Some times, ponies may think that their effort will always be the reason for their success... and sometimes they forgot what is the most important in their lives, the little things they forgot about being grateful... We take the air from Equestria every minute, we drink the water to satisfy our thirst, we take whatever food from the entire nation without thinking... I'm alive because of this, I should cherish my life and not forget how this is important, without this, I could die... Sometimes other things are the reason for our gratitude... Our progenitors who gave us birth, without them we couldn't be alive... And sometimes... the next generation...
Like the time I left the meeting, I couldn't help but explore around the hall ... As I could see the marble over the walls, the carpet over the floor, and every single detail over the hall. I scoffed in my mind imagining how many ponies must have worked their flanks off trying to impress the founders of Equestria.
I left the hall with good taste, thankfully Chancellor Pudding dessert was enough for me to enjoy my time witnessing something so fun and hilarious in my perspective.
As I walked outside of the hall, I saw the glimpse of the tents from the camps of the unicorn faction on the left, the earth ponies faction on the right, and the pegasus faction in the middle, it was like something we still could take a few more months to finally adapt ourselves to develop and live as a great nation.
My hooves directed me as a direction of reflection of my own thoughts, ignoring my own sense of direction and deciding to explore around to see what this city has been around after so many years of sacrifice.
A good camp that was 10 minutes of walk from the hall was enough for me to give a pause into my own walking, and lay at the area and appreciate the nature around me. I observed that I wasn't alone at the time I was there, since I could see what would be 5 foals running over the camp. Thank Faust that all of them are from all the factions and neither of them is excluded. It's wonderful to witness such younglings running around, whatever they are doing at the camp to my own confusion.
Sounds of foals laughing and running, indeed made me reflect on my time with my own daughters, who seemed to be doing something at the tower. Later my own clone will give me an update about what they did at the time.
I closed my eyes and appreciated the wind breeze cross in my face. Until I felt a touch on my back. Sard... I cannot even have 5 minutes of peace?
I opened my eyes slowly, and to my surprise, there were 2 ponies who seemed that I wouldn't expect to actually find them here.
"Commander Hurricane, Chancellor Pudding," I said with my usual tone, which made them nod to me.
"Star Swirl." Both of them said in unison, before moving to my said and laying down as the same way as I did.
"Can I do something for you?" I raised my eyebrow as I could see neither of them answering my question, but remained watching the foals running over the camp.
Feeling ignored would have made me angry for obvious reasons, but from the way they were watching the foals, it seems that they actually weren't with the intention to actually talk to me, but to do what I'm doing as well.
I launched my thoughts away, and watched the foals during what would be for 5 minutes, the foals were chasing each and other as me and the two other leaders of the factions watched them in amusement. It was a comfortable silence.
"This..." Hurricane said, making me and Pudding look at him with our eyebrows raised. "This is what we fought for... Faust... I wish I could go back in time to tell myself as a foal, that everything we did was worth it."
I remained in silence, but I agreed with him, as the same way the Chancellor looked at me and Hurricane.
"I agree... how much do you think these foals have? 7 or maybe 9? He, I remember when I had 9 years I had to dig barricades to protect the tents of my family so don't let the bugCrocodiles appear and devour my siblings. " Chancellor Pudding said with nostalgia as he looked at the smile on their faces.
"When I had 8 I had to hold my spear and don't let any rockwolf penetrate into the defenses of my own sick mother. I stayed awake for 8 days straight to not let any kind of danger appear to my mother." Commander Hurricane sounded melancolic as he watched with a small smile as he looked at the pegasus fly straight and the other ponies start shouting he was cheating.
I looked at where this conversation was going... They were appreciating all the sacrifices they did to make all this new generation to be happy...
"With 10 years, I had to survive against creatures of the shadows and protect the queen who lost her powers during 2 weeks," I remember how hard was my foalhood, the sacrifices I did to make sure that the new generation would live the time of the light, and it was indeed the truth, it seems that most of the ponies who lived the time of the shadows had to sacrifice their foalhood to protects the ponies they love, to make the new generation has the life of peace.
Leaving at the time of this a comfortable silence as we started. It seems that this talk was just the start of the decisions of our lives.
"Swirls... I'm thinking I'm getting old too." Both Commander Hurricane and Chancellor Pudding said at the same time, making me look at both of them.
"Sard, you both need to stop this. It seems you have been practicing this for some time." I caressed my own beard as I looked at both of them narrowing their eyes to each and the other. But rolling their eyes afterward. Commander Hurricane scoffed as he looked like he was going to be first.
"You proved your own point after the meeting today. From the way, you wanted to retire from the activities as the major magician to fight as our first line of defense. You have made me realize that... we fought too much on both these eras. And some of the fights were even against ourselves..." Hurricane narrowed his eyes as he looked at the horizon and looked down in shame for some guilt.
"Hurricane, if that's the case of..." Chancellor Pudding wanted to the middle of what would be a kind of comfort but was interrupted immediately by the pegasus commander.
