The Night Mare's Guard

by Shadow Quill

18 The Funeral

Author's Note:

So this is the chapter that I have in store for you. As you can probably tell by the title, this chapter is meant to be a tear-jerker. But, just to make sure there isn't a dry eye in the room, I have some music to go along with what you're about to read.

One Sweet Day by Mariah Carry and Boyz to Men, as well as Sound the Bugle by Bryan Adams.

Both are songs that I think perfectly define this chapter, however short it may be. I hope to have the next chapter up later this week, so please hold on till then.

I'll see you next chapter,
Shadow Quill, Messenger of the Moon.

A dark cloud of sorrow had fallen over Canterlot, as the ponies mourned the loss of one who had once seemed untouchable. Princess Twilight and her friends oversaw the preparations for Celestia’s funeral, while Shining Armor and Princess Cadence did what they could to console Luna when she wasn’t with me at court. The Lunar Princess was nearly unreachable at any time of day, preferring to hole up in her chambers unless her duties called for her attendance. Yet there were no ponies to speak with her and I during the dark hours of Night Court. We sat in an empty throne room while the moon slowly made its way across the sky. I thought this might upset Luna further, and yet she seemed almost relieved that none of her subjects wished to speak with her, lest they disturb the fragile calm that hung over the palace like a smothering fog.

Five days slowly passed, and yet it seemed like an eternity had gone by in the span of mourning that had claimed the capital. Finally, the day had come, and I stood by dutifully as the ceremony slowly began. The sun was drawing near to its zenith as I looked over the masses of assembled ponies below, gathered before the castle’s main steps in a sea of color to witness this hallowed moment. The Shards were at attention to my left, while Twilight, Shining Armor, Cadence and the others formed a line opposite us to create an aisle leading to the dais. At the top of the steps, stood a massive memorial carved of pure marble, inlaid with gold and crystal highlights in the shape of two great wings. At its peak was a bowl flanked by two halves of a bronze sun, designed to match the marks that had adorned Celestia’s flanks.
Below the memorial was a stone slab, large enough to hold several ponies and perfectly smooth to the touch. This would serve as Celestia’s final rest before we sent her on to the Golden Fields.

As the lone bugle pony raised his horn and began playing, Princess Luna stepped out of the front doors, carrying Celestia’s body behind her in her magic. Celestia’s body had been dressed in a pure while gown that covered her wounds and gave her at least some of the regal bearing she had in life, her regalia polished to perfection as the sun glinted off the gold shoes and chest piece. Her crown floated along beside her, and as Luna placed Celestia’s body on the stone slab, it came to rest against her chest as her forehooves were placed together below it. For all intents and purposes, Celestia looked almost as if she were sleeping, yet every pony present knew that no matter how much they might wish it to be true, Celestia was not coming back.

The bugler let the final note trail off as he lowered his instrument, tears streaming from his amber eyes as he nodded towards Luna. Luna returned the nod and stepped in front of the dais, addressing the assembled ponies with a blank expression.

“My little ponies, it is with great sorrow that I stand before you this day. During the battle against Chrysalis and her changelings, we suffered many betrayals, and gained many allies. Yet our victory did not come without a cost. My sister, Princess Celestia, was slain by Chrysalis saving Prince Noble Light from certain death, and it is here today that we say our final farewells. Most of you will have heard by now, that my sister’s final act was to name Prince Noble Light as her successor, even going so far as to give her magic to him so that he could carry on her duties controlling the sun. Thus, Prince Noble Light will be recognized as my equal, ruling over the day just as my sister once did.”

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before continuing, “My sister was a pony that many of your thought would be here forever, just as she cared for your ancestors for the last thousand years. She was a beacon of hope and light in a world that can test even the greatest of us with corruption. Even I was not immune to this world’s darker side, yet my sister stood strong in the face of great personal pain, and banished me to the moon until I could be saved. She ruled by herself over all of pony kind, as a strong and capable leader who would do anything and everything to protect her subjects.

“You are all the product of her hard work, and the true symbol of this land and what it stands for. Ponies help one another in times of strife, you care for each other when trouble tests your will. She instilled the Elements of Harmony in your very beings, and through the sharing of those elements, we have become a nation that can be proud of who we are and what we have become. This was my sister’s gift to the world, and this is the legacy that she left behind for us to carry on.

