//------------------------------//
// 2.4 - The battle begins 
// Story: Royal Rewrite - The winner wrote the history 
// by Zalmax 
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The funeral was short. Usually they lasted a bit longer. But usually they didn’t have a ceremony at all when a traitor was buried. The speeches of farewell had been short mumbles, and it was difficult to know to what extent they really wanted to show that they missed a traitor. Perhaps they would rather be angry at the corpse? Something they surely wouldn’t dare with Luna leading by example. Perhaps some of them were still in denial?

Luna decided to keep her royal appearance up to honor the fallen. Black fur and radiant eyes bathing the ceremony in her aura of the night. According to Luna, Lieutenant Ladyhawke wasn’t a traitor. She was just put in an impossible situation. Caught between her duties acting as a sledge hammer, and her passion acting as the anvil; and the poor officer’s future in the middle.

The lieutenant had tried to solve the situation but failed. She had failed because she wasn’t allowed to voice her concern, to question, and to suggest changes. If Luna had been around to follow-up on the conflict, it surely could have been resolved differently?

Luna turned back towards the castle. Hearing sounds from the settlement she decided to make a detour. She never visited the settlement unannounced but she often used her magic and stealth to gander a peek.

Her sister would balk at such deceitful behavior if she knew about it, but Luna considered it permissible. She considered it her duty to verify how well ponies’ dreams about the settlement matched the reality. How things appeared in dreams could vary quite a bit and she just had to know.

It was otherwise strict protocol from Celestia that the inhabitants should receive ‘fair warning’ before any inspection, even if it was just to say hello. The ponies who lived there must receive advance notice and never have to worry about being subjected to some surprise evaluation.

Luna noticed some noise and hustle coming from the village. Had her visit been announced it would probably been entirely different, but then again, Luna figured ponies should be able to go about their lives without having to turn everything upside-down just because a royal princess is passing by. They may as well get used to the idea that a princess can walk around without a ceremonial greeting must take place.

One of the guards in tow since the funeral suddenly rushed past Luna, throwing herself flat on the ground on the side, kneeling towards the princess.

"Your most esteemed royal Princess!" she called out.

For a second Luna figured she should just keep walking. She looked at the guard, who didn’t look back.

"Speak your mind, Guard Silverbow."

"May your highness forgive us, but we have no knowledge of a royal visit. If our divine princess would let me run ahead and inform the village about your visit, everyone could take some time to greet you properly."

"No, that will not be necessary. We do not require an official visit. We will just walk by and have a look." Luna replied as she walked past the kneeling guard.

The day has had enough surprises as it was and the guards following Luna followed in unsettling silence withouth daring to voice any opinion.

As Luna entered the densely packed houses along the road, she saw ponies focusing their attention towards the center of the village. They looked shocked over the surprise visit. The odd thing was that they looked shocked while they were looking at the center of the village and kept that look on their face as they turned to see Princess Luna. The shock they felt didn’t prevent them from falling down and kneeling as she came, but it felt odd. As Luna got in line of sight of the small center square she understood why.

Writhing in pain was Captain Quicksmite, her right hindleg had been cut off with an axe. Another pony with a bandage in his mouth was pulling hard, to make the dressing of the wound tighter. There were better ways to deal with such wounds, but enemies or traitors were always placed last in the list for medical care, and even when plenty of medical magic and herbs where available they would receive less of it or just the bare essentials, to show that traitors had no right to demand anything and should be happy to receive any help at all.

Luna didn’t keep walking. She looked at Captain Quicksmite from a distance. Most ponies in Luna’s vincinity had fallen to the ground and were kneeling instead of going about their usual business. Luna had seen enough. Her mane and tail gathering even more energy as the smoke around her eyes intensified.

Captain Quicksmite had been fiercly loyal to Queen Celestia, and obviously also held princess Luna in divine regard. Within the span of an hour, Quicksmite’s best friend and life-long support had been buried while Quicksmite herself had got her leg chopped off and was branded as a traitor.

Luna tried to keep calm but it was difficult, so very very difficult. She did a quick turn and was about to gallop towards the castle before she decided to go airborn and fly over the wall. Proper conduct according to Celestia required the royals to always leave and enter by the gate, showing their arrival and departure for all the staff to see and everyone to know, but that rule felt like a mockery to her right now. Never before had she hated the rules and the protocols more than she did right now.

