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// Ancestors and Decendants 
// Story: Stars In The Day 
// by NightInk 
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	I appeared in the same spot as always, the clearing down the road from when Ben sat. This time I could see Celestia sitting with him, talking happily with her new undead friend. As I approached, I saw that there was a wooden carving in front of her. It looked like it was supposed to be a bird, but she was clearly much less practiced than her companion. Ben still worked on his fish, slowly and patiently carving each individual scale into it with care. I guess I startled her, because as I approached she looked up, jumped, and accidentally cut the tip off of her bird’s wing.
“Oh, horse feathers,” she muttered. “Oh, well, the wings can just be smaller. They‘ll be better like that anyways.”
“Hey, you’re learning!” Ben said almost proudly. “You just have to remember that it’s always going to be changing, and until its right, both it and you have to be open to change.”
“He’s teaching you the Zen of carving, is he?” I asked, smiling.
Celestia blushed like she was embarrassed to have been caught woodworking. “Well, it’s just something to pass the time…” She muttered.
“That’s too bad,” I said. “It looks like you’ve got a lot of promise. And Ben is a good teacher.”
“Yes, he is,” she said, her blush barely fading. “And you really think it’s good?”
“Of course I do!” I replied, grinning even more. “Would I lie to you? That was rhetorical,” I added quickly as she began to open her mouth to answer. “And in the spirit of honesty, I have to tell the two of you something. I’m in some pretty serious trouble. I’ve been given the challenge of John Henry by Discord, and I need a second hammer.” I looked at Ben hopefully. “Do you have an extra shape changing knife or just a hammer I can borrow?”
He tossed the one in his hand up to me and pulled a new one out of his sleeve in the same motion. “Keep that one too, if you need it. Like I said last time, I’ve got a ton of them. But he really gave you the ‘John Henry Task’?”
I looked at him funny. “You mean he was a real man?”
He let out a kind of guffaw. “Ha! Is he a real man? One of the greatest I’ve known! Huge guy, heart of gold. Real nice. Good with kids.”
“You have any way of getting word to him real quick? I have to dig through a mountain in forty five minutes and I’d like to talk with him.”
“Man, I can get ahold of anyone down here in a matter of seconds,” he said, pulling a whistle out of his pocket. He played a quick tune on it, and soon footsteps could be heard on the path to the right of me.
Ben was right. John Henry was a goliath of a man. Standing six and a half feet tall and three and a half wide, he was all muscle. He wore only an old pair of blue jeans and red suspenders, his huge, booted feet practically shaking the ground with every step. He carried a hammer, almost identical in size and shape to the one my knife turned into. He carried it easily over his shoulder, the head perched on his muscular shoulder and the shaft gripped tightly in his hand. His dark brown skin almost shimmered in the orange glow emanating from the ditches. As he approached, he seemed to almost be sizing me up.
“Hey, Ben.” When he spoke, it sounded as if his voice were echoing deeply from inside a cave, but had kindness in it. “What do you need? And who’s the kid?”
“Hey!” I protested. “I’m not a kid!” Listening to myself in comparison to the man in front of me, I almost didn’t believe myself.
“This young man is named Adam,” Ben replied, ignoring me. “He’s in a bit of trouble and needs your help.”
“What kind of trouble could ah help with?” he rumbled. His light accent almost reminded me of AppleJacks, though not as thick. “Ah’ve been dead a long time. Don’t think there’s any way for me to be of any help on a surface world.”
Speaking for myself, I looked up at the man before me. “It’s not so much that I need your physical help, but I need your advice. I’ve been challenged with the same task that you took, tunneling through a mountain in a day. I just don’t know if I can. How did you push yourself to do it, even after your heart gave out?”
Sitting on the ground and leaning against the side of the bench, John thought for a little while. “Well, before I tell you my secret, ah have to ask you a question, and you have to answer it in full honesty, you hear? Do you think yourself to be any kind of a hero?”
I was surprised by the question. “Well, other people seem to think I am-” I started.
John shook his head. “That ain’t what ah asked. Ah said do you think you’re a hero?” I thought for a moment, and told him no. “Then tell me; what are you?”
I sat cross-legged on the ground in front of him. “I’m just a man. Hell, not even that. I’m a child in a man’s body, still believing in the impossible. Believing that all people can be good. Believing that a hero will always rise. But I’m looked on to be that hero, and I don’t think I’m up to the task. And I don’t want to be a hero either,” I admitted. “I want to be a good husband, but my wife deserves far better. She deserves a king, a god. I want to be a good father, but I’ve never been one, so I don’t know how well that’ll work either. I want to be a good son, a good brother-in-law. I guess above it all, I want to be a good man. If I do that, I can get as close to the others as I can.”
