Final Entry- Ilfracombe
Fall. Year 42 | Day 89. Evening. Neighagra Falls.

I'm writing this final entry in my father's stead as he has passed away two months ago. Exactly ten years later after our grandfather did. Kind of funny how that works. My mother gave me his journals to read through after the funeral was over, felt it was for the best. I've not read them yet.

Met a lot of his friends then. Auntie Busy had sent out cards and invitations to a long list of names and more that weren't even on there. Never had I seen such a large gathering of ponies for a single stallion. They were from all over the world, rich and poor. Commoners and nobles. The royal and nameless. The funeral became more of an event of storytelling and celebrating his mere existence than mourning his death. Though we did mourn, not everyone wept. Everyone paid their respects with the utmost regards.

First there was Princess Ginger Snow and her children, Cinnamon and Paprika. Who I find out are my half siblings from a far away place known as the Hestan Kingdom. If Cinnamon wasn't a relative, I would've asked for her hoof. Met King Ginseng as well, whose body appears to decaying slowing as he moves around, almost in a shuffle. Surprising that one could live as old as him. Ginger aged beautifully, like my mother has. They look younger than they are but you can see the age and maturity in their eyes if you look hard enough. If either one of them were to angered, then so help you Celestia.

As for the journey he had traveled with Ginger, and the subsequent wing crippling he suffered afterward was hard for me to read. Unbelievable that he had been through that much and that he had learned magic so well. An ancient form of it, even. The fact that he killed the corrupt prince in the fight, broke the sound barrier, and then blasted through a turret at the castle's outermost wall. He wrote that it was Flight Gear's equipment that saved him in the end.

Another princess that showed up was Princess Twilight Sparkle. A mare that I might a couple of times already. Over dinners and small family events. Dad always explained that she was a distant relative of ours from some old grandmother we never knew the name of. So our relationship was rather questionable at times but never a big enough issue to be brought up by others. I found out during the funeral that he had actually saved her from a bandit masquerading as a prince of Trottingham. Sometime after that, they watched a video of Star Swirl The Bearded and found out that he had a child at some point and that it was their ancestor. Apparently, it's something that even Celestia wasn't aware of.

I met the King and Queen of the Light Fringe Kingdom as well. Bright couple they were, quite literally. Their fur practically gave off light but it was dim and not at all hard on the eyes. The king told me how he and a guard, helped kill an ancient beast once thought deathless. He had killed the thing with a wand that he found and with it, blasted a hole in the beast's chest. They thought it would get up and chase after them, so they fled while they could.

I stayed the longest after we buried him. Even stood there in the rain, light as it was, for more than an hour. When it let up and I was about to leave, I was approached by a lovely looking mare. A mane and tail of luscious browns with several silver streaks. Her face round and sullen and coat like a lightly roasted almond. Vaguely smelled of it too, if memory's correct. Strangely felt a sense of familiarity with her. It wasn't until she invited me to sit down on a nearby bench that I found out why.

"Your father was a great stallion of many names." she opened up. Pulling a collapsible tea set from her bag. No use of magic despite her short and crooked horn. Was it broken, I wondered.

"That's what they tell me." I cracked. "What did you know him as?"

"A mighty warrior. Strong enough to shake the very foundations of the planet itself. You know the staff he had, don't you?"

"I do."

"It belonged to an ancient being of sorts, so he told me, that it was handed down to Star Swirl the Bearded. I know you've probably already heard of him in your studies." She poured and handed me a cup, I kindly accepted. "The staff found its way into your father's hooves and I had called out to him sometime after that. Hearing rumors of his magical prowess despite being a rather disabled pegasus." she poured her own cup and sipped. "My kingdom was scared of him after that day. We fought alongside him." I listened, ears perked. “Even for someone like myself, seeing a kind and gentle stallion such as him utterly destroy thousands of enemies with hie bare hooves alone, is mind numbing.

“He had used designed the trenches to take after an ancient form of magic. His face was expressionless the entire time he chanted the spell and after the last word he spoke, light broke free from the ground and blinded us all. As soon as the light faded and formed itself into large entangling roots, as if trees had sought their revenge. It felled a monstrous slaggan then. A moving hive that had legs like a crab and was the size of a mountain.” another sip of tea. “He turned the thing into a marvelous pile of ash but a slaggan had managed to get a hold of him then.”

“His back leg?” I added. “That's why he never talked about it...”

“Correct. That turned him into a fury of unkempt rage. He tore it limb from limb, quite literally, I might add, used magic to twist it around its own bones. Like a braided cord.” I imagined a pony bending like a snake raveled around a branch. The thought made me cringe. “He tore through countless others before his rage subsided. How their acid blood and spit never touched him, I do not know. When his rage subsided, the light magic he created enwrapped him. When I approached, I could feel his anger still lingering, the fires that he left behind at every corpse felt small and insignificant. He was suddenly a large and overbearing presence.

“For several days he had to be nursed back to health. I made the decision to exile him from my kingdom then. My citizens became far too fearful of him.” She smiled. “I came to give him my thanks. The lands of my kingdom, the nature and trees and wildlife have all returned. As if his magic had purified the lands. We've no longer had to feast on love. Even I returned to normal.”

“Love? Don't changelings feed on that? And if you're the queen then... Chrysalis?”

“Indeed it is I who tried to overthrow Canterlot all those years ago. I've changed, however. Much like your father did.” She was right about that. Dad did get a bit colder as he got older. More lifeless and visibly disturbed ever since his retirement. I'll never understand why he kept it all to himself. Mother always said he used to be much more... alive. "When I heard he passed away, I had to come but given my previous reputation..." She looked to the ground and sighed.

I felt myself speak out of instinct, keeping my eyes focused on the statue that took after his younger days. Beside that, a smaller statue that took Yukon's form, the eagle that he used ride to other places. Yukon was in flight and my father stood proudly, gazing into the distance. "Maybe I could put in a good word for you. Get your banishment repealed. Pardoned, even. I mean if your kind is fine now, then maybe Celestia can pardon you." I laughed lightly, leaning back into the bench. "Unfortunately, I'm not a lawyer nor do I have any power to do so."

" I did not come for a pardon, only to pay my respects. Read through his journals. I'm sure you have more sway in it than you might think. I may have exiled him, but I never exiled you."

Weakly smiling, "That's true. But why come here and tell me about him? All I've heard all day is how much of a hero he was to everyone. Not once did they pay any mind to me. I don't understand, he never considered himself one. Just... delivered messages. A courier was all he was." I felt myself boil with rage, then in an instant, it evaporated. "That's all he was..."

"What you saw, was always him. Courier or not. I know he may not have been home that often, but I know he did his best. He told me such lovely stories about you and the rest of his family and I envied him." She glanced to the clock tower in the distance. "I must be going. Please remember that family comes first, as he did for all his years." In a snap of hot green light, she disappeared.

"I don't think I'll ever forget." I whispered aloud, glancing down at the tea set, where she had slipped a folded note. Opening it, I lightly read, almost in a mumble: "This tea set was something your father and I had shared during his visits. Please do take care of it." I laughed with a few unnoticed tears springing from my eyes. Guess she'll be the one visiting now.