This story is a sequel to At the End of Your Rope
Now with personality profiles. Clickity
Edit: Now with crossover goodness. Clickity
There is one thing that Luna cannot stand. Wasted potential.
Luna, Princess of the Night, Keeper of the Dreaming Realms, carefully watches over her subjects, looking for the disturbing signs of those who contemplate the unthinkable, throwing away their potential. And when they go to dispose of themselves, Luna does what she can to be there to collect the trash... which Luna usually discovers to be treasure.
So when a young pegasus can no longer deal with the daily grind and moves to take his own life, Luna is more than happy to claim it so she can use it for her own purposes.
You don't know how valuable life is until it is taken away and claimed by another.
Edit: Featured on Sunday, May 11th, 2014 thank you all so much for showing interest! Ermagerd!
Edit: Now with 2000% cooler cover art... Oh my gosh thanks!
This is interesting
go on.
Very good I see a lot of potential this could go dark or humorous in one chapter.
*reads description, then checks tags* this isn't dark?
4370328
No. She saved him. Dark would have been letting him die.
She wants him to live.
Not considered to be a dark piece huh? Well i guess that depends on how you look at it. On one level this is very very dark. On another its somewhat heartwarming. This stories level of lightheartedness is very dependent on perspective.
4370334
I dunno... I really haven't forced an opinion on all of this yet. The first chapter is maybe a bit dark I'll admit, but I wanted it to be a hopeful piece.
Sort of a this is what happens when I find you in the darkness and the lights come on sort of thing.
4370330 suicide in itself is dark. I should know, I've considered it at times. I always get over it, though.
4370341 she technically took his decision to die, and decided, slavery is better. I can look at how she will proceed, and depending how it pans out my opinion will differ greatly. Maybe it is for the better, but people will different perspectives will have very different opinions on her decision.
Too many stories are about somepony falling into a hole and the long ways down that they go.
I wanted a story that starts out in the hole and showcases the way up.
I really don't know how this is going to go, except that since its very first inception I had plans to add a certain blue unicorn to the mix and then, I don't know.
4370348
Funny, isn't it.
She is a Princess though. Technically, she already owns him. He's a subject. People seem to fail to understand this one very important point. Theocratic diarchy.
She's just taking an active interest in what was already her property. I dunno. I don't see it as slavery. I see it as being committed against your will to a psyche ward. "I'm doing this for your own good!" sort of thing.
Okay, I'm going to break character for a moment.
*flicks Luna off*
He commited suicide so he wouldn't have to bear with these memories. Your some bitch who is making it even more painful for him.
Sorry, I always point out a characters moral flaws first.
All aboard the horror train!?
4370367
Was she hurting or helping though?
Pointing out what went wrong and where. See, it is all very morally ambiguous and I really haven't planned things out to my usual careful level of detail.
I just sort of let everything happen. And it felt weird.
4370376 yes, I'll admit she's doing good. But it is his life, and his potential. What lawful right does she have to own his soul.
Still a good concept. Still needs the dark tag, too.
Alright, you've gone and made me interested. Provide me with more procrastination material!
4370391
Theocratic diarchy.
See, people just don't understand, this is not America we are dealing with. Nopony really has much of a say in anything. They're born, they get a cutie mark, and that's it. Life is set for them. You do as you were born to do and the Goddesses on top of Canterlot decide what is best for you.
4370360 Going by that logic you are minutely implying that all the ponies are slaves to the princesses. I am not entire certain of the all the details of physiological illnesses and their treatments. I believe in them if the subject of the treatment is a threat to others due to their mental state. If the subject is only a danger to themselves, then i start to feel uncomfortable making decisions "for their own good". With different perspectives people value different things. Some would rather choose to die miserably than to live happily entirely without choice. Maybe these ponies would rather be happy than have choices. But I feel very uneasy with such subjective matters. Its a slippery slope to darkness
I do not see this as dark at all... yet. After all, if something like this happened here on "our" Earth, the suicidal person would (hopefully) be institutionalized or have other extreme measures taken. Of course, this isn't "our" Earth, it's Equestria, and (I think) it makes sense for magic to be employed. Also, I love the whole "you threw your life away, so I decided to take it" reasoning.
However, I the question from here is this: Just how severely is Luna tying the suicidal ponies' wills to hers, and does she have a plan to actually rehabilitate instead of just use?
4370409 i don't like that... Politics always get me angry.
4370413
Do you understand the differences between "subject" and "citizen" and how they apply here?
