Hope and Shadows
Chapter 25 “Repercussions”
By Steven Little
My Little Pony © Hasbro
In the darkness that was the void between this life and the next, a blinding flash heralded the appearance of two adolescent alicorns. Torn away from their loved ones with out so much as a caveat, the siblings found themselves exactly where they expected to be. Dawn sighed sorrowfully, allowing her guise to fall, changing her appearance back to normal.
“Well,” Dusk grumped. “This is just great.”
“Dusk, I’m sorry…”
“Don’t speak to me right now, Dawn.” The skeletal stallion groused. As much as he didn’t want to take out the current situation on his sister, his irritation at the situation made it impossible to keep his frustration to himself. “Do you have any idea what we’ve done Dawn? Can you even comprehend the trouble were in right now?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact I do and you know what,” The mare asked, snapping at her brother. “I’d do it again without a second thought!” The two siblings stared at each other, each trying to read the other.
Looking into his sister’s eyes, Dusk saw the tears she was desperately trying to keep from falling. “I’m not so sure that I would.” The skeletal stallion said, dropping his guise as well. “Dear Grandmother, I should never have let you guilt me into this in the first place.”
“Don’t put all of this on me,” Dawn shouted at her brother. “You could have walked away at anytime!”
“Really, when we’re in front of every pony and our grieving aunt is right there, you tell them that there’s a way she could be saved, and you expect me to be the heartless bag of crap that every pony already thinks I am, reap her soul and take off?" The alicorn stallion shouted. “Maybe, maybe if you hadn’t said anything, I could have eased her passing and taken her straight to Elysium, maybe work something out with Sleipnir so Aunt Rarity could spend a little time with her, but no, you just had to open your mouth and give them fucking hope. How could I turn my back after that, what would every pony think of me then, our mothers, Tootsieflute. They would only see a monster.”
Dusk took a breath to try and calm himself. “I guess this is better after all. At least I won’t be remembered as the pony that hastened the death of his cousin.”
Dawn had no answer for him, she could only sit there and stare at her brother while he rubbed at his eyes, doing his best to keep his feelings in check. Getting off her haunches, the white mare walked up to her brother and placed a comforting hoof on his shoulder, “Are you going be okay?”
Dusk whipped he head around and practically growled at his sister. “Are you fucking kidding me? No Dawn, I’m not okay! Sure, I wanted to help Ruby but you took that choice away from me and now we’re here! Tootsieflute is gone, Dinky, our families, I don’t know when or even if we’ll ever see them again, and you just have to know that Sleipnir is pissed at both of us!”
“I didn’t care,” She said calmly, apparently disinterested in their fate. “I was tired of watching foals die and not being able to do anything about it. Rarity and Spike have been through too much already and it would have been cruel to ask them to give up their newborn child on top of everything; they deserved better.”
“Everything dies Dawn, even us, given enough time! We both know that nothing lasts forever; there is an order to things and we just screwed with it to save our own cousin. I shudder to think of what Sleipnir will do to us when he finally gets here.”
“Yes, you two interfered with processes you really should have let be, and trust me, there will be ramifications.” A calm but thunderous voice agreed. A massive eight-legged stallion emerged from the ether, his gray, tan speckled hide, shined as if it had been groomed and oiled by a master of the art. The stallion’s tawny mane appeared to drift in a nonexistent wind while his wild red eyes seemed to pierce the two alicorns standing before him. “I recall very precisely that I warned both of you about meddling with the threads of life. The Fates themselves are considerably unhappy at the moment and are demanding that I do something to correct the problem. What do you think I should do?” He asked, his gaze boring holes into the two siblings before him.
“Uhm, overlook things this one time perhaps?” Dusk suggested.
Sleipnir glared down at the stallion, then his expression suddenly softened. “Why of course we can overlook this one incident,” He said, walking around the siblings while shrinking down to a pony as tall as Celestia.
The twins smiled, but cringed back when the Lord of all Ponies whirled on them, his red eyes glowing with anger. “Are you barking mad?! Do you two have any idea the trouble you’ve caused? The entire afterlife has been unbalanced by your failure to deliver a soul that was scheduled to arrive hours ago! As it is, I had to finish your job on the battlefield. And as if that wasn’t enough, the under-management has been right up my tail all day to deal with you two, and just be thankful I haven’t listened to their suggestions.”
“Suggestions?” Dawn inquired.
