The Sacrifice

“Enough!” yelled Queen Chrysalis. “Or the dragon’s wings get plucked!”

Before Spike could even react, he was violently lifted off the ground by his wings and placed on display for his friends to see, with Cozy Glow holding Grogar’s enchanted bell keeping Spike in place. Tirek and Chrysalis both smiled with callousness at one of their enemies in pain.

Anger was replaced with horror on Twilight’s face as she saw her best friend in excruciating pain.

“No! Don’t hurt him!” she practically begged.

Spike was in unimaginable pain as he felt his wings about to be dislocated from their sockets, but he put that aside. He knew that Equestria’s fate was worth far more than his wellbeing.

“Don’t worry about me! Just save-Argh!” The purple dragon was abruptly cut off by another jolt of pain.

Spike mustered up the energy to open one of his eyes just a little bit, only to find his six best friends standing down. He then felt himself being thrown toward his friends; the wind felt cool as he flew through the air. The feeling of falling was quickly replaced with a pair of hooves surrounding his small body.

“Turns out that the magic of Friendship proves to be your greatest weakness,” Tirek taunted. “A fitting end to your pathetic story.”

The villains grinned wickedly as they charged up their magic and prepared to finally rid themselves of their burdens once and for all. In that moment, Tirek’s final seven words hit home as the Mane 6 realized just how much trouble they were in. Spike suddenly felt all his pain vanish as he looked up and saw his friends’ horrified faces. The adrenaline raced through his body at lightning speeds and everything slowed down. He knew that his friends needed to be saved and he was the only one to do it. Without another moment to spare, he broke free of Twilight’s grasp and flew as fast as he could towards the object that nearly cost him the use of his wings.

Twilight was shocked at what she saw, her best friend was flying toward the monsters at breakneck speeds and had successfully nabbed the bell from their grasp.

The next few seconds were a blur to Spike. One second he was on the ground, the next he was in the air, nabbing the enchanted bell from the monsters’ grasp. His adrenaline levels were through the roof. Never in his life had he ever felt more determined on a mission to save his friends. If he was in pain before, he sure didn’t show it now. His wings, however, weren’t as mobile as before, no doubt in Spike’s mind that they were likely broken due to the severe abuse they received no more than one minute ago. The villains were furious.

“Give that back, you repulsive, little brat!” Chrysalis spat as she prepared to zap Spike.

Out of pure instinct, Spike stuck Grogar’s bell out in front of him and the green jolt of magic hit it. Somehow, the bell absorbed the magic blast, which avoided further injury to Spike. Spike looked at the bell and noticed It was lined with cracks and faintly glowing a moderate shade of green. He had no doubt in his mind that Chrysalis’ magic had damaged it. He then quickly laid out a plan in his mind to defeat them. For this to work, he’d need to trick them into zapping the bell several times to overload it with magic and then fly it toward them at the last second before the enchanted object exploded. He already figured it would likely kill him too, but for Equestria it was worth it

“You want this bell so bad?” Spike taunted from above. “Then come and get it.”

Cozy Glow growled. “Challenge accepted, lizard.”

The evil Pegasus turned Alicorn flew after the pre-teen dragon and fired another magic blast at him. Spike once again stuck the bell out and blocked it. It looked more cracked and was glowing a bit brighter.

“Spike! What are you doing?! You’re going to get hurt!” Rainbow Dash yelled.

“Don’t worry about my safety, Rainbow! Just get out of here. All of you!” Spike called back as the third blast of magic hit the bell and made it glow even brighter.

Spike’s adrenaline was starting to wear off and he began to feel the pain in his wings return as the fourth blast of magic hit the bell. It was now badly damaged with cracks much larger lining the surface of the enchanted object, it was now glowing a very vibrant shade of green, and it was giving off a low hum.

“One more blast should do it,” Spike said, his adrenaline and newfound strength gradually waning.

The little dragon flew toward the fiends with all the strength he had. This was it. This was the climax of the plan; destroy the bell and render Cozy Glow, Chrysalis, and Tirek useless. Everything seemed to slow down even further for Spike as his vision narrowed down to the three beings that he zeroed toward.

***

Less than 50 feet away, Twilight and her friends watched the scene with horror. They had easily put two and two together and knew Spike was trying to sacrifice himself to save them and Equestria. They immediately huddled together.

“We can’t leave him,” Applejack said. “He can’t lose his life because he’s trying to save us.”

“Agreed,” said Rarity. “We can’t leave Spikey-Wikey to die at the hands of these monsters.”

"C'mon," Rainbow Dash said. "Let's get a plan together and save-"

Before Rainbow Dash could say anything more, her friends and she heard an ear-splitting explosion. They turned around only to find a huge, white beam of light shoot towards the sky. All six ponies felt their hearts sink and fresh tears welled up in their eyes as they knew full well that they were too late to save their friend.

***

As Spike sped towards his targets, Cozy, Tirek, and Chrysalis powered up another blast of magic each. This time, instead of firing individually, they unleashed their blasts all at once. The three seperate blasts quickly connected with one another and it formed the biggest blast of magic that the three evil-doers had ever seen in their lives as it raced toward the pre-teen reptile. Right as the blasts connected, Spike stuck out Grogar’s bell once more, and the villains instantly realized that they had screwed up. The blast hit the bell, it detonated, and was blown to smithereens and enveloped all four of them in a huge surge of magic.

