Sing Me a Lullaby

by OneTrickPon3

Epilogue

It was a fairly pleasant day in Ponyville as far as its citizens were concerned. The sun was shining near its zenith, the temperature was pleasant, if only slightly warm, and there was minimal cloud cover to be seen. Being a Saturday, most ponies were out and about enjoying their weekend with family, friends, or loved ones. Couples could be seen wandering the main street of Ponyville, window shopping and chatting on the patios of cafes. Foals ran with their friends in more open spaces such as the park, shouting, laughing, and enjoying themselves all the while as their parents watched from a distance. A few adventurous souls decided to venture over to the lake for an early afternoon swim. It was a picturesque vision of the perfect summer's day.

Well, almost perfect.

While the constant chatter and laughter could be heard throughout Ponyville, a single line of ponies solemnly marched through less populated avenues. While most ponies would not wear clothing on a warm day, these ponies were garbed in all black, some with their faces hidden by the brim of a hat or the lace of a veil. Their steps were slow, sorrowful, pained. Any pony who saw them immediately ceased speaking or laughing out of respect, their eyes following the coffin being carried at the front of the morbid parade. Everypony knew their destination, and silently wished them the best along their journey before returning to what they had been doing before.

The ponies in the procession were few, and the manner of travel was a little more unusual. While most funeral processions would make use of a carriage train to make the journey from funeral to cemetery, this one was traveling by hoof instead. The coffin, usually in the hands of the morticians, was instead being carried by two of Equestria's most renowned heroines. Twilight Sparkle on the right side of the coffin, and Rarity on the left. The bars on their respective sides of the coffin were enveloped in their own magical aura, letting all who glanced know that it was they who bore the burden of the deceased. Both were garbed in a simple black dress that lacked the frills and dazzle of Rarity's usual designs. Rarity's face was obscured by a thin black veil, to hide the running mascara that stained her cheek in thin, dark lines. Twilight chose not to hide her face, instead choosing a headband with a single black flower adorning it. Her eyes were red and slightly puffy from her weeping, but she and Rarity both kept their stride steady, not letting the object they carried sway even slightly out of respect.

Behind them, the rest of the Elements of Harmony could be seen, walking in rows of two behind the coffin. In the front row, Rainbow Dash and Applejack walked side by side, occasionally glancing at each other for comfort. Both of them were also garbed in black dresses, which in itself was an unusual sight for both athletic mares. Applejack's trademark Stetson hat could still be seen atop her head, but instead of its usual brown color, this one was black, pulled slightly over her eyes so that she couldn't see the coffin in front of her. Occasionally one could see her shudder from a choked sob, but she otherwise kept her emotions in check as they marched. Rainbow Dash wore her emotions a little more on her sleeve, choking back sobs and occasionally gasping for breath, looking towards Applejack for comfort.

Behind them, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were quiet, both keeping their emotions bottled for the time being. Pinkie Pie's normally candyfloss mane hung in straight locks, and almost seemed a darker shade than normal. Unlike the others, she chose to wear a necklace that looked almost exactly like her Element necklace. Instead of gold with a blue gemstone however, the balloon shaped gemstone was made out of onyx set in silver, color more befitting of the occasion. In her mane was a maneclip, again a balloon made of onyx. Fluttershy wore nothing more than her black gown and a black butterfly maneclip. Her cheeks were stained with tears both long and recently shed, and her gaze was shifted downwards, her mind knowing where they were going but her eyes not wanting to see.

Behind the Elements were few other ponies. Among them were Nurse Tenderheart and Doctor Stable, along with several ponies who were friends with the deceased but were not native to Ponyville.One, a tan pegasus with a chestnut mane openly wept for his friend, his eyes closed and tears streaming from them, spilling onto the road beneath. Next to him, a light blue pegasus mare held her wing over him, comforting him as they walked in tandem.

The procession had left the funeral half an hour ago and were now turning towards the cemetery. Ahead, the freshly prepared grave stood out among the rest of the stone monuments. A small podium was placed next to the grave. Next to the podium was a tripod with a portrait of a smiling pony on it. The photo itself almost looked like a school photo with how staged it was, but the smile on their face and the look of excitement in their eyes were both genuine.

