Bright Winter Nights

by InlustriusGhost

Epilogue

It only seemed right to Bright that he return the hospitality the Apples had shown him by hosting a party at his home when New Year’s Eve came around. Big Mac was enthusiastic about the idea and, when Bright extended his invitation to the rest of the Apples, they were more than happy to accept.

What was even better was that Comet and Nova had arrived on the afternoon train. They surprised Bright at his front door with one of Comet’s signature emotional wing hugs and Nova’s well-meaning attempt to hug him by swirling her form like a ribbon around her son’s body. Bright was so delighted to spend hours with his father and his mother’s spirit, sharing everything that had happened since Bright had written last; his relationship with Big Mac, Princess Twilight’s newly opened library, and his Hearth’s Warming with the Apples. All the while, Bright and Comet spent the afternoon and early evening tidying up the house and preparing a feast of pasta salad, grilled corn on the cob, and brown rice. It was refreshing for Bright to cook dinner with his dad and have his parents’ company. Though it had been a few weeks since he moved, Bright felt like he hadn’t even left Coltifornia.

Then, as dusk settled over Ponyville, a knock came at the door. Bright was quick to answer, welcoming Big Mac, Applejack, Applebloom, and Granny Smith in, as well as the spirits of Bright Mac and Buttercup. Granny was adamant about the Apples providing their own treats for the party: an apple pie, freshly-baked from their best Cortland apples, and a barrel of hard cider. After some formal introductions, the house swelled to life with chatter and music from Comet’s record player. To Bright, it was a full house of both friends and family, living and nonliving, with so much love and laughter to be had.

Many hours later, Applejack poked her head through the kitchen doorway. “Do we got enough cider left for everypony, Big Mac? It’s almost midnight.”

Big Mac was in the middle of serving a second tankard of cider from the spigot of the barrel. “Eeyup! An’ some soft cider for AB, too.” He pointed at some glass bottles on the countertop.

“Perfect!” Applejack’s eyes shifted over to Bright, who was at the sink, washing the dishes and illuminating the kitchen with the purple glow of his levitation spell. “Oh! And Bright? Your dad says he has somethin’ to tell ya.”

“Okay. Tell him I’ll be there in just a minute.” Bright smiled.

Applejack left the doorway and Big Mac watched her leave before turning to Bright. “Ya could’ve left the dishes for after midnight, Sugarcube.”

Bright placed another clean dish on the rack by the sink. “Yeah, I know, but I wanted to take a step away from the party and have a little break from…having extra company,” he replied with a slight shrug.

Big Mac nodded, serving a third drink. “I get it…It doesn’t hurt to hear so many voices at once, does it?”

Bright shook his head. “Not at all. I just want to entertain everypony, including the ghosts. Socializing takes it out of me after a while, though.”

Then, as Bright finished scrubbing the silverware clean and placed them to dry, he noticed Buttercup and Bright Mac sitting at the dining room table with Ivory and Nova. They both were watching him and Big Mac for a moment and waved when Bright caught sight of them. It warmed the unicorn’s heart.

“Y’know, your parents are here, too,” Bright said, wiping the edge of the sink with a cloth.

The flow of cider stopped from the spigot as Big Mac paused. “R-Really?”

“Mm-hmm! …Actually, they asked me to pass a message to you.” Bright’s horn glowed again, taking the tankard Big Mac held and setting it aside on the counter. Then, he held the bigger stallion by the hoof. “Your parents know how much you and the rest of your family have been missing them and they wanted to tell you that they’re proud of you and love you so, so much.”

Big Mac’s hoof clutched Bright’s, pressing it to his chest. Bright could feel his body tremble lightly as his ears folded backward and his lip quivered. He dipped his head for a moment, his eyes shut tight, before he stood tall once more, looking up to the ceiling with misty eyes. Then, Big Mac managed a small smile, and he breathed deeply, returning to his coltfriend. “…Thank you, Bright,” he said softly. “That does my heart a world o’ good.”

Bright blinked away the moisture in his eyes and he wrapped his forelegs around Big Mac for a tight hug. However, Big Mac’s grip proved much stronger than Bright’s when the earth pony returned the embrace. It almost winded him, but Bright still managed a small laugh. Then, he felt Big Mac kiss his cheek.

“Thank you,” Big Mac repeated, whispering into Bright’s chipped ear.

Despite the air being nearly squeezed out of him, Bright found himself quite fond of the closeness he shared with his coltfriend. Big Mac’s body was so warm and smelled of applewood. Plus, the way Big Mac held Bright made him feel secure. Protected, even. I could get used to this… Bright thought, letting the moment last just a bit longer.

Reluctantly, he pulled away from the hug as time was starting to get away from them. “…How about we serve everypony that cider now?” Bright asked.

“E-Eeyup!” Big Mac agreed, wiping his eyes with a swipe of his leg. His freckles had almost disappeared into the redness of his cheeks.

