Self-indulgent Author's Note Reunion Party! Chapter 18 edition · 11:29pm Mar 1st, 2013
So this was the longest chapter ever, which took me an entire extra day to write. Who would have thought that a chapter that includes nearly every significant character would be complex? I think everyone short of Princess Erroria was in this thing.
Twilight is basically me when I miss my self-imposed update deadline. I hope posting Erroria doesn't crash the site again.
Chapter 18: Prelude to a Sunday Evening, or, Why Can’t I Hold All These Subplots?
• As always, “unusual format” chapters get to break the usual one word title theme. There were a couple of reasons for using this format: first, because I liked the idea of going full out, one last time, with the whole “50 plotlines happening at once in different parts of Equestria” thing that I’ve been doing for the past 18 weeks. Only this time, everyone’s getting ready for the same event, and they're kind of all having different pieces of the same conversation. It’s the last chapter before everything converges, and now (finally) everyone’s going to be hanging out in the same place, so it may be the last time you’ll see a chapter where I keep throwing out this thing: *******
Yeah, fuck you, you stars.
So this chapter is basically me setting each pony (and dragon) lovingly on their way to their destinies. It’s kind of like laying track.
And hoping the trains don’t all smash into each other and kill everyone.
• The “X days ago” conceit is basically a tension-building device (ARE YOU GUYS FEELING TENSE YET?????) but it’s also there to give a sense of forward momentum. There have been times when I’ve perhaps focused in too much on the details of one pony’s life, or taken a conversation that was meant to be half a page and had it take up a whole chapter. Well, I wanted this chapter to feel like the opposite of that. A lot of stuff happens, a lot of characters get to say big dramatic things, and it all ends at the point of no return. The relentlessness of time seems like a good way to represent that.
Still no Doctor Whooves in this story, though. Sorry.
• If Tarnished Silver were a musical, we’d have started the chapter with Twilight singing the opposite of the opening song from the season 3 finale, all about how terrible Canterlot is now.
Morning in Canterlot’s awful
Morning in Canterlot grates
And I know for absolute certain
That everyone is going to get raped
Later, Queen Lauren descends from Heaven to explain why slant rhymes are awesome and should never be questioned.
I didn’t plan this sequence at all, but I felt like we needed a good symbol of Twilight’s disillusionment beyond her just breaking a bunch of trophies. And then when she got off the train, it all came together.
• In case you can’t tell, I’d been looking forward to writing this chapter for a while. It was originally titled “Seven Days,” which is why I ended up sticking those words in two consecutive “NEXT” teasers.
By the way, Twilight’s letter was going to originally be integrated into the Sunday sequence. Why did it get moved to Monday? Because Monday’s sequence was planned to be all about Sweetie Belle living with the Dreams. But that sequence grew so large, it turned into its own chapter. Its own rapey, rapey chapter.
• The Styngian sequence was partially inspired by this picture:
Classy dragon.
I like the idea that even creatures outside of Equestria recognize the sun as Celestia’s. This creates quite a conundrum for inhabitants of other lands, since they’re dependent on a foreign head of state for their very survival. I could see there being a fair bit of resentment toward ponies over that. Imagine how negotiations with foreign diplomats would go if Celestia decided to be a jerk:
Griffin King: So, it’s agreed, then. The Griffins will provide Equestria with ten million barrels of lamp oil at the standard rate.
Celestia: Only ten? Oh, dear, that’s a bit modest, wouldn’t you say? Why not twenty?
Griffin King: As long as you’re willing to pay for them, that’s fine.
Celestia: Oh, I was thinking I could pay the same rate I was going to pay for the ten million. As a gesture of good faith.
Griffin King: No.
Celestia: Awwwwww, come on!
Griffin King: I think we’re done here.
Celestia: Oh, I have an idea! How about you give us twenty million barrels for the price of ten, and I don’t manipulate the sun so the night lasts 22 weeks in your country.
Griffin King:….
Celestia: I hear it gets awful cold at night in your neck of the woods!
Yeah, it’s a problem.
I’m not trying to get into any big political metaphors here, but I could see why Celestia would need to put on a fireworks display (featuring morally questionable animal juggling) just to keep the Saddle Arabians from hating her.
Actually, I'm mostly kidding. That’s canon Celestia, she’s generally a pretty nice mare. She could really benefit from being more direct with Twilight instead of pulling all that cryptic Obi-Wan bullshit, but generally speaking it seems that Equestria is in good hooves.
Meanwhile, “my” Celestia is an unquestioned ruler-for-life who turns a blind eye to a systematic culture of child abuse because she thinks it’s necessary to appease an unseen, potentially nonexistent force.
Good thing there's nobody like that in real life.
(I promise this is (probably) the last time I dump serious >opinions on here. It was just too perfect.)
• Remember a while back, when I said this story could be split into three acts? Yeah, that was wrong. With all the things that happened between Rarity escaping from jail and the upcoming confrontation, chapters 11-18 actually make up the third “act” of A Silver Sky.
REAL TALK: The fourth and final story arc will start next week, and frankly, I’m a bit nervous. Endings are hard, even ones you’ve been planning for half a year. I have a master document that outlines the entire final arc point-by-point in minute detail, right down to where each chapter should end. That’s more direction than I usually give myself. Of course, knowing me I’ll violate the outline by the time I hit the second page, because that’s what I usually do. But man, I’m juggling 20-odd ponies, all with their own agendas, personalities, and subplots. It’s not that I don’t know what to do with them: I have an ending planned for them all. But it’s still a little intimidating sometimes.
I just hope I can do this whole tangled web justice and give you guys the ending you deserve.
Home stretch! Wish me luck!
It's showtime!
Luck!? Why would we need to wish you that?
You're just entering the endgame of a foal rape clop fic that you accidentally turned into a dramatic epic that people seem to be genuinely passionate about the characters and their fates.
You'll be fine.
Don't worry HamGravy I am sure you will do fine.
I'm guessing another two or three chapters plus one or two epilouges. At a chapter a week that would but the final epilouge in mid-april. Just in time for University Students like me to do their exams.
Besides you already subtley gave away the ending with that final picture on the Authors Notes:
Triage, Hoity Toity, and Sapphire Shores built Rarity a giant Mech-Robot that she uses tro crush all her enemies. Just look her determined face and little black suit and tie.
This series is going to end with a bang!
Oh jeeze oh jeeze. I really hope this has a happy ending! (Regardless as to the tone, however, I'm sure your conclusion is gonna be pretty dang baller)
Im sure you will make it awesome!
I already love your story.
All you can do now is stop me loving it