In the show, they use the word subject many, many times.
Subjects are people within a demesne or a region where the right to rule is absolute, and subjects are property that comes along with the land.
Very important to note that ponies are considered subjects by their Princesses. Hence, property.
4370417
Yes, there is a plan to rehabilitate. I have a skeleton planned out to that end. Just no flesh.
The hint for rehabilitation lies in the last sequence she showed him.
4370441
Thanks for answering, even if it might be a tiny-teeny spoiler. Now I know I'm going to love this!
Maybe it is a little bit dark, but not in the shock-value grimdark way. I like it and I would definitely like to see more.
4370432
Are you saying that because the political model is set up that way, it makes it completely ok?
I realize the difference, but it doesn't really change anything. They might technically have the right to treat all of their subjects that way, but that doesn't mean its a good thing to do. What if Celestia and Luna were tyrants, would it be fine for them to treat their subjects like dirt because they are allowed to?
The political system that includes people as part of property is the type of system that western society frowns upon. That is why i said in the previous post that it is subjective to what each individual values. Maybe it works for the ponies, maybe they are happy with it. But i am a human reading this story with a human perspective. All because i can understand the other perspective doesn't mean i will agree with it.
4370467
I am not saying it is OK at all.
All I am doing is writing a story within the framework provided.
Frankly, the idea horrifies me...
Keeping my own human and western values biases out of this, I could see this being a moral act for a Goddess to do, keeping her subjects safe and secure from harm and repurposing them.
But it scares the heebie jeebies out of me.
Just because I present something in story doesn't make it my opinion or even my belief, it just means I use it as a framework.
this is a decent idea and i can see the reasoning behind it as well perhaps you could give Noctilucent the role of a reaper perhaps? a pony that goes around and collects the suicides for luna to sort through is my guess but you are the author but i would actually like to see that done
also does luna have an ulterior motive for collecting the souls of ponies who feel they have no use?
hope this helps i know the feeling of a story without a plot!
4370477 I get that, and that is why i favourited it and am planning to read it, but i was just making a point to justify my considering the story to potentially be marked as a dark story.
4370484
Oh, he's not dead. Luna doesn't have his soul.
He's alive, and Luna has his body.
Big difference!
Oh, and if anybody is wondering, Noctilucent's cutie mark is a candle in a candleholder.
4370497
guess i didn't read it right then. sorry about that.
but its still a good story!
Its not exactly slavery...
4370348
4370527 she has cast a spell that forces him to obey to her every whim, that doesn't sound like slavery at all -_-
4370548
Well, they were going to use that spell on Discord and it was perfectly alright.
4370367 I would of stared at her and then viscously attacked her
4370552 we have no way of knowing what that spell would do, it could of just twisted his mind to think harmony was better but still leave him with will. But I do hope this turns dark...
I kinda want to see her rescue someone who is damn determined to die. Maybe I'm just being morbid but i think it would be interesting to see how Luna handled saving someone and then cracking into their memories to find out they have no redeeming memories who honestly believe that suicide is the best answer
4370548 but she cares for him its not like "go get me some soda" its like don't kill yourself. So HA.
4370603
Somepony like
<=== this pony right here?
As said earlier in the comments, I planned to add a certain blue unicorn.
4370610 not necessarily her but somepony. I feel like she is too easily manipulated though and Luna is rather clever ... I could see how it could work with Trixie though if you ignored the manipulation
.
4370557 yeah.
4370610
There was a man who drank poison, set himself on fire and jumped off a cliff. Maybe a pony like that?
A really interesting start, can't wait to see where you'll take this
4370330
no, death from pain is generally better than becoming someones slave, no matter who they are.
because she could have just kept him alive, got the guy some therapy, get his head on straight, let him restart.
but nope! your a slave now!
4370607 OBJECTION
It means that luna has the ability to make him join the army or make him do something against his will like NOT COMMIT SUICIDE
Heh maybe he could pay a pony to kill him
4370796 if anything I would see this as a challenge and try to figure out how to outmaneuver the Geas
wow luna is an asshole here
it's called therapy
slavery bad
Please continue; this story seems to have a lot of potential and could do a lot of good.
My attention has been obtained. I have a friend who has gone to a mental hospital twice and I now I wish there had been a Luna figure for him. He is alive! In case you were wondering.
