This chapter is co-authored by werewolfhunter

Edited by Icecreammac

Fluttershy woke up early to cloudy weather. Getting up, she showered and got dressed for the day. She walked over to Rainbow's room and knocked softly, saying, “Rainbow, it's time to get up. We need to get going.”

Not getting a reply, Fluttershy tried the door handle, finding it unlocked. Opening the door, she found Rainbow staring coldly out into the backyard.

“It looks cold out there, Fluttershy,” Rainbow said softly, her head bowed low. “I don’t want to go. I don’t want to see her at the funeral.”

Gently taking Rainbow by her waist and pulling the athlete into a warm hug, Fluttershy said softly, “I know you don’t want to go, but you need closure. We all do, and this will help you with that.”

Pushing her off gently, Rainbow looked into Fluttershy's ice-blue eyes, saying, “That's just it, Fluttershy. I don’t want closure. I don’t want any of this to be real.”

Fluttershy looked down, her hair covering her eyes. She sniffed, fighting back her tears. Rainbow gently pulled her into another hug and softly said, “Alright, alright, you win. I made a promise that I wouldn’t make you cry anymore, so I’ll go to the funeral, but afterwards, I want to have some alone time.”

“Okay. That's fair.”

The girls made their way downstairs to Fluttershy’s mother's car. Getting in, Rainbow leaned her head against the window, thinking, “I hope Twilight and I don’t fight. I don’t want that, not today. I just want this to be over with.”

Fluttershy’s mother backed out of the driveway and headed to a small church located a few miles down the road. Getting there five or so minutes later, both girls got out and headed into the church.

Twilight, Princess Celestia, Principal Celestia, and Luna all arrived twenty minutes afterward. Principal Celestia pulled into a parking space, and the group got out, with Luna already heading into the church, followed by her sister. Twilight was just heading inside when she heard from behind her a familiar voice.

“Twilight,” the familiar voice said softly.

Twilight turned around to see Flash Sentry coming up from behind her, his face sorrowful. Gesturing to Princess Celestia, Twilight said gently, “Princess Celestia, this is my friend Flash Sentry.”

Offering a bow, Princess Celestia said, “It is an honor to meet you, Flash Sentry.”

Flash replied, “It's good to meet you, too, Your Highness. I'm glad you could show up for the...the funeral.” Flash fought back his tears, prompting Twilight to take his hands into her own as he continued while she lead him over to a nearby bench, "I miss Sunset." Flash took a seat and let out tough sigh, while Princess Celestia, not knowing what else to do, headed into the church. “I hope the real culprit gets caught for this, Twilight.”

"Culprits, Flash. There were more than one that caused this to happen.” Twilight looked down, a look of shame and anger etched on her face as Flash looked at her, confused. Sensing Flash needed more information, Twilight sat down next to him and added hesitantly, “It was Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo.” Wrapping her arm around his own, she finished, “They were all arrested shortly after Sunset went to the hospital.”

Twilight glanced up to the cold, charcoal-grey sky above, thinking to herself as it began to rain lightly, “It's like the heavens are crying.”

Her train of thought was interrupted as she felt Flash pull away from her. “Good,” Flash snarled bitterly. “I hope they go to jail for a long time for this.” Turning to help Twilight up from the bench, he continued, “I hope they see the damage they've done.”

“It wasn’t just them, Flash. It was the whole school that turned on her. Everyone that had even an ounce of anger towards her posted something on that website.” Twilight looked away, folding her arms under her chest. “I checked the account, Flash. It had two hundred postings on it, each one from a different student.” Getting up and turning her back to Flash, she added solemnly. “Most were threats against her life, a few were secrets the poster should have known would hurt whoever the secret belonged to, but it was the last few that caught my eye, Flash.”

“None of which those three girls should have allowed onto that page.”

“It doesn’t matter what they allowed or not. They didn’t force anyone to post anything about each other, did they?”

“Well, no.” Flash closed his eyes, fighting back his anger. “I don’t think they did.”

“The last eighty posting were from those that couldn’t or didn’t want to forgive Sunset for her actions at the Fall Formal.”

“I see. And now, you what want to blame the entire school. What good will that do?”

“It won’t do any good to blame anyone, Flash, whether it's those girls or the whole school. The point is that the damage is done, and we all want someone to blame for this.” Turning around, Twilight continued, “You better head inside now. I'm afraid I'm not good company right now, and I really don’t want to say anything that will upset you.”

