Funeral for a friend.

                                                                                                              Chapter sixteen.

                                                                                   Fluttershy’s home:

Upon entering the home of her friend the first thing Rainbow saw were pictures of Fluttershy and sunset LOTS of pictures. She counted them one by one just to make sure she had counted the first time correctly. The total came to eighty six in all. As for the ones of her and her other friends Rainbow noticed she only had five of those one of each person. There was the one Rainbow had taken when she and Fluttershy went to the zoo. There was one with her and Rarity trying out some sort of very goofy looking dress. There was one of her and Applejack trying out for the rodeo clowns mash up. There was one of her and Pinkie pie eating a cake together. And there was one of Fluttershy and twilight at the local library. Rainbow smiled to herself when she saw all the pictures. Rainbow said to herself as she looked at all of the photos.

“Man Fluttershy you weren’t kidding when you told me you loved Sunset.” she said as she wiped another tear from her eyes.

She walked down a hallway looking into room after room trying to find Fluttershy she finally found her laying in bed in a full fetal position clutching a photo in her hands and arms. Half her face rested on the photo the other half rested on her pillow. Of all the photos of Fluttershy and her friends the ones of her and Sunset shimmer were the only ones that were placed into heart shaped photo frames. Each frame read in either gold or silver letters depending on the frame and how big the photo itself was.

“Together in love together in friendship”.

Upon getting a little closer but not close enough to disturb her rainbow could see that Fluttershy had cried herself to sleep while holding the photo. Rainbow sat down beside her and gently stroked Fluttershy’s hair she moaned softly as she nestled her head against her pillow and feel back asleep. She looked at Fluttershy then walked out of her room and looked around her home some more. Seeing all the happy pictures of Fluttershy and Sunset made Rainbow cry. There were photos on almost every wall covering every inch of space that she could have covered with them.

Again talking to herself Rainbow said. "This is really going to suck having to wake her up like this after seeing all the memories Fluttershy has on her walls like this."

One might have actually thought Fluttershy was a stalker or a just a nut with how many photos she had of Sunset. but, rainbow knew better than that. She knew that Fluttershy REALLY did love Sunset and was deeply hurt when she didn’t; or rather be it, couldn’t tell Sunset how she felt about her. This alone made what she had to do next that much harder for rainbow. But, her friend needed her most now than ever before. She was going to have to wake her up and actually get her to go to the church yard to say her goodbyes to Sunset. So that she could have at least a little closer in this matter. Waking her up was not what Rainbow wanted to do she didn’t want to disturb her sleeping friend. Yet she knew she had little choice in this Fluttershy needed closer and Rainbow was going to make damn sure she got it. Walking back into Fluttershy's room, Rainbow gently laid her hand onto Fluttershy’s pink hair and slowly shook her head till she woke up. Looking up at the blue skinned girl with a rainbow colored hair style Fluttershy was less than happy to see her standing there in her room.

“What do you want rainbow!? leave me alone so I can be here in my misery where I deserve to be!" Fluttershy snapped at Rainbow.

"Hey come on I am here to help you Fluttershy you know best friend here to make you feel better." Rainbow replied gently.

Fluttershy rolled towards the other side of the bed still clutching the photo of her and Sunset. So that she didn’t have to face her friend.  And so that her friend wouldn’t have to see her cry again. Rainbow sighed to herself she expected Fluttershy to be upset, perhaps to even take her sadness and hurt feelings out on her. So with a very heavy heart she said to Fluttershy.

“I know you blame yourself Fluttershy. I know you do but, you can’t go on like this. You need to let it out. You need to go to the churchyard and say your goodbyes to her. I know it hurts believe me. I know it hurts me just as much. Knowing she isn’t going to be here any more to play sports with me or to hang out at the end of day.”

Fluttershy sniffed as she tried to sit up but fell back into her pillow looking at the wall not even bothering to look at Rainbow who was still standing there.

“I loved her so much…….I never told her how much I……..really loved her”Fluttershy said as she started to cry.

rainbow sat down besides her now on her bed and laid a gentle hand onto her side.

“Come on we need to go to the churchyard so that you can say your goodbyes to her.” Rainbow said with a bit of a choke in her voice.

“I don’t want to go there I don’t want this to be……...real. It just hurts to much knowing she is gone and I will never be able to tell her I loved her.” Fluttershy said fully sobbing now.

With that rainbow did the one thing she never thought she ever would do to Fluttershy. She slapped her as hard as she could across the face almost knocking her into the wall.

“YOU THINK YOU ARE THE ONLY HURTING? YOU THINK YOU ARE THE ONLY IN PAIN HERE? I LOST MY BEST DAMN FRIEND! YOU ARE NOT THE ONLY ONE IN PAIN FLUTTERSHY. WE ALL EVERY SINGLE FUCKING ONE OF US LOST SOMEONE THAT WE TRULY LOVED AND CARED FOR. GET OFF YOUR DAMN ASS AND COME WITH ME TO THE DAMN CHURCHYARD.” Rainbow screamed at her.

