After the group had gathered their supplies, there were just enough loose pieces of the Gondola left to form two separate piles of compact golden shards. The bars and lengths of shrapnel were arranged to look as geometrically perfect as possible. They stood out amidst the dead flat desolation of the World's Edge, and the nebulaic starlight from beyond the firmaments glittered off the metallic surfaces so that they were visible for hundreds of meters in all directions.
Kepler was putting on the finishing touches to a series of words etched across a round chunk of stone. The chunk of granite rested on the top of the rightmost "monument," and in the dim twilight it read: "In memory of Johnny "Bard" – friend, husband, father, hero."
The two sleds—including the one Seraphimus lay on—had been assembled and rested a few meters away from the pair of monuments. Rainbow Dash, Ariel, Logan, Flynn, and Wildcard all stood in a neat line. Rainbow's ghostly companions hovered around their anchor—somber and silent.
At last, Kepler finished carving the words. He stepped back from the golden piles and wiped his brow. "Haaaa... therre, my frriends." He pointed at his work. "Surrely, those who might happen upon this arrrangement in the futurre will know that therre has been a divine purrpose to it all..."
"It's very nice, Kepler," Rainbow said with a nod.
The wyvern turned around, his spectacles reflecting her deadpan expression. "I am sorrry that we could not find a larrge enough stone to place upon Axan's 'monument.' If you would allow me some time to scourr the nearrby landscape, I'm cerrtain that I could find—"
"No, Kepler," Rainbow exclaimed through a sigh. "We can't stay out here forever. Besides..." She gazed forlornly in the direction of Axan's large, unmoving corpse between there and the gondola. "...she was never one for words... or any sort of ceremony."
"Unless stomping on poor defenseless blue pegasi is her idea of a ceremony—" Pinkie began, but then received an orange slap to the top of her ghostly head. She shifted gears, immediately smiling. "But that was several novels ago! So who's counting?!"
Rarity cleared her throat, then smiled at Rainbow. "I think—in Axan's case—her actions speak for her."
"Yes, Rainbow," Twilight Sparkle added. "If she ever wanted a monument... you're it."
"Hoo boy..." Rainbow's wings drooped as she mumbled: "No pressure there."
Ariel craned her neck, speaking to Kepler. "I think this is a marvelous job you've accomplished here, Kepler. Bard would appreciate it."
"Yeah, way to go, Keps," Logan said, leaning on his axe. "Sure as Hell a better grave than he ever would have gotten back at Blue's Ranch."
"Tchyaa..." Flynn nodded. "Too bad we couldn't bury him here to. I think he'd be super happy to be as far away from that place as possible."
"There you have it!" Ariel smiled. "In a way, he got his wish."
Dead silence.
Ariel sighed. "Okay... it still sucks..."
Flynn cleared his throat. "A modicum of sanctity, please. Is that so much to ask for?"
"I dunno, baldy." Logan smirked. "Bard believed in doing things smoothly, but he rarely ever accomplished it."
"Big Show..."
"What? You're going to tell me he wasn't ever a total clusterbuck at times?!" Logan swung a hoof in the air. "Remember that one time he defeated the arsonists in Pine Prefecture by burning down half the town?"
"It was an abandoned town—"
"And then when chasing pirates off the gulf of Silt Prefecture, he got the bright idea of sitting Ariel on a rock and playing music from behind a shipwreck and convincing them that she was an intoxicating siren..."
Wildcard exhaled sharply. A smile formed beneath his beak.
"See?!" Logan pointed, smiling brilliantly. "Hah! He remembers!"
Ariel folded her forelimbs with a pout. "It wasn't so funny at the time..."
"Well, it sure as Hell worked, didn't it?"
"I swear... I've never kicked so much pirate groin in my life..."
"And don't get me started on that Rust Syndicate crap." Logan looked over at Rainbow. "Tell me—how many dozens of ways did you nearly screw up the raid of the Northern Hoof's vault?"
Rainbow fought the urge to chuckle. "You can't put that all on Bard. A lot of Rust was me half-assing it."
Wildcard conducted an invisible melody in the air with his right talon.
"Wildcard has a point, darling," Rarity said. "If it weren't for Bard distracting Revan with his handsome charm, you and Wildcard wouldn't have been able to make any progress whatsoever."
Twilight squinted at the ghostly fashionista. "The way you say it makes it sound like Bard was seducing the leader of the Northern Hoof."
"And who says it wasn't, hmmmm?" Rarity batted her eyelashes.
"Eugh..."
"Ahem..." Rainbow looked up. "I wouldn't have gotten as far as I did if it weren't for Bard." She caught sight of Wildcard's goggles shifting in her direction. "I mean—yeah—we all know who can really clear a room and take names, but—no offense Wildcard—Bard's charisma and swagger and big-brother-ness is what actually caught my attention and made me listen to the Desperados' case to begin with—" Her words dissipated as a pained expression overwhelmed her muzzle. Her ears drooped hard as she whimpered: "He was my brother. A shuddering breath. "The big brother I never had..."
