//------------------------------//
// Uprising 
// Story: Night Eternal 
// by Halloweddisease 
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Ah, how I miss the olden days. The days when Celestia and I ruled side by side and were inseparable and I was free to roam Equestria, though I do use the term “ruled” lightly. All I got to do was make public appearances, recite pre-written speeches, and raise the moon. But oh, how I loved raising that moon. I would do it slowly, concentrating for hours, and letting the stars slowly peek out from the curtain of navy blue that decorated my night, my wonderful night.

Despite how much I loved it, I was not one to boast about my night. I let it speak for itself, and speak for itself it did. I had many admirers and fans among my subjects who frequently told me I was their favorite princess, that the day was overrated, and that I should overthrow Celestia, given that in those days, Celestia’s cruelty was not unknown, as she did not try as hard to keep it hidden. Ponykind was suffering under a tyrant, but that tyrant was my sister. I had little will to end her reign, because I knew that would sadden her—ruling Equestria was what she lived for—and I didn’t want to see my dear sister sad. But as time wore on, her temper became worse and she began to punish ponies for little to no reason at all. It hurt my heart to see this, and I knew inside myself that something had to be done, and I had to be the one to do it.

It was the Summer Sun Celebration, and all the ponies in Canterlot were ordered to watch as my sister performed the glorious raising of the sun. It came slowly, but the spectacular golden rays were worth it. As it rose higher and higher, my sister climbed with it, letting the soft feathers of her luxurious wings catch its essence and let it shine through. The sparkles in her mane seemed as embers, blazing in the wind while carried on a multicolored breeze. The crystal shoes she wore for this day caught the light and refracted it into a wondrous spectrum that rained down upon the denizens of Canterlot. Even I, a creature of the night, could not help but marvel at this beauty. Every year, I waited for this day—along with our birthdays, Hearth’s Warming Eve, and the Winter Moon Festival—and each year, I was not disappointed.

This day, I just happened to be sad.

Watching my sister in all her glory, I knew her reign would be ending soon. The ponies here, despite the spectacle of glory, were wearing masks of awe. I could see the hurt deep inside them, and I wanted to erase it, even if that meant erasing my sister from the throne. Once again, my heart began to ache at knowing how Celestia would take things, but I was determined. She would see the end of her rule tonight, as long as I had anything to say about it. My mind was made up. The only thing left to do was find the appropriate time.

Now done with her performance, my sister beckoned me to the pedestal. I came, this year with no speech as nopony had prepared one for me, but I bowed as the people cheered. Celestia’s mouth hung agape as I got applause without doing anything, while she had to work for it. Dear sister, didn’t you know that you can get your people to love you without forcing them to and making a spectacle of yourself?

Celestia spoke no words as we entered Canterlot Castle. In fact, the only noise that could be heard was the staccato taps of our hooves against the stone floor. Even so, I could almost breathe in her anger and fury at what had happened out there. I wanted to apologize, even though it was not my fault, but I was afraid of her temper. In a way, I felt sorry for her. She was not, and even to this day has never been, a bad pony. She just wanted her subjects to love her and be like her, though she didn’t know how to accomplish it and tried the most forceful ways she could think of, like sentencing those who didn’t like her and banishing those that weren’t like her. The poor dear didn’t know how to love and tolerate, like I always told her to. Despite the fact that I was the younger sister, I felt like out of the two of us, I was the most mature, but I didn’t want to be. I wanted an older sister I could look up to, not one that should be learning from my example so often. 

“Scribe!” Celestia shouted, interrupting my thoughts.

“Yes, Your Majesty?” the scribe, Inkdrop, spoke up, dashing in the room as fast as she could. It was so like my sister to believe a stallion to unintelligent for the job.

“I would like for you to record that, from here on out, there is to be no Winter Moon Festival,” Celestia said in her best faux friendly voice.

This caught me off guard. “You can’t do that!” I exclaimed indignantly.

“Actually,” Celestia began, pretending to examine her flawless shoes, “I can. You got plenty of attention at the Summer Sun Celebration, just as you do every year, and I’m the eldest. I’m sure the ponies want something new, besides just you, and too much attention will ruin you, you know. ”

“Yes, sister,” I growled through clenched teeth, “I know exactly what you’re talking about.”

“Good, dear,” Celestia smiled, enjoying my frustration and illustrating the saying “misery loves company.”

I stepped down from my small throne and continued through a corridor and into my bedroom. Once inside, I flopped down on my bed, wondering how in the wide world of Equestria things could become like this. The longer I took to act, the worse my sister became. Had I missed the time of action already? Was I too late? No. If any time was the time to act, it was now. There’s no better time than the present, especially when time is key to the mission.

