The Guardian's Heart

Shining and Cadance are dead.

The attendees all come to share with her their sympathies.  It’s recorded, mechanical, as if from a script.  She finds herself automatically replying to them all with the same hollow thanks.  It doesn’t feel real.  It’s like a play she’s watching of herself, seeing a stranger going through the motions of what is expected of Princess Twilight Sparkle at her brother’s funeral.

All she wants to do is cry and scream and—

Then there is the ceremony about to happen.  Twilight didn’t plan it, she hadn’t been coherent enough to think about anything really.  It was going to be nice, of course.  Twice over too.  There had to be one for both Canterlot and the Crystal Empire, as they had been leaders and heroes in both nations.

The cathedral was beautiful, a marvel of architecture that had taken a century to build.  Breathtaking.  There were flowers lining the pews, candles flickering on lamp stands, and old friends from all over that were murmuring quietly among the stone pillars.  Twilight could see Shining’s brothers-in-arms, dressed in their most immaculate uniforms.  For Cadance, friends from school and the Crystal Empire were huddled together with glimmering tears.

It was beautiful.  A funeral worthy of heroes.

Who was she kidding?  She didn’t want this pomp and circumstance.  She wanted her brother and her sister and to hug and to laugh and to cry--

…

Well, it didn’t matter anymore what she wanted.  They were gone, and Twilight didn’t quite have the courage to say goodbye to them face to face.  Not that there was a face to—

Breathe in…breathe out.  Don’t break down again.  Flurry needs me.

Flurry Heart.  Newly made orphan.  Her niece.

Her responsibility now.  Their wishes had been clear, even if they had never truly expected the will to be carried out.  Twilight was to raise Flurry if anything were to ever happen to Shining and Cadance.  Simple words on parchment.  Somehow, they were so much more than words when applied in real life.

Twilight had known this from the beginning.  They had made the will shortly after their marriage.  They were royalty after all, and Shining had been a Royal Guard; a soldier’s duty was hazardous.  It was protocol, pure and simple.  When Flurry was born, the will was amended.  Twilight had been honored, of course, to think that they trusted her with the responsibility to take care of Flurry if the unthinkable happened.

She had never really put any thought into the will after that.  None of them had.  It was merely paperwork that had to be done.  A formality that needed to be put on paper.  It was a part of the process.  Nobody had ever thought it would need to be enacted.  They were young and two of the most powerful ponies in all the kingdoms after all.

Twilight took a break and closed her eyes briefly, not bothering to wipe the tears silently falling.

She needed a break from all…this…before the funeral began.  She walked toward the room reserved for family, politely declining to talk with the nameless throng of ponies wanting to share with her their tears.  She passed by the two large pictures of Shining and Cadance in front of two identical caskets.

It was a falsehood though.  The caskets were empty.  They were merely there so that there was a visual to help others come to terms with their grief.  There hadn’t been enough left to give them a proper—

Breathe in…breathe out.  Don’t break down again.  Flurry needs me.

The urn that held their ashes from the cremation, which would be interred in the crypts underneath the Crystal Castle after the funeral, was sitting silently behind the caskets.  It was unassuming and simple.

A small, guilty part of Twilight was glad she had never seen what had remained of her brother and her as-good-as-sister.  It wouldn’t have been them, only what they had left behind.  It would have haunted her the rest of her day.  Twilight was sure of that.

The other part of her desperately wished she could give them one last hug, share one last laugh, or tell them how much she loved them.

To see their faces one last time.

Now it was up to Twilight to tell Flurry how much her parents had loved her.

Stepping into the room, her ears twitched at the sound of someone softly crying.  Turning her head, Twilight could see her friends gathered together around a table.  Rainbow Dash and Rarity were comforting Fluttershy as she sobbed.  Pinkie Pie was unnaturally quiet, but still smiled for the sake of everyone, even as her tears flowed uncontrollably.

Applejack could have been made from stone for how silent and still she was.  What tears she possessed had been shed long ago.  She was, after all, a veteran of this sort of thing.  Someone needed to be stoic for the rest of them.  She would be a strong shoulder for others to lean on until they could stand again on their own.

In a way, she envied that strength.