“Yes,” the stallion said with a sigh, rubbing his temples with a set of his forelegs. “Half of them want me to strip you of your powers completely and return you to Equestria with no magic what so ever.”
“And the other half, uh, um, sir?” Dusk asked, unsure that he really wanted to hear the answer.
“They wanted me to reap your souls myself, along with the foal. And, Elysium help me, don’t think I wasn’t tempted to do either, but as it stands I…”
“Can do neither.” A stately white alicorn with fiery red hair said, walking in from the void, interrupting Sleipnir.
“Damn it all to Hades, you know how much I hate it when you interrupt me mid-exposition; what are you doing here anyway Faust?”
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The entire room full of ponies stood shocked as the young Prince and Princess vanished from their midst. They had no sooner healed Rarity’s newest filly than they so completely disappeared from the castle, it was as if they had never set hoof in it before. Twilight and Luna were beside themselves with disbelief, unmoving as statues. Unfortunately, they were not the only ones. Another pair of mares, the young intendeds of the Prince and Princess, were also left slack–jawed, wondering about their betrothed.
It was finally Cadence that broke the eerie pall of the room when she shouted to the soldiers minding the prisoners. “Guards, search this castle from top to bottom, Apple Bloom, get a message back to Canterlot, the Crystal Empire, and the Everfree Estate, I want all the castles thoroughly searched! I want Dusk and Dawn found!”
“But what if they’re not at any of the castles?” Shining Armor asked, obviously worried about his niece and nephew as well.
“Then you will take the troops out and search the countryside.” Cadence decreed. The Alicorn of Love moved to console her sisters in law. “Don’t worry Twilight, Aunt Luna, we’ll find them, we’ll leave no stone unturned until the twins are back at home.”
“Thank you Cadence but that will not be necessary.” Luna told her, seeming to snap out of a mild trance. “My mother has just informed Twilight and I as to their location and that we cannot intervene until their trial is over.”
“Trial?’ Rainbow Dash asked.
“Yes,” Octavia joined in. “What trial, what could they have done that warrants punishment? They just saved this foals life.” The gray mare insisted.
“They interfered with the natural order of things and must face the consequences of their actions.” Twilight informed her, trying to keep herself from breaking down. “Queen Faust informed us of the seriousness of their transgression and the punishment they could face.”
“But aren’t you worried about them?” Fluttershy asked.
“Of course we are, but there is nothing we can do right now but wait. My mother has assured me that she will do all she can on their behalf but that we must be patient.” Luna explained. “Right now, I need to get Clovers memories out of Twilight before they do permanent damage to her own psyche.”
“I can already feel them fading from my mind and soon they’ll be gone completely; an hour tops, so there’s no need to worry.” Twilight said told her wife. “Rainbow, Fluttershy, Applejack, Pinkie, could you please stay; Rarity, I now this is a trying time but I really need you here too, Cadence can look after Ruby for you. It won’t be long, I promise. The rest of you, please go back to the Everfree Estate and be with your families, there are more than enough rooms for everyone. Guards, after you have deposited these stallions in the dungeons and have filled out the appropriate paperwork, consider yourselves on a five day leave, you’ve all earned it.”
There was a cheer from the guards that dyed down quickly after Apple Bloom shot them an icy glare, now was not the time for celebrating for five of their number had been lost in battle and there were many more wounded. “Your heard the Princess, let's go every pony.” Shining Armor commanded.
Fluttershy looked over at Emerald, Gertrude and Penelope, who were still standing guard over her when Onyx limped into the room. “I do hope she’ll be okay.” The yellow pegasus wondered allowed.
The black drake obviously had excellent hearing because he turned and smiled at the relatively small butter-yellow pony. “Emerald will be fine. Her brother really did a number on her but most of these wounds are superficial, she’s just exhausted. I’ll take her home and get her in her favorite lava tub and she’ll be as right as rain.” The black dragon assured them.
“Do you need help getting her home?” Gertrude asked. “It would be no problem really and we’d like to get to know the both of you better.”
“Thank you, the assistance would be most welcome, I’ll even help by carrying your wingless friend here.” Onyx said, indicating Penelope.
With everyone departing, Twilight's five friends turned to her, wondering what she had needed them for. The purple alicorn looked around a bit, getting her bearings, and then started off down the hall they had originally come from. No sooner had she taken two steps, her gait faltered and she crumpled to the floor with a metallic clattering as her armor struck the stone floor. Luna rushed to her wife trying to support her as Twilight slowly got back on her hooves, her knees shaking visibly as her legs struggled to bear her weight. “Twilight, are you okay dear?” Rarity asked.
