Sunny believed the tales. Really believed, in a way that most ponies didn't anymore. About the Elements of Harmony, and about Twilight Sparkle. Back when Equestria had princesses, and was whole, when every creature knew the real power of Friendship. She believed—and she knew that, one day, if she believed hard enough, it could be again.
Elsewhere, distant, Twilight Sparkle watches her would-be student, and frets.
A Russian translation by NovemberDragon is available here. | Русский перевод от NovemberDragon доступен здесь.
A Chinese translation by forgivenlove is available here here. | 这里有forgivenlove的中文翻译。
A reading by ObabScribbler is available here.
Part 1 of Equestrian Scions, which continues with The Dreamer and Me.
A late addition to the "But what happened to Equestria?" story pile.
[04/29/21 - 05/02/21] Featured. That's a first for me. Thank you all so much.
A late addition perhaps, but possibly the best one.
I love the concept of Twilight reaching out to Sunny across the gulf of generations. Lovely stuff. Here's hoping the genuine article recaptures some of its predecessor's magic.
Y'know... It's incredibly hard to disassociate this from the feelings I'm sure many other fans have on the subject. From feelings I myself, and you've stated as much, about your own here. I suppose I could cop out and say this fits the end of any era of prosperity. After light, comes darkness. Balance and all that. We need this energy sometimes so we can remember why we care about the other thing. Witnessing such a prosperity that Harmony, and the Magic of Friendship get built...or built upon was a monumental time for us all.
Sunny gets to have that same opportunity. Hopefully.
10792288
Thank you. That's high praise for something that is essentially just me working out my feelings on a topic we know almost nothing about.
10792293
Unfortunately the ultimate fate of Twilight and her friends is, at this point, ambiguous; I wanted to keep that ambiguity intact, which is why Twilight and Luna are somewhere and somewhen, but the important idea is that Sunny and the others are out of reach in a direct sense.
Is it a prophetic dream? Is it some facet of alicorn nature to exist outside of conventional time? I toyed with those ideas, and others, and then decided that I didn't want to give an explicit answer, because it doesn't really matter, so any or none of them could be true.
10792373
Already started a conversation with you elsewhere, but for the sake of acknowledgment here: thank you again.
That was a good story, really hope canon didn't kill off Twilight like so many others are saying.
Well, I haven't even finished season 9, and was not planing on paying much, if any, attention to G5. This may very well have changed that.
I love this. Not offten I add short stories like to to my favorites, but for this ill make an exception.
This is bloody beautiful. No, seriously, words cannot express how much I love this story.
I myself can't wait for the release of G5.
Just imagine all the new fanfiction to nitpick at when we get canonical news from G5 and not just snippets from a leak
A sad-happy ending. So much emotions in one sweet story.
I still blame Celestia for giving over leadership to somebody who wasn't suited for it, wasn't ready for it, and didn't want it.
1000+ years of peace, and Twilight seems to have blown up Equestria within a couple of generations...
I teared up during Sunny's last prayer. A really moving story, and one that really makes me look forward to G5 even more than I already was. In a lot of ways, we live in Sunny's world, after all, and it really doesn't have to be that way.
Thanks a lot for writing this.
10793322
The real big brain move is blaming Luna. Celestia's been running the country for literally a thousand years straight so I can understand her wanting to retire, but Luna? She barely even sat down on her throne before calling it quits!
10793511
Well yeah, but Luna was always Celestias number two, despite Celestia always claiming they were equals.
But yeah, that did strike me as odd at the time...
Okay, that was a lovely read. Go forth, Sunny Starscout, and bring Friendship and Harmony to the land!
10793124
I don't expect we'll be seeing Twilight in G5; certainly not at first. But a pony like Twilight leaves a legacy, and that legacy seems to be landing squarely on Sunny's shoulders.
10793221
I encourage you do to so. Season 9 has a plethora of strong episodes and the ending in particular is one of the most genuine and heartfelt fond farewells to a piece of media I've ever known. As for G5--we shall see, won't we? But I'm willing to give it a try.
10793270
I appreciate that--it's a rare honor.
10793292
As I said in the author's note, I'm cautiously optimistic about G5. I'm not sure anyone could ever capture lightning in a bottle a second time the way Faust and DHX did with FiM, but G5 has a strong, strong foundation, and often that's all writers need to make something great--whether official material or fan.
