Back in the throne room of Castle Fynn, our heroes walked over to Hilda and Gordon. The guilt-ridden Leon, however, stepped aside and joined Leila, Paul, and Nelly. The room was also filled with the Crystal Ponies as well as the citizens of Ponyville.
"It's... finally over, isn't it?" asked Hilda.
"Yes. Thank goodness," said Cadence.
"It was a long struggle... But with the Emperor gone, we've nothing left to fear. Thank you. Will all my heart, I thank you."
It was Gordon's turn to address the party.
"With the combined strength of Kashuan and Fynn, we will rebuild the kingdom anew." He then turned to his beloved. "Together, Princess, we will build a kingdom even fairer than the old. Though once a coward, I now stand here a new man. I have all of you to thank for that," he said addressing our heroes. "I'm sure Scott is smiling down on me from above."
The thief Paul walked right up to our heroes and chuckled. "Look at you. Do you realize what you've done?"
"No...?" Twilight asked uncertainly.
"Who am I supposed to steal from now that the Empire's gone? You put me out of a job! Guess I'll have to start stealing from you. Better watch your backs!"
You're welcome... Firion said to himself, with an unamused look shared by the rest of the group. Leila stepped forward.
"Ye sure showed 'em, Firion! Yer every bit the bloke I pegged ye for! If ye ever feel like tryin' yer hand at piratin'..."
She then caught a glimpse of Maria glaring at her with her arms crossed. Twilight, Cadence, and Fluttershy also gave disapproving looks.
"That not sit well with ye all."
"No. I think Firion should live a more... honest life," said Maria.
"I agree," said Twilight.
"Me, too," said Fluttershy.
"Likewise," said Cadence, feeling that there was more to Maria's disapproval.
Leila laughed heartily. "Looks like yer next battle's already begun, Firion!" She then left the Grand Hall, but not before giving a quiet sigh that no one had noticed. Next was Nelly, Josef's daughter.
"You did it! You saved us all!" she said, hugging Fluttershy. "Daddy would be so proud of you!"
"Thank you, Nelly," said Fluttershy. "What are you going to do now?"
"I'm going to be working here, serving the princess. I just wanna do whatever I can to help out!" As soon as she said that, an apparition of her father appeared before the heroes' eyes.
Did I see what I think I saw? Twilight thought.
"Josef...?" Firion asked, wondering if he had seen him as well.
She took her place in the Grand Hall standing alongside Prince Gordon and Princess Hilda. The latter declaring that now was the time to rebuild and live once again. Bidding our heroes farewell, the three humans left the chamber to begin their efforts to restore the kingdom.
"It's all over..." said Twilight.
"War finally over!" said Guy. Firion agreed.
"Thank goodness," Fluttershy added.
"Now we can live in peace again. Together..." She then looked at the Equestrians. "Oh! Well..."
"I know," said Twilight. "We should be ready to leave soon. So not of all us can live with you..."
"We have our own home to go back to," said Cadence. "We wouldn't want to keep the others waiting. Do we, Flurry?"
The baby alicorn giggled.
"It's not just our pony and dragon friends..." said Firion, sadly.
At that moment, Leon began to walk away from the group and move away from Fynn.
"Leon!" his sister called.
The former Dark Knight turned around and addressed his friends and sister. "I'm sorry, Maria... Too much has happened between us... There is no going back..."
"Firion! Stop him, please!" Maria begged. Everyone else, however, knew that there couldn't be an easier way.
"Maria... Leon's right. We've been through too much," he said. "I can't stop him... Not now." As soon as Leon took the first step, Firion called out to him. "We will meet again."
The former Dark Knight didn't turn around and face them, but he still gave a subtle nod, acknowledging his friend's statement.
"Leon..." said Twilight. "I hope... I hope you find your true self..."
Leon stood silent. As with Firion, he gave her a subtle nod and finally walked out of the Grand Hall.
*music fades out*
The Equestrians' bodies began to glow, albeit slowly as if something was summoning them, beckoning them to return home.
"Does this mean...?"