Before Fluttershy could say anything at all rainbow had enough. She grabbed the little cream colored pink haired girl by the waste and putting her over her shoulders marched her right out into her living room. She set her down and looked her straight in the eyes and said.

“You either come with me willing or you come kicking and screaming. Either way you WILL be going to the churchyard. It's your choice make it now!” Fluttershy said nothing to rainbow she simply turned to head out the front door. But, before stepping out she stopped in front of a row of photos she had hung up on the wall next to her front door selected one single photo and walked out side.

Rainbow said nothing about her taking the photo she had a pretty good idea as to why fluttershy wanted the photo and walked outside as well. Rainbow closing the door behind her said to Fluttershy.

"Look I am sorry I hit you, but you need to let us help you with this. We all hurt Fluttershy. We are all in pain. Keeping it bottled up like this isn't going to help you in fact it will actually make it worse."

She had been to Fluttershy's home enough times to know that there was a hidden key next to a flower pot she kept near her front door. This she found rather quickly and used it to lock up Fluttershy’s house. After that she and Fluttershy where on their way to the church yard to hopefully give Fluttershy some sense of closer. And some well needed reassurance that even though she was hurting at the end of things she still had her friends to look out for her. Rainbow looked at Fluttershy saying gently to her as they walked back to the graveyard.

"Look like it or not I will be staying with you tonight just to make sure your going to be alright."

Fluttershy said nothing in reply to this statement from Rainbow. She knew that her friend was just being a good friend something she needed right now. As the two of them made their way to sunset’s grave rainbow and Fluttershy could see that the coffin had not yet been covered. Both of them saw a man with some shovels walking up to the grave and walked up to him saying to him.

"Escuse me sire could you wait a minute while my friend here says her goodbyes to Sunset?" Asked Rainbow

The man looked at her then over at Fluttershy then back at Rainbow before saying softly.

"Of course young lady. Would you like me to raise the coffin so you can put your photo into it?"

“how did you know that is why we came here” asked rainbow a bit confused.

The man just smiled and replied just as softly as before with.

"I was watch the whole thing from a nearby tree. I saw the girl with the cowboy hat put her hat into the coffin and I figured you would want to do the same, uh; when your ready of course.” He said softly to her.

“Thank you ummm, you're not going to stand there and stare at us while my friend says her goodbyes are you? Rainbow replied with a raised eyebrow to him.

At this the man just laughed and said.

“No I am how ever going to leave the shovels and go about my work. Call me when you are ready for me to lower her, uh the coffin back into its proper place OK?” He said.

He then turned and pressed a button on a control pad that raised the coffin up out of the grave so Fluttershy could place her photo into the coffin. The man walked away and leaving rainbow dash and Fluttershy alone and started his work on the other side of the churchyard. Rainbow looked over to Fluttershy who had her head hung low and was fully sobbing by this point. She walked over to her laid a hand on her shoulder and said softly

“come on.” Rainbow said softly to Fluttershy.

Fluttershy very slowly walked up to the silver casket as rainbow opened the lid. Inside where all the items that each of her friends had placed inside to give each of them a sense of closer. There was twilight's photo that she and sunset took together, followed by Rarity’s ring that Sunset had picked out for her at the Canterlot City mall. There was also the photo that Pinkie Pie had placed in the coffin. There was Luna’s moon pendent that Sunset had bought for Luna on her birthday. There was rainbows guitar pick that she had loaned to Sunset when she couldn’t find one of her own to use the day that she forgot to bring it from home. And Applejack's hat was also in there as well all these items and the memories that were associated with them made Fluttershy feel really good. Turning to face Rainbow she said as tears began to run down her face.

"I am going to miss her so much." Fluttershy said crying.

"I know we both will miss her." Rainbow replied softly.

Rainbow could see fully now that Fluttershy was on the verge of breaking so she stepped away from the coffin and hugged Fluttershy tightly. Fluttershy began to cry uncontrollably and was finally able to just let it all out. All the hurt all the anger, all the sadness, all the pain of not telling sunset how she felt about her was finally able to come out. The two of them stayed there for hours just holding each other crying into each other's shoulders. Once she had finished crying Fluttershy walked over to the casket and very gently laid the photo she had been clutching so hard in her hands into it. Closing the lid slowly she said her final goodbyes to the woman that she had fallen in love with. She looked back as she made her way out of the graveyard along with Rainbow walking next to her. Before the got to the gateway Fluttershy looked back and read the tombstone for one last bit of closer. Reading it gave some small measure of comfort to Fluttershy.  The tombstone read.

                                                    HERE LIES SUNSET SHIMMER, BELOVED FRIEND, LOVED BY ONE, SHARED BY ALL

                                                                                                               MAY SHE REST IN PEACE.

                                            Sighing to her self Fluttershy headed home. It was time to slowly move on and let go of her sadness.