It had been a sad but sweet ending for Pound and Pumpkin Cake's favourite Aunt. That would have been the way she wanted it, a sweet ending, just like the cupcakes that she used to give out to all the unhappy ponies to make them smile.
All of these ponies, the one's she cared for, had turned up on this dreary day to come to the church. They had fought their way through storms and hurricanes just so that they could commermerate the lively pink pony's life, and thank her for all she did for them.
Even her old friends had come; despite how much effort it had taken for them to get there in their old age. Apple Jack, Fluttershy, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and even the great and powerful Twilight Sparkle had all turned up; all of them just wanting to get one last chance to say 'Goodbye' before their friend was to be buried in the tear-swelled earth.
Pound and Pumpkin Cake were happy that so many ponies had come to see her off as she went on her way to the after-life. They knew their Aunt would be crying dramatically...if she could that is. The Church was filled to the brim with ponies of all ages. Some ponies had even decided to brave the weather and stand outside the over-crowded Church, just so they could be there and say their final 'Goodbye'. Aunt Pinkie would have liked that......
Pound Cake sighed as he looked over at his twin sister. She was trying so desperately not to cry; he knew she was. She wanted to be brave...so that Aunt Pinkie would know she could keep being happy without her. That was her dying wish, for them all to be happy.
Pound Cake rubbed his eyes, feeling a teardrop fall behind his eyelid. He had to stay happy...he had to be brave; he was no longer the little baby he once was; he was a brave warrior stallion that fought for Princess and country when trouble came... He couldn't cry.
Princess Celestia had turned up to this occasion as well...and Princess Luna. Both eager to remember the pink pony for what she was. A mad, crazy, lovable mare who's heart remained young and care-free no matter how many brithdays she had gone through.
Pound Cake chuckled to himself. Birthdays were definitely something that Aunt Pinkie loved. Birthdays meant oppurtunities to have a party, and Aunt Pinkie always threw the best parties. He could still remember the party that he and Pumpkin had been given when they were turning twelve. They'd never tried to beat Aunt Pinkie in a cupcake eating contest ever since...and now they would never get the chance.
He turned around to look at his sister once more. She had taken a long time off of work just to come to this event. It was going to be a while until she could get back to where she lived. Aunt Pinkie had once travelled, by means of an old helicopter bike, to the opposite side of the World just to visit Pumpkin. Pound Cake still remembered how happy Pumpkin Cake had been when Pinkie had showed up; it had been a long time since she had seen another pony (a bad side to her job) but Aunt Pinkie couldn't just sit around and not try to cheer her up. That's why, when talking about their Aunt, they said 'Aunt Pinkie would travel to the edge of Equestria just to make everypony smile'.
Pumpkin Cake was smiling; she was remembering that same time as well.
Aunt Pinkie would have loved to see them smile, more than anything. Which was perfect because everypony in the crowd seemed to be grinning for the memory that was dancing through their mind. Tears flowed freely from the eyes of her friends; her loved ones. Even the Vicar, looking smart in his dog collar, had red, blotchy eyes from the rememberance of his dear friend Pinkie Pie: the one pony who had supported him through his life and the one pony who genuinely cared when he had needed it most.
Everypony grinned...everypony cried...and most importantly everypony remembered the pink pony, who even though was gone, was still there in some form or other.
Looking upwards towards the covered stain-glass roof of the building Pound and Pumpkin smiled to their favourite Aunt. She was there; they could feel that she was there. In fact she appeared to be everywhere.
There she was painting a barn with bright colours, smiling. And over there she was parading around playing Yankee Doodle on a recorder; trying to cheer up some little donkey foals that were feeling lonely. To the left she could be seen helping an elderly stallion fix a vase that had been given to him from his recently deceased wife. Over in the right she was baking tasty treats at Sugarcube Corner and giving six of them to a grey pegasus who had lost her job as a mail carrier. And then again, giving more cupcakes to the same wonky-eyed pegasus when her job was given back.
She was dancing, singing, playing music, being phsycic, throwing parties, comforting friends, cheering, celebrating, caring, laughing, and being Pinkie Pie wherever they looked. That's all that any pony could ever want of her, just to be that same crazy mare she had been all of her life.
A tear dropped down Pound Cake's face and was not wiped away. Why should he not cry? He was so happy and sad: he felt conflicted. Should he be happy or should he be sad? Pumpkin turned to him and smiled as they both thought about their wonderful Aunt Pinkie, that wonderful mare. She wanted them to smile and so they shall. Pinkie may have died in body but she was still there in spirit. She would always be a part of the element of laughter, and now that this element had been passed down to both of them, they knew that her spirit would stay with them. Within the hearts of everypony.
The Vicar pulled off the cover on the roof to reveal a new window that was to sit atop the building. A bright pink pony smiled down on them all; the tiny suns beams magnified by her joyous smile as she watched them through the rain above.
"And now some words from her treasured friend and the pony that she considered to be a close relation."
Pound Cake stood on the Vicar's words to walk to the head of the congrigation; Pumpkin patting his hoof as he went by to give him some confidence. He was to have the final say before Pinkie would be gone and he wanted it to mean something. He wanted his words to sing as much as Aunt Pinkie had done in her lifetime. He was going to make her proud.
'Let us not think
of the body that now lies asleep
But think of the spirit
that lay down so deep.
The lovely laughter
of her heartbeats song.
The roads she took
so we'd all get along.
Aunt Pinkie I'll remember you
in all my future endeavours,
and all of us here
will love you for ever, ever, ever ,ever.'
