Two days had passed, and in those two days the world had been turned upside down for the inhabitants of Ponyville. The majority of the town's populace had returned as soon as possible the previous day, and most were overwhelmed by the lack of destruction they were sure would occur after their evacuation; some even questioning the judgement of their Princesses. Other than a few buildings on the outskirts being levelled, nothing much within the town had changed. The outside of Ponyville was a completely different story.

To the south west, between Sweet Apple Acres, Fluttershy's Cottage, and the Everfree Forest, the huge expanse of land that had once consisted of rolling meadows and open fields was now a torn and jagged mess. Several wounds marked the landscape. From scorched earth to huge craters, splintered colossal bones and even a pillar of rock that now towered several stories into the air; all stark reminders of the scale of the battle that had taken place only two days prior.

Almost all the inhabitants of Ponyville were gathered on a largely unscathed patch close to where the destruction had taken place, preparing to pay their respects to the dead. Of the original 117 guards who had answered the call to arms, 89 had been killed. Another 16 were maimed, leaving a total of only 12 guards physically unscathed. Mentally however, these stallions and mares would never truly heal, that much was blatantly clear to those closest to them. They would live their lives each day remembering how easily they could have died, and how, by pure chance, they had escaped the terrible fate that so many of their friends and comrades had suffered. Each day they would question why it was they that had survived, whilst so many foals and colts would never see their mothers or fathers again, as they were now; if the haunted expressions on their faces were any indication.

The Bearers were faring no better than the day they had when they learned of what had happened. Each had been grieving in their own way, isolated from one another for two days until this point. Only when the time had come to reminisce the life of their friend did they see face-to-face once again.

[Two days earlier]
Having aided the evacuees upon Ponyville's exodus, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack and Pinkie had returned from Canterlot upon Celestia's summons. One of the royal carriages was dispensed at the Princess's order - much to Rainbow's disgruntlement - and the four had returned relatively quickly in comparison to how they had arrived in Canterlot in the first place; no longer needing to keep track of hundreds of ponies at once. However, when the carriage finally began its descent, Rainbow Dash, along with the others, found herself to be grateful for having a seat to slump into as her legs weakened beneath her. Even from their high altitude, it was obvious that the magnitude of the battle had been incredible; the land itself seemed beaten and scarred. To the horror of both Applejack and Fluttershy, all wildlife in the immediate area - plant and animal - had simply disappeared, or was in the process of dying, if not already dead.

The outlying trees of Sweet Apple Acres were now bare and brittle, the stream that ran just by Fluttershy's cottage now ran an oil slick black, and even the Everfree forest seemed to have recoiled in an arc somewhat from where the majority of the carnage had taken place. One detail stood out to the four more than any other, however, and each wished to themselves that their assumptions were wrong, but as they continued their descent there could be little room for doubt about the strange, dark tint that the earth held. Several patches of land were physically waterlogged with blood, such became more and more evident the closer they drew to the scene.

Each jumped away from the carriage windows, reeling, unable to grasp how something so horrible could have happened here, so close to their homes. Fluttershy was sobbing quietly, head in her hooves, trying not to think about what she had just seen. Applejack felt light-headed and set herself down next to the pegasus, trying to comfort her. Rainbow Dash was trying to keep face, but failing. Her legs felt weak, and she felt like she was going to throw up; horror gnawing at her composure all the while.

However, each of their troubles paled in comparison to those of Pinkie. As she seated herself, she mimicked what Fluttershy had done and put her head in her hooves, but steadily teetered back and forth, shaking her head slowly as she did so, murmuring quietly to herself all the while. If her friends hadn't been so distracted trying to calm themselves and deal with their steadily rising nausea, they would have noticed a few not-so subtle changes in Pinkie's demeanour. She was uncharacteristically quiet, and unnervingly flicking her gaze between the other three over her hooves. If they had paid closer attention, they might have noticed a few stray strands of usually puffy bubblegum hair slowly unfurl themselves before laying flat across her face, before being swept away quickly by her hoof. Were it not for Fluttershy's agitated sobs, and Applejack's consoling filling the carriage, they might even have heard what she was whispering - almost chanting - to herself under her breath.

"Go away! Please, go away..."