“Yes, Rarity I’ll be fine,” she told her friend, her armor vanishing, whisked off to her chambers at the Everfree Estate, by her magic. “The fight and everything that’s happened took a greater toll on me than I thought.”
“No Twilight, you are not fine,” Luna admonished. “You have held on to my old foalsitter’s memories for too long and it is starting to affect you. You’re fine motor control is already starting to suffer.”
“If it’s causin’ that much damage, why not just yank’em out?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“That would cause more harm the leaving them in, Twilight has to willingly give them up and we have to do it soon.” Luna explained.
“I already told you Luna, the memories are fading on their own, they’ll be gone soon enough and I need to get that book first before they’re gone completely.” Twilight told her. “After that, I’ll give up whatever remains but not before.”
“What book could possibly be worth your health?” Fluttershy asked. “Twilight, as your doctor, I insist that you let Luna take those memories out before you hurt yourself.”
“It holds everything.” She said, running back toward the dungeons of the castle. Twilight’s friends charged after her, trying to catch up as she rounded corners and charged down corridors.
Rainbow Dash and Applejack were easily able to catch up with her as the lavender alicorn ran through the castle. “Whoa there sugar-cube, what’s the hurry?”
“And what do you mean, it holds everything,” the Rainbow-maned pegasus inquired. “It can’t possible hold everything, the book would be as big as this castle.”
“It holds everything about us, our past, our present, even our future.” Twilight tried to explain in her mad dash through the dungeons.
Applejack was finally able to get a hoof around the lavender alicorn when she came to the old door separating the castle dungeons from the catacombs beneath. “Now just hold up there Twi, I know this book is important to you but I don’t think it’s gonna jump off a shelf run away on ya’. Please Twilight; calm down and at least let the others catch up with us.”
“Yeah Twi, chilax for a second, the last thing you want to do is go charging through those dark tunnels by yourself. I mean, what if you got lost or hurt or something?” Rainbow Dash added.
Twilight removed her hoof from the doors lever handle and let it fall slowly to the ground. “You’re right Applejack, you too Rainbow, I was in such a hurry to get to that book, I wasn’t thinking clearly. We will wait.”
Much to Twilight’s relief, they did not have to wait long for the missing three of their party to catch up. Rarity surprised the small group by being the last to join them when it was expected by most to be Fluttershy. The white unicorn herself was distracted by the all to familiar aroma of her dearest love that hung about the halls. Turning to the hall opposite of the door that stood before Twilight, Rarity took a few tentative steps away from the group before speaking her mind. “Twilight, do you still have a working map of the castle?”
“Of course Rarity but…”
“What’s down this hall?” Rarity interrupted, the lilt in her voice was somewhat broken and hesitant. “I can feel Spikes presence here.”
“Rarity,” Twilight said, her voice barely above a whisper. “You, you don’t want to go down there. That’s where, Spike was…” The lavender mare could not bring herself to describe what she found when last she traveled that portion of the castle.
“Don’t worry Twilight, Gertrude already told me what happened and I have no desire to be in that room. It’s just…”
“Rarity, are you okay?” Fluttershy asked, nuzzling the unicorn gently.
“Oh, I’m sorry darling, it’s just, I can’t help but think about what that brute did to my beloved. It pains me to think that no matter how much we help him to heal, a part of my Spike will always dwell in that room.” The white unicorn mused. “I’m sorry all, I suppose I am being a bit maudlin. Come, the sooner we can get what you need Twilight, the sooner we all can get back to our families.” She said as she pushed open the entrance to the catacombs below the dungeon.
Making their way through the crumbling bowls of the castle, Luna, Twilight, and their five friends picked their way over stray bricks and gaps in the stone work, when Twilight stumbled again, catching herself against Luna’s side. “I’m fine, I promise, it just up ahead and to the left.” Twilight assured her wise.
Moving as swiftly as they could as a group, Twilight made the last turn and was presented with a blank wall. “Are you sure those memories haven’t started to go rotten or somethin’ sugar-cube. This here’s just a dead end.”
“I know it’s here!” Twilight shouted, rapidly going from brick to brick on the wall in front of her, pushing on each until one finally budged a little.