The door to the throne room was more or less blown open by the force from Luna’s magic.

Celestia recognized it as her sister’s temper tantrum. The only question on her mind was why it came now and not before. Celestia kept her calm and the fire in her eyes and her aura was a bit more mellow then it had been during the interrogation.

"Celestia!" Luna called out as she moved up towards her sister.

"Princess Luna, behave yourself. This is the royal throne room and not a Dragon Hall."

Luna’s angry hoofsteps caused cracks to appear in the marble floor as she moved up the hall towards her sister. Queen Celestia on the other hoof had retired to sitting on her throne and didn’t even bother to stand up.

Lunas angry voice drummed as hard as her hooves, "CELESTIA! What in Equestria is WRONG with you?? How can your mind be so flawed that you seek to judge and punish everything that moves, no matter if it moves with you or against you??"

"DON’T you start that tone with us. If you have a valid complaint, then bring it together with your manners and we shall listen, but until then you can go sit in your garden."

"STOP!" Luna screamed and her power rustled curtains, shelves, furniture along the hall, "We are tired of this behavior and demand immediate change to your tyrannical rule."

Celestia’s anger suddenly showed in both eyes and mane as she clenched her teeth, "We have had a very hectic day and are in no mood for your ill tempered conniption." her voice took on more authority as she adressed the soldiers present, "Guards! Show the princess out. We do no longer require her presence in the throne room."

The rules for how to show someone out was clear. Move up and follow the target to the door. If they didn’t move, sign for them to do so. If they still didn’t move. Stand real close with a mean look on the face, weapons raised and ready for combat.

All that training was however for naught as they felt themselves raised from the ground and quickly levitated towards the door. Luna’s magic had gotten them before they had a chance to react, and even though their limbs and wings were flailing wildly and the unicorns tried to free themselves with magic it didn’t help as she had them in a firm neutralizing grip.

Celestia got even more annoyed by the display. She wasn’t agitated by the fact that the guards were thrown out. Even if it was a rare event and not something you saw every century, it could happen when Luna got her rage on.

What annoyed Celestia most was that Luna did what she herself could not. She couldn’t hoist a pony like that. Celestia could throw her power at a pony and it would make a bonebreaking sound as the pony hit the wall, but she couldn’t carefully lift and displace it. The magic in ponies, and many other beings for that matter, made them so slippery she would lose her grip. Especially if they struggled.

It wasn’t because ponies had a lot of magic, on the contrary, it was the other way around. To learn how to levitate another pony was easier for a regular unicorn, by the same principle as pulling a splinter was much easier using a small tweezer, than a gigantic crowbar.

Celestia stood up and walked down the stairs leading up to the throne on its dais. Her eyes, mane and tail clearly showing the fire within.

"You anger me sister. You shouldn’t provoke my fury. Our ties will only give you so much leniency before I grow weary of your shenanigans." Celestia bit off the words in a very uncharacteristic way. Her voice was loud and clear, but the royal authority was replaced with royal wrath.

"NO! It’s time for change, right here, right now. The princess of the night will now guide Equestria according to the philosophy of the Moon."

Luna walked up towards Celestia, and now her power really started to flow. Her mane was as voluminous as her body and her tail was lashing out as a big shark of darkness, holding unfathomable energy that anyone could readily assume but very few were capable to see.

Celestia responded in kind. Astral fire rising from the halo of her tail and mane intensifying to become actual flames ready to burn anything it touched.

Luna was almost all the way to Celestia when magical lightning struck from all sides. Celestias method of engulfing an opponent in massive amounts of energy, left only immortals alive.

This time however, her attack failed. Somehow her sister had evaded it. Standing just a tad bit on the side to the epicentrum with an evil grin on her face. Luna’s apparance had kept changing and now she had long sharp teeth to go with every other sharp feature of her apparance. None of them ever had fangs as a part of the royal appearance. Sharp teeth was a very challenging statement of aggression.

With Luna’s hostile visage confirmed, Celestia didn’t wait. Luna must be knocked out fast before she caused any damage. She would not give her time to evade another barrage of energy. Celestia let her powers go completely and energy shot out from her every side, but the stray cascades of energy to the sides were nothing in comparison to the incredibly massive onslaught that hit Luna.