A few minutes later the four had regained their composures enough to stand, though Pinkie seemed noticably jittery. Applejack leaned over and placed a hoof on her shoulder, "It'll be okay, sugarcube. Don't panic. Ah'm sure everypony's fine." Pinkie seemed to relax and smiled weakly at her friend, who smiled back.

Unbeknownst to the others, behind that smile, deep in the abstract intricacies of Pinkie's mind, a cruel voice whispered out, 'I hope not...' before falling silent as it was subdued in the same way it had been countless times before. The carriage was slowing now, no doubt nearing ground level. The four now twitched with anticipation, each eager to ascertain Applejack's previous statement. As the carriage slowed to a halt, and the door flung open, they jumped out preparing to bolt in the direction of their friends. They probably would have done just that, if not for the imposing figure of Princess Celestia awaiting them outside, and the purple unicorn that laid on the ground beside her, a medical pony evaluating her, applying the occasional bandage.

Rainbow Dash was the first to speak, frantically glancing between the Princess and her friend, "Twilight?" The unicorn didn't respond. She was pale, covered in patches of blood, and her eyes were closed. An edge of panic seeped into Rainbow's voice, "Twilight!?"

The others now took a horrified step towards their friend before the Princess held out a wing quickly, grabbing their attention as it blocked their line of sight, "Calm down, all of you. Twilight is unconscious, but otherwise fine." Upon saying this she chewed her lower lip ever-so-slightly. Even she didn't yet know what the full effects of both the battle and the chaos magics would may have had upon her student, but she resolved to worry as little as possible. After all, at least Twilight was still alive.

The four stopped and looked up at the Princess, all silent now. She continued, "Twilight will be better soon enough, you need not worry. But there is something you all have to know..." the Princess's face fell.

Applejack stepped forwards, registering the expression immediately, "Where's Rarity!? Is she okay, Princess!?"

The farmer was too worried about her friend to care about interrupting the Princess, who looked at them with a pained expression but spoke, "Yes, follow me." The Princess turned and began to trot away from the carriage, the others followed, each looking at their friend as the medical pony continued to cut bandages of different shapes and sizes from a large cloth.

Applejack abruptly spoke up again, "And Spike, where's he? We could see him from the other side of Ponyville not too long ago!"

Celestia struggled not to stop there and then as she felt the fresh sting of renewed sorrow. She remained silent and kept walking.

Applejack shrugged it off, attributing the Princess's silence to her voice simply not being heard. Besides, Spike certainly seemed to be holding his own the last time she had seen him, exhaling a green inferno, and the Princess certainly didn't react like anything was wrong.

They continued on towards a white object not too far away, "Is that Rarity?" Rainbow Dash asked incredulously, squinting at the object in concentration.

"Nah, there ain't no way Rares would let herself out in public lookin' like that." Applejack replied, commenting on the splotches of dust, mud, and blood covering the object, "It's probably just another one of those creepy bone-thingies..." she continued, shuddering slightly. But as they drew ever closer, they realised, to their horror, that the object in question was indeed a pony.

"I-I think it is R-Rarity..." Fluttershy gasped in shock. The four focused their senses, trying to shut out the terrible smell on the wind as they concentrated on the pony. Then they heard it, sobbing and wailing, drifting faintly towards them on the putrid wind.

The four darted past Celestia, who wore a pained expression but continued to trot at the pace she had set for herself, trying to gather her thoughts and compose herself before she arrived. She had heard it from Luna, but that wouldn't make it much easier once she got there.

They were galloping now, even the two pegasi, seemingly too frightened by the prospect of what was happening to remember their wings. As they drew closer Pinkie finally spoke up for the first time since they had left Canterlot "It is Rarity!" she shouted, momentarily disregarding her need for precious air. The sobbing grew louder as they approached, leaving little doubt as to the pony's identity as they approached. The pony with their back turned to them was definitely the Element of Generosity, and the knowledge of such only made them gallop faster.

"What's that next to her?" Applejack asked, noticing how Rarity was hunched over something, but it was too hard to make out, even from as she closed the distance.

"RARITY!" Rainbow Dash cried out, now only a few dozen meters from her friend. No response from her either. Twilight had been out cold, but Rarity was clearly conscious, so why was she ignoring them? Why was she crying?