Flash turned to leave, when Twilight suddenly said, “You still loved her despite the fact that you broke up with her, didn’t you, Flash?”

“Yes, Twilight. I still and always will love her. Sunset was my first girlfriend, and she will always hold a special place in my heart, despite the fact that we broke up.” Flash was about to head inside when he quickly added, “The Cakes called my folks. They asked if I would be a pallbearer for Sunset's casket. I asked them, and they said it would be alright if you did the same.”

“I would be honored to do that for Sunset. I think she would have liked it, and I know it will help give me closure and peace of mind.”

Flash headed inside, finding Vinyl and Octavia inside the church and quickly asking them for the same honor. The two agreed. Lastly, he asked Luna, who nodded with sad eyes, and Principal Celestia, who also agreed as she looked at Sunset in her casket.
Principal Celestia took her seat and held her sister's arm, saying, “I miss her, Luna. I miss her very much.”

“I know, Tia. I know.”

After meeting with Flash, Twilight headed inside the church. Her eyes wandered around the church, admiring its beauty in the low lighting. “I'll have to come back here for research under better circumstances,” she thought. Looking over to the front of the church, she saw a statue of a man on a large, wooden cross, the same man she saw in the chapel, though the larger size of the statue made it much easier to see the nails keeping the man on the cross and the the bronze crown of thorns on his head, which made her uneasy. There was a man kneeling in front of the statue. Twilight watched him for few seconds before walking over to Sunset's casket, keeping her eyes off the statue of the dead man.

Twilight gazed upon Sunset's corpse. She swallowed hard. Looking around quickly, she saw Principal Celestia talking with Mr. Cake. Twilight's throat tightened slightly as she continue to look at Sunset in her casket. Sunset was wearing a simple, purple dress with matching shoes. The bruises and cuts on her face from her fight with Dumbbell were covered by makeup.

“I provided the dress and shoes,” Rarity's familiar voice said from behind her. “I wanted her to look her best, even during this awful time.”

Twilight didn’t look behind her. She closed her eyes, tightening her right hand into a tight fist before feeling familiar hands against her shoulders. Slowly looking behind her, Twilight saw Fluttershy offering her a sad, weak smile.

“It's good to see you, Twilight.” Fluttershy hugged Twilight warmly, albeit hesitantly. “I miss Sunset so much. I wrote a song for her. I was going to give it to her at her birthday, but now--” Fluttershy's voice cracked as she began to cry.

Taking a hold of the timid girl in her arms, Twilight gently soothed her and calmed her down, running her hands through the crying girl's hair.

Nearby, Princess Celestia got up from her pew, saying to Fluttershy gently, “I am sure your song will be a welcome one at this horrible time.”

“Thank you, Principal Cele--”

“No, Fluttershy, this is Princess Celestia,” Twilight said. “I know I should've introduced you when you gave me Sunset's letter, but I didn’t feel it was the right time. Princess Celestia will stay here to answer any questions that you might have about Sunset.”

Twilight gently led Fluttershy over to a nearby pew, then headed back to Sunset's casket.

“She looks like she's sleeping,” Twilight muttered to no one in particular. “I wish you were still alive. I want to tell you how sorry I am for what I did to you, Sunset,” Twilight thought.

Twilight noticed that Sunset's hands were on her stomach, and she saw a key chain under Sunset's right hand. Around her neck, Sunset wore a necklace that had a locket in the shape of her cutie mark.

Twilight was about to pick up the key chain when she heard, “I put that key chain in there with her. That way, she'd have something of me to take with her to heaven.”

“I see.” Turning around, Twilight saw Rainbow standing just a few feet behind her. “We all miss her, Rainbow. Let's focus on the good memories we each have of her. Maybe that will help us recover from this tragedy.”

Twilight, not getting a reply, looked back at Sunset's casket, noticing the flowers laid out around Sunset's head within the coffin. Outside of the casket was a photo of Sunset sitting sideways in a chair. Her right hand was held under her face, which bore a happy smile.

Everyone took their seats as a priest began to say solemnly, “We are gathered here today to pay our final respects to Sunset Shimmer, who was loved by all present. I will allow those who would like to speak about their memories of Sunset to do so now.”

Ms. Cheerilee was the first to get up from the back of the church. Her face was covered in a dark, lacy veil. On her left shoulder, Princess Celestia noticed a brooch of three flowers, each with a smiling face on it.

