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// Epilouge: Farewell to Maretonia 
// Story: Meet me in Maretonia 
// by Paradise Oasis 
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"All of you need not worry." The duke told the six ponies, who had gathered in his throne room. "The few surviving griffins have been sent back to their homeland, and their kind won't be returning here to cause trouble again."

It had been two weeks since the attempted coup of the Maretonian government had failed, and everything was slowly returning to normal. The ponies in the kingdom had been shocked to learn that their duchess was an alicorn, but most of them had come to embrace this amazing fact, proud and happy to be one of only three nations on the planet to be ruled by a winged unicorn. The Maretonians took it in stride, as the took all such new or shocking revelations. 

"I am eternally grateful my name has been cleared, your majesties." Watercolor declared with a smile, bowing again to the duke and duchess. "And I sincerely hope you lock that nasty old enchanted mirror away forever!"

"Don't worry, we'll make sure it never troubles the ponies of Maretonia again." The duchess assured her, before turning to Pepperdance. "Noble Jaguar knight of our court, I am pleased to see you well on the road to recovery. I just hope you'll take some time off from your duties here at court.

"Oh, but of course,  mi emperatriz. I will most certainly be taking some time off to recover." He replied, gently touching the bandaged wound at his side. "In fact, seniorita Flair has invited me to watch over her family's hacienda, when she returns home to Ponyville."

"Wait, you mean Fiesta's not staying here?" Fresco asked in surprise, turning to the other mare. "I thought you came here to 'discover who you are' and all that."

"Si, Fresco, I did discover who I am here. And I learned about mi familia, an why they left Maretonia." Fiesta agreed, smiling at him. "But now, it's time to go home to Ponyville, and see all of my friends back there again."

"Well, you two might be going back, but I think I'll be staying here in Maretonia for awhile before I go home." Watercolor added, moving to stand beside Pepperdance. "Pepper invited to stay at Hacienda Flair for awhile, and I think it would be a quiet and tranquil place to work on my art."

"Well, after Fresco and Watercolor finish your restoration projects here in the city, I really hope all of you will stay here another two weeks for the most important Maretonian celebration of the entire year." Moonlight replied, looking at all of her new friends hopefully. "It would be a shame if you all went home, and missed this beautiful and solemn event."

"Really?" Watercolor asked, curious. "What is this amazing celebration?" 

"It is dia del muerte- the day of the dead." The prince added, looking around at the others. "It is the day we honor the spirits of our ancestors, and those long gone..."

two weeks later....

It was such a beautiful evening for a celebration.

It had been several weeks since Bfifdo and the griffin's failed coup, and the time for one of Maretonia most sacred celebrations had come. The Day of the Deceased, a day when the ponies of Maretonia honored the dead ancestors and loved ones. It was considered by many to be the most holy of holidays on the nation's calendar, and the three guests from foreign lands felt truly honored to be taking part in this celebration.

"The making of the altars begins a week prior." Moonlight explained, as she showed Fresco and Watercolor how to put a day of the deceased shrine together. All of the altars are homemade, even if they are going to be displayed in a public place."

"Wow, that really neat!" Fresco added, looking over the two altars Moonlight and Sunny were putting together. "I've never sen such careful craftsmanship out of a pony who wasn't an artist!" 

All around them, ponies throughout the cemetery were at their own altars; lighting candles, leaving food, and setting up pictures of their dead loved loved ones, all the while saying prayers, and talking to those that had passed on.  But much to Fresco and watercolor's surprise, no one seemed to be crying or sad about the loved ones they lost.

"Sunny, why isn't anyone here grieving?" Fresco asked the prince. "Isn't this a memorial to the family they lost?" 

"No, Fresco, you misunderstand." The prince replied, shaking his head. "This isn't a time of sadness, it is a time of celebration! For this one night, the spirits of the dead come back to the earth, and spend time with their loved ones. We set up these shrines to welcome them back, because we are happy to see them again."

Fresco didn't know what to say to that, and simply looked away as Moonlight and Sunny continued to explain the holiday. Looking around the cemetery, he saw Fiesta over in her own little corner, setting up her own alter with candles and food.

"So, you're getting in on the spirit of things too, huh?" The stallion asked, trotting up to her altar. "I never knew you were into this, too."

"Oh si, I always set up de altar to mi familia." Fiesta replied with a smile. "I always just did it at my house in Ponyville, so nobody would think I was weird or anything."

"Well, it's nice you honor your family this way." The stallion replied, looking at the gathered crowds all around him. "Even if you can't see them, you always know they are there."

"Not seeing our dead loved ones? Uhhhh, Fresco?" Fiesta looked up at him, shaking her head. "I don't think you really know what is about to happen...."

And all at once... it happened.

Suddenly, one by one, the incorporeal forms of the spirits of dead ponies began to appear, each standing next to the family of loved ones who had built altars to the deceased equines. Fresco didn't notice it at first, but when the stallion looked up, he saw thousands of skeletal ponies he could see right through, wearing different styles of clothing from different eras, and all with different cuite marks and manes.

"Ummm, Fiesta?" He mutter nervously, as he spotted more and more specters appearing. "There are a lot of ghosts here... definitely a lot of ghosts..."

But as he looked back at Fiesta, he saw there were two ghosts-  a mare and a stallion- standing right next to fiesta. but she did not look up or speak to them; rather, it was as if some kind of unspoken, unseen communication was going on between them. As if the spirits and Fiesta could talk to one another, see one another, and share a visit, without even moving or uttering a word.It was almost as if the dead ponies were alive again, and the veil separating life and afterlife melted away, and the families separated by it could be whole again, at least for a little while. 

And for the first time, Fresco finally understood why Fiesta had come back here, why she had returned to learn about her past. Because that past was as much a living part of her as the present was, and like these ghosts, it would stay with her all the days of her life. Maretonia was a part of who she was, and it would be this shadow of their history- their heritage- that guided her, and all the ponies of this land into their futures. Even as one generation passed into the next, those who had come before, and what they accomplished in their lives- would always be remembered and honored.

Such is the way of Maretonia.

-El Fin-