The procession came to a halt next to the grave, ponies circling the podium as the coffin was gently placed on a table next to the portrait. A lone stallion trotted up to the podium, an earth pony clad in a black suit.

"Death," he began, "is never an easy thing to discuss, let alone handle." His words were slow, his voice soft, as if he was afraid to disturb the lovely day around him. "It takes its toll on family and loved ones, friends and enemies, mortal and immortal alike. It is the one truth we must eventually deal with, and we can only hope that, when it is finally our time, we will have left an impact on this world, whether it be physical, or left in the hearts of those we hold dearest." Nods of agreement swept through the small crowd, the pony's words ringing an agreeable chorus. "Today, we have gathered here to say our last goodbyes to a dear friend," his head turns towards the coffin and his voice becomes even softer, "even though we wished we didn't have to so soon."

Slowly, he trotted away from the podium, the tan pegasus trotting up slowly to take his place. "I...," he cleared his throat, his weeping causing his words to come out strained, "I always thought that when someone I cared about passed, that the world would be as sad as I was." He gestured to the world around them, "I imagined a gloomy, rainy day, like the sky itself was weeping along with me. I imagined hundreds of ponies dressed in black, mulling about their day with the knowledge that somepony great was now gone from this world. But that's not what it's like at all. The only ponies weeping today are the ones gathered here, the rest of the world is going on like normal. And tomorrow we will be too. After the ceremony, many of us will part ways to go on living like we normally would."

The colt gestures to the portrait next to him. "When I first met them, it was just before they lost their parents. I guess you could call me their oldest friend if you wanted, but I saw what they went through after losing their parents. They didn't continue living the same way, it was impossible. Not with the most important ponies in their entire life suddenly taken from them. I was told one day, a few months after their parents passed, "I'm leaving tomorrow Streak, life is short, and I'm living for three now." I looked at them like they was crazy, and I thought they was for the longest time. True to their word though, they left home the very next day to live their life." The colt placed a hoof tenderly on the top of the coffin. "I barely ever saw them again after that, and for the longest time I wondered what they meant." He let his hoof fall from the coffin, fresh tears springing to the corner of his eyes. "...Now I guess I know." Plucking a single tan feather from his wing, he placed it on top of his friend's coffin before cantering away from the podium.

One by one, the other ponies advanced to the podium to say a short goodbye to their fallen friend, until finally, a yellow pegasus mare timidly made her way to say her goodbye.

"..."

All eyes were upon Fluttershy as she tried to talk.

"..."

Whimpering slightly, she shied away from the podium, until she felt a comforting hoof on her shoulder. Rainbow Dash gave Fluttershy an understanding smile before standing next to her for moral support.

"I..I can't say that I knew them as long as the rest of you. Actually, I was only there for a couple days." Her ears folded flat as her words stabbed at her heart. "I...I guess what I wanted to say here was, thank you." Her gaze turned to the smiling portrait. "Twilight has been studying friendship here in Ponyville for over a year now, and all of us realized how powerful friendship can be." Fluttershy looked at her friends one by one, all of them listening to her with a curious look in their eyes. "When I first saw them in the hospital, I was volunteering since the hospital was short staffed that night. I was devastated not only at what they were going through, but that they was going through it alone. So, I did the only thing I thought I could do, I became their friend."

Fluttershy again looked at the smiling portrait next to her. "Oh, I could tell they wanted to be alone, but the more I talked to them, the more they came out of their shell. They were such a wonderful pony to know," she said with a small smile on her lips, "and I'm happy that I was able to make them happy. I'm happy that me and my friends were there when they needed somepony the most. Like I said, my friends and I knew how powerful friendship could be, but I never could of imagined how a single friendship could help with something so difficult." She once again gazed at each of her friends before continuing. "I may be the Element of Kindness, but they were the one who really showed me what a little kindness really could do."

Fluttershy backed away from the podium before plucking a single pinion from her wing, placing it next to the coffin before trotting back to her friends. The first pony trotted back onto the stage to deliver the final eulogy.