“I will always remember Sunset's amazing singing voice,” Ms. Cheerilee began. “I offered Sunset a place to stay a few days after the Fall Formal. I had come home late and, as usual, I was tired. But when I heard this very beautiful, angelic voice coming from my singing room, it was as if the heavens themselves opened up to give me the energy I needed to be there for Sunset. I asked her what song it was she was singing. She told me it was something she picked up in Eque--in her homeland. A song called ‘The Minstrel Pony’. Even though she wouldn't say anything else about it, I knew that that night was the start of a new, wonderful relationship between us. A relationship...tragically cut short.”

Cheerilee took her seat, holding her head low. Her tears dripped through her veil and stained her dark-purple shirt and skirt. Fluttershy headed up next. Looking out to the few who actually attended Sunsent's funeral, she said softly, “I-I wrote a song. I-I wanted to sing it to Sunset on her birthday, but now, I won’t get the chance. S-So, if you'll let me, I would like to sing it for each of you. maybe Sunset will hear it up in heaven, and help us all heal from this.”

Fluttershy turned towards the Cakes, who both nodded their approval. Fluttershy quickly cleared her throat and began to sing.

"With the wings
Of an angel,
You will rise.

You belong to heaven now.
In God's loving arms,
you’ll rest in peace.

With the wings of an angel,
You will laugh again.
We will never forget you.

You’re memory will be carried on.
With the wings
Of an angel,
you will rise
Into heaven.

God will embrace you,
And you’ll smile once again.
The words that you gave us
Still carry on through our love for you.

We will carry on for you.
For with the wings
Of an angel,
You will rise
Into heaven.

You're in our hearts and souls.
Emotions we just can't control.
Our memories of you will never die.

The fire still burns.
Our love and memories
Shall keep you alive.

Our love for you shall last forever.
Our love for you shall never end.
One day, when we get into heaven,
We'll all meet you again.

Though we may be crying down here,
We will take comfort in knowing
That your love will always be shining
Down on us.

For you belong to heaven now.

We shall always love you.
And with the wings
Of an angel,
You...will…rise."

Fluttershy’s voice cracked at the last note. Her legs, no longer able to support her weight, gave way, and Fluttershy fell to her knees. Twilight rushed to her side, gently helping her up and bringing her back to her seat while the rest of the churchgoers sat silently, stunned at the emotion poured into the shy girl's song.

Eventually, Applejack silently headed up to the front of the church, her eyes red from crying.

“Ah will always remember when Ah let Sunset come up to Sweet Apple Acres for the weekend. She had wanted to learn about growing food and had asked to help out around the farm. She told me that where she comes from, apples're a prized commodity, and as such, she was eager to learn how ta grow 'em. Ah remember fondly how messy she got, but no matter the work load, she never once complained. Not even when my li'l sis--” Applejacks words fell short as she closed her eyes tightly, looking away while remembering the hurt Apple Bloom's actions brought to Sunset and her friends. Applejack continued bitterly, “Ah’m sorry. Ah can’t do this.”

Quickly taking her seat again, Applejack buried her face into her hands, sobbing. Rarity headed up next, looking just as beautiful as Sunset did. Looking over to Sunset, Rarity lifted up her silk veil, then returned her gaze to those attending Sunset’s funeral.

“I will always recall how beautiful Sunset looked in her evening gown that I loaned her when we went to Le Cheval D'or. Watching her dance with Rainbow and seeing the happy smile on her face will always bring a tear to my eye. I know she is dancing in heaven.” Rarity looked back over to Sunset as she finished, “I will never forget you, Sunset. Whenever I see someone smiling or laughing, I’ll think of you. I promise.”

Rarity took her seat as Pinkie headed up to the pulpit. Her hair was completely flat, and very little life could be seen behind her eyes. Looking out to those that attended the funeral, Pinkie said, “I’ll remember when Sunny wanted to learn how to bake cookies. Naturally, I was more than happy to teach her. She wanted to use them in a food drive to feed the homeless and to help those less fortunate than herself. She may have done some bad things in the past, but she was always a good person at heart.” Pinkie looked down, sniffing as she continued, “I’ll never forget her laughter when I spilt some of the batter on her boots. She always had the most wonderful smile.”

Pinkie took her seat, and Flash Sentry headed up next, saying as he looked out into the small crowd in front of him, “I’ll remember when I brought Sunset home for the first time to meet my folks. She was more nervous than I've ever seen her before. My parents took a liking to her almost immediately, and even when we broke up, they still wanted her to come around and visit. Sunset will always hold a special place in my parents' home, and she'll always hold a special place in my heart.”

