Thrilled to have Starswirl, their mentor and honorary father back from Limbo has the royal sisters thrilled, and they tell him everything that he missed while he was away.
Thrilled to have Starswirl, their mentor and honorary father back from Limbo has the royal sisters thrilled, and they tell him everything that he missed while he was away. Starswirl is glad to listen to the sisters contently. He is just glad they are happy in their roles as rulers.
This book is based on the season 7 finale...so spoiler territory is ahead. Proceed with caution.
A few weeks after his return from Limbo, Starswirl comes to Canterlot to visit the royal sisters for the first time in a very long time. "Hey Celi, hey Luna," says Starswirl as he stands in the door.
"Hello, Starswirl!" reply the sisters as they hop from their thrones and fly into his arms. "It's so good to see you."
Starswirl embraces them in a hug. "It's good to see you, too. Now, tell me everything about your lives that I missed while I was away in Limbo."
"Gladly!" squeals Luna.
"Sure, we'd love too," agrees Celestia.
"Well," says Luna, "I will say this. Be glad you didn't see me at my worst. I was a monster when I was Nightmare Moon." She rubs her hoof up and down with her other hoof nervously.
"We all make mistakes, sweetie," says Starswirl as he comes over and takes Luna into his lap and begins to stroke her mane just like he did all those years ago when she was just a filly.
"We then faced several more villains after that: Discord, Tirek, Chrysalis and the changelings. It was always an uphill battle," adds Celestia.
"We also had a special day named in your honor while you were away. The first weekend before Nightmare Night is dubbed Starswirl the Bearded Day," adds Luna. "It will now remain a holiday even after your return."
"And for that, I am honored," replies Starswirl. "I'm glad you look up to me like that."
"Well, you're like a father to us, the only real father figure we ever had," reply the sisters. Celestia comes over and gives him and her sister a great big group hug.
"I'm glad you see me that way," replies Starswirl. "What else did I miss?"
"The coronation of two new princesses and the birth of the first alicorn in Equestria," replies Celestia.
"What are the names of these three princesses?" responds Starswirl.
"You met Twilight, she helped free you. Then there's Cadence and her daughter, Flurry Heart," replies Celestia.
"Oh yes, I remember Twilight. She is my biggest fangirl," Starswirl responds as he semi-rolls his eyes.
The three then get up and go to the old library wing that has all his spells. Once in the room, Starswirl looks around wide-eyed. "You kept all my spells, after all these years!" he says.
"Yes, they were the only part of you we had left. We thought you were dead for all those years until Twilight gave us a glimmer of hope that you might still be alive in Limbo," responds Celestia. Starswirl then uses his magic to pick up an old dusty book off an old table. He then blows off the dust and reads the title.
"Journal of the Two Sisters?" he says curiously. "How did your journal of our time together fall into disrepair?"
"I guess I just forgot about it after Luna's banishment," replies Celestia as she rubs her neck with her hoof. "I'd come in here and read it when I was sad but that was really it."
The three then leave the room in the library and go outside and into the gardens. In the gardens, Luna rushes onto their old childhood swing and sits down and Starswirl gladly goes over and begins to push her causing her to giggle and laugh. Celestia just smiles. "Luna missed you most of all," sighs Celestia.
"I can tell," replies Starswirl. "I missed both of you so much. When I left, Luna was still little. My! How she's grown!"
"Indeed," replies Celestia.
The three stay in the garden for hours, Luna and Celestia taking turns on the swing with Starswirl gladly pushing both of them on it just like old times. He can't help but agree that he's glad to be back. He's glad to see how much they've grown. He still remembers the first time the three of them met. After three more hours in the garden, the three head off to the royal dining room for dinner. The three continue to catch up over dinner. They are glad to add so much joy back into each other's lives.
At dinner, Starswirl tells the sisters all about his time in Limbo with the other pillars. "So, you were trapped in Limbo for near 5,000 years?"
"Yes, maybe longer, you see, time stops in Limbo," replies Starswirl. "It was always impossible to keep track of time while we were there."
"That must've been hard," says Luna.
"At first, it was, but after several years, we got used to it. We were used to the stillness and the darkness and the lack of time," he responds.
"Stygian, when he became the Shadow Pony, how hard was that for you?" inquires Celestia.
"We didn't mean to shun him, we didn't mean to hurt him," replies Starswirl, "let's not talk about that, okay?"
"Okay, we won't talk about it," responds Celestia.
