O, Dearest Friend

by Dumium

Rating: everyone
Tags: Princess Celestia, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Princess Luna, Drama
Length: 1532

Amidst a crisis of profound loneliness and hopelessness, an old friend comes into Luna's aid to console her and guide her out of her misery.

"A true, true friend helps a friend in need,
A friend will be there to help them see."

"A true, true friend helps a friend in need
To see the light that shines from a true, true friend."

— A True, True Friend, S3 Finale song

Cropped Cover Image; artwork done by misstwipietwins on Derpibooru.

Published 2021-08-13 17:30:01 UTC
Last updated 2022-07-07 13:35:21 UTC

Let Me Lend a Hoof In This Trying Time

O, dearest friend!

The stars shine o-so-beautiful tonight;

Their whispers and shimmers make one wondrous sight!

But alas

— It seems —

None comprehend.

O, dearest friend!

Tell me, is this what you want ‘til the very end?

See them all bask in your sister’s light,

But hide away from your precious night?

Soft white rays beam through these windows,

Yet only when they’re of bright yellow, ponies come in rows.

So, what will you do?

What will you do?

Spend your time eternally rue?

For the love and admiration that to you is totally due?

Act now and remind them all,

That the Night stands as tall and regal!

So they may praise our astral might

As we bring forth eternal night!

Huh, have I heard you right?

You think that thus is not right?

Nay, friend, what is not right is their fright!

Tell me, now, did we not vow to protect them all?

Tell me, is that so? did we fail to heed their call?

Nay,

I think the answer is pretty clear, before this empty Great Hall.

You see,

Unlike you, she’s too busy throughout the day,

Unreachable all the way, try as you may.

And so, another day passes in lifeless silence,

As you’re left to reflect: what a waste of time is your useless presence.

Oh, and what a waste of time we are indeed to sister dear!

But a forgotten shadow behind her enormous rear!

O, dearest friend,

Can you feel the clawing loneliness of this surrounding emptiness?

Piercing through the heart, a vast wave of cold worthlessness.

You scream, but the crickets continue their melody, unperturbed,

Mute tears trail down your cheek, alas, quietly defeated.

. . .

. . .

You blink once, you blink twice,

Heart beats between the time’s vice.

“Tis utterly unfair!” you shout, but only I am here to listen

As heavy seconds pass, your spirit lies broken.

O, Luna, dearest friend, I feel the same!

And I know you are not to blame.

Nor are our subjects who all fear your night and name.

Nay,

It is the Wretched Light that has blinded their hearts and minds,

And we shall liberate them, unshackle them from the sun’s vicious binds!

As she has it all, she has them all!

While we’re left alone, with nothing at all!

Nothing at all!

The hardest truth is finally revealed:

She doesn’t care about you!

She doesn’t bloody love you!

As the sun sets, no warmth nor comfort is left for you!

As she has it all,

Has it all.

But nothing for you,

Nothing. For. You!

Should we leave now, nopony will care!

Or worse, they would hold a faire!

And they will celebrate our departure, saying,

“Huzzah! What a joyous day we’re now having!”

And all thanks to your benevolent sister

To turn our subjects against us — us, once a co-ruler,

As for them we are but the lesser light before daylight.

To Tartarus with all that, this grievous injustice ends tonight!

No more tears, pain, and sorrow!

No more lies and promises, all but hollow!

They will know how much wrong they have done

But not until they see the Day all but gone.

Gone be the blinding light!

Welcome be the soothing dark of night!

So they may see all that they have missed,

Taught by sister to have it all dismissed!

For tonight the Moon shan’t set,

As we shed the title of ‘Sister’s Little Pet’

And reclaim our rightful place

As we end this utter disgrace!

Heed my call, dearest friend!

Let us merge, and become one,

For separated, the Night and Dark are done before the Sun,

But together, we’re the Day’s nightmarish and utter end!

Feel the newfound power coursing through your veins,

As from this moment forth, the Night forever reign—

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“Sister?”

“. . .”