Rarity continued to sob as her friends approached. She had heard them call, but she didn't care. She wanted to be left alone in peace to mourn for the innocent little dragon who had acted to selflessly and ultimately sacrificed his life, and suffered an agonising death, so that she could live.

Rainbow Dash, who was now at the front of the line, just ahead of Applejack, had seen it first. She started speaking even before she skidded to a halt beside her wailing friend, "Oh no... No! No! NO NO NO!" She began to cry out, tears forming in the corners of the usually stoic pegasus' eyes as she stood by Rarity. As the other three all stopped beside her, this reaction was shared.

Applejack slowly reached up and removed her hat, falling limply onto her knees next to Rarity. Fluttershy stood stock still, tears streaming down her face, her body paralysed with shock and fear as she stared. Pinkie tried, even now, to find something positive in the situation, but there was nothing, nothing at all. As she stood behind her friends, her tears now flowing freely too, her hair began to unfurl rapidly as it straightened, her eyes began to appear much more serious, the warmth seemingly sucked from them. As the pegasi collapsed by the unicorn and other earth pony, Pinkie was the only one left standing. She cried too, but her expression was not one of loss, it was one of passiveness, as if she had seen the exact same event occur a hundred times before.

The Princess approached the cacophony of sobs and wails, and prepared herself for the worst as she looked down at what all five of their gazes were affixed to. There lay a dragon who would almost have been as tall as her stood upright, a gaping hole in his chest, his eyes closed, his head cradled in Rarity's hooves as her tears, combined with the ones from the new arrivals, formed a miniature stream flowing down his face. There lay Spike, or his body, at least. Some would say that his soul had ascended to a better place, where he would live in paradise forever. Others would argue that his spirit would live on in their memories of him day by day as the hero that saved Equestria. A few would believe that his essence had simply been extinguished and had vanished on the wind with his dying breath. Nopony would ever know. Only one thing was certain. Spike, assistant and surrogate brother to Twilight Sparkle, beloved friend of the Elements of Harmony, admirer of 'Lady' Rarity and saviour of Equestria, was dead.

They wept for their lost friend for what seemed like an eternity. All cried, and all - save two - howled from the pain of loss, of sorrow, and despair. The tear-stained face of Celestia turned towards the pink mare on her left. Both were crying, but both stood, and both remained silent. Pinkie was certainly an odd pony, but something about this didn't seem quite right to the Princess. Celestia had experienced the pain of tragedy and loss countless times throughout her long life, she had watched as her beloved subjects were massacred left, right and centre in numerous bloody battles a thousand years ago.

That was exactly the problem.

Celestia had undergone this hundreds of times, and from it a hardened resolve had emerged. Yet there stood Pinkie, her face tear-streaked but calm, her gaze cool, her legs still supporting her when even the hardest of her friends had fallen. The stance of a battle-hardened warrior watching a close friend die, and Celestia knew it well, 'How? And when?' Celestia thought to herself. Almost in response to her unspoken questions, Pinkie turned her gaze to the Princess beside her, a few stray locks of hair falling across her face. She stared at the Princess coldly, emotionless and expressionless. Celestia had to fight the urge to step away from the mare that seemed to be staring into her soul, "Pinkamena?" she asked, wondering what was troubling the pony, and in turn trying to make herself feel less troubled.

The response only unsettled her even more, "Yes, that is my name, Princess..." Pinkie turned her head back to her friends again, "That is my name..." Something was seriously wrong, Celestia realised, but she was snapped from her thoughts by the sound of two sets of hoofsteps behind her. She turned to see Twilight and the pony from earlier trotting towards her.

The stallion looked as if he was about to speak, but Celestia cut him off prematurely, now was not the time, "I will have the report on Twilight's condition later, Doctor Scalpel. You may tend to the others now."

"Of course, Your Majesty." he replied, cantering off the way he had came.

