The strong scent of lilies made Princess Luna’s nose itch as she walked into the funeral home’s largest chapel. A tiny pink casket sat open in the front of the room, surrounded by elaborate floral arrangements. In front of it stood four Pegasi, all of whom looked completely exhausted as they greeted each of the mourners who filed past the body of their daughter and granddaughter. Luna heaved a sigh as she was ushered to the front of the receiving line. The family members of the filly immediately bowed and curtsied to the princess when they caught sight of her, but Luna shook her head.
“Please, no formality today,” she said softly. “You are all going through enough; I did not mean to intrude. I just… sensed that I was needed, so that is why I am here. I know all too well that the smallest caskets are always the heaviest to bear. I cannot begin to tell you how very, very sorry I am for your loss.”
"She... she was only four years old," the filly's mother, Lapis, said in the deadpan voice of a mother who had not yet fully come to terms with her terrible new reality. The mare toyed with her wavy blue and white mane, her gray eyes saturated with exhaustion and devastation. Luna nodded wordlessly; how could she reply? She continued down the receiving line, expressing her condolences to each of the filly's family members. Finally, she peered into the little casket, fighting her tears with everything she had as she gazed town at the filly's tiny body. Luna stood there for a long moment, wishing she could have traded her immortality to save this little one's life. Sighing, she turned and took her seat in the middle of the chapel.
After the funeral service, everyone processed to the cemetery for the graveside service. Luna fought back sobs as the ceremony concluded and the mourners began to disperse. As she turned to leave, she felt a soft tap on her shoulder. The alicorn looked over her shoulder and locked eyes with Lapis.
"P-Princess," the young mare began softly, "I know you escort ponies into the afterlife and grant their greatest wishes. I need to know what my daughter wished for. I have to know if Prinna is okay. Is my baby all right?"
Luna had to remind herself not to lose her composure in front of Lapis, who was already enduring the worst pain anypony could imagine. She looked down for a fraction of a second, then sighed and looked back up at Lapis.
"Prinna... is no longer suffering," the princess finally told Lapis. "When she crossed over, she was so happy. She is now eternally strong, vibrant, young, and healthy." Lapis released a long-held sigh of relief.
"She made three wishes," Luna continued. "Prinna was so sweet, and so smart for her age. Her first wish was to make sure that little bits of her spirit could stay in your home. Her second..." she swallowed forcefully, then continued, "...her second wish was that she could be a guardian angel to you and your husband. She knew that this would be unimaginably painful for you, so she wanted me to tell you that she will always be with you. Her third wish was for me to give you this." Allowing a few tears to fall, Luna magically revealed a large glass box that held a perfect white feather.
"This feather is from her angel wings," Luna said gently, her throat tightening. "Prinna told me to give it to you as a sign that she successfully crossed over. She is all right, and she is watching over you." Lapis clung to her husband, Cirro, still crying.
"Can you bring her back to us?" Lapis demanded. "Even if it's just in our dreams, can you bring her back to us?" Luna shook her head sadly.
"Unfortunately, I cannot," she replied. "I could only have done that when she was still in her comatose state; I am unable to bring mortals to the afterlife unless they are already dead or at death's door. If I had the power to give you a chance to see your daughter again, I would do so in a heartbeat. Please know that." Her turquoise eyes brimmed with sympathy. Lapis nodded, sobbing.
“There was one more thing that she wished for,” Luna said. “I don’t usually grant more than three wishes, but this one was well within my realm of expertise. Come.”
She led the ponies to the crest of a nearby hill. The sun had set, and as she raised the moon and began to send the galaxies and stars to their places in the velvety blue expanse above her, Luna turned to look at Prinna’s family.
“The last star I’m going to send up is very special,” she explained. “Prinna told me to take some of her essence and put it into a star. Whenever you go outside at night, wherever you are, that star will follow you, and you will always be able to see it, even on the cloudiest nights. It will always be the brightest star you can see, so you won’t miss it. She will be able to watch over you from that star.” The ponies’ eyes widened. Lapis began to sob as she clung to Luna, wrapping her slender forelegs around the alicorn’s swanlike neck. Luna draped her wing over the Pegasus mare’s shoulders, gently pulling her into a comforting embrace. Her heart broke for Lapis, who was obviously going through the absolute worst imaginable pain that anypony could endure.
Luna had attended far too many of these funerals before, seen far more tiny caskets than anypony should have to see, and heard the same wails of agony from countless grieving parents. Her duty had never gotten less difficult or more bearable, but the job was still hers, and she felt that she owed bereaved parents something, though she didn’t know exactly what she could give them other than some semblance of closure by disclosing their little ones’ last requests to them if they asked her to do so. In this respect, she served as both goddess and priestess, ushering ponies to their final reward and providing solace to them as they took their last breaths. It was both a burden and an honor to her, and she took it seriously. Her work as escort of souls was seldom discussed in Equestria, as most living ponies had no idea of what she did apart from governing Equestria, raising and lowering the moon, and visiting dreams; Luna’s most difficult and important role was also a job that went unrecognized.
“I did one final thing for your daughter,” Luna told Lapis. “That star is now the focal point of the Pegasus constellation, so you’ll always see her when you look up at the night sky.” Tears began to sting her eyes, but she hastily composed herself as Prinna’s family surrounded her and held onto her, crying. She knew that she had, in some minuscule way, eased their suffering ever so slightly. Sighing, she took off into the sky, heading back towards Canterlot as she danced with the stars that embellished the sky at her behest.
