Equestria Copes

Twilight came to rest on the ground as graciously as ever. Her funeral, as well as that of her friends, had been held right away to ensure that they were properly interred, and a rush was ordered on their statue. As she looked up at the plinth, only her own statue had been put in place, and not even finished. Were it not for the cutie mark, she'd be unable to tell that Fluttershy was right next to her, as she was just a body with wings at this point, and with Twilight having no wings yet, she knew it was far from over. Then again, she hadn't even been dead for a week yet. That they even had a marble plinth with anchor points was kind of impressive, let alone almost one and a half bronze sculptures.

Vesper had sent her here to deal with feuding royalty. She knew that she had a lot of unfinished business, as her responsibilities were to all of Equestria, but it was possible, even likely, that Luna and Celestia has been working to fill those roles. In fact, that's what she was expecting; Celestia and Luna arguing over how to rule over Equestria after having a taste of their retirement.

She looked around, and they were nowhere in sight. Perhaps she needed to go find them? Vesper has said that the targets would be around here, and she would know them when she saw them.

"Again with this?" came a familiar voice, but not either of the princesses. "How many times are you going to show up here?"

"For as long as it takes to pour forth my feelings," came another familiar voice. This one very familiar.

Twilight hid behind the plinth. Vesper had told her that she could not be seen, but she really didn't want to risk being seen by the bearer of the second voice. That would be a problem, as much as she wished it wasn't.

"I'm just saying, you've been pouring your feelings out here twice daily," continued the first voice. "It's not healthy to live in the past."

Thorax walked into the room, a large bouquet of flowers on his back. "I think you'll find that it's healthy to grieve. What's not healthy is bottling it up. And I'll not be bullied into anger. This is a place of reverence, I'll have you know."

Ember followed him in. "I'm not trying to make you angry. I'm trying to tell you to leave. Go home, Thorax."

"I will," he answered. "Just as soon as I'm done grieving."

"You can grieve at home."

Thorax took the bouquet from his back and placed it in front of Twilight's statue with the countless others. There were flowers for everyone here, though Spike was offered mostly gems and crystal flowers from the crystal ponies. Rarity had mostly roses, Pinkie Pie carnations, Fluttershy tulips, Twilight orchids, Applejack had a lot of yarrow and angelica, and Rainbow Dash didn't have flowers as much as trophies and medals. Right out front and most easily notable, three medals of valor, awarded to Spitfire, Fleetfoot and Soarin, and left for her memory.

"So could you," replied Thorax, almost accusatively before stopping to regain his composure. "Why are you here?"

Ember shrugged. "Same as you, I suppose. I'm here to grieve for the fallen."

"You say that, but every time I come by, you're not grieving. You're standing out front, just waiting for me to show up. Don't you ever leave?"

"Hey, I have every right to be here," growled Ember. "This is a public place!"

The guards, a dragon and hippogriff in particular, readied their spears. "No fighting in the mausoleum!" the hippogriff guard shouted.

Ember snarled, but recomposed herself. "I have not had the opportunity to grieve properly," she admitted. "There is something that I must do, but I have to wait for the conditions to be correct."

"And what conditions might those be?" asked Thorax.

"I'm not telling you," snorted Ember. "What, you expect me to just spill all of my secrets?"

Thorax shook his head. "Not all of them, no. I just want you to stop gatekeeping the mausoleum. I'd like to remember Twilight on my own, without you or anyone else looking over my shoulder."

That struck a nerve with Twilight. She had thought he was here to pay homage to Spike, first and foremost. After all, Spike was the first one to befriend him, and was the catalyst that kept Thorax moving forward. Twilight hadn't spent as much time with him as Spike had.

Then again, her time with him recently had probably been more intense than his time with Spike. The big reason she didn't want Thorax to see her was because they had been building a relationship together. Unofficially, they were dating, having just decided to try it out in secret before Celestia and Luna retired. It had been... complicated, but they had held to the belief that when this trial was over, they would be able to relax a bit and explore their connection. It was Twilight in the end that had changed their relationship status, though it wasn't by her choice. She hadn't dumped him, but the result was the same. His heart was broken.

"Perhaps I should keep looking over your shoulder, then," snarked Ember. "Maybe then you'll listen to what I said and go grieve in your own home."

Thorax bowed, placing his pincers at the statue's hooves. Twilight could feel them, as if they were really touching her hooves. She wondered if all instances of somepony touching her statue would have this effect, or if it was some other variable that was causing this. Maybe it was just those she was close to? Maybe just this particular statue? Maybe just when she was around to see it? Who knew?

"What, you're not going to answer me?"

Thorax shook his head. "This is no place to start an argument."

Vesper was right. In that moment, Twilight knew who she had to protect. It was both of them. And she knew just how to do it. She flew up to Thorax, waved her hoof in his face to make sure he couldn't see her, then placed her hoof on his shoulder and whispered into his ear.

Thorax sighed. "Ember?"

"I'm still here."

"Hopefully not for long..."

Ember snarled. "Is that a threat?"

He shook his head. "It's an invitation. Come to dinner with me."

Ember's jaw dropped. "Really?"

"Unless you think your conditions are about to be met. You should eat something. And if fighting with me is going to help you deal with your feelings, then we should do it somewhere that's not here."

Ember stopped to consider the offer, then smirked. "You're on."