Luna headed up after Flash took his seat. “I will recall when she got detention for the first time. As many of you know, her behavior at school was less than stellar. I was rather shocked when Sunset actually requested more time to be added to her detentionaire time card. She told me it made for good time to be alone and study. Why she didn't just use the library, I'll never know.” Though Luna chuckled a bit at her last comment, she sobered quickly and hung her head low as she continued, bitterly, “If I had only known how alone she actually was, I would have taken her home then and there regardless of what the administrators would have said about it. I would have made sure beyond a doubt that she had a roof over her head, good food to eat, and a safe place to sleep. I was so happy that she got adopted by the Cakes. I knew in my heart they would take good care of her.”

Luna took her seat as her sister rose to say her final words for Sunset. Principal Celestia looked at Sunset in her casket, then turned to the small group in front of her, saying softly, “I will always remember when Sunset pitched the idea of a dance for the school board to earn money to bring on more members to the faculty. Sunset had this idea that if you got all the students together and had them pay a small amount of money to get into the dance, it could be enough to hire more members of faculty to take the workload off of me and my sister. She even wrote several songs to help with this dance and came up with several posters for it as well. I found her sleeping in the cafeteria one day with a pile of posters next to her, each one a different design and color. It must have taken her all night to do the seventy-six posters I found next to her. Well, I picked her up, brought her to the nurse's office, and laid her to bed. I radioed for my sister to watch over her. Luna wasn’t too pleased about it, but I think seeing Sunset sleeping peacefully gave her peace of mind. I will never forget Sunset's eagerness and willingness to help others. I hope we can all learn this from this tragedy.”

Principal Celestia took her seat, taking her sister by the arm as she cried. Mr. Cake headed up to say his final words about his daughter. “I was happy when Principal Celestia offered to become Sunset's legal guardian during her adoption process. I have known the Soleil family for almost twenty years now. I knew that she and her sister would be able to steer Sunset in the right direction and help keep her on track to being a good person.” Swallowing hard and fighting back a sob, Mr. Cake continued, “My daughter was loved by most of those here.” Mr. Cake shot the five girls that Sunset had once called friends a dirty look, causing each of them to look down in shame. He quickly added, “I loved Sunset very much. I know that she will be missed by all of you, and I thank each of you for coming here.”

Mr. Cake took his seat again next to his sobbing wife. Hugging her warmly, he whispered gently into her ear, “It’ll be alright, honey. I'm here. I loved her, too.”

Twilight was the last to head up. Looking out to the small crowd of mourners, she said softly, “In the midst of our sorrow of Sunset’s death which sadly takes place at the start of a new life that will be welcomed. Sunset was a friend, a student, and a daughter and a sister to those that join us in our sorrow of her passing.” Twilight swallowed hard, desperately fighting back her emotions as she continued, “We will not forget her wisdom or her good heart.” Twilight could feel her emotions beginning to take over as she quickly choked back another sob. “As a close friend to her, I can only say this: Of all the souls I have encountered in my lifetime and the trials and travels that I have gone through which helped shape me into who I am today, Sunset’s soul and heart were the most,” Twilight choked back another sob, and she choked out, “human.” Taking her seat, Twilight took a hold of Princess Celestia as she started to cry into her mentor's shoulders.

“Shh, Twilight. I'm here,” Princess Celestia soothingly said, stroking Twilight's hair. “I won’t let you mourn alone. When we get back, I’ll have a statue made in Sunset's honor and have it placed in the hall of our sacred, fallen heroes for all to know her story.”

Looking into her eyes, Twilight said with tears running down her cheeks, “Thank you, Princess Celestia. I think Sunset would have liked that a lot.”

The priest motioned everyone to stand up. Octavia and Vinyl both looked at the Cakes, who gave them a nod. Quickly getting to the back of Sunset's casket, Octavia stood on the left side, while Vinyl stood on the right. Flash took a spot on the middle right, with Luna on the left. Principal Celestia stood up front to the right, and Twilight took the left spot. Each of the six carried Sunset's casket outside of the church, with the Cakes following them. Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie and Fluttershy followed the group, though Fluttershy needed some convincing. Princess Celestia was the last to walk outside.

Sunset's casket was loaded into the hearse. Mr. Cake took his wife into his arms, holding her tightly until they heard a soft, regal voice from behind them.

Princess Celestia began, “Mr. and Mrs. Cake, I am so sorr--”

A loud slap sounded as Mrs. Cake’s hand flew across the princess's face. Mrs. Cake buried her face into her husband's chest, sobbing hard. Mr. Cake, seeing the confused look on Princess Celestia’s face, was no longer able to keep his anger in check.

