When one future ends, another begins
The wind and rain did not help to alleviate the stress of losing a brother. The whole city was gathered to mourn the captain's passing. The price of living in peace was too much for one pony to bear.
Captain Derek "Shining Armor" Sparkle
Equestrian Armed Forces 3rd Company
B. Apr 5 1935
D. Nov 10 1957
Twilight had so much on her mind during the service: Who would be my role model now? How can I live with myself after I let him die? What will I do now that he's gone? Too many thoughts were being generated with no answers to offset the negativity. All of Shining Armor's Lieutenants were in attendance. The Sergeant responsible for training him was the first to give his thoughts on his passing.
"Soldier, leader, hero, friend. These are just some of the words to describe Captain Shining Armor. I have had the honor to train this stallion, serve alongside him, and serve under him to defend Equestria's freedom. He never backed down from a challenge...."
Twilight was tuning out as the Sergeant went on. She was thinking of the brother she just lost. She had left on such bad terms the last time they were face to face. Twilight had always taken responsibility for her shortcomings and did her best to make amends, but the situation she was in was too much for her. There was no hope of recovery from this. Her tears of sorrow and regret bound the idea to her thoughts. This was not just a brother she lost. He was a role model. He was the brightest beacon of inspiration that could never be extinguished. He was her knight in Shining Armor.
After the service was done, everyone left to return to their jobs, the children started school again and even the princesses returned to their royal duties. Twilight was the only soul anywhere near her brother's grave. She kept replaying the day she last saw Shining Armor. Every replay was another load of emotional burden she gave herself. Each time playing it back was another ten opportunities to avoid the present catastrophe, or at least soften the blow. There were a few other ponies visiting their loved ones, but Twilight paid them no mind. She was to wrapped up in her greatest loss to date.
Twilight knew very well that others were visiting the graveyard, but nopnony else would visit a grave they didn't know. The hoofsteps are what alerted her to the approach of many other ponies. Looking up, she saw some familiar faces. Others were unfamiliar to her, but they all wore the same expression. Not one was speaking, but they were all seemed to have unwanted thoughts cleared from their minds.
It was a while before Twilight was able to make out the images of her friends, family and others she had worked with. It was clear they wanted to support her, but didn't want to give help unwanted. It was Fluttershy who broke the silence with her soft spoken voice.
"Twilight, we brought you some food. You've been here all night. The rest of us want to help you through this, OK?"
Rainbow Dash was completely refraining from her attention grabbing personality and instead, focusing on what mattered most: giving supporting attention to her friend who needs it most.
"We all feel bad about letting this happen, Twilight. It's not your fault he's gone." A quick glance toward Rainbow, then back to her brother's resting place. Even Pinkie Pie's cheerful demeanor and attempts to raise a smile did little to bring relief from Twilight's depressed mind.
"Thank you all so much for being here for me, but I just want to be alone right now, with Shining." It was clear to everypony that trying to help Twilight recover from this would only agitate her and cause her more pain.
Several hours had passed without moving from her stance in front of Shining Armor's grave, her thoughts revolving around the day that should have been one of the happiest days of his life. Her thoughts were a thick mess of many things right now. She could hardly decide on any one in particular.
The Changeling: a parasitic insect-like organism roughly the size of other ponies. Much is still unknown about these creatures, but from the few encounters from survivors, they are very destructive in their feeding off another creature. There is no logical explanation as to why such a terrible creature would exist in this world with the sole purpose of feeding off other ponies' love for one another. It was a truly wicked being reserved for only those evil enough to emerge from Tartaurus. This thought was interrupted by some pony else's presence. There were no steps to be heard, no voice spoke, but Twilight knew someone was watching her. It was a familiar face, it was a caring face. It was Cadence.
"Mind if I join you?" Twilight knew it was her from her posture, her voice, the way she showed up after all others had left her; there was no doubt in her mind that Cadence genuinely cared about her wellbeing. Her steps toward her were soft and respectful, but something told Twilight Cadence was here for more than visiting her lover.
"I know this is hard on you twilight. I feel the loss too. I loved him just as much as you did."
"You two were perfect for each other. Why did it have to end like this?"
Twilight hadn't noticed through her heavy sobbing that she was now in Cadence's embrace. This was a more passionate and powerful embrace than when she simply came over to foalsit. As twilight's mind came back to reality, she was more aware of what was happening to her. She was in the desperate embrace of Cadence and she was emotionally broken.
Cadence had always been a source of inspiration and a beaming tower of hope and love to Twilight. That image changed the instant she realized that even the most beloved icons, seemingly indomitable spirit and always there to serve as role models, can be broken. The proof could not be any clearer to her and there were no words to describe the emotions coursing through her mind right now. Only the sound of Cadence's sobbing and the feel of her embrace were known to Twilight.
