Pinkie Pie was the first to go.
Ever since Twilight Sparkle was in Ponyville, Pinkie Pie lived and worked at Sugarcube Corner. The Cakes seemed to live with her eccentricities quite well, even when she was old enough to live on her own.
As she got older, her energy seemed to disappear. She stopped bouncing all over the place when she hit 30. By the time she hit 40, she seemed lethargic most of the time. By 46, she was dead.
When Pinkie Pie didn't come to work one morning, Mrs. Cake went up to check on her, only to find her on her back, legs stuck in a fetal position, mouth and eyes stuck in a mask of shock. News spread fast through Equestria, with her five closest friends coming over from all over as soon as they heard the news. But there was nothing that they could do but console each other. What could have taken their friend away from them so suddenly?
A medical examination of the body showed nothing out of the ordinary: her heart just stopped beating. This did nothing to console her friends, who insisted that something had happened that night.
At the viewing, Pinkie Pie's body still had the same expression of dismay on her face. The morticians unable to close her mouth and eyes; every time they tried, as soon as their backs were turned the face reverted. Twilight Sparkle looked down at her friend and party pony sitting in the casket, eyes brimming with tears. She looked around at her friends and knew they were feeling the same. She looked at the expression on her face and felt a tear slid down her face.
"Ah reckon parties'll be a little sadder now," she heard Applejack choke out. There were nods of affirmation all around.
Rainbow Dash couldn't hold it in anymore. "Why!? Why couldn't you have one more party with us?" she bawled out, crumpling to the ground.
An idea…
Twilight leaned over to whisper her thought to Applejack. She looked shocked at the audacity of the comment, but at Twilight's urging, she passed the message on. Twilight left the viewing room, going to the library to wait for her friends. She chuckled at the idea, but it was what Pinkie Pie would have wanted.
Her remaining friends came in one group, arguing. Twilight Sparkle sighed in frustration. This was going to be harder than she thought.
"What kind of stupid idea is that, AJ?" Rainbow dash pressed.
"Honestly, the idea of throwing a party at a funeral is just… tacky!" Rarity declared.
"Funerals are places where you are supposed to feel sadness, not joy," was Fluttershy's meek opinion.
"Ah ain't said it was my idea," retorted Applejack, staring levelly at her friends.
"Well, whose idea was it?" Dash demanded.
"It was mine," Twilight interrupted, causing everyone to look at her. She smiled meekly before continuing. "Pinkie Pie always liked parties, so why not throw a going away party for our favorite party pony?" Twilight offered.
Silence greeted her and her smile faltered. Rainbow Dash was the first to comment.
"Are you out of your eggheaded mind?!" she shouted, flying up in the air. "She's dead! What does it matter what she thinks?! For all I care, you can cremate her and throw the ashes to the wind!" the moment she said this, she deflated, her posture that of a penitent pony. Her friends were shocked and appalled that she would say such a thing. She slowly drifted down to the ground, looking at her destination. "I'm sorry," she whimpered out, too ashamed to look at her friends. She felt someone pat her back and looked up to see Applejack looking at her with reproach, yet there was kindness there as well.
Rainbow Dash broke down and started sobbing again, either not noticing or not caring when her remaining friends got in a group hug with her as the center.
"It's okay Rainbow Dash, just let it out," came Fluttershy's soft voice. Whatever barriers that she put up broke, and Rainbow Dash bawled like a baby, blubbering incoherent thoughts. Not a single eye was dry.
After a few minutes, Twilight collected herself enough to bring attention to the reason why she had called them there: Pinkie Pie's Goodbye Party.
There was a lot of arguing, but in the end they all agreed: having a going away party was the best way to send off Pinkie Pie.
The funeral coordinator was looking at the five ponies with incredulity. They had the gall to suggest a party for a funeral! He could tell some were uncomfortable with the idea.
"And why, again, do you want to throw a party for the deceased?" he asked, his tone a drawling nasal.
"Because that's what our friend would want," answered the purple unicorn, clearly the leader of the group.
