Epilogue
"That shouldn't have worked," Twilight huffed. She levitated a small pile of dried logs over her head, following Celestia back to town.
"Ah but it did and that's the important thing," Celestia replied, smirking like Twilight's annoyance was the most entertaining thing in the world.
"Doesn't mean it had any right to succeed," she muttered as the snow covered ground gave way to the stone cut streets.
Twilight could hear the roar of the crowd. The heat stemming from the town center was palpable even at a distance. The bonfire was burning, lighting up the sky like some sort of miniature sun. 'A very pointy sun, but still.'
It didn't take the two alicorns long to reach the town center, that was packed to the brim with ponies celebrating. They were singing songs, watching puppet shows and even dancing. Most were eating something and Twilight felt her stomach rumble irritably.
"Don't worry, there will be more than enough for you as well,” Celestia assured. As they passed a cart packed with dry wood waiting for it's chance to join the celebration in an inflammatory capacity. Celestia levitated her tree trunk, broke it in half and dropped it into the cart. Twilight followed her example dropping her branches and thick bunches of twigs in next to the princess's and followed her into the celebration. Where-upon a glass of mead, or something to that effect, was shove into her hooves.
"Don't worry it's quite weak and will warm you up," the pony assured before galloping back to their family.
That was when the mayor trotted up and joined them, bowing as he did so. "Princess's we were worried you'd left us before the celebration," he said. His voice raised over the roaring din of the crowd and fire.
"Not at all, we simply got sidetracked," Celestia assured, while Twilight started nursing her drinks. 'wow! he wasn't kidding about warm, I have to get some of this for the others before I leave.'
The mayor guided them through the crowd, at least half the town seemed to be simply sitting or lying down eating under blankets. Once again they were placed with miss Lynch-pin as well as the foals and now their parents. The mayor returning to a cooking pot, where he ladled out stew for them.
"Celestia you don't have to lie down," Twilight whispered as the princess dropped to the ground without ceremony or blankets. Laying on her side looking over the fire happily.
"But Twilight, I can't block everyponies view now can I?" she teased.
Huffing Twilight replied, "Couldn't you just make yourself smaller?"
The alicorn let out a small whinny, "But I like being tall!" her put-on whine falling into a laugh as she finished.
The night continued on in that manner. playful and familiar jokes at one another's expense. Searching out free meals and even contributing to the festivities by supplying fire works much to the joy of the ponies. 'I'll have to thank Trixie for showing me that one.' Twilight thought.
Twilight watched as elder ponies rose and a choir began to sing, the rest of the town quickly joining them in their song. Twilight even raised her own voice when she could get the words right. Though there seemed to be scarcely any rhyme or reason to the singing in the first place.
The mayor and other members made a brief speech and the locals began hurling small offerings into the fire. Fruit and flowers mostly, it occurred to Twilight she was watching a religious festival as much as anything else. Offerings were made to warm their ancestors. Letters and scrolls burned so that they may two know that their families, their descendant know, love, and remember them.
"This is something old princess, incredibly old. There's more to this than anypony realizes," she whispered in a particularly loud song.
Celestia nodded, "Of-course there is, that is the way most things are, would one think there was more to Nightmare Night?" she asked coyly.
That thought rattled in Twilight's head as she looked over the bonfire and saw the exculpated faces of the citizenry. Huddled with family and friends for added warmth. Lynch-pin had literally dozed off on Twilight's side, apparently completely at ease around this new mare.
She could see the once pegasus cleared sky, was now filled with billowing plumes of smoke that drifted off into the night. Somehow she could still make out the stars twinkling and glittering as the mayor performed the last rites. Announcing how tomorrow the gifts they had prepared for one another, and those ‘left by dear Nichola’ would be opened and a hearty cheer rose up.
It was not long after the ceremony that ponies began falling asleep in one another's arms, apparently having no desire to head for their homes. A small skeleton crew of ponies would stand by and keep the fire lit through the night and a few pegasi were ready to stop any sudden snow falls.
Twilight was still wired from the days events. Her mind ablaze with questions that needed to be answered. And the only pony who could was lying down next to her eyeing her tea cup as though it was the most interesting thing in the world. Though the almost certainly unhealthy amount of hot chocolate and mead probably didn't encourage sleep. So she was still quite awake when Celestia gently nudged her side and indicated it was time to leave.