"I feel so lonely without him, Twilight. I don't want to lose you, too. You're right he was the perfect stallion for me, but you're the best friend I've ever had. If I lost you, I don't know what I'd do."
Each word was painful to hear. What made it worse, it was coming from the one who gave her so much inspiration to be her best. Twilight decided that enough was enough for her. She came to terms with what had happened that day. Her brother was mauled by a parasite in the likeness of Princess Cadence. With his dying strength, he took the life of the thing that took his. This is the mark of a true hero. Even from beyond the grave, Shining Armor can still invoke pride, courage, loyalty, even lift spirits of those who are broken and defeated. The proof of this was swelling in Twilight's mind, overflowing even. She reciprocated the embrace back to Cadence.
"I'm not giving up, Cadence. He may be gone, but I'm still here to remember him. He was a great soldier, he would have made a fantastic husband, but he left behind a sister who can still do great things."
This was the proudest moment of twilight's life. Not because she would get the opportunity to surpass her brother, but because she had the opportunity to guard and emphasize his legacy. The expression from Cadence changed from emotionally broken to beaming with pride. She could finally tell Twilight what she had been waiting to say...
"That's not all he left behind" The pause and expression she gave Twilight almost seemed like she was hinting at something, but Twilight couldn't quite put her hoof on it. Twilight's confused expression prompted another statement from Cadence.
"There's another reason we decided to get married so suddenly..."
The pieces were starting to come together, but it was still not quite transparent enough to see the answer. Cadence leaned closer to twilight like she needed to whisper the news to her. Twilight also noted Cadence's forearm around her stomach. This would seal the deal, but she needed to hear it from the horse's mouth.
"Twilight, I'm pregnant."
Those words simply erased any feelings in Twilight's mind of fear, regret, or self-doubt. It left a void, a void that was filled with polar opposite emotions just as fast as it was emptied. Twilight's joy simply could not be contained. This was better than getting her cutie mark, reuniting her friends after defeating Discord, even finishing all 45 volumes of The Equestrian Canterlot Encyclopedia.
In fact, all those things together didn't even compare. It was a sense of both relief and joy she had not felt before. She no longer had tears of sorrow and regret; these were tears of ecstasy and love for her brother, sister-in-law, princess mentors, and all the others who stood by her and supported her in her greatest hour of need.
There were no words to describe how filled with hope and joy for the future she was. All Twilight could think about now was looking to the future and how it was shaped by those left behind. Not to say she was glad that they were left behind, but proud that their influence had shown to be an even greater force than the friendship that brought them together.
"Dear Princess Celestia,
I write to you today in response to an invaluable lesson about friendship. I learned that a tragedy is no reason to give up all hope. Instead, it is an encouragement to continue on in place of those who cannot be here with us. I learned this first-hand after the Changeling's invasion of Canterlot. It was the most painful experience I had ever gone through. I must confess, Shining Armor had been the greatest influence of my childhood and when I came to realize that I would never see him again, I had a mind to leave my friends behind in this world and join him in the afterlife. What changed my mind was Cadence. She reminded me that there was a future for me here. It was a role Shining Armor was destined to take, but...
Princess Celestia excused the teardrop marks on this part of the letter and continued reading on...
"I have a lot of people to thank for helping me get through this dark time: my friends and family, you and Luna, even the Equestria National Guard. Cadence was the real reason I decided to stay. Without her, I would have left for sure, but knowing her child would grow up without a father is something I just couldn't let happen. I know how heartbroken Cadence was when Shining Armor died. She still had grief in her voice when she came to see me. She already lost a loving husband, and I was not going to let her lose a sister as well. I take on this role not for myself, not just for Cadence and Shining, but all out there who have loved, lost and found a way to carry on.
Yours most sincerely,
Twilight Sparkle
PS, we still have not come up with a good name for the baby, so we'd really love to hear from you, when you can."
A view from Heaven is such a rare position for anypony to be in. Shining Armor was one of the few stallions who had earned such a privilege. It was not so much the view itself he found so inspiring, but what he saw from this view: his widowed wife and beloved sister reigniting each other's spark. With this in mind, Shining would be content with his angelic existence, knowing he had not been taken from his loved ones in vain.
He now knew that Twilight, Cadence and the rest would be able to carry on their own lives. He now had one goal on his mind: welcome all his friends and family with open arms as they joined him in eternity. He would never be able to touch any of them until then, but any such wait is well worth being reunited with the ones he loved in life.