Marenot Quarter Bridge spanned one of the great waterfalls separating Canterlot Castle from the Canterlot City Plaza. It was fairly simple in its construction, although sturdy enough to have survived the wear and tear of over nine hundred years of rushing spring water and pony traffic. Suspension held the bridge's main road up, while several columns anchored into the bed of the stone canal below it helped to support the bridge's weight.
Below it, hundreds of tons of water rushed from the springs deep within the Canterhorn, spilling through the dedicated waterway and out over the edge of the city, turning into a torrential mist of water as it poured down to the Great Sunrise River below. Ponies, amassing in hundreds of pastel dots, made their way across the bridge, going from the Royal Eastern Plaza and to the Noble Quarter of Canterlot City via its brick paved walkways and stone arches.
In the Royal Eastern Plaza, on the Canterlot Castle side of the bridge, a wide open space was preserved against the growing needs of the city. Statues of Equestria's greatest heroes, martyrs, and ponies stood with their heads turned proudly towards the sunrise, their hind legs hedged in with green, flowering bushes for ponies to admire and for tourists to pose next to. The gates of Canterlot Castle lay next to the plaza, guarded by lines of the Royal Guard, whose colorful uniforms and bayoneted rifles gleamed and shone proudly in morning sun. Overlooking the plaza were the outer walls and parapets of the city, upon which rested more sentinels and attentive guardsponies. Most imposing upon the walls were the brass barrels of the cannonades, ever threatening any armies that would dare march through the open plaza and be subject to their wrath.
At the center of the plaza, the two royal sisters stood at the base of a flagpole. Princess Luna, still weak and frail from her return from the moon not more than a month ago, turned to her sister with a raised eyebrow, "Sister, this is a fine monument to Equestria's history, but We do not understand why you have brought us here with such... importance and circumstance."
Princess Celestia didn't turn to Luna and instead kept her eyes fixed on the Marenot Quarter Bridge. For the first time since the two of them had left the castle ground, Luna noticed Celestia's royal expression begin to falter as she inclined her head lower, and tightened her lips.
"Sister? What is wrong?" Luna nudged Celestia with a wing.
In response, Celestia turned her head towards a nearby flagpole, pointing an alabaster wing up towards its top. Billowing in the strong mountainside wind was the blazing red, gilded banner of the Eight Armed Sun, "Say, Luna. Do you remember when we insisted that every time the royal colors would be hoisted, that they must be hoisted together - both the Sun and the Moon?"
Luna regarded the banners, before shrugging her wings weakly, "We do. However, I can hardly fault you for removing Our banner. We did attempt to..." she bit her lip, "Usurp you, after all."
There was silence between the two sisters for a moment, before Celestia sighed, finally turning to look at Luna with a solemn expression, "On the contrary, Luna. After your banishment, for a short while, your colors still flew over Everfree, and then over Canterlot when the capitol was moved upon the encroach of the Everfree Forest."
Luna quirked an eyebrow, "Sister, We can tell when thou wish to tell a story. Out with it, I pray."
Celestia bit her lip again, before turning around back towards the castle wall. Raising a forehoof to her muzzle, she shouted towards the regiment guarding the gate, "May your junior officer come to me!"
Without hesitation, one of the guardsponies wearing a brighter red jacket and standing to the far left of the line stamped his boot, and marched towards the two sisters with parade accuracy. Coming to a stop at a respectful distance in front of the two sisters, he gave a bow before standing at attention.
"Officer. Refresh my memory," Celestia asked, "The Lunarist Revolt, when the Nightguard 1st and 2nd house regiments stood in protest. When was it?"
The officer swallowed, eyes deviating slightly as he visibly took his time to recall, "The night of December 21st, fifty years after Her Royal Highness Luna's banishment, your Highness."
Luna frowned at the mention of her house regiments, and she mouthed the word "revolt" to herself as she looked between the junior officer and her sister.
"You are well schooled, officer...?" Celestia asked, reaching a hoof up to her peytral and cocking her head slightly.