After preparing enough drinks, Bright and Big Mac both brought them out to the front yard, where the rest of their families awaited. The spirits followed from the table. Bright only carried two mugs of cider with his magic. One for himself and one for his father. Big Mac insisted on providing the cider for the other Apples to give Comet the chance to speak with Bright, as Applejack had told him to do.

Comet stood close to the dirt path that led back to town, warmed by his black leather jacket. Bright could tell that he was admiring Ponyville’s dark purple sky. After all, it was the deciding factor of their choice to purchase the house. Polaris, the North Star, was the first individual star that Bright recognized among the others. The young Ursa Minor was easy to find from there and the ferocious cub followed close to his mother a bit further east.

Bright walked up behind Comet. “Taking in the view, Dad?” he asked as he passed the cider to him.

“You bet.” Comet beamed, taking the tankard and swirling the froth before returning to the sky. “It certainly doesn’t get old. Feels like I could just spread my wings and fly into the stars.”

Bright took a seat. “It sure beats seeing only a couple dozen. I love Coltifornia, but the city lights don’t do the sky any favors there. Here, it’s like the whole universe is smiling down on us.” He sighed, wistfully. “Someday soon, Dad, I’ll have my own observatory here, and I’ll be able to watch the moon, the stars, and the planets every night.”

Comet turned to Bright with a hopeful gleam in his royal blue eyes and his smile curving a bit wider. “Maybe you’ll even become a ‘wizard of the cosmos’,” he proposed while brushing his hoof over the sky, emphasizing the title.

For a brief instance, Bright winced. Then, he lowered his gaze from the sky to the grassy field before him, then down to his mug of cider. He gave a half-hearted chuckle. “Wouldn’t that be something?”

Comet pressed his hoof on Bright’s shoulder. “I mean it, Bright. You have the talent for it. I’ve seen it for myself. Heck, you’ve seen what you can do when you put your heart into it, and it earned you the mark on your flank.”

Bright shifted back up to the sky. His eyes had adjusted more to the dark and he was able to catch the glowing strands of the Milky Way, stretching from the northwest all the way to the southeast. He reminisced longingly on that evening. The sparkling stars…the wispy nebulae of blue, purple, and gold…the shock on his father’s face that was soon replaced with pure wonder and pride. It was one of Bright’s most treasured memories. Plus, the fact that his cutie mark appeared had to mean that he was working toward his true destiny.

…

Still, though…

“…Well,” Bright’s tone grew heavy. “…you might be right, Dad, but…it’s not easy for a unicorn to become a full-fledged wizard. Much less a wizard of cosmic magic.”

Bright could feel his father’s hoof fidget a bit on his shoulder.

“…I never said it was. But you are a graduate of Celestia’s School, Bright. You’ve already proved that you’re a hard-working unicorn when it comes to magic. You just have to want it for yourself and work at it, one day at a time.”

A pause. Wizardry was something that Bright had yearned for once upon a time. If Comet believed he could do it, then maybe…

“Thanks, Dad. I’ll give it some thought. By the way, what was this ‘something’ you wanted to tell me?” he asked.

Comet’s wings fluttered excitedly for a moment. “Oh, yes! You’re going to be over the moon for this, Bright. While I was at the astronomy conference, there was a Royal Equestrian ambassador attending,” he began with a fanciful bounce in his tone.

Bright’s breath got caught in his throat for a moment. “Are…Are you serious?”

“Absolutely serious! He gave a whole presentation on astronomical events that the Princesses were planning.”

“Dad, are you saying that—?”

“We’re finally going to have an eclipse! A lunar eclipse!” Comet blurted out. “It’s going to happen in the fall this coming year!”

Bright’s eyes lit up like moonrise. “Oh, my stars…” Then, he couldn’t resist the urge to prance about the yard in excitement. “Oh, my stars! Yes! Yes! I’ve been waiting so long!”

The commotion that Bright stirred up caught the attention of everypony else, including the ghosts. Ivory, in particular, couldn’t help but laugh and swirl around him in his glee.

“Haha! What’s got you so happy, Bright?” she asked.

“The Princesses are finally bringing back eclipses! For the first time in…” Bright suddenly stopped, muttering as he counted to himself. “…eleven years!”

“Eclipses…?” Ivory murmured.

“That so, Bright?” Applejack chimed in. “Well, shoot! We oughta get together for another shindig when that happens.”

Granny Smith added, “Darn tootin’! We’ll make it a real hootenanny!”

Applebloom bounced. “That’ll be amazin’, Bright! I ain’t ever seen an eclipse before!”

