Stories in Stone
Last Dance
By TDR
Last Summer
[4970 years after the defeat of Tirek]
“I can't deal with this shit!” Jer'rahd snarled, shoving out of his chair and away from the table. The effort sent the table forward a good distance and was only stopped by the large figure on the other end of the table, though he was pushed back nearly to the wall. As Jer'rahd turned to storm out, his tail clipped the side of the chair and in a flare of anger, he whirled back on it striking the offending furniture and sending it soaring across the room to shatter against the far wall, two of the legs embedding an apples length into the stone. The act was almost instinctive it seemed, as he barely registered that he had done it before he continued his exit stomping towards the door of the room.
Twilight quickly opened the door for him to prevent the damage from becoming worse as she looked at the remains of a three hundred year old hoof carved chair.
The small group gathered around the table waited in silence for a moment or two before some one finally spoke.
“He took that well.” Shin snarked.
Rynthia glared at Shin before rising herself and trotting out the door to follow after her father. Another long pause followed before the silence was broken again.
“Shin has a point though. He is using doors and halls like a normal pony instead of just smashing his way through whatever is closest.” Luna sighed. “And to be perfectly honest I wish to join him in his sulk, but that never ends well for any one. I shall be the level headed one this time as he was when Tia died.”
Luna's gaze turned to Shin and Elusive.”Though for the record, I very much do not wish to be the calm one.”
“That I have gotten used to this sort of thing enough to barely feel phased worries me.” Twilight stated her voice dripping with annoyance. The alicorn let out a small sigh and rested her chin on the table.
“You act as if we are immediately going to die mother.” Elusive sighed. “We are effectively the same as we were when we were twenty. We have been that for a long time now, Rynthia still gets carded for the stars sake. Giving up our deific nature will only allow us to age as mortals will until our time finally comes. Shin and I are still looking at a few hundred more years before we would naturally pass on. Rynthia perhaps only half that, but still.”
“To be honest I am unsure how the three of you have managed it this long. Auntie Celestia was around even longer than you two and even she finally had enough. We've out lived our own foals down to the great times eight grand foal. We've lost friends and family that seemed to vanish in an eye blink. The three of us all agreed to this. We are all tired.”
“Did you even have some one in mind for your powers?” Twilight asked.” You mentioned when you told us that you would be passing them on.”
“No.” Elusive stated.” But you will.”
“What?” Twilight asked.
“Your Harmony project. That's not exactly as secret as you like to think it is.” Shin stated with a chuckle.
“It's not supposed to be a secret, it was just annoyed rambling after an argument with Spike's successor....” Twilight protested. "He read the book Spike left me after i told him not to..."
"The one you still haven't read , but explains everything for you." Elusive offered.
"It feels like cheating." Twilight muttered.
"He left it as a guide Mother." Elusive sighed.
“I think I am lost here.” Luna muttered. “I take this is something you have locked away from the Hive mind Shin?”
“It is. Twilight might be trying to ignore the idea, but we've worked on the details and it will work it just needs three things.” Shin added. “A starting point, which you have with the crystals that will have our abilities in them as well as the one you still have of Talon's. The power of four gods waiting to be passed on to who ever is deemed worthy of it.”
“The second thing will be enforcement. We know a number of gods still exist in the world that are cruel and are corrupted by what they have become. Given how the power of a god will randomly appear elsewhere or in a new form seemingly at random among the races of Equss someone will need to deal with the ones who should not be Gods as well as find the newborns.” Elusive continued.
“Why do I already see who that task is going to fall to.” Luna frowned.
“You two are best suited for it auntie.” Elusive stated. “ Despite all you have seen and lost you still remain. Equestria has seen peace the likes of which only existed in foal's tales because of your actions. There is really no danger anywhere, save natural disasters, that does not think twice before coming after an Equestrian. Even the monsters of the wild have learned to fear the smell of Equine and unless they are mad with something, will not come anywhere near. The fear of you two has done that. Is the Six Sixty Sixth even employed any more? Avoiding ponies is now instinctive action to a large number of dangerous species.”
“I blame Jer'rahd for most of that.” Luna snorted.” He likes to wrestle ursas...”.
“The final thing however is the rock.” Shin added getting a confused look from both the mares.
“It's something solid, unmoving, something that is always there, that has proven itself beyond any shadow of doubt to everyone that it will always be there.” Elusive added.
“A powerful leader.” Shin continued.
Luna smirked catching on.”Not a ruler?”
“A ruler succeeds on the backs of others, a leader joins the others so they all succeed.” Shin pointed out as Luna grinned more.
“A teacher, “ Elusive added.
“Someone with the knowledge and foresight to do what is right despite what any one else would say.” Shin continued.
“Someone who banded together a group of random ponies to cure a goddess of her darkness,” Luna added.
“Who then in order to save others woke those who no one else would, befriended them, and managed to save the world, again.” Elusive points out.
“One who has systematically cleansed the world of corruption where ever it was found. “ Shin continued.
