Dim melancholic morning sunlight reflected off the gold plating on the top of the stone sepulchre. The rectangular building lay further up the mountain Canterlot was connected to, invisible to all those who were not at the correct viewing angle. Today, however, was the building's most visible moment. Everypony at the service knew of the stucture, and its intended purpose.
        It evoked a sense of dread within them all. The winding roads leading behind Canterlot were those rarely treaded. Cracks in the cobblestone showed just how much the area had deteriorated. It fit the mood of everypony filling the streets. It was a truly somber day.
        Near the front entrance, a stage stood, along with the casket out front for all to see. The lid had been closed, the next of kin obviously not wanting the brutality of the murder to be known. There, near the coffin, Twilight was being comforted by her friends. Her sobs rang out amongst all the others. She was hardly the only one to be crying at the dreadful ceremony.
        "She... Why would any-p-pony do this-sss?" The group sat out to dig her out of her depressive spiral, somewhat unsuccessfully. "Hey, Twi', it'll be alright. Come'ere, and stop that crying," Rainbow dash began, engulfing her friend in a tight hug. Normally, she was too proud show empathy in public, but this was no ordinary situation. Her heart dropped at the sight of one of her closest friends feeling so wretched. /I wish there were magic words to make it all better./, She thought.
        The tight pressure around her abdomen released as Twilight pulled herself together. While she took a moment to clear her throat and blink the tears from her eyes, Rainbow stole a glance at the others, their faces sunken and solemn. Even Pinkie Pie was the contrast of her ordinary self, looking as if she were on the verge of tears with her mane and tail stricken with grief and flattened.
        Quietly, Twilight spoke in a withdrawn and distant voice. "I'm sorry for being such a burden on you all... I- I just wish we could see her, one last time. She was more of a mother to me than my own had been," An idea flashed through her glum mind. "I have to see her. I...I hope you can all forgive me."
        Before any of them had the chance to question her meaning, the latches on the bright white casket flipped and the lid parted only slightly from the bottom piece. It was slight enough for her to see the contents, however.
        The gasp escaped from her throat at the same time as she fell back, dropping the lid back into place. "Twilight! Are you alright? Wh-what did you see?" Stuttered the most timid of the group. Even her soft words failed to keep the thoughts and the image from being burned in her memory.
        It took several minutes of prolonged hyperventilation for the mare to calm down again. Rarity looked at Twilight with a pitying face that held not a trace of condescension. She trotted over slowly and eased the latches down again, not bearing to look within. Walking back to the group, she faked a smile at Twilight in an attempt to cheer her up and keep her from the traumas of her mind.
        Twilight would have none of it, however. Her thoughts focused solely on the corpse, her stomach churned and swirled. It was not the fact the princess was dead that was embedded in her memory, but the state of her body scarred her very psyche. The bruises, cuts, and stab wounds, even in the mortician's attempt to cover and repair them, voided any chances that the goddess' last moments had been either peaceful nor painless. Her mane and tail had irradiated a soft yellow, with small particles swirling around, as if the dead goddess was the sun itself.
        Her friends finally physically jerked her away from sight of the coffin upon seeing her eyes reddening and swelling with tears once again.  
        The ceremony began soon after, with Princess Luna taking the stage to pay her respects. From her heightened position, her vision passed over the entirety of the crowd. The amount of ponies filling up the roads behind the palace overwhelmed her, causing her to take a moment to gather herself. It touched her that so many ponies would come to the funeral in such short notice. Peering over the podium once again, she began.
 
        "Hello, everypony. Today, we are here to pay our respects to the l-late Princess C-Celestia," The introduction came out slowly and nearly smoothly, hinting to her constant recitation of the speech in the previous hours. The next words, however, came directly from her heart.
 
        "Even as your P-princess... speaking in front of a crowd is... somewhat troublesome for me," A solemn silence waved over the assembly, with only the occasional muffled sob shattering the peace. After a short pause, the speech continued. "T-today, I am speaking before you all... because... t-today, she's not here... today, s-she's not here t-to speak so I-I wouldn't be forced to!" As the words echoed through the streets, she began to break down.
 
        A frigid layer of sympathy arose from the crowd, urging her on. "As of Today, I am y-your Princess, one an-and   only. My dear sun sister has gone, and what is a moon without a sun? It is dark and non-illuminate, just as you shall have seen tonight, in her h-honor," She finished, breaking on the final words. She was swiftly coaxed offstage by a few of the lunar guard. They sat around whispering soft, kind words to her, attempting to soothe the pain as the next speaker somberly ascended the steps to the podium.
 
        The crowd was deeply saddened when they noticed who was facing the blue ethereal device. It was none other than Twilight Sparkle, top pupil of the now late Celestia. Their sympathy had all went to the Princess, the one who had lost her sister. They had not even wondered how she must've felt upon hearing the news. Her face low with grief, she waited a few long moments to speak. Not knowing exactly what to say or where to even begin, she spoke the first thing that came to her mind in memory of her teacher.
 
        "She was my friend," just as the words echoed through the amplification spell screen, she already regretted them. Pressing forward hesitantly, "Princess Celestia... She was my friend. But she was more than that. She was my first teacher, mother figure, and... friend. She was all of that and so much more to me... To think that she's g-gone... I- I can't," Withdrawing, she cursed the tears running down her cheeks. biting her lip, she returned wuth new resolve to keep the dam from bursting.
 
