/AN This isn't the happy ending. You have been warned. \
The jolt that ran through Twilight's veins came with a sense of doom. She stopped dead, one hoof raised, as her eyes searched through the thickets of the Everfree forest. A horrible chill was filling her heart, and instinctively she knew what it meant. Breaking into a full gallop, she screamed into the forest "FLUTTERSHY!"
Twilight trampled thorns, uncaring for the needle-cuts they left in her fetlocks. When the brambles were too thick to simply smash through, she teleported to the other side. The unicorn stumbled into the clearing at last, out of breath and still wheezing out her dear friends name.
Something ominous flitted in the air, Twilight's rational mind trying to ignore it but somewhere inside herself she knew what it meant. She rushed to the granite slab, hoping to see Fluttershy's pink mane poking out somewhere. Instead she saw a butterfly necklace, the colors worn away and lifeless. Twilight lifted it up with telekinesis, her eyes burning with the oncoming tears.
"Fluttershy..."
A few minutes passed as the purple mare stared at the last token of the kind hearted pegasus. Twilight float it into one of her saddlebags, and plodded away from the empty circle. The rest of the searchers would need to know. Her progress was slow, every hoofstep just nailing the coffin tighter. She desperately didn't want to inform the others, because then she'd have to truly acknowledge what had happened. But they deserved to know, even if the weight might crush them.
"We can't just leave her out there!" Rainbow Dash was shouting, head pitted against Applejack's own. Their frustrations had finally overflowed in Twilight's absence, the two mares releasing pent up emotions.
"It's gonna be dark soon, Dash! We ain't gonna do 'Shy a lot of good getting ourselves lost!" The farmer pony retorted, pushing the cyan pegasus back.
Rarity was the first to notice Twilight's return, sitting next to a forlorn Pinkie Pie. "Girls!" she exclaimed, the other three following her eyes to the purple unicorn. Twilight could only meet their hopeful looks for a second before the guilt of what she had to do bent her head down.
That simple gesture was enough, however. Pinkie broke down on the spot, wailing into Rarity's shoulder as her mane simply collapsed. The prim white unicorn next to her rested her head in the drooping pink mane, wet makeup running from her clenched eyes.
Rainbow seemed on the verge of exploding, whether in grief or denial Twilight couldn't tell. "No, Celestia damn it! She's not gone, Fluttershy is not gone! She can't be gone, she j-just can't... not now...." As quickly as her defiance came it fled, and Rainbow fell to the ground, curling up tightly. Applejack hid herself behind her trademark hat, a few muffled sobs making their way through the cloth.
Twilight joined the circle, dropping the abandoned medallion on the ground. The pain in her chest overwhelmed everything else, killed her thoughts and left her numb. Fluttershy was gone forever, the Ponyville six minus one.
***
The funeral was a blur to the five friends. Without anything to bury, Ponyville filled a grave with small mementos of the pegasus, pictures and drawings and carefully written notes mixing in the somber earth. Fluttershy would've been astonished at the turn out, almost everpony had come to see the mare off. The princesses came too, to offer their last wishes to one of Equestria's saviors. As a token of gratitude for one of her heroes gone too early, Luna built a new constellation for the night sky: A butterfly, fluttering through the heavens. That way, she explained to the remaining Elements, she could watch over the world she had tended for so long.
After the rest of the mourning ponies had left, the pegasus's long time friends remained deep into the night. Twilight sat in a heavy silence with Pinkie, Rainbow, Applejack, and Rarity.
"Remember the time, you had to drag her up the mountain Applejack?" Rainbow asked, her voice cracking.
"Yeah, poor thing was so scared o' that dang Dragon..." the cowpony replied.
"That was nothing, compared to how she scolded that giant like a mother to her foals." said Rarity.
Twilight sighed wistfully, "Never thought I'd see somepony like Fluttershy get so mad."
They relapsed into silence, reminiscing on the adventures they had gone on with the absent mare. Pinkie sobbed quietly, earning a hug from Applejack. Twilight joined them, wrapping her forelegs around the two earth ponies' withers. She felt two more bodies press into the embrace, and she didn't feel quite so alone.
Something coughed politely next to the distracted ponies, drawing their attention. A small white bunny stood in front of the grave; after making sure the ponies were watching he placed a vibrant, silvery flower on the freshly packed dirt. Angel's paw lingered on the cold stone, his ears hanging low before he bounced out of the way. A few seconds later, a squirrel bounded up and mimicked the bunny's actions. As the five friends watched, more and more critters came to pay their respects, reverently placing the gleaming flowers in front of the headstone. Even a Manticore humbly approached, dropping his gift into the pile.
They watched this procession for awhile, when Pinkie spoke up, her voice almost as quiet as Fluttershy's had been. "She's really gone..."
"Don't think Ah'll ever meet somepony else with her heart."
"Or that bashful little smile." Rarity said.
"Somepony who could be that timid, yet stare down anything that hurt her friends..." Twilight added.
Rainbow couldn't think of anything to contribute. After all, what words were enough to describe Fluttershy? And so they sat beneath a waning moon, watching the piles of silver flowers grow, taking comfort in the warmth of the ponies next to them.
Far away from the grief, hidden behind the boughs of the Everfree, a butterfly chased a flame through the trees and thickets, laughing with the heartbeat of the world. The two visited the elder willow again, resting against it's bony bark as the weeping branches told tales of lore forgotten times. They danced in the cave of sprites, moving in time to the beat of some runic melody, spinning in the plaything of some god. Up mountains, through rivers and crevices, the butterfly followed the fire. Rejoicing in the release, playing in their forest.
As they flickered through the trunks and bushes, the beasts they passed would greet them with respect. One and all, the animals of the Everfree knew what it took to be free. But that gift was not for them, not yet. There was still work to be done in their lives, until they could join the burning colt in his parade. Only when they finally rested could they be like the fire and its' butterfly, forever free.