She saw them mourn her.
She saw them lower her coffin into the ground and read out their speeches, crying the entire time amidst the dim, rainy skies.
She saw them talk to each other, all of them lost in a sense, their friend, their sister, their daughter, their beloved student, now just... gone. Forever.
She had given herself for them, as well as everyone else in the world that would've died because of the Storm King.
Tempest Shadow made sure nobody ever would've in the future.
The broken Unicorn watched Twilight Sparkle's friends leave her grave, barely able to pull their eyes away through their tears. They were clearly regretful; the last time they saw her, they weren't on the best of terms after she betrayed their trust, but now they wanted nothing for her to be back.
Her parents were next to leave, holding onto each other as they hid under their umbrella. They must've had barely any context for why their child died, and knew that she should've outlived them, but fate had other plans.
Next was Celestia, the mask that hid her emotions utterly shattered by what had transpired. The Alicorn definitely had greater plans for the mare she saw as a daughter, but those were never going to come to fruition.
Finally, there was just one creature left: Luna. She was the one to do the proceedings, as nobody else could possibly hold themselves together through it, but the Mare of the Night could. She was still clearly despondent and mourning, but it seems almost like she was expecting Twilight's life to get cut short, based on how much quicker she seemed to grapple with it all. Now, she was just standing before the filly's grave, hanging her head down as rain pulled her mane and tail to the grass, the stars and constellations that usually lifted it up now just painted across them.
Tempest stepped out from the shadow of the tree she was under, a ways away from the gravesite. She knew her presence would've interrupted things, and everyone there deserved better than to deal with her. At this point though, with just Luna remaining and clearly not moving any time soon, she decided to head over.
The rain drowned out her steps, but she could Luna already was aware of her presence--in all honesty, she probably knew she was there from the moment she arrived. For several seconds, the air was just filled with those noises as Tempest walked forward, even the chilly breeze that blew along her exposed coat being nearly inaudible underneath everything.
When she finally reached Twilight's grave, Tempest just moved to stand next to Luna before it, and saw the epitaph.
Twilight Sparkle
985 A.N. - 1005 A.N.Friend to everyone, everywhere.
"She was far too young for this."
Tempest looked over at the Princess after she spoke, her words ringing utterly true in the Unicorn's mind. "It really shouldn't have been her. She..." She sighed out a deep, chilly breath, "She shouldn't have to have dealt with any of this stuff."
Luna nodded slowly and looked up at the grave as well. "One could certainly blame my sister for that. She's always had a bad habit of not being able to accept that she's wrong."
Watching the rain pour down the Alicorn's inexpressive face, Tempest asked, "Do you? Blame your sister, that is?"
"...Somewhat." Luna looked back at the other mare and elaborated, "'Tia kept Twilight close in her Palace for longer than she should've. She encouraged the filly to go out and make friends, but never forced her to until I nearly killed them." Taking a deep breath, likely from the guilt she felt in that statement, she then continued, "She kept pushing her to improve and learn more, but she was still far from ready to rule alongside us like my sister wanted."
Tempest silently nodded, recalling the irrationality the young mare displayed in her time as prisoner under the Storm King and the general foolishness she knew of long before then. Obviously, that triarchy would've still been decades away, and she doubted the efficacy of turning a nerdy goody-four-shoes into a Princess, but there was something else weighing more on her mind.
"Do you blame me?"
Luna paused at the question, having to close her eyes in thought for several seconds before opening them back up to reply, "...You were in a terrible place, and your hoof was forced by him. He's the one that wrought all of this, and you weren't able to stop it from happening." Turning her head to look at the Unicorn once more, she carefully added, "I can't say I enjoy being around you, Tempest, but to not at least be cordial about this... would both be disrespectful and hypocritical."
Tempest simply slowly nodded her head in response; she knew the other mare already knew she kept her distance for those same reasons.
"Do you blame yourself?"
Tempest didn't know how to respond to that, though. She froze on the spot in indecision and surprise, even as Luna continued to watch her with the same conflicted expression. Pulling her head away, the former Commander tried to think; she remembered the conversations she had with Twilight in harsh vividness, from her own taunting to understanding and freeing her after the Storm King showed his true colours, and she could recall the determination clear the younger mare's voice as she spoke about how she was going to stop him, no matter what. Tempest just didn't realize at the time she was willing to go that far on that promise.
In fact, it was that realization about how badly she messed up, both in her trust of the Storm King and misunderstanding of Twilight's willpower, that made her avenge the mare in question.