Twilight looked around them for Spike but then remembered that he was an usher and wasn’t here.  Her companion was grieving and honoring them by helping others.  He wanted a part to say, they were family to him too.  Spike just didn’t have the words to say to encompass what he felt.

At the back of the room, Celestia, her long-time mentor, sat down in front of a table covered with cards from people all across the world who had been touched by the young couple.  Taller though she was over everyone present, even she was crouched over in grief.

Twilight would not approach Celestia now.  She knew that her mentor needed the time and solitude to prepare for giving the eulogy.

Luna was nowhere in sight.

There.  Her parents were huddled together on a couch, her mother holding a bundle of blankets while her father held onto her.  They both looked so small among everything else, both swallowed by their despair and grief.

Twilight closed her eyes and took another deep breath, trying to pull herself together; then she walked forward.

“Mom?  Dad?”

Night Light, her father, looked up sharply at the sound of her voice.  He looked like he had aged ten years since Twilight had last seen him.  She had never seen him so haggard and tired.  He had always been a pillar of strength in her life.  To see him struggle this much was not helping her keep from breaking down again.

And he was crying.  Twilight had only ever seen her father shed tears of sadness twice before.  Neither compared to what she saw now.

“Twilight.”  His voice was scratchy.  He held out his other hoof.  “Come here, please.”

Twilight sat down and leaned against him, letting him hold her close with his leg.  He squeezed her a little as if to reassure himself that she was there.

It was strange to be taller than him.

Twilight Velvet had yet to acknowledge her presence.  She was absorbed in the small bundle cradled in her hooves, gazing at it with a small, trembling smile that threatened to break out into crying at any given moment.

“She sleeps so quietly.”  Velvet whispered.  “Just like Shining.  He slept through everything when he was a foal.  You remember Night?”

“I remember.”  He murmured.

Flurry Heart lay peacefully in her grandmother’s hooves, completely unaware of everyone around her.  Twilight could see her small chest rise and fall as she snoozed peacefully.  Her large wings were wrapped around her small body like an extra blanket.

“He was such…such a handsome foal.”  Velvet cried, shaking a little.  “When he…he learned to crawl, we use to have to look for him because he would hide under the bed—“

“I know dear.”

“—and then, when T-Twilight was born, he would dress up and g-guard her crib—“

“Yes Velvet, he did.”

“—then when h-he went to the Royal Academy, I sent with him t-that box of cookies—“

“You had to make some more because the other guards liked them and ate them all.”

“—then he g-graduated—“

“We were very proud Velvet.”

“—he got promoted—“

“You couldn’t stop telling the neighbors.”

“—then he proposed, and Cadance, and the wedding—“

“You always said they were going to get married.”

“—Flurry was born, and then—and then—“ Velvet couldn’t hold it in any longer and started weeping, her mane hiding her eyes.  “I can’t do this Nighty!  I can’t!  He was here j-just last Monday!  Now he’s…he’s…they’re…”

Night Light said nothing but held her tighter, closing his own eyes as tears poured down his face.

Velvet pulled Flurry in closer and nuzzled her, a couple of her tears getting on the foal’s blanket.  She then, reluctantly, passed Flurry over to Twilight.

Twilight had a few more tears of her own when Velvet gave her Flurry.  She held Flurry close to her chest, and the foal whimpered a little before snuggling deeper into her wings.

She could not but help but gaze at her niece and take in every detail.  Flurry was so small, so precious, and so innocent.  Her fur was as white as Shining’s had been, and her mane was so similar to Cadance’s.  It was so easy to see them in their daughter.

Twilight wasn’t sure how long she sat there, just her and Flurry.  All the world just seemed to keep going on without them, just like it was continuing without Cadance and Shining.

“Twilight?”

She looked up slowly.  It was Celestia.

“It’s time.”

She blinked and looked around.  Everyone was either already gone or making their way to the doors to enter the main chamber.  It was just her, Flurry, and Celestia.

“Oh.”

She got up and picked up Flurry with her magic, making sure her niece was still sound asleep.  Together, teacher and student started walking.  Celestia looked down at the two of them, and Twilight could see a tinge of red that surrounded her eyes from crying.

“There—“ started Celestia, hesitating.  “There is a nursery available for Flurry if you want.  It might be…difficult to hold her and say your piece.”

