Twilight Sparkle was going through the daily chores early on in an October morning, humming softly to herself. Spike was upstairs in his bed, snoring softly, so Twilight had decided to begin on his usual chores. Let the little guy sleep in for once, goodness knows he needed it. She was beginning to notice the bags under his eyes. Twilight cleaned up dishes, scrubbed the floors, and generally tidied up.
While she was dusting some of her older books off, somepony burst in though the door behind her, causing her to drop the feather duster. Twilight wheeled around and saw Rainbow Dash hovering in her doorway. She was panting heavily.
“Twilight,” she panted. Her voice was shaking, which sent a pang of worry through Twilight now. Rainbow Dash didn’t get shaken easily.
“What’s wrong?” Twilight asked. She heard Spike stirring upstairs, but ignored it.
“It’s Fluttershy,” Rainbow Dash said, her voice shaking hard on the shy pony’s name. “There’s something wrong with her… we think…” Rainbow Dash hung her head.
Another pang of worry, this one a little bit more powerful, went through her.
“W-where is she?” Twilight said, hearing the panic in her voice clearly.
“Rarity’s house,” Twilight’s horn began to glow, and then she disappeared in a purple flash. Rainbow Dash flew out of the house, fast enough for the wind current to close the door.
XXXXX
Twilight teleported into the main room of Rarity’s house, and saw Applejack leaning against a wall.
“Oh… Hi Twilight,” she said quietly.
“Where’s Fluttershy?” Twilight asked, surprised by Applejack’s strange demeanor. Maybe Rainbow Dash was overreacting. Applejack seemed a little indifferent, if not a little downtrodden.
“She’s in thar’,” Applejack responded, indicating the door to Rarity’s guest room. “I’d be in there, but… it’s too hard.”
Twilight merely nodded and walked to the indicated door, ignoring the rational thoughts trying to pound their way through.
XXXXX
Pinkie Pie was, unsurprisingly, making a batch of cupcakes when Rainbow Dash burst into the bakery.
“Pinkie Pie!” she said. Pinkie Pie looked up, and smiled warmly when she saw her friend.
“Hi Rainbow Dash! Wanna taste of my new cupcake recipe?” Pinkie Pie said brightly, holding out a pan of bright orange cupcakes. It spikes into Dash’s heart. Pinkie Pie had no idea.
“No… listen Pinkie Pie. Fluttershy is sick. Applejack thinks it’s… It’d be good for her if you were there.” It was a roundabout way of saying it, but Rainbow Dash wasn’t going to say the word. Not until it was true.
Surprisingly, Pinkie Pie didn’t do anything random or crazy, which was random and crazy. She took her apron off, put the pan of cupcakes on the counter, and walked outside. No expression on her face. Rainbow Dash picked her up and flew as fast as she could to Rarity’s.
XXXXX
The door behind Twilight closed softly, and she began to pad forward. The room was dominantly purple, with stylish furniture and décor. The bed was a four poster, and the curtains were drawn so Twilight couldn’t see into the bed. She saw Rarity’s hindquarters on the left side of the bed, and she could guess who was in the bed.
She took a deep breath to regain her composure, and then began to make her way to the right side of the bed.
When she got there and was able to see into the bed itself, she began to cry.
Fluttershy was lying in the bed on her back, and had her front hooves poking out from under the blanket. Her usually pale yellow coat was sickly, and her hide looked stretched out over her body. Her mane looked like it was close to falling out. Her chest was rising and falling, but only barely. Through the blanket, it was only visible if she really looked for it.
When Fluttershy noticed Twilight, she looked over at her. Tears began to drip out of Twilight’s eyes when she saw Fluttershy’s.
They were glazed over and distant looking.
“Hello Twilight,” Fluttershy said, her voice weak, and quieter than usual. It sounded as though every word was a struggle. Twilight looked up at Rarity. Her hoof was on Fluttershy’s, there were tears pouring down her face, and her eyes were violently red. The spot under her head on the bed was visibly soaked.
But Rarity was smiling. It clearly wasn’t of happiness. She was smiling for Fluttershy’s benefit, even though it must’ve been hard. It was a well-known fact that out of the six of them, Rarity and Fluttershy were the closest to each other. Their spa dates had basically become tradition. Tears began to roll down Twilight’s face as she looked down to Fluttershy. Twilight managed a smile.