Except Luna wasn’t there.

Once more it looked like she was in the middle of it, but she had shifted a bit to the side, basking in the glorious light but not in the pain.

Celestia didn’t have time to mix frustration into her anger as Luna’s dark bolt hit her straight on. It felt like bones cracked and fur singed, but it was just pain. Pain and... well, her fur smoked and singed a bit as she was forcibly crushed down into the stairs leading up to the throne.

It hurt. It hurt a lot. The marble wasn’t as soft as your hooves may lead you believe, when your body was slammed into it, back first.

Celestia screamed out in pain and anger before she directed a flare of her own against her sister. Sending her beam head-on towards Luna who had become airborn with a magical forcefield acting as a shield to protect her. Celestia’s fiery flares broke against Luna’s magical shield as harmless firework.

"YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS, TRAITOR!" Celestia called out.

"Weak words, from a weak Queen." Her sister said in a soft, sinister tone. No longer yelling like before but clearly amplified to be heard above the roaring sounds of blasts breaking up floors and tearing down walls.

Head on their beams collided. Celestia let her anger drive her focus, pushing harder than ever before. Luna pushed back, and Celestia couldn’t overcome it. Something was wrong. How could Luna be so strong?

Suddenly Luna was gone. Stepping through a portal with a speed that would make a red unicorn green with envy. A split second later a bone-cracking sound was heard inside Celestia’s head as Luna’s hooves caused a bone-cracking sound... against her head.

Celestia reeled from the shock as she fell forward. Her sister laughed at the pathetic display.

"Weak! So weak! Pushing the sun a bit each morning, giving it some speed, and then sitting on her royal ass. Makes for a very weak Queen." the mocking words from Luna caught in a echo haunted her ears, together with the ringing from the trauma to her head.

If she had known Luna could teleport like that she would have presumed it was because Luna had lost a lot of power. But her head on energy charge that Celestia couldn’t penetrate proved that Luna contained just as much power as she ever had, maybe more. Luna had then lifted all that power in a blink of an eye, and moved it behind her. Something that she herself was unable to do. A massive feat that only the God of Chaos could perform.

Celestia formed a new shield around her. Covering all areas this time. So teleporting behind her wasn’t possible.

"So fragile!" came Luna’s dark voice. "So weak and fragile, hiding in a globe, even though the moon and not the sun, is the master of shield magic."

Celestia panted in between gasps, trying to figure out what to do. The taunts didn’t bother her, but her desperation did. At first she was furious with her sister but was holding back from not maiming her too badly. Now she felt perplexed, confused, maybe even fear. Whatever she tried, Luna one-upped her.

Luna in a shimmering sphere of her own had walked up to be real close to Celestia. No longer keeping a healthy blast-range.

"Celestia! For your crimes against ponies, I hereby sentence you as a traitor." Luna’s voice called out filled with rage.

Celestia carefully balanced her shield, waiting for an opening in her sisters defense or a slip-up of some sort.

It didn’t came.

Luna didn’t lower her shield before she sent her next blast. Her face contorted with dark energy smoking from eyes, nostrils and even mouth. The accumulation of power was immense and greater than Luna had shown during battles with Dragonkind, Eternals or even the God of Chaos. It warned Celestia that the upcoming attack was beyond anything Celestia had previously witnessed. Ever!

The blast crushed itself out of Luna’s own shield, penetrated right through Celestia’s barrier as if it didn’t exist, and continued to crush Celestia’s right hind-leg in one extreme blow.

Celestia screamed out in pain and fear. Her drawn out agonizing shriek filled up not just the throne-room but the entire castle. Her body was an intricate part of herself and having a piece of it crushed like that was inexplicable and nothing she could imagine happen.

"I SENTENCE YOU TO HOBBLE!" came Luna’s mad voice.

Celestia brought up another shield, faintly flickering and not as steady as the one before, but any shield is better than no shield. It must be!

Luna just stared at her.

"Sister, you’re feeble, frail and pathetic. You may have a heart of stone and a mind of fire, but your faded power is even weaker than I expected. You call that a shield?" Luna was calm but angry.

