Bringing Back The Laughter

by Flutterpriest

Chapter 1 - Flutterpriest - Celestia

A Princess will not cry.

Royal duties require steadfastness. A strength that ponies can latch onto and feed off of. That's my job. It's always been my job. In the last 1000 years, I've only allowed myself to break twice. Each time for my sister.

Today... is a difficult day to be strong.

I stand at a podium, the wooden box before me. I look over familiar faces, both young and old. Hundreds of ponies from all across Equestria have gathered for this one singular event. To celebrate. To grieve. To find strength to keep pressing forward.

Some called it, "Pinkie's Last Party." She instructed for balloons and streamers to be hung. Carnival music to be played at reasonable volumes. Surprise confetti cannons to be hidden in strange, humorous places. Yet, it all echoes dryly through the air, creating a facsimile of pleasantry.

The people look up to me to speak. It’s my turn to say something. To be insightful. To lend a part of myself to be leaned on. This is not my loss. It is their loss. Before me is a simple blank paper. My speech.

I knew this day would come eventually. All ponies live. All ponies die. Yet for an Element of Harmony? This soon?

"We've gathered here today to celebrate the life of our beloved friend, Pinkie Pie," I say into the microphone, my stable, sterile voice echoing over speakers to the masses.

Whimpers mumble and tears fall from the crowd before me. My eyes move over to her family... to her friends... to Twilight. Twilight, the poor mare. The realization was settling into her now that this would not be the final funeral that she would see of her dear friends. She was taking it the hardest.

She had to learn eventually. Even I had to learn that the hard way. I feel a lump form in my throat and I look down to my blank paper to hide my expression. I blink my eyes and continue.

"Pinkamena was a beloved and dear friend to many ponies, not just in her town of Ponyville, but all across Equestria as she traveled with Princess Twilight and her friends to spread the magic of Friendship to the world."

And this is where my voice eludes me. Dozens of drafts. Words scribbled, words rewritten, edited, cut, added. Nothing seemed correct. Nothing seemed organic. I always struggle to find the correct balance between heartfelt and cold.

I can’t afford to be cold today. I don’t want that weighing on my already heavy mind.

"Pinkie was the Element of Laughter," I continued. Then, I paused, again unsure what words could bring some form of closure to the hundreds of ponies before me. I've done so many funerals in my time that I had speeches on tap for every occasion. Young ponies whose lives were cut short. Old ponies with fulfilling lives and families large and small. Heroes as well as villians.

This one was different.

"Pinkie prided herself in being the perfect party planner," I said. "Naturally, she knew the birthday of every pony she met. And non-pony, for that matter."

An accordion rang out with a new song, some eyes turned upward to the speakers that were blaring such a distasteful array of music, at her request.

"She devoted her life to helping ponies smile. No matter the cost. No matter how much time it took... She would listen. She would joke. She would give a part of herself freely. She gave herself to all of us."

Then the words began to pour out of my mouth. There wasn't thought, just... words, bubbling up from deep inside of me. A part of me I shouldn’t show. Too personal. Too real.

I’m still upset at myself for it.

"She even remembered my birthday," I said. "Even I don't celebrate my own birthday. When you become a ruler of a great country like Equestria, some sacrifices are made to keep things running smoothly. Some great, some small. I believed that something like a birthday was a small price to pay for the wonderful citizens of Equestria. For the wellbeing of the whole."

I fell silent, looking out to the crowd. They listened, their eyes upon me. Handkerchiefs dabbing at runny tears down their faces.

"I was wrong," I continued. "I was… very wrong. And Pinkie Pie showed me I was. It wasn't a particularly extraordinary gesture that Pinkie did. She took Luna and I to a diner for a meal and a slice of cake. She even knew our favorite cake frosting, the silly mare.” At this point I chuckled dryly, remembering that day as if it were a picture I held in my hooves. “It was perfect in it's own way. Right down to the diner that Luna and I went to when we were fillies. The name changed, of course, ran by the children of children of the owner's children. But it was the same place nonetheless."

I pause, feeling the earth beneath me begin to destabilize. At this point, I realized my regal demeanor was fading. I was becoming myself.

I cannot be myself. I must be a princess. For them.

Strength, Celestia.

Breathe.

"I would never believed that something so simple could... change me. But it has. It taught me the importance of mental health. My own health. The importance of little things such as Birthdays, favorite cake frostings, wistful memories. I believe many of us have learned our own lesson from her. Some of you may share my lesson, or have something wholly unique."

I take a deep breath and close my eyes. Okay. Bring it home. Turn this around. This is not about me. Give them something to hold onto.

"I know many of you are surprised at her request to put such a light-hearted tone into an event such as this. I know I've been victim to two confetti cannons already. I think some is still in my mane."

A rumble of chuckles ring through the audience as I crack a smile. She would be proud.

A little part of me breaks at that thought. I need to finish this now.

"But I think it sends us a message. All of us. To remember that this is not the end of laughter. That it's now our job to dawn the mantle that Pinkie Pie left behind. To love one another. To bring laughter to Equestria. To learn to love each other, the way Pinkie did to all of us, and the way we all do to her."

It was at that moment that 'the chicken dance' began to play over the intercom.

"So, in her memory. Let's make merriment on this day. Because Pinkie Pie gave us a gift. One final gift for all of us to keep, cherish, and hold onto each and every day. We can learn to laugh the way she did. And bring joy to the world in her memory. And if the world can laugh and smile, even in the darkest times... well. I think Pinkie Pie would be proud. Of all of us."

I take a deep breath. I feel the strength within me begin to falter. My muscles tense.

Be strong.

"Thank you."

I bite my lip and turn away, feeling a lump swell in my throat, but no tears running down my face. I am strong. I am strong for them.

A Princess will not cry.

Author's Note:

https://www.fimfiction.net/user/177150/Flutterpriest

Comments

[_SkyHorse]

"I would never believed that something so simple could... change me. "

You accidentally a thing.

[AMuffinlover]

she's going to cry isn't she

[RK_Striker_JK_5]

She'll cry. She'll need to.

[SWEETOLEBOB18]

Celestia banished Luna/Nightmare Moon aprox. 1000 years before the pilot. Throw in the fight against Discord & time for Luna to give in to NMM. Celestia has to be at least going on 1100 years old. Pretty much everyone that she ever knew is dead. Those still breathing are an increasingly small statistical minority. She's got to be used to it by now. You can only cry so many tears. Then for one reason or another, you stop.