“……………”

The Room was pretty quiet as Rainbow Dash lied down on the pillow. It had been ten days since she left…ten days. Today was the funeral.

Yawning, she got up slowly as the sun started to shine on the windows, before immediately being blocked by the drawn curtains. There was no need for sunshine today. Today, the morning was her enemy.

She remembered how everyone, including herself, reacted when they saw Twilight carrying her body into the castle. The shock…it sent all of them into a broken silence. Although this had to happen…why did it have to occur at that moment?

She stopped trying to bring her back. Every-pony did. According to Twilight, she had already died before she had found her. There was no point for a trip to the hospital.

Fluttershy…was gone. And now…now she had to do what she promised. To stay strong and not cry. To not…cry…

Tears were already starting to roll down once again on her cheeks before they were washed away by the water in the sink as she forcefully cleaned herself with a wet towel. She had to stay focused.

“Focus…I can do this…”

She looked back up towards the mirror, and right in front of her face was not the reflection of her own, but an ever so familiar mare sporting a color of pink and yellow…holding a basket of flowers in her mouth…

“ARGH! STOP IT!” She yelled. Her hallucinations were getting worse by the day, and in the day of the funeral, it had to be at its peak.

Looking back up, the image disappeared.

“Ugh…what is happening to me?” Rainbow Dash moaned.

Was she doing this to herself like last time? Or was Fluttershy literally haunting her very mind, destined to stay there for all eternity?

“Rainbow Dash...Rainbow Dash...”

The whisper came in so suddenly; it caused the pegasus to fly straight into the air. Shaking her head violently, she attempted to clear her head, to no avail.

“Who…who the heck are you?!” She screamed.

“I’m the shadow of your best friend…the deep, dark side…the side which was never to be revealed in front of any-pony…Dashie.”

Smoke started to swirl into place, forming the ever so familiar long mane, along with the ghostly face. Her eyes were painted a hellish red.

“Rainbow Dash…fool…I never liked you…you were always so annoying…” The shadow mocked, surrounding her in imaginary fire. It was impossible to determine the hallucinations from reality at this point.

“Shut up! Get away from me!”

“Get away? I’m the one who wanted you to go away…dragging me from one place to another…I didn’t just find you annoying…I secretly hated you…”

“No! It’s not true!” Rainbow cried, losing herself.

“It is a hundred percent true…Dashie…I wanted to die…I wanted to end my life quickly so that I wouldn’t have to see you again…” It cackled.

“………………..”

“Did I hurt your petty little feelings? Break…BREAK!”

“No…that’s not true.” The tone that came out of her mouth was not filled with fear…but confidence, confusing the shadow.

“Huh?”

“Fluttershy didn’t want to end her life quickly…if there’s one thing she taught me…it is to live life to the fullest!” She roared, stepping forward towards the shadow, which cowered in fear as it tried to escape from the positive surge of emotions.

“You…I…No…this can’t be happening!” It shrieked. It did not have Fluttershy’s voice anymore. Its tone had dropped several octaves as its power started to diminish.

“You are not Fluttershy! You are nothing but my fear…my own repentance!” Rainbow declared. “I will not be tortured by you again!”

“No…No! Get back! GET BACK!”

“You're not the shadow of Fluttershy...you're the shadow of me!! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!” A giant ray of light suddenly appeared in the sky, trapping the shadow, which screamed horribly as it burned to a crisp.

FLASH.

“*Gasp…”Wheeze…What…where?”

She was back onto her bed. The vision just now was nothing but a nightmare. Sinking back onto the pillow, she sighed deeply. It was all over now.

“Rainbow Dash…Rainbow Dash?”

A sudden knock, then the door opened. Twilight and the others were dressed in black dresses with Rarity holding a spare one.

“It’s time to go.”

The flag at the city centre waved lazily at half mass as the rest of the houses were draped in black ribbons in the dying sunlight. Flowers from all around the region were being brought in my bees, birds, all kinds of different insects and animals. Treehugger stood at the middle. She was the one who had coordinated all the animals in the first place, coming to Ponyville as soon as she heard of the news.

Every-pony was going into the mayor's office. The seats were placed in neat rows. Ponies from Canterlot, Appleplooza, Manehatten...different ponies from all around the region had came to pay their respects to the fallen friend of the princess.

"You didn't have to invite so many ponies, Princess Celestia." Twilight mentioned. Her mentor was standing beside her, her expression sad...yet strangely quiet. She shook her head a little before responding.

"Oh, sorry about that Twilight, I was...thinking back to the first time one of my dear friends...nevermind. Your friend deserves all the recognition I'm giving. As one of your friends, I cared for her as much as I cared for you. And it is really heartbreaking to see her go...at such a young age." She replied bitterly.

"Thanks. By the way, there really was no point on sending those trained doctors over. A natural way to go would have been Fluttershy's most favourite choice." Twilight added.

"I know...desperation really does do a number on a lot of things. Is Rainbow Dash alright? According to your letters she was the closest to her, being friends with her since the beginning."

"She's ok. She almost did break down when we first arrived, but the Wonderbolts helped us get her out of it. Soarin's comforting her right now." She glanced over to the east side. Rainbow Dash was there, sobbing a bit on his shoulder, her head on his lap.

"I see. Well, I guess you should be going up the stage right about now." Celestia reminded.

"I know. I'll see you after the..."

CRASH.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE'S ALREADY GONE?!"

"That voice...that couldn't be..."

Discord stormed inside the town hall, his eyes furiously burning as he knocked any everything his way, walking towards the pair with a strange green potion flask on his left arm.

"SHE PROMISED ME THAT SHE WOULD BE THERE WHEN I FINISH THE CURE! SHE PROMISED THAT SHE'LL WAIT FOR ME! WHY COULDN'T SHE KEEP HER PROMISE! WHY...WHY COULDN'T SHE..." His claw raised up into the air, preparing to smash the bottle into oblivion.