Spike felt all his strength and adrenaline finally fade away as the bell detonated, and it enveloped him in its overloaded magic surge. Whatever pain he had felt before was nothing compared to what he felt now. Fragments of the bell lodged deep into the crevices that divided his Lavender scales. Other parts of his body had their scales torn off like paper by much larger fragments, lining his under-scales with deep cuts. The surge of magic tore throughout his immune system and internal organs. He began to feel an extremely awful burning sensation all over the front of his small abdomen. The adolesent had lost the ability to smell and taste due to his sinuses being fried almost instantly and his ears rang loudly. He hit the ground with a small thud and that sent another enormous rush of pain through his damaged nerves.. However, every bit of pain he felt reminded him of his heroic deed.

“I did it,” Spike thought as the magic beam began to fade. “I saved my friends and Equestria. I did the best I could, and I triumphed. I may be dying, but if the girls are safe that’s all that matters to me.”

***

Twilight and the girls could only show horror as the giant, white beam gradually faded away. All was eerily quiet afterward. With the bell destroyed, the villains had lost their powers and now lay unconscious on the ground. Cozy Glow had turned back into a Pegasus, Queen Chrysalis was stripped of her enchanted body armor and head crest and her teal mane was singed at the end, and Tirek’s rejuvenated state had vanished. He was now the old, frail Centaur that Twilight and her friends had run into in Tartarus. The ponies didn’t care about what the state their assailants were in, they wanted to find Spike and see, if by some miracle, if he was still alive. They soon found him lying on his back near where the center of the magic blast had erupted. They felt tears welling up in their eyes and it took all their strength not to throw up when they saw their terminally wounded friend. The lavender dragon was impaled by several shards on the bell, with red blood already seeping out of the many cuts that lined his body, the entire front of his abdomen was dark grey and charred, and he was barely breathing.

Spike opened his eyes just a crack and saw his friends looking down at him, not a single eye was dry on the six ponies as they looked down on their friend. It was nothing short of a miracle that he was still alive, but Spike knew it wouldn’t be that way for long.

“Girls,” Spike croaked before coughing up thick, dark, red blood.

Twilight almost lost composure when she heard how terrible her number one assistant turned Royal Advisor looked and spoke. She knelt down beside his body as Spike grew weaker.

“I’m here, Spike. You're going to be okay now,” she managed to say between cries.

“If only that were the case. It looks like this is the end of the line for me,” Spike wheezed, sounding even worse than before. “I had a good run with you girls.”

“Spike, please! Don’t Go,” Twilight pleaded as she finally broke down in a fit of sobs. “I can’t lose you, please!”

“Twilight, it’s okay,” Spike rasped as he coughed up more blood. “Equestria is safe. More importantly, you’re all safe. I can’t ask for more than that.”

Spike felt his vision start to go blurry. He knew he was running out of time to tell a certain unicorn how he truly felt about her.

“Rarity,” the dying dragon choked out, getting the heartbroken fashionista's attention. “There’s something I need to tell you before I go.”

“What is it?” Rarity asked.

Spike found it harder and harder to speak as the last few seconds of his short life passed. It was getting harder and harder to even breathe, he felt a numbing sensation starting to move up his body, and fatigue was starting to slowly overwhelm the tiny being.

“I...love...you,” Spike wheezed out, his message barely audible to the ponies around him. No sooner did he say his last word, then did the numbness finally spread all the way up his body. His eyes slowly fluttered shut as his last breath left his nose. He did it, he finally told Rarity how he truly felt about her, he had saved Equestria, and his friends were out of harm’s way. He was now at peace as the last of his senses faded away. According to Spike, he couldn’t have asked for it to turn out a better way.

The Mane 6, however, didn’t seem to share Spike optimism. They all began to bawl uncontrollably as their friend finally passed on, even Applejack, who was always known for crying on the inside, was a sobbing wreck. Seconds felt like minutes and minutes felt like hours as they unleashed their sorrowful cries. They were soon surrounded by a clear, dome-shaped forcefield as their allies and the Princesses crested the top of the hill. With Grogar’s bell destroyed, the Princesses and Discord had now gotten their magic back. The Mane 6 paid no attention to their allies’ arrival as they continued to greive for the loss of their friend.

Thorax and Ember were at the front of the pack. They saw the villains still unconscious and the ponies sitting and hunched over someone or something. They flew down and inform the rest of the group.

“Tirek, Chrysalis, and Cozy Glow are knocked out. They don’t seem to have their enchanted powers anymore either, and Twilight and the girls seem fine, but they’re hunched over someone or something,” Thorax relayed.

“Can we head down there to see what the fuss is about?” Ember asked.

Yes, we can go with you,” Princess Celestia said. “My Sister and I will have our guards subdue these creatures before they can do anymore harm.”

With the company of the Princesses, Ember and Thorax flew down to the Element Bearers. As they got closer, they heard what sounded like crying coming from the ponies.

“Thorax, it sounds like they’re crying,” Ember said.

“Yeah,” Thorax replied. “I wonder what’s got them so upset.”

Celestia and Luna broke off with their guards to restrain the villains, while Ember and Thorax landed behind the ponies.
The ponies didn’t acknowledge the arrival of the Dragon Lord and Changeling King. They just continued to sob hysterically. Confused by their conduct, they walked around the force field to get a better look at what got them in such a hysterical state. Once Ember and Thorax got to where they were facing the ponies, their eyes widened, and they let out a horrified gasp. The ponies stopped crying and looked up at the new arrivals.

“N-No, i-it can’t be,” Thorax sputtered.

“I-Is he d-dead?” Ember asked, hesitant to say the last word of her question.

"Y-yes,” Rarity managed to choke out between sobs. “S-Spike’s d-dead!”

Ember and Thorax felt tears welling up in their eyes as they saw the dragon that had helped them get into the position they were in now.

“Celestia! Luna!” screamed Thorax, trying his best not to break down and start sobbing right then and there.

