The wrap party was under full swing. After nine long years, Friendship is Magic was ending with over 200 episodes under its belt and a feature-length film amongst many other achievements. All were filled with a mixture of happiness of what they have done and sadness over the experience ending. Meghan finished taking a swig and then tilted her head at a odd sight. It was Nicole Oliver, who was standing in the corner looking down at the floor. The woman was never like this before in any of her previous interactions…Meghan pondered whether Nicole was taking this harder than she had previously thought. Worried about her companion and filled with liquid courage, she made her way towards the voice actress.
"Everything alright?" Nicole seemed to be snapped out of a stupor as she shook her head in recognition of her peer.
"Huh? Oh! Oh yeah, it's fine, it's just...can we go someplace private?" She asked, darting her eyes around the room as if a horde of cameras were about to take her picture. Meghan nodded and turned to a storage closet, quickly shutting it behind them for some privacy. It seemed similar to the stateroom from Night at the Opera but it got the job done for the time being.
"Thanks. First things first, I'd like to thank you for everything you've done." Meghan cackled, partially due to the alcohol in her system. "Why are you so serious? Come on, it's a party!" The woman shifted on her feet and stared directly in Meghan's eyes, unnerving her slightly."
"It's more than that to me. There's been a little something I've been hiding from you for all these years." There was an immense pause as Meghan wondered what she was going to say next. "There's a reason why I know Celestia inside and out. There’s a reason why I’m so passionate about the show and her character in particular. Well, I guess there's no point in holding it back any longer. I am her." “Her who?” “Princess Celestia.”
Another pause, this time interrupted by the laughter of a drunken showrunner. "How long have you been holding on to that one? Come on, tell the rest of the cast! It’ll be great!" Meghan said as she pulled Nicole’s arm, trying to get her out of the small cramped closet." “No, I'm telling the truth. I am Princess Celestia. Would you like a demonstration?"
Several bottles of cleaning fluid leviated in the air under a golden glow. They twirled and spun around a few times in mid-air before being placed in the exact position it was before. Meghan's eyes boggled at the sight: "How'd you do that? Some kind of magnets?" Nicole sighed at the woman’s reaction.
“Your kind are awfully sceptical. That’s something I had to learn over time. I suppose I should just show you.” Just before Meghan was about to ask what the VA meant by that, a flash of white and gold light filled the room. Meghan hastily shielded her eyes lest she go blind by the sight. When the light disappeared, Meghan's jaw collapsed to the floor. It was her. Princess Celestia who had somehow shifted her form from Nicole and was almost towering over the woman. The alicorn was staring at Meghan with a set of beautiful eyes that had the fires of the sun in their pupils. Celestia then flashed a knowing smile on her lips. Meghan was in awe. It certainly wasn’t an everyday occurrence that someone you had worked with for years turned out to be the character they portrayed for 9 years straight. She lifted a shaky hand towards the alicorn and petted her fur; a substance that was softer than anything else she had ever felt. The Princess of the Sun merely smiled and giggled lightly at this reaction. Meghan was absolutely speechless as she stared at the alicorn’s ethereal mane. It was flowing through the air as if a phantom wind propelled it with colours so vibrant that it almost defied description. Celestia smiled as she continued.
"That is a strange thing with you humans." The alicorn said as she peered at Meghan's curious expression. "You are so curious and yet so stubborn at the same time. I suppose it's best I tell you everything from the start.” Yet another glow of yellow magic took place, this time creating a phantom translucent screen.
“Centuries ago- at least, centuries ago for your kind, the events that you know as a ‘cartoon’ actually took place." The screen played silent memories of episodes and events of Friendship is Magic, though with slight variations of some appearances. Meghan finally retained the courage to speak at this sight. "Are you telling me that we somehow managed to-" Celestia interrupted the woman and laughed at the implications.
"Oh, of course not, my dear. Not EVERYTHING was directly copied. It’d be downright impossible for that to happen! For instance, the...what did you call them...'student six'? They existed 125 years after Twilight Sparkle and her students. And the Equestria Girls thing? Come on! That is utter nonsense. Sunset Shimmer was a fine student of mine and she certainly wouldn’t have tried to run away. And to a human high school?! That was a little much. In addition, Discord had a different voice than the one you chose. Though I must commend Mr. DeLancie on his fine performance. He sounded something more along of the lines of your Gregory Peck." Celestia merely smiled again, the enormous alicorn bending so her horn did not hit the hanging lamp swinging precariously back and forth. Meghan was about to ask her something else when she was interrupted by Celestia.
"Yes, Mrs. McCarthy. Equestria does in fact exist- but not as you know it. It's about 200 years after what has occurred in the "show", as you would call it.” Celestia paused as memories came rushing back to her head. “Oh, many students have come and gone but Twilight Sparkle was always my favourite. I guess that's why I chose her stories to tell." Celestia chuckled as she continued. "To be honest, she was a little embarrassed that I would choose her when I made the plans." "P-plans?" Meghan asked, practically trembling as she said it. Celestia placed a kind hoof on the woman's shoulders as he mysterious and maternal grin appeared. “Hush, my child. I meant no malice.”
