
“Alright, I tell you. I began my new life with pride and determination. And after one month I was almost drown out of my mind. I couldn’t do a bloody thing! I was the daughter of the most powerful mage in Equestria and I could burn a house to the ground but a small campfire or make a simple soup? It was almost impossible. But you know what kept me alive? The lust for blood. The want to see my mother suffer under my hands, to see the look in her eyes as life faded away from her, with my dagger through her false heart.”
She paused, to take a sip of her tea. “This is good. Trottingham special? So anyway… I realized that whatever I had known in the castle was for nothing. At least until I knew the world. So I had to learn again. How things worked. How the world worked. I will spare you the more boring details because I honestly never want to talk about those years again, but to give you ONE example; I worked as a miller. Enough said. But by pure chance and the right person breaking a bone, I got a job. As a teacher. Imagine me, a bloody teacher! In the crystal empire. And you know what? I liked it
Another sip of tea. “For a while, life was really good. Heh, I actually forgave you for a while. A little. I had my life, I was my own master. But then… I had made a mistake. I realized that when I returned to Canterlot last year to visit the summer sun celebration. And at first it was alright. It was a nice ceremony, I thought you looked beautiful. I was going to have an audience with you even. As a citizen, using a false name just to see you. Anyway, I sat there outside the throne room, and you came round the corner… “ Sunset stared into Celestias eyes, like she wanted to burn a hole through her head.
“And you weren't alone.” Sunset walked over to a picture of Celestia and a young mage with purple hair and a pink streak through it. The girl was reading a parchment while Celestia oversaw her. Sunset threw away the picture with a frown.
“Twilight Sparkle. From the first moment it was spoken loud, I hated that name with every part of my body. I ran from the castle, cursing. How could YOU do that to me? How could you Replace me? You didn’t even look for me, you just got… another one. I went to Baltimare, filled with rage, for no other reason than that was the first couch leaving Canterlot. I found that little group by coincidence and they only fueled my anger. I knew what I had to do. I was going to go back to your castle, kill you and your little Sparkle-pet and take back what was rightfully mine!”
Sunset sat down and laid her head in her hands. “But then, I took a better look at ‘the sons of tirek’…”
Sunset took a break to roll her eyes.
“I realized that they were pure scum. However scum or not, they were very determined and surprisingly organized. Just give them a smarter leader... It only took me a month to get rid of the biggest boneheads and then I had a small army of people that actually was useful. But still, just starting a fight, kicking the doors in and kill you wouldn’t give me anything. As much as it annoyed me, I remembered everything you said. 'A true leader needs her peoples support more than anything. I didn't have that. And I wouldn't get it. Not like that." She paused, to get a pastry. She didn’t take a bite, she just held it in her hand and looked at it.“ Because, however I feel… you are the sun. The people loved you, even worshipped you. Before I could do anything, that picture had to be broken. If I should even stand a chance against the people as ruler of Equestria, the queen of the sun had to be me."
She looked up at her mother. " Luckily, I was at the right place at the right time. I knew, both from books and experience that Baltimare had, for a long time, been a place were the government gathered the most taxes and did the least for the community. I thought that if I could take that city and simply make it better, not only would I have money, and power, I would also have the people’s respect. And if people respect you, they are more willing to do as you say, than if they simple fear you.”
Sunset finally took a bite. “Mmmm…raspberry and Cherries. Nice. And that was basically how I did everything. We did take the cities by force, but the reforms and investments I did soon won them over to my side. It… Sorry, mother, why are you smiling?”
“Oh… It’s nothing. Keep going, this is really interesting!”
“Oh.” Sunset shrugged her shoulder. “Ok. Well, it was about that time you sent you precious little pet Twilight to stop me. ‘The princess of friendship’ Ha ha. Nice joke. But she was smarter than I thought, and for a while, she actually had me. She was almost as nagging and lecturing as you were, and I actually feared she would bore me into submission. Your plan all along, perhaps? Clever, I admit. But in the end, she was no match for my wits. She is all books, no experience. Just a few counterarguments and she was lost… Then I realized that if you really did send her to me, you knew who I was… I wasn’t sure, but it made the most sense. So I decided to go public.”