“What? What's wrong?” Luna asked as she and Celestia ran over to them.

“Spike’s gone! He’s dead!” Thorax cried as he finally broke down.

Celestia and Luna ran over to where the sobbing Element Bearers were, saw Spike’s limp body, and quickly flew up to the hill crest where all of Equestria was waiting.

“Deactivate the forcefield, now,” Celestia ordered, starting to feel nausoeous from the grusome sight of Spike's body.

“What’s the matter, Princesses?” Chancellor Neighsay asked.

“Spike is dead, we need to get a better look at the damage to him,” Luna said trying her best not cry.

Without another word every Unicorn’s horn stopped glowing. The forcefield vanished instantly. The second it did, Ember and Thorax bolted to the huddle of ponies and joined them. Once they got a good look at their fallen friend, they almost passed out. They immediately noticed how his body was impaled by so many shards of Groger’s bell, how he was drenched in dark red blood from all his cuts and scratches, and how his abdomen was burnt almost to a crisp. His eyes were peacefully closed.

“Spike, no,” Ember choked out as she felt tears starting to ooze down her cheeks.

She put a finger on Spike left wrist, which was surprisingly undamaged, to somehow hold out hope that he was still alive. She didn’t feel a pulse. It was at this moment that Ember and Thorax knew that Spike, the dragon that had helped clear Thorax’s name for him to be accepted into Pony kind and the dragon who had melted Ember’s walls and had helped her reach the Bloodstone Sceptor in order to become the new Dragon Lord, was no more.

The Princesses, after what seemed like forever, flew down to join the other eight lamenting creatures. They were all overcome with grief. The villains were defeated and Equestria was safe from the Legion of Doom, but at what cost? A young boy had given up his life for his friends, his family, and his home.

“Twilight,” whispered Celestia, her eyes starting to fill with fresh tears. “What happened?”

After hearing this, Twilight stopped crying and got the composure to speak. Celestia felt heartbroken staring down at her pupil’s sad, red-rimmed, puffy eyes.

The lavender Alicorn tearfully explained how Spike had grabbed the bell, had taunted the Legion of Doom into chasing him, and how he tricked them into destroying the object that was reponsible for all their powers. She found it harder to speak as she went into detail about finding him in the rubble and in his final words to them saying that as long as his friends and Equestria were safe, that was all that mattered.

The thought of reciting the awful scene to the Princesses, Ember, and Thorax made the Twilight and her friends cry even harder. Thorax and the Princesses all silently cried. Ember, however, was a different story.

“No! No! No! This isn’t fair! THIS ISN'T FAIR!!!” Ember screamed as she fell to her knees, repeatedly punched the ground, and finally began crying hysterically. “Spike didn’t deserve this!”

From the hillcrest above, Dragons, Ponies, Changelings, Griffons, Hippogriffs, and Kirins all began to cry silently. No creature had peeled their eyes away from where the Princesses, Element Bearers, Dragon Lord, and Changeling King all huddled around their fallen comrade.

Equestria hadn’t lost its greatest hero that day, it had lost its savior that day.

There was one creature, however, that felt the saddest and guiltiest out of them all. Discord.

“Oh, Spike,” he whispered to no one in particular, tears stinging his eyes. “I did this. I’m so sorry.”

Author's Notes:

R.I.P. Spike The Brave and Glorious.

New chapter coming soon.

Please go easy on me this is my first time writing a story for this site.

The Funeral

Author's Notes:

I'm not really good at writing funeral speeches, but I gave it my best shot. Prepare for some major feels.

EDIT: It's come to my attention that Big Mac and the CMC's didn't get to give a funeral speech. I sincerely apologize for that.

Twilight and her friends never ceased crying as they were transported back to the Castle of Friendship. When they walked into their home, they all silently and slowly headed for Twilight's room, crowded onto her bed, and embraced each other as tight as they could. Within a half hour, they had fallen asleep, due to sheer exhaustion from crying so much. The princesses were relieved to see the Element Bearers finally asleep and away from any depression. They looked peaceful as they softly snored the remainder of the day away.

Thorax and Ember were too emotionally shattered to fly back home. They were given a guest room that was one floor above Twilight's room. Unlike the ponies, however, Thorax and Ember spent the remainder of the day, and half the night, embracing each other tightly and crying their eyes out into each other's shoulders. Anyone who passed by their room knew it was best to just leave them be.

When Starlight Glimmer heard about her best friends fate at the top of the hill from the princesses, she immediately went pale. When she returned to the castle with her sobbing friends, she quickly trotted into her room, locked the door, and refused to come out unless she needed to eat or use the bathroom. Everytime someone in the castle greeted her in the rare moments that she was out, she'd wave back, but her expression always seemed so blank and they got no words of acknowledgement. For the time she was in her room, Starlight would usually be seen blankly staring out the window. Anyone passing by would get a small wave from the pink Unicorn but nothing more.

THREE DAYS LATER

This was the day that everycreature in Equestria dreaded, Spike's Funeral. Everyone had the day off so they could come to the terrible event. The day was hard for everyone who knew and loved Spike. For the Elements, Starlight, Ember, and Thorax, however, they felt like they were going through hell. Everything felt so slow from the moment they had woken up and realized what day it was. After what seemed like forever, the nine devastated creatures finally came to a large gate with a sign that read "Canterlot Cemetary". They felt tears welling up as the gate opened up and they walked inside.

The Pegusai had rejected to do their duties for the day, leaving a cloudy, grey sky up above. The gloomy weather seemed to fit the atmosphere very well. There was a giant crowd of Ponies, Dragons, Griffons, Hippogriffs, Changelings, and Kirins that all stared at a small hole in the ground in the shape of a perfect 10x8 rectangle.

