//------------------------------//
// Chapter 50: Epilogue 
// Story: Return of the Ancient Mage 
// by Zoshe 
//------------------------------//

The next couple days were relatively uneventful. Just as Ret had promised, none of the crystal ponies remembered anything that happened since Clover came to town. Furthermore, all the damage that had been done to the throne room had vanished like their conflict had never happened.

The only thing that kept Twilight from doubting her own memory was that her friends and family that had been present remembered everything in resounding clarity. Shining Armor had recovered overnight, although he was still a bit groggy from playing host to an outrageously overpowered unicorn, that was the only way any of them could explain what Ret had done inside that strange void.

Both Shining Armor and Princess Cadence were a bit cautious around Spectrum for the first day or so, him being a changeling and all. By the end of the second day, thought, they were asking him all sorts of questions and seemed genuinely interested in the insight he reluctantly provided regarding changeling politics. Turns out there were several changeling queens throughout Equestria, they just usually tended to keep to themselves and lived normal, productive lives alongside their hives.

As for Clover, it took three days before he finally woke up. Luna never once left his side the entire time he slept.

On the fourth day, Twilight was enjoying another relaxing day with her friends, it had been a while since they had a chance to just relax and the last week had worn them all out considerably. It was late afternoon by the time Luna and Clover finally joined the rest of them.

"Well," said Princess Celestia as they all watched the two enter the room together. "We were wondering if you both were going to sleep yet another day away."

Both of them turned a slightly flush from all the eyes that turned on them. "I figured three days is more than enough sleep for now," said Clover, breaking the awkward silence.

"And you, Luna," Celestia smirked as she looked at her younger sister. "You seem to be positively glowing. Did something good happen?"

Luna gave a slight cough as she centered herself. "My private affairs are none of your concern, dear sister," she said as she stuck up her nose, just bare managing to keep a straight face.

"Spoilsport," Celestia giggled before turning a much more serious look on Clover. "Clover," she said with a nod. "So what happens now? Now that Sombra has been defeated and you have one less burden to worry about?"

"I don't know," he said as he rubbed the back of his head. "I've spent so much time wandering that I haven't really had much time to think about it. Regardless, I'm still going to need time to recover. It'll be a while before I'm back to full strength."

"There's also the matter of the trouble caused by you and your companions," she said, receiving a narrowed expression from Luna.

"After collecting the details on everything that happened," Celestia continued. "The most appropriate form of punishment would be imprisonment of either mundane or magical means, or banishment from Equestria."

A collective gasp was heard around the room including an enraged outburst from Princess Luna. "What is the meaning of this?! You cannot think we will sit idly by and allow you to carry this out?!"

Princess Celestia raised a hoof for silence. "I wasn't finished," she said, leaving no room for argument.

"However," she said. "If I were to carry out such a punishment on Clover the Clever, considering his place in our nation's history, the crown would face a political backlash that could take decades to clear up. Not to mention, it would also be a huge waste of talent considering his aptitude and knowledge concerning magic. I am willing, however, to pardon him on all counts in exchange for a small concession on his part."

Clover hadn't moved an inch or protested while Celestia gave her whole speech. He knew he had made a mess of things and was now left to wonder what the princess of the sun had in mind to balance the scales.

"Since Starswirl's disappearance, the position of the archmage has remained empty," Celestia announced. "You turned it down once before, but I would now have you fill the role and take on its duties."

A collection of shocked sounds and faces filled the room, but none were more shocked than Clover himself. He stood stock still for so long that Pinkie came over and poked him to see if he would fall over.

Celestia relished the reactions her words had inflicted on the gathered ponies, but all good things must come to an end. "What do you say, Clover? Will you accept?"

"You're sure you want me?" He finally asked. "Even after everything that's happened?"

Celestia took a few slow steps forward and leaned her head down next to his so only he could hear. "I won't say this out loud," she said in barely a whisper. "But this whole scenario made it apparent to me how woefully unprepared we actually are to deal with threats of this magnitude. We may have gotten lucky this time, but I would not risk the safety of my little ponies when I could've used every tool at my disposal to see them safe."

She back away, letting those words sink in. "So what do you say, Clover?"

Clover let out a long sigh before answering, "seems you've got me up against a wall," he said, sounding defeated. "I guess I have no choice. Very well. I accept."

"Excellent!" Cheered Celestia, sounding giddy. With a flash from her horn, a document appeared and unfurled along with a golden badge already inscribed with "Archmage Clover."

"Sister?!" Luna exclaimed, her growing ire being replaced with shock. "You already knew he would accept, didn't you? How long have you been planning this?"

"Oh," said Celestia, a sinister smile creeping up her face. "For a while now. Three days is more than enough time to make plans." She looked back to Clover, who was reading over the document. "I just need you to sign that. If I don't make sure the paperwork is in order, my secretary will have my hide."

Clover raised an eyebrow as he read over the contract. "Why does this keep referring to me as Prince Clover?" He asked curiously.

