Anyway, to get back into the swing of things and to start finally fulfilling a promise to my Patreons I'm going to run a free story raffle. Usually this
Much to my surprise and delight 
A Kind World · 11:11pm Feb 12th, 2015
So, two bits of news. First, A World Without Kindness got shortlisted for the More Most Deadly Game Contest! 
Judging from some of the other entries' popularity I might be a bit of an underdog, but let's be honest, who could put this face 
anywhere other than first?
In all seriousness though, I'm extremely pleased to have gotten so far. This story was a special one for me, and I'm still looking into tweaking and polishing the final version, once the contest is over. In that vein, a few people have mentioned that there are still a few questions left open at the end of the story, and while I'm looking into a sequel somewhere down the road, I'm also considering adding an epilogue. This is something I cut, mostly due to the story already overruning the stated word count of the contest by a fair amount, and partly because I couldn't think of a better note to end on.
So, two questions for you all. Does this story need an epilogue, or where you happy with when it ended? And if it does need a little more wrapping up, what do you think of the one below?
The horizon was a sea of red and orange as sun hung just above the treetops.
“That should have set by now,” Twilight Sparkle observed, right behind me.
I forced myself not to run in panic, as her hoofsteps became suddenly audible. She made no move to attack, though, and instead settled down on the floor next to me, staring out into the distance.
“It seems to be stuck,” I murmured, ducking my head.
I sat in Princess Luna’s old tower, my quilt draped over my shoulders. The roof and most of the top floor had been lost to the ages, and so there was a clear view across the forest. In hooves, held my tiara. It was a strange thing, light as a summer breeze but so heavy with responsibility I feared it would crush me.
“It’s yours, you know,” Twilight continued, pointing at the sun. “I’ve tried to move it, but...” She tapped her Element. “They chose you.”
Far below us Pinkie Pie’s party was in its sixth hour, and the revellers showed no sign of slowing down. I kept catching snippets of Rainbow Dash’s boasting, and Rarity gushing over how the Elements had healed her leg. Applejack, I assumed, was still sulking after Harmony had restored her cutie mark, but she would come around. It was a new world. A hopeful world. But that hope came with a price.
Sighing, I placed the tiara back on my head. It itched where the band met my ears, but it had a comforting warmth, not unlike that my mother’s quilt. Reaching out with one hoof I let the magic flow through me and pushed the sun down below the distant trees. It was so much easier to set than the raise.
Twilight swore, softly.
The colours began to bleed out of the sky, fading to the soft blues and blacks of night. The moon did not rise, nor did the stars begin to shine. We sat in silence a long time, as the darkness grew ever deeper.
“You know, it was Celestia raising the sun that first made me want to study magic,” Twilight began, shuddering. “I was just a little blank flanked filly, but I said to myself then, ‘I want to do that’. I spent years as her personal student, then more as her most trusted general, and after she died I promised her that I would do anything to raise the sun again.”
She dropped her head into her hooves, tears staining tracks in her fur. “In the end,” she whimpered. “I came the closest to failing of all of us. ‘Never gave up’, you said, but that determination almost cost me the last of my friends. I was never the one who was supposed to save the world. I was the spark that almost destroyed it.”
Twilight hiccuped and sobbed. I put a hoof on her shoulder.
“Look at me!” she exclaimed, and I flinched away. “I want to hate you, but you saved the world. I want revenge for you holding a knife to my throat, but after talking to Rarity I can’t even blame you for doing it.” She glared at me, her horn kindling. “I want the sun, Fluttershy,” she snarled. “I deserved it! I have spent my entire life in service of it, of Celestia, and if anypony deserved to be her heir, it was me!”
“And... And... And...” she choked, swallowing her tears, the fight seeming to drain out of her. She stared out across the forest at the blank expanse of the night sky. “I can’t do anything about that. Jealousy destroyed Equestria, and the world can’t survive a second war. So no matter how much I hate you, I can’t do anything.”
She took a deep, shuddering breath. Not looking up she whispered. “You hate me too, don’t you?”
“Yes,” I replied. Honesty was, after all, a virtue now.
The weary sigh of a mare who had carried the weight of the world on her back escaped her. “I thought so.” Twilight shook herself, and looked up at the empty sky. “You know it’s ironic, but, throughout the eternal twilight, I missed the stars more than anything. The Princess... she always found the time to go stargazing with me.”
She stood. “There should be stars. I guess that gives me something to work on.” Her element flashed for just a moment and she walked away, head hung.
When I was sure she was gone, and I was fairly sure she wasn’t about to come back with a sword, I allowed myself a smile.
The stars were coming out.
Maybe we had a chance at harmony after all.
I like it, but do they really allow such last minute alterations?
Might be wiser to leave it unattached for now given the contest, I mean.
I feel the epilogue you wrote here is a nice wrap-up as a second chapter to the story. I look forward to the sequel if you do ever decide to write it.
In case you didn't know, Fimfic is super dumb. It counts things like contractions as two words. So your word count is a bit inflated.
As for the epilogue, I'll give those thoughts post-contest, eh? Remind me once judging is complete to come back here and give it a look.
2791525
I'm assuming this is something that will be looked at and added after the judging is over.
I would like to see this story polished off and a sequel would be nice.
I believe that epilogue is nearly perfect, but to truly do your story justice I suggest creating a story made of multiple chapters, showing how there life will now grow. Perhaps discovering new skills, new powers, and of course new enemies. After all, all that cause would be perfect for Discord to rise.
Who knows, perhaps they will be able to summon the spirits of Celestia and Luna to guide them.
Anyway, it was brilliant. *hug*
I need to make an argument here about how while a separate sequel would be great, the piece by itself is totally complete and meaningful by itself and stuff. But I'm too sleepy to say anything more than that the epilogue is really nice.
Also, you may not get any prizes but you're already a winner.
EDIT: Oh jeez. I just checked, and apparently I've had a tab open since the day the story was published. I wanted to make a comment but was too in awe of the story at the time and I never got around to it. Oops?
I think polishing the original is always a good thing, but I don't think the story needs an epilogue unless you're going to go all the way and write a larger story. Some stories lose a lot by adding content that is only supplementary.
And congrats on being a finalist!
I don't call that a epilogue, it's a big fat sequel hook.
2791726
To be fair... words using contractions technically are two words welded together.
Still, I guess it's to avoid people gaming the system for that 1 K word count some have a trouble reaching. Better the site count every 'I'm' as if it was 'I am,' rather than people intentionally writing the later in every sentence no matter how little sense it makes.
Okay, so overall that's four: yes, one maybe, and five requests for a sequel. I'm not convinced that last one was an option
but I'll take it as a good sign.
2792367
Honestly, the ending for the story was pretty much right where it wanted to be. It doesn't really need an epilogue.
What you posted here in the blog, though, makes an excellent prologue for the sequel, I think. Which you should totally write. You really should.
2844269 Man, I'd love this as a prologue, but I was planning a heafty time skip before the next story... Argh, I'm going to go with my gut and add this as a final chapter. I think, if nothing else, the story need Twilight to say her piece to complete the full set of Elements.