stories were told by neighboring kingdoms of a white mare who’s haie was ribbons of fire and a hammer swung so fierce that it must hold the strength of the sun itself. Clad in ridiculously flashy armor with too many accessories to actually be functional, Empress Celestia was known for charging into the front lines of an army with her trusted war hammer, causing mass panic as she took out rows of soldiers with ease. Meanwhile, her sister, the Night Mother, took her guard around the back of the opposing army, killing any generals and finishing off the rest of what Celestia left behind in her wake.
 
basically Cely’s a bloodthirsty brute who left most of the tactics and strategy up to Luna. I’ve always imagined that before Luna’s banishment, equestria was actually an empire that expanded through conquest, and that the sisters had frequents skirmishes with neighboring kingdoms like the griffons and the yaks. After Luna was banished, seeing as she only had half the power she used to, Celestia decided that the only way she would retain power was to become a more peaceful ruler and establish treaties with the other kingdoms. She made her appearance less intimidating, stopped maintaining her status as a God among her subjects, and erased nearly all records that held accounts of the wars at the time. She also fabricated the Hearths Warming story, and tried to fill in any holes left with the lact of written records. She mostly succeeded, the only ones who remember the truth are Chrysalis, Luna, Discord, a few older dragons, the batponies, and herself.