//------------------------------//
// Epilogue 
// Story: Stone Parasprites 
// by TheBigBob 
//------------------------------//

	The bell rang in the schoolhouse, letting the students know that they were all finished for the day. As they packed up, Cheerilee cheerfully reminded them of their assignment that night.
“Remember class,” she said. “Read chapter 8 of your history textbook, because there will be a quiz on it tomorrow!”
Many of the students nodded their heads in response. As the fillies and colts walked out the door, Cheerilee called out to three students in particular.
“Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo?” she said. “May I see you three for a moment?”
“Did we do something wrong?” Sweetie Belle asked as the three of them walked up to her desk. They got a few looks from the other students, but none of them stayed around to listen to what Cheerilee had to say.
“Oh, well you see...” Cheerilee thought about the best way to handle this. “I just wanted to ask you three about the journals you submitted last week.”
“What about 'em?” Apple Bloom asked.
“I just wanted to know...” Cheerilee sighed and chose her words carefully. “How much do you remember writing in them?”
“To be honest,” Scootaloo said, “I don't remember doing all that much.”
“Me either,” Apple Bloom said. “Ah just woke up that morning and remembered that it was due. Ah felt like two whole weeks just disappeared on me!”
“Hmm,” Cheerilee thought. “What about you, Sweetie Belle?”
Sweetie Belle frowned and looked down. “Beats me...”
“I see...” Cheerilee looked at her three students with concern. She glanced out the window. “Have you three noticed anything odd happening around Ponyville lately?”
The Cutie Mark Crusaders thought about it for a moment before Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo shook their heads. Apple Bloom's expression changed as she remembered something.
“I think I saw some weird pony in town,” she told her teacher as she scratched her head. “And ah've been having these weird dreams lately. Hey, wait a minute!” Apple Bloom said, looking at her friends. “Didn't you two have nightmares or sumthin' too?”
“Huh?” Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle said simultaneously. They muttered amongst themselves, unsure of whether or not they agreed with Apple Bloom.
“Oh girls!” Cheerilee quickly said. “It's nothing to worry about! Just a minor bug going around, that's all!”
“What about that pony I saw?” Apple Bloom asked.
“Oh Apple Bloom,” Cheerilee told her, “ponies come in and out of town all the time! There's nothing to worry about!”
Cheerilee smiled at her students brightly. The three of them frowned and looked at her. Cheerilee did her best to force a smile, carefully watching the expressions of her students.
Before long, Apple Bloom's face turned into a smile as well. “If ya say so, miss Cheerilee!” Apple Bloom's smile infected her friends, and soon the three of them were back to their normal selves.
“Was that all you needed?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“Yes, that's it!” Cheerilee told her. “You three are free to go. Have fun!”
“We will!” the three of them said in unison.
Cheerilee watched her students walk out the door. Outside, she could hear Scootaloo suggest they try to get a waterskiing cutie mark. When they were out of earshot, Cheerilee opened her desk and looked at the covers of the three journals the students had submitted. She sighed and put them into her bag before leaving the classroom herself. Instead of going home, however, she made a stop at Ponyville's Post Office.



Two ponies wearing cloaks walked on a dirt road in the middle of the day. For the longest time, the two of them traveled in complete silence. The larger pony's stomach growled, but he said nothing. They traveled on the road for what felt like hours, until eventually they reached a fork in the road. A sign gave them two options. To the left was Las Pegasus, and to the right was Fillydelphia. The two of them looked down each road and tried to come to a conclusion.
“Let's go to Las Pegasus,” Brock said to his companion. “We might be able to gamble our way to a decent living.”
“Are you crazy?!” Flash complained. “I've performed shows there time and time again! I'll be recognized in an instant!”
Brock scoffed. “Well maybe you could get us some cash by selling some autographs! I don't know if you've noticed, but now that Ebony's gone, maybe we could get some decent hotel rooms without frightening the receptionist!”
“You know darn well why I won't do that!” Flash growled. “And what do you think the tabloids will say when they find out the kind of pony I've been traveling with? Rumors will spread like wildfire!”
“Then just pull one of your stupid impersonations!” Brock yelled. “Anything to get us a decent meal for once!”
Flash rolled his eyes. “Not every pony in Equestria is a living legend!” He frowned and looked off to the side. “It's a miracle I even pulled that Applejack shtick as long as I did.”
“Then what do you recommend?” Brock asked his companion. “Sooner or later we're gonna reach a city. Better to have a plan by the time we get there.”
“Look, let's just go to Fillydelphia,” Flash insisted. “We'll hide out for a while. I'm sure somepony could help us out.”
“What will we tell them?” Brock asked.
“I don't know,” Flash responded. “Let's just be honest. Say we fell on some hard times.” Flash poked his friend's shoulder. “Plus, you're a big, strong stallion. I'm sure we could find work for you.”
“What about you?” Brock asked him. “I doubt they'd hire an actor they found on the streets.”
“Doesn't matter,” Flash told him. “I bet compared to most of the folk that wash up there, we're way ahead of the pack.”
“You think so?” Brock said.
“Sure.” Flash smiled. “As long as we stick together.”
Brock's mood lightened as well. The two of them nodded and headed toward Fillydelphia.