"Life is but a stopping place,
A pause in what's to be,
A resting place along the road,
to sweet eternity.
We all have different journeys,
Different paths along the way,
We all were meant to learn some things,
but never meant to stay...
Our destination is a place,
Far greater than we know.
For some the journey's quicker,
For some the journey's slow.
And when the journey finally ends,
We'll claim a great success,
And find an everlasting peace,
Together with our Princess"

With those final words, the coffin was placed gently in the awaiting grave, accompanied by a chorus of weeping ponies. With the coffin set in its final resting place, the grave was magically filled, the tombstone finally revealed. On the grey slab of stone was the cutie mark of the deceased; a dark grey cloud with a silver-grey sliver lining the top. It read;

Silver Lining
B- 985/D- 1003

Weep for me today
Live for me tomorrow

---

Author's Notes:
Thank you to those who read this and liked it enough to favorite. The poem at the end is a slightly modified version of the poem called Poem Of Life (author unknown). I hope you all decide to check out some of my other stuff, I always enjoy it when I can entertain people, and as always, feel free to leave comments.

Signing off on a happy note,
OneTrickPon3

Comments

[Longshot]

i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/232/127/833.png

[IRISHWULFHOUND]

i almost cried. i didn't even cry at my little dashie. what witchcraft is this?

[OneTrickPon3]

882138
Maybe it was my awful writing?

[IRISHWULFHOUND]

882298 no, that wasn't it, your writing is a lot better than mine....

[FlutterShay]

You know, this is amazing. I love it!
But...there's one critique I need to share. It's pretty big, so please forgive me.
I cried when I read the first chapter, but mainly because of the whole 'you' standpoint. It made me really feel like it was me that was dying. Once I read ' a portrait of a smiling colt on it.', that feeling left, given that I'm a girl.
But anyway, I'm willing to overlook that when I say GREAT JOB!

[OneTrickPon3]

886072
Crap thanks for catching that!
Part of what I think drew people into the story was how I kept the gender and pony type out of the picture so they could insert themselves. This is why I need pre-readers.
Anyway, it's fixed now

[TheKissoftheVoid]

*Sigh*
This was beautiful. Simply and pristinely beautiful. I don't think I've ever actually cried from a fimfic story unless I was really trying ( does that make sense?. . . meh, does to me.), but this story has brought out my inner rain cloud. Thank you for posting this here, and keep up the great work. Phew, the heartstrings are still humming a symphony. Must see if roomies have tissues. . .

[TwilightPoopSparkle]

I can't read it anymore! It's too sad!

[tsunsu]

It was hard to finshe reading I was broken at the end it was diffacult but I manged. The story was not bad it was realtivly relateable to me becuse I to lost someone close. The thought that the elments of harmeny would take time to come to a strnger is very nice we need more ppl like that all of us do. To the writer I'm glad that u wrote this. It is relly good keep up the good work and hope to see more frome u l8ter.

[The Watcher 509]

A silver lining as to what life's most difficult lesson can ever be...

[Klondike Shy]

I pretty much read this whole story with blurry vision and tears rolling down my cheek. This story touched me on such a deep level and when I am on my death bed and about to take my last breaths, I just hope I have friends like the mane six next to me. I am not afraid of death but I am terrified of dying alone.

[OneTrickPon3]

Author here, just one question.

HOW THE HELL DO YOU GUYS KEEP FINDING THIS! I THOUGHT THIS WAS DEAD TO THE WORLD LIKE I WAS!

[BlazeMoonlight]

Why... I promised I wouldn't cry.what happened to my dark heart. I used to laugh at dark fics. Now u left me crying. That totally ruined my stats.

[-Brutus]

Thank you once again for writing this.

[Disc0rd16]

My throat hurts now because I was trying SO hard to not cry man....but I didn't cry... I only weep

[jaredtheminer21]

It's so sad, it's too sad, why is it so sad?

[Bob_The_Wizard]

[Mint_Keyphase]

7112802
It is tagged as sad for a reason.