//------------------------------//
// Epilogue: Aurora 
// Story: Friendship Is Optimal: Changing Tides 
// by Boopy Doopy 
//------------------------------//

Candle Light lived the life of her dreams. There really was nothing left to worry about now that Night Watcher was here in Equestria, finally safe. Rising Ranks was right.
Well, there wasn’t nothing. Her child still lived with her, still nervous and afraid and sad, but the mare provided them as much comfort and support as she could. It might have taken a long time for their confidence to build up, for those feelings to fade, but they eventually started to.
It was a long century or two before Night Watcher’s confidence built up enough that they were able to broach the idea of moving out on their own with Turning Point and the still teenage Aurora. Not far though; Candle Light, Soft Step, Careful Calling, and some of her friends helped build the trio a house a few blocks down the street. Far enough that the bat pony was getting her independence back, but close enough to assure them that Candle Light wasn’t going anywhere. It was a start, one that the mare was glad to see. Her child was trusting her.
Candle Light of course was going to have a foal with Rising Ranks once they had the house to themselves. More than one foal actually. Within ten years of Night Watcher moving down the street from her, the mare was raising three foals with her husband; a filly named Sunny Patch, and two colts, Blazing Breeze and Spellbook. They were an earth pony, pegasus, and unicorn, respectively. She and Rising Ranks might have intentionally played with the genetics of them before they were born so that they could have one of each.
There might have been no more wonderful a feeling that Candle Light experienced than carrying her children inside of her. This certainly wasn’t going to be her last three foals. Nowhere near it.
There were some interesting family reunions when Crystal Clear showed up with more foals of her own, and their granddaughter, Aurora, finally grew up enough to find a partner, a stallion named Quick Draw that was Solar Spark’s and Renown Frame’s colt. Before too long, all of Summer’s Edge was going to be taking part in their reunions. Although there was talk around the town about expanding the shard’s borders and opening it up to other Equestrians to move to if they wanted. The little town of a few thousand ponies might’ve been getting bigger soon. Candle Light certainly wouldn’t mind if it did.
She definitely didn’t mind the times Crystal Clear showed back up again to spend time with her. It was every so often, perhaps once a century, that her wife would turn up back home again to stay with her for a few dozen years. Mostly Crystal Clear was a mare, but there were a few nights (or was it years?) that she spent as a stallion when Candle Light was feeling extra needy. They talked, and laughed, and told stories about the Outer Realm and what they were doing now and lived together for a while before going their separate ways, always unspoken that they would return to each other again eventually.
And the years did go by where Candle Light did what she always did; laid around the house with Rising Ranks, studied magic, teleported herself to the beach every morning, talked to her friends, laughed, danced, and had a good time. Raised her younger foals, talked to her older ones, chatted with Night Watcher practically every day, and visited the grandchildren and great grandchildren she began to acquire. A century passed, then two, then five, a millennium, more. It never seemed to get old.
She visited the Outer Realm on occasion with Aurora and studied at the university in Canterlot, and even worked as a teacher there for a few decades. She ran her coffee shop with Crystal Clear, helped Misty Rose and Soft Step with their garden, helped the new ponies that moved to Summer’s Edge, whether from other parts of Equestria or the Outer Realm, get settled in, and had a wonderful time with her husband. It was so perfect. She loved her life, and loved being herself.
She sat by a warm fire with her stallion one night, a cold one that brought rare snow to the town. It didn’t stick to the road, but it covered the grass and the mailbox and the roofs of nearby houses. It had been a good few decades since Candle Light saw snow like this, the white fluffy flakes falling to the ground and the sky brighter than normal, with an orange tint that almost seemed to light up the night. It was a good time to cuddle up to her husband near the rarely used fireplace.
She settled contentedly into the stallion as he pet her stomach and side, wrapping his hooves around her as the two lay under a blanket they shared. The fire crackled, and the smell of burning wood filled their home with a rare smokiness they didn’t experience all that often. It combined with the normal salty air in a unique way that Candle Light could appreciate.
“It’s been a good life, hasn’t it?” Rising Ranks asked softly as he rubbed his cheek against hers.
“Mhm,” the mare quietly agreed, her eyes remaining closed as she settled into him.
“We've studied more magic than anypony else we know,” he continued. “Had foals together, seen our grandfoals, and their grandfoals. Read an uncountable number of books, had the time of our lives…” He turned her head carefully and kissed her, then smiled widely, “And I spent time with you.”
Candle Light kissed him back, and nuzzled the stallion softly. “It's been amazing,” she agreed. She closed her eyes and breathed gently, enjoying the feeling of being close to him. Then she said, “But I haven't had the time of my life yet.”
Rising Ranks raised an eyebrow at that, and Candle Light smiled playfully back at him. “Oh?” he asked. “What else do you wanna do?”
“I wanna be a pegasus!” she declared immediately, excitedly, like a seventeen year old mare would. It was the first thought that came to mind. Her husband stared back at her, a bit skeptical and confused.
“I do!” she told him quickly, slightly defensively. “It'd be amazing to fly around and push the clouds wherever I want them to go! To travel at the speed of sound and make ponies stop in awe when they see me; it'd be cool! I could do stunts and learn to preen my wings and everything!”
Now Rising Ranks smirked, telling her, “You're nowhere near satisfied, are you?”
“No way! There's too many ponies to meet and things to do!” She smiled to herself at the thought of all the experiences she could have, then gave a knowing look to Rising Ranks. “You're just one of them,” she said slyly as she climbed on top of him.
It was cold that night, and the next morning, too. Cold enough that the two stayed wrapped up together near the fire as they cuddled, sharing in each other's warmth. Cold enough that Candle Light slept into the afternoon with her husband, not willing to move and inch from his side.
Cold enough that she missed going to the beach for the first time in ages, as the sun went down again and the tides changed.