Extended thoughts and update

I have very mixed feelings about Domain of Friendship.

A big part of me is really, really glad I wrote it. It's the biggest writing project I've ever undertaken, and it's a mark of personal pride to have finally finished it (even if I didn't include everything I meant to from the start; more on that later). I very likely wouldn't have gotten into writing at all without taking that leap - and if I hadn't, I would have missed out on all the friends I've made as a result. (Including one I'm proud to call one of my best friends, without whom I wouldn't have made it this far. She knows who she is. )

I've learned a lot about writing thanks to this story, too - not the least of which being what's bad about it, and there's plenty of that. The plot is cheesy and overused as all hell; it might have been potentially inventive six or seven years go, but I got into the fandom way too late for that. I also found out I'm really bad at writing combat, even after reading several stories that did combat scenes excellently; evidently I didn't pick anything up from them. (If I had to say what I think my strongest asset is, I'd probably pick dialogue? It's the most fun, at any rate.)

I also learned about how to deal with criticism, constructive or otherwise. Negative comments can range from simple disinterest to a fairly scathing deconstruction of the very concept of the story, and getting something useful out of as many of them as possible is a skill in and of itself.

All that said though, I think DoF did pretty well overall? It was still received positively for the most part. If you liked the characters but found the plot a bit too hackneyed for your liking, nothing says we can't see them again in a future story! I do like seeing ponies and humans interacting, though between Human(s) in Equestria and Pony(s) on Earth Nexus, I might need some help deciding which is the more promising concept... (I also still have A Tear in the Fabric as an option, but I'm pretty on the fence about that at the moment.)

As for now? Not So Far Away is finished, and Rune Hunters will probably update only sporadically when I happen to have a chapter ready. I'm still planning out the sequel to The Persistence of Destiny; it's what I'd like to work on next, my new schedule as a supervisor at work permitting, but I haven't quite ironed out all the details yet? For those of you who want some minor spoilers (and might also like to pitch in a little):

I have a concept for Pinkie already! She'll be the first chapter, and also the easiest. Fluttershy is planned out too - don't worry, she's not dead! She's pretty different in this AU though. I only have a vague idea for Twilight, and basically nothing for Rarity. If you'd like to help out, I can share more details privately.

That's all for now on the update front. If you wanted to know more about what didn't make it into the final cut of Domain of Friendship, read on!

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There were going to be a total of eight 'episodes.' There was a scene I dropped from Episode 5: Shining Armor speaks to the trio after the wedding but before the princesses do, and thanks them for their help before offering them a spot in the Royal Guard... but Scarlet declines immediately. Later in their room, Tank argues with her about it before they get summoned to the throne room. This was a plot point that wouldn't have gotten properly addressed until Episode 7.

Episode 6... technically might actually work as its own story unrelated to DoF, so I think I'm gonna keep quiet on that one. All I'm going to say is that it was a reimagining of Magical Mystery Cure.

Episode 7 was going to offer more detail surrounding the events of the original trio's 'disappearance' from their home world of Nexus. They get tasked with investigating an ancient temple (the one where Tank found his sword, incidentally) where strange goings-on have been happening after dark, unexplained lights and sounds that are spooking the locals. The temple contains a portal to the magic realm (brief explanation here), and when they check to make sure it's not doing anything screwy, it does something screwy and a magic spell bursts forth from it, hitting all three of them.

For those of you who hadn't guessed, the unknown narrator in Machination was Tirek. A very small portal cracked open in his cell in Tartarus, too small for anyone else to detect, or for him to escape through - but enough to grant him a tiny fraction of his dark magic back. The entities he sensed through it were people from Nexus, and the spell he used was supposed to pull either them or a big chunk of their magic through the tiny portal to help him escape. What it grabbed was basically a portion of their very life force, which got loose from him once it passed through the portal and manifested as ponies because... well, I wanted to turn my OCs into ponies somehow, even though leaving them stuck as disembodied pseudo-souls might have been cooler.

The original trio themselves get flung to different ends of the temple, and weakened by the spell, they need help finding one another again - but luckily, three talking horses are there to do just that! There's a bit of banter as each human meets their pony counterpart, until they all gather together in front of the portal. Discord pops up; he can travel between dimensions, so they bugged him for a ride back home to find out what really happened, and knowing their 'original' selves will carry on offers the trio much needed closure. After a final goodbye to their old lives and their old world, Discord returns them to Equestria.

Episode 8 was going to be a reimagining of Twilight's Kingdom. Instead of escaping the way he did in the show, Tirek masters his spell and uses it again. This time, he maintains enough control to keep a hold on his target, who turns out to be a man known as Pyradon, an unparalleled magician and power-hungry emperor. Tirek gets Pyradon to help him escape and exact his revenge on Equestria, in exchange for a share of the stolen magic for Pyradon to take with him back to Nexus. The trio don't take well to the news that a terrifying despot from their old world is now loose in Equestria.