"Officer Step, your Highness. Officer High Step, 23rd Royals," the officer gave a stiff nod.
Celestia nodded along, before gesturing towards him, "Come. If it will not interrupt your duties, officer-cadet, you may assist me if my memory fails me in this retelling."
Taking a few steps closer, the unicorn officer bowed his head, "Of course, your highness."
Luna spoke up, raising a hoof to point it at Celestia, "Our own regiments stood in defiance of Thy crown, sister?" she said, almost bitter, "Why?"
Celestia turned her eyes towards the guardspony, "Officer Step. Where upon this plaza the 1st and 2nd stand in revolt?"
Looking around the plaza, the officer narrowed his eyes, before pointing with a booted forehoof towards the edge of the plaza, where shoulder-high carved stone wall separated the plaza from the mountainside below it.
Nine hundred and fifty years ago, upon the plaza where the officer pointed, night reigned over Canterlot City. A full moon, bearing the mark of the Mare in the Moon contained within, rose over the edge of the plaza, its silvery light bearing down over two square formations of infantry.
Thestral regulars, wearing dark purple jackets, silver buttons, and royal blue undercoats stood in formation with their muskets shouldered and bayonets gleaming in the moonlight. Behind them, in the middle of the formation, the colors of the regiments stood proudly above the heads of Luna's Chosen. The square formation was four ranks thick, with about a foot of separation between the front two ranks and the hind two ranks.
Overhead, the winter wind blustered through the air, bringing flurries of snowflakes and ice overhead of the formations. A flagpole, bearing over the center of the plaza, bore the colors Eight Armed Sun and the Crescent Moon.
Bat-winged officers flew above the heads of the regulars, looking down over their juniors with critical eyes. Around the formations, hundreds of civilian ponies of both the day and night stood on the sidelines, watching with curious eyes as the Nightguard itself stood in defiance of the crown.
Surrounding the twin formations of infantry were the red-uniformed, gold buttoned regulars of the 22nd and 33rd Royal Day Guard. With their muskets shouldered, the unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies bearing the Solar Sister's colors looked ahead, expressionless at the protesting soldiers. The dayguard's presence outnumbered the thestral's, and by them, gleaming in the moonlight were the barrels of field cannons, still levelled at a 45 degree angle as their artillery crews stood by.
Among the ranks and formations of the Dayguard was Princess Celestia herself, standing in full armor, with a field glass raised to her eyes, peering out at the rebelling thestrals.
"Your Highness," said a voice from beside the solar alicorn, "The traitors lack initiative. Their commanders do not abide an attack."
Another voice spoke up from Celestia's other side, "Your highness, if I may contradict General Blood, the dawn may chase the Thestrals away. Violence is not necessary."
General High Blood, who had spoken first, stomped a hoof in the snow that coated the plaza's paving, "On the contrary, my liege. The Major could not be more wrong. We risk further violence if we do not act."
Princess Celestia lowered her field glasses, attempting to remain stoic to her loyal officers as she held her head high, "We may not stand idle. The rebels intend to usurp the throne. They create an example to the brigands and traitors in the western baronies. They will hold up the court and prevent passage to the castle as long as they are allowed to stand. Their fellows may soon follow their example."
Princess Luna frowned, "They stood in defiance to obstruct the mechanisms of Thy government?"
Celestia lowered her head, "Their oath was to you, Sister. When we fought, their mercy was to stand by and watch with neutrality. They followed integration into my own Guard... until your baronies fell into disorder and declared war on each other, intent on consolidating power and forming their own scion."
She closed her eyes, stepping closer to Luna, "I could not allow it to happen. With the noble houses becoming opportunistic due to the power vacuum, a rebellion on that scale could lead to the dissolution of the entire kingdom until I was left with nothing but Canterlot to rule over. Your nightguard standing in defiance was the first act of outright revolt against the crown. Their goal was to represent the growing interest in the formation of a Lunar Republic."
Luna diverted her eyes, looking back to the square that the officer had pointed towards, "And so they would stand in defiance of the Crown itself?"
