Epilogue
September 17 – 4:35 PM
The previous two weeks had felt like a blur to Pencil Pusher. In the aftermath of the fog, so many things happened at the Department of Weather that he hadn’t really had the time to make a return visit to Ponyville. It wasn’t until things began settling down a bit that somepony realized that Fluttershy still had to make her final report to the Department; granted, by this point many of the details were public knowledge thanks to interviews she’d granted to the press, but she still needed to deliver an “official” version for their records. Even though his schedule was busier than ever, Pencil Pusher had jumped at the chance to volunteer for this assignment. He had explained that, as he’d been working with Fluttershy since the beginning of the incident, he ought to be the pony to help her bring it to a close.
Thus, he once again found himself sitting in the tastefully decorated living room of the animal caretaker/fog specialist/Element of Kindness/former supermodel, only this time Fluttershy wasn’t distracted by worries of an imminent raid from the Equestrian Revenue Service. “Well,” she said as she considered her answer to his request, “as far as the details that haven’t been covered by the press go, I think the department will be able to get quite a bit of information out of the article Twilight and I are publishing in The Journal of Magical Theory. Just yesterday, she stopped by to let me know that it had passed the peer-review process; apparently, Celestia and Luna pulled some strings to speed things up a bit. Though, to be honest, I’m still not sure why Twilight insists on sharing the credit. I only came up with the original idea; she’s the one who analyzed all of the data and actually wrote the article.”
Pencil Pusher nodded. “I’ll make sure the Department orders a few copies for our archives. Still, an official statement from you will certainly make things go over smoothly. Don’t worry, you can just copy statements from previous reports verbatim. As long as you let us know all the important details not covered by your agreement with Caligo, it won’t be a problem.”
“Oh, okay. Um, do you need it right away?”
“Not really. If you take a few days to write it up and mail it in, there shouldn’t be a problem.” Fluttershy simply smiled in response, which gave Pencil a warm, gushy feeling from somewhere in his stomach. Her pet rabbit was still giving him the stinkeye, though. “Er, speaking of Department business, how has that nonprofit group been doing? You know, the one that was all worried about humans?” he asked her, hoping that her answer would distract him from the bunny’s baleful glare.
“Oh, right. Well, I attended one of their meetings, like I promised on the first day of the fog. It was, um... interesting. I mean, apparently these creatures are mentioned in some old folktales, so I suppose that explains where they got the idea from, but still, if creatures like them really existed, I'm pretty sure at least one of my animal friends would have heard of them.”
“Um, okay. So, I take it that they were disappointed that there weren’t any humans in the fog?”
“Well, Lyra was disappointed. She’s the one that really likes this human idea. Bon-Bon seemed relieved more than anything.”
“But at least they admit that the fog wasn’t caused by humans, right?”
“Oh, no. They’re still convinced that humans were behind it. Basically, both of them think that the humans mistook the swiftlets’ echolocation calls for some sort of defense system and were frightened away.”
Pencil Pusher’s reaction was more than a little incredulous. “‘Frightened away’? Where would these things retreat to?”
“Um, Pinkie Pie had a theory that they may exist in an alternate dimension...”
“I thought she didn’t believe in humans.”
“I’m pretty sure that she doesn’t, but she also says that if they do exist, they won’t stop existing just because she doesn’t believe in them.”
“Uh-huh... and what do you think of this alternate dimension idea?”
“Well, to be honest, it seems a bit farfetched to me, especially the part about human versions of ponies.”
Pencil Pusher nodded uncertainly and decided to change the subject. “Right.... by the way, whatever happened to those fillies who left Pinkie’s party? I mean, I heard they were safe, but I had to head back to Cloudsdale before I could learn anything else.”
“Oh, well, the Crusaders were in quite a bit of trouble. As I understand it, their families consider their experience in the fog to be ample punishment in itself for their escape from the party, but the fact that they attempted to misuse medications to make their escape is another matter entirely. All three of them were grounded for a month, and it probably would have been much longer if Derpy hadn’t decided to intervene on their behalf.”
Pencil Pusher found this to be rather surprising. “Really? They gave her an overdose of ipecac and she thought their punishment was too harsh?”
“I know what you mean,” Fluttershy said before taking a sip of tea from her cup. “What’s even more surprising is that the Crusaders hadn’t asked her to help them. I suppose Derpy’s just a very forgiving pony.”
Pencil Pusher chuckled. “Well, we could probably use a few forgiving ponies in the DOW these days.”
“Hmm? Oh, right, that scandal. Hard Hitter asked me about that when he interviewed me. He seemed unusually happy when I told him that I didn’t really learn anything from the course Five-C sent me. I’m not sure why, though. I would think that most ponies would rather learn about fog from a course instead of having to teach themselves everything about it.”
