Archmage Chapter 8.5 - "Aftermath"

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As she pushed through the front door, dripping water all over the tile, she drew the stares of everypony in the room. With a wail, Rarity dashed forward.

“Twilight! Goodness, you’re soaked! Come here, darling.”

“Thanks, Rarity…” Twilight mumbled.

“You weren’t out there very long… I guess the weather team started the rain a little abruptly.” Dash chimed in, flapping her wings to help Rarity dry Twilight off. She felt the water evaporate off of her coat, hissing away as Rarity used her magic to dry Twilight inch-by-inch.

“Come on. We have hot cocoa, coffee, tea… What do you want?”

“Cocoa… Please.” Twilight offered a smile to Pinkie Pie as she entered the reception room. Slowly, everypony turned away from her, going back to their own conversations. Here and there, though, a stray pony or two would smile at her, or greet her. While their ceremony was a private affair, everypony that knew Orion and Glimmer was welcome to the reception. Twilight had just emerged from the graveyard into the hall, dripping wet, and downtrodden. But the look on her face…

“Did she just smile?” Fluttershy asked quietly.

“Y’all saw it, too?”

“I haven’t seen her smile since she found out.” Shining Armor chimed in, watching Twilight follow Pinkie Pie to the refreshment table. “She must have made her peace, I guess…”

“Huhn… C’mon, y’all.” Twilight and Pinkie Pie chose a large empty table, and they all sat together. They socialized, chatting about Orion and Glimmer, about the things they had done or the life they lived. The stories were warm and cheerful, with more than a few laughs being shared. Twilight laughed along with them, drinking hot cocoa and sharing her own happy stories. She seemed to be normal again…

“Hey, Twily…” Shining Armor drew her attention. “About that letter…”

“Oh. What of it?” Twilight asked, suddenly serious.

“There was that passage at the bottom…I didn't get to read it... What did it say?"

"Oh yeah, that..." Twilight smiled to herself, looking down at the cocoa before her. Slowly, she raised her eyes to the door leading out to the graveyard... Out to where she last saw Luna.

"They said... They were proud of me."

Author's Notes:

This was originally the ending to chapter 8. However, the ending we went with (The one currently on "Moonfalls and Mourning") fit well... We felt as if we needed to share this one before moving onto the next chapter.

The delay for this chapter was the result of a late-night edit of some issues we had.

Don't worry, chapter 9 will explain everything.