“Ah-ha I knew it.” The lavender alicorn said pushing harder until a catch was released and a small section of the wall opened up to reveal a library, a secret room concealed from princesses and common ponies alike, hidden from the world and the ravages of time. Twilight jumped into the darkened room and used her magic to light the magical torches that lined the wall. A bright flash of light and as soon as their eyes adjusted to the sudden bright light, the group of ponies stood aghast, marveling at nothing. The room was empty. The ponies scanned the room finding not a single book, scroll, or scrap of paper. Except for a collection of tables and bookshelves, the room held nothing.
“It’s empty!” Pinky Pie announced.
“Thanks, Captain Obvious.” Rainbow Dash snarked.
“But it can’t be empty, it has to be here, this room was supposed to hold everything.” Twilight bemoaned sorrowfully.
Fluttershy placed a hoof on her friends shoulder. “I’m sure it’s in another secret room in the castle, maybe you just took a wrong turn.”
“No Fluttershy, It’s supposed to be here, nopony knew of this room.” Twilight collapsed to the floor in total misery, her eyes screwed tight in sorrow. The secrets to the past, present, and future within hoofs reach only to be yanked away. Opening her eyes, she spied something that ought not be there. Lying on the floor, she had an excellent view beneath one of the shelves and found something almost completely buried in dust that explained her defeat in the face of certainty. Her magic reached under the table and pulled from the shadows, a single, long, white, feather that could only have come from one pony. “Celestia.”
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“What are you doing here anyway Faust?” Sleipnir asked, his attentions off the troublesome royal twins for a moment. “I have enough to deal with at the moment without you adding to my problems.”
“Why, my dear Lord Sleipnir, I haven’t come to add to your problems but to relieve you of them.” The High Queen announced.
“And the fact that your grandfoals are facing dire consequences for interfering with the Fates has nothing to do with it?” That eight-legged stallion asked.
“Oh, I wont deny that the welfare of my grandfoals are foremost on my mind, but in all the hubbub surrounding these recent events, and the complaints and general moaning from the Fates, it seems you have forgotten something.” Faust teased.
“Enough of your riddles Faust, out with it!” Sleipnir bellowed.
“Aren’t you missing someone else; A certain pompous unicorn stallion with delusions of grandeur? It seems that he hasn’t arrived either and according to the lovely trio of Fates, he was supposed to be here several hours ago.”
A scroll appeared in a puff of red magic and unfurled in front of the pony lord. Scanning down the list, he found the unicorn he was looking for. Turning his burning gaze back to the twins, he addressed them in a dangerous tone. “Would you two have something to do with this also?”
“Why in Equestria would we try to save that ass from the fires of the underworld?” Dusk asked incredulously.
“True, you have little reason to help him, but then what happened to him, I had such delicious retribution waiting for him in The Fields of Punishment. I can sense his soul but in a way I can’t, it’s as if he both exists and doesn’t at the same time.” The equine demigod said, rubbing his chin with one of his four fore-hooves. “Faust, did you have something to with this, a ploy to save your grandfoals from punishment?”
“Me,” the red-maned alicorn asked. “How could you possibly accuse me of doing something so underhooved as keep a wretch like him from your wrath… besides, I wanted to see him get his just deserts as much you did.”
Faust rubbed herself along Sleipnir’s side, flicking his nose a little with her tail. “I’m sorry but this time it wasn’t me meddling in your affairs, it was somepony far more dangerous.”
Sleipner followed the feeling he was getting from the arrogant unicorns soul to a homely structure in the shape of a mailbox on the outskirts of Ponyville only to find a blond-maned unicorn mare and a chestnut colored earth pony. The chestnut stallion looked over his back and winked as if he could feel the demigod’s presence. Sleipnir reared beck as if somepony had taken a swipe at him. “The nerve, to think he can exact a punishment from Blueblood instead of leaving him to me? Who does this stallion think he is?”
“Trust me Slippy, I’d let it go for now.” Faust told him.
“What did I say about calling me that?!” The Lord of all Equine bellowed.
“Be that as it may, that soul is being kept from you and not even your mother could get to him; and since he’s being kept from you, the scales are back in balance. Reap Ruby’s soul now and you’ll be the one to unbalance things again.” Faust smiled at the six-legged stallion. “Soooooo, I guess since everything is all balanced again, you can’t really punish my grandfoals for causing a disruption now can you?”