“Do not let your sorrow cloud your hope, nor let fear of the future stop you from moving on. That is not what Celestia would have wanted. While she may not be here in body, she will always be here in spirit, in the hearts of all that have known her, and in the memories of those who came before us. Stand strong, now and forever against the challenges this world will send our way, because Celestia’s light will always be with us. So long as we do not forget the Charity, Compassion, Devotion, Integrity, Optimism, and Leadership that Celestia taught us, we will not fail to grow and prosper as a people, and as a nation.”

She spread her wings and ignited her horn, turning slowly as a single tear ran down her face. Yet she did not show any other signs of emotion as she faced her sister’s body, a small spark of deep blue flame forming at the tip of her horn.

She allowed the small mote of fire to drop from her horn and onto the trailing end of Celestia’s dress, stepping back as the magical flame caught and spread rapidly over the alicorn’s body. Almost too fast to see, the flame engulfed Celestia’s form, hiding her body from view as she slowly turned to dust as sparks rose into the air. The flames changed from deep blue to a blinding gold as Celestia’s body was burned away, and it was at that moment that Luna acted. She used her magic to pull some of the flames away from the main body of the fire, and lifted it up and into the stone bowl at the top of the memorial.

As it took hold, glowing gold enchantments ignited around the bowl’s rim, feeding the fire so that it would never go out. Luna turned to face the ponies once more as the fire burned behind her, raising her head to address the assembled masses.

“Just as Celestia’s lessons will live on in each of us, so too will this memorial stand the tests of time. So long as the fire at the top of this monument stays lit, know that Celestia’s teachings and pride lives on with us. We are one in this land, and will must do everything in our power to ensure that Celestia’s dreams for us stay alive, even if she is no longer here to guide us.”

She turned to face the flames once again as they began to die down, leaving not even a speck of dust or ash on the polished stone. Luna bowed her head to the memorial before stepping back, her body rigid and her mask barely holding against her emotions. She was just beginning to turn around when the sun reached its zenith. Before anypony could react, a sun shaft lanced down from the celestial orb, causing everypony to shield their eyes as a blinding flash went off in front of the dais. As the glare reduced to manageable levels, I lowered my leg and tried to see what had happened. Yet when my vision cleared, my jaw dropped in shock as what, or rather, who was standing in front of Luna.

Standing in her full regalia, yet transparent enough to see the memorial behind her through her body, was Celestia. Luna had only just blinked her eyes free of the flash, when she spotted her sister standing before her. Her calm mask broke like water over a stone, and her mouth gaped even as tears streamed down her face. “Sister?”

Celestia smiled softly and nodded, running her gaze over the ponies assembled before her. One by one they bowed to her, yet as her gaze rested on me I flinched back. It was because of me that Celestia had to take the blow that had killed her, and seeing her avatar before me only reinforced the fact that her death was my fault. Yet as her smile grew, I felt that maybe she didn’t hate me for her choice, that she didn’t blame me for her death. Celestia beaconed me with a single hoof, and I slowly broke formation to walk up to stand at Luna’s side. She slowly turned to her silently sobbing sister, bending down to rest her head against her sister’s.

Luna was openly weeping as tears ran down her face, “Sister, how is this possible? How are you here with me, with us?”

Celestia remained silent, yet the pure love and tenderness in her eyes spoke more than any words ever could. She kissed Luna gently below her horn, then took her hoof and slowly moved it over towards me. My eyes widened as she placed Luna’s hoof in mine, then stepped back to look at each of us in turn.

Luna’s eyes met mine, and in an instant, understanding seemed to flash through us like lightning. I turned to Celestia and asked, “Are you sure about this? Even after all I did to the ponies, to you, you would trust me with this?”

Celestia’s smile never faltered as she nodded, although as she spread her wings I noticed something odd happening. Two more forms were filtering into being on either side of the solar diarch. At first I couldn’t make out what they were, yet soon enough they condensed into recognizable pony shapes.

