Epilogue
It was much later in the day when the Great Mound finally began empty out, with wolves, changelings and other races walking and talking to each other.
Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Spike, Swift-Pad and Maxilla had spent most of their day exploring All-Home but now they were eagerly waiting to see how their friend was and how the Gathering had gone for her.
Finally, near the end of the stream of people, they could spot her talking alongside Prince Thorax and the changeling Queens they had met yesterday.
“Twilight!” Spike called as he rushed up to her.
With a smile on her face, Twilight scooped him up and hugged him. “Hey, Spike,” she said softly. “How are you?”
“I’m good, how are you?” he replied.
“Doing much better than I had anticipated,” she replied. “We talked about and resolved a lot of things today. Oh - and we brought up the issue with Garble and the phoenixes like Swift-Pad promised, so that’s taken care of.”
Next to her, Queen Tegmina shook her head. “I still don’t know how that ruffian thought he could get away with doing such a thing,” she said.
“He was more than likely a stupid teenage youth that was not thinking properly,” Queen Scolopidia said softly but clearly not softly enough with how Queen Remigium bumped into her.
“Also Spike, I need you to send this off to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna immediately,” Twilight said, producing a sealed scroll. “It relates to some of what happened today.”
“Good news, I hope,” Spike said as he took the scroll and breathed his flames on it.
“It is,” Twilight said as she watched the message vanish off into the air. “It shows that the Packlands have forgiven Blueblood for his ancestor’s transgression, opened up a variety of new business relationships between our nations, us rearranging our prisoners and criminals for our nations, my royal decree of adding changelings to equal status and the protection of Prince Thorax and the changeling entourage that will be accompanying you back into Equestria.” Twilight paused for a moment before looking at her friends. “It also included that I am not returning to Equestria with you girls.”
There were several startled exclamations at that. “But… but Twilight, why wouldn’t you be coming back?” Rarity asked, clearly disturbed.
“Because I’ve found my Purpose,” Twilight told her. “I’m going to be traveling - and yes, Spike, you’re coming with me. We are going to be visiting various nations and doing what we can to mend the divides between all of them.”
Pinkie looked almost tearful. “How… how long will you be away?” she whimpered.
“At least a year, more than likely,” Twilight said softly. “It all depends.”
The girls looked very distressed at this. “Twilight…” Applejack finally said. “Ah trust you. Ah know you’re going to do a great job out there. But Ah sure am going to miss you.”
Twilight reached out her hooves as she pulled them into an embrace. “I’ll miss you girls too,” she said. “But I’ll always be thinking of you. And you… you’ll always be my friends. No… more than friends.” She sniffed. “My sisters.”
And then there were no words left, as the six mares and Spike all embraced one another.
In Canterlot Castle…
A swirl of flames coalesced into a sealed scroll in front of Princess Celestia. As she took it, her eyes widened. “Luna!”
“What is it?” Luna asked, almost instantly popping out of the shadows.
Celestia held the scroll out to her, and her eyes widened. “Twilight’s seal… and the Alpha’s,” she muttered. “This was unexpected.”
“Quite,” Celestia replied as she opened the scroll and began unfurling it, reading the cover letter.
Then she dropped it in surprise.
“Celly?” Luna asked softly as her sister began to shake.
Celestia turned to her sister with tears of pride in the corner of her eyes. “Twilight,” she said softly, “Has once again pulled off a miracle for us.”
“How so?”
“For one, the issue with Chrysalis has been resolved,” Celestia said. “It would seem there is a new heir to her hive’s throne, and as soon as his metamorphosis is complete - which will require the aid of our niece and her magic - he will be their full leader. And then Chrysalis will be cut off from the hive and spending the rest of her life in prison.” She then gave a snort of amusement and shook her head.
“And?”
“And the rest of the Queens are open to a lasting peace between our peoples,” Celestia said. “Twilight saw to that, and it would seem you and I don’t exactly have a choice in the matter, not unless we want to upend everything she has done and send everything into chaos. A number of them will be coming to visit us soon, including the new Prince.”
Luna raised an eyebrow. “Really.”
“Along with representatives of the Packs to discuss the matter of prisoner exchanges and pardons,” Celestia added. “Chrysalis is not on that list, by the way - she gave up any hope of clemency when she attacked us.”
“Good.”
“Our distant nephew, on the other hoof, has been pardoned, which should make him very happy.”
Luna shook her head. “How does Twilight do this…” she muttered.
Celestia gave her a smile. “Our new Princess of Friendship has really grown up,” she said, puffing her chest out. “I’m so proud of her.”
Luna smiled back, glad to see her sister in such high spirits. “As we should all be,” she said. “What other news?”
“She’s not coming home.” Celestia softly added as her sister opened her mouth. “Not yet, in any case. She and Spike are going to be traveling around the various nations, working to mend the ties between the various peoples of our world, as she has already done to help our own nation build stronger ties with the wolves and changelings.” She trailed off, looking lost for the lack of a better word.
“You have done a fine job teaching her, Celly, and now your filly has grown up into a fine mare,” Luna said, pulling her sister into a hug.
“I know,” Celestia said as she embraced Luna with more tears in her eyes. They stayed embraced for a while before Celestia was able to pull herself together. “But… there’s still one thing that worries me.”
“What’s that?” Luna asked.
“How are Night Light and Twilight Velvet going to react when I tell them their daughter is going to be out of the country for at least a year?”
“I do not know for sure but I suspect they will react with the same pride and maternal waterworks as you did,” Luna teased her sister who rolled her eyes.