The despondent ennead walked to the front of the pack without saying a word and sat down. Accompanying them at the front were the Young 6, Twilight Velvet, Night Light, Shining Armor, Queen Novo, Princess Skystar, Tempest Shadow, Gabby Griffon, Garble and his posse, who were hugging and trying their best to comfort a sobbing Smolder, Pharynx, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and Big Macintosh, who was doing everything he could think of to help to console a grief-stricken Discord, who was also crying uncontrollably.

Just as they sat down, Princess Celestia, Luna, and Cadence came from the left in a slow, steady trot. Behind them was a gold-plated coffin bathed in Celestia's yellow aura. Everyone felt sick seeing it knowing full well who was inside. The crestfallen Princesses all walked to the center of the front of the crowd and set the casket on a stand for everyone to see. Behind the coffin and Princesses was a giant object that was covered by a large, white sheet.

"Good afternoon, Mares, Gentlecolts, Fillies, Colts, Dragons, Griffons, Hippogriffs, Changelings, and Kirins," Celestia started before wiping away a tear. "We are gathered here today to mourn the end of the life of the greatest Dragon ever known to all of Equestria. Three days earlier, Spike bravely fought against the Legion of Doom to prevent them from killing his friends. The autopsy revealed that his wings had been broken before he had died. Yet, despite his injuries, he still fought against the threat. He successfully tricked the Legion to fire magic blasts at the very object that granted them their power. The magic overloaded the bell and it exploded, stripping the Legion's members of all their powers. Unfortunately, the blast also sent shards of the bell into Spike's little body, the magic blast burned most of his abdomen to a crisp and, according to the autopsies, his ability to taste and smell were lost almost instantly due to his sinuses being fried beyond repair. The magic was also powerful enough to destroy his immune system and his internal organs were so badly damaged, they were almost unrecognisable."

Everyone in the front row immediatly broke down upon hearing the extent of Spike terminal injuries. Garble and his buddies tried their hardest not to cry as they had to stay strong to provide comfort for Smolder, who was crying harder after listening to just how badly her deceased friend had been hurt for the last few moments in his life. For the Mane 6, Starlight, Ember, and Thorax, however, it was just another sickening reminder of why they were there.

"By some miracle, he survived the blast and told his friends before he died that if they and Equestria were safe, that was all that mattered to him," Celestia paused again and wiped away another tear. "He was known by many in the Crystal Empire as Spike the Brave and Glorious and there couldn't have been a more perfect demonstration of that term than what he did to save not just the ponies, but every creature in Equestria."

Everyone, despite their sorrow, found a sliver of comfort from Celestia's speech. The Mane 6, Ember, Thorax felt the most touched out of them all. It was the most beautiful thing they ever heard. Celestia cleared her throat and everyone fell silent once more.

"Anyone who wishes to say their final goodbyes, may do so now," the Sun Princess said and looked over to Luna and Cadence. They nodded to each other and the top half of the coffin was surronded by Celestia's yellow aura as it slowly opened it to reveal its contents.

Everyone's sliver of comfort from Celestia's speech vanished and over half the crowd lost contol of their emotions at the awful sight in front of them.

Spike was wearing a tuxedo, his arms were folded over his chest, his eyes were still as peacefully closed as they were since his death three days ago, and a small smile plastered his mouth.

Rainbow volunteered to go first, she sighed heavily before speaking.

"Spike, what you did to save all of us is beyond brave. You really are gutsier than I probably will ever be. I know I sometimes I pick on you, but everytime, you've proven me wrong and you don't even gloat about it. I've idolized the Wonderbolts for all my life. Now that I've become one, I haven't had anything to idolize until now. Spike, you're my new idol. I want to be more like you. To be honest, you'd probably be a better candidate for Loyalty than I would. You showed my element when you broke free of Twilight's grasp and fought against those fiends despite your wings broken," she felt tears welling up as she kept her eyes locked on the deceased dragon's face. She leaned in and kissed Spike right between his eyebrows. "Thank you, Spike, for everything."

Rainbow Dash found it harder to walk as she made her way back to her friends. Applejack and Fluttershy noticed this, met Rainbow halfway across the floor, and assisted her back to her seat.

Pinkie was up next. She slowly made her way to the coffin that served as her friend's final resting bed. Her mane was deflated and her fur seemed a darker, more dreary shade of pink. She felt tears welling up in her sky blue eyes as she looked at her friend.

"Oh, Spike," she whimpered fighting back the urge to break down right then and there. "I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry. You had your whole life ahead of you, and you could've touched so many lives with your smile, your laugher, and your joy. All those fun times we shared together, all those delicious goodies we baked together, and all those happy memories we made together. All the things I can't do anymore without you," she paused as she wiped a tear from her eye then smiled sadly. "But you know what? I bet you're making tons of friends already on the other side with your jokes and humor, and that is something I can smile about," she planted a little peck on his right cheek before walking back towards her friends, still wearing that sad smile.

Fluttershy got up next. She swallowed hard and wiped away her tears.

