"The sword. Mighty, swift, traditional, the first thing one's mind goes to when the idea of honor is presented. Yet I query. Why is the sword a symbol of honor? The sword is an instrument of death brought by bloodshed. A soldier may go down the street with a gun in hand, but that is only a casing. The sword is always drawn, always ready to strike and kill. So what honor is there in the sword? My answer: for it is personal. The sword does not release projectiles or hide you from a threat; the sword is an extension of your own being. What actions one takes with a sword at their control must be done at a range of personality. The will of the blade does not allow you to murder or pass orders through it; it allows you a stretch further than your own body can reach so you may reach those actions." - Star Swirl the Bearded.
"I beseech thee sister!" No matter how she begged, words would not reach her sister's ears. "This cannot be just!"
"Just or not, it is the proper course of action..." Solaris watched as the world below her cried and crackled with cinders escaping into the smoke choked sky. "Countless lives are lost to the Everfree Forest and the beasts that wonder it... I have granted fair warning to those that dwell within days ahead. Should they stay, it is of their own consequence."
The Everfree forest down at the foot of Canterlot continued to smolder and crackle as the trees passed the raging white-red fire in an endless stream. Solaris watched from behind her twisted crown, never once flinching as large trees would crack loudly against the land as their roots were burned away. Her younger sister's eyes plastered onto the sight. She watched as critters and great beasts howled painful as they were either caught under a fallen, burning tree, or they were set ablaze along with their homes. No solace could be found outside of the grim idea that, with hope, most of them would be choked out by the smoke so their pain would last shorter. Timberwolves scampered out from the burning thicket, their own bodies reduced to tinder and becoming living conduits of fire charging towards the settlements. For better or worse, not one made it close enough to the villages as their bodies turned to piles of ash after each whimpered at their final resting place.
"This..." Luna's face twisted with rage, pity, and swells of other emotions that she could not hope to contain as she watched the horror, "This is genocide, sister!"
"Purging... Luna. This is purging," Solaris' tone was devoid of any drop of emotion.
When Solaris set her eyes away from the fire, they looked to Luna. Precious. Innocent. This sister of hers was nothing less than a gem in her eyes. Solaris caressed a plated hoof against Luna's star covered hair. For a moment, Luna felt her heart raise. It was faint. But it was there. Celestia's hoof was pressed against her hair and had been stroking it. Time had long buried away the way this felt. Safe. To have the ways things were return... Though still, Luna could not bring herself to smile. "...They were merely a casualty..." Those words were not said by Celestia. Luna had not heard the sweet chime of her sister's voice in decades. All that remained was a raspy, hollow echo against the frame of steel.
Decades. Centuries. The hoof of Solaris had existed upon the backs of the ponies for too many endless days to count. From birth to death, Solaris had you. Although, there exists one who can recall when Solaris did not exist. All know this being, yet none ask. To ask such a thing of Nightmare Moon would be of the highest scars against her. Solaris was many horrid things; but her care towards her sister was her only redeeming trait. Many feared that should they ask of Solaris' past, such a care would no longer exist if Nightmare Moon answered...
Thus, none ask. None know...
Solaris... Solaris is a mantle. A facade to be worn when the call for a true tyrant is needed. But, unlike most mantles that are worn over another's body; Solaris is a living mantle that is worn over a shadow. I had often asked myself where did the mantle end and the mare began? A fair question. A question that has kept me sane behind my own mantle. Why? Because that question grants a hope that there is something under her mantle still. A shred of humanity...
My sister had once been a loving mare... One thousand years ago. By the makers. One thousand years ago. Celestia... If I had only listened... Would that have prevented this? Would Equestria still stand? Would the sun still set? Would Discord still be in the garden? Would Everfree forest not be burnt? Would the Changelings exist? Could harmony still live? I... I do not know...
I will ask you when you return. I will ask you when you open your eyes. The day when I do not stand over your bed, holding a blade against your throat but being to afraid to make the swipe... On that day, I will ask you. I will ask you why. Why? Why did you put Solaris on? Why did I not stop you? Why did you twist the elements? Why did I not stop you? Why did you do this? And why... Why did I not help you?
No... Do not answer me sister. I know the answer.
Why?
Because I left... Humanity made me leave you in my time of torment. When... This... took me. Greed. Treachery. Corruption... I saw it in your eyes that day. You wanted to banish me. You... My sister... were hurting. What I had done to you, the citizens, our land... I could not bare it in that moment. Darkness did not overshadow my vision sister. So I departed from you and joined the moon until my mind was cleansed...
...Was it something I had done to you? Yes... I left you with doubt... You must have blamed yourself for my actions... I cannot beg enough for your forgiveness, sister Celestia. But I will beg until the world ends... Just do not blame yourself... And remove the mantle.
Come back Celestia... Please...