“Thank you, but no.”  Twilight stated firmly, eyes fixed ahead.  “One day, Flurry is going to ask me where she was when we buried her parents.  I need to be able to look her in the eye and tell her she was with me and not in a nursery.”

Celestia nodded.

“Where is Luna?”  Twilight asked.  They had entered the cathedral now, and everyone gathered had taken their seats.  Their murmurs echoed around the stone vault.

“She is grieving in her own way.”  Celestia said quietly, looking up into the rafters of the cathedral.  “Luna will be here, even if you don’t see her.”

Twilight followed her gaze upwards, and there in the back of the cathedral, in the rafters, was a shadow shaped like an alicorn.  It reminded Twilight of one of the many gargoyles standing sentry over those below, silent and still, yet present and forever watching.

Even from this distance, Twilight could see the shadow’s eyes glittering like the stars in the sky.

They parted ways, Celestia ascending the dais to stand in front of the urn while Twilight sat in the front seats next to her parents, Flurry peacefully laying in her lap.

The throng hushed, the cathedral absolutely silent, and then Celestia began to speak.

“My friends, we gather here today to remember the lives of two…”

Twilight was listening, but again it was like she wasn’t there.  She heard every word spoken, and she memorized every word, but it felt so surreal, like a dream that she could not wake up from.

“—they were royalty, not because they were born into it, but because they devoted their lives to serving others—“

All around her, Twilight could hear somebody snuffle here and there.  Spike, sitting next to her and Flurry, was wiping his eyes with a handkerchief.  He was wearing a black suit with a matching hat.  She remembered conjuring it for him before the funeral.

“—she was a friend, a sister, and a mother to all those that needed one.  Cadance was one of the greatest givers of love, loving her neighbors—“

Starlight Glimmer, her student, was seated with her friends behind her.  Sunburst was next to her, looking more haggard than ever.

“—defender of those who could not defend themselves.  Shining Armor was a captain with honor and integrity that shone throughout all who worked with him—“

Was that Discord in one of the stain glass windows?  She couldn’t be sure, but it looked very much like the first time she ever saw him, but it was so still.

“—devoted to each other, to their daughter Flurry, to their family, to their friends, and to all Equestria—“

Yes, it was Discord.  He was giving her a small wave.  He gave a sad smile and nodded respectfully before returning to his inert form.

“—but we must remember that while it is good-bye for now, it is not forever.  This parting is only temporary, and there will be a time where we will all meet again.”

Celestia bowed her head and stepped back before descending the dais, making her way towards a chair in the front.  Twilight nodded and then stood up with Flurry and made her way past Celestia onto the dais.  She turned around, sat down, placed Flurry in her hooves, and faced everyone.

Hundreds of ponies filled the cathedral from wall to wall.  Beyond them, outside, thousands more waited outside the doors and windows where Twilight could barely see them.  The light filtering through the stain glass windows shimmered and danced with color.  It reminded Twilight of the Tree of Harmony.

In front of her where two chairs reserved for two ponies who would never sit in them.

Breathe in…breathe out.  Don’t break down again.  Flurry needs me.

“Everyone will remember my brother for guarding all of Equestria, for being a leader in times of crisis as a Captain and a Prince, that is how you will remember him.”  Twilight said as best she could.  The urge to break down and cry was becoming overwhelming.  “I will remember him as the brave brother I loved that guarded me from the monsters under the bed and in my closet, as the pony who stood up for me when others didn’t, and as my brother, who was always there for me and loved me with everything he had.”

Twilight paused.  These were simple words, but when they overflowed from the heart, they became something beautiful.

“Before she was my sister-in-law, Cadance was my sister.  She was the one that taught me to share my love with others, that love was selfless, and that it was not meant to be only shared with family, and that I could share it with my friends too.  She taught me that love is limitless and that there is always more room in a heart for more love.  Her passion in caring for others is what made her beautiful beyond compare.”

Twilight glanced down at Flurry in her hooves.

Flurry’s eyes opened and looked up at her.

In that moment, it was just the two of them in their own little world again, remembering two special ponies they loved.

“I…I promise to share with you what they taught me..  T-The love they had for us i-is not gone, it will always be a part of us wherever we go.”

Twilight closed her eyes, and the world was dark.

“Good-bye.”