Pinkie's funeral was held the following Monday morning after all the arrangements had been taken care of. It had been a bright sunny day that day. Those in attendance almost felt it appropriate in a way; she always brought sunshine to their lives even on the cloudiest of days. Spike, the girls, and Mr. and Mrs. Cake with the twins had all been there to say their goodbyes. They had wanted to get in touch with her family and tell them the terrible news, but Pinkie had rarely mentioned anything about them in all the time they had known her. However, they all knew how she and the Cakes felt about each other, so it was only fair that Cup and Carrot saw her off.

Twilight had informed the Princess and asked her and Luna to attend, but they were away for another two weeks on diplomatic business in the griffon lands. They apologized for their inability to see the Element of Laughter laid to rest and sent their deepest sympathies. Rarity and Applejack had ended up telling their little sisters what happened. They, and through them Scootaloo, wanted to attend but their elders insisted they still go to school that day and try not to think about it.

The walk back to Sugarcube Corner was very long and very quiet. The only thing that ever broke the silence was an occasional sob from one of her friends as they remembered various things she did that touched them in some way and the coos of the Cake twins sitting in the carriers draped around their parents' waists.

The girls had headed upstairs into Pinkie's room once they arrived at the bakery while the Cakes started setting up the store. Pinkie was gone but they still had a business to run, even if it was going to be exceptionally difficult for them for a little while, physically as well as emotionally. Twilight, Spike, and the others solemnly looked over Pinkie's belongings. While in the back of their minds they had to figure out what they were going to do with them, at the forefront, it just made things hurt worse. Every little trinket had a story to tell, and now none of them would have a happy ending.

Rarity was found standing motionless in front of the mirror on Pinkie's dresser, but she wasn't looking at herself as she usually did when graced with her own reflection. It garnered the attention of her friends one by one and they saw what she was looking at with tears rolling down her cheeks. It was a picture of the six of them sitting on the dresser, posing together at one of the many parties she threw. The white unicorn picked up the picture and hugged it tightly, tears forming again. They embraced each other and wept.

After a while, the girls and Spike headed downstairs to the lobby where the Cakes were standing by the counter, quietly reminiscing and keeping an eye on Pumpkin and Pound. The twins were in the kitchen on the floor, playing and laughing, ignorant to everything that had happened. The parents were a bit envious of their children that day. The little ones had no understanding of life and death, and by the time they grew up, it was unlikely they'd remember Pinkie unless they found some old photos and asked who the pink pony was.

The two groups gathered together and discussed what was to be done with her room and her things, including Gummy. Fluttershy decided to take in the baby alligator until he started growing teeth, if Pinkie hadn't pulled them out intentionally to prevent herself from getting hurt by an ill-timed bite. Leaving Gummy with the Cakes simply wasn't a good idea without his owner around. The customers would probably be just a bit weary of an alligator in the store and he could accidentally hurt the twins or vice versa.

Twilight sat up against the wall by herself in a funk. Pinkie was the first pony she met when she came to Ponyville, even if all the crazy pink pony did was dash away to put together a big party for her. Twilight had always had her nose in a book and thought it to be the most fun thing in the world before she came to town, until Pinkie showed her how to really enjoy life without even trying. Now it was gone and she had no idea what she was going to do.

As she tried to come up with an answer she could settle for, she felt an unusual, cold sensation in the air. It sent a shiver up her spine, yet no one else seemed to feel anything odd, judging from their lack of reactions. She almost swore she heard a voice whisper to her.

"Twiiii-liiiight..."

Her ears perked up and she scanned the room. It echoed in her mind as she tried to figure out who had just said it. It had to be someone in the room, she reasoned. Voices don't just appear out of thin air.

"Twiiii-liiiiight..."

It sounded like it came from the kitchen. She cautiously walked up to the swinging doors and opened them slowly. It suddenly felt like it had gotten colder. All she saw were the twins in the middle of the room playing pattycake and it sounded like they were singing a song.

"One, two, Pinkie's coming for you..."

Twilight blinked at the children, unsure if she had just heard correctly. Did the children just really.. say something? And about Pinkie? She turned and faced their parents. "Mr. and Mrs. Cake, I didn't know Pumpkin and Pound could talk yet. They're a little young for that, aren't they?" she asked. They carried on their conversation with Rarity, Applejack and the others without acknowledging her. "Uh, hello?" Twilight tried again.

"Three, four, better lock your door..."

She turned back to the kitchen and watched the twins intently. 'What in Equestria's going on here?' she thought to herself. She kept silent as the little ones continued their song. Her stomach twisted with each verse.

"Five, six, get your friendship fixed...
Seven, eight, gonna stay up late...
Nine, ten, never sleep again..."

The children slowly spun their heads and faced the unicorn. She could almost feel their large, empty eyes staring into the deepest part of her soul. She recoiled nervously as she registered what they said. They looked back at each other as slowly as they did Twilight and began to repeat the lines and play their game.

"One, two, Pinkie's coming for you..."

Twilight heard something to the right that was like flowing water hitting the floor. She glanced to the side and looked by the refrigerator. Blood had begun to leak out from under the door and onto the tile, pooling in front of the appliance. Her eyes widened in horror. She wanted desperately to run, but she also needed to know what was going on and took a step toward the fridge.

"Three, four, better lock your door..."

She tried to step around the blood massing on the floor, but it kept coming and coming. The skin and fur around her hind hooves darkened as she reached out to grab the handle.

"Five, six, get your friendship fixed..."

She opened the door and what she saw on the shelves made her heart race. She began to hyperventilate. Before her lay a torn, scuffed stetson, two cracked and broken horns, one lavender and one white, and a pair of gnarled cyan wings with a set of mangled yellow ones next to them. Blood ran freely from where they would have been attached to their owners, collecting at the bottom of the fridge. Even the normally rugged hat was stained red and the vile liquid dripped heavily off the brim.

"Seven, eight, gonna stay up late..."

She closed her eyes and let out a scream that could shatter glass as she slammed the door shut.

"Twilight! Twilight!"

She was curled on the floor by her friends, still shrieking in terror and hiding her head under her legs.

"Twilight! What's wrong, sug?!"

She blinked her eyes open and saw her friends standing over her looking concerned and bewildered. Twilight was visibly shaking and white as a ghost.

"Nine, ten, never sleep again..."

Her breathing was heavy and her pulse was racing. She darted her attention around the room trying to take in her surroundings. She came across the doors leading into the kitchen and looked below them. Still on the floor, she didn't need to lean over. The babies were crawling around, playing with some toys and laughing. Twilight got to her hooves quickly and slammed open the swinging doors. Nothing was out of the ordinary. No odd chills. No blood by the fridge. She couldn't bring herself to go look again though.

Twilight turned around and sat down hard, hanging her head in exhaustion. Her screaming fit had taken a lot out of her. Her heart rate was slowly returning to normal and her breaths softened, but she was still trembling.

"What was that about?" Rainbow asked the terrified unicorn.

She didn't know how to answer the question without sounding insane. Maybe after what had been happening over the last few days, her grief started to overwhelm her senses, but she couldn't bring herself to describe what she just saw in detail. She rubbed a hoof on her face and took a deep breath, shaking her head. "I-I.. I don't know, I.. I think this whole thing is just starting to get to me, is all." She sank her head and began to cry again. "I'm sorry, everypony, I need to be alone for a little while. Excuse me," she said as she ran out of the door, not waiting for a response.

"Twilight!" Applejack called out. She started to reach a hoof out to her friend but stopped when the last of Twilight's sobbing could be heard. She and the others hung their heads in sorrow. "We all miss her."