The devastating aftermath of the battle had inexorably altered the scenery: the formerly lush radiance of the valley was now replaced by the putrescent and unsettling miasma of death.
Numerous bodies, or at least what REMAINED of them, decorated the area, giving the sight a further unpleasant and utterly dreary feeling.
The once sweet beauty of the entire Pineapple Forest was virtually nonexistent, reduced to bone-dry stumps and piles of splinters and ash. The once clear sky and fresh air was marred by dust and smoke, the sky obscured by a thin layer of gray and brown.

The Sun was now red and setting, as if deciding to hide its face from all of this misery, the reddish rays completing the bleak picture.

A small group shambled about in exhaustion and tried to piece together the remains of a few of the dead bodies that rested on the ground as best as they could; but the conditions of some were so disastrous that they left no choice, but to bury the little that remained, to give them at least some semblance of dignity.
On the furthest corner of the main scene, a young white mare was kneeling on the ground while her right hoof tenderly held that of one of the fallen victims left in the area.
Bitter tears bathed what remained of her dear friend as her mane, as pink as cotton candy, fell tousled over her shoulders.
A chaste kiss was placed on the forehead as a final sign of farewell.

The mare was shadowed by a larger and more majestic presence bathed in a pure white light with shining golden borders. Its form was so breathtaking that it overshadowed the landscape itself with its sheer radiance.

This being was partially covered with shining memorabilia of purest gold.
The lovely light that came from it reflected the greatest of early morning sunlight, giving rise to a prismatic effect that blessed the dreary surroundings with its colors.
Her shape and characteristics were indeed those of an exceptionally large pony. But there was something regal and divine about her, her features screaming of true royalty and greatest magnificence, regalia of a long bygone Era whose perfection had been lost and was only now remembered within her own all-powerful mind and the pages of history books.

Attached to her shimmering body, a pair of majestic wings were raised proudly. Their size was far greater than that of any Pegasus that had ever lived, and were capable of carrying their bearer to greater velocity than most could even imagine.

Before the first books, when myths were passed down only in song, when the world emitted its first wails and the beating of the first hearts began, her kind had watched over creation, unwavering guardians of ancient truths and custodians of lost knowledge.
And with that incredible position had come countless burdens. Like this one right now…

The Alicorn looked at the mare and the body lying beside her. More than once she tried to open her own mouth to try to emit a sound, anything to end the painful silence, but failed to do so. Her breath could be a hurricane, but now nothing could be heard. Her presence was as the Sun itself, and the suffering air continued to be soothed by her continuous light.

The silence became more and more unbearable, placing an invisible wall between the two.
In the end, it was the mortal Earth Pony who spoke first,
“It's useless, Princess! Keen Edge had suffered too much already by the time I got here. It seems that the weight of responsibility that he carried with himself was too great…" a muffled groan placed a halt to the mare’s voice.
She forced herself to keep it together, for she could not afford to lose her cool now, not she there was still work to be done. Keen Edge would have wanted it that way.
"Even for him. I hope the Captain has finally found the peace he has sought in performing his duties to you and his homeland, at least."

The Alicorn uttered a soft lament, the sound of which could have been mistaken for the weeping of the land itself in every heart. An ancestral noise, the intensity of which covered with its sorrow the very essence of life and death. Her royal horn glowed with a silver heavenly light, and a thin ray of pure Magic alighted from it onto the unmoving body of the stallion.

Keen Edge’s body was enveloped in a mysterious light, momentarily beginning to glow with a gentle intensity. Then, it began to slowly disappear, turning steadily into ten thousand ashes of gold leaves, and the mare watched in silence and a small bit of awe as they slowly began to float away.
She slowly stood up and watched as they all moved in soft gentle order, carried by a small breeze to the South.

She saw, out of the corner of her eye, other streams of gold. The other bodies of their friends and comrades who’d fallen here this day.
“What? Where are they…?”

“Back to their homes, to their friends and families.”
The Alicorn spoke, her voice grave.
“They’ll be able to bury or scatter the ashes as they wish. It’s the least I could do for them.”

There was a further delay in speaking, the immortal Princess and the mortal nurse standing there in silence.

Then the silence was broken.

"It's all my fault, Redheart!"
Princess Celestia watched as the final gift she could give to the noble and heroic Captain and the other brave ponies got more and more out of sight, and now her tears began to appear.
“If only I had been honest with you all from the very start, none of this would have ever happened. Equestria and Equis have lost one of their greatest mortal protectors, and all because of…because of my inability to reveal what I knew!"

Princess Celestia of the Sun looked up to the sky, as the setting Star slowly was lowered to disappear into the horizon.
“I have… I have always had to do something. Anything! Why? Why? Why is it always that I cannot do anything that can change these things?"

