Another Special Epilogue Unlocked!
"We are gathered here today to commemorate the heroic acts of three brave ponies, for without them our young Equestria would have been thrown into considerable chaos." These words bellowed from the princess of Equestria herself, Celestia. She, along with hundreds of other ponies, were gathered in Canterlot Castle's grand hall, where all joyous and regal celebrations were held.
It was a grand day. The sunlight streamed in through huge open windows, glinting off of the decorative armor of the Canterlot Royal Guards that lined the long aisle. They stood rigidly and at attention; they were a phenomenal representation of the majesty and esteem of Canterlot. Behind them were a multitude of Canterlot citizens, who had been invited to celebrate the occasion.
At the head of the aisle stood Princess Celestia. Thus far, the ponies of Equestria had fallen dearly in love with her, and it was not hard to see why. She was ruling a young kingdom that was barely even one hundred years old. She had long mane of soft pink and a coat that was sparkling white. The sun which she raised and set every day, was shown as her cutie mark.
Behind both sides of Celestia stood a motley entourage of creatures, all of whom had aided in ending the terrible conflict on the moon. There was a female bat pony, a filly changeling, a baby roc, a transparent, gigantic tub of water that contained two lunar maria, and an enormous moonitaur mother with her baby son. To all of those did not know what was going on, it was the oddest collection of creatures anypony had ever seen.
Princess Celestia continued her speech. "Just recently, a great battle was waged on the moon itself, with the safety of Equestria itself hanging in the balance. Discord, the master of chaos, almost managed to wage war on Equestria. But if it wasn't for these three brave ponies, Equestria may have been forever plunged into darkness. May I present to you the saviors of Equestria!"
The doors at the beginning of the hall opened dramatically. From behind them stepped three foals. The one in the middle was Printest Woona, and she was Celestia's younger sister. She was the most adorable being to ever exist, and it wasn't hard to see why. Woona wore a cape decorated with cute little moons and stars. Covering her petite hooves were widdle shoes, about her neck was an itty-bitty necklace, and just behind her horn was a tiny crown, all of which were a solid black befitting the printest of the moon. At the sight of her, a massive d'aww came from the crowd.
On either side of Woona her strode her two closest friends, Sunshine and Meadowlark. Their parents were the leaders of the bat ponies, and their mother, Echo, was the very same bat pony that stood behind Celestia. The bat pony colts were nigh indistinguishable, as they both had gray coats, solid black bat wings, and tufted ears that were much larger than a normal pony's. The only thing that allowed one to tell them apart was an eyepatch over Sunshine's left eye.
The three friends walked down the aisle boldly with their heads held high. The citizens of Equestria cheered and stomped in respect and excitement for the young ones. Woona inconspicuously whispered to her friends, "Now aren't you two glad you decided to be part of the Super Awesome Ultra Hyper Force Royal Night Guards?"
Meadowlark gently nudged Woona's shoulder. "Yeah, yeah, whatever!"
Sunshine chuckled and said, "That seems like forever ago, doesn't it?"
"It does..." Woona said, half to herself.
When the three of them reached the platform that Celestia and their friends were standing on, they stopped and bowed to the princess. "Woona, Sunshine, and Meadowlark," Celestia said softly, "because of the valiant effort of all three of you, Equestria can sleep easily tonight. We are forever in your debt." To the shock of the three foals, the princess of the sun bowed low to them. Each and every creature in the grand hall repeated the action. Woona and her friends looked around, their mouths agape.
"This is so cool!" Meadowlark breathed.
"I should come to Equestria more often," Sunshine said with a smile.
As soon as the incredible moment had begun, it ended when Celestia lifted her head and everypony emulated. "And to all of these magnificent creatures behind me," Celestia said, indicating those behind her, "I thank you as well. Your efforts will forever be recorded in the annals of Equestrian history." Applause came thick and heavy with that statement.
Woona looked up at her older sister, her already large eyes widened. "Tia?" she said pleadingly.
Celestia couldn't resist that look. She chuckled and lowered her head near the little printest. "What is it, Woona?" she asked.
Woona put her mouth just next to Celestia's ear and whispered, as if her request was top secret. "Can I say something really quick?"
"Of course," Celestia granted.
Woona bounded up the steps in a most adorable fashion, causing just about everypony to clutch their chest with pain. She cleared her throat and began to speak with the Royal Canterlot Voice, but it was something that she hadn't quite gotten used to. Her delicate princess voice transformed into a gale-force shout that threatened to shatter the windows, causing the assembly to quickly cover their ears.
"A bit softer, Woona," Celestia reprimanded gently.
Woona cleared her throat. "Ahem. Sorry about that," she said. She resumed with a much more controlled Royal Canterlot Voice. "I just wanted to say that, well, helping to save the world definitely wasn't easy!" The crowd laughed heartily. "I went through a lot more than I ever thought I would. There were times when I felt so alone. If it wasn't for my friends, Discord would have won for sure." Woona turned around to face the friends that had stood by her side on the moon. Each of them smiled warmly at her.
