A stallion stood silently at the graveyard, staring at the tombstone of his friend in silence. He did not know how long he had been standing there since the ceremony ended, he did not know how much time had passed since Silver Star had to be taken away because she and several others had been sobbing so hard, and frankly he didn’t care.

It was bright and sunny outside today at Manehattan, but to Streamlight, it might as well have been raining during a tornado.

I was heartbroken.

A cool gentle breeze blew by and played with my hair but I didn’t feel it. I didn’t feel anything right now. All I felt was...nothing. Birds chirped, and the sun rays rained down upon him, but still the stallion did not move, his eyes remained fixed on the tombstone and the words engraved on it.

“Beloved Friend, Daughter, and Cousin. A Great Baker with a kind heart and one her friends and family, and all that knew her would miss.

“Goodbye Sweet Treat.

“May you rest in peace.” Streamlight repeated the words on the cold stone, his ear slightly lifting as he heard somepony approaching him from behind.

Deputy Chief Scrimmage stopped a good foot away, having just returned from just asking multiple citizens at the Sweet Tooth shop what had went down.

“Detective Streamlight, ya’ve been standing there for almost two hours now. The funeral ended quite sometime ago” Scrimmage looked around. “And nopony else is here. Come with me, I’ll buy ya a drink.”

“Thank you sir” Streamlight said still staring at Sweet Treat’s grave. “But I don’t drink, besides I don’t need to.”

“Ya don’t need to huh?” Scrimmage muttered, but Streamlight said nothing. The black suit he was in and the way his shoulders were slumped did nothing to help display a positive body language.

Then again there was nothing positive about any of this.

The two officers stood there for a few minutes both remaining silent. Neither saying a word. Scrimmage could understand the pain the young stallion was going through. He had lost his son who patrolled the Western Naval Seas with a division of the Wonderbolts.

Streamlight himself was a bit younger than his kid, but he could understand what the young one was going through. His son hadn’t died by the hands of a ghoul but had been killed by pirates during a rescue mission.

That didn’t make the pain any less numb though.

Streamlight continued to stare at the grave. Countless feelings were going through him right now. Pain, grief, anger, sorrow, and hatred. The last emotion, hatred being directed at himself.

Sweet Treat had always been a mare he fancied. Not in a romantic way, at least as far as he believed but he had always loved the way his friend was always so kind even in the darkest of moments. He loved the way she was always doing her best to stay brave even when she was terrified. It was inspiring and he admired her for it.

One of the reasons he had became a detective in the first place was because of an incident that had happened with Sweet Treat’s family and his own once.

“You know Deputy. Back when I was a foal. I was always surrounded by trouble” Streamlight said and to this statement Scrimmage cocked a brow.

“What are ye going on about?”

“Back when I was a colt, Sweet Treat, Silver Star and a few other friends of mine that I still maintain in touch with now and then would go with our families together to watch the Summer Celebration every year. But one year on the day we were waiting for Silver Star’s family to arrive nearby a bank, I watched a group of earth ponies pass us by and go inside the bank.” He chuckled.

“I didn’t think anything of it at the time. I was just 8 back then. I didn’t know much about anything except how to deal with my own problems. My parents and Sweet Treat’s however didn’t like the way those ponies had looked when entering the bank and were even talking about changing locations.” Streamlight’s small nostalgic grin faded.

“But we never got the chance.

“Moments later the bank was filled with noise and gunfire. Instantly both our parents moved to protect us. Sweet Treat’s father being a pegasus took his filly to the sky and handed her over to be watched by a flock mate. When he returned he told his wife to call for the police while Guardian, my father, and he made sure nothing happened to the civilians while my mother, Kuberah made sure I was safe.”

Streamlight sighed taking another look at Sweet Treat’s grave before he turned his back to it and looked Scrimmage in the eyes.

“Gunfire continued through the bank, Deputy. I could hear it all. Ponies on the streets were confused and yelling. Running and flailing about. The ponies inside were firing back at their invaders and every now and then I can still remember hearing glass shattering. Till finally, those earth ponies we saw came out.

“I can still remember it you know? You don’t just up and forget something like that at a young age. It stays with you. It reminds you of the danger. Sweet Treat never remembered it because her dad’s friend took her away from the sight, but my mom was also an earth pony. She could have ran with me but she was worried about my father and Spring Step, Sweet Treat’s dad.