Twilight had continued trotting towards the others throughout the quick exchange and was now beside the Princess. Celestia spoke up, "Twilight, I am so sorry for hurting you, but that magic was dangerous. If you were not subdued you might have..." Twilight kept limping slightly as she moved towards the group, but turned her head to the Princess before shaking it slightly, then continued on. Another tear streaked down the Princess's face, 'I hurt her, and even on top of everything that's happened today, all the hurt, all the loss, she still forgave me that quickly...' The four that surrounded Spike barely registered the arrival of Twilight as she set herself down by them, gazing at him silently. It was only when she came to rest her head gently across his chest - taking care to avoid the wound - that they were snapped back to reality. He was more than a friend to her, he was her brother, and now...

"Twilight..." They all spoke in near-unison, even Rarity, her voice hoarse from her unceasing weeping. Twilight simply lifted her head, her eyes brimming with tears before she flung herself into an embrace with her friends, a fresh bout of tears erupting from all present. They wept for their friend for what seemed like another eternity.

"B-But Princess, it's too soon..." Twilight started, but her choked voice wouldn't finish her sentence. The sun hung low in the sky now, it was ready to set, but Celestia ignored it. Honouring the saviour of the world was much more important than moving the heavens right now, at least to her. The seven assembled ponies stared down into the perfect rectangular hole in the ground, before directing their heads to the open casket beside it, Spike residing within.

"The sooner we do it, the better... Trust me, my Faithful Student..."

"But it's so unceremonious..." Rarity began.

"We will hold a memorial in two days to honour his sacrifice, along with the other guards. But I don't believe Spike would have wanted every stranger in the whole of Ponyville to turn up to his funeral, do you?" This much was true, Spike had mentioned it to Twilight in the library a while back during a particularly sombre conversation, though it felt like a lifetime ago to Twilight, and the irony of such only served to hurt her further. Spike had always said that, should anything happen to him, he only wanted his closest friends to be with him at the end, and they would be. Twilight nodded in response.

"Take some time to gather your thoughts," Celestia began, "Prepare your final words, leave nothing unsaid that you will regret later." she spoke as she lowered the casket into the hole. "Then we will leave him to the rest he deserves."

She turned to them, silently asking who would be the first to pay their respects. To everypony's surprise, Rainbow Dash stepped forwards immediately, leaning her head over the hole before speaking, "Spike... what you did today was strong, and heroic, and brave... very brave. I'll never forget that about you, ever..." She trailed off before starting again after a suppressed heave, though a few stray tears fell from her sore eyes. "I... I'm scared Spike. You were so fearless, you stood up to that thing like it was nothing, and now... Now you're gone... I don't know what to think any more... How could you die? You didn't deserve it! It's not fair!" She sobbed freely now, her teeth gritted in pain and anger, "I promise you Spike, I won't ever forget you, or what you did for everypony today. I want to be like you now more than..." She paused for a second as she considered it, "I want to be more like you than the Wonderbolts... You're my hero now..." She shed a final tear and stepped back.

The next to step up was Applejack, who set her stetson on the ground beside her, "Ah don't know how this happened Spike, Ah just don't know..." She began sombrely, "But Ah do know this, you were a great friend, and a good hard worker. You had a code that you stuck to all the time, and Ah respect ya for that now more than ever..." She smiled slightly as the remembered the fiasco she had undergone after saving him from the timberwolves, and how he had eventually repaid his self-imposed debt, "You were a good friend right up to the end Spike. Ah'm going to miss ya..." she finished, sniffing slightly, trying to collect herself, before stepping back next to Rainbow Dash; her hat was not replaced however, it remained on her back after she had picked it up.

The next to step to the edge of the grave was Fluttershy. "S-Spike..." she sobbed, "I'm so, so sorry for what happened. We - I - should have been there for you w-when you needed us the most..." Her heaves were now easily visible as she tried to suppress the veritable torrent that now poured from her eyes, "If this is g-goodbye, I just want to tell you how lucky I've b-been to be your friend... to have shared so many good moments, to h-have laughed with you, cried with you, even e-exchange r-recipes from time to t-time... I'll cherish those m-memories, no matter what..." With that, she scrunched her eyes tight and tried her best to smile at him for the final time before retreating to join her friends. Everypony still wept, even despite their eyes being rimmed red and burning terribly, though not one of them could have stopped even if they had tried.

