For the Living

by Protector of Light

Rating: everyone
Tags: Discord, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Princess Luna, Original Character
Length: 2041

Princess Luna is left to rule Equestria alone, but is she as alone as she thinks? Will her dear student and her friends be able to share the burden of ruling Equestria with her? Or would she be better off without their help?

A thousand years after Twilight Sparkle’s death, peace reigns over a now technologically advanced Equestria. With Princess Celestia’s passing, Princess Luna is left alone to rule. Or is she really alone? Will her dear student and her friends be able to share the burdens of being on the throne with her when the worst possible things keep happening? Or would Luna be better off without help in the first place?

A followup to my stories Life and Death and Fires of The Sun, but you don't have to have read them to enjoy the story.

Published 2013-01-24 23:40:01 UTC
Last updated 2013-01-24 23:40:01 UTC

Prologue: The Plan

“Come on, Whistle Works, Princess Luna isn’t in the mood for a birthday party right now,” Daylight said to her indigo friend as they walked down the hall towards the palace library.

“Oh, come on, Daylight, it will cheer her up.” Whistle sighed and turned to her. “Parties always make people happier when they are sad. And it’s not like we’re celebrating what’s making her sad, we’re celebrating Storm Dancer’s birthday. Princess Luna has never missed one of our birthdays since she’s known us, and I don’t think that she would want to start now.”

“Yes, that’s all very true, but her sister died just a week ago. She needs time to mourn. Would you want to go to a party if your sister just died?” Daylight stared her down, determination in her blue eyes.

Whistle Works blinked. “Well, no, when you put it that way. I don’t have a sister, but if my big brother died, I wouldn’t want to lift my head off of my pillow, let alone go to a party.”

“You see, then, we need to give the princess some space and time to mourn. Now that doesn’t mean that we can’t do anything. But we can figure out some other way to help her, surely. That’s why I’ve called you and the other girls to the library for a meeting.” The two friends reached the entryway to the book and computer-filled room and walked through the massive doors. Daylight, being the librarian, had closed the library for the day. That is, for all but her closest friends and herself. Within, three of her five friends had already gathered, waiting patiently for her and Whistle’s arrival.

“Hello!” Moonshine greeted the pair. This made Symphony and Fire Lily look up from where they had been quietly chatting. They smiled.

“Storm Dancer is late as always, but I’m sure she’ll be along soon.” Symphony said of her roommate. “She claimed that she had to clear the sky, but I’m sure that she’s just trying to find out what her birthday gifts are this year.”

“I’d never do that!” exclaimed the mint-hued pegasus in question as she burst through the window. “I’d probably never lie to one of you guys and you know it.”

“She was only teasing, Stormy,” Fire Lily assured her. The red earth pony smiled at her friend with a reassuring expression.

“Yeah, yeah, I know. I just don’t like ponies talking about me like that is all. Even you guys, my best friends in the whole wide world.” She sighed and landed next to Lily.

“Well then,” Daylight began, “it looks like we’re all here now. Now it is time to discuss the issue at hoof.”

“Yes, Princess Luna, correct?” asked Moonshine. The silver unicorn received a chorus of yeses. “She does seem pretty down since Princess Celestia’s death, doesn’t she?”

“Well, wouldn’t you be if someone who you knew for thousands of years died, let alone your sister?” Symphony asked expecting no answer.

“Yes, well, in any case, we need to do something to help her,” stated Daylight, doing her best to speak over her friends, as difficult as it may be for her.

“I already brought up Storm Dancer’s party, but then Daylight pointed out where that wasn’t the best idea in the world.” Whistle Works said, beginning to hover in frustration.

“Yeah, probably not the best bet. It would be insensitive and would probably just make her mad anyway,” Storm Dancer acknowledged. “I don’t mind if she doesn’t come to my party, Whistle, don’t worry about that. But then what are we going to do?”

“That’s why I gathered you here,” Daylight said. “We need to go over some ideas to help her out. She isn’t taking her sister’s death well, and we need to improve her mood or the morale of Equestria will lower when they see their ruler in pain.”

“Are you saying that the fate of Equestria rides on Princess Luna keeping her spirits up?” Moonshine asked. All of the ponies looked at her before turning to Daylight.

“Well… I suppose that is the only logical conclusion to what I’ve been saying, but not exactly. She doesn’t have to cheer up, per-se; she just needs to be able to rule the country without there being any negative changes.” The yellow unicorn sighed. “And I guess that there really isn’t anything that we can do.”

Whistle Works perked up with a thought. “Come on, Daylight, you’re the princess’s personal student; you know her better than anypony. Surely we can come up with something based on your knowledge of her.”

“She’s right you know. With your knowledge and all of our heads put together, I’m sure that we can come up with something,” Fire Lily said.

“Yeah, Daylight, she’s been down before and you’ve picked her back up,” reiterated Symphony. “How have you done it in the past?”

“That’s the thing, though. It was never something this big. She was sad because her sister was gone temporarily, which is completely different from being gone forever. She never even told me what was wrong before. I don’t know what to do now that I know what is.” Daylight looked at the floor, dejected.

