//------------------------------//
// Epilogue 
// Story: Learning to see Luna, the story of Vivid Colour. 
// by Hope 
//------------------------------//

Princess Luna stood at a podium. 

The only ponies in the room were her friends, of sorts.

There were the Archway mages who had helped train Vivid, Posey standing closest to the podium, the sorrow on her face etched deep, but the nervous pony now a leader. A strong pillar.

Black Ink, Lyra, and so many other guards, scribes, and workers who worked closely with Vivid.

Two leaders from two churches, one in black and the other in white, whispered prayers side by side.

Then Lemon Tart and Sharp Tack, practically siblings to Vivid, in heart.

Even some ponies from a farming town at the foot of Canterhorn mountain, who had once seen Vivid’s visit save their lives, and some ponies who she had interacted with over the years, and left a positive impression on.

Then, in the corner surrounded by guards, was the queen of Bitain. Luna did not ask why she was there, but she was the only head of state who had asked to come, and Luna was willing to accept her presence.

“Before the official ceremony begins, I wanted to speak a few words in private,” Luna said softly, “Vivid never would have permitted her funeral to be a public affair, so this will be her funeral, and the rest of the ceremony will be… Well, public, and in such, less genuine.”

She cleared her throat, and looked down to the empty coffin, which held Vivid’s private belongings and a set of her Court Mage uniform.

“Vivid Colour came to me in chains, in controversy and fear. She is… was blind, and used her magic to navigate the world, while making it clear that she only did so for our convenience. When she lived alone, she did not use her magic, she just… tended her garden and carved things, and lived in peace. I will admit that before I met her I’d thought every blind pony in the world would gladly use magic to gain sight, but Vivid expanded my horizons. She showed me that my view of the world was not the logical peak of equine experience. Then again, Vivid showed me that the world was much more complex and emotionally charged than I had ever thought.”

She sighed, closing her eyes.

“I sacrificed political power and my own inscrutable position of celibacy, to have the first open relationship I’d had in more than a hundred years, and the first one which would be public record. Vivid… did not have to earn that. I had to give it, and I found a reason to give my secret personal life away in a pony who needed me, who was willing to be raw, imperfect, and open. I also… found love. Classical, simple, and unexpected.”

She cleared tears from her eyes, and straightened her papers, on which she’d written what she wanted to say.

“Vivid was irreverent, yet deeply religious. In her, I learned to allow myself to be revered,” she said, amused enough to smile but not quite enough to laugh. “After so long fighting the concept… and at once I also learned to remember my sister a little more fondly.”

She nodded to the two clerics, who bowed their heads in unison.

“So now… Taken from us, taken from me so soon, when I’d hoped to have decades more with her by my side, I am faced with the question of what I shall do with the pain,” Luna sighed, trying to maintain her smile a little. “And the answer is as it has always been. I will work. I will let go of my love, and I will pursue the duties of the crown with absolute focus. But some day… Some day I hope that the memory of Vivid Colour brings me only joy. That day, I will erect a monument in her honor, tell others of her dedication and bravery, and I will be so glad to have had her, even for a short time.”


She bowed her head, and turned away from the podium, as the ponies tapped their hooves gently in agreement, tears marking their princess’s path out of the room.