The one to Celestia’s left was a pure white mare, although her mane and tail were comprised of pure golden flames and her eyes were a bright amber. Her cutie mark was a crescent sun over imposed on a golden kite shield. The one to Celestia’s right was a pure black stallion, with silver eyes and a swirling galaxy for his mane and tail. His cutie mark was a collection of ten stars, arranged in a circle with a half moon in the center.

For a moment nopony moved or even dared to breathe, until Luna whispered, “Mother? Father?”

The two new alicorns nodded in unison, making Luna’s eyes stream once more as everypony else gaped in awe. Legends had been told about Galaxon and Solaria, but they had moved on to the Golden Fields even before Discord began his first reign of chaos. Nopony had ever seen the previous stewards of the sun and moon, yet they were here now for all of us to behold.

Luna lost control of herself completely as she leapt into her sister’s hooves, their parents moving to either side to embrace their daughters with hooves and wings as Luna howled out her misery for all to hear. Soon, ponies below started to follow her example, bawling their eyes out as their Princess said goodbye to her family one last time. Even the Shards were not immune, their faces running with tears even as they stood at attention.

Finally, with much sniffing and wiping of the face, Luna stepped back and looked up at her sister with bloodshot eyes. “I-I’ll never f-forget you Celestia. I’ll see you again when I join you in the Golden Fields. J-Just please, w-wait for me so I can, I can,”

Luna was unable to finish as she broke down again, and this time I didn’t wait for Celestia to beacon me to her sister’s side. I enveloped Luna in a tight hug, letting her soak my shoulder with her tears as she gripped me around my barrel like it was the only thing keeping her afloat. I turned to watch as Celestia and her parents slowly began to walk back up the sun shaft, Celestia taking one last moment to turn and wave to her former subjects. Almost everypony waved back, and that was only because some to too overcome with grief to move.

The light of the sun slowly faded back to normal, and as it did, so too did the strength seem to leave everypony present. Luna slumped against me, out cold with tears still rolling down her face. I turned to see if Twilight and the others were faring any better, but it seemed that everypony was emotionally exhausted after everything that had happened.

I turned to the Shards as they snapped back to attention, “See to it that the guard gets this lot back to their homes safe and sound, and take the princesses with their friends back to their chambers if you would. I think we could all use a break after this.”

They saluted and moved down the steps to talk with the royal guard that were present. I turned back to Luna and pulled her onto my back before carrying her back into the castle. I made straight for her chambers and pushed my way in without any delay, feeling my own strength fading with every step. I placed Luna in the bed and turned to leave, only to be stopped by a hoof against my flank.

I turned to see Luna had awoken and was looking at me with an expression of pure need. “Please, I cannot stand to sleep alone after what just happened. Would you stay with me, just until I get my strength back?”

For a moment I hesitated, this was Luna we were talking about, the mare I stabbed in the back and nearly impregnated while under mind control. Yet my mind flashed back to Celestia and what she had done. Maybe it was worth it to start over with Luna, at least to comfort her over the loss of her sister. I would be happy just to be there for her if she needed me. I held no illusions about her ever loving me as she once had, but I knew that in my new body I didn’t need her love to sustain myself. If all I could do was help heal the pain I had caused her and the other ponies, then I would do so until the end of my days.

I nodded, allowing a smile to cross my lips, “I would be honored to keep you company, Luna.”

Her own smile was brimming with gratitude, and she slid over to make room for me as I climbed into the bed with her. At first I kept a careful distance between us, yet she quickly wrapped her hooves around my barrel and pulled us together. Her head came to rest against my chest, and I could feel the tension leave her body as her eyes fluttered closed.

For a while I simply listened to her breathe, letting the soft rhythm of her heart sooth my frazzled nerves. Yet the soft lull of her chest against mine and the warmth of her body soon had my own eyes drifting, and I allowed my mind to wander as I joined her in the realm of sleep. I didn’t know what was going to happen next, but I did know that we would face it together, no matter what.

Comments

[Night Frost 18]

Your work is done my tear is shed.
But my heart is not that weak.
But it was close enough.

[UnamusedWaffle]

I love it when stories can get a tear out of me, just reminds me that I have emotions. Good job