"Two of those friends, Sunshine and Meadowlark, stood by me at all times," Woona continued. "They promised to protect me, and that's what they did. It's because of them that I finally realized how important is that we have ponies that protect us." Everypony watched as Woona clambered down the platform steps and walked in between the Royal Guards that stood impassively. "All of these ponies here that help to defend us no matter what need to be celebrated."
Finally, the guards, which so far had remained unmoving, blinked and ever so slightly inclined their heads towards the little filly.
"It's these ponies that keep us safe and allow us to live soundly. I think they deserve something amazing." The crowd whistled and cheered wildly. The guards began to look around at the crowd, somewhat mystified about what was going on. Woona turned to Celestia, who smiled and indicated for her to continue. "So I suggest a day, every year, that we honor the brave ponies in the Royal Guard."
Even more cheering erupted from the assembly. Woona waited for them to calm before resuming. "Let me know what you all think. How about the Equestria Royal Guard Celebration?"
"I think it's a marvelous idea!" Celestia agreed. The crowd roared its approval, but the Royal Guards seemed dumbfounded. They looked back and forth to one another, none of them willing to let the others see the tears in their eyes. As the crowd continued cheering, the sun princess declared, "Let be know that, starting tomorrow, the Equestria Royal Guard Celebration is to be held once a year, in honor of those bravely serving in the Royal Guard. This includes those currently serving and veterans."
Woona adopted a serious face and saluted the guards. "At ease, soldiers!" she shouted, trying to not make her military voice sound so princess-y. "Feel free to get emotional!"
The guards needed no second bidding. They, too, joined in the jubilation with exuberant cries of joy. The energy in the great hall had reached a maximum. As guards and citizens mingled, there was much embracing and many tears. Woona quickly sidestepped out of the way onto the platform. She still had one more promise that she had to make good of.
Woona's words rang out with the power of the Royal Canterot Voice. "If I could have your attention for just one more minute!" Slowly, the ponies settled down and redirected their attention to the tiny printest. "I have one more decree that I'd like to make official. Sunshine, Meadowlark, could you both come up here?"
The bat ponies looked at each other, wondering where their friend could be heading with this. But they did as she asked and leapt up onto the platform.
Woona looked back into the audience. "It's because of these two ponies here that I am speaking to you all today. And I can't thank them enough for everything that they've done for me." With a glance at the bat ponies, the little alicorn was surprised to find their eyes had widened and were sparkling with tears that threatened to fall. Woona cleared her throat and said, "You may both kneel."
Without becoming any less emotional, Sunshine and Meadowlark kneeled before Woona. "As a printest of Equestria," Woona began, "I name you both captains of the Lunar Guards, which from now on will guard the night with me, just as the Royal Guards protect my sister."
Celestia saw an opportunity to step in. She extended a large, white wing over Sunshine and Meadowlark affectionately. "I think it's a marvelous idea," she said so that everypony could hear her. "May you two protect the night faithfully!"
As the congregation cheered, the new Lunar Guards tackled Woona with a high-caliber hug, saying to her everything in between "thank you" and "it's about time!"
There was no more hope of keeping everypony calm. The Equestria Royal Guard Celebration was in full swing, and everypony couldn't be more excited. Woona took the time to give her friends up on the platform patent-pending Printest Woona hugs, which they say is sure to cause heart bursting. Woona even made good use of her adorasynthesis to breathe underwater and give Danger McSteele and Queen Serenitasis a hug.
Upon clambering out of the water tank, Stardust the moonitaur ruffled Woona's mane. "You did good," her gruff voice said. Ziggy, her son, nodded vigorously in agreement. Imogen, too, congratulated Woona and the bat ponies. That is, of course, after Sunshine and Meadlowlark had received much liquid pride from their mother, Echo.
Woona was about to return to the aisle, but not before Celestia stopped her by embracing her with her wing. "I am more proud of you than I can say, dear sister," she said. "What you have done today will be spoken of for many ages."
Woona stood on her hind legs and put her forehooves on her sister's chest. "I learned from the best!"
Before Celestia could respond, Woona felt a tap on her shoulder. It was one of the Royal Guards. He had removed his helmet, making it easy to tell that he had been crying. "Printest Woona?" he asked tentatively.
Woona straightened herself and said adorably, "Yes, sir?"
"What you just did was inspiring," he said fervently. "For us all. I've been serving for eight years, and to be recognized for my service is an honor. I was wounded pretty badly a few years ago, almost to the point where I couldn't serve anymore."
Woona's eyes just about doubled in size. "What did you do?" she breathed.
"I just did my duty, Your Highness," he replied. "I picked myself up and got back in the ranks."
"Equestria will never be able to thank you enough," Woona said, nodding seriously. "I will give you something that only my bestest of friends get!"
The soldier smiled but played along. "What is that, Printest?"
To his surprise, Woona's hoof quickly extended outward and pressed on his nose, making a most peculiar "boop" sound.
The guard chuckled and returned the nose booping. "I will treasure it always, my dear Woona."