"Don't worry, I usually leave like this, and maybe we'll come back to help clean up. But I feel there's something you want to talk to me about," she whispered mysteriously. Twilight nodded and gently slipped away from Lynch-pin and slipped an extra pillow and blanket around the mare to keep her warm.
With that the two princess's slipped quietly into the night.
Twilight looked up, she could make out the towns great bonfire in the distance, it's light flickering against the high forest canopy.
"Princess, why are you letting them believe some old story? The entire town seems to buy into at least to some degree and... I'm not even sure if it makes sense from a historical perspective. Those rituals were ancient religious rites and the story is younger than those,” she explained.
Twilight looked up at the older mare and spoke, “I can see how important it is to them, but do they need the story for all that? I mean, the respect you give this festival. You can't really believe some foals tale can you?" she asked, annoyance and confusion tainting her tone.
"Of course not, I think I'm a little old for such stories Twilight. But I see no reason to take it away from those foals or to mire it's importance to this town. Time will do that when they are ready to see it," Celestia replied, her tone pleasant and relaxed as always.
"Well maybe they’re ready to see it now," she insisted, stamping her hoof. But the ire had drained out of her, there was something more here, something deeper that she wasn't seeing. "Why did I stop princess? When I could have told those foals the truth. Why do you want me to not tell anypony, why were my friends so angry? What would have happened if they'd stopped believing in the gift-giver, or all those other silly stories their parents tell them?" she asked, her old mentor only smiled serenely in response.
"Then I imagine tomorrow they would find gifts left to them by their parents and any sense of whimsy or hope that there might be something more out there. Something mysterious and worth seeking would be squashed. The raising and setting of the sun and moon would be little more than balls of gas and rock, forced to move by my and my sisters power. Foals then might never reach out to see where they could go or what they might do," she chuckled as Twilight's wings twitched. "I imagine they would not be very happy to have their fantasy ruined before they can grow to see the greater fantasies of life."
"What, are you saying they need fantasies, to believe in a lie, so that they can be happy?" Twilight demanded.
"Little ponies needs fantasy in order to be ponies. So that they can grow and create wonders. To be that place where the earth and heavens meet and to do that they need to believe the greater lies," her mentor replied. Not sadly, but not warmly either.
"What greater lies?" she asked askance.
Her mentor casually rolled her neck and replied, "Justice, compassion, chaos, order, harmony, good and evil. You know, those sort of ideas," she explained with a careless wave of her hoof.
Sputtering Twilight replied, “But those aren't the same at all, all those things exist, they're important!" she insisted. Celestia smiled down at her pride and joy clear on her beautiful features and she chuckled.
"It warms my heart to hear you say that my dear Twilight, it truly does," she replied kindly. Then her tone grew serious. "But you are a mare of study and research, if we were to grind the universe down to the finest powder and if we were to sift through it with the finest siv. Would we find even one atom of justice, one molecule of mercy?" she asked imploringly.
Twilight's mouth opened and closed as she tried to work out a response, some winning argument that could change what she was hearing.
"Would there be some rightness or basic order or natural chaos that the universe and those in it should be judged by?" the princess asked her, the mares tone growing heavy.
"But if we don't believe in those things, why would we ever..." Twilight drifted off and felt a warm wing wrap itself around her tiny frame as the other princess pulled her into a gentle hug.
"You need to believe in things that aren't there, we need to have hope Twilight. Everypony from farmer to princess need it. How else can any of those things ever become true if we don't believe in them?" she asked faintly, pressing her muzzle against Twilight’s mane as she spoke.
Then the princess whispered, "Given how you've turned out, I think we're doing a good job. So how about you join me in spreading some happiness this evening Twilight Sparkle, I could use an assistant!" the princess enthused. Pulling away from her student and standing only a few feet from her, the princess glowed. Her elegant form bending and shifting, becoming smaller and more delicate, almost frail.
"You!" Then Twilight felt the snap of magic around her and she could sense immediately that she was under an illusion. A green uniform adorned her frame and if Twilight were reading it correctly nopony would be able to recognize her. 'A mirror illusion' she realized. Looking at Celestia the spell on the princess was far more complicated. Her form had genuinely changed, light seemed to emanate from her, shifting from form to form. 'Nopony would be able to recognize her now.'
