//------------------------------// // Last Chapter // Story: Stories in Stone, Last Dance // by TDR //------------------------------// Stories in Stone Last Dance By TDR Last Chapter [110,042 years after Tirek's defeat] Twilight Sparkle smiled softly as she strode into the New Canterlot throne room. Her night had just begun, though the crowd that had gathered in the throne room was massive. Princess Astra looked up from her throne of the day rising to her hooves herself to join the massive gathering in bowing for the Princess of the Night. “Don't …. seriously, just do not my students.....” Twilight smiled waving a hoof as the crowd rose seeing some faces she had not invited. “ I know why many of you are here and I thank you for coming, but I was serious when I said that I did not wish this meeting to be with anyone but my students. Please would the rest of you step out side and wait until after all this is over?” There were protests of course. Honestly Twilight really could not blame them. Many had traveled from all parts of Equss for this event. One she had announced years in advance in fact so as not to cause any panic. After all it was the event of multiple lifetimes that a Princess passed on her power and stepped down. The Guards moved in, helping guide the crowd outside before closing the massive doors and taking up position outside them leaving only her students and Astra with her in the throne room. There was one other uninvited guest, though the black alicorn was expected even if Twilight was the only one to see her. She felt the spell Astra cast without seeing the tell tale glow of her horn, sealing the room completely and adding a number of layers of shielding to it. The Princess of the Sun was like that in predicting what was needed before she was asked. She had been around for quite a long time at this point. She of course wasn't the first Goddess of the Sun to bear the name Astra. She was actually the third. But she was the second oldest creature on Equss right now even if she was barely six hundred. Something that had almost been required for the Harmony project. The mare was a white furred beauty, quite close to how Celestia looked in the past. Her cutie mark was a sunburst of white light some how visible on her white coat. Her mane and tail were also white her red eyes the only coloration on her at all, growing up she was an albino, nearly treated as an invalid due to her lack of coloration and issues with bright light. Strange that she would eventually control the brightest light there was. Astra knew of the Harmony Project, of what would be expected of her. What Astra did not know was all Twilight had done to make Equss the way it needed to be at this point in her life. She did not know that Twilight was not simply stepping down to be a mortal, but giving herself over to the magic to allow her end. It was why Bonnie was here after all. Another thing the pale Alicorn didn't know, was who her ancestors were. Twilight did. An honest Earth Pony farmer, a Kind Pegasus who could speak with animals, a Generous Unicorn fashion designer, an Laughing Earth Pony baker, a Loyal weather Pegasus, and a wonderful draconic assistant. Twilight could trace Astra's family line back to each one of them, and had. She couldn't help seeing her friends in the white mares every action. Twilight's gaze shifted tot he crowd and the only other pony in the room, her primary student, Nox. The others knew how Twilight viewed the dark blue unicorn. She was almost the reverse of Astra with her dark coat and matching hair. Though her eyes were vibrant and orange and filled with curiosity at everything. Despite the rest of the students protests that Nox was clearly Princess Twilight's favorite, it was hard for any of them to dislike her. The filly had easily made friends with the other outstanding students of Twilight's School. Nox did not know many things, she was young yet, she was unaware that she was going to be the one to take Twilight's place, and she was unaware that the little Dragon she had hatched during her entrance exam, Moonstone, was related to her in more than just an adopted sort of way. The silvery scaled Dragon with bright blue eyes sat with the rest of the students, having been selected for this moment far before any of the others with how she balanced out Nox's eagerness and curiosity with common sense and caution. It didn't help Moonstone too was a top member of the school. That she was one of only three gods remaining in Equestria was a curiosity, but not one that seemed to bother her. Her parent's, Spike Sparkle and Bleu Scale, would be proud of her. Nox's ancestors also included the same dragoness, but they could trace to others as well. A trustworthy solider Pegasus, a charitable Earth Pony spy, a compassionate Zebra doctor, a devoted warrior Kirin, and a memorable Changeling Valkyrie. It was information that few would know, and fewer still would have bothered to keep spread sheets for. Twilight had volumes of them. She let out a small sigh as she looked over her students. Nox was the only pony. Three were Dragons. Moonstone, Ruby, and Obsidian. Two were Linnorm, Ice Wing, and Sunrise. One was a Changeling, Saturnia. One was a