Irradiance, having recovered from the blast he’d just sent right at Luster Dawn, rushed to his friends to ensure everyone was alright.

“That was incredible!” Cobalt cried, admiring the necklace now laid upon him, the center gemstone glittering spectacularly. “How did you do that, Irradiance?”

The purple Unicorn shook his head. “Like I said earlier! I was just using some logic to sort of, I don’t know… guess how it all worked. Clearly, I wasn’t wrong, you know?”

“The original Mane Six did exhibit elements that were previously unnamed after the Ancient Pillars had similar qualities…” Hibiscus recalled her lessons from the friendship school. “It’s not entirely ridiculous that calling these elements by a new name after we each exhibited a related action would cause the tree to activate.”

“I’ll never understand ponies,” Leviathan shook his head. Amber laughed along and nodded, feeling a tad excluded from the silly Equestrian logic, not from the pony town.

Irradiance relished in the fact that his friends were freed, Luster Dawn was defeated, and his magic had finally returned to him. Suddenly nervous he hallucinated the return of his magic, Irradiance illuminated his horn, picking up a pebble and tossing it across the cave, accidentally hitting Luster Dawn where she lay on the cavern floor.

“Oh!” Irradiance called, embarrassed at the accident. “I’m so sorry!” He rushed over to the mare, offering a hoof to help her up. The pink Alicorn looked… ashamed.

Silence overtook the room. The reality that the six creatures had just defeated the most recent evil that threatened to take over Equestria was hitting. Everyone shared uneasy eye contact as Irradiance continued to help Luster Dawn stand and gain her balance.

“Are… are you alright?” Hibiscus slowly stepped forward, slow movements, and her head lowered as she approached the princess. Luster Dawn looked like she might start crying at any moment. She sniffled.

“I’m sorry,” She breathed, eyes watery as they looked between every creature before her. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know why… I’m not a mean pony!”

“Oh, no, we know!” Hibiscus assured, embracing Luster Dawn in a hug as the mare began to cry.

“Yeah, no big deal!” Cobalt waved a hoof, offering his sympathy, “Even Nightmare Moon was scary for a while but now Princess Luna is the most beloved princess, like, ever!”

Irradiance narrowed his eyes as he considered that claim but thought it wasn’t the time to bring up his objection to the statement. As Hibiscus and Luster Dawn hugged, the purple stallion turned to Amber.

“You said you found your way in here, right?” Irradiance looked up. The yellow Dragon nodded, shrugging her head in the direction she likely entered the cave through.

“It’s a long stretch and it gets kind of damp,” Amber spoke, staring at Luster Dawn as she did so. Irradiance felt like the Dragon Lord was on edge, nervous that the Alicorn might suddenly attack again. The stallion wasn’t concerned, though. Luster Dawn was reduced to tears; no chance was she a threat now.

The stallion and Dragon made their way toward the exit tunnel, looking within to make sure no boulders were going to come crashing down like all the other tunnels had thus far. Irradiance illuminated the space with his horn, familiar indigo magic brightening up the tunnel. It was a small victory, knowing he could do that again. He smiled as a crystalline hoof stepped forward into the exit.

“Hey,” Irradiance turned, calling to his friends, Hibiscus still comforting Luster Dawn, though it looked like the princess had calmed down. “Are you guys ready to get out of here?” His mouth quirked into a smile. They’d been stuck in these caves for far too long.

Cobalt rushed forward immediately, followed by Marigold almost as fast. “Fresh air, here I come!” The Pegasus cried, running into the darkness blindly, not caring about the lack of illumination.

“I’ve never missed Everfree so bad!” Marigold shouted further down the tunnel, not stopping as she bolted out. Ironically she seemed far more eager to get out than any of the other ponies that had dealt with stressful trials. Irradiance couldn’t really blame them, though. He wanted out just as bad.

“Luster Dawn,” Irradiance turned and spoke to the Alicorn, still teary-eyed though her sobs had died down. “Come with us back to Canterlot. Come meet Princess Twilight Sparkle–”

“No!” Luster Dawn interrupted, stance protective. She eyed the remaining creatures in the cave, “I mean… I don’t think Twilight would want to see me after all this time.”

“Princess Twilight is the princess of friendship,” Hibiscus reminded the pink Alicorn, who shuffled her hooves nervously. “I’m sure she’d love to see you again. She was the one who sent us in here to help you, you know!”

“Help or defeat?” Luster Dawn mused, looking between the two Unicorns who just avoided eye contact, glancing at each other instead. The princess shook her head and sighed. “I don’t know.”

“We’ll be with you the whole time, Luster,” Leviathan chimed in, red eyes sparkling. “Irradiance is a great friend. We’ve all known him for over a year at this point, and everyone else here is just as nice. You don’t have to be worried that no one will like you.”

