Author's Note

Hey, guys! Just wanted to thank y'all for reading this story! I did want to tell y'all that the Order of the Moon was very much inspired by the Eden's Gate Cult from Far Cry 5. I also took inspiration from various radical televangelists and religious leaders throughout history.

Epilogue: What Friendship Means

After ridding Ilswich of Nightmane forever, the princesses took a look around at the group surrounding them. They looked happy to be rid of the scourge, but a bit bewildered as to what came next. After all, they had been guided by Nightmane and his wife for such a long time. Now that he was dead and she was going to be locked up in Tartarus, they didn't know who to turn to. They were confused.

"What do we do now?" Asked the same filly from earlier, voicing everyone's thoughts. "I don't know," somepony else responded, "I mean, all we've ever known is to work during the week and then on Sunday we go to Moon Church. I just don't know what to do now."

"Why don't you try friendship?" Twilight asked and smiled, "listen, everypony. You've been single hoofedly duped by this evil. Why not try reverting from it and turning to true friendship?"

"But, Your Highness, how does somepony become a true friend?"

"Through the display of the following six elements: honesty, generosity, laughter, kindness, loyalty, and magic. Combine these and you'll know what true friendship is."

The same filly came up and softly tugged on Twilight's hoof. "Yes?" Twilight asked as she smiled down at the young pony. "So…if I tell a funny joke to Stardust over there, does that make us friends?"

"Kind of," Twilight said, "but it's much more than just a joke here and there. You've gotta stick together through thick and thin, work out problems among yourselves, and know that you've got each other's back no matter what happens. That's loyalty. You've also gotta be willing to compromise and give in a little. That's generosity. Then there's honesty, which speaks for itself, and kindness, which can be found in droves if you look in the right spots."

"But what about magic?"

"The magic lives inside you," Twilight said as she put a hoof to the young one's heart, "that's where friendship is. Combine the other five and a spark will ignite, thus bringing the sixth element into your friendship. You ask some really good questions, young one. What's your name?"

"Moonbeam," the filly said as she blushed a bit. She had never been addressed by royalty before, and the concept blew her little mind and excited her all at once.

Twilight dipped down and rested her head on top of Moonbeam's. "Moonlight is going to be coming to my School of Friendship, and I would like to extend the invitation to you as well. You seem eager to learn about what true friendship is, and I would like to afford you that opportunity, if you're willing to accept it, of course."

Moonbeam smiled and her eyes shone. "You mean I'd get to meet other ponies and make friends with them?" She asked in excitement.

Twilight chuckled at her eagerness. "Yes, Moonbeam. I can tell you'd be a perfect candidate for my school."

"Oh, yes-yes-yes-yes-yes!" Moonbeam said as she bounced around Twilight. Moonlight ran forward and grasped the other filly in a hug. "Moonbeam! You're gonna come to Twilight's school, too!" The two fillies jumped and squealed as their happiness ran forth like a river. Celestia stepped forward and put a friendly hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "You've done marvelous work as the Princess of Friendship, Twilight," she said. Then she turned and looked somberly at the charred remains of Moonlight's father. "I just wish we could have taught Nightmane the same thing."

"I've realized something, Celestia," Twilight said.

"And what is that, my friend?"

"Friendship is an amazing thing. It can come in all shapes and sizes, and it can exist between creatures of all species. I'm very thrilled that you've put me in charge of it throughout Equestria. But there is a downside to friendship."

"A downside?"

"Yes," Twilight said as she motioned back towards the dead cult leader, "friendship cannot penetrate the thickest of armors, and Nightmane's was the thickest I've ever seen. He wanted to control the poor ponies of this village and the ponies of Equestria. So I see why you did what you did. It had to be done, and there was no questioning that. I've been able to help save some ponies through the power of friendship, but I don't think that power could have saved him. I guess you have to know when to be a true friend, and when to realize that friendship isn't the solution to every problem."

"You're right, Twilight," Celestia said, "as much as I adore friendship and I will always treasure ours, Nightmane was one of those ponies that had barred his heart to what friendship truly is. His spirit was a minefield, and our arrival here in Ilswich set it off completely. While I am sad, deeply sad, that we weren't able to introduce him to that same magic, I am thrilled that a difference has been made in the lives of the ponies here today."

She pointed her hooves around the assembly and Twilight's mouth stretched wide in a smile. For the first time since they had arrived in Ilswich, she noticed the ponies treating each other as friends instead of as cultish allies. They had shed the skin of oppression and collectivism and had turned into radiant beams of friendship and individuality, and she couldn't have been prouder.

Suddenly, the four princesses' flanks began flashing. Moonlight and Moonbeam stopped bouncing for a second and stared in awe and wonder. "What's going on with your cutie marks?" Moonlight asked.

"Yeah," Moonbeam echoed, "they've gone all kablooey!"

The princesses chuckled at Moonbeam, then Twilight responded. "They flash like this to signal that our friendship mission is complete." Then she raised her voice and addressed the entire gathering. "Listen, everypony! Our time here is at an end. As much as I would love to stay and get to know everyone better, our calling is back in Canterlot and Ponyville. But now each one of you has something new to fall back on: the magic of friendship. You don't need shared beliefs to have this magic. It's something that transcends things like that, and it is truly amazing. In the last hour, I have seen this group grow and mature immensely. I am honored to know you all, and more importantly, to have befriended you all. I know we don't visit up here often, and for that, I am truly sorry. Maybe that's why Nightmane was able to put his message across so easily. Maybe you don't know the four of us. So, as the Princess of Friendship, I hereby decree that I shall be making a week-long visit back here next month."

"As the Princess of Love, I, too, shall be making another visit," Cadance said as she smiled.

"As the Princess of the Night, I will be visiting as well," Luna said.

"And as the Princess of the Day, I will be coming back, too," Celestia said.

This declaration was met with a great cheer from everypony, and they all clustered around the four princesses, shouting their thanks and farewells. Then, the four rulers of Equestria turned southward and made their way back through the snow to their respective homes. But they never forgot the trial or the ponies of Ilswich, and Moonbeam and Moonlight became two of Twilight's most prized students. Yes, friendship worked wonders in that little town in the snow, and it was thanks to one filly's determination that it blossomed into something great.