Celestia nodded, "Treason. I would not... could not have the kingdom undone. Even if it had to come at the cost of blood. I would not have the kingdom fall to greedy barons, looters, and merchants to have their way. I would not have the lords ruling over fields of serfs and slaves under millions of different banners, each one battling each other for dominance."
Luna regarded her sister. She could see Celestia attempting to maintain her composure in public as she stared off towards the edge of the plaza. Considering for a moment, Luna spoke up, "And this Lunar Republic?"
Celestia's gaze softened as she looked at Luna, "...I.. have wondered about it ever since the revolt. To my knowledge at the time, democracies were unstable, full of strife, and controlled only by the whims of an aristocratic elite rather than the wise hoof of a monarch or Alicorn. However, seeing the successes of such places as the Griffonian Republic and the Kelp Ponies, I have wondered if truly it may have been better to allow your loyalists to leave."
Luna remained silent, looking back towards the plaza edge, "...Continue, please."
With a nod to Luna, Celestia turned her eyes towards the junior officer and asked "Was it General Blood or Major Pants that went under the truce flag, Cadet?"
"Neither, Your Highness. It is said you believed you may have been able to talk them down yourself..."
Celestia trotted across the plaza, the ranks of her loyalists becoming distant as she levitated a silken white fabric above her head. Her armor clanked and jingled as she moved, the heavy plate bearing down on her large frame as she approached the middle of one of the formations, where the feathered cap and trussed uniform of a Colonel stood before his troops, eying the approaching alicorn with a narrowed eye.
She knew the commanding officer. Cranberry River. He had been one of the heroes during the Battle of the Sun and Moon, who had bravely pitched in alongside his juniors to dig civilians out of the rubble and carry the wounded to safety as dark magics and curses flew between the Royal Alicorns just overhead of them.
Now, he stood proudly with the Lunar Banner to his back, refusing to bow his head or stand to Celestia as she slowed her trot, walking up to the colonel and lowering her truce flag.
"Your highness," he grunted, "Have you come to your senses?" his scarred face scowled at Celestia's countenance.
Clenching her teeth, Princess Celestia raised her head imperiously, "Colonel. I cannot allow your treason to stand. Your ponies shall not provide an example to undo our kingdom. I offer you and your troops mercy, lest I do what I must to preserve the peace."
The colonel shook his head, "The Goddess is corrupted by your negligence, and trapped in the Moon by your hoof. Our tribe starves on the street and are lambasted by the sun ponies for serving our Goddess faithfully. We only demand small concessions in the lands of Hatten and Macintosh to shelter our foals and find our own way."
"And you would make war with the lands of Silverhaven and Shoals," Celestia drew her lips together sternly, "You would encourage the ilk of Baron Prance to pillage the towns of Filly and rape more of their mares and foals. Do you not realize the madness of uprising against the Crown?" she pleaded towards the colonel, brows still knitted together in frustration.
The colonel stomped a boot firmly into the ground, sending a puff of powder and ice up around his foreleg, "Your crown fades without the balance of your sister, Celestia. Your kingdom is destined for ruin, even if you cannot see it yourself. I pray you see reason soon. We shall stand until you do."
Princess Celestia's heart skipped a beat as she heard the colonel referring to her only by name. Turning her eyes down the line of regulars, at their stoic expressions and steadfast stances, she sent a powerful snort through her nostrils, "I offered you mercy, Colonel. I will do what I must," Celestia's ears flattened subconsciously as she her lip quivered, and she immediately turned away from the rebels. Walking into a trot, she started away from the thestral guards.
As she was halfway across the plaza, her ears flicked as, in a split second she heard a loud CRACK! sound from behind her.
Flexing centuries of spellcasting knowledge and reaction training, a golden shield wrapped itself around her just as the musket ball flew towards her. She felt the strain against her spell as she stumbled slightly, the musket ball breaking into splinters as it bounced off her shield, leaving a significant spiderweb crack in the magical hardlight. Any lesser of a spellcaster, and the ball would have pierced the shield, planting itself directly in her neck.