“So she did her best to cover my ears. She whispered kind words to me. Told me everything was going to be alright, even though as scared as I was I knew that those were just empty words, but when I saw those villains rushing out of the bank and coming towards us, I didn’t expect them to hit my mother and smack her away in their escape. So what did I do? Well...what would you do if you had been in my situation?”

Scrimmage paused. He hadn’t been expecting that. But after a few seconds of silence and taking another look at the icy expression on the young detective’s face he answered. “I would have attacked them for harming me mum.”

“Even though you were just a foal at the time?” Streamlight pressed, his voice and expression both calm but his words looking for a serious and honest answer.

Scrimmage nodded. “Even if I were nothin’ but a foal.” He said solemnly. “ My family comes from the Shetlands, family is more important than anything to us. So I would have attacked those scumbags even if I were just a young colt who still hadn’t learned how to fly in a straight line yet, and I would have givin ‘em hell for doing so.”

Streamlight lowered his head. That was just the answer he was hoping he’d hear. This wasn’t about him wanting to hear what he wanted, this was about him wanting to hear the truth. This was something that had shaped his life and made him decide on doing what he was doing now.

He sighed. “Thank you for not fabricating your response.”

Scrimmage merely nodded. “Yer welcome. Now that ya mention it, I do remember hearing somethin’ about the massive shootout here in Manehattan, but the details were vague. If ya would be so kind as to fill in the holes.”

Streamlight nodded, “I plan to.”

“After my mother was struck down, those robbers rushed by us. My father and Spring were too busy trying to maintain order with the civilians to even notice. So I did what I did after watching my own mom get knocked to the ground.

“I used magic.”

“When I was a foal, I wasn’t always the strongest magic user. I had trouble grasping simple spells to casting even small transfiguration spells. But that day, when I watched my mom get shoved and knocked aside, something in me snapped.” Streamlight’s horn began to glow faintly as he recalled those memories, even recalling Sweet Treat’s face brimming with tears as she was carried off to safety.

“That day I lost control of my magic. I don’t remember much, of what kind of spell I used. But whatever it was it must have been awful. I remember my horn feeling warm, my vision getting blurry and all I could feel was a strong sense of anger. And then I cast my first spell.

“The first one that hit knocked one of the robbers to the ground and he was paralyzed instantly. He yelled to his friends to help him, but when they saw me they froze. One even tried to shoot me but” Streamlight touched his chest. “I don’t remember getting hit or feeling any pain.”

“They kept firing and firing and firing at my mother and I but not once do I remember ever feeling pain, nor did I even see my mom get hurt when I looked back at her.

“When they tried to aim for other ponies after one of them noticed my father and Spring Step approaching I remember feeling an intense amount of rage. And then that’s it. The next thing I knew my father and Spring Trap were hunting the leader and the two that escaped with him.

“To this day I never knew what happened, by the time the MDA had arrived my father and Spring Trap had detained and beaten everyone. I just assumed at the time they had done it all. I had no recollection of what I did and I still don’t. But when I saw my father detaining those scumbags and watched Sweet Treat and her mother return fine without any injuries along with the rest of the citizens in the area. I felt proud. Proud that my dad had done something so cool.”

I turned to take another look at Sweet Treat’s tombstone and the words engraved on it. “He saved lives. But all I did was get angry” he finished with another sigh.

“Shortly after that I took up training with my old man, then went to Canterlot to learn how to control my magic. Word spread at the time that I was unstable. So I worked hard to control my emotions.”

Scrimmage shook his head sadly. “Is that why ya haven’t shed a single tear despite losing someone so close to ya lad?”

Streamlight didn’t even bother that with a response. And Scrimmage merely remained silent feeling the detectives silence was answer enough.

“While I was at Canterlot I got teased a lot for not being able to control my magic. I was unstable. I wasn’t the best. Heck I wasn't even close to the numerous prodigies there and was even amazed Princess Celestia took me in to begin with. I met ponies like Sunset Shimmer, Master Floranzo, Trixie Lulamoon, and even a young filly called Twilight. So I worked hard, studied hard, put in an effort and forced down anything that held me back.

