The snow covered field was full of ponies and griffons, all gathered together in the gloaming. To help ward off the cold, fires had been lit in big brass braziers and there was hot cocoa to drink. Young ones that lived in the school dormitory towers milled about while the adult responsible for them watched over them. Breathing came out as puffs of steam in the frigid air.

There was a festive atmosphere as the impromptu party began to get lively. Ponies were ready with cameras, but they did not know what was going on. There was only the promise that tonight would be the most interesting night of their lives.

Bucky waited, grinning, his eyes upon the skies.

A massive vat of hot mulled cider was being heated up over a brazier.

The sun had set. The sky was now turning beautiful shades of purple, of blue, all of the colours that made up the royal majesty of the night. The stars began to twinkle overhead.

Cadance, who hung from a foal carrier slung around her father’s neck, watched the gathered ponies with bright curious eyes. Nopony noticed that she glanced at the burning fires and became anxious looking, as well as trying to cuddle closer to her father, her protector.

Looking up, and revelling in his own glory, Bucky watched the moon rise. Lost in the moment, Bucky did not hear the murmurs of those around him, the startled cries, the clicks and whirrs of cameras going off. Grinning from ear to ear, Bucky stared skyward.

And what a moon…

The moon, now a lurid labial pink, rose over the treeline, it was the pinkest of pinks. It glowed with a feverish pink light. It throbbed and pulsed with pinkness and everything all around Bucky took on a soft pink glow.

“The moon looks like a giant winking clitoris or something!”

“Berry Punch! There are foals present!”

“But Derpy, the moon is throbbing like a needy mare—”

“BERRY PUNCH!”

Bucky began to guffaw with laughter. Throwing back his head, he howled, fit to split. Cadance, unsure of what was going on, went wide eyed with alarm and looked to her mothers to save her.

But nopony saw Cadance.

Every eye was staring at the moon.

Adding to the surreal moment, a griffon began to play a lively tune upon a violin, his bow sliding with haphazard abandon over the strings as he stared upwards. The manic tune added to the absurd moment.

Wiping his eyes, Bucky looked over at Derpy. Standing in the pulsating light of the moon that was pink to the point of obnoxiousness, he was stricken by her beauty. He tromped through the snow, only one thing on his mind.

“Dance with me,” Bucky said as he approached.

“Bucky, I can’t hardly walk.” Derpy looked flustered and even more in pain than usual, hurt by words and circumstances.

Sweeping Derpy up in his telekinesis, Bucky pulled her close, mindful of Cadance in between them. Now standing neck to neck with Derpy, whose hooves were now inches above the snow, Bucky rubbed his cheek against Derpy’s as Cadance, sandwiched in the middle, giggled.

“Bucky, what did you do to Luna’s moon?” Derpy asked, finding it difficult to breathe for reasons she could not explain. She extended her wings and wrapped them around Bucky and Cadance.

“A harmless prank that will fade in time. I just wanted Luna to know that she was not unreachable.” Bucky allowed his hooves and his talons to drift into shadow, it was just dark enough, and he began to drift with effortless ease over the ground.

“Bucky, your… gliding… whatever… it makes you a wonderful dancer.” Derpy could feel Cadance pressed against her chest, she was squeezed in between Derpy and Bucky. At least Cadance was being kept warm and the alicorn foal did not seem to mind.

A soft pink glow manifested between Bucky and Derpy, unnoticed in the bright pink light of the moon. Unnoticed, but felt. Those in love turned to one another, feeling the love they shared more than ever, a deep meaningful need.

It didn’t take long before others were dancing in the snow as well. Music was played. There was an unmistakable sense of romance in the air.

Even the foals, the pups, the cubs, and the calves, young love began its first tender blossoms as Cadance’s magic began to manifest and grow in power. Little colts became emboldened and with shy embarrassment, asked fillies to dance. Little fillies, now feeling brave, asked little colts to dance with them, their cheeks blushing, pink and red like roses in spring.

In the snow, a tall minotaur and a blue earth pony danced together, the minotaur cow was holding the earth pony in her arms and they were dancing together, laughing, lost in the moment.

In the warmth of love, the cold of winter retreated. Old enemies now danced. Griffons danced with ponies. A diamond dog pup clung to a nervous blind filly as the pair tried to understand this new bond that was forming between them.

Long ago, the races had been divided, the defilement of the alicorns had been the cause, hatred was the source. Now, one alicorn was bringing the sapient species back together, her magic healing them, binding them in ways that none of them would ever understand.

Growler would never know a clublike tail, never would he know the frenzied lusts of his kind, the mindless greed, the need for violence, the need to subjugate and bring harm to others.

Yew Wood, a simple pegasus from the Shetlands, carried in her belly the promise of a new sense of unity, a hippogriff, one of the heralds of change.

Love burned through the crowd, a strange new love, a love that did not know boundaries, it did not know species, there was no barrier in existence that could stop it. It claimed a tenuous hold upon those gathered in the pulsating pink light of the moon. It filled the heart, providing inspiration, offering courage, instilling bravery, it was a love that would not be denied and could not be ignored. It was a flame that could not be extinguished.

It was the sort of love that made the dark things that lurked in the shadowy parts of the world worry that they might lose. It was a threatening consuming love that brought light back to the world. It was the raging fire that could burn away the dead wood of apathy and allow real progress to be made.

And all of this happened because one somewhat silly grey pegasus bumped snoots with one tan unicorn that had decided that he wanted nothing further to do with the ponies around him.

