//------------------------------// // Epilogue: The Oncoming Storm // Story: Pocketful of Posies // by GJT_Productions //------------------------------// A sunset funeral, improvised and sparsely attended. Such would be the final commemoration of Lilly Withers, former wife of Congresspony Strong Withers. As wife of a Congresspony, Lilly had right to be buried in a reserved spot in Canterlot Valley National Cemetery, the official burial site for any and all ponies that had worked in the government or military of Equestria. But the previously-reserved spot, intended for Strong Withers with the possibility of his wife being buried alongside him, had been revoked and repurposed for another pony after Strong's disappearance. In the end, it took a direct order of Princess Celestia to restore the spot to its original purpose, and the ceremony needed to be done quickly because of fears the Agents of Chaos would sabotage the gravesite. Guard Upper Class Buck Withers would be the only one of his family in burying his mother at that site. His father's fate would never be completely determined, but most likely he had been murdered and left to rot somewhere in the wilds of Equestria's arid southern reaches. His other relatives were steadfast in their refusal to attend the funeral - they refused to forgive the disgrace Buck's father had caused the family, prompting rumors that they had their own secrets to hide. Buck was not completely alone, however. Lemony Gems, his current marefriend, volunteered to be a pallbearer in the funeral despite dealing with her own loss of the damaged jewelry store in Ponyville. Diamond Rose, another mare that Buck had previously been in a significant relationship with, also volunteered to be a pallbearer. Lieutenant Skyver, Buck's immediate superior, accepted the request of Captain of the Guard Gibraltar to be the third pallbearer, while Buck himself would be the fourth and final one. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The funeral was mostly attended by members of the Canterlot Luna shift of Royal Guards, including its commanding officer Lieutenant Captain Shining Armor, although there were a few other attendees, most notably Captain Gibraltar himself. Gibraltar and Shining Armor faced each other in salutes at the head of the honor guard as the casket and its bearers passed between the rows of saluting ponies. The casket was carried between two metal poles which had been threaded through loops on the sides, the poles being carefully balanced on the withers of the carrying ponies. Because of this arrangement, the pallbearers had to walk down a ramp leading down to where the casket would be laid, then carefully and simultaneously lower themselves onto the bare ground in order to safely place the casket. Once the casket was in place, the bearers would have to get up and walk backwards back up the ramp, an awkward and somewhat embarrassing move made necessary by the lack of turning room down in the hole. A pair of unicorn Lower Classes would then travel down the ramp and remove the carrying poles for later reuse while a "Support and Comfort Officer" (roughly equivalent to a chaplain in the human world) read a few words about the deceased earth pony mare "returning her spirit" to the world and that "all those that knew her could take comfort in the fact" that she was now one with "the ground we all tread upon". Buck Withers said a few final good-byes as the "Harmony Banner" - an update of an old ying-yang like design involving stylized versions of Princesses Celestia and Luna that had become adopted as a national symbol after Luna's return - printed on a white cloth was draped over the closed coffin by the Support and Comfort Officer. Buck then placed a bouquet of the flower his mother was named after on top of the banner, and with great reluctance walked back up the ramp one last time. Dirt would soon cover over the casket and all upon it, and he would not see his mother again... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gibraltar and Shining Armor were side-by-side as the grave was filled, watching Buck and Lemony Gems holding each other in a shared grief while Lieutenant Skyver ordered most of the other soldiers back to their regular duties in order to give the grieving the appropriate private space. Shining had not spoken a word during the entire ceremony, but now his tongue became loosened as he turned to face his Captain: "Sir, I have to ask, when is this going to end? When is this madness, this death and destruction going to stop?" Gibraltar slowly turns to face Shining back, and the tiredness and weariness is all too evident in his eyes. Shining knows the much older stallion has seen and experienced many things he hasn't yet, and he had better listen well to the answer Gibraltar was going to give him. "I think the better question, Shining, isn't when is this going to end but how is this going to end." Gibraltar starts in a slow, almost sage-like tone. "There is a storm coming, I can feel it deep in my bones. I don't know how or when, but I know its coming, and it will bring fire and chaos in its wake. And we all need to be ready for when it hits, Shining. We all need to be ready." Shining turns away to look at the sun gently being guided down by Celestia at that moment, and he had to wonder, for the first time in a while, if this situation would take an intervention from her sister and friends using the Elements of Harmony to finally solve the problem for good... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LATER THAT NIGHT, IN THE MINES BELOW CANTERLOT... "What's the report, Agent 4?" "Agent 21 is dead, Snake. He never regained consciousness." "Oh, what a pity, he would've been excellent for 'the big show'." "'The big show'?" "They sow the wind, soon they will reap the whirlwind. Operation Whirlwind is ready, a storm to sweep through the castle and revive the chaotic one. All we need is a sign, some kind of omen, to show when we spring our attack." "How many can we summon for this operation?" "Enough. Any sacrifice will be enough if it is for the cause of reviving the chaotic one." "... Of course, Snake." "Just you wait and see, Agent. The chaotic one will rise, the shining one will fall, and harmony will be finished in Equestria!" The Captain of the Guard was indeed right in a storm coming. But the only question was, when would it come?