"I... I think so," said Twilight, unsure. "Maybe it's time we went back to Equestria. Last time, we woke up back in the Crystal Empire, but I think it must have felt this way, too."
"So you're leaving..." Firion asked, even though he and the others knew the answer.
"Yeah..." Spike sighed.
"We saved my daughter and the Crystal Ponies," Cadence added. "We even defeated Emperor Mateus twice."
"We going to miss you all," said Guy wiping a tear.
"We'll miss you, too," Fluttershy replied, her eyes tearing up.
The Crystal Ponies joined hooves with their fellow ponies and Spike. Little Flurry cooed.
"That's right, Flurry," Cadence whispered. "We're finally going home."
"Twilight," said Firion. "Remember when you asked me what I wanted to do, when all this was over?"
Twilight nodded.
"This may sound silly, but... I want to fill the world with wild roses."
The Equestrians raised an eyebrow.
"Wild roses...?" asked Twilight.
"I know it sounds silly, but... I want everyone to know that the war has ended, and this should be a time of peace..."
Knowing he was right, Twilight placed her hoof on his shoulder and smiled. "In that case, Firion... I wish you the best of luck."
"Me, too," said Fluttershy.
"Likewise," Cadence added.
Cid, Twilight thought. Can you hear me? I think we're ready now.
"Good-bye, everyone," said the Princess of Friendship as she and her friends disappeared.
"Twilight, Spike, Cadence, Fluttershy..." said Firion. "Thank you all..."
Little did they know that they were not the only ones silently saying their farewells. Minwu, Josef, Scott, and Ricard had also smiled, thanking them for bringing peace back to their world.
Upon arriving back in the Crystal Empire, our heroes were greeted with thunderous cheers and applause.
"Our saviors have returned!"
"Twily! Cadence!" Shining Armor said. The two alicorns trotted over and hugged their loved one, happy to see him again.
""There's someone else who's glad to be home," said Twilight. Cadence unwrapped the bundle she was carrying, revealing their most precious possession.
"Flurry Heart...!" he said. The little baby giggled with glee, happy to see her father again.
"TWILIGHT!! FLUTTERSHY!!"
The purple alicorn and the yellow pegasus to the voices calling her name. To their surprise the rest of their Ponyville friends appeared. They all gathered together in a group hug.
"Rainbow Dash!" said a familiar young voice.
"Rairty!" another child's voice said.
The two found among the ponies that had just returned with their younger sisters (or surrogate sister in Scootaloo's case). Rarity embraced Sweeite Belle so hard, the unicorn filly thought she was squeezing the life out of her. Rainbow and Scootaloo held each other in a sisterly hug, both happy for their reunion.
"I am relieved you are all safe," said the voice of Cid, getting everypony's attention. "Thanks to you, the domination of the Empire of Palamecia has ended. Peace and prosperity have returned."
"What will happen to Leon?" asked Twilight. "Do you think he'll really be welcomed back after all he's done?"
"Only time will tell, Twilight Sparkle. Leon has a lot to answer for, as did Emperor Mateus."
"Speaking of the Emperor, it's scary how he came back from the dead, trying to destroy everything."
"It was worse than that, Twilight."
"H-How so...?"
"When the Emperor died in battle, his soul separated into two: one light and one dark."
Everypony was shocked.
"His... his soul split in two?!" Twilight screamed.
"That is correct."
The Crystal Heart displayed an image of a figure reminiscent of the evil Emperor. From what our heroes saw, the being had six wings and a golden gate on his back. He appeared to be made of clouds and wore a light-colored robe.
"So not only did his dark half conquer the underworld, his light half took over the other part of the afterlife?!"
"Yes... However, there is no need to fear."
"How so?"
"While you fought against the Dark Emperor in Pandaemonium, the spirits of your fallen comrades took up arms against his light counterpart in Arubboth, the palace of Heaven. Let me show you..."
The Crystal Heart displayed the battle between the Light Emperor and a group of humans that the Twilight and the others recognized: Minwu, Josef, Ricard, and to Twilight's surprise Prince Scott.
The battle raged on, and as the Light Emperor was vanquished, he uttered the exact same death cry as his dark counterpart.