Turning towards the Colonel, Celestia saw the stallion wrestling the grip of a flintlock away from his lieutenant, who stared towards her with malice in his eyes.
"Our ponies were left to starve?" Luna breathed, turning a shocked eye towards Celestia.
With a solemn nod, Celestia's expression turned grim, "During your possession, most civilian thestrals cowered in fear like the day ponies. A few of them, however, failed to recognize your insanity, and turned against the day ponies. There are stories of civilians being slaughtered in the confusion by zealous batponies. Despite my reassurances otherwise, rumors and fires spread accusing the entire race of being loyal to Nightmare Moon. They were dark days to be nocturnal, Sister."
"And why did thou not send relief? Send the guard to instill order!?" Luna stomped a hoof, mouth open, aghast.
Celestia bowed her head, blinking as a tear surfaced, "I... could not control the fears and paranoia of the ponies, sister. It is my failing. I bear it as blood upon my own coat."
Speechless, Luna looked away from her sister, staring out at the square once again...
Celestia reinforced her shield, galloping back to her regiment as fast as she could remain composed and strong to her gathered loyalists. As her hoofbeats slowed, General Blood stepped forth from the formation, taking off his hat in a flurry of blue magic.
"Your Highness. They dared to fire on you?" the unicorn asked, a sneer forming on his face.
Celestia lowered her shield as she allowed herself to be absorbed back into the lines of infantry and cannon, "It seemed to be against the wishes of the Colonel," looking sternly towards General Blood, Celestia's frown deepened, "...They will not stand down, General."
General High Blood gave a curt nod, "As expected, Highness. We have whisperings throughout the crowd and throughout the mares and stallions in the regular ranks. A greater storm brews. We must act soon before a riot breaks out or another regiment follows their example."
Major Quick March emerged from the color-bearers beside the Princess, "Aye. We may run the enemy off with bayonets or fire in rank."
"I fear for the morale of our troops. They will hesitate to march against a House Regiment, let alone two of them," General Blood contradicted, "We have cannon, Your Highness. Allow us to use them to break their formation. They shall not hold long under its fire."
Celestia turned her gaze, looking towards the five artillery pieces stationed just before the infantry lines, their barrels raised towards the air. At this range, they would be firing practically at point blank at the rebels.
The Major nodded, "We shall load grapeshot. It will tear them apart, and encourage them to break," he then bowed by Celestia, lowering his voice slightly, "Allow me to make the order, Princess. Make this blood fall upon my own hooves."
Turning her head, Celestia looked at the old officer. A single tear escaped her eye as she raised her chin imperiously, "Nay. This blood shall stain my coat only. I shall give the order. We shall fire a warning shot. Pray it unnerves them enough to see reason."
Spreading her wings, Celestia took off into a hover only a foot off the ground, enough to elevate her head that much farther above the bayonet tips and helmets of her own Guard, "Artillery! Load round shot!"
The artilleryponies broke discipline for but a moment in surprise at the Princess's voice, their heads turning towards Celestia as they realized they were taking orders directly from their Princess. The delay only lasted a moment as the cannoneers quickly took to their tasks. Earth ponies took a crowbar to wooden crates, filled with shot, and pried off their lids with a heavy "Crack". Pegasi took powder and primer, burying it first into the cannons with their lantern rods. Inside the crates, laid in hay and sawdust, round iron-cast balls were exposed to the frosty winter air. The two unicorns dedicated to each cannon took the round shot, loading it into the barrel of their cannon as soon as the pegasi removed their sticks from priming and powdering. With a hollow "Thwonk", the balls rolled into place. Finally, one of the unicorn cannoneers cast a simple spark spell, lighting the charcoal end of their lighter stick with a low fizzle.
Across the plaza, Celestia gazed upon the thestral formations. Their junior officers flew over them, shouting words of encouragement towards their regiments. Words and shouts wafted over the plaza as the wind changed directions.
"Stand fast, ponies!" one shouted.
