Angel of Justice: Blood Moon

A week came and went before anyone knew it. It had been a difficult few days, but Twilight and her friends had mostly gotten through ok. Some were putting off dealing with their emotions. Some were distracting themselves by spending time with their friends. All of them would still be hurting for quite some time, but at least they could be happy that they were alive.

However, the time had finally come. The day that all of them had been dreading arrived.

It was a little after noon as Twilight and all of her friends gathered in the Canterlot cemetery. The air was still frigid and harsh, but it was a great deal warmer than what most of the group had dealt with on this long journey.

Along with Twilight’s group, the royal sisters, Shining Armor and Cadence, and the members of Spirit, a small crowd of ponies had turned up to mourn the passing of not only Tom and Blue Bolt, but all of the lives that had been snuffed out by Dusk or his minions.

Everyone was clad in some sort of black outfit. Most of Twilight’s group donned some sleek mourning dresses complete with veils, courtesy of Rarity. Even Sweetie Belle and her two friends were dressed for the occasion, though Scootaloo was constantly brushing the veil out of her face.

Both Princess Luna and Celestia had their own custom dresses, with light motifs of their cutie marks spaced throughout the elegant ebony pieces.

Glimmer Shine, Spike, and Shining Armor each wore tuxedos with a single front pocket for handkerchiefs. The young dragon was already using his to wipe away some tears.

Glitterball was barely holding it together along with Sparkplug. The gray mare actually resorted to crying into the shoulder of a nearby Sunspot, who seemed understanding, if a little unsettled by the tears and mucus getting all over her.

The group gathered near the back of the main path through the cemetery, where two graves stood by a large oak tree. Off to the side, a taller monument in the form of a mare statue clutching a winged heart stood, with a rectangular marble base bearing a silver plaque with all of the names of every pony that had died to this immeasurable tragedy.

After a lengthy eulogy given by Celestia for those poor souls lost, the subject of Tom and Blue Bolt came. Twilight actually took the stand and gave a touching speech for both of her fallen friends, and while she spoke in more detail about the human out of necessity for having known him longer, the things she had to say about the stallion were enough to move Fluttershy and many members of the crowd to tears.

Hearing about the human’s death came as a shock to many ponies around Equestria. Not many had met him personally, but those that had seen him in passing or been saved by him knew him to be a bright and friendly soul, who wanted nothing more than to keep those around him safe.

They felt safer at night knowing that someone like him existed. Some unkillable slayer of evil ready and willing to do whatever it took to erase any monster bold enough to threaten the innocent. And now that he was gone, there was a certain amount of uncertainty in their hearts. What would happen the next time some powerful monster came rampaging through Equestria?

Of course, practically nobody knew about Blue Bolt, let alone knew that he was a slayer. To the crowd of ponies respectfully waiting for Twilight’s group to mourn, he was just another name on the list of fellow ponies that had died. Tragic, and sad to be sure, but not nearly as significant as the human. However, Rainbow Dash and her friends knew him to be just as much of a hero as Tom was, even with how short of a time he held the mantle of slayer.

A short while after Twilight was done with her words of remembrance, it came time to go up and pay respects.

Seeing how they were the closest thing to a living family Tom had, Twilight and Spike approached his grave first.

The unicorn had shed a few tears during her speech, but as she stood there, staring down at a headstone bearing her friend’s name with a bundle of blue roses held in her corona, her emotions hit hard.

After letting out a few quiet sobs and clearing her watery vision enough to see, Twilight sniffled and gently set the roses down on the stone platform in front of the grave.

Feeling Spike moving away from her legs, she turned and watched as the dragon laid a single flower beside her bundle. He turned and looked up to her, his lip starting to quiver and his eyes flooding over with tears. She knelt down and embraced him as he ran up to her, both of them crying quietly and consoling each other.

As they walked away, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy watched as an older pegasus stallion made his way over to Blue Bolt’s grave. He had light blue fur, and white streaks through his otherwise black mane, though it was starting to show some gray. They had met him once years before in a hospital lobby, so they knew him to be Blue’s father.

