All across Equestria, volunteers came, flooding into the city or sending what resources they could. Erdrick's national organization, a group of charities, that was his legacy. Los Pegasus had suffered terrible wounds, yet with all the extra help by an entire country, it would be back to its full glory within no time at all.
The total body count was in the thousands, and many more had suffered severe injuries. Broken legs, broken necks, bodies crushed in the wreckage, volunteers spent weeks sifting through the rubble. Considering everything that had happened, though it was still a catastrophe, it could have been much worse.
The funeral, the actual funeral, was a small, private affair. My friends attended, as did my sister, who gave a eulogy which moved us to tears. She had spent so much time corresponding with Erdrick, though she hadn't had the chance to formally meet him, that she could not help herself. She cried over his coffin, an empty coffin, for the body was never found.
Erdrick's passing had moved many more, but it was spelled out in his will that any large ceremony was not to be held. Instead, we threw ourselves into a memorial to him and all the others lost in the Los Pegasus disaster, his name one of many etched into a stone monument erected on the spot the monster fell.
We made no attempt to cover up what had happened, nor would we even if we could. The official explanation was the real one, that an ancient enemy of Equestria had schemed for years to poison the water supply, and unleash a creature into the city to obliterate it. The press reacted as they usually did, spreading more rumor than fact, despite our best efforts to correct them.
Rainbow and Fluttershy didn't stick around long after the funeral, I completely lost track of them. Midnight, who had been reassigned to her home town of Ponyville, would write to me a few years later, telling me that the two had moved there, with Rainbow taking a job as a weatherpony to support them. Midnight told me she had attempted to forge her identification papers to make herself seem older, enough to qualify for the job. Fluttershy practiced her veterinarian skills there, though not in any official capacity. I decided it was best if I didn't go visit them. I had a feeling our paths would cross again eventually.
Squeaky and Minty, despite having their projects destroyed along with everypony's else's, were given first place for reasons I need not spell out. I left them to return to Canterlot to comfort my sister, and they would both eventually graduate with honors from the University of Los Pegasus.
Twilight, though curious about the events, never did ask me about them. I think the wrinkles that had grown on my face told her what she needed to know. Instead, I found her poring over the news articles discussing what happened, and she'd clip them out and keep them in a book. She never discussed the book with me, either.
The Hummingbird Flight School, after the infamous attacks, made a full recovery after one of Erdrick's charities, Fliers for Freedom, took over and remodeled it. It retained the same staff, but became a public school, not a private one, for anypony to attend regardless of credentials. To this day it is regarded as one of the best in the country, but without the accompanying price tag.
Gabby and her band, Neon Bludgeon, became rock sensations and went on tour around Equestria, though this was some time after the disaster. We still see each other whenever her path brings her around to Canterlot, though she has much on her mind. I've heard she gets into fights at bars along with the band, though, and as she said, "I need something to keep me sharp."
I have heard tell that Squeaky's invention, the wireless transceiver, had caught on slowly. They're quite expensive to build and the technology is fairly unreliable, but everything has to start somewhere. Minty's experiments in rocketry, however, have not caught on as much. She told me once that she hopes to put a pony on the moon someday, but I told her she'd have to make a rocket that doesn't explode first. She winked at me when I said that.
Mister Labamba continues to room with the twins, though they've since moved back to Canterlot and live in their own house in Twilight's neighborhood. I still don't know what the deal was with the ducks and the playing cards, and he remains as stone-faced as ever whenever I see him.
As for myself, this is where my journey ends for the moment. I've been meaning to relax, focus on my own life a while. A certain stallion has been making eyes at me, and life is too short to put it off long. Erdrick and Celestia have shown me not to miss these chances.
Continued in Part 3: Forbidden Deeper