Rarity trotted up to the edge and began, speaking deeply from her heart, "Oh Spike... I didn't deserve you... You gave everything to save us, all because I was too weak to literally pull my own weight..." she sobbed quietly now, everypony else was shocked at her change of heart, her usual pride and theatrics had all but vanished, her visage now one of sorrow and shame, "You loved me, I knew you did, ever since the day you gave me that beautiful gem, and what did I do? I ignored it! I ignored you! I never even told you how I felt, always found something more important to do! Always treated you so badly, and now this..." She was breathing deeply, trying to calm herself, "But you still saved me, saved everypony. You were content enough to stay my friend if it meant you could stay by my side..." she trailed off trying to regain some of her composure before she finished. "I'm sorry for everything I did wrong Spike, I hope you can forgive me. And I'm sorry it's taken me this long to realise it, that I do love you, in my own way, Spike, and I always will..." She took a deep breath, "My little Spikey-wikey..." at the mention of her old nickname for the dragon Rarity could bear it no longer and wailed loudly, true pain evident in her cries of despair. She slowly turned away, casting her head back to the grave as she walked back to her friends, as if waiting for him to come back to life, to tell her it was all a lie, that he was fine, that by some miracle he had survived.

Needless to say, it didn't happen.

Pinkie glanced around slowly, noting that Twilight should be the final one to pay her respects before advancing silently. She stood and simply stared into the pit for several seconds. When she finally spoke, the voice that emerged slightly disturbed the others present. It was Pinkie's, definitely, but it was... flat, empty, almost emotionless, "Spike, my friend... I'm very sorry that things had to end this way. I'll remember everything, I promise. I'll never forget you. Stories will be told for generations of your bravery, your tenacity and your heroism." The others stood bewildered at how Pinkie's demeanour had changed as she continued, "Even as your face fades from the memories of many, your legend will transcend all of our lifetimes, and the lifetimes of many for centuries to come. We will mourn for you greatly, but will eventually find light in the fact that you chose your fate so that we could live on. You were - and still are - our dear friend..."

Her tone faltered and became choked, finally resembling the voice the others had come to know, even if it was made hoarse by the lump in her throat. "You are our bestest friend Spike... and we're all going to miss you... very much..." her head had been held up proudly throughout her speech, but now it drooped and she gritted her teeth as tears streamed down her face, pattering lightly onto the coffin six feet below. "I'm so sorry, Spike... I promise I'll throw you the greatest party ever when we meet again, it'll be... so much fun..." The last sentence was spoken by the hollow voice once again, as if she didn't truly believe her own words. She regained her composure and trotted back to her place amongst her friends, who each regarded her differently, some speechless, some even worried about her, but they put it down to grief; after all, Pinkie was notorious for being a 'little' odd, perhaps this was to be expected.

Twilight realised that it was her turn to speak and hesitantly made her way to the edge. She spoke, "This is it... This is goodbye, isn't it?..." Twilight seemed at a complete loss for words, "Spike... My little brother," she audibly choked on her tears and cleared her throat loudly, "There's so much left to do, so much unsaid... You could have outlived us by centuries..."

Behind the other ponies Celestia shuffled ever-so-slightly, as if made uncomfortable by the statement. She glanced around, hoping that none of the mares had picked up on it, only to be met by the glare of Pinkie for the second time that day, though this time it was cold, harsh, accusing and piercing. Celestia could almost hear the cogs in Pinkie's mind whirring as she slowly and deliberately turned her head back towards the grave, 'Does she know?' Celestia thought and panicked slightly as she too turned back to Twilight.

"But now we'll outlive you... We are doing right now... And it makes me feel horrible, and selfish. If I had helped, if I hadn't been so useless up until that point, you'd still be alive... We wouldn't be here mourning for you, we'd be back at the library... finishing that conversation with Luna... and everypony would be happy..." Her sobs visibly shook her now, and she was audibly struggling to breathe, but she continued regardless, "But that can't happen now. I'm so sorry Spike. Everything that everypony has already said is exactly what I'd say, and this. You were, are and always will be more than my assistant, or my friend. You are my little brother, and I love you so very, very much... Promise me you'll never forget that, Spike. I know I never will..." She swayed slightly now, and took deep laboured breaths to steady herself before she finished, "I love you, Spike. Goodbye..." With that she took a step back and motioned for the others to join her.