“Hi Fluttershy,” Twilight managed out.
“Nice to see you,” Fluttershy whispered. This almost drove Twilight over the edge. She kept a hold of herself, only nodded, and rested her hoof on Fluttershy’s free hoof too.
At this moment, the door to the room opened, and Twilight could’ve guessed who was walking in. Rainbow Dash appeared next to Rarity, and Twilight felt somepony walk up next to her.
Fluttershy looked around at her friends, and then her face became quizzical.
“Where’s Applejack?” she asked. Rainbow Dash, without any prompting, left the room to go get Applejack, and somepony sobbed next to Twilight. She felt a shaking head nuzzle into her neck. Pinkie Pie had lost it already, which weakened Twilight’s defenses even more.
Twilight’s natural curiousness was screaming for her to try to figure out what was wrong with Fluttershy, so they could try to do something, but for the first time in her life, she decided not to pursue it further. Fluttershy looked so close to the end that there was no point making it harder for all of them. Fluttershy needed her friends close to her right now. That’s all that mattered.
Applejack walked into view on the other side of the bed, with Rainbow Dash right behind. Fluttershy looked at her.
“Hello,” she said quietly. Tears began to leak out of Applejack’s eyes.
“Hi there Fluttershy,” she pushed out. Fluttershy smiled weakly at Applejack and then looked back at Rarity.
“Are you alright, dear?” said Rarity in a shockingly clear and strong voice.
“Yes… it’s getting cold though, and everything looks blurry now,” Fluttershy said. Rarity’s horn glowed blue and a thick quilt appeared from under the bed and laid itself over Fluttershy. She gave a warm smile, somehow, to Rarity, and looked back at Twilight. She studied her for a moment.
“Thank you,” she said suddenly. Twilight’s eyes widened, and then her brow furrowed.
“For what?” she said back.
“For bringing us all together,” she said. “Before you came, I didn’t have very many…” her voice failed her. “Friends… but now, I… have all of you,” Twilight had to pull together all of her willpower not to break out sobbing. Rainbow Dash, on the other hand, apparently didn’t have enough.
“I love all of you so much.”
Those were the last words Fluttershy said. Her eyes closed, and her chest stopped its weak rise and fall.
The reaction in the room was instantaneous. Applejack and Pinkie Pie both slumped down in tears. Rainbow Dash’s head fell onto the bed and she started shaking with tears. Twilight also started to sob forcefully. Rarity’s head was buried in Fluttershy’s neck and she was shaking violently with the force of her sobs.
Fluttershy was no more. The shy, sweet, unassuming pony was gone. She would never tend to an injured animal or apologize for no reason again.
Twilight tried to regain her composure, but the tears were coming too fast and hard. She tried to think about anything else in the world, but the only thing right now was her Fluttershy.
What disease did this? What could take a perfectly healthy and young pony in a matter of hours? She had just seen Fluttershy the day before, and there was no indication of any kind of sickness. She was as shy and sweet as ever, and now, less than twenty-four hours later, she lay dead.
This string of relatively coherent thought calmed Twilight down a bit, enough to see Pinkie Pie walking around the room, flinging all of the windows open. There were still tears coursing down her face, but her face was strong.
“What are you-“ Twilight began.
“-My grandma told me that when a pony passes away to open all of the windows in the room so the pony’s spirit can leave.” Pinkie Pie explained, her usually bubbly voice monotone. Twilight simply nodded and looked around at her friends. Applejack’s hat was visible over the side of the bed, and Rainbow Dash was picking herself up. Rarity’s head was still nuzzled into Fluttershy’s neck, and she was still shaking, occasionally violently.
Twilight tried to avoid eye contact with any part of Fluttershy. She wanted to be strong. She turned and padded out of the room to get some air.
XXXXX
Twilight wasn’t surprised to see Spike in the main room of Rarity’s, but the pony behind him was a shock.
“Princess Celestia,” she said, doing the usual bow. Princess Celestia stopped and looked down at her apprentice.
“Is what Spike told me true?” she asked simply. “Is there something wrong with Fluttershy?”