"I'm sorry, but the request must pass through the family before I can do that," he stated flatly.
"Oh, don't worry, I'm sure the Cakes will be…"
"I was speaking of the Pie family," he cut her off. Clearly the purple unicorn hadn't thought of that, because she deflated with an "oh". "I will make sure to tell the Pies of your decision posthaste," he stated.
The leader was clearly chewing on this new information. With an audible gasp, she popped back up and said "Actually, is it okay if we told them ourselves?"
The coordinator lifted an eyebrow before acquiescing. "Very well, but I insist that I be there as well. There are things I wish to discuss with them, as well as making sure their wishes are carried out."
She pondered this shortly before nodding her head.
Twilight Sparkle sighed. She would have thought convincing the Pies would have been easy. She had thought that the Pies would be as fun-loving as Pinkie Pie. She was wrong. They rarely smiled, were blunt and to the point, and didn't crack a joke. They were very much of the mind of having a simple funeral. They were quite adamant about it. Even the trump card of it being what she would have wanted didn't budge them.
Fluttershy, who wasn't a big proponent of the funeral party, had backed out of the idea, but Rainbow Dash was adamant about it. All five of the friends were back at the library, most were sulking. Twilight was idly flipping through a book, trying to get her mind off of Pinkie Pie's death.
Finally, Rainbow Dash had had enough. "Arrgh, why do we have to have her parents decide everything?" she groaned in frustration.
"Because they're her parents. I'm sure they miss her too," was Fluttershy's meek answer. "They just want to remember her their way."
"Pssh, as if!" Dash blew off. "I bet they wouldn’t know what fun was even if it bit them on the flank!"
"Rainbow Dash! Just because they have a different way of living doesn't mean that you can make fun of them," came Rarity's rebuke. Rainbow Dash just glowered in the corner.
"I reckon we all need some time alone," Applejack stated. Her friends nodding in agreement. "Well, see y'all tomorrow." All of the friends left to go home, with Rainbow Dash lingering for a second. When she looked at Twilight, her eyes were pleading before steeling with resolve. She left, muttering something about making up to Pinkie Pie.
Twilight just shrugged it off and went upstairs to go to bed.
The funeral took place the next night. Everything was going as expected, although Rainbow Dash had yet to show up. This worried Twilight; she didn't know where the blue Pegasus was. She hoped she was doing well, but couldn't shake the feeling that Dash was about to do something rash. Twilight sighed and looked at the casket, noticing that the Morticians still weren't able to make Pinkie Pie's face more peaceful. Talking to Pinkie's parents had proven to be interesting, to say the least: they were rock farmers not too far from Ponyville, but they mostly kept to themselves. Their coats were mostly earth-colored: it was hard imagining something as bright and vibrant as Pinkie Pie coming from them. They were very serious in their demeanor, not acknowledging even the heaviest hint at brevity that she tried to put on them.
She looked out the window, lost in thought. It was then that she noticed a rainbow-streaked blur zipping to and fro in the sky. Curious, she walked outside only to find herself knocked off her hooves. Before she could say anything a hoof was placed in her mouth and found herself looking into a pair of magenta eyes. Getting up, Twilight glared indignantly at Rainbow Dash as the pegasus shushed her.
Dash then pointed to party preparations that her fellow Wonderbolts were bringing in.
Twilight gave her a patronizing glance, to which her friend replied with an uncertain smile. Twilight shook her head.
Dash nodded her head and stomped her front hoof on the ground.
Twilight pointed to the Pie family through the window then stomped her front hoof on the ground.
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes.
Twilight got into her face with a withering glare.
Dash pushed past her, looking at the casket, turning back with a determined look in her eyes.
"As much as I like this game of charades, we're almost ready to go, Dash," a smaller Pegasus whispered. Dash nodded while Twilight rolled her eyes. She went to walk back in but was stopped by Dash, who shook her head. Twilight went through the motions of zipping her mouth shut, but when Dash still didn't budge she went through the motions of a Pinkie Pie Swear. Rainbow Dash looked warily at Twilight but let her pass.