The three then begins to eat a nice dinner of roasted vegetables, fresh fruit, teacakes, and freshly made tea. As they eat, the room remains quiet. They all just enjoy the nice dinner spread that is before them. They eat dinner for an hour before finally heading off to their separate rooms for the night. Starswirl goes and sleeps in his old bedroom above the library wing while Celestia goes and tucks in Luna before heading off to bed herself for the night. Celestia is glad Starswirl is back. She knows Luna is also glad he's back. For now, though, it's time for all of them to get some sleep.
After tucking in Luna for the night, Celestia goes out onto the balcony and lets out a deep sigh. She's glad to have Starswirl back but she can't help but feel that maybe he doesn't feel the same. What if he isn't truly glad to be back. She shrugs it off and then turns into bed for the night herself but not before feeding Philomena.
A few minutes later, Celestia tucks herself into bed and falls fast asleep with that lingering thought still in the back of her mind of 'is Starswirl really glad to be back? does he really want to be back?' As she sleeps, she continues to push that thought back into a corner. She'll ask him in the morning if she can get him alone in private for a few minutes. She'll just have to wait and see. As she is sleeping, Celestia drifts off into a dream. It's a dream of her and Luna and Starswirl just having fun, with her and her sister as fillies. As she dreams, she can't help but smile. Maybe he is glad to be back after all. With that thought in her mind, Celestia sleeps peacefully through the rest of the night.
Meanwhile, in her room, Luna is dreaming about her time in the garden on the swing with Starswirl from her childhood. As she dreams, she can't help but smile. She's glad he's back and back for good no less. She just wishes he would decide to stay in Canterlot with them for the rest of their lives. Alas, she knows, that can never be.
The next morning, both Celestia and Starswirl are up with the sun. As she raises the sun, he can't help but smile. "My, you've gotten better, Tia!" says Starswirl.
"Thanks," replies Celestia as she turns to face him. "But I have something to ask? It's been eating away at my heart lately."
"Sure, what is it, my child?" asks Starswirl.
"Are you glad to be back in Equestria? Are you glad to be out of Limbo? Are you glad to be here with us?"
"Of course I am, why would you think otherwise?" replies Starswirl.
"I don't know," replies Celestia as she rubs her hoof with her other one. "I just thought you looked sad at dinner last night."
"I was sad but not because I wasn't glad to be back. I was sad because I missed seeing you and your sister grow up," replies Starswirl as he embraces her in a hug. "Now, how about some of your amazing pancakes?"
"Of course, let's go to the kitchen," replies Celestia. The two head off towards the kitchen.
Once in the kitchen, Starswirl watches as Celestia mixes a nice blueberry pancake batter that she then gets going on the skillet. As they begin to cook, she flips them over onto their other side. She then repeats this for the rest of the batter. Once all the pancakes are done, she stacks five then tops them with faces made out of blueberries, bananas, and whipped cream. She then smiles as she takes out the three plates and places them in front of herself, Starswirl, and the now awake Luna.
"Oh, joy! Breakfast time!" exclaims Luna. She then begins to dive into the pancakes along with her sister and Starswirl. Celestia is glad that the three of them get to share a nice breakfast together for the first time in what seems like forever. As they eat their pancakes, they can't help but smile. They can all agree that Celestia definitely is the best chef in the entire castle which makes Celestia smile and blush. She's so glad they like her baking.
A few days later, Starswirl departs but not before giving goodbye hugs to the royal sisters. "I'm going to miss you, girls! I'm so glad I got to see how much you've grown! Celestia and Luna, you've both grown into beautiful, wise mares. Celestia, your cooking, and baking skills have just continued to get better and better. Luna, I'm so impressed with your dream walking skills. The lavender is a great touch too. It's very calming. Well, see you later. Well, I don't know when but hopefully sometime soon." He then kisses them both on the forehead before heading off down the road and into the sun.
"Goodbye, Starswirl, the only father figure we ever really had," say the sisters as he walks away. "We hope to see you again soon." The two then go back inside and to the royal sauna. The two still have some time to themselves before they have to jump into their royal duties for the day.
As he walks, Starswirl sighs. He's glad he got to see the royal sisters for a week. Now, he has to head back to his old hometown to help the cleanup efforts. After all, he wants it to be a place where the generations to come can enjoy the statues of the Pillars, the crystal lake, and everything else that is wonderful about the town. After all, it is a place very close to his heart.
