Pony Fantasy: Reborn

by Jeweled Pen

Epilogue: A decade of peace

Clearpond took a slow, deep breath as she looked over the twin statues in the Canterlot gardens. One of a mare zebra, the other of a stallion earth pony. “I... see what you mean. The likeness is... impressive. I'm surprised you had them made, though. I imagined this would have been... difficult for you to accept, Cherryseed.”

The conjurer looked up, before shaking the hood off. It revealed her red coat, black mane and most importantly, the crown on the young earth pony's head. “It... was. In many ways it still is. To think that all that time a fake was living amongst us and that my brother had actually... died at the hands of those changelings. That another version of him would come into existance. That it would do such deeds.” She took a deep breath. “But... in the end he made good on his mistakes. Or... at least his echo did. I'll be honest, sometimes I still have trouble understanding what happened.”

The pegasus gave a nod. “It's not easy to understand unless you've actually seen one of the spirits in person. They are... not like normal aether. It's hard to believe a decade has passed since Tirek was destroyed and that... horn of his destroyed. I can still sometimes feel the damage he left in the land.”

“Sometimes I still wake up and expect to see our father on the throne. After everything that's happened... I don't know how he'd react knowing that centaurs have been allowed into the alliance.”

“Not many,” Clearpond said with a sigh. “But you should try to come and meet their leader, Cid. He's an... interesting fellow. An inventor, and quite the talented one. Crystalopolis has been using quite a few of his devices to help repair some of the damage their spells are causing. He's also helped develop some new types of air ships. They don't compare with the speed of the wonderbolts, but are still quite impressive.”

The earth pony's face scrunched up. “I can hardly believe you can stand to be there. A white mage of your power is--”

“A white mage must go where they are needed. Besides, Crystalopolis is far less damaged than it was... before all this. Plenty of good have come. For now the borders are safe and the land is mostly calm. I've heard the breezies intend to perform their first pilgrimage across Equestria in a few weeks.”

“Indeed. Our conjurers have been working around the clock to ensure the routes will be safe. I trust we can depend on Torrential as a defensive force?”

“Of course.”

The two sat in silence for a few moments, watching the statue. Finally, Cherryseed spoke up. “Clearpond, you haven't been to Canterlot since even before Tirek arose. Why did you come now?”

The pegasus sighed. “I... felt I should. That I owed it to him. To his family. I... sometimes wonder if there was something I could have done. Steelhorn still isn't talking to me.”

“Steelhorn?”

“Espirit's... Goldenseed's friend. I always... I've always tried to tell the ponies who lost family in person when they died in my care. But I never told you. I also wanted to give you this.” A small red book flew up from her saddle bag. “I think he'd have liked it. You should have the first copy.”

“What... is it?” Cherryseed asked as she took it in hoof, slowly flipping through it. “Is... this...”

“What happened. What he went through, what he did. The ponies he met. She met.” The pegasus took a deep breath. “I'm told it wasn't easy, but the bard who wrote it I can tell you was quite skilled.”

The mare smiled. “He would have liked this. Being in his own book, having his own statue. He always did have his head in the clouds.” She then frowned. “Did he ever mention me, or talk about us back home?”

The pegasus looked away. “I am... afraid that... it never quite came up.”

Cherryseed closed the book and gave a nod. “I can't say I'm surprised. He never was very fond of home. I'll read it when I have a chance, before placing it in the library.” She got up and trotted towards the castle, before stopping. “I... know this may sound odd, but... he was still my brother. Was... he... in his last moments, was he...?”

“He was very brave,” Clearpond said, staring at the statue of Espirit. “To give us a chance to fight Tirek, he gave everything he had. Perhaps if things had been different, he would have made a good white mage. If he had been a pony, not a spirit.”

“Good,” the mare said as she trotted again. “I hope wherever he is, he's found rest.”

The pegasus didn't move, even when she stood alone. She just watched the statue. So much had happened in the last decade, so much repairing and living. Tirek would probably never be able to bother them again, or at least that Tirek. The fact the emperor had managed to find the horn of such a dangerous creature and restore it still left her feeling uneasy. But the horn was destroyed now, there could never be another one like him.

“CLEARPOND!” a voice rang out, making her turn. To her surprise, it was Jetlag.

The mare started trotting towards her. “What's wrong? Shouldn't you be in Cloudsdale? With the Wonderbolts?”

“No time,” the griffon said before landing. “I need to see the queen, now. Something... strange has happened.”

Clearpond nodded and motioned back towards the castle. “Come with me, I'll escort you. What is it, though?”

“A new portal, it's opened near the border. Ponies have been investigating it for weeks, but news just came in. We need to muster all the forces we can.”

“What? Why?”

“It's the warriors of the sun and moon. Those who have seen them claim that all six of them are there, as well as the three princesses and a small baby dragon.”

Clearpond's eyes nearly bulged out of her eyes. “W-what? Have they killed anypony yet?”

“No. Ponies claim they were in some sort of... sleep. But the entire area has been blocked off. If they wake up, there's no telling what they'll do.”

The pegasus nodded and trotted even faster towards the castle, soon breaking into a full gallop. After a decade of peace, she could already see a new, impossible threat staring at them. There wouldn't be any spirit here to save them this time. Hopefully they wouldn't need it.

Comments

[lordalexander74]

Sequel bait? HOpe so. Too bad you can't thumb up a story more than once.

[Jeweled Pen]

6594854 Possibly. Nothing really planned or fleshed out, but I have a few ideas if I decide to try. :)

[Confluxes]

Now to just hope and wait for a sequel

[Boom44]

Wow. I don’t understand how this story has so few likes and views. Sure it’s very different from most other fanfics, but it’s still a quality story that’s quite long to boot. Well done!