Requiem [voice/action for the Straw Hats]

[letteropener]

I have waited to see if they would return, as some occasionally do, but I think any further waiting is pointless. It is my sad duty to report that as of now, I am the only specimen of ponykind remaining here.

Those of you who remember my sister or Pinkie Pie fondly... if you have any message you wish to pass to them, then I will accept them, and if it is in my power to do so, I will pass them on when I next see them.

We have seen so many go of late, and yet I truly believe they have returned home as those who come back to us have reported doing. Do not weep for your lost friends, but rejoice that you had them as friends, even if for but a short time.

Comments

[letteropener]

I have suffered a little, but that was nothing. So I cannot say I am really tough. I am merely a Princess.

[Is she talking about her past... or her present?]

[yourotherleft]

[he smiles slightly; and that's exactly why he thinks she's tough, nothing will shake that opinion.]

You really do remind me of Vivi, sometimes.

[letteropener]

From what I have heard, that is a high compliment.

Perhaps you could tell me more about her? [After all, what she had originally heard was... disjointed, given the source.]

[yourotherleft]

Sure. What do you want to know? I don't remember how old she said she was when she joined Baroque Works...she left her country to go undercover with this criminal organization to find out who was framing her dad for shit he didn't do. She was pretty young, though. Managed to keep her identity a secret for a few years.

[letteropener]

Well, that is already much more than I knew previously. But how did a princess manage to go undercover?

[Celestia has allowed her thinking to lapse a little bit; she thinks in terms of Equestria, where princesses are reasonably well-known and have anatomical differences that could not be hidden.]

[yourotherleft]

Got me. I guess maybe she was sheltered in Alabasta enough that only her own people would've known her. She was abroad, posing as a bounty hunter. Though, I guess we can't know exactly when Crocodile was onto her, he might have known all along and just let her go because he's a bastard like that.

[letteropener]

More foolish of him, then, since it sounds like in the end she achieved her goal. [At least, that's Celestia's understanding. Help her out here?]

[yourotherleft]

Yeah, but not by herself. She needed help, and even realizing that took strength. We got her there, and Luffy took Crocodile for her since, honestly, he would have killed her in a heartbeat.

[letteropener]

A goal achieved by making friends and allies is a goal achieved. I expect to her enemies, the nature of her success mattered much less than the fact of it.

[yourotherleft]

Pretty much. They didn't want her in the square calling for the two armies to stop fighting, but that's what she did. And somehow, it worked.

[letteropener]

In my experience, most people do not truly wish to fight each other. Sometimes a voice that asks for peace is all that it takes.

[yourotherleft]

[he smiles if only because, there are exceptions. He's one of them. But that's not for this conversation]

There aren't a lot of people with the guts to stand up and even try it.

[letteropener]

That is true. There are not. But love for one's home can give somepony great strength, even of the face of terrible odds.

[yourotherleft]

I guess so. I don't feel that way about any place, but maybe the ship and the crew count.

[letteropener]

It is not just one's home. Somepony special, or a greater purpose or ideal. That seems to be what guides those on this ship from your world, in my experience.

[yourotherleft]

Ah, yeah, that. Having something to live for, and fight for, goes a long way. We're not the only ones who feel that way.

[letteropener]

Some of the worst conflicts in Equestria have not been spell against lance, but instead, will against will. Those who which to oppress or conquer seek to break the fighting spirits of those who wish to save and liberate.

[yourotherleft]

[that piques his interest, all right]

Yeah? I'm not surprised. Will is greater than strength. That much is universal, huh?

[letteropener]

Strength is still necessary, but a strong will can find strength where it otherwise was not.

Of course, sometimes strength alone succeeds, I must admit.

[yourotherleft]

Yeah, that's true. Sometimes. But strength without will is just being a bully.

[he really likes having these chats with Celestia. It makes him feel smart, being able to understand her.]

[letteropener]

Sometimes that is true even of the two combined.

[Celestia sighs, as particular memories drift across her mind.]

That is why friendship means so much. It is strength and will and positivity all in one.

[yourotherleft]

[he's said it before, but he'll say it again. Proudly.]

You really are one of us, Celestia.

[letteropener]

[Celestia turns to look at him in mild surprise, then back to the ocean, faint color touching her cheeks. She always feels like an outsider here, somepony different and a bit alien to them.]

Thank you. That means a very great deal to me.