Some time after the funeral had ended, the Human 7 and Starlight went to go and check up on the former Fallen Souls, or their closest friends/boyfriends. Pinkie stayed with her lover, Copper Plume at his house until he woke up. When he did, she practically coated his face pink with her lipstick kisses. The two were extremely happy to be back together after all these years.
Rainbow Dash was glad to have Blazing Waters back. He spent his time recovering at his mom and dad's house. Flash Magnus and Aqua Stream were practically in tears of joy knowing their son was brought back. The gun shop owner was also saddened to hear that Shadow Knight, the person that was responsible for getting his son back, had passed away days ago. The family felt griefed and thankful for what he did to make them whole again.
Applejack stayed at Frostbite's house, waiting for the poor, tortured man to wake up and tell him how sorry she was for not being able to aid him in his time of need or trying to look for him. She stayed by his bedside until his eyes opened up later on. AJ had also told him and his family about the death of a good friend of theirs who risked his life to save everyone. They were shocked to hear about it, but she didn't specify who his name was.
Fluttershy went to visit Israel, but came to find out he's been having a bit of an argument with his older brother, having him pinned against the wall. His older brother was bigger and stronger, yet he put up no resistance and Fluttershy watched him shouted his lungs out at him, punching and kicking him. Fluttershy stopped him from doing any more damage by cutting in. She gave him a hug and expressed how much she missed him.
Rarity visited Lightning Burn at his parents' house, offering him gifts, which were some of his favorite snacks and drinks and even a "Welcome Home" card. He gave her a big hug, in which she returned it, expressing her feelings towards him. She was relieved that she had him back, but was saddened that she had to tell him about the death of one of their friends during the war against the demons.
As for Heat Blitz, he had finally calmed after that traumatic experience he had when he was forced to become the demon prince. And the death of Inferno was still fresh on his mind, as it was on Twilight’s. The two spent the day with each other, mostly to help each other recover after the tragic events they were both forced into. They got more closer and closer in every minute they spent together, and they thanked Inferno for giving them their happiness back.
Finally, with Eternal Flames back at Sunset's house, the two spent their time alone, watching the moon go down through the window. Both were dressed in sleeping wear. Sunset was wearing her usual purple pajamas with her cutie mark stitched on the front. Eternal was topless and only wore black sweats. His upper body had a few bandages on his injured spots.
Everyone was trying to have normal lives again, trying to give themselves peace from all the events they endured. Not for themselves, but for Inferno; to make his sacrifice have meaning. Even when they all felt broken and bruised, sometimes they would feel a warm presence hovering above them, as if a watchful guardian angel was looking over them. While it didn’t make sense, they were all sure that it was Inferno, still watching over them from the afterlife.
It took a day or two for everyone to recover and get back on track, but eventually they all manage to adjust and live on with their lives. But before they could, they first have to do something that has long waited enough… Eternal’s REAL 18th birthday party as well as Heat Blitz's 17th birthday.
The whole group brought along the boys for the big celebration over at Sunset's house. The group was out in the living room and dining room, having some snacks and drinks. Pinkie and Copper were firing off their party poppers, celebrating the two boys turning a year older.
"Happy Birthday, Eternal and Heat!" Copper and Pinkie shouted.
“Guys, easy on the confedittie!” Rainbow stated.
“There can never be enough confedittie!” Pinkie responded.
"Typical Pinkie Pie, you can never stop being so cute," Lightning commented. "I don't think I can remember a time when she hasn't smiled." This compliment made the party girl's smile even brighter with an added squeal.
"Careful, if you keep that up, you're gonna kill us with her cuteness. Adorabetes is a thing. But in Twilight's case, I'd call it "Adorkabetes." Israel complimented, making the egghead blush.
"Hey, watch it, you," she giggled.
"Easy there, hot shot. You already have a cutie pie of your own and she's looking mighty jealous if you know what I mean," Heat gestured to Fluttershy. Israel turned to the shy animal lover and walked over to her, nuzzling her.