Kirin, Lodestone. He was actually one of Twilight's descendants. Two were Draconequui, Light Source, and Hot Sauce. Discord and Pinkie's foals had brought the formerly dead race back into the world, and while they were still rare, Draconequui were not as rare as some other races. One was the rare breed of Harpy that still existed in the world, Peep. Three were Hippogryphs, Chamomile, Geyser, and Steam. Steam was also one of her descendants. One was a Griffon a race that like the harpies remained rather rare, Grail. The harpies had nearly died out and never fully recovered, the Griffons had recovered but with their closer ties to ponies, more Hippogryphs were born than full Griffons. Three were Seaponies, ones who remained in a floating bubbles of water that continually filtered back to the depths of their home, no small feat of magic, but something Twilight was proud of. They were the twins Depth and Ocee, and their sister Kelp. Two were River ponies as species that had become separate from their kin by becoming far more amphibious, Trill and Shaa. Shaa too was one of Twilight's. Another rarity was the lone Orc in the room, he had taken the longest to understand the lessons, but he had caught on and followed her teachings more like a religious belief than simple learning. Brine. The lone Ram was much the same as the Orc and the pair had become friends, Stoat. One was in a part of the room that was avoided, though not due to any one disliking the occupant, but because like the Seaponies a globe of another climate surrounded this one. The Snow Pony Gale, kept the weather around him frigid, though he was warm and open to every one. Three Zebra. Loc, Calm, and Quarrel watched her, all of them descended of the line of Pelt, granted there were few here who couldn't say that. Two buffalo, Sitting Wolverine, and Thunderstrike. A Breezy, Flutter Maple. Three Elk, while Twilight could see the linage and which of the Elk kin they had ties to, thanks to Applebloom's descendants there were no more separate tribes of Elk, they were all simply the Elk. Willow Wisp, Heart Stone, and Delver. Three Diamond Dogs, Brick, Jynx, and Marrow. One Burro, Jack. One Minotaur, Red. Thirty seven students out of a starting one hundred. Her classes had taken the last ten years and all of them were now adults, all of them showed the patience and skill to learn from her. The others had left, given up, or not been suitable for this sort of teaching. Twilight was sad to see them depart, but the Harmony Project was nearly over. They all thought they were simply there to learn everything Princess Twilight could teach. Some were bad homes, some still had loving families, some had never known their families. Bad things still happened in the world despite Twilight's best attempts. But that would always be the case and Equss would need guidance. Perhaps they thought they would be able to study the mystery’s of life, or why the gods seemed to be leaving Equss tales of numerous Gods ruling the land filled books and historical tomes, but as far as anyone knew there were only three right now. They thought they were there to solve the great mysteries of the world , to be the ones who helped make Equss better by offering their insight and guidance to the world in Princess Twilight's place. They were mostly correct. They were there for something more than just that however. “I know you all want to protest. I can see it in all of your eyes. All of you think I should remain. That I should continue to stay and rule and guide Equss further along it's golden age.” Twilight spoke, her voice was soft but it carried and every one of her students stared in rapt attention, the room going silent. “I have been around far longer than I should have been. It is with no small brag to say at this moment I am the oldest thing alive on Equss right now, perhaps the oldest thing that has ever lived on Equss. I have done more and seen more than any one can imagine. I've forgotten more than many will ever know, and worse yet I’ve read all the books that are out right now.” Twilight paused getting a few smiles. “I have seen the light fade from the eyes of those I loved in what seemed like little more than a single breath since they made their first cry of life coming into the world. Every few centuries I think, 'I'm going to pass this on, move onto the next life', but every time I was ready to go, something stopped me, some new interest, or spark drew my attention, or some problem that needed to be solved came up. And so I continued on. But now.......” Twilight smiled looking up at the ceiling of the throne room, the massive mural of the night sky covered it, magic making it mimic the real night sky far above. Her gaze brushed over the moon, the marking of a loving couple still on it despite the patch of green that now grew near the pole as the first living ponies had settled there. on it, using potent magics and warp gates to create a whole new land to spread life to. Twilight looked beyond the silvery orb, at the five stars that had been there since the beginning, still sparkling down at her surrounded by countless others. Still watching and waiting. “There are ponies that I have kept waiting for far, far too long and are they are likely quite cross with me. Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash were not known for their patience.” Twilight smiled at the comment no one but she would understand. “But forget about that. I'm just an old mare rambling, despite only looking in my twenties still.” There was a bit of nervous laughter at the attempt at a joke, the mood was too solemn for that. “There is a bigger reason for my request that it just be you here tonight. All of you are the culmination of a dream. A dream some of the greatest minds of the past came up with and left with me to carry out. A dream where all those who exist in Equss could live together in Harmony. There are differences of course. There are arguments and fighting, no one is perfect. Tempers flare, and emotions clash, but how you recover from this, how you continue to make peace, is true harmony. You all... you all represent the ideals of harmony itself. Kindness, Loyalty, Generosity, Honesty, Laughter, a Magic that binds us and makes us stronger.” Twilight smiled looking down at them all, before she sank into a bow of her own to her students, an effect that brought no small measure of surprise and shock that a Goddess they regarded so highly would bow to them like this. Astra glanced over to Twilight as she rose back up. The white alicorn took a few steps away from the throne of night, drawing her own throne off to the side of the room away from the great throne. Twilight rose, her horn glowed brightly as layers of protection magic untwined and shifted, unraveling into the visible spectrum of light as the heat from the magic being undone along was enough to melt the Throne of Night to slag in an instant. Astra flinched, her own shield raised to protect every one else in the room as the circles and rituals that Twilight had spent multiple lifetimes laying into the wards were undone. Growing up from the floor like a tree was a large, iron bound chest, the wood of it was made from an ancient gargantuan apple tree, one that had contained a great evil. The wood still acted as a purifier to any corrupting influence that might seek out the contents of the trunk. The bindings and lock of the chest were of a far rarer material. The metal made a number of the caster types in the crowd wince, and Astra's shield faltered at the amount of star metal binding the box. Twilight paid it no mind, pressing her horn into the lock and letting a flicker of power out, unlocking the chest. She drew her head back opening the lid showing a treasure trove of flawless crystals. She lifted one with a wing looking it over as she ran her feathers softly across the stone. “The Gods of the world never disappeared my students. They are all here. Talon, Elusive,Shin, Rynthia. Gods that all gave up their powers to be contained until some one deserving could come along. Gods that have risen and fallen and offered themselves up in the end, those that didn't were let be, until their scion or their scion's ,scion was convinced to step down and leave their powers in my care. All of them are here. Gods with power, gods with knowledge, Gods from every race, Gods I truly wish never left. “Twilight sighed stroking the stone of her adopted son before setting it back in the chest.” I never took from those who didn't give freely of their power, that would defeat the purpose of Harmony. They trusted me to find those who would be worthy of wielding them again in the future. but And now... I have, and I give the power back, to those who will bring peace and joy into a proper golden age for all of Equss. Those worthy of the power to guide Equss with the tenements of Harmony.” Twilight let her horn flare, the crystals rising up like a swarm from the chest before launching out into the crowd. The crystals darted and danced among the gathered students like a swarm of parasprites before slowly the swarm drew to a stop, and all the crystals floated pulsing lightly before a student of their choice. Only, Moon Stone, Astra, and one other did not have a crystal. Twilight sighed and smiled softly. “Glimmer Sparkle.” Twilight spoke the command, the name of the love of the one who designed the crystals, her own niece. A name she kept out of the books just to hide the chance of the name being used, a name Twilight had tied to every other crystal. With the name uttered by one of proper power and connection, the room exploded with light. Twilight closed her eyes feeling the flood of power in the room wash over her, the explosions of glass and the rumble of masonry as the castle shook. The flood of light that was probably turning the night into day across Equss. The look of awe Astra had at the brilliance before her, the confusion of Moonstone, and the Dragons realization that she would not be alone any more. Time seemed to slow and Twilight made her way to the one other figure in the room who was not ascending, learning about their powers from the memory imprint of the one who held it before them. Nox was panicked and in shock at everything going on around her and Twilight was not even noticed until their horns nearly touched. “Nox.” Twilight smiled looking down at the Unicorn. “Princess what?! What is all this....?” Nox