“No, I suppose I can’t,” Sleipnir admitted begrudgingly. “Instead, I will chalk this up to a learning experience.”
“Please, allow me my Lord.” Faust said before addressing her youngest daughter’s progeny. “Dusk, you need to stop being so passive, you cannot properly perform Kharon’s duties if you can so easily be talked out of your responsibilities.”
“It wasn’t that easy.” The young stallion said under his breath.
“Don’t sass me young-stallion!” Faust shouted before turning her attention to his sibling.
“And Dawn, sweet gentle Dawn.” The alicorn matriarch said softly, brushing the mane from her granddaughter’s eyes and caressing her cheek with a hoof. “You take too much onto yourself. Celestia was so much like you when she first started raising the sun for all the little ponies, and I’ll tell you what I told her those many years ago. You are beautiful, you are kind, and you have a heart bigger than the world itself; but, my precious child, you are not perfect, no pony is, not me, not even Mr. Grumpy back there.”
“Hey!” Sleipnir retorted.
“There will always be things out of your control and no amount of anger or self doubt will change that.” Faust said, smiling down to her grandfoal. “You do the best you can, and as long as you do that, everything will work out in the end.”
“Now, that being said, I want the both of you to understand the seriousness of your transgression. If you ever do something like this again, you both will be stripped of your power and Elysium will forever be kept from you. When you do eventually pass from the mortal realm, you will dwell in the Fields of Asphodel for all eternity or until you understand, whichever comes first. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes ma’am.” The twins said in unison.
“Then go, and give your mothers my love.” Faust said, giving each of her grandfoals a kiss on their right cheek before they departed the between space with a puff of golden smoke.
“You know Faust, I do run this place, it’d be nice to at least consult me before dismissing my charges from this realm.” The eight-legged stallion said, his eyes holding an almost compassionate lilt.
“I know, I just,” the alabaster mare said, trying to keep the tears in her eyes from falling. “I miss my family so much. I know I’m still being punished, but thank you, thank you for allowing me to at least have these small moments with them.”
“How long has it been since you came here,” he asked, the red glow from his eyes fading to a subdued brown. “How long has it been since you gave up everything, knowing what punishment awaited you, to give your daughters the tools need to defend all the ponies of the world from the darkness and the many challenges that lay ahead of them; Discord, Tirek, Sombra, your own daughters’ possession by the Miasma? And how many ponies were saved by that sacrifice?
“High Queen Faust of Equestria, Gloria Mirum, Mother of the Unconquered Sun and the Indomitable Moon, I do not have a heart of stone and I never said that your punishment would last for eternity. I am not releasing you of your debt but I see a light for you at the end of this ordeal and that end is drawing closer that you think.” The words from Sleipnir’s mouth had shocked the Alicorn so much, that for the first time in the stallions’ memory, Faust had been stunned into silence.
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Time passes differently in the space between, so while the royal twins only experienced about an hour or so four days had passed in the mortal realm. When the twins reappeared, it took them a moment to figure out where they were. Given a moment or two, they would have realized that they were in the Royal castle in Canterlot, but before they could get their bearings, the two siblings were practically tackled by a trio of Alicorn mares.
Dodging a flurry of nuzzles and kisses, Dawn tried to free herself from the embrace. “Hey, what’s going on? Mom, mother, aunt Cadence, hey, ack, lets us breath a moment.”
“Can’t breath!” Dusk wined. “Come on, let us up.”
Hearing the commotion outside the recovery room of the castles’ medical wing, Kirin poked his head around the corner to find the royal twins being mobbed by this mothers and aunt. It took a minute to untangle the five ponies but in short order, Kirin had them unraveled. “Dusk, Dawn, I’m happy to see you again. I heard you vanished from Platinum castle after I left with Celest, what happened?”
“We broke the law.” Dawn admitted. “We abused our responsibilities and because of me, we were almost …” Dawn couldn’t finish the sentence; remembering what her grandmother told them should the repeat the transgression.
Dusk hugged his sister. “It’s all right Dawn. It’s not all your fault, I helped too and I’m sorry I yelled at you earlier. You were right, I didn’t have to help but I didn’t want to take her either."
“Please, can you tell us what happened after you vanished?” Luna asked.
“We were so worried.” Twilight added.
