//------------------------------//
// Epilogue: Exuent 
// Story: Professor Layton and the Equestrian Silence 
// by Crystal Blue 
//------------------------------//

Epilogue: Exeunt

“You have much to explain, Gilda,” Celestia took no pleasure from reprimanding the guilty griffon. “Not since Queen Chrysalis has anypony put Equestria in such danger through selfishness.”
“I don’t have to answer you, Princess. I’m not one of your subjects.” The hatred in Gilda’s voice was acerbic.
“You will answer me, Gilda.”
“Princess Celestia!” The royal pony’s student emerged from the ground, carrying Applejack, Pinkie and Rarity with her levitation spell. “I think there’s only one pony who can get an answer out of her.” Fluttershy and Rainbow placed the purple unicorn on the ground. Rainbow landed on her hooves, a look of disappointment on her face.
“Why did you do it, Gilda? Why did you endanger all of ponykind like that?”
“Pffft, like you care, Dash!” Her former friend’s tone was indignant, nay, barbaric. “You’re one of them!” The blue pony became irate against her former friend.
“Is that what this is about? Just because you were too hung up on being cool? I still remember that day. You were sure you were right, yet I know what you did to Fluttershy! I can’t be friends with anypony who does that.”
“It’s not that! From that day, I was all alone. My own griffons found me hard to handle! There was nowhere to go. It made me angry that the one pony I could rely on turned against me!”
“You turned me against you, Gilda!” The pegasus’s chest was puffed up in defence. The professor and the ponies could only watch the bitter exchange unfold. “I gave you the choice: stop trying to be cool, or go find some new “cool” friends someplace else! You chose wrong, and all this chaos was down to that!” Rainbow turned sideways to Gilda, eyes closed with her head hung low. “I’m sorry, Gilda, but this was all your fault, not mine.” The pegasus rejoined her true friends, her eyes welling up as the last breath of truth. The griffon growled.
“I think you need to be returned to face trial before the Royal Griffon Court, Gilda,” Celestia regained control. “Shining Armour!” An armoured white pegasus stepped forward, blue hair sprawling from under his helmet.
“Your Highness?” Twilight’s brother answered faithfully.
“Have the Royal Guard secure Gilda until further orders from me. I have a letter to send.”
“Yes, Princess. Take her to the holding cell!” Two unicorn guards approached Gilda, restraining her with holding spells. Two pegasus guards took to the air, armed with sharpened spears. The four ponies marched a disgraced Gilda back to the castle. Shining Armour turned back to the group and removed his helmet, revealing his smooth blue eyes to the sun. He turned to his sister and smiled proudly.
“You did it, Twily!”
“Thank you, Shining Armour...” Twilight was grateful for the compliment, but it was clear that her mind was on something else.
“What’s wrong, little sister?”
“Oh, nothing...”
“Come on, I can tell when you’re lying. I’m your brother, after all!”
“I believe I may be able to explain,” Layton, silent until now, answered, wearing a small smile.
“By all means, Professor,” the Princess responded, with a quizzical look.
“I would say it has something to do with the power surge from Miss Sparkle, in the defence of her friends. You said that the binding on her magic had broken.”
“The binding was there because she is still young. That amount of pure magic is difficult to control without experience, and while Twilight is one of the most powerful unicorns I have known in all my life, the uncontrolled use of such magic could have been devastating.”
“Really?” Twilight jumped in, slightly mortified. “How devastating?”
“At those levels, if Applejack hadn’t brought you out of it, Canterlot would have been turned to rubble at very best. At worst, you could have turned the entire city and its citizens to dust, and possibly even destroyed Ponyville as well.”
“But Ponyville is miles away!” Pinkie piped up, astonished.
“Exactly. I saw how powerful Twilight could become as soon as we met at the School for Gifted Unicorns. It’s practically impossible for a filly to age a dragon by several hundred years, yet there you were, performing the impossible and...” The Princess choked back a couple of tears before continuing at a near-whisper. “... and you were so scared because you couldn’t control it.” Twilight’s head dropped to the ground, her eyes moistening the ground below her horn.
“It was the same today... I was so afraid... But I still am.”
“Why would you still be scared, my faithful student?”
“Well... I...”
“May I?” Hershel proceeded again. “It is quite possible that Miss Sparkle fears you shall remove her from civilian life until you are certain that she can tame her abilities again. Such an action would take her away from Ponyville, and away from her friends.”
“Is that what it is, Twilight?” Celestia’s voice was soft.
“Yeah...” The student’s voice was as shaky her legs. The Princess thought for a moment before smiling.
“It seems that your studies in friendship have progessed further even than your letters would indicate. That you would choose being close to your friends over use of your magic... That sacrifice shows how strong your friendships have become. Now, it won’t come to you having to stay in Canterlot, but I will need to reform the bindings on your magic before you return to Ponyville."
“Really?”
“Of course! You can even visit so I can see how you’re progressing and adjust the bindings according to how much control you have.” This plan pleased the purple pony, who dried her eyes.
“Thank you, Princess. That would be excellent.”
“Plus,” inputted her brother, “you could come and visit me and Cadance!”
“Heehee, I’ll always come and visit you, B.B.B.F.F!”