Pencil Pusher wasn’t particularly eager to speculate on the inner workings of a reporter’s head, either, so he forged ahead with the aspects of the scandal that had directly affected him. “Well, it’s caused a bit of a shake-up back in Cloudsdale. Basically, the head of Personnel ended up taking most of the blame—not because she’s personally corrupt, but because everything happened on her watch. She was getting close to retirement anyway, so the higher-ups convinced her to resign with a full pension so the heat would die down.”
“But aren’t they going to fix the problem?”
“Well, that’s why they’ve put somepony else in her place. Namely, my boss—or rather, my former boss.” Pencil Pusher couldn’t resist a smile as he once again contemplated the fact that he was no longer dealing with Greg on a daily basis. Sure, there were some ponies in Requisitions who were quietly expressing shock and resentment over the fact that their idiot boss had somehow managed to cajole his way into a bigger office with a higher paycheck and more prestige, but Pencil Pusher knew better. Convinced as he was that he was the primary reason for his department’s success, Greg hadn’t requested that any of his subordinates be transferred with him. However, he had since learned to his dismay that it wasn’t the regular practice of division heads to push all of their duties off on others, and he hadn’t been in his position long enough to figure out who could be bullied into taking on the tasks that Synergy had willingly completed on her own. Faced with the horrifying prospect of actually having to do his job, Greg had made a desperate attempt to have “Pizza Party” transferred to Personnel... but by that point, it was too late.
“Oh?” Fluttershy said, raising her eyebrows in interest. “So, you have a new boss, then.”
“In a manner of speaking,” Pencil Pusher replied. “Thanks to my performance during the fog response, I’m the new head of the Requisitions Division, so my new boss is my old boss’ boss.” The bureaucrat tried to say this as humbly as possible, having been informed by Rarity and Rainbow Dash that Fluttershy was not interested in braggarts, but he couldn’t quite conceal all of his pride. “Apparently, volunteering to be your liaison was the best career move I’ve ever made.”
“Well,” Fluttershy said as she set down her now-empty teacup, “I really enjoyed working with you. I wouldn’t mind keeping in touch.”
This was it. He’d spent a lot of time mentally preparing for this moment, but the time had come for Pencil Pusher to make his offer. “Well, how about we meet for something a bit more informal? Maybe dinner this weekend?” Crap! I botched it. That was the worst possible way to ask anypony out on a date. I had all the possible approaches in the world, and I went with the boring cliché.
Fluttershy, however, didn’t seem to find the ordinariness to be all that off-putting, though she did look noticeably flustered. “Um... are... are you asking me out?”
“Well, yeah, I guess so. I mean, if you’re interested.”
Fluttershy, however, looked rather uncertain about the situation. “But... isn’t a three-hour flight a long distance for a date?”
“Not really,” Pencil Pusher said. “I mean, after all the flying I did as your liaison, I’m sort of used to the commute. It’s really not that bad when you aren’t in a hurry.”
“Oh,” Fluttershy said, breaking off eye contact as she stared nervously at the corners of the room. “But... are you really sure I’m the pony you should be asking?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, when you think about what you want in a special somepony, wouldn’t you rather have a confident, successful mare? You know, the kind who obviously knows what she wants and is willing to do what’s necessary to get it?”
Pencil Pusher wasn’t expecting a question like this, but something in the back of his mind told him that this wasn’t just a polite rejection. There was a bit too much self-effacement in Fluttershy’s tone for a typical “let’s just be friends” response. After taking a second or two to decide on a reply, he answered her with a touch more confidence in his voice than he actually felt. “Well, yeah. That’s why I’m asking you.” Fluttershy’s eyes widened when he said this, which Pencil took as a cue to restate his offer. “So, are you interested in dinner sometime this weekend?”
At first, Fluttershy was silent, staring at her hooves and allowing the ticking of the clock on her wall to fill her living room as Pencil Pusher did his best to avoid looking nervous. Then, after interminable seconds that felt like hours, she looked him in the eye, smiled sweetly, and with a slight blush in her cheeks, she replied, “Sure.”
Also LikedSimilarAuthor
- Kwakerjak · 77k words · 1,113 28 · 17k views
- Kwakerjak · 35k words · 1,842 30 · 23k views
- Bradel · 8.2k words · 1,487 18 · 18k views
- Blue Print · 35k words · 1,528 36 · 25k views
- Estee · 10k words · 1,260 18 · 15k views
Stats
Page generated in 0.199 seconds
Total duration
1,003 users online
164,224 hits today, 2,561,572 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
5224159 So we've said good-bye to him until he shows up elsewhere.
So what happened to Lyra and Bon Bon's club?