“I have a feeling we’re going to be sending a lot of letters back and forth over this,” she said. “And I may be calling on your dream abilities to talk to her in person every now and then.”
“You just have to ask, Celly.” Luna smiled “Anything else in that letter?”
Celestia opened the letter again and went pale.
“She also asked us to explain what being the Lady of Magic and a Power is when she returns to Equestria,” Celestia said numbly. “It would seem that the Alpha has given her a bit of that information, but not a lot of details.”
Luna gave her a worried look. “I told you we should have discussed it with her sooner,” she said.
“I know, Luna. I know.” Celestia answered her sister. “I was alway worried she was not ready and each day I did not tell her would be another mark against me when I finally shared with her the true extent of who she is with her.”
Luna softened her face. “It seems, however, that the blow of her anger from us withholding the secrets from Twilight will not be as severe as we feared,” she said and gestured to the letter. “She seems to be quite calm here and we will have a year to prepare to tell her the truth.”
Celestia rose to her hooves and walked to the window, staring out into wide reach of her lands. “And when the time comes, I will tell her all there is.” She promised that to Luna, herself and most importantly, to her precious former student, Twilight Sparkle.
In the Crystal Empire…
“Shiny!”
Prince Shining Armor, at his wife’s voice, hurried into her room. “Hey, Cady. What’s up?”
“A letter from Twilight,” Princess Cadance told him with a smile. “Did you know she’s been entertaining a diplomat from one of our neighbors?”
“No, I hadn’t heard,” Shining Armor told her. “Which one?”
“The Packlands,” Cadance told him.
“They actually wanted to come to Equestria?” Shining Armor blinked in surprise. “Didn’t think they’d be visiting again anytime this decade.”
“Aunt Celestia told me they were coming about a new trade deal,” Cadance said. “Now, let’s see what else Twilight had to say…” She read on. “Oh.”
“What ‘Oh’?”
“Twilight asked, and was granted permission, to visit their lands and attend the Gathering,” Cadance said. “And she learned and achieved more than a few interesting things while she was there.”
“Such as?”
“Apparently one of their Observers was nearby during the Empire’s return,” Cadance told her husband. “He found Sombra’s horn after we destroyed his body.”
Shining Armor looked grim. “And?”
“He destroyed it.” She looked at Shining Armor. “That monster is never coming back again.”
“That is good news.” Shining Armor sighed in relief. “The Crystal Ponies should be very happy when they find out.” He looked at her. “We are going to tell them, right?”
“Once we’ve had time to set up for an official announcement, yes,” Cadance said.
“Good.”
“She also got my semi-cousin pardoned.”
“Really!” Shining Armor looked surprised. “How’d she pull that off?”
“Well… it involved changelings.”
“What!” Shining Armor’s eyes were wide. “What did they have to do with…” He saw the look on Cadance’s face. “There’s more to it than that, isn’t there?”
Cadance nodded. “That warning Aunt Celestia got, telling her about an upcoming attack on Canterlot? It was one of them. He split the hive, so only half of the drones went with Chrysalis to attack us.”
Shining Armor looked surprised. “I had no idea…”
“And, he’s now on the way to becoming Queen - or King, as the case may be - in Chrysalis’s place. But he needs my help to achieve the final metamorphosis.”
Shining Armor nodded slowly. “Your love magic…”
“Twilight’s own helped him finish the first metamorphosis, but he has one more to go, and then he can take full leadership of his hive. And then Chrysalis will never be a threat to anypony ever again.”
Shining Armor’s face was a mix of emotions, before finally settling on resolve. “Then let’s do it.”
“I hoped you’d say that.” Cadance leaned up and drew him into a kiss.
When they separated, she looked at the letter again. “We’ll be going to Canterlot soon, to meet Prince Thorax and the Queens accompanying him.” She smiled. “I was planning on going soon anyway, to speak with the mare Aunt Celestia wrote to me about the other day. This way I can do both at once.”
“Of course.” Shining Armor nodded. “Anything else?”
“Well, the wolves want to send a small delegation to attend the Equestria Games,” Cadance said. “As spectators, not competitors. And one of them really wants to meet you.” She flashed him a smile. “Apparently, you’re his hero.”
Shining Armor grinned. “Always happy to meet a fan,” he joked.
“I’m sure he’ll be glad to hear that.”
Two days later, six mares, one dragon and a handful of wolves stood at the train station at the edge of the Packlands.
“I’m really going to miss you all,” Twilight told her friends, both old and new.
“Don’t forget to write!” Pinkie said cheerfully. Then she scratched her head. “Princess Celestia knows she needs to set up some dragonfire candles for us, right?”
“I let her know,” Twilight reassured her. “She’ll get them to you as soon as you get back.”
“Good.”
The last of the mares (and one wolf - Well-Hidden had announced he was going their way, and so had chosen to accompany Fluttershy back to Ponyville) had boarded the train soon, and set off.
“It has been my honor to meet and get to know you, Twilight,” Swift-Pad told her. “I look forward to seeing the results of your coming efforts.”
Twilight smiled before giving both he and Maxilla hugs. “For everything you both have taught me, I will always be grateful,” she said.
There was a whistle, and Twilight looked back for a moment. “That’s our train,” she said. “Swift-Pad, Maxilla… I will see you again. And no matter the distance we have to go, Spike and I will be there for your wedding.”
“We wouldn’t have it any other way,” Maxilla told her. “Good luck, Twilight, Spike.”
And then the two boarded the train, the wolf couple watching as it departed a few minutes later.
“There,” Swift-Pad declared, “Go two of the most astounding beings and wonderful friends I have ever had the pleasure to meet.”
To be continued in… Diplomat at Large