Interesting indeed... The story itself is very bare bones so far, but you have stated as much, so I will be watching to see how that plays out. I find it interesting that you bring up their society as a justification for why she can do this. And you are absolutely correct. By the canon that we have been given so far, The Royal Pony Sisters are the supreme authority in Equestria, by virtue of practically divine power. (Control over stellar bodies alone is a level of power that no human made weapon has even come close to matching) While they have been shown to have moments of weakness, I tend to stand that it is mostly because neither sister has tried to just kill a would be threat. Given they can move the Sun and Moon, it wouldn't be too hard to suggest that if they really wanted to they could just crush something with their magic and move on. But they wouldn't be benevolent dictators at that point, and it wouldn't really be the same story anymore. I'm not misusing that word, while they may have the title of 'Princess', a dictatorship is far closer to their government than a monarchy. Even in a monarchy there are rules, and the ruling monarch typically has to answer to the Lords & Ladies of the court, if only because the nobles would revolt if they didn't. In the case of Equestria, there has been no sign that anypony other than the Sisters even remotely has power or authority. Even Cadence falls under the status of being their subject, and she is Princess of the Crystal Empire. When Luna and/or Celestia make a decision, NOPONY gets to question it. Even in the show, the few times somepony has remotely thought that a decision one or both of the Sisters made might be wrong, they do it anyway.
Now, from a pure Western outlook, the very idea of a society where 2 people have such complete and absolute authority is both monstrous and repulsive. Part of this is because of how strong the desire for Individual Freedom is in Western cultures. The other part is because the very idea of anyone having the divine right to make any and all decisions they deem fit is utterly foreign to such culture. Now, in other parts of the world, such things are somewhat more accepted. The reasons for this are too varied to list. The final part where this feel wrong, even for those raised to accept the idea of a single body with vast authority like a true monarchy, is that we accept that people are flawed, and nobody can be perfect.
This is the biggest disconnect from a human outlook and a pony outlook. Most ponies believe that the Sisters have an Omniscient Morality License. Ponies have this outlook due to both the Sisters' staggering level of power, and because they HAVE proven it right more often than not. In the 4 seasons that the show has ran, Celestia has pulled off several Gambits, of various types, and to date never lost in the end. Give no evidence to the contrary, it must be assumed that either both Sisters did this during their joint rule prior to the Nightmare Moon Event, or at the very least Celestia has been doing it for the last 1000 years or so. Granted, that is partly because if things went wrong and stayed wrong, the series would either have to end, or change its target demographic entirely. Still, when you have a history of playing the odds and never losing like they do, and also have more power than anything less than a god, (Discord) ponies are going to simply accept that "Yes, you really do know better than we do. We will just go along with your plan now". It's similar to how the Mane Six deal with Pinkie Pie. They just accept that they don't understand, but still go along with her anyway, because it will be alright. Ponies are just naturally trusting creatures, willingly going along with those they understand to have reason to lead. Which makes perfect sense for a species that evolved from one that lived in herds dominated by a small number of Alphas.
Now, as for my personal opinion, I do NOT see anything wrong with Luna's actions, legally or ethically. She is legally taking no further control over him than she already had to begin with. As Princess of the Moon, she could at any time give him an order, and by law he MUST obey it. She is merely making sure that he obeys the law. She is Princess Luna, thus has every right to enforce the law. As for ethically, there are some who might argue that Noctilucent was only hurting himself when he was going to commit suicide. And they would be WRONG. Anyone, pony or otherwise, claiming that suicide is either painless, or only hurts the one doing it, is either ignorant or trying to delude themselves. Even in those Eastern cultures where ritual suicide was/is an accepted practice, there are those who still suffer, and almost always its those the suicide was trying to protect/save. Not saying I agree or disagree with the idea of killing oneself to protect the lives/honor of your family, but nobody can say it doesn't still harm those who live on. Luna saw that Noctilucent was throwing away his life, and seeing both the harm that it could cause, as well as his wasted potential, chooses to act. She takes him, make sure he will be treated for physical injury, tells him she owns his ass, taking magical steps to make sure he knows it. Noctilucent doesn't have a single moral leg to stand on. He wasn't dying for somepony else, or a cause, or for anything. He wanted to die simply because he couldn't find a reason to live. There is no honor or morality in his choice. Luna has the full legal right to step in any time she wishes, given to her and her sister by Equestria. And she as the moral high ground here, by virtue of Noctilucent being an ignorant fool.
4371327
**Wakes up, sees this, eyes open wide**
That pretty much sums up everything sir. I may include your entire post as an author's note next chapter.