"Spike, you truly are the kindest creature I've ever met. You've always set aside your needs to help someone else, even at the expense of your own joy or pleasure. Before I met you, I always feared dragons and I avoided them whenever possible. You, however, showed me that there's more than meets the eye on your species by breaking that mold and giving others like Thorax a chance and saving Ember from drowning and giving her the Bloodstone Sceptor even though you got to it first. Then you met your ultimate fate. At first I was devastated by what happened, but as time went on, I came to realize you did it for us. You were kind enough to give your life up just so we could all keep going. In a way, you represented my Element of Kindness that day. I've learned a lot from you, Spike," she paused as she smiled at Spike. Contrary to Pinkie, however, this one was with happiness, her turquoise eyes radiating with hope and warmth. "Grateful doesn't begin to describe how I feel for being your friend. Even though I accept what happened, that doesn't mean I won't miss you," she said in a voice that was a little bit louder than her usual timid tone before leaning into the coffin and kissing the fallen dragon right on the tip of his nose. She made her way back to her shocked friends, even though it felt good pouring her heart out in that speech, she still felt weary of the catastrophic results that unfolded after that horrendous battle three days earlier.

Applejack took the next shot.

"Well, Spike, I guess this is goodbye. I feel so lost without you. Who's going to work off for a life debt for me after I saved them from a timberwolf?" she stopped and chuckled sadly, remembering that self-imposed debt that he had promised to work off after she saved his life. "Spike, You truly are a dedicated friend and worker. You represented my Element, when you were throughly honest when told us how grateful you were that we were all safe even though you were dying. It's gonna be mighty quiet without you around. I'll miss you, sugarcube. I've always thought of you as my brother. I would've considered you to be my younger brother except you acted mature enough to be my older brother," she sighed and tears began to well up in her eyes. "I know I usually cry on the inside, but this is something that even I can't keep bottled up." She looked down toward him and tried her very best not to break down in a fit of sobs, "You were such a good soul, Spike. You didn't deserve this," she choked out. Now, it was taking every ounce of the apple farmer's strength not to break down. She shakily kissed Spike's head just below where his head crest ended. The usually strong, tough earth pony looked like a foal that had just gotten a knee scrape. She got no more than three-eigths to her seat before it all became two much to bear at last and she finally collapsed curled into a ball and silently cried not caring who watched. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash immediately got up to cart their emotionally crushed friend back to her seat. The two Pegasi sat between their woebegone teammate when they did reach her seat, embraced her with both their legs and wings, and refused to loosen their grip.

Next up, were the Cutie Mark Crusaders followed by Applejack's older brother, Big Macintosh. Apple Bloom was riding on her brother and was sobbing heavily into the back of the stallion's crimson neck. In fact, Apple Bloom hadn't stopped crying once since last night. It was physically exhausting for the young filly to the point where she couldn't even walk.

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle jumped up on Big Mac's back. Once she saw her friends with her, Apple Bloom felt a bit of comfort knowing that she now had company who could help her alone .

"Spike," Sweetie Belle began. "You have always been Apple Bloom's Scootaloo's, and my best friend. You've always pitched in to help us find our cutie marks and supported us when we felt discouraged after failing. When we did get them you never left our side."

Sweetie teared up as she remembered a time when her friends and she accompanied Spike and Rarity on a gem hunting trip hoping to earn their cutie marks in mining. Unfortunately, they didn't do well. Spike, however, didn't like seeing Sweetie and her friends so downtrodden after what happened. He lifted their spirits when he told them that there was a whole, wide world full of talents out there. They just needed help finding thiers and the purple dragon was more than happy to pitch in to help them out. True to his word, he had helped the trio of fillies out with trying over three dozen talents, but still no luck. Despite this, Spike's optimism never faultered.

"Adding to that, you've stood up to those who bullied us," Scootaloo said. "And you made sure we were okay after you dealt with them."

The orange Pegasus recalled a short time ago when a colt was chewing them out for something relatively minor. Spike saw what happened and confronted him about it. After a brief argument, they both got really angry and likely would've fought each other that day had Ms. Cheerilee not intervened. After Ms. Cheerilee sent the colt away, Spike had calmed down and asked if any of the three fillies were hurt. Much to Spike's relief they weren't.

Apple Bloom had gotten herself together and managed to look at her slain friend.

"Then there was the time you spent your day off at Sweet Apple Acres staying with me when you heard from Applejack that I had a cold. You refused to leave my side and I remember you even sang me a lullaby to help put me to sleep. All those kind things you've done lead all three of us to eventually grow a crush on you for your kindness. We just wish we could've told you sooner," Apple Bloom confessed, feeling a small amount of relief after getting her confession off her chest.

The trio of filies leaned into the casket and simultaneously kissed Spike's still cheek. The heartbroken trio then hopped off Big Mac's back and ran back to their seats without another word.

Once the filles were back to their seats, Big Mac turned around and faced Spike. The usually stoic stallion had felt sad when he thought Sugar Belle, but it was nothing compared to what he felt now.

"Spike," he began. "It's gonna be really different now that you're gone. I'm still trying to comprehend how you decided that you wanted to go out like that, just to keep us out of harm's way. Guys' night won't be the same without you. Discord's been feeling really, really guilty about what happened. I convinced him to come, but he's too emotionally distraught to even speak." The crimson stallion sighed heavily. Like his other close friends, Spike's death had done a number to him emotionally. "I also knew about Apple Bloom having a crush on you. At first, I thought she'd get over it, but overtime I saw her falling for you even more, and I wasn't surprised. You know how to treat her right and that's something I really respect in someone. I wanted her to confess her love to you, but like all kids in love, she was just too nervous to do so. I remember all those times that Apple Bloom always comes home telling me about how she and her friends would always strike out on quests for cutie marks and how you'd always come in to lift their spirits and encourage them not to give up hope. You've shown me how much of a kind, sweet boy you are, Spike. To be honest, if you would've gotten together with Apple Bloom, I'd trust you without a second thought. You are without a doubt, the coolest guy I've ever met," Big Mac finished. With nothing left to say, he slowly trotted back to where the Cutie Mark Crusaders were seated and hugged all three fillies tightly.