“Yeah,” Amber added, walking closer to the small group. The Dragon Lord herself speaking up always felt like such an accomplishment, Irradiance thought. Since she’d been so skeptical of Irradiance at first, anyway, “The six of us are great friends. Distance makes the heart grow fainter, or whatever you ponies say.”

“Fonder,” Hibiscus corrected. Amber waved a clawed hand.

“Whatever.”

Luster Dawn looked between the four before sighing and taking a step forward. “Okay,” She began, nervous, “I’ll come with you back to Canterlot and I’ll meet with Twilight. She probably has a lot to talk to me about.”

With a final shared look between the group of friends and Luster Dawn, the creatures all began the trek down the tunnel (though they were going far slower than Cobalt and Marigold had run).

Irradiance, Hibiscus, and Leviathan’s magic illuminated the tunnel, with the purple stallion leading and Hibiscus bringing up the rear alongside Luster. Amber and Leviathan trailed behind Irradiance, a comfortable silence taking over the group.

After reaching the halfway point, seeing sunlight start to trickle through the cracks in the rock and dirt walls, Irradiance couldn’t help but begin thinking back to the start of the journey. His magic had been fading, all because of his connection to this Element Tree. The tree that he’d made vague assumptions about and been right! Uniting his friends and watching them all show characteristics of friendship, coming together to defeat Breaking Dawn, had caused the magic tree to blossom and give them these wonderful new Elements to watch over. He’d need to tell Twilight all about it.

It was hard to tell how much time had passed within the cave. Luster Dawn had initially claimed it would take a day to gain her physical form, but had she been defeated before or after achieving it? Irradiance had lost all his magic at that point, but Luster Dawn hadn’t even tried to take over Equestria… or so it seemed. When the group emerged from the cave system, would Twilight be stuck in a cell beneath the Canterlot Castle? Would his safety be compromised? Would Twilight let him continue to be her student or would she take Luster Dawn back under her wing after her clear misuse of her lessons?

“Hey,” Irradiance jumped at the sudden contact of a wing brushing against his flank. Turning to his left, he was met with gentle ruby eyes looking right at him, white fangs glimmering as Leviathan smiled, “Are you okay?”

The purple stallion nodded, taking a breath, “Yeah, sorry. I was just spiraling. We’ve been in here for a while. I’ve been getting in my head a lot.”

The Changeling nodded, easily understanding his partner’s anxiety, “I get it. But Twilight knows you’re capable and she trusts those she’s trained. Luster Dawn will get back and be reinstated as the second princess and you’ll go back to being Twilight’s student.”

“And you’ll return to the Hive?”

Leviathan thought for a moment, looking away with a funny expression, “I don’t know. Eventually, yes, but we need to speak to Princess Twilight about these,” He gestured to the necklace around his neck and the crown atop Irradiance’s head. “Once that’s dealt with, I’ll probably return to the Hive.”

It was inevitable that the group of friends would have to split once more; Cobalt had to continue his Wonderbolt training, Hibiscus would return to the Friendship School, Irradiance would continue his lessons under the princess, Amber would return to the Nest, Leviathan to the Hive, and Marigold would return to her shop. Irradiance felt his heart hurt for a moment before reassuring himself that true friends never truly disappear. There would be distance, sure, but like Amber said! Distance does make the heart grow fonder.

“Here!” Amber shouted from behind the stallions, “This is the exit!” Sunlight shone in brighter, the small cracks now leading to a large hole that a pony could easily fit through.

“I thought you said these were treated as inescapable dungeons,” Hibiscus asked Luster, who turned a darker shade of pink.

“When ponies are scared they’ll believe anything,” She defended, not quite answering the question. Irradiance rolled his eyes as he understood what she was saying. Had these ever actually been used as dungeons?

“Finally!”

“We thought you guys would stay in there forever!”

Cobalt and Marigold were seated in front of the tunnel’s exit, playing what looked to be a version of cards on the forest floor (except the cards were leaves and neither pony looked to be playing the same thing).

“It’s not our fault you both took off without us!” Hibiscus shot, sending a pointed look at Cobalt, who turned a bit red.

“Oops,” Marigold shrugged, smiling. “I wanted to get out! I was tired of being in the caves! Plus my amulet sparkles so much better out here!” The Earth Pony stood up and moved into the light, showing off the orange flower gemstone that sparkled magnificently in the sunlight that filtered through the trees above.

“We should get out of here,” Amber suggested to the group. “We’ll need to speak with the princess about the Elements and then I need to return to the Nest.”

“Plus I’m hungry!” Cobalt complained. Irradiance had missed the lighthearted conversation his friends were able to have when they weren’t in such stressful scenarios with magic on the line.

“Let’s head back to the edge of the forest. I’m sure Twilight is either waiting for us or we can call for her once we’re there,” Irradiance decided, turning on his hooves and beginning the walk to the transition between Everfree and Canterlot.