At the mention of her name, Twilight broke down once again. Princess Celestia walked over and consoled her, and Twilight tried to make a sentence, to no avail.
“She- no- gone- dead-,” Twilight sobbed out. Apparently Princess Celestia understood, and so did Spike. He ran past the ponies and into the guest room, the door easing shut behind him.
“Calm down Twilight,” Princess Celestia said in her oddly soothing voice. “Tell me what happened.” Twilight pulled her pieces back together, with some difficulty and pulled away from the Princess.
“Fluttershy passed away, Princess.” Twilight said, staring into the Princess’ eyes. That’s all she could do.
“That’s what I feared,” Princess Celestia said. “It’s a shame.”
Twilight internally thought that ‘shame’ was about the biggest understatement ever of all time times three, but she kept that to herself. Princess Celestia apparently didn’t have much else to say, because she turned and left the house, leaving Twilight to her own devices.
XXXXX
One by one, Twilight’s friends came out of the guest room. Spike was first, who gave Twilight a neck-crushing hug; then came Applejack and Rainbow Dash, who looked as though they were holding each other up. Pinkie Pie came out after them, and she was still crying. She didn’t say anything for a while.
Rainbow Dash left after a while of talk to go get some of their family and friends. She came back after a short while, with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle on her back. Rarity’s parents and Big Macintosh weren’t far behind. Apple Bloom walked up to Applejack, asked what happened, and Applejack whispered something into Apple Bloom’s ear, causing her to gasp and begin to bawl. Applejack brought Apple Bloom into the guest room, with Big Mac behind them. Sweetie Belle and Rarity’s parents followed suit. A few minutes later, Rarity’s father walked back out. Twilight approached him.
“How… how is she?” Twilight asked.
“She’s still crying pretty hard,” he said. “But I know my little girl. She’ll be okay once the shock wears off.
Rarity didn’t come out until about three or four hours later. Needless to say, she was a mess. Her usually bright and blue eyes were glazed over and completely bloodshot. She didn’t talk. She simply walked over to her family and nuzzled close to them for a few moments, whispered something in her mother’s ear, and walked back into the guest room. Nopony said anything else
Shortly after this event, everypony began to clear out of Rarity’s house. First were Rarity’s family, and then Applejack and her siblings. Then Rainbow Dash left, giving Twilight, Pinkie Pie and Spike short hugs, leaving them alone. They stayed silent for a while, sitting on the floor, and then…
“What do you think happened?” Pinkie Pie asked. Twilight looked up at her pink friend, but looked back down at her hooves when she thought about the question.
“I don’t know Pinkie…” Twilight answered weakly. She felt a tear leak out. “It wasn’t like anything I’ve ever read or heard of.”
“Could it be a heart attack?” Pinkie Pie ventured. Twilight shook her head and pushed the stray tear back in.
“Heart attacks don’t work like that. She was sick, really sick. I didn’t see heart attack written anywhere.”
“Oh…” Pinkie Pie muttered. It was truly weird to see her not doing anything strange or loud. “Well, I hate to bring it up, and leave you high and dry, but I’m gonna go home. I think I have a…” she sniffled, “…funeral to plan. Bye Twilight.”
Twilight got up with Pinkie Pie and hugged her tightly. “Bye Pinkie. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Love you Twilight,” Pinkie Pie said. Twilight smiled softly.
“I love you too Pinkie,” They separated and Pinkie Pie left. Twilight went back to sit next to Spike, who laid his head on Twilight’s shoulder.
“Are you going to be okay?” Spike said. Twilight closed her eyes.
“Someday,” she said honestly. “But not for a while.” Spike nodded his head once, and Twilight thought about something.
“What about you Spike?” she asked. “You don’t seem as hit as I would have expected.”
“I’m hit. I feel like breaking down.” He said softly. “But… I’m the only boy out of all of us. I wanna be strong for the rest of you guys.”
Twilight closed her eyes again. “Thank you Spike,” she said, smiling. “Why don’t you go home? I want to make sure Rarity’s alright before I go.”
Spike got up and hugged Twilight tightly again, and then went home.
XXXXX
Rarity was in the same spot as she was five hours before when Twilight walked into the guest room. Twilight walked over to her, on the same side of the bed this time, and put her leg over Rarity.
