Epilogue
Home Again
The sun rose in a suburb of Muncie, Indiana, somehow more radiant that usual.
Gently, its rays peered into the bedroom of Jon Arbuckle, waking him from his sleep.
Jon stretched and yawned, but kept his eyes shut, relishing the feeling of his soft bed and his warm sheets. He felt like maybe he would keep lulling around in bed all day. Call in sick to work and enjoy some extra time off. After the adventure he just had, he felt like he and his pets deserved the rest.
"GOOD MOOOOOOOOORNING, JON!!!"
Jon's peace was interrupted by a sudden blast of party horns. He jumped upright, and was greeted by Garfield, who was wearing a pink party hat, and throwing handfuls of confetti left and right.
"Welcome to your new and improved, super-special, fantabulous fun-filled day! Where you rise above the crowd and give dorks worldwide hope to be as special as you," Garfield cheered.
It looked like sleeping in would have to wait. "Good morning, Garfield. You know this is the only reason I keep you," Jon deadpanned.
"And what a lucky little geek you are, Jon! Now, let's go! The birds are a-chirpin', the morning dew's a-glimmerin', and the mailman's in for a serious a-pummelin' in an hour. So come on, I got a schedule to keep," Garfield said as he grabbed his owner's hand and pulled him out of bed.
With little other choice, Jon followed Garfield downstairs to the kitchen to begin his day with breakfast. But when he got to the kitchen door, he stopped at what he saw.
"Ta-dah," Odie said as he indicated the feast before him. Over night, his pets had prepared an entire breakfast feast.
Hot, buttery French toast was laid out next to a giant stack of pancakes. Bacon and eggs had been arranged on their plates into little smiley faces. Sausage was stacked up next to a plate of fresh, fluffy biscuits, next to a pan of steaming hot gravy.
Jon was impressed, to say the least. His pets never made breakfast for him before, and how they managed this in such a short time was beyond him. "What is all of this," he asked.
"Why, it's the biggest, baddest, breakfast-est breakfast buffet there ever was, you silly neener-head," Garfield answered as he and Odie pushed Jon into his seat.
Jon prepared a plate for himself, while his pets dove into the food. Normally, Jon would have been irritated by that, but he was too focused on enjoying his breakfast to care.
Their meal passed in relative peace, until once again, they saw a twinkling light appear, this time over the table.
"Oh boy, I hope this is just a friendly visit," Jon said as he put his fork down.
"Indeed it is, Jon," came the stellar horse's voice from the twinkle.
"Jeez, that a relief," Garfield said. "I have a lot of napping and gorging to catch up on."
"I've come here to let you know just what you have accomplished in your travels. For if you are to truly understand your new responsibilities, you need to see what you see the affects of your actions," the light explained, as it expanded to the size of the table.
Garfield and Odie saved as much food as they could before it was enveloped by the light.
With a glimmer, images slowly appeared on the surface of the light, indistinguishable at first, but slowly, they took the shape of a town that Jon didn't recognize. Garfield and Odie, however, knew it as the town where they met their new friends.
"Though we often don't realize it, we have an affect on everyone we meet in our lives, even if for a brief time. We can make them realize the value of their very existence."
They saw Fluttershy at her cottage, taking care of the animals who lived there. She was in the dog kennel, where she saw each of the dogs playing together in a mishmash of energetic mayhem.
She reached into her feathers, and produced a red and yellow ball, which made a familiar 'dingle-dingle' noise when she shook it. The noise alone made all of the dogs line up in a neat little row, each one eager to play with the new toy.
"We can push them to new limits."
The scene changed to show Pinkie in the kitchen of the bakery, where she was busy at work replicating the pastries she made for Garfield when he first arrived. But this time, she was trying to perfect them, to make them even better when she saw him again. However, she paused briefly, to take a guzzle of soda, before letting loose a loud burp. The bowl on the counter rattled slightly, but she still hadn't blown a hole in the wall.
"We can even open them to new possibilities."
In the Carousel Boutique, Rarity was stocking her display room with clothes that would appeal to any dork, geek or nerd who walked in. She was just finished with placing some polo shirts next to a stack of flood pants, when she turned her attention to the newest ponnequin in her shop.
It was set up by the display window, and dressed in a blue oxford shirt, and a pair of brown corduroys. She dusted it off for what must have been the tenth time that day, before she returned to her duties.
"Through only a short time, we can bring endless amounts of joy to others."
Back in the village of griffins, a banner showed that Schnitzel-Fest had been extended for another day.
In the streets, the griffins danced joyously as they shared their beloved dish with one another, laughing and reveling in the merriment.
