Starswirl's Return

by Harratot33

Chapter 10 - Always Remember...

Twilight Sparkle could not believe it had already been one whole week since the destruction of Spatium and, of course, his influences on the population of Equestria; during that time, ponies had begun work on re-building Equestria. It was by no means going to be an easy task, but things were already slowly falling into place. Granny Smith and Big McIntosh calculated that the buildings located within Sweet Apple Acres would only take a few months. Much of the Crystal Empire was not destroyed by Stellas Spatium's rampaging slaves, so many residents from other towns stayed there while their homes were being re-constructed. But what was even more important than the structures was the ponies; most ponies were able to re-unite with their loved ones. Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Applejack had all located the Cutie Mark Crusaders just one day after the latter's meeting with her deceased parentage. Each member of the Mane Six had scooped up their beloved member of the C.M.C. with considerable force and exclaimed how overwhelmed they were to be in their presence once again. But what provoked perhaps an even more astonished reaction was when everypony discovered Spike's fate.

"NO!" Pinkie Pie had screeched. "HE CAN'T BE! SPIKE'S TOO CUTE!"

"Calm, down, Pinkie," said Twilight, trying her utmost not to burst into fits of hysterical laughter. "Spike isn't hurt at all. He's right here." And so he was. "Nice to see you all again!" He bowed to each of the Mane Six and Cutie Mark Crusaders. "How can I be of service? I want to help!"

"That's definitely Spike," Scootaloo scorned. Twilight had failed. She laughed harder than anypony there had ever heard her laugh before!

"Did she say something funny?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"N...No," Twilight giggled. "Tell them, Spike."

"I missed all of it!" He confessed angrily. "Flurry Heart defeating Spatium, the battle of the Empire, all of it! Because I was stuck in the library reading a comic-book."

"That must have been a very absorbing narrative you were consuming," Rarity remarked.

"Comics have always been his favourite medium," Twilight said.

"PRINCESS! PRINCESS!" Sprinkle Medley, a resident of the Crystal Empire, was rushing up to the purple allicorn and her companions. "Have you heard the news?"

"What news?"

"You...haven't heard the news!"

"What news?" Applejack demanded.

"You...you haven't heard the news!"

"What news already?!" Rainbow Dash hollered.

"Lord Tirek is still alive! He's in the Crystal Empire hospital."

"You haven't told anypony about his involvement with everything that's gone on, have you?" Sweetie Belle asked her worryingly.

"Don't worry," she smiled. "Only doctors and nurses are permitted to that information. I'm a member of the latter."

"Thank you," said Twilight, and the group immediately hurried off to see him.

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"Tirek was real scary and menacing-like when he tried to take over Equestria before Stellas Spatium," Apple Bloom remarked as she and her friends trotted up the stairs to the centaur's room.

"Fillies, you've got to trust me," Twilight told them, dead-serious now. "He might not want to admit it, but he's changed." The fillies and older ponies entered Tirek's room—he was laying in bed, and appeared to be asleep. Cadance entered seconds after Twilight's group.

"I came as soon as I heard," she said softly.

"Come on," Fluttershy whispered. "We'd best not to disturb him." Cadance and Twilight were at the back of the long queue of ponies, nearest to Tirek's extraordinarily-large bed. Without warning, the centaur awoke (assuming he was asleep in the first place, which is doubtful) and grabbed the two by the hoofs. Princess Cadance screamed.

"What the--" Twilight yelled.

"I'm sorry," Tirek said menacingly, and, following a heavy breath, showered the allicorns with two bolts of magic: lightless-purple and bright yellow. Several moments later, after everypony had recovered from the shock, Scootaloo noticed something rather startling about the ponies' cutie marks.

"Princess Cadance! Where's your crystal heart cutie mark?!"

"Why, Twilight!" Rarity blurted out. "Since when has your cutie mark been a picture of the moon?!" It was true. Cadance and Twilight Sparkle's cutie marks were now that of Celestia and Luna's.

"Tirek must have made contact with them in the spirit world too, at some point," said Twilight. "Remember, he transferred all that magic into Spatium's slaves. It's inevitable that he was able to see the spirits, too." She sighed. "I suppose this was all part of the two sister's magnificent plan, too."

"Twilight!" Cadance said loudly. "Is he...?"

"Dead?" Twilight leaned in and checked the centaur's pulse. Tears formed in his eyes, and everypony, knowing the truth before she opened her mouth, felt a dense lump form in their throats. "Yes."