Rarity was just looking down at Fluttershy. Twilight tried her very hardest to avert her gaze from her late friend. Something told Twilight not to try to talk to Rarity, but her better nature told her otherwise.
“H-Hi Rarity,” Twilight whispered. “Um-“
“It’s alright, dear,” Rarity croaked suddenly. Her voice sounded like she had been screaming for hours straight, and, to be honest, it scared Twilight. “You don’t have to bother yourself with me.”
“Rarity!” Twilight exclaimed, shocked. Rarity looked back around at Twilight, and Twilight’s face relaxed. “I can’t believe you’d say something like that.”
Rarity turned her head back to Fluttershy. “Well it’s true, isn’t it?”
“What kind of friend would I be if I left you right now?” Twilight said. Rarity made a noise and she turned fully to Twilight. Tears welled up in Rarity’s eyes and she suddenly threw her legs around Twilight, sobbing violently. Twilight nuzzled gently into Rarity, as she began blubbering unintelligible nonsense through her tears.
A while passed, during which Twilight began to cry too. Rarity had soaked the part of Twilight’s neck her face was in. Also, Rarity began to make more sense as she calmed.
“I can’t – b-believe she’s g-gone,” she sobbed.
“Neither can I,” Twilight said, trying to not let her voice hitch. She didn’t know why, but she didn’t want to lose it in front of Rarity right then. She wanted to be strong for her friend, like her friend was for Fluttershy.
There really wasn’t much to say. They all were so close; there wasn’t any reason to share feelings. They just needed each other.
Rarity and Twilight fell asleep on the ground, in each other’s grasps, that night.
XXXXX
Preparations for Fluttershy’s funeral were going to plan two days later. Mayor Mare was nice enough to let them do it in Ponyville’s town square. The square was ready for it, and the townsponies were, however reluctantly, ready too.
Twilight’s friends were uncharacteristically somber during those days, but with obvious and understandable reasons. Pinkie Pie went on with the planning for the funeral, not talking to anypony very much, only charging through the décor and events. Applejack was barely around, working on the catering, and Rainbow Dash was much the same. Spike had been doing what he normally did, but with a fraction of the enthusiasm. Twilight had been tasked with speaking a eulogy for Fluttershy, and she was working furiously towards making the speech perfect. Fluttershy deserved nothing but the best.
Rarity stayed at her house with Fluttershy, and refused to leave. Nopony questioned her behavior. Nopony could imagine the thoughts flitting in her head. As far as anypony knew, Rarity hadn’t moved from her guest room since she was with her family in the main room two nights before.
Princess Celestia had sent a letter the day before the funeral, via Spike mail, that she would be attending the funeral, and she planned to make a speech during it. Twilight wasn’t surprised, but she was touched that the Princess was going to take time out of her busy day to attend.
Something in Twilight hoped that the Princess’ presence wouldn’t overshadow why they were all there.
The only time that Twilight broke down was the night before the funeral, when Pinkie Pie put a large portrait of Fluttershy on a table in the town square. The portrait wasn’t what pushed her off the edge though; it was the slightly smaller picture next to it, which depicted Fluttershy and her five best friends all laughing and having fun on some forgotten day, As soon as Twilight saw it, she slumped down into a heap in the middle of the square and began to sob once again. Pinkie Pie noticed and consoled Twilight, there in the middle of the town. Twilight pulled herself together quickly, and she went back home, sniffling. She went to bed, almost dreading the next day.
XXXXX
Ponyville was unnaturally quiet the day of the funeral. Everypony dragged their hooves, and nobody really wanted to talk. Something inside of Twilight smiled with a tear. Everypony loved Fluttershy, and the entire town of Ponyville was hurting. It wasn’t just her best friends.
The turnout was shocking.
Pinkie Pie had only made room for around the population of Ponyville, so only the town square and some of the area near.
