Chapter 15:The Funeral

A few days have passed since the tragic and fateful day, and yet the storm had not subsided yet, a greater storm even appeared to be coming for the city of Canterlot as an event was about to take place at a very special air outside was cold yet calm for the castle of Canterlot, no guards were practicing for today, the entire city for that fact was quiet and looked some what depressed, but no pony could be more depressed for this day than young Heavy Weight.

Within the castle of Canterlot, the royal guards of Canterlot were now mobilizing out the castle doors and traveling down the streets of the city, today was the day of Golden Heart's funeral, and many ponies exited their homes to attend the event to honor the mare. The guards began to disappear into the city and where they were going for the funeral was special, Celestia and Sunset Shimmer were next to step out of the castle doors. Celestia was now wearing a black version of her golden crown along with a casual black dress as well as some black shoes on her hooves. Sunset wore the same type of dress except she only had a small flower bracelet on her left hoof.

The princess and the student were about to leave for the funeral, they listened to the wind and the rolling thunder in the distance, and as they were about to begin walking down the steps to leave the castle, but that was when they realized some pony was missing from the group. Celestia and Sunset stopped cold, Celestia let out a painful and saddened sigh a she turned back to the castle and could see a small pony standing in the door way within the shadows.

"Come on now Heavy... We don't want to be late now,"Celestia said solemnly at the pony in the shadows.

A deep sigh sounded in the door way before the pony came out of the shadow, it was then that Heavy stepped outside wearing a black button shirt and black pants that matched the hollow blackness his eyes now showed. He stared sadly at the princess as he slowly came down the stairs, he then came to a complete stop and suddenly began standing there as his felt himself saddening more and placing a hoof over his heart as it still felt broken.

Sunset Shimmer saw that he was nervous and hurting inside, she quickly walked over to him and hugged him, and to her surprise, Heavy hugged her back and breathed heavily next to her ear as he felt her warm comfort against his cold self. Celestia was next to come over to him and began rubbing his back for further comfort as she saw a tear drop from his cheek.

"Easy now Heavy, every thing is going to be fine, you can do this,"Celestia encourage as Heavy parted from the hug from Sunset.

"*sigh*... Yes princess..."Heavy said in a low tone as he then made for the gate.

The mare and filly followed Heavy closely as the gate was magically opened by the princess, Heavy just kept his head low as if nothing mattered to him now, all these things that were happening before him was unbelievable, but the cold truth was that it's all happening. His mother's dead, his father's dead and now he was alone, the princess and Sunset didn't even mattered to him any more, the only thing that still mattered to him however, was his dream.

They all left the sanctity of the castle and began their journey down the streets of the city with Heavy in the lead, after all Heavy and the guards he told about the place were the only ones who knew where the special place was. Worry still loomed over Celestia as she watched Heavy venture through the streets with his head held low and ignoring the pain in his chest as they listened the crash of thunder in the sky.

As the trio walked quietly down the city streets, all was quiet, the houses and businesses around them appeared to be dead, almost no ponies were on the street this day, the only ones that were watched solemnly as they watched the group pass them. Some of the citizens even poked their heads out of the windows and stared solemnly at them before retreating as they heard the thunder getting louder.

Suddenly Celestia felt a small drop of rain hit her muzzle, they all stopped for a moment and all of them except for Heavy looked up as it began to rain, not wanting to get wet and ruin their outfits, Celestia quickly threw up a mobile shield around her and Sunset. She then noticed that she had forgotten about Heavy, but just as she was about to give him a hoof, she saw that he had already thrown up his own shield and continued on without delay, this only concerned Celestia more as they rushed to catch up with him.

As the minutes passed by, the more Celestia's heart hurt for the colt as she watched him walking alone with only his own magic to protect him from the rain, it was painful enough to lose her captain and beloved friend years ago, but now the wife was gone, and their child was alone. Celestia felt a tear threatening to leave her eyes as they finally arrived at the gate after almost an hour of tireless walking.

Heavy froze right in front of the gate and slowly lifted his head up to look at the obstacle in his path, just as he was about to lift the gate, it became unnecessary as Sunset stood in front of him and was able to raise the gate with her own magic. Heavy looked at Sunset as she struggled a bit with the gate before it was finally opened all the way, the filly then turned to Heavy with a gentle smile before he gave her a blank look along with a nod before beginning to leave again.