10793316
Bittersweet is my favorite flavor, and my favorite tone when writing. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
10793322
10793511
I have my own feelings about the sudden and arbitrary decision to hoof Twilight the (ha ha) reins, but for my part I do believe she was as prepared for it as she could be, and The Last Problem showed us that, at least within the next few decades, Equestria under her rule had become more prosperous and multicultural than it ever was under Celestia.
To wit, I do not think Twilight "blew it up." I think that, for one reason or another, her rulership had to come to an end. The why isn't important (not yet, at any rate), hence the fact that I don't address it here; only the fact that it happened is relevant. And we saw what became of Luna, and ponies' memories of Luna, over the thousand years between her banishment and the series premiere.
No; what "killed" Equestria was time, not a failing on Twilight's part. That's what I believe, at least.
10793454
I'm glad you enjoyed it. I'm hoping G5 starts on a strong note myself.
I had never considered the angle of "our world" being much like Sunny's (at least from what little we've seen of the G5 setting so far); I kind of like that idea, and may hold onto it for another rainy day, perhaps after the premiere. But it does make a lot of sense; G4 ended with an implicit admonishment to us, the audience, to go and spread the magic; G5 is, perhaps, our chance to see it in action.
10793688
I'm glad you enjoyed it; thank you for the comment. I'm certainly looking forward to the premiere: I hope G5 starts strong.
10793322
I agree with your assessment fully. What Celestia did in my book was selfish and irresponsible of her. I even find it almost ooc and the main reason I stopped watching MLP after season 8.
I've grown tired of the same trite moanings of people who hate the later seasons of the show (but are still here complaining about it) or who believe that G5 is the worst thing ever.
It's nice to find a story that feels like a reasonable way of sorting through the plethora of emotions associated with a new generation. To be fair, I'm also cautiously optimistic for G5, but I believe that's a good state to be in for most things that change.
As one book closes, another opens. As it's meant to be.
10793692
I probably will. I have a really hard time starting a story, no matter what story, and not seeing it through to the end. Although I do remember feeling put off enough by the last episode I watched to stop watching it less than half way in. But I do want to see the end, so I'll either sit through it, or just skip that one episode. I'm pretty sure it's a stand alone episode with no real effects on the rest of the season.
10793729
That's what this story set out to be--me exploring how I felt about G5, and how things could have ended up like this.
It is still very hard to let go of FiM; I can only hope that G5 takes the burden well. I'm not expecting it to be quite as good as G4; I honestly don't think anyone could ever repeat that particular feat. But one hopes for a smooth transition, and the best thing to do is to approach it with an open mind.
Thank you for reading and commenting.
10793736
What is life if not a series of stories? Equestria is a setting rich with potential, whether in the past or the future. I've loved my time dwelling in its many stories, and I hope G5 is the impetus for many more.
10793744
For my part, I would encourage you to watch the last three, as the first two of those are the "season finale" and the last is the proper "series finale." But you are correct in that the last episode does stand more or less on its own, and if this is all you wish to see, then far be it from me to discourage you.
Thank you for having an open mind about it, especially since some part of season 9 appears to have turned you away.
10793756
Oh, I want to see all of it, except for maybe one episode.
I love it. This is exactly how I'd wish the new series to start. This one goes straight to my favourites.
10793322
I'll take issue with your "did not want it." Twilight was never ambitious or power-hungry or self-aggrandizing or a social climber to be sure. But that is a good thing, and she was always happy to serve, in whatever role, including, as it turned out, as "first servant of the state."
I take less issue with your "wasn't suited," at least, if we're talking about her character as presented by Seasons 8 and 9. By that point, the events of the show had thoroughly trashed the leadership skills Twilight had had in the earlier seasons, leaving her an indecisive, jumpy, basket case incapable of thought, direction, or poise, whom no one ought to trust to lead, and whom her friends warrantedly did not trust or look to for leadership in The Beginning of the End, the Summer Sun Setback, and Twilight's Seven.
There's little one could do to make such a person "ready" for leadership, as shown by the events of Season 9. Neither Celestia's more structured training (which seems to have been limited to etiquette and deportment as opposed to politics, even though Twilight has literally caused a war and stolen from allies when trying to do diplomacy) nor Discord's scheme with the villains actually prepared her for anything.
