//------------------------------// // Epilogue - Mankind's Legacy // Story: The LUNA Project // by The Equestrian Gentlecolt //------------------------------// A lone alicorn trotted among the immaculately-kept displays of the Canterlot Royal Museum of History, the late afternoon's lengthening patterns of shadow and light dancing playfully across her deep blue coat. She made her way purposefully, going down a certain aisle, under a particular archway, and directly to a specific exhibit, just as she had done every week for the past year and a half. Just as it had every week for the past year and a half, the crescent moon on its silver chain began to glow in recognition of her. Even after the passage of so many centuries, Doctor William Montgomery's light spell was still going strong. It was an ingenious trick, really. Human-created enchantments had never been known for their longevity, but since this one was designed to be activated by the proximity of a particularly powerful magical being, Doctor Montgomery had taken the simple shortcut of powering it with Luna's own arcane resonance. Between innovations like that one and the distinction of being the only human to ever master unassisted arcane manipulation, it seemed only natural to name him the most important conjurer of the pre-classical era. Not to mention... Luna's gaze drifted to the six pedestals spread evenly around the room. Six intricately-carved statues there paid tribute to humankind's greatest achievement, possibly excepting the royal sisters themselves. Harris and Montgomery's Elements, they had called them. Kindness. Laughter. Generosity. Honesty. Loyalty. Magic. The same elements that allowed the staff of the LUNA Project to work harmoniously together, even in their darkest hours, had been codified and immortalized here. The enchantments were truly powerful ones, but their greatest strength was the same as that simple light spell. Each element, instead of expending its own power, drew on the energy of its wielder. In the hooves of someone whose nature was sympathetic to its own, even a single element could be a very powerful tool indeed. "Visiting the past again, little sister?" The gentle voice startled Luna out of her thoughts, and she turned to see Celestia in the room's arched entryway. The younger alicorn blinked and glanced out the windows, realizing that the sun had set while she had been pondering the objects around her. "So that I may never again forget it," she replied solemnly. Her elder sister entered the room, shaking her head, and settled beside her. Luna squirmed indignantly as a large white wing was laid across her back. "We're not fillies anymore, Celestia," she grumbled. "You can't just... we're Princesses... this is... undignified." Celestia just chuckled in response and pulled the wing tighter. "A wise young unicorn recently told me that having a sister is 'just about the bestest thing in the world.' I'm inclined to agree. But," her tone became more serious, "the same letter reminded me that it also takes teamwork. I think that, in that respect, we have been lax recently." Luna glanced over questioningly, forgetting her indignation for the moment. "Where are you going with this, sister?" The white alicorn didn't answer the question, instead gesturing around them with a foreleg. "The Elements always served us well. Together, we were unstoppable. No matter what beasts stood before us, threatening our little ponies, Harmony prevailed in the end." "Except when the beast was one of us." "Oh Luna," Celestia replied with a sad smile, "the monsters were always born of us, you know that. Our fears, or worries, or jealousy, or anger. It's a consequence of our nature." "But it was only once that one of us become the monster." "So it was, little sister, and without you by my side, I could not overcome it. But I willingly spent a thousand years alone, carefully nurturing and guiding this world down its path, teasing the threads of fate until they produced new bearers for the Elements, just to reach a single moment." Celestia put a hoof under the younger alicorn's chin, lifting it to meet her gaze. "The moment I got my sister back." Luna had known, intellectually, that Celestia's entire gambit had been to imprison the jealous monster until it could be torn away from its host. But to hear her say it, and say it in that way, finally brought the full implications of that truth to light in the younger princess's mind. Her voice was small when she spoke, not the voice of a goddess, but that of a sister awed at the depth of her sibling's love for her. "You did it all for me. Not just to eliminate the threat, not just for Equestria, but... for me." "All for you," Celestia confirmed with a warm smile. "My sister. And my greatest gamble of all paid off, because it was you yourself who ultimately let Harmony back into your heart." Luna looked from her sister to the Elements arranged around them. They were the last relics left to them from those who had been their only family, and at times she could almost feel their spirits in those statues, as vain a fancy as that might be. "They would forgive you too," Celestia said gently. Some last remnant of self-blame finally broke in the young alicorn and she leaned into her sister, burying her face in her flowing aurora of a mane and letting long-held tears wet her cheeks. Celestia simply held her, stroking her back with a hoof until she lifted her head again. "Thank you, big sister," Luna murmured. Celestia smiled at her again, that insufferable know-it-all smile of all big sisters, the one that she always got when one of her carefully-laid plans came to fruition. Luna couldn't even bring herself to glare at her. "You are welcome, little sister. You are always welcome. Now come on." Celestia stood up with sudden briskness, the beginnings of a mischievous grin on her face. "There's a bright young unicorn who's on the verge of harnessing the power of the atom, and I know you've been itching to rekindle the study of long-distance communication. Sending post by dragon is terribly last-millennium, after all. What do you say we gainfully distract him with a special assignment from the Princess of the Night?" "Oh Celestia," the blue alicorn began, but her affectionate rebuke was replaced by a slowly growing smile of her own as she stood. "I missed you." "I missed you too, Luna." And with that, mankind's living legacy spread their wings and took to the starry night sky of their perfect world. There were still other challenges ahead of them, and other beasts would arise to threaten their lands, for nothing is truly perfect, but it would not be untrue to say that they lived happily ever after.