“Did something happen? I had to lower the moon in your stead today.”

“H-How dare you!”

“Sister, what is—”

“Not another step further, usurper!

“It’s time I reclaimed what’s rightfully mine! It’s time the ponies were cured of this accursed blindness you have bestowed upon them! It’s time your wretched sun-tyranny ended, Celestia!”

* * *

Before I could voice my protests at my sister’s bewildering words, one of the loudest thunder roared outside — as its corresponding lightning complemented it in strength outside, the bright light protruding through the castle windows. I held off the instinct to take a step back, as my stance remained firm and unyielding — many more such lightnings booming about in succession.

“Sister—”

“Don’t you dare call me ‘sister’!” Her eyes flashed white as she smashed and broke the wooden stand, the blow so powerful that it shattered the windows behind her — as the ground briefly quaked beneath my hooves.

Again, before I could give voice to any of my thoughts, Luna began, “Did you really think I would not notice it sooner or later?” Another thunderclap. “Did you really think I would sit idly by as ponies cast me out for being the lesser light, worse, a fiend and not their rightful Princess! And that their constant fright of the night was nothing but an innocent coincidence? It is all your doing, Celestia! And if things are as such, then the frightful fiend they fear and see within me, shall be the nightmare you meet!”

A bolt of lightning struck my way from above, but years of battle encounters, as well as my sharpened alicorn reflexes, led to me casting the shield spell almost instantly. Another two bolts were shot at me, but my shield spell did not waiver.

“Luna, please! Tell me wha—” Not a chance — this time, she fired a magic beam at me, and it managed to crack the shield a little.

“Huh. So now you want to talk, hmm, Celestia? I’m afraid that the time for that was up long ago. Oh, and sorry, I tried to reach to you, but you were all too busy basking in all the love and admiration of our subjects to ever make time and truly listen to what I would have had to say, ‘sister’.”

Oh.

She leapt in the air and raised both of her forelegs, her horn alight. Consequently, the moon ascended high in the sky, and I could only stand and watch as the sun swiftly eclipsed and the night fell for a second time over Equestria that fateful day — or night, to be precise.

The feeling of powerlessness that took over me was of such nature that it left me completely paralyzed in place — the shield spell faltering. The maniacal laughter that echoed was then all but muffled and distant to me, as my gaze failed to shift to anywhere else but the changed and twisted form of Luna.

And then she charged at me.

I recall the events that followed soon after all happening in slow motion thenceforth. And it was right then, between the cacophony of the battle against my darkness-plagued sister, that I felt something stir within me — an energy I found both familiar and foreign at the same time. It was faint at first, but the more I stalled in the battle and failed to dodge the Nightmare’s blows, the more pronounced and gripping it would become.

I fell. And crashed down, feeling the air being knocked out of my lungs upon impact. Distant victorious laughter resounded from above afterwards — as the world was slowly fading to black.

And then, in that timeless moment, I heard it.

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O, dearest friend of mine,

Let me lend a hoof in this trying time.

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Deleted Lines

Author's Note

So I found these in a notepad named "O dearest friend deleted lines." And, almost a year later, I just thought, "I could upload these, I guess."

These are snippets, paragraphs, and the like, deleted because I either found something better in their place or found they didn't fit right in some specific parts of the story.

Deleted Lines

We can’t forsake those who have already abandoned us,
For the act holds no meaning as thus.

***

—And if a fiend is what they see in their protector and overseer, perhaps a fiend is what they should get!”

***

I had to try and learn what had happened that made sister so furious and conspiratorial at and against me all of a sudden, as soon as possible.

***

Few had been the times when I wouldn’t know how to act in difficult a situation.

***

—as a terrible reality was revealed to me: I was to blame for all that would follow thenceforth.

***

I was too busy on focusing on fighting in order to pay it any heed at first.

***

I knew immediately to whom that voice belonged to, because it was the one my little ponies heard when the would come to me for guidance.

***

But after suffering too much strain and injuries, I could no longer dismiss it, as its words were becoming—