//------------------------------// // Getting Old // Story: G.N.D: A My Little Dashie Sequel // by Nibrudly //------------------------------// All things considered, it’s been a good week. My son is here with his family, my daughter is here with her friends, and I get to eat real food. As much as I appreciated the hospital, their food wasn’t cutting it for me. When I’m not talking to Dashie or David, and when Annie isn’t attending to me, I spend my time looking at my album. I have half of it devoted to Dashie and the other half to David. I can’t help but feel all warm inside as I look back through everything. Dashie after her first bath, her first birthday, and the picture I took of the kitchen after the first time she tried to make to make me breakfast in bed. A few more flips and she’s kicking a soccer ball in the backyard, getting ready to jump off the tree in the park, and I even got a picture of her flying, albeit blurry. With a few more flips she’s mowing the lawn, sitting on the front porch watching the sun go down, and in the very last photo she’s beaming as she holds our tickets for the air show next to her wide smile. Then I flip to David. The first few pictures are of us at the orphanage for our meetings, either we’re playing chess, talking, or I’m watching him paint. Soon it progresses to a trip to the city pool, a fieldtrip to the national art museum, and all of us gathered around a campfire with David, Lizzie and little Ryan laughing as Snowflake plays a ukulele. Another few flips and David’s braces are gone, Annie is by his side, and he looks nothing like when I first met him. Then I flip some more and come to when he went off to college, several years later when he brought Annie home, when they got married. And with a few more flips I see my grandchildren being born, growing up, and playing with their grandfather. How I wound up with all of this is a mystery I’ll never solve. I’m just thankful my album is full of happy memories. Ever since I came back from the hospital, I’ve made it a point to look at this album once a day; just so I never forget just how good I’ve had it. At some point I’m going to have to split these pictures up into two separate albums. And at some point I’m going to need to write that special something for each. As I finish my train of thought and finish flipping through the album, there’s a knock on my door. “Come in.” To my surprise it isn’t David, Dashie, or even my grandkids. No, I get a visit from the Ruler of Equestria herself, Princess Celestia. “Your highness.” I give a nod of my head, she returns the gesture. I motion for her to come over to my bedside. “What brings a monarch of Equestria to see a dying man?” “I thought you could use the conversation.” She has a warm smile on her face. “I’m flattered, though I’m not sure I can give you the proper conversation befitting someone-excuse me-somepony of your status.” “Believe me; informality would be rather refreshing at this point.” “Well, then what do you want to talk about? The weather? Earth? Maybe why you brought my daughter back to me?” Her smile slowly fades as she sits back on her haunches. “I’m just curious is all.” She stares into space, gathering her thoughts. She gets up and walks over to my window. As she takes in the view, she starts. “Do you know how long I’ve been ruler?” “A millennia?” That’s the bare minimum. “A bit more than that.” I figured. The internet can only provide a close guess. “Wow, that’s a really long time.” “Yes it is; and in that time I have visited many strange and complex worlds; one such world being Earth.” “And I take it you had a less than satisfactory visit?” She turns and walks back over to my bed. “It was pleasant at first, but then you had one of your wars. You were still using spears and arrows then. I saw the worst your race had to offer in that time. From your corrupted rulers and nobles taking advantage of those they ruled, to the citizens and common people doing despicable things to each other just out of greed or pleasure. I saw so many things I dare not speak of now, so many close friends turning into things I could no longer recognize; I must confess it scared me.” “I left and declared it lost to us. I vowed I would never allow that to happen to my people. But that was mere ignorance, for it had already been happening under my rule and I did not want to acknowledge it. However, we moved past the wars and violence eventually; from what I have seen watching your news and watching the town from afar, you still have not achieved peace.” I gave a nod. “I don’t think we ever will. That’s just who we are.” “And yet you broke the mold, along with a few other wonderful individuals I have heard about.” I shrugged. “I’m not anything special your highness.” Her smile returned. “Compared to the people I once knew, you are far more than anything I could have expected. When my student had discovered Rainbow was sent here of all places, I feared the absolute worst. We would have been lucky to find her breathing, let alone in a healthy state of being. But then we found her with you and my expectations were shattered.” “What’s your point?” “I’m trying to understand why you were different. Even though our society was once as troubled as yours, I still held the belief that every human at his core was the same and therefore, to