//------------------------------//
// The Wake 
// Story: Final Reign 
// by Lise 
//------------------------------//

	I delayed sunrise by one hour. All Equestria was probably panicking, yet I didn't care. Today was a day of mourning and should be remembered as such.

The grass cracked under my hooves as I made my way to the graveyard. I had hoped that the icy mist would keep most ponies home  until noon. I should have known I would be mistaken. All of them were already there when I arrived: the Elements, Rainbow's friends, even the crusader fillies. I could feel their icy glares on me as I made my way to the grave. They hated me, and at this moment I couldn't blame them. Rainbow Dash might have rebelled against me, yet I was the one who had her killed. I might as well have shot the lethal bolt myself.

"What in tarnation are you doin' here?!" Applejack swaggered towards me. She was drunk. I could smell it from here. Ever since Rainbow's death she had sought solace at the bottom of a barrel. "I oughta buck you one right in the face! Comin' here with your white cape and fancy crown! I oughta—"

"Not here, sis." Big McIntosh hushed her. How I envied his strength and calm. He was smart enough to know something was happening and strong enough not to let it ruin his life. "Dash died to end the fighting. What would she think if she saw ya startin' a fight on her wake?"

"Yes, Applejack," Rarity chimed in. Since the unfortunate rebellion, she was the only Element that chose to take my side. She had one condition, of course: that nothing bad happened to her little sister. "His Majesty has just as much right to be here as anypony else. And while my heart bleeds for the disastrous events that took place a moon ago, we must move on. For the sake of Equestria, we—"

"Bah! Y'all are cowards, every apple-picking one of ya!" Applejack shouted. "Y'all think because he wears a tin hat he can jump up and down like a rotten filly? He killed Rainbow Dash! How could y'all—" She burst into tears, sobbing like a drunkard who had lost all hope. 

How ironic that hers was the only adequate reaction. If they knew what I did, the others would join her on the spot. Instead, they hid everything under a mask of false hopes and presences, clinging to the dream of better days.

"Hush now, darling." Rarity pulled her away. "I know, I know. We all miss her. You more than most."

I watched the two mares walk off towards Sweet Apple Acres. The way she was going, Applejack could become a concern in a few years' time. Thankfully, for the moment she was harmless. I was more inclined to have her watched out of fear she might harm herself. Losing another Element so early in my reign wasn't something I could afford.

"They don't like ya," McIntosh said. He didn't bother lowering his voice.

"Don't they?" I hissed. There was no reason for the comment to make me angry, and yet my nostrils flared. "If they had any idea of what—"

"Then why don't you tell them?" He cut me short.

My entire body shook with rage. With a single word I could send him to the Canterlot dungeons, or banish him beyond Equestria. The stallion looked at me as calm as a statue then shrugged and walked away. Thank the stars he did. The recent uprising had me on edge. Gritting my teeth, I tried to think what had brought me here. The burden Celestia had put on my shoulders was unbearable. It took all my efforts just to keep things going. I deserved thanks for what I was doing! Ponies everywhere should be worshipping my efforts! Instead I got ridicule, dissent, betrayal—useless annoyances that distracted me from my real task. 


I took a deep breath. Coming here was a mistake. However, it was too late for me to back out. Burying my emotions, I went to Rainbow Dash’s final resting place.

The grave was made of pure white marble. I had refused to use the epitaph Twilight had requested, providing one of my own: Rainbow Dash, Loyal to a fault. I could not allow it be mentioned she was a Wonderbolt or Element of Harmony. Doing so would threaten a new civil war. 

"You did it, Rainbow," I whispered over her grave. "You won." At least she had died a hero, fighting for what she believed in. Would I be as fortunate?

I remained at the grave a few minutes more, then headed for my carriage. Walking tired me. Tomorrow I would appoint Fancy Speaker of the Court. Let him play politics, while I try to find a way to save us all.

"You need to tell somepony," a voice said, interrupting my thoughts. I looked over my shoulder. To my surprise McIntosh was there again. "You'll go insane if you don't."

"Oh?" I turned around to face him. "What could your puny little mud mind understand?" I mocked. "Run along and be the good brother and keep your sister from drowning in a barrel. That's the only thing you're good at."

"Nope." He stepped forward. "Not till ya speak your mind."

"You don't want to know anything!" I hissed. The anger was back in full force. "You just want to live your stupid little life, enjoying your illusion of happiness!" The words came pouring out. "You're like all the rest! You don't care what's going on, as long as it makes you imagine yourself safe! The six-month dread, the civil war, even the death of your friend!" I felt something burning down my cheek. "I didn't ask for this! I don't enjoy it! If I had a choice—"

Without warning McIntosh grabbed me and pulled me towards him. His foreleg placed my head on his shoulder, keeping it there almost forcefully. 

"I know," he whispered into my ear. I felt his hoof slide through my mane.

"You don't know anything," I sobbed, my tears falling into his fur. "They are dying. All of them." I relaxed my head onto him, incapable of moving away. "The sun, the moon, the dreams... everything is fading away."

"It ain't your fault." His voice was soft, soothing. It only increased my pain.

"I never wanted this! I didn't want to watch them go insane." There were almost as many words as tears. "I didn't want to keep them locked away."

"It ain't your fault."

"I didn't want a civil war," I sobbed on, my voice weaker. "I couldn't tell Rainbow Dash. I didn't want another Spitfire. And instead... instead..."

"It ain't your fault," McIntosh said adamantly. "It ain't."

I kept on talking for hours, spitting every bit of pain and sorry I had gathered throughout the years. The alicorn plague, Luna's insanity, Flurry Heart's death... hundreds upon hundreds of horrors I had seen, the lives I took, the regrets I had. And all that time he just stood there, holding me, repeating one single phrase on and on.

"It ain't your fault."