The princess and the student both began following Heavy as they all left the city and began departing down the road, after a few minutes of walking, Heavy then suddenly made a sharp turn off on to a small and rigid path way. He managed to maneuver through the path easily as if it was just another day he would go to train with his mother, however, Celestia could not even make her way into the path let alone navigate it, and Sunset could barely figure the place out as she banged against a few rocks and almost slipped and fell down the mountain.

Celestia then decided to just fly around the mountain rather than risk getting herself stuck in the path, she sprouted her wings and took off in the air, she looked to Heavy and Sunset and saw them making their way through the path before departing herself. She flew a good bit as she circled around the mountain, it was not long before she made it to the back of the mountain and could see to her surprise, the special place itself, and it was possibly one of the most beautiful sights in the world.

The massive plain on the side of the mountain was flat and yet full of lushes green grass, the waterfall that appeared to come from the mountain and fall to the large pond at the bottom was sparkling and one of the most beautiful waterfalls she has ever seen. How could such a beautiful place hide itself from her all these years, that is what she asked herself as she then flew down from the sky and made for a landing as she saw all the royal guards in black uniforms as well as a few other noble ponies quietly talking and waiting for the event to begin.

Celestia came to a soft landing in front of the groups of guards and other ponies as the piece of the Canterlot mountain protected them from the rain, the guards and ponies all looked at her with a mix of different looks ranging from stern to sad. Celestia waited for a few moments before they all looked to see Heavy Weight and Sunset Shimmer emerging from the path, they both slowly made their way to Celestia's path while Heavy received a few looks from all the ponies.

They all then turned to the mountain lake where a grave stone laid right in front of the lake as the water fall mist barely brushed against it, next to the grave stone there was a stand with a picture of Golden Heart smiling as if she was smiling at them all. The picture forced another tear from Heavy's eyes as captain Husky suddenly showed up by his side and looked to the colt with a solemn yet stern look before turning towards the picture on the stand.

"To be honest... I really cared about your mother... I thought if I could have just gotten her attention all those years ago, maybe she would actually have liked me, and maybe we could have been so much more... I'm sorry kid..."Husky said as he sigh before walking to the princesses side.

"Whatever... My mom would never notice a jerk stallion like you..."Heavy said under his breathe as he joined Sunset Shimmer and stood by her side.

"So what did he say this time?"Sunset asked quietly as Celestia was about to give her speech.

"He was still trying to say he likes her, but I doubt my mom would have ever wanted to be with some pony like him,"Heavy said before letting out a sigh.

"So what's going to happen with you Heavy?"Sunset asked the colt as he stared firmly yet solemnly into her eyes.

"Princess Celestia is going to let me live with her and you, and I plan on making sure every moment of my day is spent becoming stronger no matter what,"Heavy said as a smile appeared on sunset's face.

"That's great... We get to learn together, and live together,"Sunset said before nuzzling his cheek.

"Yeah... I guess it does,"Heavy said with doubt as Celestia finally began.

"Dearly ponies and royal guard of Canterlot...! We are have gathered her in the most beautiful place imaginable to remember a very beloved mother, and wife!"Celestia announced to the hundreds of ponies that had now lined up perfectly to mourn."Golden Heart...! Wife of captain Mega Weight, and mother of young Heavy Weight now rests here in front of this beautiful waterfall, Heavy...! Tell them all why she is now resting here!"

Heavy looked to the princess as she suddenly began to move to the side, he then took a deep breathe to contain the nervousness and hurt that was mixing within him for this day, he slowly made it to the center of the attention and looked out to all the ponies. He felt tears stinging his eyes as the memories of his mother continued to leak into his mind, but thankfully he was able to hold his own as he began to explain the importance of this place.

"Uh... Hello... Well... This place was first shown to me when I was four, and since then this has been the place where my mom would teach me the basics of magic, this was the place where my love for magic really sparked,"Heavy explained as interested conversations broke out with a few ponies."She told me... That this was also the place where her and dad would practice with their magic, and so... This place was very loved and valued by mom, and... I believe this place is where she would have wanted to be buried."