Drying her tears, Dawn, gave her brother a quick squeeze before letting him go and then the two of them proceeded to tell their family what had transpired in the between space. I took more than a few minutes but when their story was over, everyone was a bit shocked by what they heard. Twilight was not happy.
“Luna, I know your mother means well, but I don’t like that she threatened our children like that.”
“She wasn’t threatening us, she was just giving us a warning,” Dusk told her. “Really, Grandma helped us a lot.”
"Wait, where’s Aunt Celestia, Dinky, and Tootsieflute?” Dawn asked.
“Oh, I nearly forgot,” Cadence said, almost smacking a hoof to her forehead. “Just a moment, they’re in the guest quarters, I’ll be right back.” And with a flash of pink light, she was gone.
“As four your Aunt Celestia, she and Rarity are in with Spike right now.” Twilight informed them.
“Is he going to okay?” The twins wondered aloud.
“Yes,” Luna told them. “Between Celestia helping him in the day, and me helping him in his dreams, and an army of psychiatrists, he should be fine. And after I was finally to get Clover the Clevers’ memories out of your mother, she’s been helping as well.”
“Are you still on about that?” Twilight asked.
“Back to the point,” Luna said. “Spike’s already making good progress but it’s going to be a very long road and I’m not sure if Spike will ever truly be the same uncle you remember.”
With another pink flash, Cadence reappeared with Dinky and Tootsieflute whereupon seeing their betrothed; dove upon them, smothering the twins with nuzzles and kisses. The three adult alicorns and one draconequus watched the heartwarming reunion until Celestia’s seneschal coughed lightly to get their attention.
The blue-gray stallion, dressed in the red and gold formal attire of the head of the castle staff, bowed politely to the royal family, his light brown mane almost touching the floor. Standing up again, he faced the Luna and Twilight but averted his hazel eyes. “Pardon me your majesty’s, but the procession is ready for you.” He announced.
“Thank you Perfect Order, we’ll be there shortly.” Luna answered.
“What’s going on?” Dusk asked, pulling himself from Tootsieflute.
“We are leading the funeral procession for the five soldiers that died in the rescue attempt at Platinum Castle. With everything that’s been going on, we’ve put it off long enough.” Twilight said. “You two stay here and catch up with your marefriends, we can handle this.”
“No Mom, we are a family and as such we should do this as a family." Dawn said. “The ponies of Equstria need to see as many of the royal family overseeing the procession as possible. At the very least they need to know that we’ve returned.”
“The populous was not informed of your departure, we didn’t want to panic anypony, you two have become quite popular in the last few years it seems.” Luna remarked.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Dawn told her marefriend.
“It’s okay, we’ve waited a week we can wait a little longer.” Dinky said with tears in her eyes. “I just so happy you’re back."
Dawn gave her another hug before getting a tap on her shoulder. “Come on Dawn, we owe it to the guards and everypony else to be there.” Dusk said, reluctant to leave his marefriends as well.
With one final kiss on the cheek, Dawn fell into step behind her mothers, next to dusk, and proceeded to the castle entrance where the guards procession waited. Upon exiting the castle, Perfect Order stopped the royal family. “Your majesties, you’re dressed only in your crowns and your children aren’t wearing anything at all, this simply will not do. I can hold the procession a little longer so that you have time to properly attire yourselves.”
“Seneschal, I would remind you that you are in charge of castle staff and mine and my sisters official schedule, you are not however, in charge of us.” Luna told him.
“I would never presume your majesty but it is disrespectful to the soldiers to not be properly attired in your full royal regalia.” Perfect Order said.
“We are not dressed in our finery because this is not about us.” Twilight said. “This is about the brave pony’s that gave their life to free my children and the children of our friends and loved ones from the grasp of a demented stallion. We do not dress in our regalia because we do not want focusing on us. It is tradition that at least some member of the royal family lead the procession but I don’t want our subjects watching us, I want their eyes glued to the five caskets drawn behind us.” The lavender alicorn said, finishing her lecture to the seneschal and any pony within earshot.
“Your majesties,” A Solar Guard said, hoofing over to each, a sold black band bearing the royal insignia. “As you requested.”
“Thank you Stalwart, you may rejoin your unit now, with our thanks.” Luna told him.