Rainbow Dash felt an empty pit in her stomach as she watched the stallion sit before his son’s grave and stare at it for a few moments before leaning a flower at one side. She could still flash her mind back to waiting in that hospital and seeing him rush in, wondering if Blue was ok. Only now, it wasn't just a paralyzed wing. This time, his son, her friend, was well and truly gone.

The older stallion slowly got up and walked away, a downcast look on his face that told of great devastation hiding behind a cracking front of numbness. He paused as he passed the two pegasus mares making their way toward the grave, resting a hoof on Rainbow Dash’s shoulder.

The gesture wasn't much. He didn’t say anything, perhaps because, like her, he was afraid that any attempts at speaking he made would result in him breaking down. However, the look he gave her came off as reassuring and even thankful, as if to let her know that she had done a good job as his son’s friend.

She didn’t feel like she had done a good job as a friend.

After the stallion left, Rainbow brought a hoof to her now vacant shoulder and stared at the ground for a few moments, her expression furrowing sadly.

She looked up as she received a tap on her back, only to see Fluttershy offering her as much of a reassuring look as the yellow mare could make in her own state of grief. Rainbow nodded to her and exhaled slowly before reluctantly walking forward.

The pair paused before their friend’s grave. Whereas Tom’s headstone had a small stylized fire embossed around the lettering, Blue Bolt’s had a pair of wings to the sides, along with a small version of his cutie mark below.

Much like Twilight, Rainbow Dash felt a growing well of raw emotion building up inside of her as she stared down at the stone slab. She knew there wasn't anything special about it necessarily. After all, there hadn’t been a body to even bury. Still, seeing it had a sense of gut-punching finality that reminded her of staring at Blue’s bloody corpse when he died originally.

So many memories. So many decisions. So many regrets. Everything the cyan mare had been through since Nightmare Night came flooding through her head in the span of a few seconds. Her legs felt shaky, and her breath was drawn out and uneven.

Looking behind her to her friends, Rainbow found many of them crying to some degree as well, which definitely helped make her feel less embarrassed about her tears, not that she really cared in the moment.

Pinkie Pie was wrapped around Applejack and straight-up bawling like a baby. The orange mare herself was struggling to keep her composure, using her veil to hide her face a bit. Rarity was dabbing a tissue to her eyes, which were big and sparkly and full of emotion.

The Crusaders had been crying for some time. The trio were hugging each other tightly and trying to comfort their friends, but they only ended up creating a pile of sobbing fillies.

Twilight was resting a hoof on Spike’s shoulder as she and the others watched the two pegasi. She gave Rainbow her best effort at a smile, which didn’t quite succeed, and a reassuring nod.

Then, Rainbow Dash looked over to Fluttershy. By now, the yellow mare was starting to break down into a soft fit of crying, but she was keeping her sniffs and slight sobs to a minimum, most likely out of consideration.

Together, the both of them knelt down to the grave and placed one object for each of them. Fluttershy placed a single flower, one that she remembered hearing Blue call his favorite. And Rainbow Dash placed a small black sleeve, made to fit over a folded wing like a cast for a broken bone.

The cyan mare stared at the sleeve for the longest time, before finally, the tears started to overflow and fall down her face. She clenched her eyes shut and fell forward, letting her forehead rest on the headstone as her whole body heaved and shook with emotion.

Fluttershy huddled up next to her friend and put a foreleg around her in a half hug as she herself started to cry freely. Seeing Rainbow Dash, one of the hardiest and most confident ponies she knew, breaking down was enough to destroy any attempt she had at keeping her own emotions in check.

Further back from Twilight’s group, Celestia and Luna watched the two pegasi and their friends grieving with heavy hearts. The blue alicorn closed her watery eyes and turned away, unable to force herself to watch any further. Celestia merely lowered her head and let a single set of tears roll down her face.

Shining Armor put a foreleg around Cadence and pulled her close as she stared ahead somberly. He knew that she perhaps more than anypony present would share in the emotions the others were having due to her innate love magic and empathetic nature. However, he was the first between the two of them to start sniffling and tearing up, though she followed soon after.