“You want to say you're sorry for not being there for Sunset,” Mr. Cake spat in rage. “How dare you come here asking for forgiveness after you abandoned your own daughter!” Pulling his wife in closer and gently rubbing his hand through her hair, he continued as he calmed his wife down, “Sunset told us everything about Crystal Ridge and about Saddle Ville. How could you just turn on your own daughter like that?”

“I didn’t mean--”

“It makes me sick just to look at you. If you want to make things right, then go back to Equestria. If you ever do decide to have another child--and I don't care if you give birth or adopt one--don’t turn your back on that child. Ever. What you did is the reason we have to lay Sunset to rest today.” Taking his wife gently by the waist and arm, Mr. Cake began to lead her away. “Sunset never asked to be brought into the world, and she was never asked to be...to be...” Unable to finish his words, Mr. Cake walked away, leaving Princess Celestia to walk back over to the church as she sobbed uncontrollably.

Twilight was about to go after the Cakes when Principal Celestia stopped her, saying, “Let them go, Twilight. They need time to heal. We all do.”

Fluttershy, seeing what had occurred, ran off towards another part of the church, Applejack and Rarity following her. Finding another room inside the church, Fluttershy fell to her knees, sobbing and holding herself. Finally, she could no longer contain her own anger or bitterness as she screamed, falling into a fetal position, “Damn you for taking her away from us!” Applejack walked up to her, knelt down, and gently pulled the distraught girl into her arms, holding her warmly. “I hate him, Applejack! I hate God for doing this to us!” Fluttershy sobbed into Applejack’s shoulders.

Rarity looked at a statue in the church, saying softly as she, too, knelt down, hugging both Applejack and Fluttershy tightly, “Darling, you mustn’t hate God for this. I know it hurts, but we were the ones who treated her terribly, and Sunset was the one who...who did what she did." Rarity choked back a sob of her own. "Oh, I miss her terribly.”

Fluttershy didn't respond. She only continued crying angrily until finally, she cried herself to sleep in Applejack's arms. Applejack gently placed the sleeping girl into Rarity's arms and headed out of the church. Getting to her truck a few moments later, Applejack wiped away her tears, started the old clunker up, and drove the truck behind the church. She went back inside and helped Rarity carry Fluttershy into Applejack's truck. Finally, Rarity and Applejack got in the truck, and Applejack drove away.

Soon after the pallbearers finished carrying the casket to Sunset's final resting place, Princess Celestia got up from the step she was sitting on, her tears spent, though her sadness still marred her regal features. Twilight said to her softly, “Princess, are you going to be alright now?”

“No, Twilight. It will take a long time for me to finish grieving for Sunset, and in time, I will be better. But not now.”

Twilight nodded as she took Princess Celestia’s hand into her own, leading her over to Luna’s car. The two got in, with Luna already inside the car. Luna drove off towards home. Along the way, Princess Celestia said softly, “If it is alright with you, I think I should find another place to stay for a few days. I promised Twilight I would remain in this world to answer any questions that you or her friends might have about Sunset, but I think things will be a bit...awkward between your sister and me.”

“It isn’t alright with me, Soleil. I want you to stay with us until you are ready to head home.”

“Alright. I would like to have a few hours to myself when we get back, though.”

“That's fine. I think we all need some time to heal from this.”

“Thank you.”

“There is one thing I would like to ask you,” Luna said, pulling up to a stop sign. “What exactly is the Demon's Heart?”

Princess Celestia’s eyes widened with fear, and her skin color instantly went six shades whiter. “W-What did you just say?” Princess Celestia replied in shocked fear, “The Demon's Heart? How did you know about that?”

“Sunset had it. She showed it to us and explained it to us, but she was kind of vague. I figured you'd know more about it. ”

"She...She had it?"

Getting a bit unnerved at Princess Celestia's fear, Luna replied, "Uh, yeah. Why are you so surprised? Sunset told us she stole it from you. Seems like something you'd keep track of."

Swallowing hard, Princess Celestia looked to Luna, terror in her eyes. “Where is the Demon's Heart now, Luna? You must tell me. You have no idea how dangerous that prison really is.”

As Sunset's casket sat at the bottom of the newly filled plot, a hand within the casket slowly flexed into a fist, and a soft, rhytmic heartbeat began, sounding positively thunderous against the silence of the grave.