The sky was gray, as ordered, but no rain would dampen the procession as the Princesses Luna and Twilight, followed close behind by their children marched out the castle gates and onto Clover Avenue, the main street running through Canterlot. Behind them in two columns were the first battalion of the Lunar and Solar Guards dressed in full parade uniform, each guard wearing a black band on their left foreleg, the same black band that was given to the royal family minus the silver filigree along the edges. Following them was Applebloom, newly promoted to Captain of the entire Equestrian Royal Guard, also clad in full dress uniform with black band. Directly behind her was her hoof picked guards for the Royal Residence, pulling five wagons, carrying five coffins, each draped with the flag of Equstria.
Making their way up the street toward the Fallen Shield cemetery, Dusk and Dawn marveled at the thousands of ponies that lined each side of the street, paying their respect for the fallen guards. Looking up the road, in the direction of the cemetery, they saw more ponies, lining the road the entire way. “Where did they all come from?” Dusk muttered to himself.
“They came from all corners of the Kingdom, from the Crystal Empire in the north, to beyond the Hayseed Swamps in the south, and all points between.” Twilight spoke softly. “The royal guard, by Celestia’s decree, do not just protect us but all of Equestria, as you well know.”
“Our little ponies may have their minor differences with them here and there and we’ve had the occasional bad apple within their ranks now and then but on the whole, the Royal Guard is admired, looked up to, and loved by the populous because they know that it is the Royal Guard that keeps them safe from dangers beyond our borders that would seek to do our ponies harm.” Luna continued. “If you want to know more, I suggest you speak to Applebloom or your uncle Shining Armor, they know first hoof what it is to be a guard and what that means to the ponies they serve.”
The rest of the procession to the cemetery was made in silence as both of the royal twins were consumed with their own thoughts about the gravity of the occasion and the words spoken by their mothers. Passing through the entryway of the graveyard, Luna and Twilight led their children to a receiving stand setup, overlooking a courtyard where the five wagons, with their solemn load would be lined up before the growing crowd of ponies.
Ounce the crowed had sufficiently settled down, Luna approached the microphone. “Before we start, I would like to read something.” She said, using her magic to conjure a piece of paper from her study. Clearing her throat, she began.
“In hallowed fields the flowers grow
Between the headstones, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the tears below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset’s glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In hallowed fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hooves we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though flowers grow
In these hallowed fields.”
There was a pregnant silence following Luna’s words, broken only by the occasional sound of sobs and choked back tears from all those in attendance. Even the guards from the procession, standing proud next to their solemn burdens, needed all their strength to keep from crying themselves, even though more than a few had a line of tears running down their face.
Giving her little ponies a short time to vent their grief, Luna started again. “My sister sincerely apologizes for not being her herself, she very much wanted to be in attendance, to show her respects for our fallen ponies but her responsibilities have kept her away. I am sure that everypony understands, that as much as we think it should, the country cannot stop running, it must aid, defend, and provide for those of us that are still here. I will now turn over the stage to my wife, Princess Twilight.”
As the two passed each other, Twilight gave her wife a hug, then preceded to the microphone. “Thank you Princess Luna. I, myself and I’m sure everypony here will forgive Princess Celestia for not being here and thank her for doing her duty in keeping our country running in these difficult and trying times.” Twilight paused a moment then began again. “As many of you know and many more do not, recently my own children and the children of many of our friends and family were abducted and held hostage in order to force Princess Celestia and Princess to Luna to abdicate the throne to a malicious, deplorable, and wholly unworthy pony. I will not say their name here because I will not give them any more attention, attention they never deserved. When the call went up to save these children, these five guards were among the first, within the royal residence to answer that call and we are here to remember them and their sacrifice. Their names…”
Across the city, back in the royal palace, Celestia sat next to her son’s bed, holding him as he sobbed into her chest, his pitiful moans lamenting his actions at Platinum Castle, but more than anything else, what scarred him the most was the look on his daughters face when he reached out for her, her terrified eyes and the heart wrenching scream the escaped her lips upon seeing a monster.
While Luna and her family saw to the internment of those five brave guards who died doing their service, and Celestial attended to the mental well being of her son, a chestnut stallion, living on the outskirts of Ponyville, saw to the just deserts of another. Julian Hooves sat with daughter in front of a mirror watching a white unicorn stallion pound upon the glass fruitlessly, a small human girl poking her head from around the corner.
"Are you sure he can't get out of there?" The unicorn asked.
"I'm certain of it." Julian said. "No amount of magic could ever release him. I simply gave him what he wanted, eternity; and besides, I thought it was height time the sister had a playmate."