Off to the side of them, Glimmer Shine and the three mares around him were the furthest detached from the circle of friends currently grieving, but that didn’t mean that they didn’t feel this loss too.

Tom had been like an unofficial fifth member of their team, and a greater friend than any of them could ask for. And while they hadn’t known Blue Bolt for very long, in the short time that they had fought alongside him, they saw him display bravery that they could only hope to emulate.

Glimmer was holding himself together a bit more than his three companions. Even Sunspot was crying profusely at this point.

The stallion took a deep breath and rubbed a few tears from his eyes as he tore his gaze away from the group for a moment to look around him. He found himself staring off toward a particular section of the cemetery, where he knew the graves of his brother and two old friends sat alongside many other fallen guards.

He had never felt more empty than the day he watched his brother getting lowered into the ground. It was the last of the three funerals they held for Peppermint and the others. Glimmer had hoped to never come to this cemetery for anything more somber than a visit to those graves ever again, but now he had two more friends to think about every time he visited.

Looking back over to the other side of the area, he paused as he noticed a pair of familiar ponies by the large memorial for Dusk’s victims. He recognized them to be Scholarly Scribble and Blank Page.

The peach mare was resting a hoof on the plaque, seemingly framing one or more names on it as she and her brother stared at it sadly. Glimmer Shine felt bad for the pair. They had been through so much and nearly lost each other, but apparently, they had lost friends along the way as well.

As they turned their way, Scribble flashed a slight smile and an awkward wave at the team of monster hunters. Glitterball looked over as she saw Glimmer Shine waving, only to notice the two siblings and smile and wave as well.

A few minutes later, after Twilight’s group had all gone up to the graves of both Tom and Blue Bolt and left flowers, shed tears, and paid respects, the crowd of ponies slowly worked their way over and formed a line to leave their own offerings and respects. Most of them were directed at the human, but a few ponies that had brought extra flowers left them at Blue Bolt’s grave after hearing of his acts of heroism during the eulogy.

By the time the crowd all dispersed and the cemetery was empty once more, two graves and a monument adorned in flowers, wreaths, and coin offerings stood as a testament to everything lost during the longest Nightmare Night in Equestrian history.

However, they weren’t just a memento for everything and everyone lost. They also served as proof that the world went on. Where so many had died, Equestria had lived on, saved from the precipice of death by the sacrifice and valor of many creatures, pony, human, dragon, and everything in between.

-A few days later-

Dear Princess Celestia, today I learned that life is…

Twilight sat at a table in her warm and cozy library back in Ponyville, a feather quill hanging listlessly in her corona and the beginnings of a letter to the princess before her.

She stared at the parchment, unmoving for the longest time as she silently reflected on everything that had happened in the past week and a half.

After a few moments of contemplation, she looked over to another table nearby. Sitting on it, was a small box wrapped with blue cord, partially opened. There was also a bundle of cloth covering an object that she knew to be the broken remains of Tom’s sword.

Finally, there was a picture in a frame of all of her friends, similar to the last group shot they had taken. Only, this one had the human crouched down beside Twilight, with Spike sitting on his shoulder, Blue Bolt next to Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, and Glimmer Shine’s team huddled together next to the six mares. They had taken it shortly before they departed from Ponyville what seemed like forever ago.

The unicorn’s expression wrinkled and her eyes shimmered as she regarded the photo briefly. She sniffed and took a moment to curtail her emotions before turning back to her letter and bringing the quill down.

Today I learned that life is cruel…

Twilight stared at what she had just written for a moment before shaking her head and erasing it with a spell.

I learned that life is unfair…

Another flash of magic made the fresh ink disappear once again. She struggled to try and find something else to say, but her thoughts kept drifting back to her friend.

That life is painful…

An exasperated sigh came as Twilight caught her head in her hooves, propping her elbows on the edge of the table. She didn’t want to let this happen. She didn’t want the all-encompassing sadness to take her over and rule over her life for however long it took to let go if it ever did.