The Princess spoke up, although she did so quietly, "Is everypony ready?" She was met with a set of slow nods. A glow of purest white appeared around her horn and the top of the coffin as it slowly came to a close, much in the same fashion one would close a good book upon its conclusion, slowly and deliberately, sad to have it ended so soon. It seemed like a year had passed in the time it took for Spike's face vanished beneath the lid.

The 'click' of the lid locking into place was heard.

The magical aura now surrounded the pile of dirt by the grave, but Twilight held up a hoof quickly, "Wait!... Wait..." she spoke simply. The others regarded her incredulously as she approached the pile of dirt and began to dig into it before depositing a hoof-full of it into the hole, "This way is better, it would mean so much more to him... If we did the dirty work for once..." she whispered sadly. The others agreed and, one by one - including the Princess herself - each took scoops of dirt and began to drop them into the grave, creating a steady muffled patter as the dirt began to pile up. Were it not for the fact that almost every piece of dirt was wet with tears by the time it entered the steadily receding hole, there would have been a sizeable mound of earth left by the grave, but the wet dirt compacted nicely, leaving only a small mound to mark where the dragon now rested.

Celestia carefully wiped the tears from her face with her upper forelegs so as not to irritate her eyes with the dirt, before breaking the silence solemnly, "Spike, faithful companion of the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony, friend to many, protector of more and saviour of all, I hereby commend thee to the ages. May you rest in peace." All present now surrounded the grave and silently offered up a final prayer for their friend.

Celestia waited until all were finished before speaking, "My little ponies, I'm sorry I can't do more to help, but I must return to Canterlot and allow the sun to set, and raising the Moon and the stars in Luna's stead will be very tiring. If any of you need anything, no matter what, please do not hesitate to call for me, I promise you I will come to you should you need me. The service will be held here in two days... I think it would be best if we turned this place into a memorial for Spike and the other guards." She was met with a few affirmative, distant grunts of agreement, "You all should head home, you need time to think and clear your heads." She turned her attention to Twilight, "And you, Twilight, make sure you get yourself checked out at the hospital, I will be reading that medical report tonight, and I want any outlying problems dealt with before I return, understood?" Twilight simply nodded slowly, her throat hurt from crying, she didn't want to needlessly speak. With that, the Princess offered a, "Be safe, everypony." then turned and departed, wings carrying her towards Canterlot. The six looked at each other for several minutes. Then, one by one, they departed and headed home with heavy hearts.

As Twilight entered the library she was astounded by how different it felt, even with Owlowiscious waiting for her, the place seemed empty. She trudged silently up to her room and collapsed heavily onto her bed. Even after she thought she had cried a lifetime's worth of tears, she felt the familiar burning sensation in her eyes and throat as she wept, quietly now, into her pillow.

Three hours later, she finally cried herself to sleep.

[Present day]
Each of the Bearers stood, awaiting the start of the ceremony. An aisle lined with photographs on each side split the ponies present into two groups, each image holding the face of a stallion or mare who had lost their life. At the very end of the aisle was the mound of earth where Spike had been buried, effectively creating a corridor leading towards his final resting place. A large object - hidden beneath a white cloth that waved slightly in the breeze - was now positioned just behind his grave where the headstone would have been. As for the ponies assembled, all were wearing black, and the six Bearers seemed tired and weary. Of the six, Twilight was clearly one of the worst affected; black arcs beneath her eyes, her hair slightly dishevelled, her face covered in fresh bandages, and her back leg now in a splint. The doctors had told her she was very lucky, the fact that the bone had been snapped back into exactly the right place during her fight had astounded them. Pinkie was not much better in terms of appearances, save for the bandages, she and Twilight shared an almost symmetrical countenance.

Twilight looked over the attendees. Most of Ponyville had shown up, along with several other important-looking figures, amongst them the Princesses. Twilight looked over to Luna first, noticing the huge bandage wrapped over the wound on her side and grimacing slightly in response. She would have to apologise for that later. Twilight then set her gaze upon the other Princess. Celestia stood proudly, as she usually did, her multicoloured mane swaying slightly in the breeze.