Sunset took a sip of her tea, and Celestia decided to make an input. “Ah, yes. The first Manehattan speech. Where you called me a ‘tyrant who cared for nothing more than a steady supply of cake’, Luna was dangerous maniac who never should be let close to a sword, the nobles and the military were ‘dirty traitors of Canterlot’ who did nothing but ‘thrive on their fat bottoms while the supressed people were starving in their trenches.’ You are aware that agriculture work aren’t that tough? ”
Sunset Shimmer blushed slightly. “Yes, yes, so I did go a bit over the top, but hey! I wanted them to join me in war, and it worked, right? ...But I am sorry about the speech in Phillydelphia.”
“Ah, yes… THAT speech. Where you claimed that YOU never wanted war, that it was the ‘dirty whore infecting the throne with her stinking bodyfluids’ that wanted it.”
“Mhm… I am sorry that I called you a whore.” She finished her tea. “Slut is more appropriate. Now, I won’t bother you with boring details of the last months, but I will say that Aunt Luna puts up a hell of a fight. There were times… But that just a waste of time. The war is over. Just a few groups of the royal guard left, but basically… It’s over. We won.”
Celestia choked on her tea and began to cough. When she finally got control of her voice again, she whispered “Is Luna…”
“Oh no. Oh no no no, she is much too valuable for me. She is dangerous, yes, and she hates me more than anything. But she is a soldier in heart and soul. I defeated her, fair and square, and she accepted me as her superior. And I need the nightmare as the prime commander over my army. She will play a great part in my plans. The battle is over, but the war has barely started. Today Equestria, tomorrow…who knows?
“Indeed. I have to admit, that move with the crystal empire was… impressive.”
Sunset shimmer bowed. “Thank you. I am quite satisfied.”
Celestia hesitated. “But… what about Twilight?”
“Ah… your precious little pet. I did go on a little further with her than I said earlier. When she began to see things my way, I noticed that she started to develop… feelings for me. Actual feelings. At first, I was going to simply break her heart. But then, it struck me. She was smart, good-looking… Equetrias prime. She was your student after all. And I realized, a worthier companion for me I would never find in one hundred years. So I started to woo her and now…”
Celestia looked at her daughter with a slight smile, but she said nothing.
“I will not smudge my story with all the dirty details. Let me just tell you that she practically eats from my hand. She loves me. Really loves me." Sunset paused to draw her breath. "And as you loved to say, 'love is a far more powerful force of loyalty than any other force'. She is no longer your student, she is mine, heart and soul. She was very helpful in dealing with the Crystal Empire. That was my secret weapon in those negotiations. Your own student, Twilight Sparkle was the one who crushed you. Poetic justice, don’t you think? Love, friendship, the power of the people all helped me taking you down."
She poured another cup of tea and took a last piece of pastry. When she finished it, she rose from the table. “So, I have everything. A country, an army, a Queen that loves me… Equestria is practically mine. The only thing left… is to slain the dragon.”
Sunset Shimmer drew her sword from under her robe. But Celestia held up her hand and stopped her. “Just a moment.” She handed Sunset a paper. “Read this.”
Sunset Shimmer took the paper, and read it mumbling to herself. “We, Queen Celestia… accepts… with immediate… our surrender… SURRENDER?”
Sunset Shimmer threw the paper in the fire. “You surrender? You actually think I will let you get away after what you did to me? You think that if you only give me everything I wanted I would say ‘Oh, I love you, let’s hug and rule Equestria together? Well, here’s my answer, MOTHER. To Tartarus with you and everything you stand for. Equestria is MINE, and mine ALONE. Now…”
Sunset had lifted her sword again, and once again she lowered it, when she saw tears on Celestias cheeks.
“Oh, come on… crying? Did you really hope that it would change my mind?”
“No… No… I am just so… Proud. “
Sunset was dumbfounded by surprise. She just stared at her mother with blank eyes. Then finally she regaind her ability to talk. “Proud?”