At least a hundred and fifty ponies showed, not including the population of Ponyville. Princess Celestia and her royal guard, Princess Luna, Twilight’s family, Applejack and Pinkie Pie’s extended families, Sapphire Shores, Hoity Toity, Zacora, assorted ponies that Twilight had never met or forgotten about, and, the biggest surprise, the Wonderbolts (Rainbow Dash was especially shocked about this). On top of all of the ponies, what seemed to be every animal in the area stuck around. Strangely enough, Angel hadn’t been seen at all since the day before the day Fluttershy passed. Twilight had a sneaking suspicion that the Princess had contacted a few ponies, but didn’t say anything. It was touching, how many ponies wanted to pay their respects to Fluttershy.
Fluttershy had been flown out of Rarity’s house by a few Pegasi a while before the funeral. Rarity apparently didn’t put up any fight. Only about fifteen minutes before the funeral began, while everypony was in the square, making small talk, did Rarity appear.
She was wearing a simple black dress, which stood out vibrantly against her white coat, and she looked like she had taken care of herself before the funeral. The dead giveaway was her eyes. They were still bright red and bloodshot.
Everypony she walked by tried to say something, but she just walked to Twilight and stayed near.
At three-thirty, the actual funeral began, right on schedule.
Fluttershy’s casket was lowered by Rainbow Dash and some other Pegasus ponies. Cheerilee - who was the MC for the funeral - pushed it open, revealing the beautiful yellow pony.
Twilight was grateful of how peaceful she looked. Many ponies around her had already begun to cry, including Applejack and Apple Bloom, and Rarity and Twilight’s respective mothers. Rarity’s face remained stoic.
Cheerilee walked up to the podium in front of the casket, and cleared her throat.
“If anypony would like to pay their respects, please form a line,” she said, her voice wavering. The ponies had done thusly, forming a line and, one by one, whispering something at Fluttershy’s side. Twilight was right behind Rarity, who was at the front of the line.
“I love you… Goodbye Fluttershy,” was all Rarity said.
When it was Twilight’s turn, she said, “I do too,” in Fluttershy’s cold ear. She knew that anymore than that would cause her to breakdown again, and she didn’t want to cause a scene.
The line stretched on behind her, and it was well past five o’clock when Twilight began her eulogy. Twilight stepped up to the podium, looked back at her friend, and looked back over the attendees.
“Fluttershy was an amazing pony. I can guarantee that if any of you here asked her for a favor, she would drop whatever she was doing and help you. She helped animals who needed it. Many of you may not believe it, but she might have been the bravest pony here. She stood up to dragons, manticores, and even a cockatrice when her friends were in danger-“
Thud!
Twilight almost shrieked when somepony landed right behind her. Some ponies gasped in the audience, and Twilight wheeled around to see who it was. She barely had the time to register the tattered brown jacket before-
“How dare you!” roared Rarity behind her. Rarity charged up to the pale yellow pony and began to yell at him. Twilight was as enraged as Rarity, but then she realized something.
The Pegasus pony that landed in front of Fluttershy’s casket was the exact same shade of yellow as Fluttershy, but his hair was a pale blue instead of pink. He was wearing a tattered and patched up coat and a pair of glasses with a cracked lens. His Cutie Mark was an old fashioned film spool. There were tears coursing out of his cyan eyes. Twilight connected the dots.
“Rarity, stop!” Twilight shouted, and Rarity glared at her.
“What do-,“ Rarity began.
“Stop,” Twilight interrupted. She walked over to Rarity and the strange colt and pushed Rarity away. She looked at the colt.
“Are you who I think you are?” Twilight asked. He was trying to avoid eye contact. It took him a moment to answer.
“Yes…” he said in a very small voice. Twilight almost reeled back in shock. She thought about it for a second, and then whispered, “See her then.”
Rarity was trying to push past Twilight and get at the colt, but Twilight turned and whispered something into Rarity’s ear. Rarity recoiled.
“Oh my,” she said simply. She took another look at the colt, who was now gazing at Fluttershy, and went back to her spot between her mother and Sweetie Belle. Twilight turned to the colt again. After what seemed like an eternity, he began to turn from Fluttershy.
“Can I explain myself to these ponies?” he asked, in a voice nearing a whisper. The tears were still coursing down his face, but his voice didn’t waver at all.
Twilight thought about it for a second, and then nodded. She wanted to hear the story. He nodded back and made his way to the podium. His walk was very slow and measured, but had its own gracefulness. He got to the podium, and looked out over the crowd shyly.