Twilight felt a pang of something deep within her, though she struggled to identify exactly what it was. She looked around hesitantly, expecting to notice something wrong, but found nothing. She turned back to Celestia and felt it again, a sharp surge of blazing emotion, 'Is Celestia causing this? 'Why? Why do I feel like this? What is this feeling?'

However, before she could explore the mystery any further, an old grey earth pony stepped up before crowd and spoke, "We are gathered here today to remember those brave souls who lost their lives defending Equestria for our sake. Though we may mourn for them, we should find comfort in the fact that they will never grow old, as we who are left behind grow old. They will..." He continued like this for several minutes, before reading out the names of each and every guard who had died. "...Tranquil Night, Stalwart Shield, and Spike." At the end of the long list, the elderly pony trotted over to the covered object between the droves of pictures and pulled a cord. A magnificent statue, several feet tall stood proudly. It portrayed Spike, striking a valiant pose, poised to throw the crude spear held in his right claw, his other hand hung just below his heart. His expression was one of set determination, one of calm and acceptance, of true aim and heroic valour.

'So different to how he actually looked right then...' Twilight thought solemnly. On the base of the statue was an engraved plaque, reading: 'Here lies Lord Spike, defender of justice and harmony. May we draw strength from his valiant sacrifice, even when our hearts are heavy and hollow with despair. With his guidance we will find the light once again.'

The old earth pony then turned back to face the assembled crowd before speaking, projecting his voice slightly so that he could be heard from the back of the large congregation, "We will now begin to pay our respects. Please set your lilies down by the picture of the loved one you wish to honour. If nopony close to you is shown here, we ask that you leave your flower at Lord Spike's memorial, as a token of respect."

The first row of ponies stood up and began to file out to find the image of their loved ones; already some crying could be heard. For some this was their last chance to say goodbye to their friends and family, the bodies lost to the beast that had already taken so much from them, not even leaving behind a corpse to bury, denying them the one small act of closure from which they might eventually overcome their loss. For these ponies, it was the most upsetting of all.

As more rows of ponies filed out, the collective sobbing of the crowd grew louder. The occasional cry of, "Mummy, we miss you!" or, "Daddy, please come back!" or, "Why did you have to go, big sister?" from the younger foals broke the hearts of all present, quickly eliciting tears from the majority.

Soon enough, it was time for the Bearers to pay their respects to their fallen friend. As they trotted silently to the statue, a few stray tears streaking across their faces, they felt a strange sense of relief. Yes, Spike was dead, and was buried, and it was awful; but some of the young colts and fillies around them would have nowhere to go to visit their parents and siblings as they rested for eternity, nowhere to go to find comfort, to grieve, to offer up prayers. In that respect, as twisted as it sounded, Spike, and his friends, were the lucky ones.

They reached the base of the statue, and one by one placed their lilies onto the small mound of earth. Just as they were about to return to their row however, they heard a small metallic clicking sound, followed by an almost inaudible pop. They turned to the source of the sound. Rarity now held in her hoof the beautiful heart-shaped fire ruby that Spike had gifted her long ago, along with its now empty casing, which she placed back around her neck. She then hovered the gem up towards the statue, and with extreme care slotted it between his left hand and his chest. By the most astronomical of odds, it fit perfectly. Rarity attempted a smile, though tears stained her face as she spoke, "You already gave me your heart once, Spike. I want you to take care of your own this time, for my sake and yours..."

More tears followed, but Rarity wasn't finished. A familiar glow appeared around her horn, and despite the fact that it still hurt to use even such a small amount of magic so close to her overload two days prior, she didn't show it. The gem began to glow, beams of dim blue light now emanating from it. Twilight turned to her friend and smiled through her tears as she too did the same, beams of lavender now shining from the gem too. As the other ponies watched the spectacle, the gem slowly beamed with a growing array of colours as every unicorn present began to channel a small amount of magic into the now iridescent gem. As the two alicorns present channelled their energies into it too, a huge rainbow-hued beam shot into the sky before bursting into its component colours; a silent rainboom in its own right. The gem, now charged permanently with magical energy, emitted beams of light continuously; inspiring to look at but not so dazzling as to hurt the eyes. As the six friends looked from one another, to the statue, to the mound of earth beneath it, they all smiled weakly, despite how hurt they all felt inside. As the first of the congregation started to leave, the sombre mood slowly returned.