5224218 - After the initial glut of Pinkie Promises was fulfilled, most ponies didn't return for a second meeting. However, there were some ponies who showed genuine interest. As a result, there are now about a dozen members SPHERE, including Lyra, Bon-Bon, and Pinkie Pie. This information didn't make it into the epilogue, because I didn't want to awkwardly shoehorn it in.
5224218 *Alondro appears in a dark suit and sunglasses* Do not ask questions. The ponies you mention do not exist.
Please look at this little flashy thing. *FLASHSENTRY* Now your mind is erased.
This story was awesome! It shows you spent a lot of time on this story. Glad you were able to finish it with a nice ending.
Awww he got the girl after all~
Well, it's finally over. Good for Fluttershy - and good for Pencil Pusher, too, for that matter.
This has been a long and fun rude! Thank you for all the work you've put in over the last couple of years! i look forward to whatever you plan to do next!
5224240
You say something?
To quote Bugs Bunny, I always think it helps to give a story a romantic ending.
Wonderful story all around! I've enjoyed the wait between parts because they were so go it made it worth it.
I would love to see another story that features these two. Not a sequel, but just another story that happens to have this romance as one of the elements in it. It would be a nice bonus as your writing is quite good.
I'm happy for Pencil Pusher. Dude deserves a date after all the crap he had to slug through to get it.
Yaay, Pencil Pusher is very happy, and dances with little musical notes appearing around him.
Or was that Tamadochi Live.
Oh well.
Onwards Silver. On to. The Archives.
Dear Princess Celestia...
That wrapped up nicely for what ended up being a short little epilogue. I agree completely that the romance tag was not needed for this story. The romance was a very small subplot of the larger universe presented in the story.
And so the saga concludes. It was a wonderful story and I'd like to thank you for sharing it with us.
The only thing I felt was missing from the ending was the families of the Crusaders furiously yelling at Lyra and Bon Bon for endangering the fillies lives with their lies. I was looking forward to seeing Rainbow Dash berate them mercilessly.
After two years, you finally finish this story. That must have taken incredible patience and diligence, and it certainly paid off in the end. Great job.
5224159 Is it still okay if I don't like Hard Hitter regardless of the fact that his target changed?
For all the build, this story feels like it ends really abruptly, probably because the final two chapters are entirely bereft of the wacky shenanigans that got us to this point. Simple, sensible plans are set in motion and they work - the end.
I know this probably sounds a little entitled and that's because it probably is but you could have had the story ending on some silly notes as you still had a couple of balls in the air like a massive bunker full of foals, SPHERE meetings and Big Mac still stuck with Lyra and Bonbon.
I still loved the story though.
5224474 - Of course it's okay. After all, he's a petty, vindictive asshole. Just remember that if he wasn't a petty, vindictive asshole, he never would have stumbled on that scandal, which means Greg would still be head of Requisitions and Pencil Pusher would still be enduring his stupidity.
Great story. The end felt a bit abrupt, but it was still an enjoyable fic.
And to think, it all happened over the course of just four days...
A magnificent story. I'm sad to see it end, but it did so on a very satisfying note. Thank you for it.
*sniffle*
GET ME THE TISSUES! MY EYES ARE LEAKING LIQUID SQUEE!
5224560
I'll have to second that.
Great story, good job, thank you Kwakerjak. It was a fun time for the whole length, and I'm glad to have followed this wonderful tale.
My only complaint is that it can't continue any more.
While I do have to say I'd love a continuation of this mini-world, I have to tell you that I greatly enjoyed the ride these past two years.
Saint Derpy.
Nice one shot.
Seriously though, that was great. I loved all the intertwining plot threads running through the story and causing hilarious shenanigans everywhere, although I do feel like it cut off a bit abruptly. I understand why you ended it there because this story was about the fog so it made sense to cut it off once that was dealt with, but I feel like you could really do a lot with a sequel to tie up the loose plot threads and explore all the crazy fun with SPHERE, especially if Granny Smith decides it is a great way to make Big Mac get out more. Just imagine all the fun you could have locking him up in those meetings, especially because you just know that at least one mare is going to stay for the sole purpose of trying to woo him.
Also, 5224680 just got me thinking about Derpy more and I would kind of like to see you do more with her in this setting because it seems like she has made quite the impression on the mane six, crusaders, and their families which could be fun. Hm...now I am contemplating a crazy love polygon centered around her, Big Mac, a meddling Granny Smith, and the SPHERE insanity which could be absolutely hilarious, especially once the rest of the cast decides to help. After all, the crusaders are well known for learning their lesson after causing a minor disaster.
