The parade opened with the marching band. Ponies on both sides of the road cheered, crates full of sparklers supplied the crowd with a steady flow of jubilation implements.

After the band came Twilight Sparkle. Her eyes were red but she smiled. Behind her walked the other Equestrian Princesses, regal and elegant despite the colorful bedlam that had invaded the city.

Then came the coffin held up by a cadre of pegasi with satin bands. The Wonderbolts flew over, crisscrossing the sky with bright smoke trails.

Gargantuan floats followed, flowers and paper mache creating towering structures and hosting dancing ponies. Candies and other sweets were rained on partying ponies all around.

They stopped in the central square. The floats rolled around to form a rough circle. The largest one opened up and became a stage. The band climbed up on it and continued to play.

Food carts were set up and began to serve hungry ponies.

The day became night, foals were put to bed in a large tent full of pillows far from the confusion. Juice became the company of spirits and flower-wines. The band was replaced by a pair of twins with DJ equipment. 

Suggestively dressed stallions and mares appeared on the various smaller stages that had sprouted around the square. There was hollering, cheering and at least two almost-heart-failures.

Princess Twilight whirled around with Princess Celestia, both with bright blushing faces, their movements slightly uncoordinated.

From the roof of the town hall a dark figure observed the proceedings. A black cloak covered its features. It radiated a sense of thinness and unreality that was almost physically perceptible. The empty hood turned from side to the other.

Then it spoke, the words defined by subtraction and not by sound. "You are not an old and cranky business pony."

"Nope."

"And this is not Heartwarming Eve."

"Nuh-uh."

The figure turned to its side where a half transparent pink pony with a poofy mane floated. "This is slightly embarrassing. You didn't by any chance receive the visit of two other spirits before me, right?"

"Sorry but no."

"You could have told me you were the wrong pony."

"I didn't want to disappoint you, you were so grumpy and I thought that I maybe could cheer you up and help you and so I said to myself 'Why do not go along, it could be fun!' and so I..."

"Yes, yes, I get it. I don't understand how I could have made this mistake. I turned zorfward at the fifth tachionic coagulation and...."

"There was some kind timey-wimey cook up a few months ago. Twilight fixed it and we got a new friend, but I think it left a bit of a mess behind."

The figure raised a bony hoof and scratched its hood. "That may explain it." It sighed, a sound that could be roughly approximated as what one could hear listening to a mountain grinding down to become a desert. "Did you at least learn something from this or was it a wasted travel?"

"Well, I'll have to order far more Minoian juniper brandy, seems it's more popular than I thought. I'll also have to order more red candies for my glass coffin, there was a color imbalance. And I'll have to leave out the mimes, no idea what I will be thinking there. There are few more things I can improve here and there." Pinkie turned to the ephemeral figure. "So thank you a lot, now I can make it a even more bigger-better-funnier-squish the sadness-goodbye Pinkie party than before."

The spirit stared at the smiling pony and shrugged. "Eh, good enough."