Several days had passed since the invasion. Clyde, along with the thousands of others, was being buried in one mass funeral, and Twilight and her friends had congregated for the first time since their friend’s death in the Saddleback Mountains. Spike didn’t come; he chose to remember Clyde privately, and had stayed back in town while the others went to the service. Thousands had gathered outside the gates of a new military cemetery, which was commissioned and built on the mountain range’s valley floor.

At the entrance of the cemetery was a large bronze statue of three figures. The portraits were anonymous, one being an earth pony, one being a pegasus, and another being a unicorn. They stood shoulder to shoulder, all wore grim expressions, and all appeared to be injured or wounded. They wore armor, and even though the entire statue was the same color, the orange of bronze, it was easy enough for the grieving to imagine the three as ponies once known.

At mid-day, the procession started. The thousands of casualties had already been buried within the cemetery ground; the ‘funeral’ was more of a commemoration than a rite. Regardless, respects were paid by ponies from all over Equestria; nopony was exempt of effect from the battle. Everypony had lost a brother, sister, mother, father, uncle, aunt, cousin... or friend.

The ceremony began with a solemn address given by Celestia. The royal took her place on a temporary stage before the crowd, just in front of the statue, and reverently spoke.

Twilight sat amidst her friends. They all wore the same blank expressions, emotions of confusion, sadness and regret building within. The unicorn didn’t focus on the speech. Rather, beneath the bluebird sky, she focused on the ironic beauty of the environment around her.

The mountains rose high above on all sides; Clyde’s perch was just behind them. The valley floor was cool and soft, and the lush grass blew in the breeze. Spring was just starting to turn to summer, and each tree adorned its freshest leaves.

“He would’ve loved it here,”she thought.

As she lost herself in thought, the speech ended, and the gates to the cemetery were opened for the first time.

Twilight and her friends ambled in among the entirety of the crowd, and they began searching the gravestones for familiar names, one in particular.

The sheer size of the cemetery was breathtaking. The headstones, all made of the purest marble, were hundreds of columns wide and even more rows deep.

While they meandered, they found the gravesites of Dawn, Brutus and Sebastian. The Guardians had nothing on their headstones to identify them as Guardians; even though their fight had been more important, even more heroic, than the others.

None of them cried as they combed the graves. It took hours, but finally, towards the center of the cemetery, they found him.

Clyde’s gravestone was exactly the same as the others. It was just another headstone in the sea of marble on the valley floor. The inscription read ‘Clydesdale T. Sterling- Captain-11th Cavalry/Guardians’ Division’. However, below his title, it read, ‘Keep on Dreaming.’

They stood around his grave in a semi-circle in silence. They stared for a while without moving, until a familiar, icy voice from behind shook them from their trance.

“Found him?” asked Persephone, not receiving an answer.

The Guardian, an eye patch over her face, joined their group as she too honored Clyde’s death in silence. They stood like that for hours, trying to come to grips with his absence, and wishing things had turned out differently.

The day passed quickly. Everypony else in the cemetery had already left, and it was nearly dusk when Persephone broke the silence a second time.

She reached into a saddlebag and retrieved a warped chunk of metal; Clyde’s helmet.

“I took this from the tower that day. I thought one of you might want it,” she said flatly as she offered the misshapen headpiece.

“Thanks,” said Rainbow Dash after a long silence, “but we’ll remember him our own way. Keep it.”

Rather, Persephone only reverently placed the helmet over the white headstone. Before turning away, she reached out and touched the stone, holding it for a long time. Then she left, silently ascending into the late day’s painted sky.

As soon as she departed, the mares each left one by one, but not before paying their final respects. First was Pinkie Pie, who tied a green balloon around his headstone before quietly plodding out of the cemetery. Then Applejack removed the crimson ribbon from her mane and tied it in a bow around the marble. She knelt, pressing her forehead against the cold stone as she tightened the knot; the headstone was the closest thing to him she had left.

Next, Twilight stepped forward. She reached into a saddlebag and retrieved the picture she had found at Clyde’s side when he died. She had cleaned the blood from it, and she laid it down face-up at the base of the headstone. Afterwards, Rarity laid the cap of the suit he had helped her to make on the grass before the gravestone. She had memories of him wearing that suit on Hearts and Hooves Day, as well as every formal gathering they ever went to when he didn’t have to be in his uniform. The hat rested on the grass, and Rarity, tears forming in her eyes, promptly left the site.

Next was Fluttershy, who calmly and gracefully said goodbye. When she finished, she reached up to her ear, retrieved the last yellow rose she would ever wear, and placed it over the grave. She kissed the headstone, and her sorrowful farewell was complete. Full of regrets and uncertainties about what could have been, she returned home, where she would cry alone.

Dash however, stayed. She sat by the grave until the moon rose to accompany her, and the stars smiled down; only Dash wasn’t smiling back.

The only sound in the cemetery came from her sobbing. Sure that nopony was around, she let it all out at once, and she began to talk to the grave. She said things she needed to say to him, but just never got the chance, all the while lamenting in solitude with nopony around to console her. It was better that way; she didn’t need to worry what anypony else thought of her.

She looked at the gravestone as if it were him.

“I miss you,” she choked.

“I miss everything about you; your smile, your eyes, our talks, the way you’d always be there, the way I felt when I was with you.”

She managed a nostalgic smile, but it was quickly replaced with frustration.

“But that’s all I remember. I can’t think of any real memories of things we did together. I just can’t stop thinking about the day you died; I can’t remember anything else. I don’t want to remember you by this graveyard, by how you died; I want to remember you by how you lived.”

