"I don't know if I can do this."
Shining Armour, Captain of the Royal Guard, was staring at his reflection in the mirror. His full dress uniform was immaculate, his mane perfectly groomed, but the face above it had changed, lines around the eyes and muzzle that hadn't been there before that day, the humour absent.
A pink glow of magic adjusted the way the blue sash hung from his shoulder as Princess Cadence, the real one, stepped up beside him. "Shiny, darling, this ceremony is to honour Twilight. What will it look like if you aren't there?"
"I don't deserve to be there, not after the last thing I said to her. The last words she heard from me were that I didn't want her around." His head drooped as he gave a deep sigh.
"But she came anyway." Cadence said, leaning in to nuzzle his neck "I was with her, remember? The only thing she was interested in was getting to the wedding to stop it, stop Chrysalis from harming you or anyone else. If she blamed anypony for what happened, it was herself."
"That doesn't make me feel any better. She was my LSBFF, and she loved you almost as much as she did me. She wouldn't have tried to push us apart unless she was certain something was wrong. Why didn't I listen to her?"
"Well? Why didn't you listen to her?" Cadence asked, in a gentle tone that robbed the words of any accusation.
Shining Armour sighed. "Because... I thought she was just having one of her episodes. You know how she used to turn some small problem into a world shaking disaster. Normally I'd talk her down, or double team with Spike to calm her, but instead I snapped at her."
"You were under stress, you had no idea that Chrysalis had replaced me, and I'm sure the mind control spell she was using on you made you even less tolerant of anything coming between you and your beloved."
"I'd love to blame that insect for me losing my temper, but no, that was all me, I'm afraid. Keeping up the shield and organising the defence... When Twilight started insulting you, I mean the fake you, not that I knew she was fake..." He trailed off, trying to back his train of thought out of the verbal sidings he'd ended up in.
"I understand. And so would she." Cadence hugged him with one wing. "You didn't mean what you said. A simple apology would have fixed things."
"I wanted to, I felt bad afterwards, I even went looking for her." His expression turned into a scowl. "I met up with fake-you instead. The last thing I remember clearly was asking her if she'd seen Twilight, and if she wanted to come help fix the misunderstanding. I think that's when she turned the mind control thing up to full-on zombie mode. Then it was all a big green cloud up until the big reveal. I never got to apologise, or even say goodbye."
Cadence squeezed him with her wing. "If you feel you have to do some sort of penance, going to the ceremony is a good start. Your parents will need you, now more than ever, and maybe it will allow you to start to say goodbye."
The white stallion sighed again and leaned into his beloveds wing hug. "You're right. How did someone so young and beautiful get so wise?"
"I think it's part and parcel of the whole alicorn thing." Cadence quipped. "Wings, horn and wisdom of the ages at no extra cost."
The chuckle her comment triggered was a weak thing, barely able to escape Shining Armour's lips, but it was the first one he'd uttered since before the scene in at the rehersal. He glanced at himself in the mirror again, and told his reflection to pony up and support Cadence and his parents. Then he turned away and made his way with Cadence to the door of their suite.
&&&
The weather was perfect, but that wasn't exactly a surprise when you had pegasi working the clouds. The plaza in front of the public address balcony of Buckingham Palace was packed with ponies, both Canterlot natives and a large proportion of Ponyville. However, the Princesses were not up on the balcony, but standing on a raised platform next to a large plinth of polished black and white flecked grey marble in the centre of the plaza. A white cloth covered the object on the plinth, and the top of the plinth itself.
The only other ponies on the platform were the Elements, Twilight Sparkles parents and Shining Armour. Spike was there too, perched on Raritys back as he had on Twilights. The rest of the Ponyville Apples had reserved spaces at the foot of the platform, and they were riding herd on the other two Crusaders, though for one they didn't need much watching, as the three of them were unusually solemn. There was a low murmuring from the crowd, which fell away to silence as Celestia stepped forward.
"My little ponies, we are here today to remember Twilight Sparkle, magical prodigy, faithful student and loving friend to many here today. Everyone who knew her could testify to her courage, dedication and her love for her friends and family. From the time I took her under my wing as my personal student, I watched her blossom from an eager to please, shy young filly into a strong, capable young mare who possessed an unshakable determination to improve herself and do what was right.
"She saved Equestria from many terrible disasters, none more so than the recent invasion attempt by Queen Chrysalis and her changeling horde. She brought together a unique group of ponies, the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, and with their aid stopped Nightmare Moon from bringing eternal night and restored my dear sister Princess Luna to us. She also lead them in the fight against Discord, who would have plunged Equestria into an endless reign of chaos and disharmony.
"Both these events are commemorated by stained glass windows in the throne room of Buckingham palace, and a third has been commisioned for her actions at the recent royal wedding. Chrysalis had imprisoned the true Princess Cadence in the crystal caverns below Canterlot and taken her place, deceiving every-pony with her disguise. Only Twilight realised there was something wrong. She found the real Cadence and brought her back, then when Chrysalis revealed herself and started her attack on both Canterlot and myself, struck the creature down with her horn, tragically losing her life in the process.
"It is that last event which brings us out here, as I, in consultation with my sister and niece, have decided that she should have a memorial beyond the windows that record her triumphs. We wish to honour the pony who was so dear to all our hearts, and ensure that her memory endures for as long as Canterlot stands."
Her horn glowed brightly, and a matching golden glow enveloped the cover on the plinth. It was pulled away to reveal Twilight Sparkle, three times life size and sitting couchant upon the plinth. Her horn was surrounded with a purple aura, and a similar aura surrounded the floating book with a golden unicorn head embossed on the cover that she was reading intently, a happy smile on her face. The scene was so real, it seemed as if any second she would look up from her book in surprise at why there were so many ponies clustered around her.
However, her body was made of coloured marble, custom grown by a master rock farmer, and her eyes were pearl and amethyst. The book was also marble and gold, cleverly supported by the translucent purple crystal that served as an aura. On the plinth itself, the same words were engraved and inlaid with gold on all four sides along with a pair of dates.
Twilight Sparkle
Courageous and True
Faithful Student
Loving Friend
Shining Armour was openly crying, tears streaming down his face, and he wasn't the only one. Spike was sobbing as were most of the Elements, and even Celestia was blinking away her watering eyes. After a moment he and his parents moved to step down off the platform, carrying a wreath in their combined magic. They laid it at the foot of the plinth, and a number of other tributes followed it.
It was as the royal party was returning to the place that a pegasus in the armour of a Royal Guard swept down from the skies to land, galloping the rest of the distance to prostrate himself in front of them, ignoring the raised spears of the honour guard that bracketed him as he approached.
"News from Northern Equestria, your highnesses!"
Celestia looked surprised. "What could be so urgent..."
"I am simply to tell you that it has returned."
Celestia gasped, an uncharacteristic look of shock on he face.
"No, not now... Cadence, Shining Armour, come with Luna and I, we have to deal with this immmediately! Twi..."
She stopped in mid-sentence, looking back at the assembled ponies, and her expression made her look every day of her age.