John looked at me thoughtfully, eyes full of wisdom. “Well, are you? Are you a good man? Do you do what’s right every day? Put the people in your life before yourself? Love and tolerate the differences in the people and the worlds around you? Can you go to bed at night knowing if you were to die then and there that you’d receive a good welcoming down here by your ancestors?”
I wiped my face with my skeletal hand. I didn’t know. I looked down at the bony appendage. I had gotten it by cheating death, basically. I had escaped the Crossroads by seeming to be a good enough guy that I was given the escape I needed. But did I really deserve the honor of that? “I’m not as good as people think,” I finally answered. “But yeah. I’m a good man. I provide my wife with a good home. I help those less fortunate than myself. I have my flaws, yeah, but I make sure I keep myself in check and remember that I’m not above anyone. If anything, they’re above me, and I need to do my best to help them.”
John smiled and leaned back in his spot. “That’s exactly the answer you needed to give. You just gave yourself the power you need. Remember that there are those who depend on you, and you have to do your very best. If not for yourself, then for them.”
I wasn’t convinced that was all it took. “But I don’t have the physical strength to go through a mountain. I have the will, but not the power.”
“Now you know that ain’t true,” he said. “After all, you been to the Crossroads. You even escaped them by your own power. Defeated that Nightmare Moon character even though you could barely raise your arm for the exhaustion of battle. You got the fire in you, and you got the power to do this far more easily than ah ever did.”
I knew he was right, I was just doubting and worrying too much. But one thing caught my attention. “I thought you didn’t know who I was. You had to ask Ben my name. How did you know that I defeated Nightmare Moon if you didn’t know me?”
John laughed a great, hearty laugh. “You are a sharp one, aren’t you, my boy? I been keeping’ tabs on you since you been born. I like to know what mah descendants are up to.”
While he laughed, I just stared at him. When I found my voice again, I said, “but, I’m nothing like you. You’re a giant, no offense. Before Luna fell into my life, I was a bookworm. You lived in the south, I live in the north. I‘m pretty lazy!”
“But you’re a descendant of mine, sure enough. One of mah grandchildren moved up north, simple enough. It’s not laziness so much as you find the easy way to do the job. We’re flesh and blood, there’s no mistaking. And as such,” he continued, putting on a serious face. “You are going to win this fight. We both know you can. And to prove to you I believe in you, I want you to take this.” He handed me the hammer that he had set beside him. “No one but me ever swung this hammer before. But you’re going to use it to lead your friends and your little woman to a life free of chaos by an unearthly dragon creature. You take this, and you make me and your ancestors proud.”
We both stood, and I hefted the hammer. It was a beautiful tool, perfectly weighted and balanced. It was hard to believe it was so old. “Thank you,” I told him. “I’ll do you proud.”
“I know it,” he said, shaking my hand. Before he turned away, I quickly gave him a hug. Laughing, he returned it, saying, “Son, you really are a boy at heart, ain’t you?”
Nodding, I released him and watched him walk away. It was incredible. Not only was my hero real, but he was my ancestor. I could have wet myself. But that would have to wait for later. I gave Ben back his knife, saying, “You knew about that, didn’t you?” He just nodded. I looked sideways at Celestia, and with a wink told her, “Don’t worry. I’ve got this now.”
As I turned I heard her stand. “Wait,” she said quietly. “I have to tell you something.” turning back to her, I could see tears welling up in her eyes. “You know, we may not always get along, and we’ve had our… differences of opinion,” she said cautiously. I rubbed the scar on my arm from where she had shot me when we met. “But I want to tell you this. Whether you believe it or not, you are a hero. In fact, the truth that you don’t believe it just makes it truer. You will win this, I know. I have faith in you. And just know that…” She choked on a lump in her throat. She was really worked up. “You are a good husband and brother-in-law. Never doubt that.” Unable to say anymore, she unfurled both of her great wings and swept me up in them, pulling me close.
I gave her a tight hug and a pat on the back. “And you’re the best sister-in-law I could have asked for. Itchy trigger finger and all.” She laughed and gave me a push away.
“Now go save Equestria. I’ll be waiting for the good word.” Nodding, I put up the portal and stepped back onto the fields in front of the castle.


