Centenary

I stared at the pristine white marble blocks perfectly sculpted, crafted with the utmost care as and constructed with delicate almost reverence so many years ago until they formed the obelisk in front of me, when we had this structure commissioned to be built we did not want it to become gaudy or to attempt to romanticise such a miserable time for Equestria and so the memorial to the great war was a rather plain looking structure sat centre of harmony plaza on the path to Canterlot castle in hopes that it might provoke ponies to remember what was undoubtedly the darkest days of Equestria and that the great conflagration had consumed all in Equestria.

Would those that gave their all for Equestria truly be happy with what Equestria had become? To know that the foe who had slaughtered their friends and kin butchered so many and took their lives would be forgiven their transgressions in the end? Are they rolling in their graves in disgust at what Equestria had become once the war ended? To reach out a hoof to one who had so savagely bitten us.

One of my greatest worries being such a… Long lived pony was always the concern of events of such great importance that I lived through being slowly forgotten about falling into myth and legend.

Such a thing had happened with my own dearest sisters falling to madness and banishment from this plain, over time the story of Nightmare moon had become just that. A story we told to fillies and colts is a fairy-tale. It brought me great pain to be the only pony who truly remembered that I did not always rule alone and so for one thousand years I was left the only one to remember both her and her tale.

Even the idea of war itself was a story to ponies. They had known a millennia of peace only contending with occasional monster attacks, even before war truly blighted our land with the winter revolution once again ponies were so sure war could not come to our land it only happened elsewhere in the world.

And then the Changelings invaded the deer and still many ponies were so sure war would not come to our lands of friendship and harmony, that we would strike out a deal at the last hour with Queen Chrysalis and her hives and that all would be well again but then.

My ears pressed down onto my skull as I heard a thunderous boom sound across the city, out of the corner of my eyes I saw many of the ponies lining the streets jumped slightly in fright, several foals jumping underneath their parents or guardians legs at the scary sound of an artillery gun sounding.

We had been blessed that in the 100 years since the Great war no filly or colt at home had had to suffer the horrors of war and its hardships, the sound of guns was once again alien to most of my little ponies.

My ears perked up again and I was drawn from my current thought as I heard the bells all across Canterlot tolling their mournful cries. I knew all across the land of Equestria and even abroad in the Crystal empire, Olenia, New Mareland and further afield yet the same thing was happening all over many places in the world and the entire country fell silent as one.

As we stood the sun beaming down upon the throngs of crowds lining the streets I started to count up the 120 seconds in my mind before I started to drift thinking to all my little ponies who had given their everything for Equestria, sun and moon above twenty years ago felt only like a blink of an eye as I remembered the last time we held this ceremony with one of the ponies who was there herself, the years had not been kind to her body but I could still remember her eyes they still gleamed with that of a mare 40 years her junior and her off colour jokes would not bear repeating in good company.

We had known it would be the last major anniversary that the ponies who fought would be there for but to my own dismay I did not think to try and make more of a point of that issue. Even a scant decade ago the last of the ponies who saw the war even through the eyes of being a small foal at the time too were slipping away until now only those of us blessed with such longevity can truly remember the carnage of the great war.

It took all of my willpower to not jump as I heard the distant thunder of guns once again, had two minutes really passed already? So lost in reminiscence I nearly missed my cue.

All was silent in the streets save for I could hear the loud echoing of several metal shoes clocking against stone in perfect unison and I finally tore my gaze from the cenotaph looking around for a moment, Luna stood beside me ever the warrior princess she had her field marshals uniform on as two fillies from her own school presented her with a wreath of poppies, at the same time two colts from my school of gifted unicorns presented me with my own wreath to lay.

I felt the slightly spicy floral scent fill my nostrils I smiled down to my little ponies whispering softly to them “Thank you” as they scampered off I gave my sister a small nod and we slowly trotted to the base of memorial, Normally my regalia felt like I was wearing nothing at all but today of all days I could truly feel the weight of my golden shoes and felt every uneven inch of the cobbled stone as we approached.

Together we laid the wreaths down, bowed our heads slightly before returning to our spots on the plaza grounds.

Next Twilight and Queen Victa of the Changeling hives were presented their own wreath by fillies of Twilights school of friendship, one Changeling student and a Hippogriff student presented a wreath made with a vast assortment flowers from each of the students homelands adorned the wreath and they walked hoof in hoof each using their magic to hold the wreath together and place it alongside Luna and I’s.

In the many many years we had held a memorial for armistice day it had always felt somewhat out of place to ask a Changeling representative to be present at such events given the nature of what we were reminiscing on. The first decade it would have been completely unthinkable as much as Equestria had reached out with a hoof of friendship following the destruction of the Great war bitterness still remained for sometime after such horrors. However slowly eventually ponies and Changelings had become friends, I had heard rumours of Changelings and ponies who had both fought at the same battles meeting one another or one rather famous case of a Changeling who had in the waning days of the war spared a bomber crew that had been torn to pieces only for them to meet again many decades later and becoming the closest of friends even passing within mere weeks of one another. However Twilight had insisted that after 100 years and the friendship that had grown between the Changelings and ponies since it was time to invite them to attend our remembrance event and take part. I had not expected the Queen herself to insist on joining in on the event. Perhaps even if it was not their proudest hour the changelings did not want to forget who they once were.

After Twilight and Queen Victa came Princess Cadence approached alone, her daughter Flurry heart would be seeing the simultaneous service occurring in the heart of the Crystal empire right about now. Two foals from the crystal empire instead of a floral wreath hoofed over to her a small crystal statue of a stallion rearing up She approached with a saddened smile upon her muzzle as she placed the statue of the white coated and blue maned stallion upon the top step up bowing her head for a moment before return back to her sister in laws side supporting one another as the ceremony ticked on.

After the royal families had finished our part in the ceremony my ministers of state, opposition politicians and other foreign dignitaries who had come to our aid began their turn to place memorial items or wreaths. The Solemn silence was broken as a band struck up an old favoured marching tune of the many young mares would have marched off to themselves, Taking our queue the few of us who were there and could remember clear as day the war took wing and retreated back into the palace.

The feeling of the cool wind flowing along feathers did much to pull my mind back to the present and after a very brief flight I alighted upon the marbled balcony but instead of following Twilight, Cadence and Luna instead I stopped and turned around and watched from the Balcony.

Throngs of creatures, Hippogriffs, Griffins, Diamond dogs, Thestrals, Crystal ponies, Earth Ponies, Unicorns, Pegasi and yes even Changelings all marching past the great stone pillar, some just dipping their heads some laying their own wreaths, young and old mare and stallion. My eyes began to tear up somewhat and the tightness in my core was released. They may not have been there themselves but my little ponies did remember and they did care about such a seminal event in our history.

To see it gladdened my heart despite the horrors of the time. To forget about it would be even worse and invite such a disastrous occasion upon us again.

And to those who did not make it this far, I think those who had given their all in the end would be able look to today if they were here and see an Equestria they still recognised, one that reached out with the hoof of compassion and friendship and the the fires of the magic of friendship did still burn bright after all was said and done, we had not lost ourselves in the conflagration.