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As the greatest mark of respect such a noble villain could ever have earned, the new princesses of the sun and moon felt it was finally time to tell everypony in Equestria how a figure that had once tried to enslave the land had become their saviour. His burial lasted several more hours than most—Cadance, Shining Armour, Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Discord each spoke of his courage and dedication, and how if a being that was once so evil and wrong could become so valiant, so could everypony. When it had finished, Discord met with Fluttershy for evening tea at her cottage.

"Err...Discord?" She asked shyly.

"What is it, dear Fluttershy?"

"Well, um...I was just thinking...as your realm between dimensions is all but destroyed and all, and it will take most dimensions longer to recover from Spatium's rule than us..."

"Yes?"

"Would you like to stay here with me?" Discord, obviously, could not say no to such a suggestion. And the yellow pegasus was glad.

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A month later, the general tone in Equestria was beginning to get back to its standard joyfulness. Just in time for Starlight Glimmer's coronation as the new princess of friendship!

"I...this is gonna sound generic, but I am so honoured to be standing here in front of you all today!" Starlight thought it best not to mention Spatium's takeover of Equestria. She wanted this day to be a carefree one (well, as carefree as one can get when they have just been promoted to a position nobility!). Starlight made her coronation speech, which The Mane Six could tell instantly was inspired by the one Twilight Sparkle had made when she was promoted to the role years earlier. But they did not mind. In fact, they could not have been happier with what she had written in a thousand years!

"So, Twilight?" Starlight asked when the ceremony had completed and she was finally able to reunite with the ponies she adored more than anything else. "Do you have any advice for being the princess of friendship?"

"Actually, I do," Twilight said without a moment's hesitation. "At first, you will be overwhelmed. You will feel like the role is not meant for you, even though it is. Most importantly, you will feel like you don't play a significant enough role, and that you're not making much of a contribution to Equestrian society. Trust me, that feeling will pass in time. That's a promise." Starlight Glimmer swept closer to her former mentor and engulfed her in a tight hug.

"Thank you, Twilight! Good luck to you with governing ponies' dreams and all that. And good luck to all of you with whatever you all go on to do," she beckoned to Fluttershy, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack and the Cutie Mark Crusaders. "You all mean a lot to me!"

"Err...Twilight?" Rainbow Dash was looking concerned, rather than joy-filled, which everypony find very odd. "If you're going to replace Princess Luna as the pony who raises the moon every night, does that mean...you need to...?" Twilight's face fell. She had not intended on telling her friends so soon.

"Yes," she said after a long pause. "I'm sorry, everypony. I've been chosen to carry out this role, and I can't do it in Ponyville. I am required to stay in Canterlot Castle with Princess Cadance."

"But..." Rainbow Dash's eyes were becoming wet with tears, which was very rare indeed. "You could raise the moon from your castle back in Pon--"

"I'm sorry," Twilight was crying now also. "I just know Celestia and Luna wanted me and Cadance to take their places as both princesses of the sun and moon and governors of Canterlot. We were meant to carry out this task together. I know now why she just happened to be my babysitter when I was a filly. It wasn't by accident, and neither is the Canterlot Castle being empty as we speak."

"Twilight," Applejack bawled. "You can't go. Our lives weren't the same without you. You were the pony who united all of us in the first place...we're...we're meant to be friends, remember; the rainbow, the..."

"I know. The two sisters always intended for us to be friends, and it's..." Twilight broke off in a series of powerful sobs. "It's true, what Ra Ra said about true friendship being unbreakable. We will always be friends...we just...can't always be together." All members of the Mane Six were now in tears. It was painful enough for Twilight when one of them was dejected, but for them all to feel this way was simply too much for her! She embraced each of them in turn one final time, but she could not bring herself to turn away just yet.

"I'm going to miss you, Twilight," Fluttershy said softly. "Thanks for being such an awesome friend."

"Farwell," Rarity said sombrely. "I do hope you're content in your new role."

"I wouldn't be quite as happy and energy-filled a pony as I am if it weren't for you bestowing joy on me when you first arrived in Ponyville," Pinkie Pie denounced drearily.

"You are awesome!" Rainbow Dash added. "And I'm gonna miss you."

"Honestly," said Applejack. "From when I nearly shook your hoof clean off on your first day in Ponyville up until now...these have been far and away the greatest years of my life." Twilight's eyes were as wet as broken dam. She was finally as ready as she possibly could be to turn away from the five.

"I love you, girls." And she walked away, into the bright sunshine. Into her new life. She was uncertain, as was everypony, about what the rest of her days would bring her. Whatever it was, Twilight Sparkle would be certain to apply the friendship lessons and morals of her best friends to each and every new situation she found herself in. She heard what sounded like Princess Celestia's voice; she was unsure if it was all in her head, or if she truly was communicating from beyond the grave. The voice said:

Always remember, my faithful student: friendship is magic.