“Hello,” he said, his voice loud, but only enough so the crowd could all hear. “My name is Camerashy. Fluttershy is…” he paused, apparently trying to collect his wayward thoughts. “She’s my daughter.”
There were gasps all throughout the crowd, and a nervous muttering broke out. It quieted down quickly though, and Camerashy continued on.
“When Fluttershy was born, I was the happiest colt in Equestria. I had a daughter. A beautiful little daughter. I had a great job at a film studio, a beautiful daughter, and a beautiful wife. We were all happy.
“After Fluttershy was born, my wife, Carey, got sick. When Fluttershy was only a week old, her mother passed away. It was hard on both of us. She never cried at all.” He smiled through his tears at this, a bittersweet smile. “She was too shy. But even with her not crying, I couldn’t take care of her. I wanted to give her a perfect life. The most beautiful daughter deserves the most perfect life. But I couldn’t give her that life. I couldn’t even give her a decent life… So one day, I waited until she was asleep, wrapped her up, put her in a basket, and left her on somepony’s doorstep. To this day, leaving her alone on that doorstep was the hardest decision I have ever made. Up until today, I hated myself for it. I thought it was the wrong decision for years. I was horrified she would end up with somepony who wouldn’t love her. It was horrible of me.
“I wouldn’t blame any of you if you hated me for what I did.” He said suddenly, like he had been waiting to say it. Some ponies in the crowd said, “No!” exasperatedly. Many were crying over his story, including, shockingly, Rarity. He bowed his head, and then picked it back up.
“Up until today, I hated myself for doing what I did. There’s no excuse for it. But last night, a friend of mine mentioned that Princess Celestia was attending somepony’s funeral in some small village. I asked who, and he said, ‘Some Pegasus named Fluttershy, I think,’ When he said my daughter’s name, my heart stopped, and it felt like somepony kicked me in the stomach. My heart was dead; that’s the most accurate way of putting it… I abandon my daughter when she’s a filly and the next I hear of her, she’s passed away? Last night, I thought that I should be the one in that casket. It’d be better if I was gone, better than my daughter being so.
“I hated myself until I flew over this funeral several minutes ago.” he indicated the crowd, in which many ponies were sobbing openly at this point. “All of you… you all love and care for my daughter. Hundreds of ponies, all here to pay their respects to her… If I didn’t do what I did, her life wouldn’t have turned out this way. None of you would have been here. But…” But what, nopony would know, as Camerashy had reached the end of his resolve. He broke down crying behind the podium. Twilight went over to help him to his hooves, and was shocked when a crying Rarity ran up to assist him also.
When he was back to his hooves, he looked back at the crowd.
“Thank you all. For loving my daughter when I didn’t.” He then, with the assistance of Rarity and Twilight, left the podium and was escorted out of view. Cheerilee took his place and began speaking; she asked if anypony would like to come up to the podium and say something. Twilight and Rarity were off to the side of the podium, with Camerashy, who still had tears running down his face.
“I… I should leave…,” he said quietly. Twilight was going to stop him, but Rarity – shockingly – beat her to it.
“No you will not,” She scolded. He looked at her. “I will not let you leave during the last time you will ever be able to see your daughter’s face.”
“You… you don’t hate me?” He said, asking the same question that Twilight was thinking. It was shocking that Rarity wasn’t trying to attack Camerashy right then.
“Well… No. But only because Fluttershy would have forgiven you in an instant. And, I may have never met her if it wasn’t for your… actions.” Camerashy began to cry even harder.
Twilight put a hoof on his shoulder. “Stay. Come stand with us and hear about all of the wonderful things her friends have to say about her.”
Camerashy just nodded. Twilight and Rarity steered him towards a spot in the crowd. One after another, Fluttershy’s friends went up to the podium and told stories about her, laughing and crying. One colt, an unassuming and humble-looking blue one with a green mane, commented on how when he and Fluttershy were younger, they shared a little kiss in Flight School. This brought a lot of laughter and applause.
The whole time, Camerashy had a huge smile on his face, and his eyes were gleaming, even through the tears. Twilight thought that she couldn’t comprehend how proud he was. She figured nopony ever could. She smiled through the tears too. She couldn’t help it.