The unicorn had been to a party with Pinkie and the others, celebrating their victory and their friends’ lives. She had tea with Fluttershy, hoping to distract herself with cheering the yellow mare up. She had even helped out Applejack at the farm in an attempt at shoving the painful thoughts from her mind with sweat and hard labor, but all that did was make her fur damp with a different kind of salty liquid.

Nothing she did worked to get her mind off of the loss they had suffered. It was always lingering in the background, waiting for her to just drift her thoughts back to it so it could fill her heart with hollow sadness.

She could still remember vividly the first time she met the human boy, out in a cold, dark forest. Twilight was a shivering mess on the ground as terrible monsters surrounded her, preparing to rip her to shreds. Then, out of nowhere, there he was. Even though he didn’t know her, he knew that she was scared and in trouble, and so he helped her.

He helped her despite the struggles he was going through himself. He helped her despite any doubts he might have had, taking her hoof and helping her stand tall in the face of true evil. No matter what, his first concern was always her, Spike, and all of his friends, with no room to be concerned about himself.

Even as he was bloody and powerless, he was prepared to do everything he could to protect her, to protect all of them, even if that meant walking toward his own death.

Hearing a few dripping sounds beneath her, Twilight looked down to see a couple of tear stains on the blank parchment. She quickly sat up straight and brought a hoof up to wipe her eyes, instead letting it rest against her face as she cried into it briefly.

“Tom… I’m so sorry I wasn't there for you.” She whimpered.

Then, the sound of a door opening and closing made the unicorn look up. The tell-tale pitter-patter of tiny clawed feet slowly came down the stairs as her number one assistant exited the bedroom.

Twilight frantically wiped her eyes and blinked rapidly, even sniffling to get it out of her system as much as possible.

Meanwhile, Spike yawned and rubbed his eyes as he slowly descended the stairs. He looked down, surprised to see the purple mare up and about. There was barely even any sunlight filtering in through the nearby windows.

“Twilight?” He asked.

‘Noticing’ that she wasn't alone anymore, Twilight looked up at the dragon and flashed a quick smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

“Oh, you’re up,” Twilight said in a surprised tone, though her voice sounded frail and crackly. “Morning, Spike.”

Spike raised a brow at her, but returned her greeting anyway. “Morning… Uh… How long have you been up?” He asked, noting the mostly empty cup of coffee sitting off to the side.

“Not very long… Just an hour or so… give or take.” Twilight chuckled softly before trailing off at the look of worry slowly forming on Spike’s face. “It’s just… I couldn’t sleep, so I decided to come down here and write my letter to the princess.” She explained, gesturing to the parchment in front of her.

“Right…” Spike nodded, mirroring her smile. “And uh… how’s it coming along?”

Twilight turned to see the meager start she had written, her expression falling as she let the quill hover down and rest in the inkwell nearby. Her shoulders sank and her ears drooped, causing Spike to soften his expression sympathetically.

“Not very good, I’m afraid…” Twilight sighed. She turned toward the picture to her right, looking at it for a moment before turning toward the young drake. “I just… I can’t stop thinking about it, Spike… thinking about him.”

“I know what you mean,” Spike said softly. He made his way down the rest of the steps and over to her. “But… think of it this way. Tom wouldn’t want you to be sad when you think of him. He’d want you to remember all the good times we had, not all the bad.”

The corners of Twilight’s mouth curved up slightly at the dragon’s attempt at cheering her up. “You know it’s not fair to use my own words on me.”

“Why not?” Spike asked plainly. “They worked for me.” He glanced up toward the picture on the table nearby, his expression falling slightly as he did before he forced his mouth into a more neutral line. “For a while there, I thought that things would never get better. I know that the situation with that alicorn guy didn’t help… but I thought that even if we did survive, that nothing would feel good ever again.”

Twilight trailed her eyes away as she thought about the dragon’s words. She had tried so hard to reassure and comfort him after Tom died, but there was only so much she could do when she was worrying about Dusk along with everyone else.