"Yay," Flutters says, hugging her man.
"So, now that you guys are free, what do you plan to do?" Eternal asked.
"Good question. We don't know. I guess we can just… finish up high school and try to find some jobs or get enrolled into college. Hey, I know! Maybe I can become a writer! I'm sure people would love to hear a story about the fallen hero," Israel said.
"Hehehe, isn't that ironic?" Pinkie asked.
"How so?" Israel asked.
"Oh, nothing to worry about. Hehehe. You do what you like. I plan on opening up a Sweets store one day, or maybe a bakery. If Copper likes, he can work with me," Pinkie said, nuzzling her sweet boyfriend.
"I think I'll weigh out my options until then," Copper said.
"I'm not sure where I plan on going, but I'll weigh out my options later," Lightning said before drinking some of his punch.
"Same here. There's just too many options for me, so I'll just write them down or put them on a wheel or… something," Frostbite said.
"Well, I'm gonna sign up for the S.W.A.T team after school! I'm gonna keep the city safe just like my dad kept our country safe when he was in the war!" Blazing said.
"That's my babe, thinking BIG!" Rainbow said, jabbing his arm playfully. "So, what about you, Heat, what do you plan on doing after school?"
"Well… since I have one more year to complete, I plan on going to Canterlot University so I can get a Master's degree in Product Design and Development. The material my friend left me has the potential to help people, especially if I can relieve them of their illnesses or injuries. If I can hit a major breakthrough, I could even spread a huge cure worldwide," Heat said.
“That sounds great, Heat.” Twilight replied, latching onto him with a supportive smile on her face, kissing her boyfriend on the cheek.
"Yeah, if you can do that, go for it! You can bet we've got your backs on that dream. Just don't bust your back beyond repair, you hear?" Lightning joked.
Out of everyone in the group, one individual remained silent through the conversation. Starlight didn’t have any warm expression or a cold one at that. But it also didn’t mean that she was emotionless in any way. After remaining silent through the discussion, Starlight finally found words in her mouth and spoke for the first time since she arrived back through the mirror.
“I bet…” She halted on her first try, before having the guts to say more. “I bet Inferno would be proud of us right now.” She said. The group all looked over at Starlight, feeling sympathy and pity towards the broken-hearted young lady.
"We'll bring him back one day. But you're right. Inferno would've been immensely proud. You know, when I was finally getting to know him, I always felt like he had a lot of good in him, so much to give. And he truly tested that belief. I just wish we all could've told him how proud we are of him for everything he's done for us," Eternal said, going over and patting Starlight on the back lightly. She looks back at him, with tears forming in her eyes, smiling for the first time since after the funeral.
“We already have... sniff… we became his friends… his family.” Starlight tearfully said. “That’s all that mattered to him.” Eternal then gives Starlight a hug to at least help her feel better. Starlight hugged him back, her body shaking as she sobbed quietly. She was heavily affected by her boyfriend's death and it pained him to see her like this.
'We will bring him back. You WILL be together again. And I WILL have my soul brother back!' Eternal thought to himself.
"Scary-looking on the outside, a heart of gold on the inside," Frostbite commented.
"Hey, I got an idea. What do you say we all toast to a hero's brave sacrifice?" Israel suggests. "It's only fair since we owe our lives to the man who saved us."
"Yeah, good idea," Blazing said. Pinkie was instantly one step ahead of everyone and handed everyone a bottle of apple cider. "You're one swift sugar bullet, Pinkie."
"I do what I can," Pinkie shrugs.
"Everyone, let us toast to a brave soldier who performed with honor and integrity above and beyond the call of duty! Who brought out the light amidst the deepest, coldest darkness!" Israel announced, raising his bottle in the air.
Everyone cheered to his toast and then all of them drank their cider afterwards. This gave Starlight a little bit of hope and a small smile. "You guys… you're the bestest friends a girl could ever ask for."
"We'd do anything for a friend in need," Copper said.
"Darn tootin.” Applejack agreed.
