//------------------------------//
// ... get better as things continue (part 1). 
// Story: A Different Bridal Path 
// by Stainless Steel Fox 
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Epilogue 1 - Whatever happened to the Mentor?

"Are you sure you want to do this Twilight?" Thorax asked as he walked with Twilight through the library.

"I have to try, or at least see if it's possible." Twilight's new wings twitched slightly as she spoke, showing her nervousness. "Don't worry, I won't take any unncessary risks."

"Sugarcube, I'm more worried about what kinda risks you'll reckon are 'necessary'." Applejack was only one of the ponies trailing the pair. The other Elements and Spike were all there, still wearing their Elements.

"I owe Garnet Nib a great debt, every-pony here does." Twilight stated, not exactly answering Applejack. "He had the wisdom to prepare a refuge for the knowledge to defeat Sombra, and the courage to to go into a fight he knew he could not win in order to protect it."

She lead them down to the bottom level of the library, past the big table and to the alcove that housed the secret doorway. The rotating platform could only carry two ponies, three if they were very friendly, so the group had to break up into three to get into the room that held the ruined remains of the Crystal Mage Archives and the crystalised remains of it's Archivist.

Even as Thorax was bringing the other ponies through, Twilight's horn was already glowing, and the magenta aura, shot with cyan flickered and played over the form of red crystal that was Garnet Nib's mortal remains and the book held in his outstretched forehooves.

"Yes!" Twilight exclaimed triumphantly as the scrying and detection spells she'd cast returned the results she'd hoped for. She turned to the others. "I did wonder if the version of Garnet Nib inside the book was too aware, too flexible for a mere copy of memories. I mean the version of Chrysalis that spoke to me in the book and my own nightmare felt like a living being, but she was basically a part of me talking to myself using Chrysalis's memories. Garnet didn't have anything like that."

"You're going to try it then?" Thorax asked, sounding worried.

"The restoration part should be easy. If I combine crystal magic from the heart to cleanse Sombra's corruption, with the restorative properties of the magic of the Elements, reversing what Sombra did should be simple enough. It's the transfer that will be the tricky part. I suspect the book won't survive, so I only have one shot at it. That's why I have to get his agreement first."

She picked up the book in her telekiesis and placed it in front of her, opening the cover. "Stand back every-pony, this should only take a moment."

She flicked over the first few pages and as before, the interior started glowing and she was drawn in. This time she didn't try to resist. As the book closed, Spike exclaimed, "Whoa! She really did go into the book! I wish my comics worked like that."

"Knowing Twi, this has to be some sort of life long dream!" quipped Rainbow Dash.

"I hope she's alright." Fluttershy said.

"Darling, she'll be fine." Rarity put a comforting hoof on her pegasus friends shoulder.

"Yeah, she survived exploding, twice!" Rainbow chipped in. "No book is going to give our egghead any trouble."

Pinkie giggled. "Applejack, I just realised! You were wrong! You can explode twice!"

"Say what now?" Before Pinkie Pie could remind Applejack of the trip to Froggy Bottom Bog, the book flipped open and Twilight was ejected, though this time she flared her wings to slow herself and as a result landed far more gracefully than last time. She looked around herself at the assembled ponies, dragon and changeling, and said, "Garnet agrees. We went over my plan in detail and analysed it carefully, and he could find no flaws. The only thing he's worried about is the knowledge stored in the book, but we think we have an answer to that too."

She started pulling coloured vials of gemstone dust out of her saddlebags, and in moments had created a septagon with numerous arcane sigils embedded in it enclosing the red crystal form of the Archivist. She touched her horn to one point of the septagon and the fine lines of gemstone dust flared like a trail of gunpowder from a match, leaving behind lines of fused crystal. 

"Alright, each of you take position at one of the points of the septagon, the one with your cutie mark. Thorax, your point is the heart symbol." As Twilight spoke, she placed the book back on Garnet Nibs outstretched fore-hooves.

"Oh? Any reason why?" Rarity asked. If a tone of voice could smirk, hers would probably win some sort of national prize.

"Yeah, why is he a part of this?" Rainbow added.