“But whenever I came back home, came back here. Sweet Treat and Silver Star were always waiting. Always there for me, even when I felt like I was just causing trouble for everyone. Once I graduated I joined the MDA, took up training, became an officer and well you know the rest from there.”

Streamlight lifted a hand and slid it into his MDA coat pocket and took out a rose. Roses were her favorite, he thought with a sad smile.

A aching pain in his chest reminded him that he was hurt, but Streamlight ignored it. Kneeling down and placing the rose on the ground, Streamlight backed away from the grave, then looked at all the various graves and tombstones that had been dug for those of the past. Some prominent, some normal, and some heroes.

“You know Deputy. I feel like it would have been better if Sweet Treat just ignored me, after I left. Silver Star too. I knew what I was getting into when I started this job. But I always thought that after all the effort I put into it as a foal, I’d be strong enough to protect anyone I cared for” he turned and looked at Scrimmage’s grave expression.

“But look at where we are now. If you told me 11 years ago I was going to lose one of my best friends I would laugh, stare you down and tell you not to joke like that. If I knew this would have happened I wouldn’t have joined the force at all. I’m supposed to protect the weak and innocent, but you look at me now and tell me this. Did I do my job well?” He asked with open arms.

Scrimmage opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again. The look in Streamlight’s eyes told him he didn’t want an answer. He just wanted to be heard.

“That’s what I thought.” Streamlight said silently taking another look at Sweet Treat’s grave.

“After the ceremony I was taken aside and told what happened by your officers sir. Said the ghoul crushed five of her ribs and bit into her left forearm, yet according to some that were there she used her strength to make sure it didn’t escape before someone came in and ultimately finished it off.

“They say he was one of those investigators, I’d like to meet him and thank him one day.”

Scrimmage raised his brow once again. “For?”

“For making sure she didn’t suffer in her final moments.” Streamlight stated.

“So you’re not going for revenge?” Scrimmage asked.

Streamlight went silent at this statement. He took another look at Sweet Treat’s grave and the pictures of her and them when they were younger placed intricately around it.

“No” he said shaking his head. “I’m furious.” His horn glowed brighter before he took in a deep breath, closed his already half lidded eyes and exhaled. The light of his horn faded slowly till it was nothing but a small spark at the tip. “But” he opened them again and looked at the higher ranking officer. “I’m not going to go mindlessly killing. I got a glimpse of what that looked like when I went to Ponyville, I don’t want to become like that. She wouldn’t want that, my father wouldn’t want that. No one would. Besides, if I can keep my emotions in check after my best friend’s death. I can keep them in check till all of this is over.”

Turning away from the grave while the sun continued to shed its light on the two officers, Streamlight moved past the officer only to stop when he heard Scrimmage’s voice call him.

“So you’re serious. You were one of those involved in Case B- 014?”

To that Streamlight didn’t say anything. He allowed his head to stay lowered. Thousands of memories rushing through his mind. Sweet Treat, his father, everything he had done all coursing through him. It was overpowering and for a second he could feel his horn beginning to grow warm.

But then everything settled when he remembered one thing his old friend had said to him in their youth. “Sometimes, when you’re feeling down. You have to smile. Smile and think happy thoughts Streamy. Then maybe the sad ones will go away.”

For a second it was too much to handle. Sweet Treat’s voice was clear and I could hear it. But then Streamlight swallowed all his grief and sadness and turned to Scrimmage who for the first time in a long time donned a look of surprise when he saw the stallion’s face.

He was smiling.

I was smiling.

Streamlight’s eyes burnt and it felt like those long awaited tears were ready to emerge. But they didn’t. His chest ached, and he felt sick and a flash of rage, but he swallowed all that too.

“Deputy Chief Scrimmage. Why don’t I buy you a drink?” Streamlight asked, doing his best to keep the shaking from his voice.

Scrimmage stared for a long time in silence. He wasn’t sure what to make of this. But after a good ten seconds had passed.

He sported a sad smile of his own. “I think I’ll take you up on that offer. Detective.”

Author's Note

Wow. This chapter was something. I felt bad writing this when I was reaching the end and was like "Dang." Wow.

Well as always let me know if there were any mistakes.

Enjoy.