Greta was standing with a group of griffin chicks from the school, and teaching them about the pony who saved their beloved holiday. On the table next to her, she showed them all a painting of a tall, muscular version of Jon, standing atop the fallen forms of both the mayor and Knuckle Duster.
Across the fountain square, the mayor grumbled as he saw the painting from his station, where he was busy frying new pans of schnitzel for the griffins to buy. He was about to throw a plate at the painting until he remembered that just behind him, Knuckle Duster stood at the ready, patting his baseball bat in his palm, in case the mayor got any ideas about causing any more trouble.
"And we can inspire others to spread that joy in return."
The scene changed to Canterlot park, where Pratfall was performing for a crowd. At the very front were Spring Flower, his mom, and his dad, who had finally come home.
At the moment, the colt was busy digging through his oversized top coat, pullout out various items that should not have fit in there in the first place.
A floor lamp, a bar stool, a film reel, a walking stick, and even a lit blowtorch, which he quickly tossed away with a frightened shout. Each item produced from the coat, produced another laugh from the audience. And Garfield knew that in time, the kid was going to go very far.
"He should. I taught him how to be funny," he said.
"Through our actions, we can reforge the bonds of friendship."
In a dusty town out west, they all saw a train full of various items being drawn by a whole herd of ponies.
Braeburn walked up the line from the back to the front, making sure that none of the bandits were getting out of line.
At the front of the rows, both Fritter and Desert Rose were kissing away.
Braeburn was about to remind them that they had a job to do, but decided that he could let them enjoy their time together.
But it was ended abruptly when Jon's turkey friend landed on top of Fritter's head and started pecking them both. It then hopped to the ground, and gobbled angrily as it pointed with one wing in the direction of the next nearest town.
They could wait a little longer. The town wasn't that far anyway. As they trudged down the tracks, the turkey pecked at each one of the bandits as they walked by to repay them for stuffing him in that tiny compartment with all those other birds.
"And sometimes help it blossom into something greater."
The scene changed to a snowy kingdom, which looked entirely made of crystals, as did the ponies living there. The view traveled through the snowy streets, until it came to a large castle. It traversed the halls, until it reached the library.
Odie barked excitedly when he saw his friend Violet walk through the doorway and look around the room. She was wearing saddlebags with her journal in it, as well as the dancer figurine, and the now-framed picture of her and Lucky Star. Around her neck was the necklace he bought for her.
After she scanned the room, she saw her friend behind a desk, rummaging through a drawer. She cautiously approached him, and unsurely cleared her throat.
Lucky Star looked up, and briefly froze when he saw her. After the initial shock, he rushed out from behind his desk and tightly embraced his friend. When he saw the necklace she was wearing, he knew her answer.
The next thing they all knew, Violet and Lucky were kissing, ready to share their lives together forever.
"But through it all, we must never forget those who are precious to us."
They all saw an island in the ocean, where Lyman was helping a group of ponies to lift the wooden framework of a storehouse for their vegetables. The job finished much quicker when Blowhard tilted it upright with his snout.
Nearby, the ocean dragon was arriving at the docks. The passengers it was ferrying all had supplies they gathered from the neighboring islands, ready to help with the various projects that would make life better for them all.
Then, they watched as all of the scenes arranged themselves together so that they could all be seen together. In all of the pictures, they saw what they had done to others, and how they had enriched the lives of the ones they met. It was all a reflection of how they affected one another during the many years they were together. And now, they had the joyous task of spreading it to others.
The light knew that its message had reached them. Slowly, the images faded, and the light began to dim.
"Remember the magic that you all possess. And stay true to one another, always."
With those last words, the light disappeared from their home.
They all sat, and wondered how they were going to carry out their new roles. It was a scary step, but also wonderful and exciting.
The entire thing had given Jon the greatest idea.
Before his camping trip, he dated a struggling cartoonist named Lauren, who was trying to come up with ideas for a TV show with themes of friendship and harmony. When Jon laughed at her (admittedly terrible) ideas, their dated ended with him in a headlock and iced coffee being poured down his pants.
Now, he felt like he had a chance to make up for his mistake, and pitch an idea to her about a magical land inhabited by ponies. And who knew, maybe he could patch things up with her and take her out again?
With that in mind, Jon quickly scarfed down his breakfast, and ran upstairs to get dressed before he started his new day.
"Looks like someone's motivated," Garfield said as he and Odie watched Jon practically fly upstairs. "I guess that we should start working too."
Odie thought that Garfield was right, but then his gaze started zipping back and forth between Garfield, and the food on the table.
"Good point," Garfield said, before he and Odie both stood up and dove into the food.
THE END