"...I don't know how much that matters," She finally replied, still looking away. "She made her choice, and I've made mine. There's no changing any of that."
"...But you still feel the need to make things right by her," Luna finished, drawing Tempest's gaze back up her. She really shouldn't have been surprised, with the Alicorn's own sins giving her more than enough empathy.
"You're a good mare, Tempest. You never deserved to be put in these situations either, and you can still make amends with everyone that knew her."
Tempest smiled wryly and replied, "Oh, don't tell me you're all going to try and 'reform' me like I'm some fool that just 'made some poor choices'."
Smiling with humour as well while she turned to look forward again, Luna responded with, "I know. I understand you're far more than that, and the forge that made you into what many would call a monster has also made you far stronger than them. No matter what the Elements have faced, they're still quite naïve."
Neither of them said anything for a moment after that, Tempest looking back to the grave and thinking on the Princess's words; she knew most ponies wouldn't be able to see past the sins she had done, and it was refreshing to speak with someone that knew better. But, as she recalled the ponies she had wronged, she was reminded of an oddity at the funeral...
"I'm surprised Cadanza wasn't here."
She heard Luna suck in a breath and seem to consider her words for a moment before answering the implied question with another, "Twilight's brother did not show up either." That distinctly pulled Tempest's sight over to her, letting her cautiously continue, "Her brother, Captain Shining Armour, if you recall him," She glanced over to see the nod of comprehension on the former Commander's face, "Was far too distraught with his sister's untimely death. He's been in denial ever since, and has delved deep into his work and tries obsessively hard to keep Equestria secure, and his wife is doing her best to keep him from doing something rash."
"...That's going to be all the more difficult for him since he hasn't come here yet," Tempest noted, looking back toward the grave once again.
Grunting and nodding slowly in agreement, Luna remained looking at the grave for several seconds, seemingly pondering something before finally saying, "I believe a lot of Equestria is going to be affected by this, and I do hope Cadance can keep the military in control while her husband remains in pain."
"How so?" Tempest asked in response, though already had a hunch of where it was going.
Taking a deep breath, Luna then spoke, "While other nations may try something against us while we're weakened, most will still respect our mourning. Internal politics will be more complicated, though; my sister has already tried to put things in place to give Twilight some hold in our government, and while I've prevented most of it from going into effect, there are still a few things--mostly just some flexibility in the numbers of Princesses and necessities for Twilight's presence in the Palace--that will need to be amended."
Tempest hummed in understanding, though it did make her ask, "I imagine you wanted to save that other stuff for later, correct?"
"..Somewhat," Luna replied with a second of hesitation. "But I was always aware that this may happen as well. With all of what they get up to and all that they face, I am honestly surprised it took this long for one of them to perish."
"Yeah, you did seem to be expecting this..." Tempest mused, but knew of everyone else's expressions as well, and added, "I don't think the others were at all, though."
"Well, as I said, they are quite naïve." Luna's tone became a bit more somber than normal as she continued, "They may all view me as cynical and a 'fun-killer', but I simply prefer being realistic. My sister's optimism and Cadance's enthusiasm may help with diplomacy, but in the possibility of war, my strict adherence to logic and honour is what keeps us on top."
Tempest gave a bit of a lopsided smirk as she recalled, "Well, that didn't seem to prove too helpful during our invasion, huh?"
Smiling a little as well, Luna looked over and responded, "Well, perhaps if we could have a proper fight instead of cheating with dark magic, then we could truly see who's better."
Turning to look back at the Princess as well, Tempest replied, "That'd be cool; I'd like to see someone that can match me in combat, too."
Turning back to the grave before them, their emotions fell away as something else became more prevalent in their minds.
"I always despise this feeling..." Luna begun slowly, considering her words as she looked at the grave with an almost apathetic expression, "Of someone with a full life and so much possibility getting killed. I've dealt with it countless times, yet it always feels underwhelming and... unfair, really."
"Yeah, this could've turned out countless other ways, but you could say that about just about anything she's dealt with..." Tempest mused in return. "I guess her luck just ran out, and... well," She laughed a bit to herself, looking up at the rainy sky above, "It's not like she didn't go out with a bang."
Nodding and grunting in agreement, Luna still saw fit to add, "I do suppose it's quite poetic. She was brought into power by little more than an accident, being in the right place at the right time..." Glancing over at the Unicorn to read the look of familiarity she had with the story, "And she was taken out of it in just the same way."