The Fates conspire and work a weird tangled weave that few would understand. The events set into motion almost a year ago ensured that Love would endure in this world. Such a random event, a pegasus mare chasing after a confused and bewildered unicorn stallion, had proven pivotal in allowing the world to heal after enduring such terrible wounds so long ago.

Oblivious to the damage they were causing to the darkness, Bucky and Derpy continued to dance with Cadance smooshed between them, their all consuming love providing Cadance the strength she needed to begin her great work.

War, now the weapon of Love, and bound tight under her control, had unleashed the first real volley in reclaiming the world from the darkness that threatened to consume it.

Those dancing in the snow had no idea that a terrible battle had just begun and that they were the front line fighters. Those reveling in the light of the pink moon had no idea that the balance had shifted now that a new major power had entered the fray.

Filled with love, touched by beauty, and finally knowing peace in her heart, Belisama began to play her autoharp, and as she did so, the magic began to flow. It tingled through her talons, welling out of her, spreading through the crowd around her. Real magic. Strong magic. Ancient magic from long ago, a primordial magic that could only be expressed through music and emotion.

Many immortals, sensing something was up, began appearing, many of them unseen. A massive pegasus appeared, unnoticed, unseen, watching the events with a raised eyebrow and a look of concern as lightning crackled through his wings. An elemental made of earth appeared beside him. With faint pops that could not be heard by mortal ears, an earth pony, a zebra, and a unicorn appeared, all of them mares. A moment later, a pale white earth pony stallion with a wilted petunia cutie mark appeared.

Odin, standing amongst his fellow immortals, looked around and said, “Erato’s legacy at last continues.” The old griffon looked sad but hopeful at the same time.

“The time is right for the birth of new Muses,” Clotho said.

“Bandua might be the first. We shall see,” Lachesis said.

“The Muses were our best weapons… it would be nice to have them in our arsenal again. The world is a poorer place without them.” Atropos shook her head.

“The rainbow maned pegasus… her foal has great potential. I am watching her with interest,” Rhea said.

“The foals of those who have been touched by harmony will be powerful weapons of change. We may have to step in and interfere somewhat to help them along.” Atropos turned and looked at her brother and then at her sisters.

There was a pop and a tall serpentine figure appeared along with a sunny yellow almost-but-not-quite-pegasus.

“I felt a funny feeling,” Discord said as he looked around. “Oh my… is there a convergence?”

Fluttershy, looking around as she tried to figure out what was going on, eyed the strange figures all around her. “I recognise some of you… hello… how do you do?”

“Both of you can feel it, can’t you?” Odin asked.

“I feel all warm and tickly all over… Discord, come dance with me… listen to the beautiful music!” Fluttershy, hovering in the air without flapping her wings, extended her now mismatched forelegs out towards Discord.

Saying nothing, Discord darted through the air, took Fluttershy in his embrace, and the pair went whirling off to dance in the pink light of the moon.

“Have we won?” Shield, the giant pegasus, asked.

“No, but we are winning,” Thanatos replied.

“Given enough time, I do believe that Celestia and Cadance together could challenge our creator parent… and win.” Clotho watched the revelrie taking place under the pink moon.

“She is draining his strength. As she grows stronger, he will grow weaker… hopefully, in time, our brother will no longer be a threat at all.” Lachesis stared off into distance, watching the pony she called her brother dancing with a grey pegasus mare.

“He offered his life for her. All that he is and all that he would be,” Thanatos said. “That was the deal.”

“I do believe his exact words were, ‘I have already offered my life… everything I am… everything I will be...’ and you took him at his word.” Clotho regarded her brother Thanatos with a soft sad smile.

“Power simply does not end… it cannot be erased or wiped away. It must be shifted, moved around, transferred. It is malleable and like so much else, can be reshaped to fit a new purpose,” Scorch said as he folded his arms over his broad chest. “Look at that moon. Funny how fate works. What was meant to be a prank is actually a long foretold sign that has all but been forgotten by mere mortals. It is her moon… a lover’s moon. Poor Bucky has no idea that his spell is permanent and that once every year in the dead of winter, the moon will rise pink and full, and those who view it will be compelled to love beneath it.”

“Our brother is stupid. He does not know why he does half of the things he does. But he goes with his gut instincts and he is obedient to the whims within his head,” Lachesis said as she continued to watch Bucky dancing.

“Odin was able to influence the creation of the spell through the eye that Bucky now wears… it is a fitting tribute to Erato.” Clotho heaved a sigh. “I need to get laid. That moon is even having an effect on me. I think I shall wander into Ponyville and see if I can find a randy stallion.”

“We’ve not yet won… there is so much work still to do.” Atropos smiled and looked up at the moon. “I haven’t felt this good about things for a long time.”

Lachesis nodded. “I am off to speak with Sombra and Platinum. Perhaps I shall bring them a little hope and ease their suffering.”

Above the gathered immortals, the pink moon continued to rise.

Author's Notes:

D'aw.

I have nothing clever or witty to say here. It took me a long, long time to reach this point in the story. About several months ago I hashed this sequence out, revised it a bit a month or two later, and then had two outcomes depending on if Odin was alive and Belisama discovered her magic, or if Odin was dead and Belisama finally gave in, lost hope, and realised that being a slave and a servant is all she would ever have in the world. She would be crushed, but happy in a sad way, finally knowing her place.

The effect upon the crowd would have been a little different as well.

The immortals, pining that all was not perfect or right, would have lamented that the world needed Muses to make things better, but that the world would never know them again.