"Now then, dearie, dry those tears and have a bite. Today is a day of celebration," Rarity said, offering Starlight a plate of pineapple pizza to go with her apple cider. Starlight accepted with no hesitation and took a bite out of her pineapple pizza, squealing from how good it tasted.
“This is soooo good!” She screamed in delight.
"She's smiling again! That's wonderful! I'm so happy right now I could just… just…" Fluttershy suddenly ponied up and floated in the air as her wings flapped cutely and rapidly. Israel clenched his chest from how cute she looked right now before easing her down, nuzzling her for being so cute.
"Flutters, you're just so cute and precious, you could warm the hearts of millions of men," Israel joked after finishing his nuzzling.
"Too late, she's warmed the hearts of millions of bronies and pegasisters," Pinkie said.
"Bronies? Pegasisters?" Israel asked. "Is she even making sense?"
"What is this "sense" you speak of?" Copper jokes, making everyone laugh.
"Hey, now that we've broken the ice, how 'bout we take this party to the next level? Sunset, do ya have the mic set up fer some karaoke?" AJ asked.
"Yeah, all that's left is to put on YouTube and we should be good to go," Sunset said.
"YouTube?" Eternal asked.
"It's an online community where people post videos of just about anything," Heat said.
"However, it's gone downhill because of some stupid, half-brained bozo adding that stupid COPPA law, which ruined about 90% of the entire website! Now how are people supposed to leave comments if the comments are disabled?" Pinkie pouted.
"We have YouTube Kids for a reason, but that faggot's ears are clogged up with his stupid money, but before we stage a riot, let's just sing, shall we?" Frostbite said.
"Good point, the last thing we need is to start another war," Rainbow said.
"A civil war at that," Lightning pointed out.
“So, who should go first.” Fluttershy asked everyone.
"I'll do it," Heat says. "There's a song I've been meaning to try out, is that alright?"
"Of course. Go right ahead," Twilight said. Heat smiled and went up, grabbing the mic and searched up the song he was lookin for.
"Alright you guys, here we go," Heat says before pressing play. As he sang the lyrics of the song, Heat felt like he was walking on water, gazing up at the endless stars above in his mind. Everyone else watched in amazement, seeing the birthday boy perform like he was some kind of star. It felt like everyone was at a live concert.
When the song ended, Twilight ran up to Heat and hugged him tightly before locking lips with him, even adding some tongue action.
"Okay there, lover girl, I think we get it," AJ said. After their lips separated, Twilight and Heat sat down with the others.
"Hey, since Heat sang for us, how about Eternal take a turn now?" Rainbow asked.
"Me? You want me to sing?" Eternal asked.
"Don't be shy, Eternal. Show them how well you can sing. You should've heard him singing back when we were still kids in Canterlot. He had such a wonderful singing voice," Sunset said.
"Oh, is that so? Care to demonstrate for us?" Rarity asked.
"Yeah, show us what you can do, big guy," Lightning Burn said.
"Alright… if you insist. I do have something that might sound good," Eternal said, getting up and going up to the mic. He cleared his throat. "This song is dedicated to my best friend whom I feel has been more than a best friend… but a brother. This is for you, Inferno Blaze." After his little speech, he pressed play.
The audience was moved to tears upon hearing Eternal's song. They even saw a few tears leaking out of his eyes, still deeply hurt from losing his best friend. One that he’ll never forget for a millennium, or in an infinity.
Once his song ended, the group gave him a round of applause. Sunset put a hand over her heart from how amazing his singing still is. Soon as he places down the microphone, he walks back to Sunset’s side, and is met with her giving him a peck on his cheek.
"Nice vocals there, big guy," Frostbite said.
"Thanks, Frostbite.” Eternal replied.
"After that performance, I don't think I have the nerve to perform on stage," Frostbite said.
"If that's how you feel, how about a group song? You an' me, Rainbow and Blazin'. Ah have the perfect song we can sing, though it's kinda short," AJ recommended.