Celestia frantically tried to reinforce her barrier, while Luna made a big show of drawing a glowing circle in the air. The circle of energy started to spin faster and faster, while moving closer to Celestia. As it approached Celestia’s shield it was sawing right through it as if it didn’t exist. Splitting her barrier in tiny pieces while the sawing circle was undisturbed.

"SO WEAK! I don’t even know why you try. We both know the moon lends a better shield and in the old days your different barriers may have been impressive, but this is pathetic."

"SISTER, STOP THIS!" Celestia screamed as she stood up on three hooves, trying to figure out some way to turn the tables. "What have gotten into you? Did the dragons corrupt you with some new magic? Did someone else corrupt you? How can you rebel against your Queen?"

The assault was so blindingly fast, Celestia didn’t even have a chance to notice that Luna gathered energy. It slammed into her and crushed her against the wall further behind. The wall cracked almost as easily as her leg previously had done.

"YOU DARE ASK THAT QUESTION?!" Luna screamed after releasing her blast, "Asking US that question after what YOU did to to Captain Quicksmite? After the pain YOUR rules caused lieutenant Ladyhawke? After the multitude of feardreams ponies suffered under YOUR reign because of YOU!?"

Luna lifted from the debris among the floor and was now hovering in the air above Celestia. Wings spread out for balance. Celestia felt a knot in her stomach and a quesy feeling that would almost make her forget the pain in her head, her body and her leg.

She didn’t dare say anything. Perhaps Luna would kill her. But probably not. If she wanted to kill her she would be working on destroying her already. She didn’t know what Luna planned but realized there was nothing she could do to stop her.

"It’s time for Equestria to experience a shift in power. For so many years, it has been you ruling, and your rules. Now it’s our turn."

Luna floated down to stand on the ground, right in front of Luna. Close enough for them to touch each other. The energy darting back and forth over Luna’s skin, some form of shield, showed Celestia that Luna still had her guard up. Something Celestia no longer had.

"The sun will soon go down. As you always said, the day is the time for change, for action, to do things." Luna said in a harsh voice, but still much calmer than any tone she had previously used during this entire incident.

"The nighttime is soon upon us. Time to rest. Time to think, to contemplate and enlighten our minds instead of our fur. And you will need this time to think."

Luna scrutinized Celestia who looked like a crumbled piece of paper someone tossed into the wall.

"Tomorrow morning, it is time for change again. Tomorrow morning we will announce that Queen Luna is the new ruler of the Kingdom. For as long as she see fit. The time of the Moon will be marked by the wisdom of the night. Queen Luna will explain the rules of her night court, and those rules will be followed also during the day. Queen Luna will explain the meditative philosophy of the night, and those deep thoughts should guide our actions also during the day. We will no longer act, because we feel a need to act, but only if we absolutely must."

Luna looked at Celestia, no longer looking very regal where she covered in dirt and dust lacked power to even make her eyes burn. They had more of a petty glow than regal fire. The iris even looked less elliptical than usual and the proud astral fire that usually adorned her mane and tail was almost gone.

"So tomorrow morning, prepare to gather all our subjects and we shall declare... THE NIGHT SHALL LAST FOREVER!" Luna’s final declaration echoed all over the castle and its surrounding.

After her utterance she quickly turned around and took to the air. A large gaping fresh hole in the wall behind the throne served as an exit for the princess. Celestia saw her fly away and couldn’t help wondering why Luna left and what she would do during her last night as a princess.

Celestia stood uneasily on three hoves. There were lots of things she must do. The leg of a goddess could take some time to heal. That it had been crushed quickly was no indication of how fast it could change. At least not to the better.

She needed to figure out how to deal with Luna. Celestia was sure that there currently were no being in the world with powers that could rival Luna. Well, except the God of Chaos... maybe! But they had locked him up together and it would require both of them and a lot of time to undo that. Luna had insisted on so many layers of protection it was ridiculous.

Did Luna anticipate someone else or several may want to free him already back then? Had she planned her traitorous action for so long? Just biding her time until her attuned moon somehow bestowed massive power to her while the sun seem to have faded over the last centuries.

Celestia didn’t know the answers but she wasn’t Queen because she gave up easily. She knew what she had to do and she was going to do it.

* * * A night goes by * * *


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