“We understand that, Daylight, but that doesn’t give us any hints,” pointed out Storm Dancer.

“Alright.” Daylight looked up at her friends. “Before I was librarian of the palace library, I always used to organize the princess’s books for her when she was sad. I was there to keep her company and give her a break from working, if only for something as trivial as that. I would also go with her to the dining hall in the evening for us to have a meal together before my studies, and I would always just be there for her. But I don’t know if ‘just being there’ will be enough this time.”

“Wait, you also mentioned helping her out. Maybe we can help her with the smaller duties that she has!” Whistle Works suggested, to everypony’s surprise, as she normally didn’t come up with more than hair-brained schemes.

“That’s a great idea!” replied Fire Lily. All but Daylight nodded in agreement.

Daylight still looked skeptical. “I don’t know. We would have to ask her, and she’d probably refuse anyway.”

“Oh, come on, we can at least ask,” insisted Moonshine.

“Alright,” Daylight relented. “I’ll ask her once she’s done with court for the day.”

“Group hug?” Whistle requested. The others complied. After sharing a warm embrace, the friends fell back into idle chatter, enjoying each other’s company as friends are wont to do.

***

Princess Luna sat in her chambers alone, waiting for somepony, anypony to come and brighten her day with a visit. Even Discord could come waltzing in that door and it would be an improvement over hours of day court followed by solitude with nothing to do but mourn. Mourning was healthy, she knew, but moping was not. And that was what she was beginning to do. It had been awhile since Daylight or one of her friends had popped in unexpectedly, perhaps Whistle Works with a party invitation, which she would have to decline as usual unless it was a special occasion, or Fire Lily with a bouquet of the most beautiful flowers. It had been even longer since Storm Dancer had crashed through her window or Symphony had come with a new song to play on her piano. And Moonshine and Daylight hadn’t come in to chat since Celestia died. But she supposed that they were trying to give her space to mourn. Well, she was done having space. If one of them didn’t show up toning, then tomorrow she would have to seek them out.

Thankfully, there was a knock at her door. “Enter,” she said, knowing that the guards would not let anyone pass that wasn’t safe. In walked Daylight, looking nervous. Oh, how she could be shy when she was not with her friends, even around her mentor. But Luna had seen Daylight at her most confident and her most timid; this was somewhere in between, just slight unease. “Well hello, Daylight, what brings you to my doorstep at this hour?”

“Can’t I just visit? It’s been awhile, since you dismissed me from my studies. I just thought that it might be nice to have a visit.”

“Of course, my dear. Even though you are no longer my student I enjoy your company very much.” Ah, Luna thought, she was uneasy because she was afraid of what I would think of her being so bold as to visit while I was in mourning. Well, Princess Cadance had gone back to the Crystal Empire and Spike back to his cave, and Luna was ready to resume life as normal, or as close to normal as she possibly could. Yet there was a hole in her heart that not even her student could fill. “How have you been?”

“Oh, I’ve been pretty well. Nothing too exciting going on. How are you?”

“I’ve been better. But I’ve been worse too, so I’m alright.”

“Oh. I passed Discord on the way here and he told me to say hi. I know that you two have never been the best of friends, but he still wishes you the best.”

“Next time you see him you can tell him hello for me.” Luna paused for a moment and looked out at her night sky. She was always editing it, trying to make it perfect. She knew that she could never make something complete that was always changing, but it was a habit of hers to try. “Come, Daylight. Look at the stars with me.”

“Daylight came over to do just that. It had been awhile since she had watched her mentor edit the sky. It was something that she missed since her studies moved from personal to independent. The truth was, she wished that she was still under that personal care. She missed Princess Luna more than she should. She knew that the princess was busy, and that’s why she wanted to help her now. “So, um, I did come to ask you something. But I still want to stay with you for a while, no matter what your response.”

“Alright. Go ahead and ask.”

“Well… my friends and I were just talking earlier today that we were wondering if we can help you out. You know, do some of the little tasks that you have to do so that you can have a little bit of a break.” Daylight looked at Luna with a sheepish smile.

Luna had not been expecting that. Yes, she was subtly implying that it was because of Celestia’s death, but when she thought about it, she had been doing the job of two princesses for the last thousand years, and now… now she would be doing it for the foreseeable future, as much as she hated to think about it. Help might be nice for once. “Well, I suppose that there might be some small jobs that you and your friends might be able to help me out with. I mean, you already help me take care of the library; you have already proven your abilities. And from what I know of your friends, I’m sure that they will do as well as you do.”

“Really?” Daylight had truly been expecting refusal. She had expected to have to use her powers of persuasion, a power that was weak within her. She certainly was pleasantly surprised. “Wow, thanks Princess Luna!”

“No, I thank you. And once again, how many times do I have to tell you just to call me Luna?” Luna chuckled.

“As usual, a few more times.” Daylight grinned. Luna pulled daylight into a hug with her wing. She needed the company right now. “It’s okay, Luna. Everything is going to be alright. You will always have me and the gang.”

“I know. Thank you for being here, Daylight. I don’t know what I would do without you.” Luna knew that she wouldn’t have her student forever, but she knew that she would always have her in her heart. And for now, she wasn’t going to let her go.