I do think she's blameworthy in the fall of Equestria. We're dealing with a fantasy world here, where the fitness of the monarch signifies the health of the realm, and vice versa. We can therefore infer from the realm's collapse that it did not have a good monarch, whether Twilight herself or her immediate successor (if there are more successors in between her and the fall, she gets less blameworthy). Marcus Aurelius was to blame for choosing Commodus as his successor, after all, no matter how healthy the Empire seemed when he ruled himself.
10794009
Yeah, if there were a bunch of successors, Twilight gets off scot-free, but considering from the image we've got, there are literal action figures of the Mane 6, I get the impression their memory is rather recent.
Of course, it could have been something outside of Twilights control, such as the real Grogar or something Lovecraft-esque. It wouldn't matter how great a leader Twilight was, sometimes, you just lose to the villain.
Thank you again to all of the commenters, followers, and favorites. I'm glad I could make a short but, apparently, mostly enjoyable work.
I am currently in the "splitting headache" phase of recovering from the second Pfizer shot, so my ability to track and respond to comments has wavered a fair bit. Still, I appreciate all the comments; I didn't think this would be the piece that got me into the feature box, and I'm grateful to those whose comments have remained on the topic of the work itself.
I am, of course, always happy to inspire discussion, commentary, and theorycrafting. But this story was meant to be hopeful and positive; not necessarily a discussion or observation of the fall of Equestria to its apparent state at the beginning of G5. Which is to say, the why of Equestria's fall, the fault of Twilight Sparkle therein, or her worthiness or unworthiness as a leader is irrelevant and beyond the scope of this work.
I will not ask anyone to cease the discussion, nor am I interested in stifling creativity or trying to dictate whose opinions are right or wrong. Some of the theories I have seen posted here hold water, and could very well be true. But I would request that discussions on the above topics be moved to another channel, and commentary here kept to within the scope of the work. Thanks.
10794128
Seconded.
10794128
Oof, that's rough. It should pass day or so, though.
Well this was a pretty nice story to see there's still somebody out there who believes in friendship and harmony and yeah it can be hard in this generation and Twilight was pretty sad that everything they have accomplished was basically for nothing but she cannot lose hope they're still a chance maybe sunny could be the key Maybe to the Future and probably bringing Harmony together well until the movie comes I really hope that could be the case nice job on the story
The journey begins.
I'm gonna be honest if they started the movie with the epiloge episodes ending part zooming out to show it was sunny star-scout and her dad reading the book....i would be okay with that.
This is nice -- quietly pleasant and suggesting lots of possibilities once Sunny starts finding her own set of friends. I wonder if she'll end up being the "book pony" amongst her friends, or if the new series won't lean into the same strict partitioning of Elements and/or personalities. And also if Sunny will discover friendship is different (for better or worse) than her expectations -- which it usually is.
Here's hoping that the actual G5 lives up to this level of quality.
Nicely done!
The story is really good at being bittersweet. Since that is what I presume your goal for the story is, Imma drop you a 12 out of 10 and a moustache
10794697
I remain optimistic about G5; I think it has a fantastically solid foundation to build upon, and from what little we've seen I'd wager that we won't be playing with the same basic archetypes as the G4 mane six--that is my hope, at least. My vision of Sunny, which inevitably influenced this piece, is that, for instance, she has Twilight's hunger for knowledge (even if only on a specific topic, in this case, the history of Harmony) and some of her naivete, but is a lot more bull-headedly, relentlessly optimistic (whereas Twilight tends to default to sardonic pessimism under stress).
I could, of course, be wrong. I look forward to learning more about who Sunny and her friends really are.
10794901
Bittersweet is apparently my specialty. I shall treasure the moustache forever.
I came, I saw, I fell in love. Have yourself a follow.
10795167
I'm glad you enjoyed it. I am not a particularly prolific writer, but I hope anything I put out from here on is also enjoyable.
I can't even begin to say how amazing this story is. I want more so bad, hell of this was the premise of the new series I'd be all on board. Thank you for writing it. I'd love to see this expanded and maybe even read . Looking forward to more!
10795297
I'm not sure I have any plans to expand on this particular story, though that's not totally off the table (I've been pondering some ideas about, say, Luna and Izzy). I'm just not interested in speculating too much about these characters or their circumstances until we know more about them.
What's presented here is only my theory, and a deliberately vague theory at that. But given how much attention this story has gathered (and that with the truncated ending), there is always the possibility of a follow-up/sequel one-shot.
