//------------------------------//
// Chapter 17-Still Hope 
// Story: Dystopia: Equestria 
// by Creativa-Artly01 
//------------------------------//

Three days after Coalter and Melody's wedding, Twilight gets news from the alicorn kingdom. It's a letter from Celestia and Luna. "Dear Twilight," reads Twilight, "we are glad to inform you that we are happy here. We are both newly married to alicorn males named Star Dust and Galaxy. We're also aunts now for real as Star Streak and his wife just had a son. His name is Julius and he is just the cutest thing ever. We miss you and are sorry for all we did to you. We're seriously sorry though in all honesty. When we were Nightmare Moon and Daybreaker, all our logic and sanity was gone. We're sorry we killed your friends. We're sorry we desolated the planet. Sorry, we killed so many ponies. I hope you can learn to forgive us. I hope the ponies can learn to forgive us. How are you doing ruling Equestria on your own? Your mentors, your friends, Cele and Luna." 

Twilight then bows her head and cries. She's glad they're sorry for all they did but she knows the ponies aren't ready to forgive them for their deeds quite yet. However, as for Twilight herself, she forgave the two long ago. She can agree on one thing, there's still hope in this world, this world clouded with dust and ashes, and for her, that means everything. 

A few minutes later, Twilight is interrupted by Moondancer. "Hey Twilight," said Moondancer, "come outside. There are two ponies who want to see you." Twilight then nods and follows Moondancer outside. Once outside, Twilight is greeted by the two newlyweds. 

"Hey Coalter, hey Melody, how are you two doing?" says Twilight with a smile.

"We're doing well," responds the newlywed couple. 

"You had a beautiful wedding three days ago," responds Twilight.

"Thanks," replies Coalter. 

"That's so sweet of you to say," adds Melody. 

Twilight then invites the two inside and she, the newlyweds, and Moondancer then sit down to lunch together. Over lunch, they talk about things, share jokes, share stories, and most importantly, share laughs. As Twilight looks at Coalter and Melody, she smiles and whispers to herself, "there's still hope in this world." She then takes a sip of her coffee and continues to tell all her stories. A few hours later, the young married couple leaves the castle and returns to their home. Once they're at home, Melody breaks the news to Coalter. 

"Honey, I'm pregnant, we're going to be parents!" 

"Oh joy!" he says as he swings her off her feet and into the air. "I can't wait to be a father!" 

"And I can't wait to be a mother," says Melody giggling and smiling with tears of joy streaming out her eyes. "I just wish the world our child is going to enter wasn't a barren wasteland." 

"I know," says Coalter placing her down on the couch and sitting beside her. He wipes the tears from her eyes. "But, at least, he or she will have us. The foal with have a family that loves it. That's what really matters."

"I guess so," responds Melody, a small smile appearing on her face. Coalter then embraces her in a hug and continues to stroke her mane and comfort her. He knows she's right. Their child is going to enter a world that is destroyed, desolate, one of ashes. That's not the place you want to raise a child in. Alas, they know there's nothing they can do to change that. 

Meanwhile, back in the alicorn kingdom, Celestia and Luna are happily playing with their nephew, Julius. As they play with him, they can't help but smile. They're happy now and they wouldn't change that for the world. Alas, they still know deep down inside, that they can never win back the ponies of Equestria that they once used to rule. They killed so many. They hurt others. Right now, though, they just want to push that out of their minds because their nephew doesn't know that they ever did any of that. He doesn't know that they used to be evil tyrants. All he knows is that they're his aunts and he loves him. To the sisters, that means everything. Julius and Star Streak are the only things that keep them sane, that keep them at bay, and for that, they are grateful. They also have to admit that family is a powerful thing. That's a lesson they've been needing to relearn for quite a long time and now that they've relearned that fact, they cannot deny the truth behind it. Family is powerful and that means the world to them.