//------------------------------// // Epilogue // Story: Genealogy - (or the Mating Habits of Nocturnes Pegasi) // by Georg //------------------------------// Genealogy - (or The Mating Habits of Nocturnes Pegasi) Epilogue Night spread her wings across the land, a deep blackness broken only by the brilliant pinpoints of stars and a silver moon that lit the streets of Ponyville with soft-edged shadows. The rural town tended to roll the streets up at night, but this night there were still a few lights challenging the darkness, including a soft glow around the ice cream store. A few young couples still occupied the tables, the ice cream only a secondary reason to their late-night activities. The owner of the store would normally have chased the young lovers out into the night so he could close up and go home, except for a very profitable order he had been waiting to deliver. Lickety Split lugged the last tub of ice cream over to the Royal Courier’s wagon and carefully deposited it into the cooler that occupied most of the wagon bed. “There you go, Courier Zircon. Five tubs, Chocolate Chip, Mocha, Double-Fudge Ripple, Chocolate Fudge, and FBC⁽*⁾, and two tubs of Diet Low-Fat Alfalfa Peppermint Crunch, as requested.” “Very well, very well indeed.” The grey-coated unicorn in the Royal Equestrian Courier’s cap levitated over a hefty bag of bits to Lickety Split and gave a brief bow. “Well son, it was a pleasure doing the Princess’ business with you this fine evening. I see you got your sign fixed.” “Oh, yes!” Lickety nodded at the brilliant sign over the shop door that eagerly proclaimed into the night “Lickety Split’s Fine Ice Cream” and in smaller letters at the bottom “Princess Approved.” “It just showed up yesterday with a half-dozen workponies to install it. They wouldn’t tell me a thing, just that it had been prepaid and was guaranteed never to dim or fade. They said ‘never’ in a funny way, but I don’t care. It’s fantastic!” “Good, very good.” The old Royal Courier tipped his cap to the happy ice cream store owner and began to shrug into the cart harness. “Well, we probably should be getting along to pick up that cake before we catch the midnight train back to Canterlot.” The grey courier stopped at the faint sound of a throat clearing and looked back at his companion. “Yes?” The young unicorn mare in the matching Royal Courier outfit smiled as she swished her ribbon-covered tail. “Certainly we have enough time to pick up a quick cone or two before we leave, Senior Courier Zircon. I’ll even buy.” “Well, that’s a different story then. Young lad, one scoop of Alfalfa Maple Crunch please. Same for you, Junior Courier Blaze?” Zircon looked impishly at the mare, who tended to blend into the darkness due to her coal-black coat. “Zapapple Double-Fudge Ripple please. Two scoops. Oh, and here’s a little extra for the colts. They’ll be along in just a bit.” The coal-black unicorn levitated over a tidy bag of bits for Lickety, which he wasted no time in exchanging for a pair of ice-cream cones. A few moments later, the happy Royal Couriers were trotting off into the dark town with their precious frozen cargo trailing along behind. “Must be nice to be able to walk and eat ice cream at the same time,” sighed Lickety Split. Looking up into the night sky, he called out, “What did you two want?” “Raspberry Nut please,” drifted down a deep baritone voice. “Diet Lemon Sherbert,” came a second, slightly deeper voice. “What? I’m watching my weight. How much do we owe you?” “The Princess already got it,” called Lickety Split as he trotted back into his store, emerging in a few minutes with two ice cream cones. “Feel free to drop in anytime. Figuratively. Although if she’s not wearing her disguise, I’d appreciate a little warning.” Two Royal Night Guards dropped almost silently out of the dark sky and lit softly to either side of the storepony. “Thanks.” They ate their ice cream silently, watching through the darkness as the Royal Courier and his ‘Assistant’ towed their cart through the dark village in the direction of Sugarcube Corner for the promised cake, then the distant train station which would take them back to Canterlot. “So, Pumpernickel,” said Sunny Meadows thoughtfully. “Are you and Laminia going to get married here and settle down? Seems like a nice place to raise foals.” “No!” said Pumpernickel forcefully. “All we want are nice peaceful careers in Canterlot, where we can work until retirement.” Fate and Destiny lifted their attention from their eternal chess game and looked at the remote corner of their board. “Again?” muttered Fate. “He doesn’t learn very well, does he?” “Well, it’s my turn now,” said Destiny with a smile as she reached across the board and moved a feathered piece in a mountainous region. “I see great things in this one.” “As you may,” said Fate quietly as she pondered her next move. “But I see the terrible things that he carries within. Death, destruction, and rage are in his blood. He is a construct of War, not of Peace.” “Possibly.” Destiny looked mournfully into an empty box of candy before tossing it into the trash. “If there were no War, we would not know what Peace was. If one is but the shadow of the other, who can say which real, and which is the shadow?” “War is real, perhaps more real than we are.” Fate reached down to touch a piece, but withdrew without moving it. In a tavern half-way across the world, a gambler won a massive fortune on a roll of his dice only to fall over dead the next moment from shock. “So is Peace. These ponies prepare for War, they wage War, they carry War with them, but wherever they go, Peace follows. Here is where I will send him.” Destiny waved across a mountainous region of the board and Fate frowned in recognition. “You have made this attempt before.” “And I will again, and again, until one of them succeeds. It shall be so.” Fate studied the board intensely. “There is a player in this game who has been away for far too long. It shall be interesting to see how she plays after such a long absence.” Destiny laughed. “She has never been gone, not even a moment. Here, watch and you shall see.” (*) Friendship By Chocolate. Lickety Split claimed it took ten pounds of chocolate for every nine pounds of ice cream made. Nopony ever finished a double-scoop without the assistance of at least one friend. If they were not a friend by the time they started, they were when you were done. Sneak Peeks: The adventures of the two most mismatched batponies in Luna’s service continue in “Diplomacy by Other Means,” where Princess Luna sends a diplomatic mission to the griffons in the hopes of preventing a deadly war, with Pumpernickel and Laminia caught in the middle as the mission turns into a lethal race for survival and a fight to the death. A guide to the Nocturne Saga (as it has grown) may be found at A Very Short Guide To Batponies As Seen By Georg. I hope you enjoy reading about them as much as I enjoyed writing them. See you later…