"Now you're talking!" Rainbow said, excited.
"If it's with my girl, I'm all for it," Blazing said.
"Well… okay then. Ready, AJ?" Frostbite asked. AJ smirked at him with confidence and then all 4 of them got up and approached the TV. AJ searched for the song and then played it right away once she found it.
As soon as all four of them sang in unison, everyone in the room was dancing on their feet. Clearing away the gloomy feelings and replacing them with an uplifting spirit. Even Starlight finds herself smiling by the performance, giving her at least a slight bit of joy.
Once the song ended, Everyone clapped and cheered as the 4 performers took a bow and took in their cheers and admiration. Rainbow's head was getting more swelled up than it already was and she was loving it.
"Quick, get her off the stage or it'll go to her head again," AJ joked. Blazing quickly escorted his rockstar girl back to the couch and sat down along with Frostbite and Applejack.
"I could go for a nice duet with my Prince Charming after listening to such a melodious song. What do you say, Lightning?" Rarity asked.
"You read my mind, my precious little diamond," Lightning replied, nuzzling Rarity. She giggled and pecked her boyfriend on the cheek before going up to the mic. Rarity didn't hesitate in finding the song for her and her lover to sing and then pressed play immediately.
The melody was so soothing and heart-warming. The group all closed their eyes and took in their amazingly harmonious melody. The couples couldn't resist the urge to pull their soulmates closer towards each other. Starlight, on the other hand, just closed her eyes and kept thinking about Inferno and how later in the future they'd cherish this moment once she and her friends bring him back to life.
The song soon came to a close and Rarity and Lightning received a thunderous applause before they shared a beautiful kiss and then went to sit back down.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you two were locked in some kind of fairy tale. You two were great together," Copper said.
"If there ever comes a time when you two have your anniversary, you should play that song," Pinkie Pie added.
"Hey, that's not a bad idea. Thanks for the suggestion, Pinkie," Lightning said.
"You're welcome. So, Plumey-Poo, you ready to sing with me, too?" Pinkie asked, clinging to her boyfriend's arm.
"Yeah, let's do it, Pinkie-poo," Copper replied with a teasing wink.
"Aww, aren't you two the sweetest couple," Twilight said. Pinkie giggled and soon, she and Copper stood up and headed over to the TV with Pinkie getting the mic. She searched up the song she was looking for and played it before she and Copper took off.
The song they sang really touched everyone’s hearts. Reminding them what they’ve all experienced when they had met their soulmates for the first time, remembering the good times they had, and not questioning what would happen if they hadn’t met them. They rather not think of that question and to just live in the special moment.
Like the others before, Pinkie and Copper got cheers and bowed their heads. The hyper, sugar loving pink beauty hopped her way back to the couch, sitting down with a cute little plop noise. Copper sat down next to his cute little lady.
“That was so beautiful, darling.” Rarity said as she wiped away any remaining tears.
"I always knew there was beauty within that cuteness of yours, Pinkie," Israel complimented.
"Hehehe, thank you, Izzy," Pinkie called him out by his nickname. "So how about you and Fluttershy get up on that stage and show us your talents."
"Oh… I don’t know. I'm not sure you all will like us.” Fluttershy replied.
"Not like you? Fluttershy, darling, your singing voice is divine. You sing more elegantly than an angel from heaven," Rarity stated.
"Plus, you put most Disney Princesses to shame with your beautiful singing and cuteness," Pinkie Pie added, making Fluttershy blush with a squee, looking away with a smile.
"Awww look, you made the cute little angel blush," Israel said, stroking Fluttershy's cheek, making her giggle and squee again. "Hnnngh!!!" he clutched his chest. "Too cute!!!"
"Careful, Fluttershy, if you keep this up, he's gonna die from adorabetes," Pinkie teased.
“Is that a real thing?” Sunset asked.
“I don’t know, the writers of this story made it up.” Pinkie replied.
“What did you just say?” Eternal said.
“Nothing.” The party girl replied again.
