Returning with Purpose

Twilight regained consciousness to the sound of her friends' voices. What happened...?

It came back to her after a moment. They had used the Elements of Harmony against Nightmare Moon, forming the Element of Magic in the process. She looked over at the collapsed form of the Princess of the Night as she lay next to the throne. There stood a tall unicorn with pale yellow fur and a faded red mane. Twilight's brow furrowed. Have I seen that pony before? She turned to her friends to call their attention to the unexpected visitor, but she was rendered momentarily speechless at the sight of her new found friends wearing the Elements in the form of jewellery. She was wearing one herself, which distracted her until the sun rose and Celestia arrived.

After the heartfelt reunion of the two sisters, Pinkie declared that she would throw a party and began herding everyone out of the castle. Twilight stopped and looked back at the end of the room where Luna had lain. There was something important she had forgotten to say. She stood there a moment trying to remember...

But the Party Pony butted Twilight with her head, pushing her out the door. "C'mon Twilight! It's PARTY TIME!"

A rainbow formed and split in two, creating a dome of powerful magic. It flashed and expanded out across Equestria. The chaotic changes that Discord had unleashed were reversed in a matter of seconds, and the chaos spirit himself fell to the ground as a statue once again.

Twilight looked around, amazed at how everything had returned so quickly to normal. A handful of ponies who hadn't escaped the immediate vicinity peered out of their homes, looking around warily. Upon seeing the incapacitated Discord, they rushed out to thank the six ponies who had saved them.

All but one yellow and red pegasus, who was flying away from everyone. Haven't I seen her before? No, that was a unicorn I think... But she seems so familiar...

Twilight couldn't think on it further, as the grateful ponies of Ponyville hoisted her up on their backs to parade her through town. By the time she had a moment to herself again, she completely forgot about the pony who had flown away.

A power more vast than that of any princess surround the six rainbow ponies. Beams of light shot out, driving into Tirek. Twilight felt the magic of every pony in Equestria coursing into her and her friends. With that power, it was easy to open a portal to Tartarus. As they sapped the last of his power, she drove the centaur into the underworld, back into his cage.

As the portal shut, Twilight saw a familiar yellow and red figure step through the portal, following Tirek. This time, Twilight recognized her for what she was. An alicorn, possessing both horn and wings. It's her! It was her both times before!

The alicorn nodded at Twilight, a look of pride on her face. Before Twilight could say anything, the portal closed. She wanted to reopen it, but she could feel that the power her friends were holding was too much. It was urgent that they return the magic to ponies across Equestria before it did them harm trying to contain it. She would find her afterwards.

Much later, after all the celebrating, Twilight tried to get settled in her new home. But there was something that was bothering her, something that she needed to do. It's probably something I meant to do in the library. Whatever it was, it's much too late now. She heaved a sigh for her lost home, but tried to make the best of it.