"Don't even say it his name. He was a disgrace to all the generations we fought for... His betrayal should be marked at the pegasus story as the most stupid and cold-blooded genocide attempt ever made... It was a miracle that nopony died... But I could have seen it much sooner. That was the only time I could give the satisfaction of Princess Platinum the pleasure to humiliate me in front of all the generations of ponies... Because she was right..."
I opened my eyes wide open surprised... never in my life, I could have seen such a thing, somepony who hated Princess Platinum with all his heart, actually admitted that she was right. She would make a party and even a holiday of such event. That's a pity that she is frozen for a day and she will never receive such a point on this case.
"That's admirable from you Hurricane." I had to admit it. He did something that not even in my deathbed I would say it aloud that Princess Platinum was right.
"From what I understand, my wisdom has grown a lot, but my guts on who I should trust are being fallen after the last attempt. If I spar with more stallions every day, there is one day that a rookie will be capable to have a lucky shot and defeat me into sparring, and this will break the morale of my own soldiers... And the pressure of the pegasus soldiers it's almost trice the quantity of the soldiers of both unicorns and earth ponies... So I decided to make a secret project to shut down the military soldiers and make them look like another squad of flying. To ensure protection but... joy wherever they appear." Commander Hurricane said as he looked at the pegasus foal who was flipping around as both unicorns and earth ponies are working together to catch the pegasus. And after succeeding, all of them laughed peacefully at the ground.
"That's admirable of you to say Hurricane... I know that you love the military force more than everything, but this change of view you are doing, will actually bring more peace and respect from the ponies than the fear and intimidation to the others. Like a WonderBolt." Chancellor Pudding smiled at the way the pegasus leader view the future projects but added a sard grin as he gave the last name, making me crack a grin and Hurricane groan in displeasure.
"Sard, this stupid nickname again? I don't know why Queen Faust thought my name was Wonder Bolt in the first place and made all my friends and you call me that during 3 years straight." Hurricane deadpanned as me and Pudding chuckled from his own suffering.
"Well, take this name into consideration for your future project Hurricane. Maybe in the future, they will love this name." Chancellor gave him a comforting smile however from the way Hurricane snorted he disdained the idea in the first place.
"I highly doubt. If somepony would actually chant this name as pride and be somepony who would be recognized into the entire nation and the other nations. Then maybe... just maybe... I will find a way to get out from my grave and go to the next princess and ask her to kiss me." Hurricane looked so confident that made me and even Chancellor Pudding raise our eyebrows... He looked really serious on this. "But ignoring such stupid discussion, now that you decided to retire and take care of the future princesses... I decided to do something similar and enjoy a time for myself and somepony to fight for."
"You have a point Hurricane, now Chancellor. Why do you think you are getting old?" As I admired the courage and the reasoning behind his actions, now I looked at the fuchsia stallion who seemed to be watching the little earth ponies with a prideful smile.
"Well gentle colts, some of the foals we have been watching all the time actually were my grandsons and granddaughters." My eyes went wide open after I see what would be the earth ponies who seemed to enjoy chasing each other, one with the red coat and the other with a soft brown coat. "They are named Apple Pudding and Meshen Pie. My pride and my joy, and since I saw you staring at them during some time. I think it was time for me to stop taking a lot of stressful decisions every time, and give myself time to rest and enjoy the simple things... I work as a founder of earth ponies and as their leader, I have to check all the investments of how the food, the materials, and all the lands should be shared among my kind, and there are always stupid discussions that I wish I wasn't even there... So maybe if I place an advisor to take care of a while and wait until the princesses are ready, that would be enough for me to retire."
"It's fair reasoning," Hurricane said, while I couldn't help but nod in agreement.
"It seems that it finally came to our minds that the prime of our lives was over a time ago. But to be honest... I don't regret the decisions I have made today... I think that today we should appreciate at the camp and be grateful... for all the sacrifices we did decades ago, the deaths of our fallen comrades, families, and be grateful to be alive in this era of peace, with a view we thought we never would have guessed to see." I raised from the floor and talked in a solemn tone, which made both stallions look at me in agreement and follow my example.
"I agree, be grateful to never be vigilant through monsters trying to eat you alive or take your food and make you and your family starve in the middle of the cold night." Hurricane looked at the horizon.
"The feeling is mutual. Be grateful to see the next generation of your family and loved ones grow up in the era of peace and life." Pudding nodded his head as he smiled terminated and showed his hoof to us. "For the ponies."
"For the nation." Hurricane placed his hoof above the Pudding and smiled determinedly as well.
I didn't stop thinking about my own daughters as the way both of them showed such determination that I couldn't help but smile the same way as them.
"For the future of the next generation." I placed my own hoove. And like a kind of power between us made us chant in unison.
"For the QUEEN EQUESTRIA, AND FOR THE ERA OF LIGHT. We are grateful Faust, for us to remain alive to see the future in our hooves." We said in unison as the breeze around us turned warm and comfy, but our determination didn't mind the change, as we together took of our hooves.
As we 3 looked at each other one more time before deciding to make a simple thing.
"Let's see what the colts are doing and let's help them." Chancellor Pudding said as I and Hurricane nodded our heads and followed him to the group of kids.
Faust... Thank you for your mercy...