//------------------------------// // The Funeral // Story: Princess Celestia's Final Sun Raising // by Rainbow Chaser //------------------------------// The following day is beautiful and Sunny Luna had made sure to do that. It was what her sister would want. . But it was not a day of play or relaxation. It was a day of mourning. Thousands upon thousands of ponies from all over Equestria had come to pay their respects. Among the massive crowd were many of Equestria's Royal Dignitaries, and representatives. Including the prince of Yak-Yakistan who had come to support his new equine friends in their time of need. At the very front sat a large pearl white casket with dozens and dozens of sunshine yellow daisies opened to reveal the body of Princess Celestia wearing a beautiful dress, looking as if she were actually sleeping rather than dead. On one side of the casket, Luna, Twilight, Cadence, Shining armor and Discord sat. Both Cadence and Twilight were hugging each other and crying softly while Shining Armor seemed to be comforting a distraught looking Discord. On the other side, sat Twilight's friends, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy. Fluttershy was leaning on Rarity's shoulder as they both cried, while AJ and Rainbow both tried to comfort a blubbering Pinkie Pie. Luna smiled knowing that Celestia had made enough of an impact on their lives to be here today... Luna finally stood and addressed the crowd. "My little ponies, and fellow Royal Dignitaries.... Thank you all for coming today. We are all gathered here to mourn the passing of My dear sister, Princess Celestia... Whom without, this great land we are all a part of, would not be what it is now... She has sacrificed her own health and well being to bring forth the day for every pony to play and grow... In my time being exiled on the moon she also took on my role as princess of the night... bringing forth the moon and stars so that everypony may sleep and rest for a full day of work and play... She taught me many things as a filly, and I in turn did the same... My only regret is that I let my jealousy get the best of me and in turn it turned me into a mare that I didn’t want to be. Because of that, I missed out so much... and if I had an option to do so, I would have changed everything.... To my sister, may she forever find eternal peace, I hope that she accept my deepest apologies for the things I’ve done...” she chokes up at that last part but takes a deep breath. “Now, I’d like to invite my sister’s former student and prodigy, Princess Twilight Sparkle up to say a few words.” Luna took her seat just as Twilight stood. Every pony could see the sadness in her eyes as she looked over the crowd. "Thank you Primcess Luna..." She began. "When I was a filly, I always looked to my teachers for guidance while I was in school... But one teacher I looked to the most, was Princess Celestia... She saw something in me what most others could not... Determination... Dedication... A potential to do something great." As she spoke tears started to stream down her face. "Without her guidance, I would have never faced the challenges I've had to overcome... I would have never moved to Ponyville and met my friends, and I never would have become a princess... The most important thing of all, is that with out Celestia, I would have never realized how important it is to make friends." She started to sniffle. "Even though our princess of the sun is gone in body, she will never be gone in spirit. Let us remember all that she has done for us, and lets be grateful that she has allowed our land to grow to what it is today." With that, Twilight stepped down from her podium and took a seat just as her tears took her over. She couldn't stop the sobbing. Everypony else got to share a happy memory of Celestia as well. From Rarity, whom she allowed to stay in her castle for the week while she was searching for inspiration on her dressmaking, to PinkiePie who despite her appearance, giggled at the time she got to taste the wonderful Marzipan Mascapone Merengue Maddness cake that the fellow bakers of the bake off kindly contributed to by adding their own dishes to it. Every pony was happy that they got to share such fond memories. However at the same time, everypony was sad. No more so than Luna who still felt the weight of guilt upon her for her actions as Nightmare Moon. Luna tried everything she could to make up for what she has done. Even though Celestia forgave her, she still could not forgive herself. She had attacked her sister in a fit of rage when she turned. When the time came to lower Celestia's casket into the tomb, Luna burst into tears. At that moment, she felt numb. Numb to the world. She looked out at the crowd, all of the ponies who came to mourn the loss of their princess... She hadn’t even met them and yet she feels as though she knows them all after watching over their dreams. But on the opposite end, she feared that the feeling was not mutual. They didn’t know who Luna was, as she was always watching over the night. She knew that would soon change, and she would be tasked with doing Celestia’s royal duties as well as her own. Most ponies would see this as a very stressful responsibility. However, Luna considered it to be an honor. A final gift to her big sister... Taking over the throne and taking care of equestria. Just before the casket was in the ground, Luna walked over to it, placing a hoof on it. “I will make you proud... I promise...” she said. She leaned down and kissed the marble finish. “Goodbye my sister... I love you...” with those final words, the tomb was officially sealed, and anti desecration spells were put in place to protect it from vandals. Soon after, the crowds dispersed, cadence, twilight, and the others returned to the castle to have dinner and swap fond memories of their princess. Luna however, decided it was best that she got some rest. It had been a hard few weeks, but she can rest knowing her sister is no longer suffering. Tomorrow was going to be a new day, and with a new day, brings new duties. Luna laid her head down to sleep, as she drifted off to her dream realm, she couldn’t help but worry. What if she wasn’t ready? What if the kingdom collapsed under her rule? She had to push these thoughts out of her head.