Finally as Heavy finished his speech, the ponies silenced their conversations as Celestia stood by Heavy's side, she then gave him the signal to go back to Sunset's side as she then once again gathered all eyes on her.

"Thank you Heavy, Now then...! Let us all take a moment of silence to remember Golden Heart as she now rests with her husband in the after life,"Celestia said as they all turned to the grave stone and felt the water fall mist hit their faces."Golden Heart... We wish you were still with us, the kindness and hope you brought to us all and especially to your son, please Golden Heart, rest in the fact that your child is in good hooves, you were so beloved by many, you were a very good mother, and Mega knows it now, since you can now join him in a peaceful afterlife, Goodbye... My dear friend..."

A moment of silence and bowed heads soon followed as the ponies all honored Golden Heart as she now rested well, the captain himself even felt a bit hurt from seeing such and old flame fade away from his heart, he even dared to shed a tear as he fought his sadness to remain strong. Celestia herself couldn't help but shed tears as if she was reliving the painful memory of Mega's funeral all those years ago, and now with the mother gone, their child now only had her for comfort.

Sunset Shimmer herself felt her body tremble with guilt and sadness at the lost of such a loved unicorn, she couldn't help but shed a tear as she listened to the rumble of thunder and the pounding of the rain on top of the mountain. She then began to hear crying which only sadden her more as she turned to the source, she then saw Heavy breaking down as he suddenly began walking towards the grave stone, she tried to go after him, but was then stopped by Celestia as the princess gave her the sign to let him go, and so they both watched as the colt stood in front of his mother's grave crying as he did his best to give final words.

"Mom... I-I'm sorry mom... I wish you were...still here... I don't know...where I-I would have been without you... I... I already miss you... But...I promise that... I'll become the greatest, you said you and dad were within me now... And...I guess that's the best reason to keep going,"Heavy said through sobs as he knelt down before Golden Heart's grave."I will become the greatest unicorn in the world... For you...and for dad...and for me, I'll miss you...mom."

With that said Heavy slowly got to his hooves and walked back to Celestia and Sunset Shimmer with his head held low, and as he made it to their side, another pony decided to give his last words as well. Heavy stood there and watched in silence as ponies began walking up and giving their last words to his mother before leaving and making room for the next, who knew there was so many ponies that knew his mother. It seemed endless as he sat there and making sure there was no more tears, now was a time for Heavy to be strong in these dark times, he had to harden his heart and continue on becoming the strongest.

Sunset didn't even bother to say her last words, she didn't want it to hurt Heavy any more than she could tell he was hurting on the inside, she looked to him and only saw a blank face looking at the grave as she tried to place a hoof on his back. This time however, Heavy slowly moved away from her but kept his sight's locked firmly on his mother's grave, this only made Sunset worry even more for him, suddenly the moment was then ruined as a familiar voice came from behind them both.

"Hey Heavy... Are you doing alright?"Came the voice of an old friend.

Heavy and Sunset both turned to see none other than Shining Armor right behind them wearing a black suit minus the tie and black pants to go with the solemn and yet firm look he had on his face. Heavy seemed a bit surprise to see his friend here after what has happened, he didn't even know that Shining knew what happened to his mother, he let out a sigh as he then noticed that his little friend Twilight was not with them at this time surprisingly enough.

"Hey Shining... I can't believe you actually came here, so... Where's Twilight at, normally I see her tagging around with you,"Heavy questioned as he looked around a bit before facing shining.

"Yeah she doesn't know about all this, she's still a filly yet and I didn't want her to have to experience such things yet, she still talks about you a lot,"Shining said with a slightly firmer voice which raised a bit of suspicion.

"Okay then, I hope she's doing alright, now are you going to tell me what's on your mind now, because I can tell you need to say something to me,"Heavy said as he received a nod from Shining.

"Follow me... I would prefer if we did this in private,"Shining Armor said as he gestured a little away from the crowds.

