I follow them.
Outside the library, more ponies join the group. Nopony says anything. Twilight asks for more details, but the Mayor does not answer.
They go towards the Everfree Forest.
They enter the forest through a wide path. The unicorns in the group lighten the way with their magic.
The path is long. Above them, the trees block the sunlight. The cold wind makes them shiver.
The path narrows. The group is now walking single file. I fly above them.
Twilight is getting impatient. “Please, Mayor, tell me what happened to her!”
The Mayor looks away from Twilight, and does not answer.
The terrain is now irregular. Some of the branches around the path are broken.
They arrive at a small clearing, where more ponies are waiting. The Mayor and her group stop at the edge of the clearing, and she gestures for Twilight to enter.
She enters, followed by Spike, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash. I follow behind them.
Twilight freezes when she sees what is in the middle of the clearing. She runs towards it, followed by the others.
I follow them. In the middle of the clearing, I see myself.
-*-*-*-
I woke up. The morning sun shined through the window. My little birds were playing a happy tune. I yawned.
I got out of my bed. I went to my dresser, and brushed my mane.
I went down to my kitchen and prepared a nutritive breakfast for myself. After eating it and brushing my teeth, I prepared a special breakfast for all my animals, with the food that I had bought at the market the previous day.
I gave breakfast to each one of my little animals.
The ferret was still sick. I was getting worried.
-*-*-*-
“Wake up, Fluttershy! Wake up!” Spike is shaking my body, trying to wake me up.
Am I dead?
The Mayor and her group enter the clearing. Gently, they lead each of my friends out of the clearing.
The path back to Ponyville is long, dark, and cold.
-*-*-*-
All the citizens of Ponyville are here.
My body is within an ornamented coffin, filled with many kinds of flowers. The coffin is open, covered only with a thin white veil.
“Why? Why did she have to die? She was so young!” Rarity is making a scene, wearing an elegant black dress, and crying into a handkerchief.
She is not the only one wearing an elegant black dress. She worked all night to make five matching black dresses.
The pegasi also worked hard to clear the sky. There is no cloud in sight.
One by one, each pony approaches my body, says something to it, and goes back to their place in the crowd. I hover over my body, to listen to what they say.
Applejack, Apple Bloom, and Big Macintosh approach my body.
“Now you say goodbye to her,” says Applejack to Apple Bloom.
“I'm sorry for that time I made a big mess in your house. If you hadn't saved us, I would be a stone statue today.”
“Fluttershy, you were a very good friend. You were a beam of light to our lives with your kindness. I'm sad to see you go. Goodbye, Fluttershy.”
Big Macintosh says nothing. He is always the quiet one. He only sheds a single tear, and goes back with Applejack and Apple Bloom.
Rainbow Dash approaches my body, her face completely hidden by the veil of her dress. She whispers to me, “I liked hanging out with you. Goodbye.”
Pinkie Pie approaches my body. Below the dress she is wearing, her normally poofy mane is completely flat. She says nothing; instead, she lifts a corner of the veil covering the coffin, and puts three deflated baloons in the middle of the flowers. She stays for a few more moments, and goes back to near Mr. and Mrs. Cake.
In the middle of the crowd, I notice Celestia and Luna, both wearing very elegant old-fashioned black dresses.
Rarity approaches the coffin, prodded by her sister.
She cries loudly. “You are the best friend that I have! You are an inspiration to everypony! How can we live without you?”
Suddenly, she faints.
Nurse Redheart drags her away from the coffin.
“Sorry for my sister. Thanks for everything you did for us. Goodbye.” Sweetie Belle goes back to her sister, now awake and crying again.
I see Celestia talking to Twilight Sparkle, and fly to them to hear what they are saying.
“Why did she have to die?” asks Twilight.
“The birth of a pony, and the death of a pony, are the greatest mysteries of nature. I have seen both happen many, many times, Twilight Sparkle. But even with all my experience, this never gets any easier.”
“She was one of the first friends I ever had. She was one of the ponies who taught me the magic of friendship. And now... she is gone. She is...”
Twilight loses her voice, tears streaming through her face. Celestia tenderly embraces her and Spike with her wing.
I see Luna at the edge of the crowd, crying silently.
I fly back to the coffin. A mare who I do not know is there, together with her two foals, a green filly and a blue colt.
“Many thanks. If it weren't for you, I don't know what I would have done.”
Many other ponies approach my body. They apologize for the times they did bad things to me, thank me for the times I helped them, and say their goodbyes, each in their own way.
Finally, Twilight Sparkle comes near the coffin, followed by Celestia, Luna, and Spike. She looks at my body tearfully, whispers “Goodbye,” and turns to the crowd.
“When I first came to Ponyville, I did not know the meaning of friendship. In this town, I met five friends, who taught me all that I now know about it. They are Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Fluttershy.
“Today, one of them is no longer among us. I believe that all of us who are here today had their lives touched by her sweetness, by her gentleness, by her kindness. What she left us will be with us for our whole lives.
“Rest forever, my good friend. Goodbye.”
Two ponies get the lid of the coffin, and nail it in place. They lift the coffin, and carry it to a hole they dug in the ground. Using a pair of ropes, they lower it slowly, while all the ponies watch.
They throw a shovelful of soil over the coffin. Then another, and another, and another. Slowly, the coffin is covered, and the hole filled.
They place a stone in front of the hole. In it is written my name.
Fluttershy. Rest in peace.