stammered ,likely blinded from the lights. “The start of the real golden age of Equestria my dear student. One you shall help shape. I have given you and your friends the tools you will need, and Astra will help you all as well. But all of you already know what is needed and the rest is up to you to carry out. “Twilight smiled. “I, what...” Nox frowned as she watched Twilight's horn glow.” Please don't go Princes...” Twilight paused, her gaze lifting at the sight of a alicorn made of darkness standing nearby in the flares of magic. Five other figures stood near her, waiting. “I have to my student. I have friends waiting for me. Don't cry though. This story may be done, but the Spirits created countless stories. Stories that I am part of. There are other worlds Nox, this one may be done with me, but for you, it is only the beginning.” Twilight lowered her head touching her horn to Nox's letting her magic flow through her, the skill and power of the Goddess of the Night entering a new host and leaving the one who had held the power the longest. Nox winced at the sudden flare filling her. Her eyes opened wide as she looked down at a young bookish looking lavender unicorn that stood before her. The small mare smiled up at her, her purple eyes seeming far older than they should be. The unicorn turned walking towards the glare of light cast by the mass ascension towards another group of ponies that stood in the light. Nox watched as the mare was mobbed and pulled into a group hug by the others before they all started to fade as the ascensions flare died down. When the lights of the magic faded. There were thirty seven new gods on Equss. And one less Twilight Sparkle. In a hidden room, one that had long been cleaned out sat two tables awaiting the rooms new owner. On one was nothing but dust. The outline of what might have been swords rested on the table as well as an odd shape that smelt faintly of oranges. The contents of the table had been sent away to hidden places of the world. Awaiting a time when the Armor of Madness, the Brilliant Dawn, and the Waning Moon would be needed again. A loud pop filled the room and the remains of a red balloon drifted down onto the other table. A large pile of dust sat there, the remains of what might have once been a stuffed rabbit, a fragile and crumbling necklace that might have held a precious gem lay tarnished and pitted, a pair of goggles that was little more than a strip of rotted cloth, a heavily burnt book, and the crumbled remains of what might have been a hat, rested on the table. The only thing that remained untouched by the ravenges of time was a picture in the middle, showing six young mares and a small dragon. Stories in Stone Last Dance Fin. One upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria. There were two regal sisters, who ruled together and created harmony for all the land. To do this, the eldest used her unicorn powers to raise the sun at dawn. The younger, brought out the moon to begin the night. Thus the two sisters maintained balance in their kingdom for their subjects, all the different types of ponies. But as time went on the younger sister became resentful. The ponies relished and played in the day her elder sister brought forth, but shunned and slept through her beautiful night. One fateful day the younger alicorn refused to lower the moon to make way for the dawn. The elder sister tried to reason with her, but the bitterness in the young ones heart, turned her into a wicked mare of darkness, Nightmare Moon. She vowed that she would shroud the land in eternal night. Reluctantly the elder sister harnessed the most powerful magic known to ponydom, The Elements of Harmony. Using the magic of the Elements of Harmony, she defeated her younger sister and banished her permanently in the moon. The elder sister took on responsibility for both sun and moon...... “........ and harmony has been maintained in Equestria ever since.” Twilight concluded looking at the book more closely. The young lavender furred mare shifted on the grass where she lay under a tree on a small blanket so as not to damage the book she was reading by setting it on the bare grass. Her lavender fur was neatly groomed and her purple hair with a magenta stripe had been allowed to grow until it spilled over her back curling slightly at the end. It was a bit more time consuming than a shorter mane style she had wore while younger, but she wasn't deaf to the compliments her longer hair brought her while she was still dating. The filly had filled out well as she turned into a mare, enough that even after the flood of suitors that came after Prince simply due to her sudden popularity, she had a number of young stallions who attempted to woo her with little success. She had been on other dates, though after the first few were uninteresting and a particularly pushy one was teleported into the deep snow at the top of the Manterhorn above Canterlot, she started turning all of them down in favor of focusing on her studies. Twilight tapped the last page of the book again curiously, looking at the drawing of the Elements. “Elements of Harmony... I know I've heard of those before.... but where...?” [Cue the music ]