And almost walked into a mountain.

…

A huge mountain stood where it hadn’t before. The girls had apparently been moved to make way for it, because though I should have been facing them, I could hear their voices from somewhere behind me.
Discord suddenly appeared and put his arm around my shoulder. “A beauty, isn’t she? I’m really rather proud of myself. I had never made a mountain before this, and for my first one I think it came out well.”
Brushing his arm away from me, I took a step away and faced him. “All right, Discord. I’m going to do this as a human, but let the girls come closer. I want to speak with my wife and friends before I attempt your little game.”
Rolling his eyes and shrugging, he snapped his fingers, saying “Oh, fine. Be all mushy if you want. But first let‘s dress you for the occasion.” As the shield around the girls disappeared, my clothes changed into the same kind of old jeans, suspenders, and boots that John had worn. They fit just right, and they felt better than any clothes I had ever worn.
Luna and the others ran quickly over, all looking worried. “Dear, did you get it?” Luna asked. “Did you get another hammer?”
Smiling confidently at her, I showed her John’s hammer. “Yes I did. My ancestor, John Henry, loaned this to me for the game. I talked to him for a while, and I think I’ll do all right.”
“That’s not a loan, boy!” John’s voice boomed from an unseen source, startling even Discord. “You’re to wield that hammer for as long as it can still fight for the good! If you have to return it to me, bring it when you die! And don’t look so startled! Ben figured out a way to allow us to see and hear everything that’s going on, and even speak with you. So don’t foul up!”
Feeling strangely comforted, I pulled the knife out of its sheath and turned it into a hammer as well. As I took my place, I looked behind me and looked at my wife, fellow Elements, and the three greatest fillies I had ever met. They all looked at me wordlessly, their eyes saying, “You’ve got this.”
Discord stood next to me and repeated the instructions. “You have to make it through this mountain in a day, just as your ancestor John did. You will start at the sound of the shot.” He held a carrot high in the air. “Ready, set, GO!” on go, the carrot exploded, and I swung the hammers simultaneously, carving a foot out of the rock with my first swing.

…

I don’t know how long I was swinging. All I knew for what seemed like a lifetime was swinging steel and flying rock. The bone hammer acted exactly as the steel one, sparking against the rock as it struck. Each shower of sparks showed me where it was that I wanted to swing next and threatened to burn my skin if I got too close. After a while though, I didn’t even feel the burns. There was only the rock. There was only its strength trying to rival mine.



And it was intoxicating.



As I tunneled, I could feel my blood surging through my body, powering every move. I knew why John had loved his work so much. Even as my body grew tired, I kept pushing myself deeper into the mountain. I could almost feel the mountain weakening under every blow, and Discords spirit with it. After a certain point, the feeling of it changed. The rocks seemed to begin to fight back, becoming harder to break and releasing sharper shards when they did. I felt the pieces tear at my already shredded and burned skin, but I had to keep fighting. Discord would not beat me.
Suddenly, one rock exploded in a shower of not heat and flaming sparks, but magical energy. I felt it tear at every fiber of my being, but I was on too much of a roll. I couldn’t be stopped. It wore at my strength, making me feel more and more tired all the faster. Then, it just stopped. I kept digging, but I could feel the magic stop and felt all of my strength return at once. I felt as if I were a hundred pounds lighter, and as if the hammers were striking with a destructive, explosive force. My work became a joy again, and I even stopped noticing the sparks and shards as they hit me. There was only a feeling of victory and triumph.
The rocks became weak again, crumbling under the force of every swing. When I reached the far side of the mountain, I was almost sorry it was over. I looked into the sky and saw the sun was still partially in the sky. I raised my hammers over my head as John had, but feeling much better than he had been after his fight. Discord and the others were a short distance in front of me; just a little was down a hill made by the mountains appearance. As I descended, I looked at the hammers. They were white hot and smoking, like in the legend. Luna ran forward, smiling from ear to ear and with her arms open wide. I dropped my hammers and ran to her, and as we met we knew something was very wrong. Instead of wrapping her up in my arms, I passed right through her. We stopped a few feet from each other, and we turned and tried to hug again, this time more slowly. I only passed through her again. Turning to Discord, I became angry.
“And what’s the joke here? I beat your game. You’ve lost. What have you done to me?!” I yelled at him.
“Oh, dear,” he muttered with a false expression of sympathy. “It appears as if your spirit has been separated from your body.”