“One chosen to lead the Bearers of the worlds most powerful artifacts and then was chosen to lead a nation which has done nothing but grow and prosper since her ascension.” Luna concluded.
“Gee I wonder where we might find someone like that?” Shin commented tapping her chin with a hoof as the others smiled at Twilight.
“Buck all of you....” Twilight groaned.
“That didn't sound like a no...” Elusive grinned.
===================================
Rynthia knew where he was going. Her father was getting predictable in his old age. It didn't hurt that he left a trail of frightened ponies and terrified Guards in his path, as well as some minor property damage.
She ignored the overturned pumpkin cart beyond tossing a small bag of bits to the owner to pay for the lost revenue. The path was a straight shot through New Canterlot and down into the Ponyville district and then to the outskirts of the town. He had only left a few seconds before her and yet her father had kept out of sight from her managing to stay far enough ahead that when she managed to make it to where he was going he had already settled in.
The Apple Family graveyard had expanded quite a bit since it was re uncovered by Jer'rahd before the War of Gods. In truth however it was still small. There was fencing and a cobblestone path from one end to the other as well as a stone monument in the middle of it with the names of Apples and Pelts and several other families that were buried here. Though in truth aside from some old Pelts. Her own biological mother and father, and her sister, the only other ones who had actually been buried here were her grandparents and great grandparents. Everyone else was buried somewhere else on the farm under one of the rows of trees, save Applebloom, who was buried in the crater that once held the Yggdrasil. Though that place had become a zap apple grove after her passing and the fruit had become one of the Elk's chief exports. Even with the loss of their primary bit producer, Sweet Apple acres still thrived. It had also been declared a heritage site by Princess Twilight, so it would never run out of bits or workers no matter how bad the harvest.
Rynthia sighed, trotting up to her father and sinking down at his side, pressing lightly against him. The two sat there in silence for what seemed like an hour before she finally spoke.
“Are you going to be alright?” Rynthia asked quietly.
“No.” Jer'rahd admitted after another long bout of silence.” I've never dealt well with this sort of thing.”
“I have noticed. You left for near a hundred years after Dawn died. If mother had not kept in contact with the hive many would have thought you two dead as well.”
“We found a continent full of deadly animals and giant monsters on the trip before that one. We went back and spent those years obliterating everything that was even remotely dangerous from the landscape. Luna helped raise the locals up from a backward tribe of terrified aborigines to a civilization well on their way through their bronze age.”
“The Walibi?”
“Yes, and the Diamond Dogs there that called themselves, Tazmin, tarmizianin? Whatever, Bunyip, as well. There's a lot of that place that's still unexplored too. I'll probably go back there after this.”
“I am not going to die immediately you know. I'll have a good hundred years or so.”Rynthia placated.
“Rynthia, I spent a hundred years just mourning the death of Dawn and it felt like maybe a month or two to me. Time doesn't feel right any more. You might last two hundred years and it will seem like an eye blink to me. Mortals were never meant to deal with this. I have no idea how any one could.”
“You embodied loyalty as strongly as any other bearer to ever hold the Element father, perhaps more so given your connection to Troph. You have shared that loyalty with many over the course of your life and every time something that you were loyal to goes away it hurts you far more than it would for a lesser pony. Mother and Twilight have a inkling of it from their connection to magic. I perhaps have a bit more of a proper idea simply due to all I have done over my life.” Rynthia sighed.
“You might. All those willing to give themselves for others. I expect you've seen all kinds of loyalties in that.”Jer'rahd sighed.” It feels wrong to do this is all. I've outlived everyone I know save Luna, Sparkle, and you three. All my friends all my family......my foals. I fully expected you and your spouses to outlive me. A parent is not supposed to out live their foals and with you giving up your immortality I will.”
“Why have you?”
“Hmm?”
“There have been chances before, you and mother could have retired, you could step back and pass on your powers. Shin knows how to do it which means Luna does as well if she looked.”
Jer'rahd looked down at the graves for a few moments.
“There was always something to do. We would talk about it and then something would catch her eye or I'd get distracted by something and we never discussed anything further than that. I just kept going because she kept going, and I think she did the same and then suddenly, here we are and my last foal has decided she wants to die.”
“Who would want to live forever?” Rynthia asked getting a snort of amusement from her father.
“I'm not any good at letting things go you realize.”
“As stubborn as you are I am amazed I managed to marry at all.”
“Heh well I like Elusive and Shin managed to trick me and get Luna on your side. I would have had a hard time fighting it.” Jer'rahd sighed.” So what are you three going to do?”
“As little as possible I hope. There may be a few more grand foals for you though. We are probably going to settle down somewhere quiet away from Gallopagos, New Canterlot and the Crystal Empire. We spent enough time being royalty of those places. And we have more than enough bits to cover all our expenses for a long time to come. “
“Sounds nice.” Jer'rahd sighed.
“It should be. We have been planning this for a few hundred years now.” Rynthia admitted.” You could always do the same.”
“We can't retire.”
“What?”
