Twilight and her friends were running up to the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters. They all hoped that they weren't too late to save their friends. As they were about to enter the castle ruins, a soft explosion was heard. The five of them looked to the night sky and saw something that made their hearts sink. Expanding from the castle was Soren's Sonic Fireblast, except it wasn't a ring of green fire...it was yellow mist. The five mares immediately sprinted inside and aimed towards the estimated origin of the blast.
Eventually, the girls came across the room that used to be the shrine for the Elements of Harmony. Their hope dropped as they looked upon the flames and rubble that decorated the room. They soon saw Rainbow Dash, Luna, and Nyra nearby. Twilight ran to Rainbow while Rarity ran over to Luna and Nyra.
"Rainbow Dash?! Rainbow Dash, please wake up," Twilight shouted as she sat next to her friend. Although Rainbow Dash didn't wake up, Twilight noticed that she was breathing. That alone comforted her, yet something, or someone, was still missing.
"Do any of y'all see Soren?" Applejack asked worriedly.
"U-u-umm..." Fluttershy uttered, making a sad squeal afterwards and sounding like she was going to cry. Everypony turned towards her and saw what was causing her to tear up. With her hooves, Fluttershy held a lock of black hair.
"Is that...?" Twilight whispered. Pinkie Pie already started to fight back tears as she whimpered.
"It-It can't be true," Rarity said.
"Poor Soren," AJ added as she took her hat off and held it against her chest as she closed her eyes.
"I want to say that Soren could still be somewhere," Twilight began, "but I know it would be a lie. We all saw that yellow mist. Soren regenerated; now he's gone."
"We should at least have a goodbye party," Pinkie Pie commented as she wiped her eyes.
"There's only one type of party for the dead, Pinkie," AJ replied. "A funeral."
----------------
The Next Day
----------------
The pegasi of Ponyville created rain and cloudy skies for the afternoon; today was special. After all of the Lunar Guards took Princess Luna back to Canterlot and after Princess Celestia raised the sun, Ponyville held a funeral for their fallen hero. Many ponies from town gathered around a coffin as Twilight Sparkle stood at a podium. Octavia, Vinyl, Derpy, and Pendant stood near Applejack, Rarity and the rest of mares. Twilight cleared her throat and began the ceremony.
"We all know why we are here. We assume Soren had died since no pony knows where his body is." Twilight had to pause. The end of that sentence formed a knot in her throat. "This wasn't mentioned before so no one would panic, but it now has to be said in order to show how much Soren gave to ensure our safety. Our land was drenched in seemingly eternal night not because of Luna, but because of Nightmare Moon's return. Her spirit manifest itself inside of Princess Luna somehow and possessed her and the corpse of Nyra. Taking action, Soren fought her to the very end. He was successful in defeating her...but at a cost.
"Soren was a very loving, caring, and heroic pony. He wanted nothing more than to find love and protect those around him. In my opinion, and hopefully everyone else's, he succeeded in doing both. Soren's marefriend, Rainbow Dash, was loved very much by him. It was because of her help that Soren managed to defeat Nightmare Moon. Although she didn't see Soren when he died, she still wishes she could have at least said goodbye. I'm sure we all do.
"Soren has been through a lot in his life. He has defeated intensely powerful foes, saved towns, and endured things that would make other ponies go insane. Overall, we cannot thank Soren enough for what he put himself through just to make us feel safe. He never asked to be thanked...nor did he want recognition for the things he did. We will always miss you, Soren...and...we will always be your family."
Twilight began crying towards the end of her speech. Everypony watched as Soren's tombstone was revealed.
(9??-1003)
Elemental Guardian
Friend
Time Lord
Hero
May he always look down upon us with the angels.
While everypony was mourning around Soren's tombstone, a hooded pony stood from a distance and watched as most ponies cried. He never got close to anyone, until he noticed some familiar faces nearby. He knew that Soren's closest friends were around the grave, while everypony else was further away. He saw three familiar fillies that were closest to him. Their names were Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Bell, and they were sitting together and hugging each other. He pretended to walk closer to the group of ponies that were around Soren's grave so the three fillies would notice him. It took a few minutes but eventually one of them spoke.
"Hey, mister," Applebloom called sadly. "Did you know Soren?"
"I guess you can say I was pretty close to him," the hooded pony replied. "I just wanted to see the impact he made, but I also came to have closure." The Cutie Mark Crusaders all tilted their little heads in confusion. The hooded pony noticed this and chuckled. "Just...tell his friends that Soren was very sorry for everything he put them through."
The pony turned his head towards the fillies. They managed to see half of his face; they saw his white coat and his brilliant, green eye. The pony turned around and began walking towards a tall box situated behind some nearby trees and bushes. Upon seeing the strange scene, Applebloom and her friends ran towards Applejack.
"Sis! Sis! There's a pony with a box over there!" she exclaimed when she reached her big sister.
"What?" Applejack asked as she turned towards the direction Applebloom was pointing at. Applejack's eyes widened as she saw the blue box. "Girls, look over there!" she shouted to her friends.
The others, along with Vinyl, Octavia, Derpy, and Pendent, quickly gave their farmer friend their attention and looked. Within seconds, a familiar whirring sound occurred. Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash took a few steps ahead of everypony else and just watched as the TARDIS started to disappear.
"Do you think he actually regenerated?" Rainbow asked Twilight.
"I...I don't know," she replied. "But at least he's alive, even if it means he's apparently leaving."
"I don't want him to leave us, Twilight."
"I don't think any of us do. Even he probably doesn't want to leave. Applebloom and her friends seemed to recognize him. Maybe he hasn't regenerated."
"I'll pray for anything just to bring him back."
"He'll come back, Rainbow Dash. If he's the same pony, he'll always come back."
-------------
"A hero fights for what's right...
A hero knows when to make sacrifices...
...and although a hero's tale doesn't always have a happy ending...
...those unhappy endings show the biggest and most generous sacrifice that hero had to make.
This is the curse of the hero...
...the curse of sacrifice...
And this is what I, as the Elemental Guardian, have to live with."
End of Part 3
(STA Part 4 Previews):
And when I'm gone, just carry on, don't mourn
Rejoice every time you hear the sound of my voice
Just know that I'm looking down on you smiling
And I didn't feel a thing, So baby don't feel no pain
Just smile back
-
"A singer, huh?"
"What's it to you?"
"Nothing, just keep those emotions with you."
-
"Now you're in my little play-place."
"Let me go!"
"Why can't you just cooperate?"
"I have a marefriend!"
-
"Burn with me."
-
"What's the point of waking up if you find yourself in the dark?"
"To escape the nightmares that your mind will feed you."
-
"Before tomorrow, before you even plan on confronting those sons of mules, I need to warn you. If you get out of control, even for a second, and put [her] in danger, I will fight you, and you will lose."
-
"How much power do you have?"
"...Too much..."