//------------------------------//
// Epilogue 
// Story: The Equine Comedy 
// by Pineta 
//------------------------------//

	Three millenia later, Princesses Celestia and Twilight Sparkle sat on a cloud above a green hill in the countryside south of Trottingham, surveying the image of a white horse cut into the turf covered chalk on the ground beneath them. Down below Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Fluttershy were working along the white lines, pulling up weeds, scraping back the turf and rechalking the surface.

“Thank you for inviting us to help renew the White Horse image this year,” said Twilight, “it's quite an honour.”

“You're very welcome Twilight,” replied Celestia. “It needs to be done every few years if the image is to remain clear. The local ponies asked for some help with the scouring this year, so I'm very pleased you were able to come along.”

“It's amazing to think that we are carrying out a task that ponies have been doing for thousands of years,” said Twilight. “How old is it exactly?”

“I don't know. It's older than me. Excavations nearby have uncovered the remains of one of the oldest settlements in Equestria.”

“I know this region has a very long historical heritage. There are many references to places here in the Commentarii de Bello Equestri.”

“Have you read it?”

“Yes. Well, most of it. I sort of skimmed through volumes ten to thirteen.”

“I never got more than halfway through book one.”

“It is a bit dry,” said Twilight, “but it's one of the most important contemporary sources to study the early history of Equestria.”

Celestia nodded. “While you are here, you must take time to visit the museum at Neigheux. They have the most amazing tapestry.”

“I've read about it.”

“And the tea shop serves a delicious toffee pudding.”

Twilight stared at the hillside figure with an inquisitive frown. “Is it supposed to be a pegasus, a unicorn or an earth pony?”

“Nopony knows for sure. It's always been called the White Horse, but some say it is actually a dog, or a dragon, or some other creature.”

“I wonder why they first made it, all those years ago. Was it marking the territory of some tribe? Or an ancient fertility symbol?”

“There are a great many stories about that. According to some scholars in Canterlot, it is an emblem of an ancient goddess,” replied Celestia. “Luna thinks that it shows a pattern in the stars, a constellation that is no longer visible. And there’s a numismatist who says it matches a pattern on some ancient coins. She thinks it’s the signature of the first treasurer of the Bank of Equestria.” 

She bent her neck down to the level of the younger princess and spoke in a quiet voice. “Personally, I think they were just having a bit of fun.”