//------------------------------// // Epilogue: Dear Princess Celestia // Story: That Sunlit Glow // by Tiger|Pony //------------------------------// Dear Princess Celestia... ----- "Is it alright to send stuff like this, Twilight? I mean, she asked for friendship reports, not... y'know..." "I asked her about this a while ago, Rainbow. She said, and I'm quoting straight from the horse's mouth here, that she 'wished it was still a thousand years ago, when ponies had more than one word for love'. She sounded almost... sad." "...huh?" "She said that friendship is a kind of love and love is a kind of friendship, and anyway, she hadn't heard from either of you in a while." "..." "Fine, she said she'd banish you if you didn't send something to prove you were learning from it." ----- It's hard enough to know who we are in this world, even with our special talents to guide us. When we find out that there's somepony who wants to share our world with us as more than a simple friend, it can be a surprise. And there's nopony to tell us how to live together or make each other happy every single day, so it's too easy to worry that we're doing it wrong. It can be hard to tell them how we really feel all the time. We can be so afraid of hurting them that we hide the things that made them love us in the first place, or we can try too hard to show our love, so that we forget the simple pleasure of relaxing in each other's company. ----- "Oh, that's good..." "How about...?" "Oh, Flutters..." "Is that...?" "Oh, have you been reading up on this?" "Maybe..." "Oh, Flutters, I told you reading was awesome..." Crack. "Aah! Oh, there it is... there it is... oh, Aloe and Lotus got nothin' on those hooves..." ----- And nopony can spend all their life in the company of just one other. Ponies have to have friends to meet up with and chill out with, to indulge those parts of themselves that their partners aren't into. And there's nothing wrong with that either - that's what friends are for! If they're really friends, they won't judge you by who you call your special somepony. Do the right thing, and trust your friends to do the same, and you won't go wrong. ----- "Who's the bride?" "Hey! Whaddaya mean, who's the bride?" "I mean... who is wearing the suit and who is wearing the dress? It makes a difference, Rainbow Dash!" "Maybe we're both the suit! How's about that? Wouldn't that be cool? Huh? Huh?" "I... but... fine! You can both be the suit! Beasts!" Slam. "Rainbow..." "What." "Didn't we both want dresses? I mean, I don't mind if you've changed your mind but I'd still quite like one..." "This is one of those times I should say sorry, isn't it?" "Maybe." "I hate those times." ----- We guess we're trying to say that falling in love is the most wonderful, spectacular, and 120% awesome thing that can happen to anypony, but it's not easy. Just like a good friendship, a romantic relationship takes care and attention, self-control, compromise, and sometimes, time alone to be by yourself. And just like a good friendship, with all that attention paid to it, love is the most rewarding thing in the world. ----- "Of course I knew, silly!" "...you knew?" "Well, duh! You don't get to be Ponyville's première party planner without seeing who's looking at who and how! And you two were making eyes at each other way back. It was like 'Oh come get me Rainbow Dash!' Flutterflutterflutter! And you were all like 'Grr I'm so cool and aloof' - and everypony knows that's a warning sign, so when you stopped being all cool and aloof, it was obvious that one of you must have tried to take it a step further, and since you weren't avoiding each other all the time, it was obvious that it must have worked!" Breathe. "And then there was that time in the hayloft and the time with the watermelon and that thing that happened in the place-" "-so who the hay else is a thing?" "Uh-uh, Rainbow Dash! I'm not a gossip! Relationship news is strictly covered by Triple-P Protocol." "But... why didn't you say you knew? When I came to you? Why did you act like you didn't know anything?" "I did no such thing!" "...but you were... talking about a coming-out party..." "Of course! You told me you were in love with a mare! It doesn't matter that I knew already - you'd told me! That means you were coming out! That means it's time for a party! And it still is!" "...Pinkie Pie, you really gotta explain yourself better sometimes..." ----- Thank you, Princess Celestia, for the sun which shines from my heart when I see her face. Thank you, Princess Celestia, for the sun which sparkles from her smile when I make her laugh. ----- "Aw, you'da done the same fer me, sugarcube." "I don't know... but thank you anyway. Without you, she'd never have come back." "Hay ta that! Y'all're meant fer each other. Y'all go together like rose 'n cucumber." "Rose and... cucumber?" "...ah guess that's just a thing ah eat, then. D-don't you, uh, pay that no never-mind..." "Oh, well, I've never heard of it, but that doesn't mean it's not perfectly delicious..." Snicker. "So... Rainbow said you had a secret drink which made everything right again." "The good stuff? Yeah, that ain't really got a name... Twilight said we should call it 'Eudaiponia', but ah figured that was jus' Twi havin' one o' them jokes with herself again." "Oh... erm... well... if it's so nice, I was wondering... maybe..." "It don't work like that, ah'm sad ta say. Ah meant what ah said to her: it really is earth pony magic..." ----- P.S. If you get a minute off, you should come and see the Sky Garden sometime. I insist. No matter what my silly-filly marefriend might say. I am quite proud of it, but only- Finally! ----- "There, I've stopped the quill. Would you like to have your argument now?" "If you're so proud of it, why don't you want to show it to the Princess?" "I just don't think it's worth her spending a whole day when she has the whole of Equestria to run..." "She came out to trick you into a tizzy about her stupid firebird! It's about high time we played a trick on her!" "Er, Rainbow Dash, no playing tricks on the pony who controls the sun please." "Aww, Twi-" "No buts." "I agree with Twilight. In fact, I think we should apologise. Can you do the magic again?" ----- We're sorry for having an argument all over our letter to you, Princess Celestia. We're sorry for having an argument all over our letter to you, Princess Celestia, now will you please just send this, Twilight? ----- "Flutters?" "Hmm?" "Will you always..." "...yes." "Always?" "Yes." "...okay." And they did. Always. ----- ----- ----- Author's Notes: I cannot consciously remember all the fanon I've referenced here - a lot of it kinda blends together - but I've credited what I can. Sorry about that, and please, feel free to email me if you think I've referenced something of yours without credit. Lyra being a little weird seems to be a thing that writers play with everywhere you look, but the well-done concept fic Anthropology deserves a mention anyway. So does the absolutely beautiful Yours Truly, which, though I am a pale imitation, was an inspiration toward writing this. The mental image of Pinkie Pie singing Electric Six's Gay Bar was one of the things that gave this fic its structure. Siisi is Egyptian Arabic for "pony". You go with what you know. The single most thrilling game of Exalted I've ever heard recounted, Ponies Make War, leant a small idea in Chapter 4. Also, I can't help but feel that had the show actually been the magical-girl anime it was originally conceived as, this might be a grimdark version of how it would have turned out... Please, someone make The Jockey Horror Show. Otherwise I'll have to. The excellent song Rainbow Blues by Mysteriousbronie gave me juice to continue while I was having trouble with this. Thank you. I may have stolen a line. I hope you don't mind. A drabble to the first pony to identify the source of "Maybe later, blue," without Googling it.