I Have Seen Hope Arise
The room was silent.
In the wake of what had happened, it was all anypony could do just to keep moving. The absolute depravity that had been witnessed by so many left the whole nation in a stunned silence.
Lost in her own thoughts, the mare hardly noticed a sharply dressed stallion enter the room, but when he broke the deep silence permeating the room, she looked up at him.
“Princesses, it’s time.”
Princess Celestia stared at the stallion blankly, trying to process the words he had just spoken. After a few moments, she blinked and nodded her head slowly. Without a word, she and her sister stood from their seats and followed the stallion through the many hallways and corridors of Canterlot Castle.
As the trio walked somberly towards their destination, there was a noticeable lack of any other ponies in the castle. Though it might be concerning on any other day, it was to be expected given the circumstances.
Upon hearing the news of the terrible events a few days prior, all of Equestria seemed to shut down. School was canceled, ponies didn’t go to work, trains ran irregularly, if at all. The whole country just froze with bated breath, wondering what might happen next.
Princess Celestia herself had descended from her castle to participate in relief efforts and had opened the castle to anypony who was without a home. At first, it hadn’t really sunk in just how many had died. Just how unspeakable this attack was. But that night, when Celestia finally lay down her head to rest, she realized just how awful the situation was.
Now the three ponies approached the balcony from which they would address the whole nation that waited for them with bated breath.
As Celestia neared the balcony, she had to put on a brave face for the sake of her people. She had written herself a speech to give at this service and also had one of her top aides write one, then she combined the best parts of both to make her final version. A copy of this speech sat on the podium on the balcony, waiting for her to arrive and give it to the masses.
As the Princesses approached the balcony, not even a single murmur could be heard from outside. The gathered ponies did not so much as whisper; even the smallest of foals seemed to know the reverence of the gathering and remained silent.
As the Princesses stepped into sight, the whole courtyard seemed to become even more quiet, as if the wind had made itself into nothing more than dead air to preserve the sanctity of the moment.
And after a moment of complete silence, Celestia spoke.
“Ponies.”
Her voice sounded in the silence like a tolling bell.
“Today we meet with heavy hearts to mourn those we have lost. Today we gather here to—”
The Princess’ voice broke as she tried to continue.
“Today we gath—”
Once more, her voice failed her. For a few moments, she gathered herself, collecting her breath.
“I am sorry,” she said to the gathered crowd. “I cannot do this.”
With those words, the Princess of Equestria turned and made her way back into the castle. Princess Luna quickly followed after her to bring her back, leaving the crowd stunned.
Many could understand why the Princess would be saddened over the attack, but few could understand how someone as powerful as she could be brought so low by it.
The crowd would have likely dissolved into whispers and begun to leave, if not for the bravery of one pony.
One pegasus was brave enough to give a few solid flaps of his wings and put himself onto the balcony the Princesses had occupied. The act caught the attention of many ponies and all of the guards, who started to move forward to remove him.
But before they could get close, he cut them off.
“I may not be one of the Princesses, but I have a few things I’d like to say.”
The whole crowd paused and looked upon the stallion addressing them.
“I don’t know who did this to us. I don’t know why they did it. I don’t know what they were thinking. I doubt anypony does.
“But I know what they wanted. They wanted to break us, to break our homes, to break our bodies, to break our spirits. They wanted to break us.
“But if they think we’re going to just accept what happened and forget about it, they’re wrong. In the past few days, I have seen ponies opening their homes to strangers without a second thought. I have seen ponies banding together in a way I never thought possible. This attack left half our city in ruins, but out of these ashes, I have seen hope arise.”
The stallion paused for a moment, looking out at the crowd.
“Look around you. All of these ponies are your neighbors; these are the ponies you can turn to in times of need. Whoever did this, they tried to destroy us, but we’ve come together in such a magnificent way.
“For some time, it may have seemed like they had won; like they had accomplished what they set out to do. But I think we all know who will come out of this on top.
“So to all of us that have been overcome by this fear, I say this: courage, my dear friends. Fear never has the final say. You do. Don’t stop living. Don’t stop feeling. Replace that fear with a hope for something better, something bigger than this fear we face.
“And to whoever you are, believing yourself to be all high and mighty, you cannot dictate our freedom. This is our city, and you have no idea what you have called down upon your head.”
Without any notice, the pegasus took off and started flying out of the castle.
And as the pegasus flew off, the tearstained face of Princess Celestia watched from the hallway behind the balcony with a small, hopeful smile.