“Neither of us are true gods. We can't just give up the power and live again as mortals. When Luna and I decide to go, that's it, we're gone. No retirement, no nothing. We're just gone, the power we have can't be passed on, we'll just be dead, what we can do will be gone save what memory echos the hive mind keeps of what Luna can do.”
“Where... where did you learn that?”
“We run into Bonnie every so often. I forgot which of us asked, but Bonnie's seen it a number of times from others who became corrupted by the books. We're kept alive so long as we keep the power we gained, but the moment we try to get rid of it fully we fade out. Similar to what happened with Cadence.”
Rynthia considered that before speaking “So magic is all that keeps you around and when it's gone...”
“So are we.”Jer'rahd sighed. “I don't care about dying, I've done it before, buck, at this point I'm looking forward to it so I can see everyone again. But there's always the chance that we might go and then something will come up after that we were needed for.“
“Like the terracotta incident after Dawn passed.”
“Exactly. Twilight was handling that thing but if we hadn't gotten word of it and gotten here when we did, it would have been a lot worse. And I can't let anything like that happen to Equestria again.”
“Your loyalty....”
“Family, Friends, Country, in that order.” Jer'rahd sighed.
“Do not worry father I will not be dying for a while yet, though I would ask you and mother to stay around for a while however. It would be nice to see you two more often than we have lately.” Rynthia sighed pressing her head to his shoulder.
“I can do that.....”
====================================================
[5361 years after the defeat of Tirek ]
Jer'rahd let out a small groan as he flopped down in the dirt. His ears perked a little as he heard the mutterings of the current generation of Apples poking their heads around various trees and fence posts watching him as he plopped down in the graveyard. It had been about thirty years since he had been this way and most of them had only heard about him in stories.
Luna was at the farmhouse talking with the current family matrons. She never liked coming out here any way, at least not like he did. Of course it wasn't that he liked coming here. His gaze slid over each of the graves before him. His parents, his grandparents, his brother and his brothers wife, his first born daughter, and finally his adoptive daughter and her two spouses.
5172 AT
Rynthia Pelt Kaisur Reignolds Sparkle.
Loving mother and wife, Hero, Bearer of the Element of Magic, Savior of millions, miracle worker, doctor.
“Death should not be feared, it is just the balance to the wonder that is life, and it is far from the end.”
His daughter had opted to take all the names when given the choice. Though she most often went by Kaisur. The marker should have also listed her as first Princess of the Zebralands, but she would have hated that, so it was left off. She had died peacefully in her sleep.
5302 AT
Elusive Reignolds Sparkle
Loving father and husband, Hero, Ruler of Gallopagos, Bearer of the Element of Honesty.
“Death is not the end, it is just the start of the next great adventure.”
The Kirin lord had lived much longer than his wife, though he had become much more sullen in his last years constantly regretting and trying to rethink the decision they made when they gave up their immortality. Shim managed to keep him together until he died from complications stemming from the Flu.
5303 AT
Shintaka Sparkle
Loving mother and husband, Hero, Empress of the Crystal Empire, First Prince of the Changelings,bearer of the Element of Generosity.
“Life requires change, and death requires adapting. You cannot stop either.”
The Changeling had only remained alive a few months more after Elusive passed. Just into the new year, Shin had blown all the retirement funds that the trio had left to make sure everyone of their grand foals and foals had the best Hearths Warming ever and would be able to do pretty much anything they wanted to do with their lives with massive bank accounts for their schooling and starting nest eggs. The Changeling had burned up all his energy staying around for Elusive. When she had passed he made sure that her tombstone was enchanted in a way that the wording denoting him or her changed each time you looked at it. Annoying beyond the end, particularly since Jer'rahd was one of the few that would ever visit here regularly.
Everyone was correct, Jer'rahd did not take Rynthia's death well, he did not take watching her age either. But he stayed around like his last daughter had asked. He remained in their lives as close as he could until Shin passed then he and Luna left for nearly fifty years. They took their grief out on a number of things in the world before they were able to calm down and return to speak with Twilight. Rynthia, Shin and Elusive had a plan and the remaining three would start that plan as soon as the trio passed. Twilight had explained it to him and even he could see the merit in it.
“Are you ready Jer?” Luna asked gliding to land lightly next to him as he rose. She was often in her Pegasus form nowadays. Changelings were common everywhere now, though too many of them recognized her with the hive memories if she was in her Changeling form and rather than try to hide as someone else, she simply blocked the memory of how she looked as a Pegasus and wore that form. Despite the fact he loved that form and was highly attracted to her , the pair had decided not to adopt or have any more foals after Dawn. That had been too painful for both of them to ever want to do again.
“Yeah.... as ready as I will ever be. Let's go make Equss a better place and all that.” Jer'rahd smirked.
“You needn't be so melodramatic.”
“Says the mare who challenged Sparkle to 'Fite me!” when you found out she was releasing some of the Garden's prisoners.”
“Shush you.” Luna pouted as Jer'rahd laughed.
“Lets go Luna. We have a lot of work to do.”