//------------------------------//
// Epilogue 
// Story: Caught and Punished 
// by ThePinkedWonder 
//------------------------------//

*Starlight's POV, first-person*

A lot has happened over the last two years. One year ago, Twilight opened a friendship school and picked Pinkie, Rainbow, Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow to be her teachers; I was the school's Guidance Counselor. If he were still here, I’m sure Sam would have teased Twilight about opening a school just so she could teach how to give “corny” friendship speeches. Twilight even said the same thing. Next to Sam being a great guy, I think that's what she misses the most about him.

But as for that school, two months ago, Twilight entrusted her school to me when she took over for Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, so she is now the ruler of Equestria and has moved back to Canterlot. I can hardly believe that I, Starlight Glimmer, the mare that once stole Cutie Marks under a misguided view of friendship, went on to become the Headmare of a school for friendship that teaches it the right way! Did I change for what?

Something about me that didn’t change is that I still stayed in Sam’s, or my, house. His dad’s chair stayed in the same spot in the living room as always, and NO ONE sat in or even touched it. I became almost as protective of that chair as he was, but I never sat in it. I also took an idea that Sam had joked about and opened my own kite-making business in Ponyville (Rarity give me tips on how to run your own businesses) but I still needed to find someone to run it for me permanently. I would maybe think about asking Trixie, who I’m very close with now, but she’s Twilight's--uh, my school’s Guidance Counselor, and Sunburst’s the vice-Headstallion.

Things weren't all good over the last two years, though. We had to face more threats. One that was definitely the most surprising was a pegasus filly named Cozy Glow, a former student of the school, who tried to get rid of all the magic in Equestria. I still can’t believe I didn’t see the signs that she wasn’t the sweet filly she acted.

If that wasn’t enough, later on she, along with Chrysalis and Tirek, attacked Canterlot and nearly succeeded in taking over Equestria, or possibly even worse. Luckily, they were stopped and are now in stone.

To be honest, I have mixed feelings about Cozy being in stone. She was awful, but she was still just a filly. However, I’m sure Twilight will someday give her another chance. She was just as conflicted about it as me, and I don't think Sam would like it if we never, at least, try to give Cozy one more chance. At the very least, Twilight ran some tests and found that Cozy, Tirek, and Chrysalis appear to be in a state of suspended animation, so they aren’t conscious. I am so thankful of that.

Anyhow, back to Sam. At first, I visited his grave almost every day, but now I do it at least once a week. It is where I was at. My friends' and my final gifts to him lay in front of his tombstone; it took a while for me to get used to not wearing my collar anymore. Twilight and I also cast a preservation spell to keep Applejack’s apple from spoiling, so it remained just as fresh -- and shiny -- as it was during Sam’s funeral. Pinkie’s balloons still floated in the air, only held back by the rocks and string tied to them. If they weren’t balloons from Pinkie Pie, I would question how they didn’t deflate by now.

The pain of losing Sam is still there a little, but I don’t think the pain of loss ever completely goes away. Still, I worked hard to keep my promise to both be happy and be the best pony I can be, even if I still made mistakes sometimes. 

I wasn’t getting any younger, so I was starting to think that maybe it was time for me to...settle down and get married. Question was...to who? Sunburst? Big Mac was taken, so he was out. Spike’s still as sweet as ever, so if I’m still alone in a few years and he still has a crush on me, maybe, just maybe, I’ll see if he wants to start something.

He is a little cutie pie. He won’t be a small dragon forever and even got his wings not long after Twilight opened the School of Friendship. I wish I were there to see his face when he first grew the wings, but at least Twilight was.

And possibly Sam, my best friend, in spirit.