Bright was grinning ear to ear. What made the news even better was that he would be able to share this with Big Mac and the Apples and… Ivory! He returned his attention to Ivory, expecting her to be smiling back at him, but instead, Bright noticed she had a pensive look on her face and she muttered to herself. “Flowers…Carnations for…”

Bright took a quick glance at the Apples, who had gone on to their own conversation. He could step away for a minute or two…with a bit of help. He leaned closer to Comet and whispered, “Hey, Dad? Can you entertain while I talk with Ivory for a bit?”

Comet nodded. “Sure.”

With a grateful tilt of his head, Bright put some distance between himself and the party. He secretly caught Ivory’s attention with a quiet “Psst!” and subtly waved his hoof, gesturing for her to follow him.

“You okay, Ivory?” he asked, absentmindedly eyeing the stars.

“Oh, yeah! I’m fine, Bright. Just…something felt familiar for a moment there and it’s tickling the back of my head…” Ivory closed her eyes and tapped her forehead with her hoof. “Oak…”

“…Oak?” Bright repeated.

Just then, Ivory gasped softly. Bright turned to her and noticed her eyes staring into the distance, unfocused. “…Oak. Alder Oak.” Another, deeper gasp and the corners of her mouth widened into a gleaming smile. “Grandpa! Bright…I remember my grandpa!!!”

Bright flinched, blinking a few times. He was shocked at Ivory’s sudden revelation, soon followed by a nova of elation that he just barely managed to keep under the surface. “I-Ivory, your memories are starting to come back!”

Ivory twirled and spun in the air with laughter, her hooves over her chest. “Yes! I only remember his name, but I can feel it deep in my heart, Bright!” Her eyes welled up as emotion began to swell within her. “…This is the first piece of myself that I’ve found in such a long time…Bright, I just gotta find more! I have to know what my life was!”

After a calming breath to keep himself privy, Bright beamed at Ivory with unwavering conviction. “We’ll figure it out. We have something to work with now. You can count on me, Ivory.” He held up his hoof to his best friend. “I promise you, we’ll find your grandpa and the lost pieces of your life.”

A shimmer of light fell from Ivory’s cheek and she gave Bright a grateful look as she pressed her ghostly hoof to his. “I love you, boo…”

“Love you, too.”

“Bright!”

The sudden call startled Bright. He turned and Comet was waving for him to return to the party.

“Three minutes to midnight!”

With a wink to Ivory, Bright trotted back to everypony else and sat himself right between Comet and Big Mac.

Comet cleared his throat. “Pardon me, everypony, but I hope you all won’t mind if I propose a toast before the new year begins. I’d just like to express my thanks to this kind family for making my son feel welcome here as he’s striking out on his own.” He reached around Bright’s shoulder and pulled him close. “Bright’s so very special to me and to the love of my life. I hope and dream that I get to see him spread his wings and thrive.”

Bright had to wipe his eye. “Dad…”

Comet chuckled softly. “There I go, getting sentimental again.” Finally, he raised his tankard. “Anyway, here’s to our new friends, the Apples.”

Granny Smith cackled and followed suit. “I’ll toast to that and then some! From an ol’ mare to the young'uns, here’s to a long and bountiful life.”

Applebloom raised her glass bottle. “Here’s to bein’ proud of everythin’ that makes you special!” she added.

Applejack removed her hat and pressed it to her chest as she toasted. “Here’s to hard work payin’ off.”

Big Mac looked Bright’s way with a face that Bright could only describe as deep appreciation. “Here’s to rememberin’ the ponies close to us who’ve passed on.”

Then, as everypony’s attention shifted to Bright, he looked once more to the clear starry sky. There were so many good things he was blessed with, and much more coming his way: a new relationship to explore with Big Mac, his best friend, Ivory, recovering her memories, a new chance to see a spectacular cosmic event, and maybe…just maybe, with enough determination, Bright can make an old dream come true and become a wizard of cosmic magic someday.

With that thought, Bright raised his cider. “And here’s to an absolutely stellar future for all of us! Cheers to a new year!”

“Cheers!” Everypony toasted.

The Apple family’s cider was immediately tart on Bright’s palette, followed by a swell of sweetness, then finished with the light burn of the alcohol. Altogether, delicious.

Suddenly, bursts of multicolored light danced across the sky above Ponyville, followed by the sound of distant explosions. The fireworks dazzled and enchanted, which had Bright pondering if he might be able to do the same with his own magic. He made a sideways glance to Big Mac. The light of the fireworks reflected from the earth pony’s eyes. Bright slid his hoof closer to touch Big Mac’s and was given a warm touch in return. He breathed in contentment.

This year’s gonna be a great one…

Comments

[Furzade]

This was a beautiful epilogue. I’m glad Big Mac and Bright ended up happy together.

[InlustriusGhost]

11873015
There will be more to come in the future! ^^

[Leam]

This was a really good story!!! I love Big mac a lot
and I think the way you portrayed his character was really good! I loved the little callbacks to some episodes from the series, it makes it fell like it could actually happen in-universe^^
I can't wait to see what's next!