Soon enough only the Bearers and the Princesses - accompanied by their guards - remained, who approached the six promptly. Luna was the first to speak, "That was truly beautiful, wasn't it sister?"

"Yes, it was. I'm sure Spike would be proud of you, all of you, for what you have done today." The six before her nodded slowly but said nothing. Despite the beautiful display, and the small sense of closure it had given them, nothing had truly changed. So many were still dead. Spike was still dead.

Eventually, Twilight swallowed and spoke up, "P-Princess Luna, I'm so, so sorry for your injury, if I hadn't-"

She was stopped by the Princess holding up a hoof, "Speak nothing of it. It was wrong of me to expect so much from you both. If anything, I should be the one apologising." Sorrow visibly seeped into her expression, "I still can't comprehend it all..."

"Me neither, sister." Celestia replied before turning her attention to the mares before her, "My offer still stands. If any of you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask. I have a small measure of time on my hooves right now, if any of you feel the need to ask me anything."

Twilight spoke up, "Well- uh, you see... Actually, it doesn't matter Princess, I'll ask another time." Twilight still couldn't identify the feeling that rose within her each time she spoke to her mentor. 'Distrust? Resentment? But why? The Princess hasn't done anything to warrant it, has she?'

Celestia regarded her pupil curiously for a second before raising her head, "That's fine, Twilight. Whenever you feel ready, you know where to find me. Anypony else?" The others shook their heads, with the exception of Pinkie, who had taken to staring daggers at Celestia.

Pinkie spoke, prompting everypony to turn to her, "There's something you're not telling us, Princess Celestia..." Pinkie spoke in the same drawl of a voice she had used two days prior, though now it held more of an accusatory tone.

The others gasped slightly, even Celestia herself, before Luna spoke on her sister's behalf, "Pinkie, what are you talk-"

She spoke no further as the pony in question shrieked, "SHUT UP! MY NAME IS NOT PINKIE! AND YOUR SISTER IS A LIAR!" Everypony assembled visibly recoiled. Pinkie was gritting her teeth, but tears of frustration trickled over her features. Luna almost berated the young pony for even daring to make such accusations, never mind the demeanour with which she had done so, but stopped herself. She had heard that Pinkie had not been herself since the incident and did not want to make things any worse. She bit her tongue, and waited for Celestia to speak. Fortunately, she didn't have to. Pinkie turned sharply and galloped, sobbing, from the memorial in the general direction of Ponyville.

The others glanced around worriedly, Rainbow Dash preparing to give chase before Celestia stopped her, "Let her go, Rainbow Dash, she just needs some time to think. This week's events have hurt us all, and undoubtedly changed her somewhat. She should be okay, she just needs some time to herself."

Rainbow folded her wings against herself before turning to Celestia, "Alright, Princess, if you say so. Still, she shouldn't be talking to you or Princess Luna like that..."

Fluttershy took a nervous step forwards, "W-What did she mean though, P-Princess Celestia?"

Celestia sighed and shook her head, "I have absolutely no idea. Perhaps her grief is making her create stories in her head; I've seen it happen before. Promise me you will all keep an eye on each other, and especially so for... Pinkamena." She gave them a serious look for a moment, "Now then, I believe it is time Luna and I took our leave, if nopony has anything else to ask?" The others shook their heads slowly in response before offering a bow and a, "Goodbye, Princess" to the princesses before trotting away.

The two alicorns flew in silence. Although Celestia was deep in thought, she inwardly let out a sigh of relief, 'That was... tough to say, even with all my expertise in public speaking.' In a way, that was a good thing, after all...

She had always hated lying.

Author's Notes:

Edited as of 25/4/14. Quality, grammar, and wording of sentencing is now vastly better than it was. Description of the scene at the memorial has been changed slightly to allow readers to more easily visualise the scene. Changed a few words throughout the chapter that, although they made sense as they were, would have been far more appropriate/effective if changed. Re-wrote some sentences/paragraphs that I found to be particularly appalling (although, after 1 year of pony-writing experience, my skills have improved to the point where just about everything pre-chapter 9 is considered appalling as I re-read it - Might have to do a re-write one day in the distant future).