Even though he may have not been Spike's biggest fan, Garble felt like he owed Spike this one. He was a little reluctant to leave his Smolder's side as she had never ceased sobbing when they had first gotten to the funeral, but his buddies took his place comforting her. He took a deep breath and rubbed the back of his neck.

"I may not always liked you, Spike, but after today, you've undoubtedly earned my full respect. Looking back, I am beyond thankful that you came to the dragonlands to cheer me up despite me being a total douche. I know I've always mocked you for being a wimp, but it seems, as usual, I was wrong about about you. That day, you proved you really are as tough as me and my buddies, maybe even more so. When Smolder and I received news that you had perished after successfully saving all of us, we felt like our whole world came crashing down. I've heard that you always put your pony pals ahead of yourself. At first, felt like all was lost for me, until I took one look at Smolder when she heard the news. I made me realize that I needed be there for her and I could deal with my emotions. That's what friends and family do for each other. You may be gone, but you've successfully done something no one else would dare. Straightening me out, and teaching me a very valuable life lesson. So long, little buddy. I cannot thank you enough for helping guide me down the right path," Garble smiled sadly before giving a military salute to his former rival. "Rest easy, warrior. You've fought well."

After some coaxing from Garble, Smolder had managed to get her emotions together and slowly stood up. The usually tomboyish dragon felt numb to the bone.

The orange dragon turned to her older brother. "Did you bring it, Gar-Gar?"

Garble nodded and handed Smolder what she was asking for, a red rose that had been stripped of its thorns.

"Thank you," Smolder whispered. She then slowly made her way to where Spike lay in his golden casket. She slipped the rose inbetween the fingers on his hand that was on top and the back of his hand on the bottom before she took a shaken breath and began to speak. "Spike, you truly are an example of what it means to be a dragon. You're cool, brave, strong, and you have a heart of pure, solid gold. I am fortunate to have become your friend even if was for a very short time. There's also something else I need to get off my back. Ever since you helped reform my brother, Garble, I started getting this weird feeling whenever I was around you, my heart would feel so light and fluttery and my face would always heat up a bit. I also got this feeling when I began thinking of you. I asked my friends why I felt this way and they told me I, like the Cutie Mark Crusaders, had fallen for you. At first, I didn't believe them, but as time went on, I realized they were right. I love you, Spike, more than anything. I wanted to tell you this after the battle with the Legion of Doom, but I guess fate had other plans in mind," she paused as she leaned into the coffin, closed her eyes, and planted a kiss on the dead center of the sleeping adolesent's forehead. "Sleep tight, cutie pie."

Smolder backtracked no more than one-quarter of her path back her seat before she collapsed and broke down in another fit of tears. Garble immediately sprang from his seat, scooped her up, carried her back to where his buddies and he were, and held her tightly against his chest for the rest of the time.

Thorax decided to go next. The shaken King felt like throwing up looking at Spike in his final resting place. After 15 seconds of pure, dead silence, Thorax broke the ice and began to slowly but surely got out his words.

"H-hey, buddy," Thorax sputtered almost hesitant to speak. "This is pretty hard for all of us especially Ember and me. You were always there for both of us and you never asked for anything in return from either of us. I'm partially to blame for that one because I never thought to give you anything. My biggest regret, as well as Ember's, is that we couldn't be there for you, to return the favor. If i weren't for you, not only would I still be on the run from everyone, but the changelings would also not be reformed," He paused, almost losing composture. "I feel like a piece of me is missing now. I feel scared, Spike. I was told by Twilight how you were so brave that day, how you were able to make a split-second decision to save those you loved, and how you fought through your pain to destroy the Legion. I could never have thought so quickly, let alone work through that much pain. Then to add to that, you displayed your selflessness one more final time when you told your friends that as long as we were all safe, you could rest easy," Thorax said, then he sighed. He had no tears left to cry. "I hope you're well taken care of on the other side, Spike. You've earned it." Thorax walked off, feeling not just sad, but empty too. His head hung low and his usually vivid purple eyes seemed faded.

After Thorax sat back down, Ember made her way next to the deceased Spike.

"I don't know what to think right now, Spike. Like Thorax, I too feel like a piece if me is missing. If it weren't for you, i wouldn't be the Dragon Lord. You weren't just my friend, you were the torch that had helped light my way and guide me through the other end of the dark tunnel that was my opinion of ponies and friendship. With you gone, I feel like I'm entering a whole, new, dark tunnel, except this time I don't have a torch to guide me through it," she paused for a brief moment. "Thorax and I were absolutely devastated when we saw you. We were so broken up in fact, that we couldn't even fly back home. We were granted a room in Twilight's Castle and we did nothing in that room except just cry thinking about you. Unfair is an understatement of what the results of that battle were that day, You didn't deserve this, Spike. You had so much to look forward to in this world and you threw it away saving us. Even though I'm eternally grateful of what you did, I would give anything to turn back the clock to just show up five minutes earlier than we did," Ember began to tear up and it felt harder and harder to keep her composture. "This isn't fair. You didn't deserve to go out like that. When I think about it more, you deserve the title of Dragon Lord more than I do. You got to the Bloodstone Sceptor first, but you handed it to me out of pure kindness." Ember started feeling really bad, "What did I do for you in return? Nothing. I never considered ever asking you if I could help you out with anything important. You always came to me if I needed help." Ember could take no more, and became the third creature that day to break down and cry at the funeral. All that guilt that suddenly reared its ugly head to her during her speech. She realized all her mistakes, and she could now do nothing to fix them.