"DISCORD, STOP!" Twilight yelled.

"DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!" He roared back. "SHE'S GONE ALREADY! NOTHING MATTERS NOW!"

"Is...is that a cure for..." Luna gasped. She had been sitting on the front row watching Twilight and Celestia.

"YES! YES IT IS...A CURE FOR ALL KINDS OF HESSONITE-RELATED DISEASES AND TERMINAL ILLNESSES! THE SMOOZE'S LIQUID NULLIFIED THE HESSONITE'S MAGIC NEGATING PROPERTIES! ALL THAT EFFORT...WASTED...WASTED!!!!!"

"Discord...you could..."

"I KNOW WHAT IT CAN DO....I know what it can do...but I wasn't able to save her...I failed." He growled angrily, pitying nothing but himself.

"But you can save so much other ponies and creatures with that...please Discord. Fluttershy would have wanted no-pony to suffer the same pain that she had. Do it for her." Twilight begged.

"I...I...I'm sorry, Twilight Sparkle." His claw drooped down, dropping the potion onto Dr.Horse's hooves. "I just...it was too fast...and I was too slow." He sat over with the rest of Twilight's friends and began sobbing to himself.

"Discord..."

"I'll go talk to him. I know how it feels like, losing a friend for the first time as an immortal being. Go do your speech, Princess Twilight." Celestia interrupted, looking at the chaos spirit with nothing but pity.

"Right. Thank you..."

She walked up to the stage, her expression solemn yet firm. Clearing her throat, she watched as the audience's attention completely shifted over to her, the small talk disappearing. She took a deep breath, then began.

"Mares...colts...donkeys..animals...everyone. Welcome. We are here today to celebrate the passing of Fluttershy, a kind and generous pegasus who has changed all of our lives. She was a great friend, a best friend towards us all, a spirit so passionate and willing to help out others if they are in any sort of trouble or danger. This motherly nature...really showed all of us the kindred of friendship as a whole. I, as one of her most personal friends, watched her as she grew, developed this kindness while experiencing my own growth, along with Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity. However, she wasn't always like this. In the beginning, she was shy, timid, afraid to interact with other ponies in fear of being bullied or harassed as she had been in Cloudsdale. Her kindness was kept secret, demonstrated only in full view in front of her animal friends, or by herself." She gestured over to the many creatures, who were all sitting and flying on the left side of the hall.

"It is strange how we used to differentiate ourselves from these animals, treated them either as pets or toys to keep. Fluttershy was one of the first ponies to embrace them as equals, and look at how this change has affected us now. Thanks to her, we ponies can interact cooperatively with animals and insects, respect each other needs and help each other out instead of fighting or arguing. Without Fluttershy, we wouldn't have a place as beautiful as Equestria. And that's not all. When we convinced her to come out of her shell, she did with a bang. She started joining animal care organisations. She started participating in group activities like the hurricane reservoir event, being an animal expert who you could rely on for accurate advice...she became a mother to us all, a treasured family member whom we will find quite hard to forget. However, we must not grieve after this ceremony. We must not sink ourselves into depression, or fall under a crisis due to the death of an innocent butterfly. Fluttershy's last words to all of Ponyville were words that told us to stay strong, to not worry. Let us cherish the passing of this mare, not feel pity for it. There was nothing any-pony could do, and we must assure that, as there is no point in harming yourself for another. Doctors of the local hospital. Friends. Animals. Residents of Ponyville. Let us stand up together as equals, as beings of Equestria, as one, to mourn now for this fallen friend. May she rest in peace."

"May she rest in peace." They echoed.

The door creaked open, and Harry the bear came out, cradling the body in his hairy arms. He held her as it was a cub, gentle, caring. The birds sang in a sad harmonic melody as he slowly placed her sleeping figure into the coffin, below the hundreds of flowers, below the sky. Closing the glass lid, he let out a sad, yet beautiful roar. Empathy.

One by one ponies and animals started walking towards the coffin, saying their blessings before returning back to their seats.

"Thank you for saving my pet." A single rose.

"Thank you for your kindness towards our business." A batch of daisies.

"Thank you for forgiving me after all that I did." A wreath of violets.

"Thank you for being there when I was in trouble with my animals." A bundle of rue.

"Thank you for being my friend." A gentle pat on the surface.

"Thank you."

After everyone said their goodbyes, they followed the mane 5 as they walked towards Fluttershy's Cottage. A hole in the backyard had already been dug for the occasion. Without a word, the animals started carrying the coffin down to the bottom.

"We'll, I guess this is...goodbye...Fluttershy." Twilight croaked, looking back at the silent coffin.

"We'll never forget you..." Pinkie sobbed.

"We'll see each other in another life, perhaps." Treehugger suggested.

Applejack stood firm as Rarity cried uncontrollably on her shoulder, her face looking down slightly as she bid her last farewall. "Goodbye." She spoke.

"Goodbye." Rainbow Dash echoed.

And with those final words, Rainbow Dash, the pony who had carried a heavy heart for twenty years against the one friend who cared for her more than anyone had ever did, was now crying tears of sadness for her. They were finally at peace. She was a true angel, a true, true friend. Something that everyone had every reason to be proud of.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------The End-------------------------------------------------------------------

Author's Note

And this concludes "Fall of the Butterflies". A really nice project that I was thankfully able to finish before the summer ended. I really hope that you enjoy this little piece of work, and like always, stay strong and keep reading. However, the story is not over yet. I plan to add a little epilogue to this fanfiction after I finish another story to tie in a little it more detail. Stay tuned, and I'll see you all next time. Like Applejack said, live life to the fullest.

chankl2