Regret. Could an immortal have such a feeling that has always been thought to be beyond them? Or was it only an imitation of what lurked inside the hearts of those who fought for her?
Redheart already knew the answer to such a worthless and nihilistic question. She would not accept those words. No, it would have been more correct to say that she utterly rejected them with all her being.

"You have absolutely NOTHING to do with what had happened here, and I'm sure he too would agree with me; please don't tear your soul apart for what we've witnessed. That demon, that damned filthy parasite, had nothing in common with you, Princess Celestia!”

She whirled around and faced the anguished Alicorn. How could anypony compare that affront to all that was holy and wonderful, to the Princess herself?
"I beg you, stop this torment!" Redheart continued, heartbroken but firm in her conviction, as she approached her Monarch and leaned as high up as she could without standing on her hind legs.
"I have already lost too many friends and companions today; I will not let another one drown in despair!”

Tears suddenly came copiously out of her own eyes. They would wait no longer for the poor mare to put an end to her own holding back, and were now pouring down her face, finally free. And she did something that she never had down before and never truly thought that she ever would; she leaned forward and pressed her head against the taller pony’s chest, closing her eyes and letting herself cry.

A long and silver-white foreleg slowly came up and rested around her shoulders, and the nurse shook more as she raised her own forelegs and wrapped them as much as she could around the mighty mare’s own upper body as best she could, burying her face into Celestia’s chest and soaking it in unnumbered tears as she let herself sob outright.

The Princess held her close, like a mother holds her foal, and one hoof gently ran down her messy mane in a soothing manner as the poor nurse pony finally let out all her pent-up pain in the loving embrace of the immortal ruler. Minutes passed by until the sobbing had slowly been reduced to the occasional whimper and shudder.

"Yet Captain Keen Edge and his fellow soldiers would not have died if it wasn't for the foes from my past and my own procrastination."
The towering mare remonstrated. Shame. This was what Redheart heard in her voice. A guilt that fell on her dear Monarch, and which nothing, she by now realized, would be able to alleviate.

"And not only them! Even the Yaks of The Horned Spires and the Mammoths of the Mammonex Tundra would have certainly had far better fates and maybe even a peaceful resolution to their own disputes and struggles, if it were not for yet another reemerging Changeling Hive or otherworldly spirit emerging from their resting places in the past and spreading havoc.”

The huge mare tiredly nuzzled the smaller one’s mane as she spoke, letting herself seek out some little amount of comfort from the similarly grieving nurse pony in this moment.

“Eventually, these innocent ponies found themselves catapulted into an unbeatable position against the insatiable hatred of my own foes and their unquenchable lust for power and revenge, not just against me and my sister, but against all Alicorns and what they stand for. Time and time again, even if I try with utter sincerity, I have left things unfinished one way or another and the world has suffered for it."

Redheart now slowly pulled away from Celestia and took a little time to collect her thoughts; what would have been the best thing to do? Try to console her? Tell the Princess that her past enemies resurrections and the endless cruelties that came with them weren’t her fault because she didn’t commit them? Would it even have any real meaning at that point?

Changelings. Centaurs. Dragons. Windigos. Evil ponies. Vengeful spirits. And so many more…everything was a blur in her mind at this point, and many details still did not fit properly together.
She was not that big of a reader of lost lore and history, she was a Battle Medic and a Doctor. An elite one of exceptional talent and courage, yeah, but still hardly the stuff of legend. The only thing she knew for sure right here and now, the only thing that she also could not accept, was that Keen Edge was dead. And with him went part of her.

In the depths of her heart, she was indeed just a bit upset that Celestia had not been more open to them about their foes and her own history.
Yet, Nurse Redheart herself had personal secrets that she would not tell anypony unless she really had no choice, and she ultimately couldn’t judge the Princess for not just laying it all bare and run the risk of demoralizing them all.

'Keen Edge, how did you always know the best thing to say when it came to things like morale and encouragement? The Princess relied on you, and so have I. Why do I feel so lost without you here to help us?'
The whirlwind of those thoughts collided with the harsh and bitter realization of reality. Had it been a dream, or a nightmare, the awakening would have been evermore sweet.

But Redheart knew in herself that at the dawn that was to follow, nothing would be fixed by waking up to it. The sky would seem less a bit blue, the food a little less tasty, any drink slightly less refreshing or inebriating. Something had been torn away, and trying to stitch the pieces back together was just no longer possible.

"Here," the Alicorn magically lifted and gave her old friend’s axe to the nurse, taking the care not to risk dropping it prematurely or dirtying it unnecessarily.
"Take care of it for me. You can return it to his family or keep it for yourself, but please, don’t sell it or throw it away.”

"I will honor his memory for the rest of my days," the Earth Pony replied resolutely.
"He will live on. Just…not in the way we wish."