The princess stamped her hoof against the ground and out from behind a bush a chariot exploded into the sky, before coming to hover before them. It was pulled by similarly shimmering ‘mountain rams’ but Twilight could see through the illusion they were little more than magic shells.
Princess Celestia jumped onto the now massive carriage, a small magical aura, invisible to most, helping hold it aloft. The princess cocked an eyebrow at her student and asked, “Coming my number one assistant? Who knows, maybe there's something in here for you."
Twilight's face broke out into a smile and she skipped aboard the chariot and it took off into the sky. Without warning the chariot exploded into activity. Faster than a crossbow bolt they glided across the sky, bells jingling as they flew across the full white moon.
"A few sleigh tracks, some extra presents lying around with a barely spotted shadow or two and I think we can go back and wait for breakfast," the princess said. She looked down and saw Twilight suppressing a yawn and smiled, “And you can get some sleep my friend."
"Only if you're my blanket," she yawned, pulling the princesses invisible wings tighter around her.
It was early morning, the sun was barely visible as it began peaking over the horizon shyly. The morning dew, what could be seen beneath the snow, was still fresh in the air. And Princess Celestia was waiting to be let inside the Sparkle family tower.
'Of course it's early, but I was to understand that the Sparkles were early risers!' she thought. More amused than truly irritated, the novelty of being made to wait outside was amusingly enjoyable.
She shuffled around in place slightly. Gently re-positioning the sleeping alicorn on her back, held in place by wings as much and Celestia's larger frame. The Alicorn could feel a small amount of drool creeping onto her back and she couldn't decide if it was cute or off-putting.
Finally her gentle knocks bore fruit and the door was opened wide. Twilight's mother, clad in slippers, a nightgown and levitating a cup of coffee greeted her dispassionately through half lidded eyes. Then she saw who it was and proceeded to do a rather amusing spit take. Celestia dismissed the coffee without even twitching her wings, dissolving it into the atmosphere.
"Princess, I- what?" the mare's line of questioning ceased as Celestia raised a hoof to her mouth and politely ‘shhd’ her. Motioning to the unconscious mare on her back, still bedecked in her winter gear.
"Is her room still on the top floor, with the library?" she whispered.
Smiling, the ‘older mare’ nodded and motioned Celestia to the steps. With her long, powerful strides reaching Twilight’s old room was an easy matter. She took it in for a moment, more and more book shelves a giant hourglass that was a family heirloom.
She could see the telescope she'd given Twilight for her birthday years before. She could still remember how shocked and excited the little filly had been. Jumping and bouncing around in excitement at her newest gift, it had been one of the most adorable sights she'd seen in ages.
'Poor thing, she's not used to going with so little sleep and so much socializing. Still she seemed to have fun,' Celestia determined. Celestia gently lowered Twilight's sleeping frame to her waiting bed, the quilt already pulled aside via magic.
Once Twilight was comfortably wrapped in her covers Celestia made to leave. With the intention of greeting the Sparkle parents on her way out and maybe having some tea, if they didn't mind. But there was one thing left to do.
Turning she looked over her friends sleeping frame, 'I've got just the thing for you, my dear Twilight,' she thought.
That was when something else caught her notice, a small rectangle wrapped in dark blue, moon themed paper was lying on Twilight's bed side table. One glance at it revealed it's, first edition hard-back, contents and Celestia had to repress a frown. She snorted, 'Luna!'
A willowy voice emanated from the walls, disappearing as quickly and softly as the breeze. "I am the mistress of dreams it’s only natural i'd have a gift prepared."
Celestia could practically feel the self satisfied wink accompanying her sister as she departed. 'Clever' she thought appreciatively, happily impressed as anything else.
Holding a hoof to her chin Celestia contemplated for a moment before an idea came to her, 'perfect!' she thought. With a flash of magic a book appeared, old and weathered by time. It was a small novel and part of a series that she had long since needed to introduce Twilight to. It was smartly wrapped in purple paper with a golden ribbon and placed down gently next to her sisters gift.
"Good bye Twilight, I hope to see you soon," she whispered gently. Humming as she skipped out into the hallway, a small sleepy voice following her.
"Bye Celestia...was fun,” was Twilight's mumbled reply.
Celestia smiled, 'thank you, my friend.'