Right now I am drafting a project unrelated to this, but once that's done, I will give more serious thought to continuing this idea.
I'm still not certain G5 takes place in the future of the Equestria we came to know in FiM, and people acting like FiM was some kind of one-and-done miracle is... well, a heck of a lot better than people whining about the show's later seasons, but still. I'm of the opinion that whatever happens in G5, even if it gets a sub-par start, it's gonna be a worthwhile show because Hasbro, as much as I question some of their decisions (like forcing Fame and Misfortune to happen the way it did or ending FiM at Season 9), has earned my faith and trust by not being dumb. At the very least, Power Rangers has been far better under them than it was in the Neo-Saban era, and Friendship is Magic was great even after Lauren Faust left. Not much reason for doubt, in my opinion.
As for this fic, I like it. I don't have much intelligent to say that others haven't already said, but I'm glad you left Twilight and Luna's situation vague and I like how you wrote Sunny, especially her Harmony... question, thought, monologue...stuff. I especially like the backstories of her acquiring each of her figures, particularly how she got Rainbow's.
For a lot of fics, I would hit Favorite, but I'm really not fond of bittersweet and due my particular viewpoints, the emotions that would drive others to click the star just aren't there for me. I will give you a thumbs-up though, and say that you've certainly got skills.
This was a really fun and interesting idea, nice work
10795356
I don't have sources at the moment, but my limited understanding of G5 does indeed suggest that it takes place in the same Equestria, just an indeterminate amount of time in the future. But I suppose until we have the official source material, anything and everything is just speculation, so anyone's guess is fair game. As for the actual handling of the show, my only hesitation is that, even discounting Ms. Faust, FiM was handled by some pretty big names in the western animation industry--which is not something that holds true for what we know of G5.
But we shall see--like I've said before, I like to remain cautiously optimistic, and I'm going to believe the best of G5 until and unless it proves unworthy of that belief.
For this work, thank you for your comments as well. I didn't particularly feel like exploring the how and the why of the alicorns' situation; it would be massive and wild speculation that would distract from the actual, hopeful message of the work. Whatever happened to Twilight and the others, the important fact is that there is a gulf between them and Sunny and the others--one that can't be crossed physically, but one that the Magic of Friendship can overcome all the same.
Thank you for your honest feedback, and thank you for your explanation. I'm glad you enjoyed the work enough for a thumbs up, and I understand not wanting to favorite a work when your heart's just not in it. While most of the work I tend to produce is of the bittersweet variety, I hope that one day I can produce a work worthy of your favorite.
10795361
Thank you, and I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Even Flurry Hearth eventually got around:
Good story!
I enjoyed reading it.
Also, I had to think of this picture:
derpicdn.net/img/view/2021/2/27/2560057.jpg
Source.
That is actually very interesting to see
I hope the New Generation of MLP will be amazing like the comics or something unexpected
For a one-shot done this well, with the limited premise we have, you deserve a Favourite and a Follow
I like your notes on how Ponyville never forgot Pinkie Pie. Or how it was very easy to find Applejack figurines (poor Applejack...)
10795482
10795729
Thank you for reading, and I'm glad you enjoyed it.
10796463
Thank you--I tried to do my best with the limited information we had without presuming too much. I also appreciate the follow, and hope that any future work I put out is also enjoyable.
Hey there gamers it's ya girl, Twilight Sparkle here and today I'm going to be showing you a super special speed run, returning equestria to the pre-hearthwarming days. Now this category has no entries, so this will be an easy world record!
The conversation in the comments made me come up with this.
This is why I'm agnostic and not an atheist: because I truly want to believe that there is meaning and justice to all this and that someone(s) looks down upon us favorably
This was bittersweet and very lovely at the same time. I really enjoyed it and it was very nice to read.
10797148
While I'm prone to agree with you as far as the real world is concerned, it is almost certainly true of Equestria whether or not it's true of our world. While I would be loath to associate Harmony with any singular "deity" (I prefer to think of it as an objectively benevolent fundamental force), it fulfills the narrative role of such in the setting, for which the alicorns, the Elements, and other figures of note are simply agents.
10797290
It seems that bittersweet is what I'm good at, given what I've written and what I continue to write. I'm glad you enjoyed it, and thank you for the follow.
Ah I see peeps are startin to make fics about the Gen 5! Noice :)