It was a quiet journey back to Canterlot. Irradiance considered trying to message Twilight or teleporting, but he worried that Luster Dawn would take offense to the lack of trust. Not that it was unwarranted– Irradiance had been subject to his magic being drained, his friends being put through mental anguish, and the sudden placement of these Elements upon them all! Luster Dawn definitely needed to be kept under close watch. For now, anyway. Hibiscus seemed to be doing a fine job of making the princess comfortable. Marigold had joined her now, surrendering her place beside Cobalt as he speed-walked out of the forest alongside Irradiance and Leviathan.

“I’ll fly ahead and notify the princess that she should send a carriage for everyone,” Amber chimed, taking flight as she looked to the purple stallion, who nodded in agreement.

“Good idea, Amber. Let her know there’s six of us returning,” Irradiance gave a wry smile as he looked back to the pink Alicorn, ears tucked back. Amber nodded surely, red eyes looking up as she burst through the canopy of leaves and flew toward Canterlot.

“You think Twilight will be surprised when Luster Dawn comes back?” Cobalt asked, quirking his head to the side as he thought aloud.

“Probably,” Leviathan answered, thinking about it, “If I had banished Abbadon and he suddenly returned a thousand years later, I know I’d be a little weirded out.”

“You think Princess Twilight will be weirded out?” Luster Dawn finally spoke up, head finally perking up as she considered what her return might mean. Irradiance sighed, understanding the anxiety.

He let Cobalt and Leviathan keep walking as he stepped back to talk to the princess. Wary as he was, it wasn’t fair to assume she was purely evil, “I lived in these forests for a decade, you know. When I finally met all my friends and returned to Equestrian society it was a big adjustment.”

“Did the ponies fear you, too?” Luster Dawn asked, brows pressed together in worry. Irradiance considered what to respond with.

“Not when I returned… there was this myth I had been killed by a monster in the forest but my actual memory had been honored with a whole memorial in my old school!

“Twilight…” Irradiance looked away, “She didn’t really notify the common folk about the original second princess. In fact, most ponies had forgotten about you. Which is probably a good thing!” He quickly added, watching Luster’s expression fall.

“Yeah! No memory is better than a bad memory!” Marigold added, trying to help. Her expression looked panicked. Irradiance appreciated the backup and sent a smile to the Earth Pony.

A shadow came over the group before another word could be said and Leviathan was the one to look up first.

“Amber!” He cried, taking flight and meeting her halfway. “Did you speak to the princess?”

The Dragon Lord nodded, smiling at the other ponies. “She’s sent a carriage to get everyone and it should be waiting once we come out of the forest.”

“Perfect,” Irradiance sighed. “Glad everything has worked out in the end. I guess we always get lucky, don’t we?”

“Lucky?” Cobalt turned to the stallion, face twisted, “Irradiance, you’re one of the most powerful Unicorns in all of Equestria in this generation! Princess Twilight took you up as her student and you’re living in the Canterlot Castle because of that! No way is it luck that helps you out! It’s just talent!”

Irradiance felt a flush on his cheeks as the blue Pegasus finished his lecture. “Oh, uh,” He stuttered, not sure what to say apart from a “thank you.”

“Why can’t you be that eloquent with words at home?” Hibiscus asked, expression one of awe. Cobalt just shrugged.

“You don’t put down your accomplishments. Irradiance needed the boost. I can increase my complimentary-ness, though,” He grinned at the mare, adding a wink at the end which had Hibiscus blushing as well.

“Okay, let’s keep moving,” Marigold started pushing her friends forward, laughing heartily. “See, Luster? We’re great friends. You’re in good hooves with us.”

Continuing through Everfree, the seven creatures finally made their way to the edge of the forest where there was, in fact, a royal carriage waiting for them all, guards at the ready.

“Spearhead! Canon Ball!” Irradiance beamed, recognizing the guards pulling the carriage.

“Twilight thought it would be best if she sent familiar faces to greet you, after what you’ve been through,” Spearhead grimaced. Irradiance sent a familiar look back at him.

“We’re ready for departure, Irradiance!” Canon Ball assured, saluting. Irradiance rolled his eyes and let out a laugh as he gestured for all of his friends to hop inside the carriage, as well as Luster Dawn. Leviathan and Amber settled to fly alongside the carriage rather than ride within.

Closing the carriage door behind him, Irradiance took a deep breath. He was safe with his friends, he’d defeated Luster Dawn’s evil form, and he was on his way back home.

He’d have to really catch up with his friends after they’d all returned and finished their mission. Hibiscus and Cobalt being an item was confusing… was he still living in Cloudsdale or had he come to Canterlot?

They were questions for later. For now, Irradiance tried to focus on the road back to the castle.

Author's Note

me when i was once banished (or something) and when i returned i was treated like a prince but when other ponies return from banishment its actually stressful ::yikes::
fun writing! a couple chapters left methinks :)