Here's the epilogue of Invasion! Enjoy this final send off!
Many years had passed since that day, when Attagornis led the animals of the Planet in a final fight against the Gems, and had emerged triumphant. But Attagornis could never have been able to do it without Rose Quartz, who saved him, and the Planet itself.
Since then, the Planet had recovered from the Gems' decimation of the surface and healed itself. The strange moss Rose had introduced was extremely rich in vital nutrients, and when it died, it sparked the growth of millions of seeds, dormant in the ground all across the planet. The original plant life had recovered remarkably quickly. The Kindergartens were a thing of memory; they were now all covered in plant life or flooded by lakes and rivers.
The Planet had returned to its natural state, and all the animals rejoiced. Sadly, the thunder-walkers were gone, having died with Naldus at the end of the great war. However, a smaller, dwarf species of thunder-walkers were discovered to be living on a distant archipelago. With the help of the leviathans that ruled the oceans, herds of these dwarf thunder-walkers, only up to 70 feet tall but otherwise identical to their extinct brethren, were brought to the mainland to replace them. The thunder-walkers were abroad once more, though now a smaller, separate species, but a few began getting bigger, thanks to the plentiful more food and space available to them.
Attagornis was now a very old stalk-eye. He had a new herd, but he was no longer the alpha; the title belonged to the strongest stalk-eyes in the herd, which were his sons, Eo and Algran. He had said his farewells to them and their families before leaving.
Attagornis could sense it approaching, but he was happy. He had lived a long life, a rich life. He had lived through an invasion, famine, starvation, and war. He had been a father, and a grandfather, and even great-grandfather, but now his time had come.
Stepping slowly on his old, weak legs, Attagornis began to leave the plains, heading toward a secluded forest. As he passed, every animal that saw him, young and old, great and small, carnivore and herbivore, bowed their heads in respect. He smiled a warm, old smile at each and every one of them.
As Attagornis neared his destination, he reflected on his long life; from the moment he hatched, to when he became leader of his old herd, to when the Gems invaded, to the suffering times with his sons, to the years leading up to the great war, to the war itself, and the tragic deaths of Arnon and Naldus. Then he remembered Rose. He had hoped to see her again, but decided it was for the best that she didn't return. She had done more than Attagornis could possibly repay her for, and the animals of the Planet all swore that if she ever did return, they'd welcome her with open claws.
Attagornis then reached the entrance to a small forest. He took a single look back at his grassland home and his herd; he could hear his sons leading them in roaring his name.
Attagornis smiled as he entered the forest, into the territory of a large pack of scunners and screechers. He could see them gathering on the branches and forest floor. This mixed pack was led cooperatively by the grandson of Nokran and the great-granddaughter of Zras. They knew why he was here.
Attagornis nodded to the two leaders of the pack, and they nodded back. Attagornis then calmly laid down on the soft forest floor, the screechers and scunners encircling him. The lead scunner was the first to come up to him.
"Close your eyes and rest, old one." He said with respect. "We will take care of the rest." His old eyes half closed, Attagornis nodded, and settled his head on the soft soil.
Then, all was peaceful.
And that's it. It's finished. I hope you all enjoyed this story, because I sure did. But I'm not done with the SU fandom yet! I do have a potential sequel in mind for this fic, not to mention another...
Until next time, everyone. Thank you for reading!