My name is Twilight Sparkle. I am a veteran and current leader of the New Lunar Republic Military Forces. My friends and I once fought in a war so devastating yet so small, it broke the peace and stability of this nation. Through much work, Princess Luna managed to restore these lands back to their former glory and then some. It would seem that all of this turned out well.
But there is one thing that haunts me in my dreams. It pulls at the corner of my mind, and it seems to never give me rest. I will write it down here, for future generations to read, and for reference, and to maybe lend a little light as to the real happenings of the Great Lunar Rebellion. I only pray Luna does not consider this act treason.
My friends shall be writing in here as well. Each shall recall the details of their part in the final battle with my teacher. I only wish to shed light upon those who would seek it. But I guess first I should detail the events leading up to the battle.
Herein lies the true accounts of the Great Lunar Rebellion.
It began some three decades ago. Back when I was still in my late nineties. I know that sounds weird, but being an Element extends your life, and being immortal tends to do so even more. Back when me and my friends were still in fighting shape, we lead the Lunar Army under the reign of Luna, in order to relieve Celestia of her throne.
The rebellion was formed when the nation was ready to crack. Rumors had been spread about how Celestia was unable to lead, how she was weak, and how she needed to be replaced. In a desperate attempt to show she was still capable of leading, Celestia did something terrible. She ordered Queen Chrysalis to be brought to Canterlot.
In a public display of grandeur and glamour, Celestia executed Chrysalis right there, in front of thousands of ponies, with a death by beheading. While many ponies saw this as a good thing, many more saw it as an act of cruelty. Chrysalis was evil, and had attempted to take over Canterlot, and many thought she was deserving of death. But not this way, not this barbaric. If she had gone to war against the changelings, then it would have been different, but it was not so. Not to mention decapitation was a punishment not used for many years, and most thought it evil. Luna was the most disturbed of them all, having once been good friends with Chryisalis before she had invaded Canterlot.
Equestria's population rose up in a revolt against the barbaric punishment. Celestia quickly did the only thing she could think of at the time. She called upon dark magics to enslave the entire city of Canterlot and 'brain-wash' them into obeying her. But the plan backfired.
Every other city in Equestria began to revolt violently. Posters went up, petitions passed around, and soon Luna was ready to be elected as the new, sole leader, and Celestia was set up for an execution. Celestia lashed out with her dark magics, now taking on an evil look as the dark magic consumed her. Several cities were enslaved, and Luna was banished from Canterlot by a spell, unable to ever set foot inside it again until the spell caster was killed. Celestia even attempted to cast the mind control spell on us, the Elements of Harmony, but the magic of our friendship and the Elements kept us from harm.
The free ponies of Equestria banded together and placed Luna as their new leader. Even Discord joined, in order to protect Fluttershy. Luna cast a spell to ensure no more dark magic with harm her subjects. She led her ponies into war, using her ragtag army to defeat Celestia's enslaved army. Victory was certain for us, thought it wasn't easy. Each battle cost many lives on both sides, far more than I care to count. Celestia's subjects would never cease to fight while they could still move and breath, so it was necessary for us to slaughter every single one. Luna put me in charge of overseeing that task, which I will never forget nor forgive Luna for doing. They still acted normal, they acted like the lovable, kind, cute, or amazing ponies they were. But it had to be done.
Twilight swung her sword, slicing deep into the flesh of her foe, ripping a new hole across it's chest as she did her best to blink away the blood running over her own eyes from a wound on her head.
"Gah!"
Blood sprayed from the wounds Twilight had inflicted upon the enemy, the many gashes growing larger as the wounded pony twisted and turned in an attempt to escape it's assailant. Twilight raised her sword and crashed it down onto the ponies head, cracking it open, spraying it's brains everywhere. She did her best to hold back the tears that rose to her eyes as she looked upon the remains of Derpy Whooves. She had barely known the mare, but had know her to be of a pure heart. Now she lay dead, because of Twilight.
I still remember the screams, the blood, the tears I shed as I oversaw several cities undergo the extermination process. All the adult ponies were killed, even the elders. To this day I will never forget Applejack's screams as we had to put down her own granny, who was unfortunate enough to be visiting relatives in Appaloosa when the dark magic struck there.
"No! NO!!!" Applejack fought with all her might to hold back Twilight, who was moving in for the kill. Twilight tried to shrug off her friend as the tears spilled across her cheeks.
"Applejack, stop! This has to be done!" She pulled her friend off with a spell.
"NO! She... s-she's mah granny! We c-can't kill... kill her!" Applejack was choking through her sobs, barely managing to spit out her words.
Twilight spun around, shouting through her tears. "Do you think everypony else in this war had a choice as I slaughtered their family remembers?! Do you think I wanted to do that? Or that they wanted it?! Do you think I chose this?!"
The old pony put up a fierce fight, and Applejack begged us not to do it. But when her granny attacked her, Applejack fought back in self defense. One blow was all it took to break her frail body, and her granny was no more.
I'll always remember when Pinkie Pie found out that the cake twins had been killed by accident, along with a whole nursery of foals as the place was burned to the ground. Her mane had gone straight, like the day she had thought we didn't like her parties anymore. She had taken a knife and left the Ponyville for several days. When she came back, she was covered in blood and guts, but she didn't say where she had gone. Foals were killed, fillies executed, and within days entire cities became ghost towns. All because Celestia had cast that dark magic on her own subjects.
Twilight looked across the fields of battle, which was the city of Fillydelphia. She was ready to leave this wretched place behind, ready to do her best to forget.
But fate would was not ready for her to leave. Something sprung at her from the shadows, striking her back leg, slicing deep with a knife. Twilight cried out in pain as she spun around to face her attacker. A little grey pegasus filly of no more than eight years of age stood before her, hooves spread out, ready to attack, a knife in her mouth. Her blonde mane was rough and splatter with blood, as was her coat.
The filly sprung forward before Twilight's brain could make up its mind on what to do. The knife sunk deep into her side, leaving a large gash, blood spilling onto the ground. Twilight's magic lashed out in self defence, not because she wanted to harm the filly, but only to stay alive against her attacker.
A magical blast knocked the knife from the fillies mouth, but she flew up and landed on Twilight's head. She clamped down on Twilight's ear and bit hard, managing to rip it off in a spurt of blood. Twilight screamed in pain as another magical discharge sent the filly flying into a wall.
Without any hesitation, Twilight fired a bolt of raw magical energy into the filly, pinning her to wall through her stomach, causing blood to splatter the wall behind her. Twilight saw through the magic, into the filly's guts, as the many organs writhed around in pain. With one final breath, the pegasus looked up, locking eyes with Twilight, coughing out her own blood.
"You killed my m-mommy..."
But I will not blame her. I can't. The war was hard, and there were several times we almost didn't make it out alive. But all the paths we took, all the battles we fought, lead to one place. One final destination, a city of immense wealth, importance, and sorrow.
This is our story, and the true tale of the Siege of Canterlot.