"Goddess with us! The truth and the law stands behind us!"
"They dare not shoot!" shouted another.
Their stoic gazes still gleamed across the plaza as Celestia regarded the enemy. Her eyes darted towards the cannons, as the last of their crews finished loading the round shot.
Clearing her throat, Celestia shouted, "Fire!"
In an instant, unicorns touched their lighters to the cannons touch-holes, touching off the powder within and causing a resounding explosion that shattered its way through the plaza. The spectating civilians screamed as plumes of smoke towered into the air, and sparks of flame shot from the mouths of the cannons as they rolled back on their carriages. The resounding sound of metal vibrating at the explosion filled the air as the whistling of cannonballs flying through the air broke the atmosphere.
The balls went clear over the heads of the rebels, of course, flying clear over the plaza and falling somewhere in the valley below far away. In an act of admirable discipline, the rebel troops refused to even flinch at the cannonade's warning shot, their lines not straying an inch from formation.
"I remember their faces, Luna," Celestia paused, staring at the place where the formation used to be, "How determinedly they looked forward, with your moon rising above them. Their long shadows cast on the plaza as they stood firm."
Luna followed Celestia's gaze, silent.
"I did what I did with great grief, Luna," Celestia choked back a quiver in her voice, trying to use an imperiously raised chin and stoic gaze as a shield, "They fought for their ponies, Luna. I would have done no different in their stead. In a way, I was doing no different."
Her lips drew into a thin line, "And you would drown them under cannonade?"
Eyes diverting away from her sister, Celestia nodded, "They did not listen to the warning shot..."
Celestia lowered her field glasses. The rebels stood strong.
Clearing her throat, Celestia gave another order, "Lower to horizontal!"
Operating the elevation cranks, the cannoneers lowered the elevation of their pieces to horizontal. A clatter sounded over the regiment as the cannons settled down to be completely level with the enemy, unable to depress any farther.
"Load grapeshot!" she cried.
Hesitation was visible on the cannoneer's faces after the order. A moment longer, though, and they moved from their positions. Earth ponies wrenched open a different ammunition crate. Within, packed between two plates were canisters of grapeshot. Several small, 2 inch wide balls were wrapped in coils of metal, like grapes wrapped in a vine.
Pegasi rammed fresh powder into their cannons with their lantern sticks, and the unicorns hefted the shot to the ends of their barrels. As soon as the packing was finished, the unicorns pushed the shot in with a hollow "Thunk".
For one moment, there was silence among the ranks once again. Only the sounds of the civilian spectators around the square and the rebel officers shouting words of encouragement to their juniors was heard over the wind as the cannons finished loading.
For one moment, Celestia considered reneging. Surely, allowing the Lunarists to leave would cause the destruction of her crown. Was her crown that important to her? Was Equestria a nation worth saving? Could she truly bet on the happiness of future generations being worth more than the blood spilt today?
Half her mind clawed to suppress her voice as she wetted her lips and prepared to give the order. Forcing the word out of her throat, she screamed, "Fire!"
The wind whistled through the regiments as they stood. The cannoneers froze at their posts. The unicorns had not lit their lighters, and simply stared ahead, darting occasional, nervous glances towards each other.
Gritting her teeth, Celestia squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, "Fire!" She repeated.
The cannons were silent as the cannoneers stared ahead at their comrades. Treasonous comrades, but comrades all the same. Nopony dared to move. Nopony outright stood in defiance, but nopony made a move against the traitors. For a moment, Celestia looked around, heart thundering as she feared defection.
"Follow your orders!" shouted General High Blood as he marched forward from his position by the regimental colors.
His horn lit as flames manifested in midair next to him. Pushing past the first cannoneer's lighter, he smothered his flame spell within the hole of the cannon, lighting the powder himself. With a hollow, brass thunderclap, the cannon exploded. A plume of smoke and sparks flew out from the barrel, along with a hail-streak of metal and shrapnel.