"Wow..." Rainbow Dash awed.
"Um, Cid?" asked Fluttershy.
"Yes, my dear?"
"A lot's happened on our journey. Several of our new friends lost their lives..." The yellow pegasus' eyes teared up, as she said this. "They died, sacrificing their lives to save us and... and..."
"I understand..." said Cid. "This ordeal has been quite traumatic for you. I will not force you to enter a new world. You deserve a rest, Fluttershy."
She sniffled. "Thank you..."
"There is something I would like to give you, however."
"What would that be...?" she asked fearfully.
Her answer was a quick flash of light, but nothing came of it, or so it seemed.
"That's it?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"Not really," Cid answered. "Why not head back to the cottage near the Everfree Forest? You will find your answer there."
"The cottage near the...?" Fluttershy asked, realizing the location. "That's my house."
"Correct. I will see you again, sometime."
"Thank you."
"Wait!" said Twilight.
"Yes, Princess Twilight?"
The purple alicorn lowered her head, unsure of what to say next. Princess Cadence saw this and urged everypony except the Mane Six and her aunts to return to their homes. Twilight waved the crowds goodbye and wished the Ponyville citizens a safe trip. As soon as the sanctum was empty, her smile faded.
"Twilight?" said Applejack, worriedly. "If there's somethin' on yer mind, ya gotta tell us."
The purple alicorn thought hard and finally spoke up. "Before Mateus died, he said something about other people like him, intending to invade Equestria."
This news brought fear and alarm to everypony present.
"Don't tell me you're serious, Twilight! It was just the one--"
"No, Rainbow Dash," Twilight interrupted. "Remember our battle against Garland and the Four Fiends of Chaos?"
"Yeah...?" the cyan pegasus answered.
"Mateus said he had a vision of that battle and waited until Flurry's birth so he could begin the invasion."
"What?!"
"But how could he do that, Twi?" asked Applejack.
"I don't know, but I feel like... like this whole mess was our fault."
"Good heavens, Twilight!" Rarity exclaimed. "You mustn't say such a thing! After all, it was Queen Chrysalis' doing."
"She is right, Twilight."
The ponies turned to the Crystal Heart.
"These villains may have their sights set on Equestria, but when the time comes I will summon you here once again via your cutie marks. When they glow as bright as the crystals, you must return here and I will lead you to the next world."
"Thank you, Cid," said Twilight, as she bowed. After embracing her fellow princesses and brother and bidding them farewell, she joined up with Ponyville friends once more. The six ponies and dragon each left the chamber of the Crystal Heart and straight for the train station.
"May the Light of the Crystals shine..."
*music fades out*
Ponyville
Once they disembarked the Friendship Express, everypony went right for Fluttershy's cottage. And when they got there, they saw a huge yellow bird looking about, confused by its surroundings.
"Kweh?" it squawked.
Twilight and Fluttershy gasped at this sight.
"What is that? Some kind of bird?" asked Rainbow. "I've never seen it before."
"It's a Chocobo," said Twilight. "The humans we've traveled with in that world, used them for travel."
"They're such lovely creatures," said Fluttershy. "This must be what he was talking about."
The yellow creature cautiously approached the ponies. Lowering its head, it nuzzled with Fluttershy.
"Yes, I like you, too."
"Kweh!" it chirped happily.
"My name's Fluttershy, and these are my friends Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Spike."
"Kweh!"
"Oh, my GOSH!! It's adorable!" said Pinkie Pie.
Fluttershy then looked in the direction of where the Crystal Empire would be. "Thank you, Cid."
Despite the terrible feeling she had in her mind, Twilight's heart melted at the display. The ponies then interacted with the Chocobo and were very happy to make a new friend.
*music fades out*
And thus ended the chapter of Twilight Sparkle and Princess Cadence's journey to rescue Flurry Heart and stop Emperor Mateus from ruling his native world and invading Equestria. Little did Twilight know that the Emperor's words would soon come true: there would be others like him and Garland. The ponies were soon to face one that threatened to extinguish light with the powers of darkness...
THE END