"Yes, Thorax will channel power from the Crystal Heart, allowing me to focus on manipulating and combining the energies. He's the only one apart from me who can do it." Twilight replied. "Please, we need to be in harmony for this to work. Just do this for me?"

She got a nodded agreement from the oathers and added, "One more thing, once the process starts, don't stop until I tell you."

They took their places without further comment, and on Twilight's signal, each concentrated on activating their Element, while Thorax's diadem glowed with the blue white glare of the Crystal Heart. The lines of the septagon illuminated with a polychromatic radiance that rose from the crystal surface to form low walls. As Twilight's Element of Magic flared along with her horn, beams of energy were drawn from each of them to play over Garnet Nib's body, mixing and swirling like oil on the surface of water that somehow clung to the shape.

The change started around Garnet Nib's rear hooves, a multi-coloured flame that seemed to burn slowly up his legs, replacing angular crimson crystal with light blue fur. The flames spread to his body and down his tail, revealing it to be as white as the mane and spade beard that appeared as the fire restored his head. The last part of the body to be revealed were the fore-hooves, and as the flame reached them Twilight grimaced and her horn glowed even more brightly, throwing off sparks.

The book caught the blue white flame and seemed to burn so quickly as to evaporate into fumeroles of smoke. This split into dozens of smaller streams, the largest of which flowed up Gannet Nib's nostrils. The others flowed outwards swirling over and around the ponies to blow over and around the ruined shelves and ashes. The light from Twilight's horn reached a blinding intensity then flared, leaving them blinking away the spots from their eyes.

Even before they could see clearly, they heard a double thump of hooves landing of a crystal floor, and an explosive exhale of breath. When they could, the burned and ruined shelves surrounding them had beeen replaced by shelves of immaculate books and tomes, and the crystal statue had been replaced by an elderly blue earth pony wearing a crystal horn on a headband.

He breathed deeply, and slumped, his forelegs giving way, only to be caught by Twilight's telekinesis. He took several more breaths and steadied homself, looking around in wonder at the ponies around him.  His gaze finally fixed on Twilight and he gave a gentle smile.

"Your work, as always, is impeccable, young Twilight. It feels so good to live again. I felt the defeat of Sombra, and sensed your own transformation, but I had not expected this was even possible."

"Welcome back, Master Garnet." Twilight answered, tearing up slightly. "You didn't think I'd leave you like that if there were any possibility of restoring you."

Garnet just smiled again, and turned to Thorax. "It seems you, young Thorax, have undergone your own transformation."

"Yes Master, I'm not sure what it means though." Thorax replied, rubbing the back of his neck with his hoof. 

"I suspect it means the Crystal Heart has blessed you. Your kind have lost their leader, maybe the powers of harmony have decided that they need a new one, one that can show them a better way to live?"

As Thorax considered this, Twilight said, "Oh, I must introduce you to the rest of my friends, the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony and my number one assistant."

She went round the group, introducing each of them, and at the end said, "I hope to stay here and learn more from you, at least for now, but ultimately I will be going back to Equestria with them. I have responsibilities, and friendships that I can't simply give up. That's why I hope that you will take the task of leading and teaching a new generation of Crystal Mages. You are aware of what has happened with my brother and Princess Cadence?"

"Indeed. I suspect that Princess Amore's reincarnation was what got you thinking about what you just did?"

Twilight blushed and ducked her head in an embarrassed nod. "Yes, I wondered that if Princess Amore's spirit was not sent beyond by Sombra's magic, whether your spirit could be saved. Especially if the book wasn't simply a collection of memories, but an anchor."

"Well done. Your deduction was correct. I bound myself to the book, so that when Sombra killed my mortal form, I would live on within it. I knew that whoever would answer the call to free us from, Sombra would need more than just raw knowledge, so I made sure I would be there to assist. You have talked to Princess Amore about this?"

"Yes. I'm sorry, but Cadence doesn't remember anything of her past life, even when she touches the Heart. However, she was happy to entertain the idea of restoring the Order of Crystal Mages, and getting to know you again."

"And I her. Let us go." With that, they left the secret chamber, heading back up into the library proper.