“But then I remembered what you said,” Spike noted, a bit of energy returning to his voice that made the unicorn look back at him. “We had so many good memories with Tom, even though we only met him a few months ago. And… even though I really miss him still, we’ll always have those memories.”

Spike grew a bit more soft-spoken and uneasy as he continued. “Last week… I was so scared of losing you and the others. I thought for sure that even if we did win, that a lot of you weren’t… weren’t coming back.” His eyes shimmered briefly at this. “I know Blue Bolt died… and I feel awful for Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, but… I’m so glad that I still have all of you.”

With a few tears welling up in her eyes, now caused by joy and love, Twilight picked Spike up in her magic and brought him close so she could hug him.

“I’m glad I still have you too, Spike,” Twilight said genuinely.

After a moment, the pair pulled away. Spike formed a small smile as he looked at her at eye level, still floating gently in her magical grip. “I guess what I’m trying to say is… It’s ok to remember what we lost… but just don’t lose sight of what we still have. Tom and Blue Bolt didn’t fight for us to live the rest of our lives regretting what happened to them. They fought so we could go on living.”

The dragon’s expression brightened as he saw a sincere smile forming on Twilight’s face. She gave a cheerful snort and wiped her eyes before looking back at him. “You know… I should be the one cheering you up, not the other way around.”

“Well, I figured I’d repay the favor after you did it for me,” Spike said before shifting his eyes behind him to the piece of parchment on the table. “Do you need me to help you finish that letter?” He offered.

Twilight shook her head. “No thanks… I think I can handle it now.” She set the dragon down and patted his head. “Besides, I think you’ve earned a break from being my number one assistant for a few days.”

“Why would I take a break from that? You act like I don’t enjoy it.” Spike reasoned. “Although… I did hear that Pinkie is planning a spooky sleepover since she didn’t get to around Nightmare Night. You think we should go?”

“I think that’s a great idea, Spike. In fact, why don’t we drop by the Corner and see if we can help her get ready for it?” Twilight suggested, pleased to see the eager look on the dragon’s face. “Go grab my saddlebag. I’ll be ready in a few minutes… once I finish this.” She nodded toward the letter.

“You got it!” Spike said before scampering off into the other room.

Twilight watched him leaving for a moment before turning back to her unfinished work. She picked up her quill again and stared at the page. Her gaze wandered back over to the picture of her human friend. She walked over to it and rested a hoof on the glass. Somber thoughts threatened to creep back into her mind.

However, her expression lifted as she instead thought back to all of the happy moments she had shared with the boy. Spike was right. Tom would want her to keep her head held high and focus on living life to the fullest, which for her, meant spending the time she had with her beloved friends and spreading the magic of friendship far and wide.

With newfound inspiration, Twilight walked back up to her letter and hovered the quill down to the parchment.

Dear Princess Celestia, today I learned that life… is unexpected. We never know what will happen when we wake up in the morning. Sometimes, good things happen, and sometimes bad things happen.

And when those bad things happen, I’ve learned that it’s more important than ever to surround yourself with friends; people that have shared laughter, joy, and sadness with you, and continue to stick by your side no matter what.

Losing someone important to you is perhaps the most devastating thing that can happen in this world of ours, but no matter how bad it seems, we must remember to share our burden. Nopony can face the world alone. Our hardships, our sadness, our regrets, will all eat at us from the inside unless we open ourselves up for our friends to help rebuild us.

There are awful, terrible, horrible things in this world of ours, but it is our job to pursue the good around us, even if it can seem hard to find. As long as we keep fighting for the good in the world, the dark will never win out, and as long as we keep making cherished memories with our friends, they will never truly die… and neither will we.

Twilight smiled as she checked over her work. She squinted slightly as the sun started climbing higher into the sky, bringing an end to another cold night. Ponies around town would be going to and fro, able to continue their daily lives without fear now that the threat was gone.

“Tom… Blue Bolt… thank you for everything.” She muttered to herself as she glanced over to the picture with a small smile before looking back and making one last finishing touch on her letter.

Your most faithful, and grateful, student… Twilight Sparkle.