Across the plaza, the grapeshot impacted the Thestral line. Celestia's pupils shrunk as she saw the devastation. Grapeshot ripped through the uniforms of the House soldiers. Their very bodies rippled as their ribs exploded, jaws disintegrated, and flesh was rendered. Shot tore through one's neck, before going straight through the head of the stallion behind him, bathing the rear rank in blood and gore. Another one's jaw was hit, and blood and bone sprayed from his head into the icy air. An entire column of ponies was blown to the ground under the hail of grapeshot, staggering and collapsing or simply falling dead like a lifeless doll as limbs were lost, wings were torn from torsos, and bodies shattered.
The first shot was all it took to move the rest of the cannonade into action. One by one, the cannons were touched off. Shot split the air with deafening screams as one by one, entire sections of the Lunarist square were destroyed. Celestia's eyes followed the plumes of cannonfire down the row as they fired in sequence. Above each boom of the cannons, the screams of the rebels echoed across the plaza as the grapeshot impacted more and more of them. Stallions and mares were left crying and writhing on the ground as limbs were torn free from their bodies, dark red blood pouring from their wounds as the snow turned crimson beneath their shattered corpses.
Through one of the gaps in the line, Celestia saw a clear shaft all the way through the square to the regimental colors in the middle. The ponies holding the colors stared forward with wide eyes as their formation was cut wide open, the flags of the Moon and the 1st and 2nd flying above their shoulders.
The final cannon shot, aimed at the very end of the line, impacted an unlucky group of spectators. An earth pony, seeming to have a packed-up market stand harnessed to him, opened his mouth in an inaudible shout as shot impacted his hind leg. A pegasus was violently wrenched out of the air by a stray shot. Several others in the crowd were knocked to the ground or collapsed as golf ball sized holes were opened in their guts and limbs. The screams of Canterlotians sounded out over the plaza as the civilian crowd quickly dispersed, trampling senselessly over wounded ponies under their hooves.
"Only five cannons..." Luna whispered.
Celestia nodded, "It was all it took. Your house regiment did not falter under the first volley, sister..."
The guns fell silent again as the crowds of spectators retreated, leaving the bloodied formation to recover. Thestrals, wiped out on the ground, gasped and coughed. The regulars in line held their ground, though some stared, shellshocked, at the ponies who had been eviscerated not more than a few inches to their left or right.
Celestia scanned the enemy formation. The Lunarists stood.
"Celestia save us..." came a whisper from below.
Celestia herself looked down at the sergeant just below her, who couldn't even take her eyes off the rebel line long enough to notice her gaze. Biting her lip, she attempted to regain her composure, "Load!" she managed as she looked back up.
Pegasi took watered sponges, slotting them into the cannons as steam hissed out from the hot barrels. Powder was then rammed home, and more grapeshot on top of it.
Celestia raised her field glasses. The rebels stood strong, with no signs of breaking. Lowering her glasses and raising her voice, she ordered, "Fire!"
Only a moment after she gave the order, the first cannon touched off. Once again, grapeshot shook the bodies of the Lunarist rebels. Bones bent, gore flew, and guts were displaced as the ponies fell in swathes. Each monstrous clap of the cannons hailed another twenty soldiers turned inside out, their section collapsing into the snow below them.'
An officer staggered as his juniors around him were gone in an instant. His dutiful demeanour was broken as he stared around him wide eyed, his colorful uniform stained with the blood of the very soldiers he commanded. A soldier was miraculously spared the hail of steel as his comrades around him were tossed to the floor like broken toys. The sheer wind of the shot sailing past him blew him an inch back, and senselessly he took a step forward back into position as he stared, almost in disbelief at the bodies next to him.
As the fourth cannon fired, Celestia saw some of the thestrals at the end of the line begin to take wing to retreat, only to be hammered to the ground as the fifth cannon's grape ripped through their bodies and tore gaping, bloody holes in their leathery wings.
While as a whole, much of the Thestral line still stood, the gaping, ragged holes in the formation spoke volumes of the casualties they had suffered. Celestia raised her forehoof to her muzzle as bile rose in her gut.