Fluttershy quickly ran over to the sobbing Dragon Lord and wrapped her wings and hooves around her in a comforting hug. "Shh, there there. It's okay," she whispered soothingly before slowly helping Ember back to her seat.

After Ember was Starlight. Even though she held that same blank expression from the time Spike had died to the night before the funeral. She now looked really . She was in such shock since Spike's death and her mind felt so empty, like a big, white, unpainted canvas. For those three days, the reality of the results of that grueling battle were slowly setting into her mind. By the time she had woken up today and realized with the others that today was the day that they had to come say a final goodbye to their dearest friend, everything had been fully digested. Now that she was up, it only added to how real the situation was. She looked down at him and began speaking without even realizing it.

"Spike, you don't know how lucky I feel to have met and become friends with such a special dragon like you. You were always there for me in my time of need. You were always on the front lines to help me out of a jam when I needed it most. Even after my many, many screw-ups, you never got mad at me. Instead, you accepted me for who I was and you still considered me your friend no matter what happened. I was looking forward to making so many happy memories with you after this hectic adventure was over. Unforunately, the Legion made you throw all that out when they threatened the lives of Twilight and the others. In that moment, you made a choice and single-handedly saved your friends and defeated the villains. In the time you died to this point, I was in such shock by what happened. I spent every second of the last 72 hours trying to fully comprehend your good deed," she let out a sad sigh and a tear hit the ground. "I know you may be gone, but your heroic deeds as well as your spirit lives on inside our hearts and memories." She finished, then before she walked back, she planted a kiss just below his ear fin.

Once Starlight was seated, Rarity had been scheduled to go next. This was the moment that the fashionista looked forward to and dreaded at the same time. The last three words that Spike had said to her still circled around her head. His raspy voice, his vibrant, Emerald eyes slowly losing their light as he croaked out his confession to her. She had completely ignored that he had a crush on her for so long. She had brushed off the way he had always carried her baggage for her, how he'd volunteer to be her pincushion, and how he looked at her so lovingly. She had a small saddlebag in her which had surprisingly gone unnoticed by everyone there. Her mascara was running down her cheeks and staining her perfect, white fur. how she looked, however, was the last thing on her mind.

"Oh, my little Spikey-Wikey," Rarity whimpered out feeling a whole, new wave of rush over her remembering that nickname she had given him. "I don't deserve you. You've always had a crush on me and I never really took it seriously until now. After you perished saving us and you managed to croak out that you loved me, I slowly began to recall all the things you did for me. The time you volunteered to be my personal pincushion, the time you gave me that fire ruby, and all the times you've carried my baggage, all the while not asking for anything in return. When I look at it more, I realize you represent the element of Generosity more than I do, especially during that battle. You were generous enough to give up everything, including your life, just to ensure that your best friends were all safe. When I look back, I've realized I've taken advantage of your affections and I feel absolutely ashamed of myself. You've always stood by my side when I've cried over stallions who aren't interested in dating me. All this time, the universe was trying to tell me to stop pursuing stallions and get with the one who had always stood by my side no matter how out of line I acted. Unfortunately, I was too blind to see it" she paused and sniffled before using a tissue she had brought to blow her nose and wipe her eyes. "After all you've done for me, Spike, I think it's high time I returned the favor."

She reached into her saddlebag and pulled out the only thing inside, Spike's fire ruby except that it didn't have it's golden necklace. It still looked as flawless and shiny as it did when it was given to the fashionista all those years ago. Spike's still hands were suddenly enveloped in Rarity's light blue aura and lifted up off his chest. Rarity was careful not to disturb Smolder's rose as she levatated the fire ruby into the coffin and gently wedged it inbetween the little dragon's hands and chest. She smiled down at the finished product, before leaning into the coffin and kissed Spike for a solid two seconds on his lips. She broke away and looked sadly at him.

"You've given me your heart so many times, Spike. I regret that I have just this one time to give you mine," Rarity said. She walked away after casting one last look at her knight in shining scales.

Now, it was Twilight's turn. She felt the most crushed out of everyone there. She had hatched Spike and had spent everyday of his short life with him. He was always considered to be her "Number One Assistant". Overtime, however, the two grew closer and the lavendar Alicorn slowly began to consider Spike as, not just a friend, but as her son.

"Spike," Twilight choked out overcome with unbelievable grief. "You're the best best thing that has ever happened to me. You've always been there to keep me in check if I'm ever on the verge of going insane, you're always helped me to get my jobs done without complaining. I know I've always considered you my number one assistant for things like that. As time went on, however, I felt like you were more than an assistant to me. You made your way into my heart enough to make me consider you my son. I rue the fact that I never told you this sooner. In fact, after the battle, I was planning to take you with me so you could see me signing the adoption papers so I could be your foster mother, but because of my neglect to come up with a plan to save you, my only child, we can never share the happy times that a mother and son usually share together," She began to cry. "To top it all off, I realized that my friends and I have almost never considered taking you on our missions. You've always been stuck at the castle or the library cleaning up the place so it looks nice for us when we get back." By now, Twilight was now sobbing. All her past mistakes that she had done without even realizing them hit her full-on. "I'm a horrible, mother," she whispered through her tears.

Upon hearing this, Twilight Velvet, Night Light, Shining Armor, Starlight, AppleJack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie immediately got up, walked over to Twilight, and embraced her as tight as they could in another comforting hug.

"It's okay, Twi," whispered Applejack. "We know you never meant to hurt him."

The nine ponies slowly carried the sobbing Princess back to her seat and reembraced her for the rest of the time

Once Twilight was carried back, Celestia, Luna, and Cadence gently closed the top of the coffin, lifted it off the stand, and began to slowly lower the golden box into its final station six feet underground.