(This is where things get a little fuzzy? I hadn't settled on a lot of the details here yet, except that their campaign is no less successful than in canon - up to and including recruiting Discord to the cause.)

The trio stick with Twilight through most of the episode in the name of protecting her, even after she's taken on the magic of the other princesses. They keep Pyradon busy while she's fighting Tirek, but both fights end in a draw... leaving Tirek to make his offer, which Twilight still accepts. Once he's at maximum power, Tirek betrays Pyradon - but finds that he can't steal Pyradon's (or the trio's) magic because... um, reasons. (Figured I'd figure that out later too.) He settles for threatening them, forcing Pyradon to retreat, and marching off for lands far away... leaving the ponies of Equestria to wither and die without their magic.

Sixth key in hand, the ten of them rush off to open the box... which does not contain rainbow magic. Instead, the hilt of a beautiful sword protrudes from it - the Blade of Harmony, a weapon more than powerful enough to defeat Tirek, no matter how much magic he's stolen. The problem? Only the Mane 6 can wield it, since only they earned the keys to unlock it... but without their magic, they have no way to attack him with it. That's where the trio come in: Scarlet and Tank are to act as a distraction while Waterwing flies Twilight onto Tirek's neck to land a blow to his spine, which should destroy him in one hit.

This is of course basically suicidal for the two doing the distracting, but what choice do they have?

They eventually catch up with Tirek, and Twilight and Waterwing hide in a tree. Scarlet and Tank warn them to wait for the perfect opportunity, because they only have one shot at this plan... even if it means waiting until after they're dead. Reluctantly, Twilight and Waterwing agree. Scarlet and Tank confront Tirek and try to attack him, but he no-sells their efforts and knocks them around, leaving them in a bloody heap. He fires a beam intended to finish them off, and Scarlet raises a magic barrier for protection, but it's already cracking; her magic is all but depleted, and won't last much longer. In the seconds left before the barrier falls, they tell their tearful goodbyes, and wait for the end as Scarlet's horn gives out.

Several seconds pass before they realize they're not dead yet: a barrier still surrounds them, but how? Only one being left in Equestria could have done that... and that very being marches up. Horn glowing to sustain the barrier, Pyradon is furious with Tirek for humiliating him and vows to see him destroyed, but Tirek just laughs and knocks him around. "What are you waiting for?!" yells Pyradon, but he's not talking to Tirek... he's talking to Twilight and Waterwing.

Waterwing swoops in and drops Twilight into position. Before Tirek can react, Twilight plunges the Blade of Harmony into his neck.

A blinding light engulfs the valley, briefly blinding everyone. Tirek emits an earth-shaking roar of pain as all the magic he's stolen bursts from his body, vaporizing him as it spreads in a shock wave across all of Equestria, returning to the now celebrating pony populace - and even healing Scarlet and Tank's wounds in the process.

Later on, they all gather before the princesses, including Pyradon. He could sense a powerful bond of strength between each of the trio and the Mane 6, a magical power beyond anything he's ever seen before... and is willing to offer himself to be tried for war crimes (and as he clearly assumes, executed) in exchange for merely understanding just what this bond is. Twilight and the others explain that by returning to save them, that bond now extends to him as well... and that the magic he sensed was the magic of friendship. The princesses offer a very different penance than Pyradon expected: researching a way to close the portal in Tartarus, and in exchange, Twilight and the others would teach him about friendship and harmony.

Pyradon agrees.

The epilogue sees Pyradon some time later, completing his assignment and stitching the portal shut. Celestia thanks him for his work, and tells him he's free to go... but since he can't return home due to not actually being the original Pyradon anymore, he isn't sure what to do. Celestia points out that he already has friends in Ponyville; perhaps that might be a good place to start?

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There are loads of details missing, but this is the basic idea. Ending the story here feels like the right thing to do, in spite of all the unfinished content; it would have taken me years and years to finish it all at the rate I was going, and I'd really like to move on to other things. Sorry if the ending felt a little rushed (because, well, it kind of was); I hope it's still better than waiting ages and ages for a bigger continuation - or worse, canceling it altogether.

If you enjoyed it in spite of its faults, thanks so much for reading, and stay tuned!

Comments

[Xp45]

Don’t worry about it! I loved Domain of Friendship and I loved Persistence of Destiny even more, it’s one of my all time favorites, glad to see you are still working on that sequel, take your time

[LotusTeaDragon]

I really enjoyed it, and just added it to my favorites list. I've also clicked your "Follow" button to see what you come up with next. Keep up the excellent work, Cold Bolt, and welcome to the writing fandom. :)