my shame, inferior compared to us. So why did you exercise such generosity and compassion in keeping one of my little ponies safe?” I readjusted into a more comfortable position as she sat back down. “Hate to burst your bubble, but I’m not as wonderful as you think I am. When I took in Dashie, it was more a matter of finding something that brought me comfort, not necessarily because I felt responsible for her.” “If that were the case, why bother raising her as your daughter?” “Because she changed me, Princess. I may have raised her, but I was the one who grew up. If you see anything good in me it came out because of her.” She gave a nod and seemed to be in deep contemplation. Although it might be rude to interrupt a royal’s train of thought, there was a question I wanted answered. So I spoke up, breaking her out of her trance. “Why did you let her come back, Celestia? Don’t give me that crap about national security or because it was for her health. From what Twilight has told me, she would have adjusted eventually. You didn’t have to allow this.” “I could certainly argue that, but there is more truth in your words than I would care to admit.” She closed her eyes and deeply inhaled. She then looked at me with what had to be the most tired eyes I had ever seen. “I’m sure you understand that when you are in a position of authority, you must make tough decisions?” I nodded in reply; I had made many over the course of being a parent. “I have made so many in my time. Some have gone well, others have soured, but there has always been somepony who has suffered in some way because of it. You tell yourself it is for the best, you tell yourself you can live with the consequences. I have made many ‘right’ decisions, but yet still felt empty afterwards.” “This incident with Rainbow was the most recent. I knew it was right to have your daughter return with us, return home where she belonged, but all it has caused her and her friends is so much anxiety and pain. Tell me, if you saw the possible opportunity to ease that pain, with valid reason and without real cause for argument or contest of the motives behind your choice, wouldn’t you take it?” “Maybe I would. So what you’re telling me is...?” “I took the chance. Although I have made many happy through my actions, it is the tears that refuse to leave me. Once, just once, I wanted to make things right.” “So…” now it all made sense, “you were tired of being the ‘bad guy.’” “Pardon me? I’m unfamiliar with the term.” “We use it regarding our performance as parents. How it works is that one parent is the fun one and lets the children have their way, leaving the other to make the tough decisions and enforce the rules, even if it makes their kid unhappy. Hence, they’re the ‘bad guy.’ Make more sense?” “That’s an apt way of thinking about it. You’re very wise.” “I’m just a regular guy who raised two kids. And you’re a tired woman who’s been taking care of a bunch of ‘children.’ We all need to chat with another grown-up now and then.” She chuckled, “I am, aren’t I?” “Hey, at least you still have your looks.” We both laughed at that. There was a pause for a while; I offered her the album and she flipped through the pages with her magic. Here and there she would laugh, and the whole time she was smiling. When she was done, she levitated the book back onto my nightstand. Then she seemed to get serious. “Tell me, what would you say if there was a way to cure you and I knew how to find it?” “Well I wouldn’t be opposed to the idea. Why?” “You may not realize just how much you have done; not only for your daughter or her friends, or my kingdom, but also for myself. You have opened my eyes in a way others could not, and you are so very important to your daughter. It does not seem fair to let the actions of someone such as yourself go unrewarded. I just want to do more than give a simple ‘thank you.’” “So you want to cure me of my cancer?” “If you would allow me to.” Well now that was interesting. Getting cured of this damn cancer? Now that would be nice. There was only one problem with that though. “And what then? I’d still be old, Celestia; you’d be giving me a few more years, if that.” “Wouldn’t that be better then dying here and now? You would have more time to spend with your family, to do the things you had planned on doing. Don’t you want that?” Did I want that? To have that chance of extra time with my family? To visit Lizzie and Ryan and see how the old orphanage was doing now? To be able to visit the country again? At one time, I would have wanted to. Hell, at one point I did want to. But that time had passed. “You know, if you had come to me with that offer when I was younger, I’d probably take you up on it in a heartbeat. No parent wants less time with their kids. And I’m sure you’d find a way for me to see Dashie along with this cure; despite all that ‘he doesn’t belong there’ stuff?” “Possibly.” “Oh yes, definitely would have taken it. But that’s the funny thing of it all: I didn’t stop growing up. You may have been around for quite some time, but you certainly aren’t ‘old’ yet, your highness. I can imagine all those friendships you would have prolonged if death and age hadn’t had other ideas. I’m sure Twilight hasn’t been your only faithful student, yes?” Her silence was very reassuring. She gave a single