Before the Princesses were able to get it even a foot under, however, Ember, Garble and his posse, Smolder, and all the other dragons stood up, walked to the hole in the ground, formed a line on either side of it, turned 180 degrees to face the crowd, looked up, and breathed fire at the sky for a solid 30 seconds. The fire altered colors as it was emmitted, changing from purple to green and green to purple. Everyone watched in awe as the dragons put on their fire show to honor Spike.

Once the dragons sat back down, a Phoenix came flying overhead followed by another 200 more. The Phonix squawked orders at the other Phoenixes and they began to make a shape while flying in the sky. Within 30 seconds, the shape was complete, and everyone realized that the Phonixes had made Spike's head in the sky while flying in place. Then the Phoenix in the lead broke off and flew down toward the coffin hovering no more that two feet above Spike. It didn't take a genius to figure out that was Peewee. Peewee looked down sadly at his owner lying in his final resting bed before looking up to the sky and letting out a mournful squawk to the clouds. The other Phoenixes followed suite and squawked toward the sky, mourning the Dragon who had saved Peewee from certain death. After finishing his mournful squawking, Peewee landed in the coffin, wrapped his wings around Spike head, and nuzzled his cheek lovingly. The he flew back up to join the other Phoenixes in the sky. They all cast one last look at the open coffin before flying back to the Everfree Forest

As the Pewee and his flock flew back home, the rectangular hole was slowly refilled with the dirt that had been dug up earlier. It felt painfully slow for The Element Bearers, Ember, Starlight, and Thorax to watch Equestria's rulers bury their life-long friend.

After what seemed like forever, the hole was refilled and the tragic event was almost over. The princesses went over to the object that was obscured by the white sheet and they slowly pulled the white sheet away. Once it was off the object was revealed to be a statue of Spike. He was wearing body armor and holding a sword in his right hand while looking up at the sky with a determined expression. There was a plaque on the front of the base of the statue with letters carved into it.

The statue looked beautiful and well detailed. Unfortunately for Twilight, it only seemed to taunt her by making her realize just how real this was. Spike, her soon-to-be son, was dead and wasn't coming back. She was literally living a nightmare. The lavendar Alicorn began to feel even worse and her friends as well as the other Princesses took notice.

One by one, Ponies, Dragons, Griffons, Changelings, Kirins, and Hippogriffs slowly began trickling out of the cemetary. The Mane 6, Starlight, Twilight's parents, Shining Armor, Ember, Garble and his pack of friends, Smolder, Gabby, and Thorax all stayed behind to gaze at the statue and be reminded of Spike.

Celestia walked over to the still sobbing Twilight.

"Twilight," she whispered in a tone that was even softer the Fluttershy's.

Twlight sniffed and looked up her mentor. Her purple eyes reflected unimaginable amounts of pain and sorrow.

"If you or any of your friends ever need any emotional support, please don't be afraid to ask us for help. With each other's help, we can be strong and hopefully be able to move past this event," Celestia said. "Spike would've wanted it that way."

Twilight broke down again, "HOW do you expect us to "move on" from this?! Spike was the rock that supported ALL OF US in our time of need! Now he's gone not because of his heroic actions, but because I was LITERALLY too stupid to put a plan together and save my son," Twilight choked out between sobs before she began crying even harder. "It's all my fault."

Fluttershy immediately spun Twilight around so that she was facing the cream colored Pegasus. Fluttershy pressed her nose to Twilight's and gave her a very stern glare.

"Twilight," Fluttershy began in a serious tone, her usual soft tone had vanished. "I know you miss Spike more than all of us combined, but I want to get something straight right now. None of this was your fault, you could've done nothing to prevent this. I too felt like this could've been prevented, but then I realized he did it for all of us. He gave up his future, his dreams just to ensure that Equestria was safe again. If it were you in that casket and Spike was here, he would've wanted to be there for us and would've wanted to know that we were able to fully cope with loss before being able to move on. If you want to remember Spike the most, take lessons from what he did so you won't be able to make the same mistakes in the future. I know it's tough for all of us now, but we'll find a way through this, I promise."

Gabby, who hadn't said a word since the start of the day, also spoke up. "Adding on to that, we all should remember him for not just who he was to us, but what he meant to all of us, Twilight," the grey Griffon said. Her usual perky, happy demeanor was gone, but in its place stood a Gabby that was there for someone in need of a shoulder to cry on.

Twilight teared up again. Except this time, it was out of happiness.

"Thank you, Fluttershy. Thank you, Gabby. I really needed that," Twilight said through her tears. For the first time in three days, she felt her hope and strength return to her.

"Anytime," the Pegasus and Griffon said in unison.

Everyone cast one last look at Spike's statue before slowly making their way out of the cemetery.

"Hey, Twilight, Celestia," Garble asked. "If it isn't too much to ask, can my buddies and I stay with Smolder in her dorm room? I want to be there for her to help guide her through this."

"I don't see why not," Twilight smiled at Garble.

"Thanks" Garble smiled back.

"Night Light and I would also like to stay in the castle," Twilight Velvet said. "We need to also be there to help Twilight in case she needs it."

Princess Celestia beamed warmly, "Certainly, you two."

"Well, we got to head back, but Thorax and I will make sure to visit you all at least once a week," Ember said.

"Take care, everyone," Rarity said.

"Thanks, Rarity. You too," Gabby responded with a little bit of her perky attitude returning to her voice.

Everyone bid each other farewell before heading back to their respective homes.

As everyone headed back home, they were all filled with new hope. Spike's death was a true tragedy, but in that tragedy, lessons were learned and in a way, they had all come out stronger because of it.