Starswirl's Return

by Harratot33

Chapter 7 - Twilight's Ballad

Spatium's slaves had very nearly finished tearing down the final place in Equestria not governed by Stellas Spatium (I don't know how much longer I can do this. Discord thought). They were all thoroughly unaware of his death, and despite the fact that Spatium himself was no more, his effects on Equestria and its population were still very much evident, as was Shining Armour and Cadance's fear for their daughter.

"She...somehow..." Twilight stammered. "She did it!" She sounded overjoyed for the first time in what seemed like several eternities. "Spatium is no more. I don't quite know how, but your daughter achieved what Celestia and Luna promised she would!" The married couple unshielded their eyes. Flurry Heart caught them with her own and soared into Cadance's arms, causing the pair to cry more still.

"She's destined for greatness," Twilight Sparkle promised them. "Princess Celestia vowed she would go on to achieve several tremendous feats following this one!" Shining Armour turned to his younger sister.

"I think we need to stop referring to her by her title," he said. "I mean...of course we'll remember her for being a terrific princess of the sun and moon, but she's gone, Twily. I think the first thing we need to re-build Equestria—aside from them of course..." He gestured towards the rampaging residents. "—is re-structuring its royal system."

"I concur," Cadance said. "A sense of cohesion is essential at this time."

"As her former pupil," Twilight grinned. "I think I know what Celestia would have wanted us to do."

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Starlight Glimmer and Trixie were slumped down against Discord (still masquerading as a tall structure!), restless, drained, disorientated.

"I'm worried about Flurry Heart," Starlight spluttered.

"You needn't be!" Twilight exclaimed as she entered the scene. She frowned at the seemingly-inanimate object in front of her. "Discord, I'd turn back before anypony sees you and attempts to destroy you." He turned back to his former, outlandish self.

"I was going to do that soon anyway!" He scoffed. Twilight, Trixie and Starlight laughed.

"Starlight, I need a word with you, please," said Twilight.

"Um...okay," Starlight laughed awkwardly, as she often did. "What's..." But before she could utter the simple, two-letter word to accompany the determiner, she found her body engulfed in a colossal ball of whiteness, and in a flash, just like that, she was gone!

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Steadily, Starlight Glimmer became aware of her surroundings. She was somewhere she had certainly never been before: it was as deadly silent as an uninhabited planet; stars glittered against a backdrop of a curious, smoke-like—although mostly white, Starlight could make out faint drops of yellow, red and green.

"What...is this place?" She spoke softly; she was wary if she spoke too shrilly some kind of evil-hearted entity would jump out at her. A highly natural reaction for a nervous pony being forced to venture into the unknown, but not an accurate one, for no sooner had she finished her question than she caught sight of a pony stepping out of the brightness. It was Twilight Sparkle.

"Congratulations, Starlight Glimmer," she said sweetly.

"Oh what? Where am I? Twilight!"

"It doesn't matter where," Twilight explained. "The real question is what." Starlight looked puzzled. "You're here because of what you and Starswirl The Bearded did."

"Oh, that," Starlight chuckled. "That was nothing, I just figured he had done something..." But she was cut off.

"There's no point being modest," Twilight beamed. "You did what one of the greatest and most famed conjurers of the pre-classical era couldn't in literally a thousand years!" Starlight gasped and gaped. Now she knew what was going on!

"Goodness! That means I'm going to..." Twilight nodded.

"You did something that's never been done before. Because, like me before you, Starlight, you understand the true values of friendship." Starlight looked again at her surroundings. Twilight was right. All the evidence to her claim was being recited on across the landscape—her accepting the reformed changeling Thorax as her friend before anypony else did; her attempting to convince Queen Chrysalis to choose love over hatred in the Changeling Kingdom; and kindly aiding Fluttershy in constructing an animal sanctuary.

"You're ready," said Twilight. Her and her friends had sung many, many songs in times of both desperation and delight in the years since she had first arrived in Ponyville. This song, however, was by far her favourite of all, and one she would never forget even if she was able to live as long as the generous and hugely-inspirational Princess Celestia herself:
You've come such a long, long way

And I've watched you from that very first day

To see how you might grow

To see what you might do

To see what you've been through

And all the ways you've made me proud of you

It's time now for a new change to come

You've grown up and your new life has begun

To go where you will go

To see what you will see

To find what you will be

For it's time for you to fulfill your destiny