Sniffling, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie hovered close to Rainbow. They couldn't hug her, but their proximity was the next best thing.
Rainbow rubbed her cheek dry and sighed. "Nicole's lucky. And... and it's a good thing..." She nodded to the stars. "...it's a very good thing that she got to meet him for one last time. And now... she's heading towards a better place." A swallow. "As are we."
Flynn looked up at that—but he said nothing.
Logan cleared his throat. "I know I'm probably the last person to suggest this sort of a thing... but I'm guessing a moment of silence would be pretty damn appropriate. Huh?" He looked at the others. "For both Bard and the dragon matriarch?"
"Capital choice, brrotherr," Kepler said... and proceeded to hang his head.
There was sudden movement. The group observed Wildcard shuffling forward. Gripping Bard's staff in his good talon, the remaining Desperado knelt before the rightmost pile of alicorn metal. The blood on the rod had long lost its glow by now.
Soon, Ariel fluttered forward and landed at Wildcard's side. She engulfed the griffin in a soft hug from behind, and together the two paid their silent respects to their dear friend.
Rainbow Dash looked on. She knew that she should have been hanging her head and giving the entire moment to Bard. But—for whatever reason—she couldn't. After all, neither did Bard.
Rainbow's vision swam across her surroundings—or more specifically the faces of those lingering around her. Logan was the most serious and deadpan she had ever seen him. Kepler—of course—composed himself with the usual grace and well-practiced dignity. Flynn looked anxious and more than a little bit sad. Wildcard—as always—was frighteningly unreadable. Rainbow felt her heartbeat growing heavier as her vision dwelled on him. But then all it took was the comforting image of Ariel hugging the Desperado to put her at ease. The pegasus was emotional as always, tearing over a bittersweet smile as she nuzzled Wildcard's neck. Off in the distance—still aside from steady breathing—was Seraphimus' bound figure. A cold shudder ran through Rainbow Dash, and it was around that point that the moment of silence ended.
Wildcard stood up with aid of Bard's staff. Silently—with mute grace—he collapsed the weapon entirely... then stuck it into a pouch of his bandolier. The one closest to his heart. He turned to look at Ariel and waggled a few of his talon's claws.
Ariel looked over him at Kepler. "Wildcard's wondering how sturdy these monuments are."
"Oh! They'll last quite the long time, most assurrredly!" Kepler said.
Ariel exhaled while Wildcard breathed with relief. "That's nice, Kepler," the pegasus said.
"I mean... surrely not forreverr," Kepler digressed, staring at the Edge of the World and the lightning brimming beyond. "This close to the Firrmaments, a tempestuous gale is bound to blow some of the golden sharrds off theirr foundation within a few centurries, and of courrse therre's the crreeping rravenous hand of entrropy—"
"That's nice, Kepler," Flynn growled.
Kepler froze in place, smiling nervously. "They'll last severral lifetimes! Ha-Hah! No worrries!"
Logan sighed long and hard, although it was through a smile. "What did I tell ya?" Pivoting on the handle of his axe, he turned to look at Rainbow. "Any final words you wanna say in Remn—erm... in Axan's memory?"
Rainbow gulped. "I... think I've said all that needs to be said."
"You won't get another opportunity like this, Rainbow," Flynn added.
"Don't think like yer doin' it for Axan, sugarcube," Applejack suggested. "Think of it like yer doin' it for yerself."
"Applejack's right, Rainbow." Fluttershy nodded. "If there's anything to get off your chest, then now's the time. It's okay."
Rainbow stood up straight. "Well then... okay." She trotted towards the leftmost monument and stiffened her muscles. "Just... I hadn't prepared anything..."
"Speak from the gut, Dashie!" Pinkie chirped. "You can do it!"
"Very well." Rainbow took on a proud stance. "Axan, the Divine Matriarch of Flame, was nothing short of the very paragon of—"
Just then... there was a grotesque, blood-curdling shifting sound echoing from the location of Axan's corpse.
"... ... ..." Rainbow's eyes narrowed. "...the crap?"
Pinkie Pie's nose scrunched. "Well, that wasn't a very nice eulogy."
"Pinkie, you dolt!" Rarity hissed. "Something amidst Axan's remains is moving."
"Oh gosh!" Fluttershy hid behind Applejack. "What could it be?"
"Rainbow?" Ariel hovered over. "What's the matter?"
"Guh..." Twilight winced, her horn suddenly glowing. "I'm sensing a sudden energy surge! Ancient... ancient magic!"
"What in tarnation?" Applejack offered.
There was a final shifting of movement. Rainbow and her friends looked over to see something small rolling out of a bloody pocket within Axan's corpse.
"Uhhhhhh..." Rainbow moved away from the monument and towards Axan's body. "...something just rolled out of her..."
The Herald followed cautiously behind.