"...Load..." Celestia could barely raise her voice.
The captain of the artillery had to repeat her order, and it was swiftly executed as the cannoneers once again loaded a fresh payload. On both sides of the plaza, regulars stared out into the empty space before them in disbelief. Thestrals glanced nervously to their fallen fellows, and prayed they would not be next. Dayguards whispered prayers and simply stared, unable to truly grasp what was happening.
Raising a forehoof to her eyes, as her wings were too busy keeping her aloft above the heads of the regiment, Celestia refrained from attempting to shout her order aloud, and simply gave a nod towards the artillery captain as soon as the cannoneers finished loading.
"Fire!" He shouted, with the brass explosion of the first cannon following not too long after.
As the shot rang out through the plaza, the enemy line finally broke. As the first cloud of grape impacted the formation, it took but one thestral to break discipline and take wing. Screeches and screams went throughout the plaza as the Lunarists took to wing, their formations dissolving as they flew away from the cannonade, down the plaza in a flurry of disorganized, smattered colors and uniforms.
Thestral officers shouted for order as they were battered and trampled out of the way by their juniors as they took off, avoiding the consequential blasts of grapeshot that tore through the air after them.
"It takes but one pony to lose faith in their cause and their orders for a formation to break," Celestia said, eyes trailing off down the plaza towards the Marenot Quarter Bridge, "And when a formation breaks, a batallion may follow. And where a batallion follows, an army may rout with them."
"All they wanted was a place to live, and they received death..." Luna fixed her sister with a stare of disbelief, shaking her head slowly.
"I could never allow Equestria to fall, even if it should be built on blood and bone. It was my crown to wear..." Celestia met Luna's glare with a face mixed between conviction and grief.
"...What happened to them? Were they chased into the hills and slaughtered? Were they hunted to the ends of the earth and drawn and quartered?" Luna demanded to know, face hardening.
Celestia looked away, back towards the bridge, "They made a last stand..."
To the officers' great credit, they controlled the swarm of batponies once again. Celestia saw their regimental colors touch down on the crest of the Marenot Quarter Bridge, pushing and battering the civilian hoof traffic out of the way as they landed in groups and disordered, bloody clumps around their banners. Some continued to flee, disappearing over the edge of the city, but enough remained with the colors to blockade the bridge completely.
"The traitors occupy the bridge!" General High Blood pointed, "They continue to stand!"
Celestia wiped her tears, attempting to keep her composure before the soldiers. Turning towards the general, she tried to assume an air of professionalism, "What is your recommendation, General?"
"The bridge is clear of civilians, Your Highness. We hit the bridge with round shot and collapse it on top of them, then run the remains off with pegasi!" High Blood nodded.
"Get the cannons turn around. Bring the pegasi to arms," Celestia straightened her lips, looking ahead to the Lunarists standing at the bridge.
"You are weeping, Princess," Came the voice of Major March, who quickly dug through one of his uniform pockets. A hoofkerchief was proffered up towards the flying alicorn, who took it as delicately as she could, wiping the streams away.
The drums thundered out a beat, and the clattering of muskets filled the air as the pegasi light divisions took to the air in formation. The carriages of the artillery pieces clattered as they were turned around, the infantry marching behind them to support them as officers hurriedly relayed and shouted orders between each other.
Cannons were elevated back to their higher angles, mathematically calculated by their officers to hit somewhere in the ballpark of the bridge. Above them, the pegasi affixed their bayonets and held them out before themselves, a wall of glimmering blades shining in the winter night air.
"Load round shot!" came the order.
Celestia raised her field glasses to her eyes once again. At the crest of the bridge, the regiments stood unsteadily. Their officers screamed and shouted inaudibly to them. Their eyes darted wildly about to the swarms of pegasi in the heavens above them, and the cannons being levelled towards them once again.
Below them, the freezing cold mountain water poured forth from Canterlot's caves, running a wild circuit beneath the stones and columns of the Marenot Quarter Bridge.