Despite my earlier words, I took my time going down the corridor. I could put on a brave face when talking like that, but the fact that she was my sister still struck close to home. She would be crushed…if I didn’t have to try to crush her myself through combat. Thinking of this, I gulped. I didn’t want to fight my sister. I wasn’t sure if I could win or not, but that wasn’t the point. I mean, imagine being pitted against the person you loved the most and told that the fight would crush the hopes and dreams of whoever lost. It’s an awful thing to experience, and I hope none of you ever do. Not even you, Tia, not even you.

Steeling my nerves, I stepped into the royal court, where Celestia was sitting on her throne while a servant polished her regular shoes. “Lulu?” she asked, obviously surprised to see me, especially with the expression I wore across my face and in my stance. “What’s the matter, dear?” Before I could respond, she turned to the servant and said quietly, “Go. This is likely to be strictly royal business.”

As soon as he was gone, Celestia looked me dead-on and laid out the question simply. “What’s the matter?”

I cleared my throat and began in the most official voice I had. “Celestia,” I started, trying to keep things formal, “it has come to my attention that the citizens of Equestria are not happy under your rule. I would like to ask that you step down from the throne.”

For a moment, Celestia kept her composure, but soon failed and erupted into a fit of roaring laughter. I watched as she fell out of her throne and wrapped her front legs around her sides, as if to keep them from splitting open. It angered me to see her like this, not taking me seriously, but I tried once again.

“Princess Celestia,” I addressed her, “the time has come for you to stand down and hand the throne over to somepony else.”

“Oh, Lulu,” Celestia gasped in between bouts of laughter, “you can’t be serious.” But when she looked in my eyes and held my gaze, her countenance became more serious and the laughter faded. “You are serious…,” she murmured, obviously in shock and hurt.

My heart melted. I couldn’t see my sister like this. “Celly,” I dropped all formalities and drew closer to my beloved sister, “it doesn’t have to end in pain. If you turn the throne over to me or some other competent pony, you could still have a say in how things would work. You could keep raising that ol’ sun if you wanna.” I thrust my head within her line of sight, so she would have no choice but to see the reassuring smile on my face. She glared at me and slapped me away.

“You’re just like the rest of them,” she growled. “You’ll never see what I’m doing is the best for Equestria! The best for you! For us, Lulu, for us!”

I had no choice but to be honest with her. “What you’re doing is only good for yourself, and even then, I wouldn’t call it the best. Look at how much it’s hurting you.”

She swung her head down, as if she could see the answers at her feet. I saw a single tear fall before she turned back my way, face dyed crimson and seething with anger. “I never expected you to betray me, Luna, but of all the ponies in the world, it was you!” she screamed, tears now streaming down her face. “Get out of my sight!”

As much as I wanted to stay and comfort her, I knew nothing helpful would arise from that. Instead, I galloped off, dashing through the castle door and across the courtyard until I finally came to the general’s quarters. 

He saw my approach, and came close to me. “Princess Luna,” he began, “is there any way I could assist you, ma’am?”

“Yes.” My answer seemed to surprise him. “Summon the Lunar Knights.”

If he was surprised before, he was shocked now. But yet, he said nothing and merely did as he was told. Within an hour, all the knights under my command were standing before me, ready for my command. The wore their armor, which had been designed to look like the scales of a purple dragon, and instead of the usual feathers adorning the tops of their helmets were things resembling a dragon’s wings. This ensemble, combined with the magic upon them that dressed them all in grey pelts, dyed their eyes amber, reshaped their pupils into catlike ones, and turned the pegasi’s wings into dragon wings, made them appear as the more terrifying side of the night—the kind of night nopony wanted to go out in. They looked like something pulled from a nightmare, but I was not afraid. I knew them well, and I knew they would follow me to the ends of the earth.

“Soldiers,” I began, pacing in front of the foremost row, “the time has come to see to the overthrow of my sister, Princess Celestia. She has no warning, no expectations for our attack. During this siege, I don’t want to see a single pony dead unless absolutely necessary, nor do I want to harm civilians on the way. No one is to attack the princess head-on—she’s simply too powerful for any of you alone, leave her for me, unless you would like to attack in a group—and not a single one of you is to speak of this attack after this day, understood? I do not wish to tarnish my sister’s reputation further. She’s done that enough herself…”

Despite the fact that the last part was just my thinking out loud, some soldiers thought I was trying to amuse them and began to snicker. The part of me that still felt loyal to my sister became agitated, and I had to suppress some anger. The rest of the anger, however, got the best of me.

“Do not,” I said, “and I repeat, do not insult my sister. She’s simply misguided. This is not a war of hatred. This is a war of redirection. We are redirecting her to more appropriate ways of living, even if that means taking the throne from her. Am I clear?”

“Yes ma’am!” came the chorused reply.

“Move out,” I commanded.