Sighing, she went back in the building. Part of her wanted to leave before the fireworks went off, but the curious part of her wanted to see what the Pies’ reaction would be when the party started. She got noticed by Rarity, who trotted up to her.
"Dear, what's wrong? You look quite pensive," Rarity noted.
Twilight sighed and shook her head. "Rainbow Dash is about to do something rude," was Twilight's response.
Rarity looked thoughtful for a second before shaking her head. "That's our Rainbow Dash. Now, I want you to try these Funeral Potatoes; they're quite delicious," Rarity said, pulling her to the buffet table.
The funeral was near ending when Rainbow Dash made her move. Before anyone could react, a half-dozen Pegasi swooped in and changed the decorations from black to vibrant colors in a quick whirlwind. A few other items found themselves in the room, like a record player that had an upbeat tune on it, as well as a party cake.
"Friends and family of the late Pinkie Pie: are you ready to party?" came Rainbow Dash's amplified voice. Many ponies turned to look at her, most with a gaze of incredulity. Twilight noticed that Rainbow Dash was sweating profusely, glancing around nervously. Crickets chirped in the background, everyone frozen in place.
"Alright!" Pumpkin Cake, Mr. and Mrs. Cake's daughter, reared up, quickly followed by her brother. The party was to a rocky start, but start it did. Soon, most of the ponies were participating. Notable exceptions were the Pies, who seemed to be shocked. Twilight kept an eye on them, enjoying the party with the rest of her friends. It was only when looking at the deceased that she got the courage to talk to them.
"Mr. and Mrs. Pie, I would like to…" Twilight began.
"Inconsiderate, simply inexcusable," came Mr. Pie's tear-stained voice. "This is not the proper way to mourn the dead!"
Twilight sighed internally. "Well, at least your daughter is at peace now."
"At peace?! How can anypony be at peace with all this cajoling?!" was Mrs. Pie's response.
Twilight gave them a knowing look before offering "Why don't you come see you daughter one more time."
They reluctantly followed Twilight to the casket, looking in. Pinkie pie was in the casket, eyes closed and a smile on her face.
"You know, the morticians were never able to get her mouth shut. But this party, I think, brought closure to her. I hope you’re not too mad at my friend, but this is really what your daughter would have wanted. She hated seeing anyone sad or unhappy," Twilight monologued, looking at the Pie family. They still had tears in their eyes, but instead of looking indignant they had a look of awe.
"Thank you, miss. Thank you for being such a good friend to our strange daughter," Mr. Pie choked out. Mrs. Pie hugged Twilight, bawling.
The party was short and subdued. After everyone was done and the clean-up was underway, Twilight stalked down Rainbow Dash, wanting a few answers. Looking for Rainbow Dash, she found her talking with the Wonderbolts. After a few minutes, they split up, with Rainbow Dash coming face-to-face with a disappointed Twilight Sparkle. Dash gulped, not looking forward to this conversation.
"Rainbow Dash, mind explaining to me why you decided to do that?" Twilight asked flatly.
Rainbow Dash sighed before answering "I owed it to Pinkie Pie." Before Twilight could speak a word, Dash continued "What sort of friend says 'scatter their ashes to the winds'? I-I had to make it up to her. I just had to." She was starting to tear up. "I… just couldn't live with myself if… if I…" she broke off, sniffling.
Twilight came over and put a foreleg on Dash's neck, looking at her with misty eyes. "You didn't mean those things, don't beat yourself over them," Twilight comforted, then her tone became serious. "But going against the Pie's wishes? Why would you risk their anger?"
"You said it yourself: it's what she would have wanted," Dash squeaked. "I didn't want her to go without being happy."
Twilight sighed, "I think you did just that," pointing to the casket and the occupant in silent repose.
"Yeah, I noticed," was Dash's forlorn reply. "I'm still going to miss her."
"We all are."
"Goodbye Twilight. I have Wonderbolts practice tomorrow. Don't want to stay up too late." With that, Rainbow Dash left.