“I want to remember you by how you looked out for us, how you were brave and strong, and by the great friend you were. I want to remember the nights you stayed up to make sure we were safe, and how you did anything you could to protect us. I want to remember how much fun we had whenever we all did anything together. I want to look back and hear your laugh, see your smile, remember everything about you, but I can’t! All I can see when I think of you is you dying. I want to forget that day, but I can’t; it’s haunting me!”

“When you were dying, you said that you loved each of us. Before, that would’ve freaked me out, but at the ball, Dawn told me something. She said that there are different kinds of love.”

“I don’t know what way you loved me, but I loved you too, and so did the others. We were a family, and you left us behind. If you really loved us, then why’d you go?”

“You once said that you’d never leave me alone. Now you’re gone; I’m alone Clyde, and I need you, now more than ever.”

“If you can hear me,” she said, looking skyward, “then keep your promise! Prove that you didn’t leave me alone. I hate being alone, Clyde, but all I feel without you is alone. Equestria is moving on, but I don’t think I can, not without you.”

Her gaze fell from the stars, “I just wish you were still around.”

A sudden flash of light above caught her attention, and she gazed up at a shooting star darting across the sky. She watched as it disappeared over the horizon, its tail leading her eyes to a familiar landmark; Clyde’s home.

It was somehow visible from the cemetery; how she hadn’t noticed it before eluded her.

She flew to the cabin, slowly for once, and entered. The home’s once spotless interior was contaminated by a layer of dust, and it still held the essence of pine. She went for the living room. On the walls hung dozens of photographs portraying the times they’d all had together since the day they met. She recognized most of them, and realized they all had the same thing in common; they were all smiling in each photograph.

Dash slowly approached to the pictures, recalling that the shelves filled with gilded and crystalline treasures from the night, the only night she ever spent in this house, no longer hung on the walls; their place was taken by the photographs.

"We were more valuable to him than gold," she realized, and her sorrow was routed.

Even in death, he was still comforting her.

After her reverent trip down memory lane amidst the photos, she turned and continued her inspection of the house.

The cabinet in the corner, the one that once held his armor, was open. She peered inside; it now held only the crimson flag of the Guardians, his dress uniform, and a dusty mirror fixed to the inside of one of the doors. She took his beret from the top shelf, held it to her nose, and inhaled; it still smelled like him, and her tears started flowing again.

She held onto the beret as she continued through the dining room, the kitchen, and her ventures upstairs. There, she found a bedroom, the bed neatly made, a bathroom and some closets.

Still clutching the black headpiece, she trudged down the stairs to leave. However, at the bottom of the wooden staircase, she noticed a leather-bound book resting on the living room’s table.

She approached, stood with her back to the mantle, and read its cover; "A Collection of Poetry Through the Ages".

“Great,” she moaned.

She did do some reading, but it was mostly Daring-Do novels, not poetry. Still, she figured there had to be some reason why it was left out while the rest of the house was so organized. She opened the aged leather cover, which seemed to creak as she turned it over.

Dash scanned through pages, skipping old ballads and modern lyric poems, until she found a page that was dog-eared, the only page in the whole book that was so.

Her eyes, though still moist, grew wide in attentive curiosity as she read the poem.

Color

When we are born, the canvas of our lives is filled with color: vibrant reds and blues, and fantastic shades of green.

But as we age, the colors dull, until the canvas is nothing but grey.

Yet, every now and again, we find something that adds small dabs of color

Back into the masterpiece of our lives;

And those are the things we fall in love with.

-Anonymous

Written below the text was a note.

To my friends,

When I came to Ponyville, my canvas was dark, but today, it’s all the colors of the rainbow. I don’t know if I’ll see any of you after today, but in case I don’t, I want you to know that no matter what happens, I have no regrets. I’m glad I came to this town, and my life changed for the better the day I met you. It has been an honor to be your Guardian, but a greater one to be your friend.

If you ever feel alone, afraid or like you need me, you need only look to the stars. From there, I’ll be watching, a Guardian forever. I’ll see you again someday, but between now and then, live your lives, love one another, and never stop dreaming.

Until next time,

Clyde.

The book was wet with Dash’s elusive tears. One memory suddenly came to her, something Pinkie had asked him about when he was new to town; she had asked him if he was a guardian angel. It was so fitting, and Dash looked out the window to the sparkling stars above.

“My guardian angel,” she whispered, a tearful smile adorned on her cyan face, and she whispered what seemed most fitting.

“Until next time.”

She flipped through the rest of the book and a yellow rose fell from its pages. She stooped to retrieve it; it was a bit faded and had seen better days, but she could tell that when it was fresh, it had been beautiful. She left the house; she would come back another time, a time when she missed him more than usual, but until then, the beret, the flower and the book would be her connection to her Guardian above.

She walked rather than flew back to Ponyville, looking to the night sky. Maybe she was just being a bit odd, maybe it was that she was out very late, but she felt like something was watching her, and as she looked to the stars, which were sparkling more than usual on that particular night, she knew he was watching.

The End

Author's Notes:

I had a lot of fun with this piece. Thank you guys so much for reading, and I hope you liked it. Please leave a comment and a rating, and if for any reason, any of you were inspired to make artwork or something from a scene in this story, don't hesitate. I'd love to see what you do with my creation, just as long as you cite me as the owner, otherwise its stealing. Thanks again!

TheBigLebowski