Well that was a ride! Thank you for the wonderful story, my friend.
5224561 - They were cut out of it by their rescuers, who already knew about the net thanks to Sweetie Belle. However, that scene is told from Apple Bloom's POV, and she was rather delirious at the time, which is why she didn't notice all finer points of her rescue.
5224560 - Three days, actually. Excluding the epilogue, the whole plot takes place over the course of less than 72 hours.
5224728
Oh! My! Celestia! YES! The things you mentioned in your comment needs to happen. I hope a Sequel is made for this fic.
This story's finally completed, in just under two years! Now I can finally give it the upvote I was saving.
Aww man, I just found this story and I just finished it. Oh well, I thank you for the laughs and fun I had reading it. I got here like five chapters before the end and I always looked forward to the updates. I still remember that Saturday where I spent all day reading this and laughing my head of because of all the silliness and things that were going on, including that bit if confusion we had when Fluttershy read Rainbow Dash wrong.
My family looked at me strangely that day. Thank you for that amazing story and I'm glad that Pencil Pusher did end up with that date. It was well deserved. 
Not bad for a one-shot. ;)
I would love to see something else done with these characters.
Not necessarily a sequel, but I'm gonna miss these guys.
--Spade
Well, your story defenitely incorporates elements of romantic comedy. And this sort of ending is how those usually end.
So, I, for one, had totally expected you story to end this way.
Fantastic!
This has been a superb story and I will miss seeing it updated.
So Flash Fog finally comes to an end. It was a great story and has a permanent spot in my favorites. With any luck there will be a sequel of some kind but if not I say fare the well to these characters and await your next fic.
Its sad to see it end, It was such a wonderful journey.
On a happier note: WOOOOO! Go Pencil Pusher!!!!
SHALALALALALA AIN'T DAT GRAND? DE BOY HE MADE HIS STAND, HE GONNA... GET DE GIRL!
5224583
5225290
...How did I forget about that one!? You win! Hooves down!
It's been a fun ride. I enjoyed seeing it come together, and I'm glad I was able to contribute.
Welp, the most convoluted story I've ever read is finally over, it was a fun ride, but one that took too much to get here.
5224891
Three days? I guess we should be glad that Crusaders haven't met with a terrible fate.
Excellent job on the story! Definitely on my top favorites!
Is it bad that the most satisfying aspect of this ending is that Greg's egotism finally bit him on his pastel pony patootie?
Ah, very nicely done.
Excellent job on the story, which has been one of my favorites for the length of its production! It wrapped up rather quickly for me... I enjoyed spending time with these versions of the characters that more of a wind-down following things would have been completely welcome, but I understand your desire to put things away and move on. I look forward to whatever you might write next!
how i will miss seeing this updated great story cant wait to read your next one
What a fun, great story. I like what happened to Greg: True bureaucrats never get fired, but they do get shuffled off to departments where they have to actually work for a living. I totally called that 5 Cs thing, I'm just sad Philomena was never brought to justice as the head of that group of diploma mills.Thanks for the fun ride, and I can't wait to see what you write next!
Wow Greg got off easy. I doubt he would agree though. Actual work with no one to delegate it to!
I honestly thought something would go catastrophically wrong at this point. Dead filly, cloud makers messing up another thing, Ponyville permanently encased in a crypt of stone clouds, intellectual property sending technology back into the stone age, humans, something like that. There were a lot of ways this could have gone a whole lot worse. It was alright the way it went though.
Except Greg. Fuck that guy.
A little perfunctory, could probably have done with the ending being spread out a bit more and cover more characters but still nice and sweet.
I really hope Greg's incompetence comes to light very quickly.
It's not a romance because they don't go on a date?
I disagree.
Romance and courting is the process of developing all these big feelings. The part where the feelings are still small and unrequited is also a part of this process. Part of getting married is going on a date and part of going on a date is meeting for the first time.
This isn't a romance story because romance has nothing to do with it. Even at the end, it is used as a very clear and obvious tool. After being legally forced out of her comfort zone to solve a problem that had little to do with her, she faces a bunch of challenges with increasing zeal until she eventually plunges into danger to rescue some kids who she is attached to. Her acceptance of this relationship is her owning up to what she did. It is her admitting to herself that maybe she isn't a horrid failure and a fraud. She has to say yes which means she deserves it therefore she earned it therefore the things she has done were actually brave and she is giving herself credit for them.
It's not a romance because romance is just being used as another challenge to accentuate here confidence which she spent the whole story building.