Finally, right around eight-thirty, after roughly fifty ponies had spoken, Cheerilee suddenly called Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Twilight up to the front. Twilight and Rarity looked at each other, and then made their way to the stage with their best friends.
When they got up there, Cheerilee looked back to the crowd.
“These six ponies in front of all of you, even though they may not look it, have saved this town, and even the whole world, multiple times. I have seen them risk life and limb for each other many times. They were, and still are, the six closest ponies I have ever seen, and they are the most amazing and admirable ponies in all of Equestria, in my honest opinion. They are the textbook definition of friendship.”
A thunderous applause met this statement, and many whistles and shouts agreed with Cheerilee. Twilight and her friends all blushed and bowed to the crowd.
After this event, and Twilight and her four best friends re-entered their spots in the crowd, Cheerilee called Princess Celestia to the podium. When she made it up, everypony in the crowd did the usual bow, but she stopped them. Everypony looked up, shocked, and the Princess smiled. Twilight took note of the fact that Princess Celestia’s eyes were tinted red.
“Not anypony should be bowing to me right now. You should be bowing to Fluttershy.” At this statement, while many stared in shocked silence, Camerashy nearly collapsed next to Twilight. Rarity giggled on the other side of him and helped him back up. Princess Celestia continued. “When a pony passes in Equestria, it is always an ordeal to that pony’s friends and family. But the reactions most of you here have had are incredible. I’ve seen many of you who haven’t even ever spoken to Fluttershy sobbing and laughing with the rest of those who have known her for years. I don’t want to sound selfish, but I hope I get half of the attention Fluttershy has gotten when I pass away.” This joke brought more laughter and applause. “All joking aside, I’ve felt more love here in this town square than I have in all my years combined. I think I am saying what all of us are thinking when I say that Fluttershy was a truly amazing pony. She will be missed by all of Equestria, even if they don’t realize it.”
The applause that this brought on, Twilight thought, had to have been heard and felt from miles away.
Twilight and her friends were all crying now, but the tears had to go down past an ear-to-ear smile on each of their faces. Camerashy, who probably never even dreamed of even being within a hundred feet of the Princess, was doing the same.
Princess Celestia had a tear or two in her eyes also, and she raised one hoof in the air.
“To Fluttershy!” she exclaimed, and all of the ponies in the crowd followed suit.
“TO FLUTTERSHY!”
XXXXX
FLUTTERSHY
LOVING FRIEND AND DAUGHTER
SHE WILL BE MISSED
Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Rarity were all standing in front of Fluttershy’s newly dug grave, all with a hoof on the next pony’s shoulder.
“She will be,” said Twilight.
XXXXX
Camerashy wanted to leave, but Twilight couldn’t bear to let him leave again, even thought there wasn’t anything keeping him there anymore. Her curious nature wanted him to stay longer.
“I live in Manehattan,” he said as he was about to fly home. “You all can come to visit anytime. Maybe you can tell me some more stories about her.”
Twilight nodded and spontaneously threw her hooves around him. She knew it was strange, hugging her friend’s father, but she felt he needed it. She needed it too. While they were hugging he quietly asked, “Do you think she would have liked me?”
Twilight smiled to herself as she let go of him. “She would have loved you, Camerashy.”
THE END
Author’s Note: I am a sixteen year old boy. I just wrote this in one sitting, in less than three hours. I made myself cry several times.
I’m totally proud of myself right now.
Dedicated to Zach Benson, because he got me hooked on this goshdarn show. He’ll also hate this and most likely not read it at all, because he’s a dirty ‘shipper.
Also, and to a lesser extent, dedicated to my best friend Tim Orlikowski. If he didn’t like the show along with Zach, I would still be laughing at Zach about religiously watching My Little Pony.
Special thanks to some guy named Jacob Heilig (JafrotheUnknown), who took it upon himself to go through and edit the story for me, actually got Zach and Tim (see above) hooked on MLP, and gave me the idea to post this on FIMfiction.net and Equestria Daily, along with fanfiction.net. If you find this document anywhere else besides these three websites, please shoot me an email.
P.S: In the off chance that anypony reads this, go ahead and message me about anything you would like to know about anything that happens after this story.