Heavy nodded in agreement before following Shining away from the crowd while Sunset decided to stay behind and watch them from the crowd, curiosity struck her as she watched the colts venture a good thirty feet from the crowd and almost were in range of the rain. Finally Shining Armor stopped Heavy just as they were an inch from the rain and looked to each other with serious looks, Heavy did not know what was going on, but let out a sigh as if it was no big deal.

"Well... Let me start off by saying I'm sorry about your mom... Me and Twilight never could imagine such a bad thing, nor do we even care to ever experience it,"Shining said while Heavy softened his look at Shining.

"Thanks... It still feels like just a bad dream, i wish i could have had a little more time with her,"Heavy said solemnly while Shining did his best to maintain a stern look.

"Heavy... There's something else I need to tell you, and you're not going to like it..."Shining said while Heavy looked to him with a bit of confusion."Heavy... You and me... We can't be friends any more..."

"What...?! What are you talking about? Why not?!"Heavy questioned in a burst of confusion and sudden anger.

"I saw what happened that night Heavy... I saw what you did to Dark Shine..."Shining Armor suddenly said as Heavy was stricken with shock at Shining's knowing of his little deed he did to Dark."You killed him... Yeah Dark Shine was a mean bully and possibly going to end up a criminal and such, and maybe he would have been just another evil face in Equestria, but he was still a living pony, and you murdered him."

"Then why haven't you told them Shining, is it because your scared or something?"Heavy said in anger at his friends sudden betrayal.

"No... I'm not telling because you lost the only family you have left, and your dream is all you have left, but Heavy... I can't be friends with a murderous monst-"Shining said before Heavy was instantly in his face completely enraged.

"Go on...! Say it Shining Armor... I dare you to say it!"Heavy warned as he suddenly attracted a bit of attention from the crowd.

"You know what I mean Heavy, you're too dangerous to be around now, and so I'm telling you, stay away from me, and stay away from my sister,"Shining warned as he then began to walk away before being stopped by a blue tentacle around his back left leg."Let me go Heavy..."

"You can't tell me who I can and can't see! If me and your sister want to meet at times we can, and I will not be told by a former friend who I can or can't see!"Heavy yelled as attention was growing while Sunset ran to stop the escalating issue.

"It is if that some pony happens to be my little sister, now let go of me!"Shining yelled back before Heavy shoved Sunset out of the way and walked to Shining.

"You ungrateful, sorry excuse for a friend, you would have been nothing without me, I saved you from being turned into a vegetable by Dark Shine, your sister is safe because of me, and this is how you repay me...! You are a terrible friend!"Heavy yelled as he released Shining and suddenly shoved him into a mud puddle getting his suit filthy."If that's how you really feel and that's the way you treat your friends then just...GET OUT! GET OUT OF MY MOMS FUNERAL NOW!"

Shining Armor panted as he struggled against his wet and muddy clothes as he finally got to his hooves, he was now shocked at Heavy's sudden strength and growth as well as a little afraid as he then took off. Heavy watched him leave the special place as fast as he came as he then helped Sunset back up and looked to her with a silent apology, it was then that they realized that they had caught the attention of Celestia who appeared to be a bit worried for them as well as the rest of the crowd.

"Heavy Weight? Are you alright? What was all that about?"Celestia said as she approached him with worry.

"It was nothing really, I just had to deal with some thing stupid, he's leaving now..."Heavy said as he received a hug from Celestia.

"Well alright then Heavy, now come, we must go somewhere to get something to eat, you must be starving and exhausted after today,"Celestia said as she gestured to the crowd that was starting to leave.

"Okay Celestia..."Heavy said as him and sunset began to follow the princess out of the special place.

However, Heavy stopped for a moment and looked back at the place one last time, he still had the memories of this place flooding his mind as his heart still hurt and was now also burning at the betrayal of Shining Armor. He then glared at the place as he hardened his heart even more before turning back and leaving the place with nothing on his mind now but one thing and one thing only. Become the greatest unicorn in all of Equestria, let nothing and no pony stand in his way.

ALRIGHT, TIME FOR A TIME SKIP, JUST A FEW CHAPTERS WITH SUNSET SHIMMER'S DECENT INTO HER DARK WAYS AND LEAVING THE CASTLE BEFORE HEAVY MEETS WITH ANOTHER OLD FRIEND AFTER SIX LONG YEARS.