It was time now for their goodbyes and, however difficult, it would not be sorrow that would accompany them in those final moments.
The Captain was a legend now. And legends had no place among them, but high above, in the sky, running in eternal fields or soaring above the firmament with their ancestors. Whenever night would fall, Nurse Redheart would be able to see Captain Keen Edge again among the stars. And she knew he would look down at them all.
The thought filled her with a small sense of peace, and she had a smile on her tired face. The first since this day had begun.

At the same time, another figure approached them, speaking low words full of grief.
“If…if only you had engaged with the enemy with your true strength from the start. If only Keen Edge hadn't sacrificed himself for us. If only I could have done something, anything. If only... if only... Only this remains for me, while my comrades lie here, alone."

Normally tall and proud, Prince Blueblood now had his head lowered and his steps were heavy, his eyes were looking a thousand yards ahead and yet only a few hooves in front of him.
He had once been mocked as being a brat and all talk. After all, his arrogant behavior at parties and the way he conducted himself on average didn’t do him any favors.

But after his courage in the face of death here on this bloody day, after he stood his ground even when facing a living tide of carnage-hungry Changelings bearing down on him…no such insults would ever be whispered of him again.

"It wasn't your deception that hurts me. It wasn't your choice of such that has done this. To be strong, to hold such dangerous truths close from friends as much as enemies... I truly understand that."
He wiped away tears, which now started to flow down his dusty, battle-scarred face.
“I understand why you did all this. I really understand it. And yet... and yet I just cannot see why. I understand, but I do not want to. It’s just too…too…wrong."

The voice was filled with frustration, confusion, and anger. Anger at the immortal Princess for joining this battle in earnest when everything, by then, was simply too late.
But especially it was directed at himself. For his own worthlessness, his inability to truly be able to assist somepony else enough for them to keep their lives.
A feeling Redheart knew all too well.

"My hooves are stained with blood. Blood that is not mine…" Blueblood continued rubbing his own hooves and wrists, until the skin was raw and his own blood was starting to seep through.
“Whose blood is this, then? Is it even a pony’s?”

Another pony, a talented young Unicorn mare with a very light purple coat and sporting a deep purple mane and tail with a light blue stripe on each, came slowly next to him and took his hooves in hers as she steadily healed them as best she could with her Magic, before she tiredly turned to the Princess.

“Princess Celestia Solaris, who are you? I thought of you as my master’s older sister and also another great teacher. I thought of you as my comrade. I thought of you as my friend. Was it all false? Or was it all true? I don't know what would hurt more."
The other survivors had gathered around them both. In all, only five of them remained, including Redheart.
The other two were a cream-colored Earth Pony mare with her pink and grayish-blue mane and tail, and the other was a light gray Pegasus mare with cream-colored mane and tail and a pair of normally unfocused eyes that were currently very well focused.
They were now standing silently together with the two Unicorns. They didn’t say anything. But their gaze made it clear to the Alicorn that they shared the same pained feelings.

"I was your friend, I was your comrade."
Celestia replied.
“But most of all, I was myself. I will not attempt to justify what I’ve done and should have done, for there are no suitable words to do so."
Her body was always a form of immeasurable beauty, yet one whose toughness surpassed the purest adamantine and whose luster was more sparkling than any diamond. Even now, in her grief, she was still a wondrous sight of grace and loveliness.
“Supreme Monarch of Equestria, Princess of the Sun, Protector of all Ponykind…what a fools joke!"

Her self-deprecating words and harsh hollow voice actually made all of them flinch.
The moonlight, which timidly began to make its appearance, covered her face, which appeared shattered and was again streaked by diamond streams from her Amethyst eyes.

"The sins of parents in the past fall upon the present foals. And I have utterly failed in all my responsibilities for too long a time. I cannot hope to fix what happened here on this dark day, but I can at least make sure it will never happen again.”
Her majestic wings now slowly rose to the sky, silver and golden feathers enhanced in their beauty by the light of the moon.

“The time has come to put an end to this horrid cycle of suffering and destruction. I know not if it will work forever, but I will do my own part in it and leave the completion to those who are destined to finish it."

There was... peace in her words. The kind of peace that none of her companions and champions had ever thought of hearing from her.

“Princess, what do you mean?”

“It is exactly what I have said, my friends. I have done much in my long ages of life, both right and wrong, but now…my part in this tale is over.”

They all seemed to come to the same realization together at once, and several gasps were heard.

“Princess…wait, what are you going to do?"
Redheart suddenly said loudly, trying to keep her gaze on the figure already slowly taking flight. The cloud of dust and magical light particles that was beginning to spread from the beating of the Alicorn’s wings concealed her being from view as she rose higher and began to leave.

"Princess, no! Please! Don’t let the pain win! Please!”
The cream-colored mare cried, rushing forward a few steps and holding out a hoof up to her.
“Just like Redheart said! We can't lose you too! ESPECIALLY not you!”