"I made contact with this world many years ago- long before you were born.” Here the images of Friendship is Magic shifted and formed into shapes of Celestia, somehow on Earth, watching various world events of the past century with curious and sometimes terrified eyes.
“Before you ask- no. I didn't interfere with any of your world events. I merely...observed. Took notes. As I watched, I came to a realisation. You humans. You are so fragile and yet you have so much to learn. I was determined to find a way to teach you the lessons that Equestria had learned long ago. Of course, I couldn't just swoop down as an alicorn in your League of Nations, or later United Nations, and force humans to make peace and be friends. That is not the way I do things. Everything you humans ever knew about your world would have been upheaved. I dare say there may have been some who would have gone to war with our world or would have stolen its resources for their own gain. Some might even have experimented on my dear little ponies.” Meghan shuddered at the thoughts of what could have occurred. “I spent years, whispering guidance in the ears of the humans and vanishing. Sometimes it worked, other times not so much. But you and Mrs. Faust have been the most surprising."
Meghan was torn between two decisions. On one hand, she was certain that this all might be an alcohol induced hallucination or maybe a prank. Celestia could have been a mere projection with Nicole sitting behind a booth with a microphone somewhere. But her voice was so soothing and persuasive, the human almost didn’t want to leave her. The confused look on her face only made Celestia giggle harder at the sight.
"Now that is a look I haven't seen in a long time. Did you know that the first time I came here, I thought horses were the dominant lifeform? I spent 45 minutes trying to hold a one-sided conversation before I realised my mistake.” The phantom movie screen showed a rather comical scene of Celestia trying in vain to communicate with a white mare who merely stared at the alicorn with blank eyes. The scene was then interrupted by an elderly figure in overalls entering the stable to see Celestia for the briefest of moments. “The old farmer who found me got the spook of his life..." The alicorn continued as she sipped from her glass by levitating it, rather than holding it as Meghan did.
"That's the thing I missed. Most humans can't levitate things- magic appears to have left this world with the exception of a few minor parlor tricks. Oh, right, your question. It was very lucky that you already had a franchise that could easily serve as a springboard for Equestria and its stories. I reasoned that, by sharing the life experiences of Equestria to your young ones, it would create and instil a sense of good morality and knowledge. If but one child has learned something from our stories, my journey here has not been in vain. The fact that your adults became intrigued in the show was a mere accident, though a very happy one.” Meghan ran through the story again and again, trying to piece together what the alicorn was saying and combining it with her experience. Celestia noticed the confused look on the woman’s face and decided to soothe her qualms.
“I decided to partake in the creation of this show…I had to keep a close eye on the production of the show. It was a way to ensure that the overall messages and morals weren’t being distorted. I didn’t want to see things muddled up. A quick illusion spell later produced the woman you would know as Nicole Oliver. I chose the name from a couple of books." The projection then shifted to show the figure of a human woman in a voice acting booth. "I decided to voice myself as I felt it would be for the best if I could use my own words in the precise way they were meant to be. I decided to voice Cheerilee as I felt it suited my knowledgeable, more academic side. As you can clearly see, my knack at theatre has improved greatly over the past few centuries.” She said and giggled at the thought of that disastrous play all those years ago as the projection faded and the golden magic vanished.
"But it doesn't make sense! Lauren said she got the idea from watching My Little Pony as a kid and..." The showrunner trailed off as Celestia's eyes gleamed.
“Dear sweet Lauren. Did she ever tell you about her "imaginary friend" as a child- the winged unicorn princess who taught her lessons that others would not? The "imaginary friend" who treated the child as though she was the unicorn's own foal? Oh, I am so proud of your kind. You have come such a long, long way…and now it’s up to you to do what’s right." As Celestia finished her explanation and nuzzled the human woman, Meghan's mind was flooded with an enormous amount of questions but she could only find two to ask.
"What will you do now? And what about your family?" Celestia smiled yet again, her air of mystery permeating every corner of the room.
"There are many others to teach but for now...I think its best to return home. First, a brief visit to Mrs. Faust and then I must make my return to Equestria. My ponies might be worrying about me. I will leave you a gift: the chance to do what you wish with the stories of my students, as long as you keep it within reason. I don't want them misinterpreted. And perhaps one day...your world and I will be able to make a different sort of contact. As for my husband and children- who said they weren't coming back with me?" Celestia let out a sly, almost provocative wink and was about to cast magic before stopping for a moment. "And if anyone asks about 'Nicole'… simply tell them she went home for a while. Remember, my little human. As sure as the sun shall rise and set, I will never truly leave you and one day, I will return.” She smiled and closed her eyes for a moment before peering down at Meghan. “You might want to shield your eyes again."
With yet another blinding flash, Celestia was gone. Where the alicorn once stood was replaced with a series of golden scrolls inscribed with the name of each member of the staff. Meghan picked up one of the surprisingly light scrolls and smiled towards the heavens as she read through the letter with her name printed on it.