"Okay, if we're done trying to kill me with cuteness, I'd like to sing," Israel jokes.
“Okay then, go right ahead.” Heat responded. Israel and Fluttershy soon get up and walk over to the mic and they scrolled through the song choices on the karaoke machine until they landed on the song they wanted to sing. Israel pressed play and soon, both of them began their wonderful, harmonious duet.
As they sang in perfect harmony, everyone in the room all felt moved and cried emotional tears from their performance. The song hit everyone’s hearts, placing warm smiles on everyone's faces and having the couples to embrace each other and slowly sway to the rhythm of the song.
And once the song came to an end, everyone clapped their hands and cheered for Israel and Fluttershy’s performance. Both were blushing and smiling by their friends’ praise and bowed soon after before sitting back down on the couch.
“That was absolutely sensational and breath-taking, darlings.” Rarity commented.
“Ah agree, that was wonderful,” Applejack added.
“Awww, thanks girls.” Fluttershy replied.
"Thanks a bunch, guys," Israel added before he escorted his cute little angel back on the couch.
“So who’s up next?” Twilight asked, only to receive eyes moving towards her direction. “What?”
“You’re next, Twi.” Sunset stated.
“Yeah! Twilight sings next!” Pinkie shouted.
“C’mon Twilight, it’ll be fun.” Heat said.
“Ok… I’ll do it.” Twilight said as she got up from the couch and grabbed the microphone. She then scrolls through the song list on the karaoke machine, while it took her 2 minutes, she eventually found a song for her to sing. But right before she could play the song, she undid her ponytail, letting her hair loose.
“Twilight removing her ponytail,huh… now this is gonna be very interesting.” Rainbow whispered to Blazing.
"I can't wait to see what she has planned," Blazing whispered back.
After undoing her hair style, Twilight then plays the song on the machine, which soon began with an impressive guitar solo in the beginning. Then soon after, Twilight begins to sing.
Everyone was all taken back by Twilight’s song choice, and were also astonished by her very impressive performance. And out of all of them, Heat was the only one that knew that Twilight was singing this for him. And he can’t help but shed tears by it. The lyrics of the song had everyone filled with love in their hearts and souls.
As soon as the song ended, everyone cheered and clapped for Twilight; although Heat was the loudest out of all of them. Soon he walks over to Twilight and then places his lips onto hers, and Twilight gladly returns his kiss back. The boys shouted "Woo!!!" and the girls went "Awww."
"You were amazing, Twilight!" Heat said, taking his girlfriend with him back to their seat.
"Thanks, Heat. I'm glad you liked it," Twilight replied.
"Guess that leaves me and Starlight. What do you say, wanna go for a duet or do you want one of us to go up there and sing?" Sunset asked.
“You go first, I rather go last.” Starlight replied.
"Are you sure?" Sunset asked.
“Yes, I’m sure.” she replied again.
"Well… okay then, if you insist," Sunset then got up from the couch and searched for the song she wanted to sing. She soon found what she was looking for, but took one more look at all her friends and Eternal Flames. She couldn't help herself in giving them all a warm smile, especially her childhood crush. She then pressed play and gave her friends an amazing show.
Her attention was directed solely onto a certain redhead with fair white skin and sapphire eyes. Eternal felt his face turning red slightly, hearing his crush sing for him. The rest of the group looked over at the big lug, but didn't have it in them to tease him since Eternal's never received this kind of love before in his life. Slowly, but surely, the blush on his face went away and all that remained was a warm smile.
When she finished, Eternal stood up from his seat and clapped for Sunset. She blushed before walking over to Eternal and sat down with him. She nuzzled his shoulder. Eternal wrapped an arm around her and stroked her beautiful bacon hair. Sunset hummed adorably, making Eternal chuckle from how cute she was.
“That was so… beautiful.” Rarity said as she wiped away a few tears in her eyes.
"Astounding! If I were still single I could actually fall for her," Israel said. "But I'm happy with the angel I've got by my side." Soon he gets a boop on his nose from Fluttershy, who was giving him a sly look on her face.