solemn nod. “So here you find the chance to prevent what is, in your eyes, a premature end, correct?” “As I said, you are wise.” I began to cough violently; Celestia levitated a box of tissues to me. “Oh, thank you.” I excused myself before hacking into a wad of tissues. I rolled it up into a ball and threw it in the general direction of a nearby garbage can. “I’m honored your highness, I really am. But you know better than anybody that all good things have to come to an end.” “Perhaps, but it doesn’t have to necessarily end now.” And that’s when I felt a smile spread across my face. “And that’s why you aren’t ‘old’ yet. And to be fair, I didn’t really become ‘old’ until I became truly bedridden after the summer of last year. I’ve had three years to mourn all those possible moments, those future memories, the things I wanted to do. I’m sure everyone does when death is looking straight at them. But then, eventually, you get over the fact you’re going to miss out on what could be, and realize when you’ve been there for what has been. I’ve had a wonderful life and I’ve had a wonderful family, what more could a guy ask for?” “Forgive me, but why wouldn’t you want to prolong that?” “Like I said, you aren’t ‘old.’ You may be tired, you may have been around the block a couple of times, but you have the rest of your life ahead of you. Age is a funny thing. When you’re young, you never want life to end. But then you get wrinkly, your bones ache, and you never seem to have any energy left. Life becomes closed to you.” “Then you get sick, and no matter what they prescribe, you can never seem to get the pain to go away. There comes a point where you just want it to stop…where you want it all to stop. And that’s when you’re old: when you’re finally okay with just laying back and letting go. So thanks but no thanks, it’s time for my story to end your highness. And it’s been a long and wonderful story.” “Believe it or not, I understand completely. You are not the only one who has taught me that particular lesson. But I thought there would be know harm in seeing if you were interested.” “Oh, thank goodness. You had me going there. I really didn’t want to be the ‘old wise man’ of this conversation.” Her smile was back. “I’m sure your family will not be the only ones who will miss you. I’m glad to have had the chance to meet you.” She extended a hoof; I took it with my hand and gently shook it. “And I’m glad I had the chance to raise Dashie. Thank you for letting her come back to see me off.” “Just be glad we were able to get Rarity out of the bathroom. Another ten minutes and we might have missed you.” We shared another laugh before she went for the door. As she was about to leave I called to her. “Hey, Celestia.” She turned her head in my direction. “Thank you for talking to an old man, your highness.” She still had that warm smile. “And thank you for listening to a tired mare.” As she closed the door behind her, I wondered if I had just made the right choice. It didn’t take long to cast the thought from my mind as I started looking through my album again. Every memory, every moment, every smile stuck out at me as I turned the pages. I couldn’t stop smiling, even after I had closed the book. I pulled myself over to my nightstand and from the drawer I pulled out two brand new photo albums, some stationary and a pencil. I began to sort the pictures out and start inserting them into their respective albums. My end is fast approaching me. At the beginning you hope it’s going to pass, that you’ll be another success story. But then nothing seems to make a lasting difference and you are faced with your own mortality. I’m fine with death, I really am, but I’m not so sure about the pain. It’s bad enough as it is, but it is getting worse. And Annie says I can’t have a higher dosage of morphine. For the first time this week, I’m afraid. I know it’s coming, I know it’s going to hurt, and I’m not sure if I can handle it. Not just the physical pain, but having to say goodbye. I might be fine with saying it, but that doesn’t mean I really want to. I just I don’t know what will happen to my kids. I was a wreck when my parents died, what will happen to them? I know David has Annie and the kids, but what about my daughter? What happens if that fuse doesn’t work? What if she’s still stuck without her other memories? I do not want my daughter moping around all day, and so help me if she starts taking walks I am going to haunt her. I know she has her friends, but she’s basically only had about two weeks to not only say goodbye once, and then not only to have to see her pops all sick and old, but she’s going to have to say goodbye again! I don’t know what will happen. And that’s what scares me. My mind tells me they’re all going to be fine, that I’ll just become a happy memory for all of them. But another part of me tells me they’re going to fall apart and they just might not be able to pick up the pieces. Before I go any farther, I stop and ask myself if they would really let that happen. My kids are strong, stubborn, and I know they’ll get along fine once I’ve kicked the bucket. However, that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t like something to remember me by. I grab the stationary and begin to write. Hopefully, this will make it easier for them to let go.