Celestia gave a hesitant smile and said, "alicorns are automatically granted a royal title. You can thank Starswirl for that. I think he did it to separate any alicorns from the politics of the individual tribes."

"I vaguely remember him mentioning something like that," said Clover as he signed and returned the paper to Celestia. "Do I have to use the title?"

"I won't force you to," she said. "Although don't be surprised if other ponies use it when they see your wings."

"Easy solution for that," Clover made his way over to where his bags had been discarded and pulled out a long, green cloak. Same as he had done before, he tucked his wings up beneath it as he fastened the cloak around his shoulders.

Luna looked at him skeptically, "are you really planning to still keep yourself hidden?"

"For now I am," he said as he finished, his wings were now completely hidden except for his body looking slightly pudgy where they pushed against the fabric.

"I won't tell you to do otherwise, but you really should just embrace what you are. Anyway," said Celestia, changing the subject. "We can discuss what your duties are as archmage when you're next in Canterlot. I understand from your changeling friend that you need to take care of something first?"

"Yeah, we do," Clover looked over to the nearby couch, a figure sat upon it wearing a robe that matched his own with bandaged limbs sticking out from under it. All in all, Spectrum actually looked like a normal pony with the outfit, especially with... "Where did you find such a tacky mask?" Clover asked when he saw it.

"Tacky?!" Exclaimed Rarity in outrage from where she sat across the room. "I'll have you know that that mask is hoof crafted of the finest silk. The contours outline the natural curve of the face and accentuate his distinguished cheeks while still adding an air of mystery to his façade."

"I don't think she liked you calling it tacky," Spectrum called back. He slid the mask up for a moment, revealing his gem-like eyes underneath. "Unfortunately the mask is necessary until I can cast magic again. This'll draw far less attention," he said as he slid the mask back down.

Clover looked around the room, finally realizing what was missing. "Where's Onyx," he asked.

Cadence and Shining Armor shared a look of worry at the mention of his pupil's name. "He's at the cemetery," Cadence finally said. "He's been spending a lot of time at his mother's, the previous ruler's, grave."

"You don't sound surprised to find out that he's a prince," Clover noticed.

"We got a lot of details from the crystal ponies during the first few months here," said Shining Armor. "Sounds like it was quite a mess back when Sombra came to power."

"It was," said Clover. "It would've been a short lived incident too if somepony hadn't interfered."

"About that," the worry was back on Celestia's face. "Do we have any idea who might have been impersonating me back then?"

Clover shook his head, "I can't even begin to guess. I still feel terrible that I didn't notice how much taller they were than you."

"What do you mean?" Asked a curious Twilight.

Clover answered by taking a step to stand next to Celestia and then raising a hoof to her shoulder. Celestia watched him curiously, not quite sure what he was pointing out. "Princess Celestia only came up to about here back then. Even when we fought, she was still much shorter than the one who appeared in the Crystal Empire."

Celestia's eyes grew wide as she understood what he was pointing out, "what do you think it means?"

"I don't know. Either way, it definitely felt like somepony was turning the full power of the sun against me. Aside from you, it would take a whole cadre of unicorns to come close to producing the same effect," said Clover. "However, it seems awfully sloppy to go through all that trouble only to mess up a simple detail like that." He lowered and shook his head, "we may never find out what really happened that day or who may have been behind it. After a thousand years, I don't think the trail can get much colder."





They all gathered at the train station to see Clover and his two companions off. Onyx had joined them, but was still seeming particularly withdrawn.

"Everything all right?" Clover looked down at his returned student.

The youth looked up at him, his eyes looking far more tired than someone his age should feel. "Master Clover," he said. "I've had a lot of time to think about things. I wasn't expecting to ever be myself again and now that I am, I'm not sure what I should do."

"The best advice I can give you is to just take one day at a time. You'll figure it out eventually," Celestia said with a warm smile.

"I never even dared to dream that I'd be running my own kingdom when I was little," said Cadence. "You're sure you want to go? You've already been a big help with disarming the traps King Sombra left behind and showing us where he hid a lot of the kingdom's treasures."

Onyx smiled at her weakly, "thank you for your kind words, but no. I've already seen how the crystal ponies look at me and if I were to stay, I would just be a constant reminder of the hardship they faced before." He acted far more composed and mature than anyone would expect from someone his age. "Princess Cadence," he said as he bowed his head all the way to the ground. "I have all I really need knowing that you'll take good care of my mother's kingdom. They deserve a kind ruler."

The train whistle blared, signaling the last call for boarding. "I guess it's time to go," Clover said as he gave Luna one last smile before getting on the train. "Don't worry," he said. "I won't stay gone this time."

"You better not," she said in reply. "I'll chase you to the ends of the earth if you disappear on me again."





As luck would have it, the day Clover left was the day right before the princess summit was to take place. Night fell, and Twilight was more than a little happy that things seemed to be getting back to normal. Well as normal as they could get for her.

The moon had just finished rising into the sky when Twilight headed off to bed. Despite the fact that everything concluded a couple days ago, she was still feeling drained as she collapsed into bed. She rolled onto her back, splaying her wings out so they hung off the edges of the bed, when the lights in the room went out.