Princess Celestia stood in the royal hall, looking through the windows as snow fell onto the ground of Canterlot. It had been several weeks since she had received an unusual package in the mail containing a short letter and three journals. Celestia had read the journals over and over in the intervening time, trying to figure out how things could have gone better. She had barely known Professor Ebony all those years ago, and fired her without hesitation upon learning that her prized pupil had been in mortal danger.
She also regretted not teaching Twilight more about dark magic. Celestia had not anticipated that the symbol of the being from Tartarus would trigger a forgotten memory. Not only that, but if Celestia had been more open with her student, she would have realized that she was actually very proficient in dark magic, as rarely as she uses it. Because of these circumstances, Celestia did not hesitate to demonstrate her powers to Twilight when she sent her out to save the Crystal Empire, as well as try to do something about her student's hero complex. Celestia's thoughts were interrupted when the door to the hall opened and one of her soldiers entered.
“They've arrived, Princess Celestia,” he announced.
She turned her head toward the soldier. “Send in the pegasus. I wish to speak to him alone.”
“And the unicorn?” the soldier asked.
“Put her in one of the cells,” she ordered. “She's probably harmless, but let's not take any chances.”
“As you wish.” The soldier bowed and walked out the door.
Princess Celestia stared outside for a moment longer before returning to her throne. She took the three journals out of a case and set them down on a table next to her throne. One last time, she flipped through Apple Bloom's journal. On the outside, it looked like an ordinary schoolbook used for taking notes. The young filly was not even aware that she may have saved Equestria. Her story would have been lost to history without this journal as proof.
After a few minutes, the doors to the royal hall opened again. Celestia set her eyes on the pegasus with gray fur and a black mane that she had read about. He was escorted by two soldiers on either side of him. His hair was a mess, his cloak was torn, and the dirt in his fur fell off of him and made a noticeable mess on the pristine floor of the hall. The pegasus looked around the throne room in amazement before realizing the dirt he was tracking onto the floor.
“I'm so sorry!” he told the Princess. “I didn't mean to! I-I'll clean it up right away!”
“It will be taken care of,” Celestia told him as she walked down the throne room, hovering the journals close to her. “Guards?”
“Yes, your highness?” the escorts said.
“Leave us in peace,” she told them. “I will have somepony clean up the mess in a moment.”
“Yes, sir.” The two of them exited the hall and shut the door, which echoed throughout the room.
“Now then,” Princess Celestia said, standing a few feet from the pegasus. “You are Dark Storm, I presume?”
“Th-that's... correct.” Dark stared directly at her, standing perfectly still and upright.
Celestia noticed his stiff body language and smiled at him. “You may stand at ease, Dark. There is no need to be formal with me.”
“Oh! S-sorry!” Dark tried to relax, but it was no use. He continued to stand still and upright.
Celestia decided not to push the issue. “How was the journey here?” she asked him. “Were my soldiers rough on you?”
“N-no ma'am!” he stammered. “I-I was a little hesitant to cooperate when they found me, but they have treated me as a guest, not a prisoner.”
“Good,” Celestia said. “And I suppose you understand why I have brought you here?”
“I, um, have an idea...” he told her.
“And what would that be?” she asked him.
Dark hesitated for a moment before answering. “To be... um... commended?”
Princess Celestia smiled at him. “That is certainly part of it.” She watched as Dark breathed a sigh of relief. “Because of your actions, Equestria may have evaded a terrible war. It is a shame that Apple Bloom will not remember you.”
“Will there be a, um, ceremony?” Dark asked.
Celestia gave him a look.
“N-not that that's necessary!” Dark panicked. “I was just wondering, that's all!”
Princess Celestia smiled at him. “While you deserve one, I think it would be better if this situation stayed quiet. No need to reveal your presence to the world just yet.”
Dark looked at her. “W-what do you mean?” he asked.
“You befriended the being from Tartarus, did you not?” she asked him. “The... slender pony?”
“That's true.” Dark told her. “I tried to help Ebony capture him, but when I saw that he was not malicious, I did what I could to free him from her grasp.”
“Was the slender pony with you when my soldiers found you?” Celestia asked him.
“No,” he told her. “I needed to look after Ebony's empty shell. I let him go because I knew that he would not be harmful to anypony.”
“I see.” Princess Celestia closed her eyes and sighed.
“Um...” Dark said. “What will happen to Ebony?”
“She will be cared for here,” Celestia explained. “She may only be a hollow shell, but there is still a chance that she can cause harm. It is best that she is left under our watch.”
“I understand,” Dark said, sighing. “It is probably for the best.” The two of them stood in silence for a moment before Dark asked another question. “So... are we done? You brought us here to congratulate me and imprison Ebony?”
“There is one more thing,” Celestia told him.
“What's that?” he asked.
“I have a job for you.”