        "Princess Celestia shaped me into the mare I am today. I am forever grateful for what she has done for me. She was there when I needed a friend... I- I even remember the song she would sing to me when she didn't want me to cry as a filly..."
 
        It began as a low hum within her lungs,
 
        / From the early morning light,
        fading softly through your eyelids,    
        a yellow beam, from in the sky,
        believe that I am always with...
 
        you,
        With... you,"
 
         A pause lasted moments before the dam suddenly broke, unleashing the tears along with a newfound strength into the song. Her voice flourished instantly as she began, speeding up the tempo just as Celestia had always done.
 
        "And in the nighttime fading fast,
        My light may seem to dim,
        But even as
       
 
        By the time her voice had faded entirely, the majority of the crowd's heads were facing downward. From the most timid mare to the gruffest stallion, tears fell from their eyes like rain during a monsoon. A stomping of hooves flooded through Canterlot moments later, her song having touched something deep within them.
 
        Twilight was soon ushered offstage by a few members of the royal guard. She burst into violent, heaving tears as she rejoined her friends.
 
                                                                *****
 
        The remainder of the procession went by quickly. Nopony wanted to dwell upon the tragedy any longer. They all understood that the next few months would be a very rough time, indeed.
 
        As the pallbearers lifted the beautiful, gold-encrusted white coffin, they felt a weight like no other. The body was not very heavy, nor was the wood or metal containing it. The weight was purely upon their shoulders, and in their minds. On that day, they would be laying their princess to rest. The goddess they had all expected to outlive them was dead. None had seen it coming, not even in their wildest dreams. They were tasked with lowering the coffin into the Royal mausoleum, a building they had never expected to see use within their lifetime.
 
        Marching foward, all were lost in thought as they neared their destination. Not even the murmur of chatter behind them was enough to break them from the trance. All but one pallbearer had not expected to be where they were at that moment until hours before. All felt a deep sadness that the princess was dead, all but one. One felt only guilt and regret.
 
        Finally, the coffin arrived at its destination and was hooked to a lowering pulley. As the corpse was lowered into the earth, there was naught but silence. Everypony knew that it would be the final time they would have ever seen Celestia. Her legend and legacy would live on forever after. Twilight swore she would teach each and every generation afterward about her late mentor. She was snapped from her thoughts as the massive stone doors slammed back together, resealing the great sepulcjre once again.
 
        Several moments passed with bated breath. After what felt to be a thousand years, ponies began filing away, heading back toward their respective homes to grieve and mourn. All except Twilight Sparkle, who still sat at the base of the stone structure.
 
 
                                                                *******
 
        It was late at night, almost early morning, before the puffy eyed mare returned to the tree house she called home. Spike was already asleep by the time she made it into the lobby, so she decided to just climb up to her mattress and sleep for all eternity. There was no reason to wake anymore, nor anything to wake her. The sun was gone, nothing left but the dark, foreboding sky.
 
                                                                *******
 
        The sun still arose the next day, pouring its rays through Twilight's window in the early morning hours. She awoke several hours after first light, her mind sluggish, swimming from one topic to the next at its own pace. The aroma of cooking from the kitchen wafted its way up the stairs into her bedroom. Sighing, she resolved to find out what Spike could be cooking.
 
        After a short moment of nearly stumbling and falling down the stairs, she made it into the kitchen.
 
        "Spike, what are you doing?" Twilight inquired, rubbing her still heavy eyelids. "Oh, good morning, Twilight. I was just cooking us some breakfast," Spike replied, not turning away from the pancakes he had worked so hard on. "I knew you might not feel like cooking after yesterday."
 
        Twilight almost smiled at that. Almost.
 
        Noticing her lack of reply, he swirled around to face the unicorn behind him. She was a wreck. Spike wasn't an expert, but from her bloodshot eyes, unkempt mane, and constant frown, he suspected she had only gotten about three or four hours of sleep.
               
        "You can get some rest Twilight, I'll bring you a pancake when they're done," Spike soothed, attempting to force a smile from her.
       
        "Perhaps I should sleep some more. If I'm lucky, I might not even have to wake up again," She replied, no sign of even a grin.
 
        His heart was stricken at hearing her words. His mouth worked wordlessly to find some way to pull her from her slump. Anything he may have thought of would've fallen on deaf ears, however, because she soon turned on her hooves and meandered away.
 
        Spike, at a loss, went back to cooking pancakes. He had to trust that Twilight would get better and would not try anything stupid. His grip tightened upon the cast iron as thoughts flooded his mind.
 
        Suddenly, a burning sensation rumbled up from his stomach. Rocketing from his mouth was a scroll encased in green flame. Opening the letter, he found the royal seal in the top corner. Whatever it was, it was very important.
 
        A few moments later, he raced through the treehouse. "Twilight! Where are you? I need to find-"
 
        His vision was assaulted by a blot of purple as he ran right into the pony he was searching for. Irritably, Twilight chided, "What is it, Spike? Have I not told you a hundred times before not to run through the treehou-"
 
        Silencing her, he held the scroll up to her tired eyes. Her jaw dropped soon after, having forgotten all about the dull throbbing in her chest.
 
        "Princess Luna wants to see my friends and I personally, within the hour?"