“Yes… You see, Sunset. … Since you were born, I knew you were meant for great things. And from an early age, I trained you to be my heir. You were everything I wanted in a daughter. Don't you roll uour eyes at me young lady, it is the truth. But as you grew older, I noticed things. Your strength, your intelligence… but most of all, your pride. I am not as blind as you think I am, I did see how the other treated you, and I understood your feelings. I did what I thought was best but it didn’t change anything. And then I came to a realization. I knew you would never reach your full potential as the heir to my throne if you were to be trained by me. You didn’t want to be a copy of me, you wanted to be you. And not from when you took the throne, from the first time you stepped out in the limelight. You needed to claim the throne by yourself. Win the world by yourself. And then, only then, you would accept your place as the ruler of Equestria.”
Sunset watched her mother, deadly silent.
“It was hard. I had to steel myself. I wanted so many times to just hug you and just make everything alright. To just… be your mother and nothing else. But I also saw how you grew stronger. Better. Wiser. So I sacrificed my own happiness for the sake of Equestria. Because with every day, I could see a powerful ruler grow. But you needed a final push. I hesitated, but in the end I did what I knew was necessary. That night I banished you from the castle. It was the hardest thing I done. I cried myself to sleep that night. And yet, I was sure I did the right thing. I had to send you away, so you could build your own destiny, without ties to me. I even knew you needed the hatred, otherwise you’d never get far. But still… over the years, when nothing was heard from, I wondered if I had made a mistake anyway. But I didn’t dare to look for you, in case you actually were… You can imagine my relief when the uprising came… And I knew. My daughter was finally ready." She paused and looked down. "And that is why I gave you all the lectures. And that is why I sent you away."
Sunset just shook her head. “Oh, mother… you and your damn tests…”
“Yes. Twilight used to say the same. Yes, it was a test. And you have performed with excellence on every one of them. But I want the best of the best for my people, and I had to be completely sure. This parchment… the last test. If you were strong enough to go the whole way or if you’d take an escape route. If you’d taken that offer… Let’s just say I would have been very disappointed in you. But you were as strong as I thought, and declined. And now… You are done. You are not a brawling troublemaker, not an unwise mage overwhelmed with power, you are…a Queen.”
For minutes, there was only silence. Then Sunset shimmer took two steps forward, and embraced her mother in a hug. There they stood, both regal, both tall, one with hair like the morning sky, the other with hair like the fire of the dawn. They had never been so close to each other, but at the same time, never so far apart. “I hate you… I hate you so much, you stupid manipulative bitch.”
“I know, Sunset…I know…”
“I… but… I… Are you really proud? Of me?
“I am s-so proud of you, Sunset. More than any mother could be of her child.”
“T-thank you, mother.”
They stood there a while longer, still joined in a tight embrace. Were there was a tear in Celestias face, Sunset’s eyes were flowing. But in the end, she wiped away her tears and spoke. “You realize this still doesn’t change a thing?”
“My dearest daughter… If it would, you wouldn’t have been the person I raised you to be. Just one final question. Do you love Twilight?”
Sunset didn’t hesitate for a second. “More than anything in the world.”
“That’s all I needed to hear.”
Celestia’s horn flashed for a second, and the white robes were replaced with a shining white armour. From her back she drew a sword, and a shield with the symbol of the sun materialized in her hand.
“So, to the death, then?”
Sunset nodded, and drew off her robes to reveal a red and golden armour, her sword already in her hand.
“I love you, Sunset Shimmer.”
“I love you too, Mother”
Then, both warriors put on their battle visors and with a loud cry, the last battle in the war of the suns begun.
Author's Note
The Idea of Some sort of showdown between a pissed off Sunset and Celestia have been with me for a while. And then I had the Idea "What if it was her plan all along." And after that... Things just went downhill.
ATF stands for "After the founding", where the three tribes united to form Equestria.
After the death of Celestia, Sunset took the title "empress" because she felt that Twilight deserved to be queen but "there can't be two queens on the throne". And when they married, Twilight took the name Twilight Shimmer-Sparkle.
They have two daughters.
I regret nothing, and you Will know me by the trail of dead regents.