It startled her for a moment, but then she just further relaxed into the bed. It was probably just a light needing to get replaced or something else mundane. Whatever it was, it could wait until morning.

Her attempts to fall asleep were interrupted when she heard hoofsteps making their way across the room. She jumped up and used her horn to light the room, making quick sweeps to see who was there. She calmed back down when she spotted the yellow pony with the flowing pink mane. "Oh, it's just you Fluttershy," she let out a sigh of relief. "You startled me. Is everything all right?"

Fluttershy made slow steps up to the bed where Twilight was sitting. She swayed her hips in a very suggestive manner as she climbed into the bed and began to creep ever closer.

Twilight backed up until she bumped into the head of the bed. Fluttershy was bearing down on her by this point as she found herself staring directly into soft pink eyes.

"Wait a minute," said Twilight as she quickly noticing the problem. "Fluttershy doesn't have pink eyes," she said as looked around her side, only to find her sides bare. "And she's supposed to have wings."

Without warning, the imposter swept her off her hooves, leaving Twilight to fall back onto the bed. The other pony now straddling her as she looked down at her, a mischievous smile breaking out on her face. "It's a good thing I'm not pretending to be Fluttershy, then," she said as she lifted Twilight's chin.

"Whisper?!" Exclaimed Twilight, recognizing the melodious lilt to her voice. "What are you doing?" She asked nervously as the offending hoof made its way from her chin and began to trace down the nape of her neck. "And when did you get so big?"

"I can be as big as I wanna be," the fairy said softly. "As for what I'm doing here. Maybe I just wanted to reward a very special princess for doing a very special job."

Twilight let out a gasp as Whisper made her way down to her chest. Her face went flush as she found it harder to think, her mind beginning to go blank. "But... I... Hardly did anything," she eked out, the effort draining her as her heat began to rise.

"Not you personally," Whisper said as she began to trace small circles on Twilight's belly. "But what better way to measure the worth of a princess of friendship than by the quality of her friends?"

"What... What... What...?" Twilight was having a really hard time forming words now.

"What do I mean?" Whisper smiled as she finished her question for her. "Directly or indirectly, all of them played some kind of role in helping Clover close one of the doors on his past. He never would've imagined that he'd have his student Onyx back by his side after all these years. It wouldn't have been possible if all the elements hadn't stood by your side."

Twilight's mind went completely blank from as she leaned back and soaked in the fairy's presence. Somewhere in the back of her head she remembered reading something about fairies drawing ponies astray with their otherworldly powers. However, at this point, Twilight was already in far too deep to be able to resist Whisper's prowess. She could do nothing more than sit there, waiting... and waiting... and waiting...

Twilight's mind started to clear as she peeked an eye open just in time to see Whisper climb off the bed, apparently having no interest in pursuing the activity further. "Wait?!" Said Twilight, desperate to be back in that state of bliss. "What about the reward?"

"Hmmm?" Said Whisper. "Reward? Oh yes. I was thinking I might talk to Clover about helping you get some better mastery over some of your magics. You'll need to be ready in case something else this big happens again. There's more than enough villains in Tartarus always trying to escape. Any one of which could tear Equestria down to its foundations."

"Then what was all that just now?" Twilight's head was continuing to clear the further away Whisper got from her.

"Oh, that? That was just me having a little fun," she said with a wink. "You ponies are always so much fun to mess with."

"One more question," Twilight said hurriedly as Whisper reached for the door. "The Elements," she said quickly. "How did they cast their magic without me? We've always needed all six before."

"Six?" Whisper gave her a confused look. "I was under the impression that the Elements were only five in number." She made a face and stuck out her tongue. "That'll give you something to think about for a while," she said as the door closed behind her.

"Wait a minute!" Twilight shouted. The door opened back up and her assistant Spike walked in, looking at her confused.

"Wait for what, Twilight?" He looked behind him at the empty hallway before shrugging and walking up to the bed stand. "You dropped this by the way," he said as he placed the Element of magic beside her bed. "Seriously, Twilight. I know you don't like wearing it, but you still can't go forgetting about it. It's still your crown after all. What were you shouting at by the way?"

"It's nothing, Spike," she said as she quickly laid back down and pulled the covers over herself. "It's just been a long day and I need to get some sleep. We got a busy day tomorrow."

She had no idea how right she was.





Later that same night, once everyone was asleep aside from the guards that patrolled the castle hallways, one of the rooms had an unexpected visitor. This room contained a crystal mirror that Princess Celestia had given to Princess Cadence for safekeeping. The functions of this mirror weren't entirely clear, but it's surface began to ripple from beneath the tarp that was draped over it.

The tarp covering the mirror swelled and blew off as the ripple turned into a shimmer. A moment later, a pony walked through on her back hooves. She staggered uneasily before leaning forward and placing her front hooves on the ground. "Oh," she said. "That feels kinda weird after all this time."

"Now," she said as she grabbed the tarp and pulled it over her body to hide her features. "Where can I find the Element of Magic?"