History Is Written by the Victors

by johnnyKJU

Prologue

Night. It is a special time of a day. Time of rest. Time of dreaming. Time of love. Time of wishes. Night is decorated with stars, surrounding the moon and its white shining glory. The delicate light makes it possible to see the path for those who did not return home before sunset. The brightest star always shows the north, for those brave enough to travel during the night. Also it is said if one wishes for something upon a falling star, the wish will be granted. And sometimes they are.

The night sky is an art created by myself. Every night, I create a masterpiece with celestial bodies at my disposal. Every night looks different from the others, and I make stargazing as enjoyable as I possibly can.

But it is all for naught. All of my efforts are wasted. Nopony admires my night these days. Nopony is stargazing these days. Nopony is travelling at night these days. Nopony is returning home after sunset these days; every night they make sure they are back before the moon rises.

Such a waste.

‘Your Majesty?’ the question came from behind me, putting an end to my contemplation while I was admiring my own night sky on a balcony of my room in the Castle.

Am I really that miserable? The creator is not supposed to be the only one admiring his art.

Back to reality, I recognized the owner of the voice immediately. Shadow Wing, my personal guard, one of the few Night Guards left. And the only friend I have left in my sad life.

‘Yes?’ I asked.

‘It is time for the Night Court,’ he said.

I inwardly sighed. This was my least favorite part of the night. The Court is one of the few of my Princess’ obligations left. But it is so useless, I do not have to turn up tonight and nopony would complain or even notice.

I would not have come myself if Shadow Wing had not reminded me.

‘You know very well, Shadow Wing, that it is a waste of time,’ I said to him with my back still turned to the entrance of the

balcony, where he stood.

I always hold myself back from using the Royal Canterlot Voice and a sophisticated grammar structure when speaking to my personal guard, because they created to talk to noble ponies and subjects, not friends.

‘That may be so, but it is still a royal duty, which must be fulfilled, Your Majesty, and I am here to see to that,’ Shadow Wing responded. ‘Besides, I brought something, which will make it more bearable.’

‘And what did you bring, Shadow Wing?’ I asked with a smile on my muzzle while I turned to face my guard. ‘And how many times do we have to remind you to call us Luna?’

Shadow Wing has always been an understanding and thoughtful friend, and a responsible and dedicated Night Guard, which made him very valuable, both as a guard and a friend. Although his coat was grey, eyes yellow with vertical irises, a pair of bat wings, and a complete set of purple armor, like every other Night Guard, there was something about him which made him recognizable from afar. His aura, his very way of holding himself, is very original and catches a lot of pairs of eyes.

‘I’m sorry, Luna. Old habits die hard after all,’ he responded. ‘And I brought this,’ he answered with a smile as he showed a full set of chess, which he had on his back throughout this whole conversation.

‘How thoughtful of you,’ I responded. ‘Well then, let us go to the Throne Room if it means you will not get in trouble because of me neglecting my duty,’ I added with a smile.

We left my room side by side, a formation most ponies would find disrespectful towards a Princess. But the Castle is practically empty at this hour, and it is not like anypony would bother to behave completely respectfully towards me.

Our subjects most likely forgot there are two Princesses ruling Equestria.

My life for the last few years has been gradually turning more and more miserable. Couple decades ago, when my sister and I first created Equestria and had become Princesses, I was really happy. Even back then, very few admired my night, but at least I was ruling a country. Ponies would seek guidance, and those talented and confident enough would ask me to be their mentor in magic.

Those were the best years of my life. But slowly, fewer and fewer ponies would come to me or the Court. My duties were losing importance and I was losing political power very fast. I was telling myself that it was temporary, that ponies would come around and realize that I am, in fact, useful and helpful. That Celestia would realize that I can uphold my obligations, and that there is no need to take my responsibilities.

But I was wrong.

Years later, Shadow Wing is the only pony that I talk to these days.

Connection between me and my sister has… changed. At first we were inseparable, like best friends. But over the years, we grew further and further apart. We were spending less and less time with each other. I think it happened because she wanted to use that time to make Equestria the perfect country. I really admired her for it. To be able to dedicate most of one’s time to improve lives of many others is absolutely incredible. But something changed. As the years went by she was becoming more and more manipulative. She wanted more to control, more to rule.

I suspect she wants to make Equestria the center of the world with her on top of it. To make ponies the dominant species. To create the perfect army full of soldiers ready to make the ultimate sacrifice for her.