“You better.” She said, which got everyone laughing.
“Ok, before we get ahead of ourselves, I believe it's Starlight’s turn now.” Sunset said.
“YEAH! STARLIGHT! YOU’RE UP!” Pinkie cheered loudly.
Starlight headed over and grabbed the mic. She cleared her throat and looked at her friends. "Before I begin, I'd like to say a few things. I know you all wish to move on from what has occurred 3 days ago. But the thing is… I can’t. For my whole life I had always felt like I didn’t deserve happiness and love. But when I met Princess Twilight, my friends, and… Inferno, I now know that I can also be happy and find love as well. But now… I don’t know if I’ll be happy or be myself again… now that he’s gone. But one thing I know for sure, is that he gave me the opportunity to love, and I'll forever cherish it. So for this song… I’ll sing on the behalf of each and everyone of you, to know that we all deserve to feel love… and i’ll sing… for Inferno.” After giving her heartfelt speech, Starlight then plays the song of her choice. And it wasn’t what anyone expected.
The group, who were filled with happiness earlier, were now filled with grief. But Eternal showed his respect most of all by putting his fist against his heart. His strong brotherly bond towards Inferno still affects him and one way or another, he'll bring him back and reunite him with his loved ones, including his faithful girlfriend. No one can stand seeing Starlight so sad and lonely without her boyfriend.
After her song ended, everyone got up from their seat and gave Starlight a group hug. Starlight can’t help but shed in tears of warmth by her friends comforting her during her time of grieving.
“Thank you so much… everyone.” Starlight barely said as she was feeling comfort by her friends’ group hug.
"We've always got your back. No matter what," Eternal replied.
"Eternal… you're very kind. In a way… you're like the big brother I've always wanted," she said.
"I guess Inferno was right about us… We are one big, happy family.” Pinkie stated.
Later that night, once the festivities were over and everyone went home, Sunset and Eternal had the entire house to themselves. Sunset was dressed in her cute PJs and Eternal was topless, wearing only his black sweats. Both of them were staring out Sunset's window, looking up at the night sky above. Sunset was resting her head on Eternal's lap and he was stroking her head gently while watching the moon shine brightly in the night sky.
"The night sure is peaceful, isn't it?" Eternal asked.
"It sure is," Sunset confirmed with a soft whisper. She then realized something. "Eternal? If you're half demon, doesn't the light emitting from the moon hurt you?"
"Only if we're in Equestria. Because my aunt Luna is in charge of raising and lowering the moon every night, it's natural for it to have traces of her magic. But since we're in the human world and the moon moves on its own, it can't hurt me," Eternal assured. "Now… there's something I gotta say that's been eating me up."
"Really? What is it?" Sunset asked, thinking he's gonna say what she's expecting him to say.
"I… I love you. And… I'm sorry. I never should've been so hard on you that one time when we argued when you sent in Flash and Halo. I acted foolishly. You know I love you very much and I would never do anything to purposely hurt you. Can you find it in your heart to forgive me?" Eternal asked, stroking her cheek.
"Yeah. Of course I forgive you. I love you, too and I'm also sorry for that little incident. I was just blinded by my frustration and didn't consider that your secret was too painful for you to tell me. What do you say we just… forget that ever happened and start over?" Sunset asked.
"If it's with you… then I'm all for it… always," Eternal replied. He put his hand behind her head and picked her up and placed his other arm around her waist. Their eyes turned half-lidded, slowly closing them. They leaned in close to each other and sealed their bond as boyfriend and girlfriend with a passionate kiss on the lips.
With the moon as their witness, it's beautiful rays of light shone down upon the two lovers as if to congratulate them on this blessed evening.
But, little do they know, a sinister plot from a brand new threat was about to unfold back in Equestria's Canterlot. In a secret place, a hooded stallion had a picture of young Eternal Flames pinned on the wall and stabbed it with a knife.
"Just you wait. You'll get yours someday," the stallion said in a deep tone.