“C-cmon Celestia, there’s gotta be a better way. I know there is, I’ll find one! We all will!”
The light purple Starlight Glimmer tried to reason with her friend and teacher, but it was too late, for the decision had already been made.

"If there is anything that you all have reminded me, it is to never give up hope for the future and to trust in your true friends and family, no matter what the consequences seem to be.”
High in the air, Celestia shone with a newfound glow. The divine sumptuousness of her figure would have brought envy even to the stars in the sky.

“Please Celestia, there has to be another way! Don’t abandon your sister and me, or all of us!”
Starlight cried out with tears, and Redheart had to hold the distraught pony in her arms/forelegs as she herself felt more tears of her own starting to stream down her face.
“I’m begging you, don’t go!”
Starlight sobbed as she cried those heartbreaking words out.

The cream-colored Bon Bon, AKA Agent Sweet Drops, stood stiffly as her years of training and experience finally cracked and broke as she too began to cry.
The Princess whom she’d served faithfully for so long out of loyalty and respect and love…was going to die of her own accord and leave the safety of all in the hooves of her younger sister. Princess Luna was certainly capable in all ways, of course, but still…

“I’m truly sorry, my little ponies. But if an Alicorn helped to start the Black Cycle, then an Alicorn must also end it. I cannot allow ‘He Who Must Not Be Named’ to return as well, lest he gather all evil to him and bring an end to this Age.”

He Who Must Not Be Named.

The First Emperor of Equestria.

The Father of Monsters.

Grogar.

All knew of the monster who bore that name and the evil that he brought. It had been he who truly defined evil as ponies knew it, and the mention of his potential return shot pain and ever more grief into the hearts of the brave ponies here. Princess Celestia was going to find some way to stop him from returning?

"B-b-but Princess Celestia…What will become of you?"
A vice gripped Redheart’s throat. "Do not confuse martyrdom with hope, I beg you."

Blueblood also did not know how to respond, tears in his own eyes.
“Stop…please…" he tried to say. But the stallion’s voice was weak and weary, and Celestia was not slowing down as she was already making some distance between herself and them.

"...I just don’t know what went wrong..." Muttered the light gray Derpy sadly, and her eyes became derped again as she gazed as best she could after the increasingly far figure of the glorious Princess.

"Celestia, please don’t go…” the crying Starlight Glimmer repeated those words as Nurse Redheart held her in her forelegs, with nopony able to repeat those words with her out loud yet all saying them in their sorrowful hearts.
The Prince merely lowered his head, remaining silent. Bon Bon sunk to the ground as well, biting her lower lip as the tears continued to come and she lay open her legs.
Derpy sat on her haunches between Bon Bon and Blueblood and her face was also down, a stream of tears trickling down her muzzle and dripping off her nose to the dry ground below as she reached out and rested her foreleg hooves on their shoulders in the most comforting way she could.

But then, they all heard the Princess’s voice echoing clearly across the valley.
"Do not make this farewell sad, no more than it already is. My friends, my little ponies, I give you one last task: protect Equis! Don't let our people and all others fall to the darkness. The Storm King, along with King Sombra and likely others, shall soon be upon you, and all must be ready to do what they can and must to unsure that the light does not fade from this world.”

Her heavenly light shone down upon them more strongly, bathing her beloved friends in her glorious Magic.

“Support my sister as she ascends to the Throne as the Monarch of Equestria, and do all you can to keep the ponies together and allow Keen Edge’s dream to live on. Our enemies all around shall make their attempts on these favored lands, but rally the tribes and prepare them for the war that will soon come.”

"…Will we ever meet again?"
Redheart asked after a moment of silence.

"Yes, my little ponies. I know that we shall see each other again someday, no matter how long it may be from this one. Deep down in my heart, I am relieved to know that I leave this world in your hooves."
The great Alicorn gave them a final greeting as a warm feeling reminiscent of kindness emanated from her voice.
"And when that time comes, we shall find ourselves among the heavens, where there will be no more suffering and no more misery.”
Her figure had now almost completely disappeared.
"Goodbye, my little ponies. Take care of yourselves and each other. Love this world as I have loved it!"

And with these words, she took off in a glorious flash of gold and silver like the most beautiful lightning bolt anypony had ever seen, and what remained of the brave heroes remained motionless and silent, honoring their fallen friends for the last time.

Author's Note

Yeah I know, this chapter was quite rushed compared to the others and I’m sorry. Really, I just guess I didn’t know how to make it better and more expanded. But don’t worry, I am planning to use these characters in the future as well, even if I’m limited at being able to write a lot about them and their own adventures.
I WILL expand the cast for this story beyond just Twilight and Rainbow Dash, but not too much and onto enough that I find it fun to write about without detracting from our two main heroes and their adventures. Like I said before, if it’s not fun for me to do, I won’t do it.)

See y’all next time!