The remains of the daylight were spent in congratulating the six ponies for the defeat of Discord. Shining Armour and Princess Cadance, who had come to the castle upon invitation, were front and centre, tears of pride being shed for the husband’s sister and her Ponyville friends.
As Celestia and Luna swapped places to lower the beaming sun and raise the glowing moon, a Pinkie Pie party was in full swing in the castle ballroom, completely free of icy floors. Even the more stuffy of Canterlot’s aristocratic ponies felt in the spirit to boogie down to the sounds of Octavia’s band and Vinyl Scratch, the normally contrasting mediums of music intertwining and weave effortlessly into the dancing ponies’ collective subconscious. Princesses Luna and Cadance had even set to improvising a memorably silly dance for the foals to join.
In a room down the corridor from the controlled craziness, Twilight and Princess Celestia stood facing each other.
“Are you ready, Twilight?”
“I’m ready.” The taller of the two bent down to the shorter, their horns touching and sharing a brief golden glow. Their eyes closed for a moment, before the two ponies drew from each other.
“There we go, my prized pupil. Come back in a month, and we’ll see how your control is. Now go and join the party.”
“Thank you, Princess!” With that, Twilight disappeared in a flash of light. The Princess kept smiling again as she left the room via the more traditional method. Out in the corridor, she looked to her right, spotting two very familiar looking figures.
“Good evening, Princess!” Luke spoke chirpily.
“Good evening, Luke. Hello, Professor.”
“Hello, Princess,” the professor nodded.
“I guess it’s that time, then.”
“Yes. The mystery has been solved, and we must return to London.”
“I understand. I’ll see if I can bring Twilight and her friends out to see you away.”

A short while later in the throne room, Layton, Luke, Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow, Pinkie, Fluttershy and Rarity stood, making uncomfortable goodbyes.
“You guys were truly awesome,” Rainbow was first to speak, a croak of sadness in her throat. “We’re sure gonna miss you.”
“Hear, hear,” A.J. replied in agreement. “Thanks ta y’all, I ain’t still buried up ta mah neck in the desert.”
“We would have been lost without you,” Fluttershy chipped in. “Oh, and... thank you for the tea and food recipes...”
“It was quite the pleasure meeting fine gentle-er... men such as yourselves,” Rarity added. “We shall remember what you have done for us.”
“Goodbyes are always hard...” Pinkie Pie was a little less buoyant for but a brief moment. “But if you’re ever in the neighbourhood, stop by and say hi!” Twilight looked at her mentor, who nodded calmly. The young unicorn stepped forward.
“The Princess and I... we want you to have these.” Twilight levitated over a pair of glassy stones, completely transparent. “When you want to come back and visit, just run one of these under some water, and it’ll take you straight to Ponyville. Neat, huh?”
“Thank you, Twilight,” the professor replied smiling. “Thank you all. It has been an exhilarating experience. We’re ready, Princess.”
“Very well. Professor Layton, Luke, it has been wonderful to have met you, and thank you for all you’ve done.” The alicorn pointed her horn to the wall on her left, forming a portal.
“It is always the duty of a gentleman to help those in need. Come along, Luke.” The boy scrambled to the side of his mentor. Together, they turned to the ponies one last time and waved, before striding into the portal and vanishing from the land of Equestria. The portal closed up, leaving behind nothing but the pristine wall that was there beforehand. The Princess turned to her subjects.
“So,” she asked. “Shall we go and join in the rest of the party?”
“Great idea, Princess!” Rainbow answered, before quickly zooming out of the door, leaving six cantering ponies in her wake.

Morning had risen over London. The professor had once again assumed his sleeping position on the settee, his jacket covering his torso and his trademark hat still firmly in place. Luke had fallen asleep on a chair near Layton’s fossil-cleaning table.
Even so, as they stirred, they clutched their transparent stones tightly, along with a photograph each. 
A photograph of themselves, six brightly-coloured ponies and a small dragon.