But most importantly, still I cannot understand how she tricked me into handing over most of my royal duties to her.

I guess they were little things at the beginning, no noteworthy changes. But before I realized what was going on, I was pushed to the background of politics and ruling.

My sister is a control freak. A manipulative ruler who keeps her ponies in ignorant bliss while her mind is full of long-term back-stabbing plans.

I am not refusing to admit it. My sister truly is a tyrant, although nopony except for me can see it, and I cannot remove the blinds of their eyes.

But I promised myself I will find out what her ulterior motive is. Why does she want to be the one in control of everything? Why does she want everything and everypony under her hoof? Why has she left me as a friend? Why had she not confided herself in me with her plan? Am I another obstacle for her?

I swear I will acquire answers to these questions.

But there is a chance that her motive is not evil, and everything will be back to normal. I really pray that this is the truth.

But what if it isn’t? What if my sister is truly evil, and I will have to protect Equestria and stop her if it is within my reach?

If I ever tried to take the fake mask off my sister’s muzzle, she would make me look like I am the mad and corrupted of the two of us. I am not sure how things would work out from there. She cannot use the Elements of Harmony herself. She cannot harm me seriously in any way. Our wounds will eventually regenerate, no matter the power behind the attack. We are goddesses after all.

Unfortunately, it goes both ways. If it ever comes down to a battle, I cannot harm my sister seriously either without the aid of Elements of Harmony, and I cannot use them myself either, so it complicates things.

Me and my sister cannot die. The world needs us, because the sun and the moon would stop moving, and Equestria, along with other countries and kingdoms, would be trapped in eternal day or eternal night. Which in couple decades would exterminate all life forms.

So it all comes down to politics and games of cat and mouse. The one who succeeds in fooling the other wins.

And I failed spectacularly.

I still have mixed feelings about this whole situation. Is my sister really evil? Why is she leaving me out of her plan?

I do not know what to think anymore.

On one hoof she is taking excellent care of the country, politics, and improving the lives of many ponies.

On the other hoof, she does all that by abandoning me and stealing my pride and honor.

I do not know what to think anymore.

I guess I should put my feelings aside before I discover Celestia’s plan.

My thoughts came back to reality when we reached the giant double door of the Throne Room. There were no guards beside them. My sister cut down on my Night Guards a lot, mostly by transferring them to Royal Guards. Something about shortage of her guards during her Day Court.

Another reason not to trust my sister.

As I opened the double doors with my magic, I looked upon the decorations of it and almost winced. White and gold. Who would have thought? The redecoration of the Throne Room was one of the first noteworthy changes my sister had come up with.

The new decor has been here for couple years now. I see it almost every day for couple hours, and I still despise it. Why could it not be blue and gold? Or blue and white? Why ignore my characteristic colors?

I really reconsider trusting my sister from now on.

Shadow Wing and I walked to the other side of the room where the throne stood. Of course, it was gold without a hint of silver.

I sat on it while my personal guard stood on my right. We waited for ponies who wish to attend the Night Court.

Of course, nopony came.

Just like last night.

Or the night before.

I can feel hatred burning in my chest. ‘Calm down, Luna,’ I thought to myself. ‘Surely, Celestia has a good reason for these changes.’

‘Oh really?’ a voice from the back of my head responded with clear mockery. ‘And, pray tell, what these reasons would be?’

‘Um… she wanted to be a better ruler?’

‘By stabbing her own sister in the back?’

‘We still do not know her ulterior motive.’

‘Exactly!’ the voice screamed with anger. ‘She has not told us anything. Us! Her own sister! The co-ruler of the entire country! After everything we have been through together she abandons us! Revenge must be taken!’

‘No! This is our sister you are talking about!’

‘She is not our sister anymore! Are you blind? She does not care for us anymore! Why should we care for her?’

‘I… I-‘

‘We. Must. Take. Action!’ the voice screamed in my head with anger and confidence.

‘Luna?’ came a voice from my right, putting an end to my inner conflict.

‘Yes, Shadow Wing?’ I asked as casually as I could.

‘Would you like to play since we have been just standing here, and most likely nopony will come in tonight?’

‘Yes, let us play,’ I answered with a smile. Shadow Wing was always honest and never beat around the bush. He either spoke his mind without any doubt or unease, or did not speak at all. That is why he is my friend. ‘It is not like we will be busy for the next couple hours.’

With that said, the Night Court began, and no more words were said.

Not even one.