With the authoritative "Thunk" of the round shot being loaded, the cannons were ready.
"FIRE!" The captain shouted.
Once again, the field cannons sprung backwards, barrels exploding into plumes as round shot flew through the air. A cheer came from the Lunarist regiment as the shot failed to strike their thin line, instead striking the columns and road around them.
Another round was folded, and the cannons were touched off again.
One of the round shots impacted the middle of the regiment, while the others missed and continued to hit the bridge. Through the warped vision of Celestia's field glasses, she could see the visage of meaty chunks flung into the air, and the ripples through the line as the soldiers were unsteadied once again.
Again, the cannons fired.
The thestral line again began to break as the round shot fell upon them. The bridge began to buckle under their hooves as the bricks began to give way. Thestrals took to the air, and the earliest to flee were lucky as the bridge's suspension snapped under the mounting pressure, whipping through their comrades right behind them. Celestia quavered as she saw a regular sliced completely in half by a tension cable.
The rest attempted to take off. Some were drowned under a field of falling rubble, crushed and sent into the canal below, where they were swallowed by the freezing rapids. Others took to the air, flying off in disorganized streams.
Finally, the regimental colors were abandoned as Celestia saw a slight blur of color through her lenses as the regiment flag was swallowed by the collapsing bridge.
"Pegasi! Bayonets! Charge!" Came the order from the light pegasi commander. Immediately, the pegasus formation thrusted forward through the air, their bayonets born in front of them like a cloud of flying daggers. They began to chase the broken regiment as they dispersed by wing.
"We've done it, Your Highness!" General Blood grinned towards Celestia, pointing towards the dispersing streams of Thestrals, "We've broken them! We've broken the rebels!"
As the broken rebels fled into the air, the only thing left on the battlefield were the abandoned muskets of the Lunarists, the bodies of those left behind, and the sound of silence.
"My guilt lies with the ponies that died," Celestia took a shuddering breath, maintain her composure with a slight cough, "Forgiveness died with their bodies in a mass grave, and their officers hung before the castle at dawn. I just knew..." She paused, levelling her gaze on the bridge, pure of the blemishes of cannonballs and musket fire, "I just knew that things could never be the same now as they were... before."
Celestia turned to Luna, the pain visible in her eyes as she approached the smaller alicorn, "...And that if they ever could be, that you needed to know the... things I did. The pony I became in your absence."
Luna furrowed her brow, before pointing towards the bridge, "Did thou succeed in stopping the rebellion?"
She was answered with a firm shake of Celestia's head.
"...Thou would slaughter them in vain?" Luna huffed, disbelieving.
Celestia could only nod her head.
"Thou are right," Luna took a step back from Celestia, keeping her eyes on her as her body turned to trot a few steps away, "We cannot look upon thyself the same way."
There was silence for a moment. The officer-cadet took his leave, stamping his hoof once and walking back towards his formation. Despite not being dismissed, neither royal took it out on him.
Luna eventually broke the silence, frowning deeply as she stared at the pavement just beneath Celestia's hooves, "Were there more like this?" she gestured a wing to the empty space on the plaza.
"Many more," Celestia nodded, grimly.
"Do the ponies know?" Luna demanded.
Celestia nodded, emphatically, "Yes. However, many ponies wish not to repeat the stories. It... casts mud on their perception of a perfect nation. I do not control what is taught in schools."
"Thou shalt show us the rest, then," Luna sighed, shaking her head, "We... are not the one to cast blame for thy mistakes. But... we want to know."
Celestia's expression softened, "Of course. You deserve to know."
Luna slowly walked back towards her sister, before prodding her with a wing back towards the castle, "Come now. Thou must teach us the new ways to speak in this era."
Behind them, the sun still rose over Canterlot City, the ponies still went about their day in the marketplaces and streets, the foals still played in the fountains and plazas, the bells still rung over the schools and colleges, and the water still flowed under Marenot Quarter Bridge.
Author's Note
A bit of an experimental piece here. Tell me what you think if you can spare the time!
