Wrap Party! · 9:59pm Apr 24th, 2015
Read the epilogue if you haven't done it yet. You might spoil yourself a little.
That's it everyone, Princess Luna's Academy is officially D-U-N done, so let the party commence, I guess. Hmm... Well, I guess now is as good a time as any for a retrospective on whats-
Excuse me, does that mean that-
One minute. That's as good as time as any for a retrospective and a look at what's-
But I've been waiting so long. You promised that as soon as this was done, I'd-
I'm saving it for the end. You understand dramatic suspense, right?
Fine... You promised, though.
Anyways, as I was saying, now's time for a retrospective and a look at what's coming next.
So, when I started this story, I had no idea what it was going to be about. It was just an opening line and a rough drunken scrawling that read: Sweetie Belle goes to school and worries about getting her cutie mark and losing her friend. For the first two chapters, I knew what Sweetie Belle's core problem was in a general sense, but didn't properly grasp all the intricate ways her psyche was cracked or just what that total shattering might look like. In the beginning, Sweetie Belle was just a cute hyperactive filly who would do anything to keep her friends from leaving her.
Then, that last line opened her character up to me, and I realized just how tenuous that smiling face was. Even in the show, we see how nasty/despondent Sweetie can be when her mask cracks and she stops being happy, and in the show, that means either crying uncontrollably or torturing her sister (Sisterhooves Social and For Whom the Sweetie Belle Toils are evidence of the latter, and One Bad Apple is the former). From there, I just fed Sweetie's neuroses and pushed her deeper into her smiling mask, and Sweetie's long downward tracing arc was set.
The idea of having the epilogue also chronologically be the first chapter is probably... a little unconventional, but I wanted to end this on a moment of bittersweetness. After watching the fury of Sweetie's breakdown unfold in front of us over the last few months, I wanted this to be a reminder of how good Sweetie once was and how good she could be again. No Bright Lights, no drama, just two fillies meeting each other and becoming fast friends the way only children can. Also, if you haven't heard the song the title is based on, it's a cut song from Little Shop of Horrors. I'd highly recommend listening to it. Actually, if you're not familiar with it, I'd highly recommend just watching the film adaptation of Little Shop of Horrors. They cut a lot of good stuff, but as long as you can get the director's cut with the proper ending, it should be fine. It's one of my favorite musicals, and one of the key inspirations for this story. (Mean Girls and Doctor Horrible's Sing Along Blog being the other offenders.)
And I guess that takes us to what happens next.
Does that mean-
Not yet. A little more patience.
What happens next? Well, there is a sequel planned that seeks to be the inverse of this story, and another sidequel I've been wanting to write. I won't spoil it too much, but if you've read any of my conversations with Tchernobog, you might be able to guess what it's about in general.
Get to the good stuff!
Yes, and as the Pink Herald is so keen on reminding me, Welcome to Pony Vale will be starting up in the next few weeks. I'm not going to have any big projects until finals, and I doubt we'll get to the once a week updates, but we will probably be twice monthly. It's my distraction for when other things start dragging me down.
Well, that's it for me, everypony. I'll see you in a few months with whatever my next project is, and until then, just remember: Friendship won't. This story might've been a tragedy, but Sweetie's story isn't.
Finally, I can't wrap things up without giving thanks to all the editors who helped out with various parts of this narrative's development and a very special thanks to the wonderful Seether00 and EquesTRON for editing all 220,000 words of this behemoth. This story wouldn't be anywhere near as good as it is without their input and keen attention to detail. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to finish college and write whatever the hell I wanna write for a few months.
What about the sequel to this?
I've been following this story since it hit the feature box some time ago and boy, this crazy roller coaster of a ride was one of my favorite stories involving the CMC. Heck, I prioritized reading the updates for this then anything else. It was that good.
Now I've to wait a bit of the sequel, sure I can wait, I'm just hoping it would be as good as this one.
3014260 You're to kind, and for what it's worth, I hope the sequel is better than PLA too. (I know you said as hood as, but I can dream, can't I?) I also apologize for the wait before the sequel, so I hope PLA had a... satisfying, if bittersweet, conclusion. Also, I'm not going to create the story until a big section of it's done, so that might make the wait longer.
3014057 If I ever think of a good sequel idea to that story that preserves the spirit of the original, I'll write it. However, if you want something that's kind of similar (but comedic), check out Pony Vale.
Note: Sorry for typos, writing this on the way back from a They Might be Giants concert, and my fat fingers love messing up presses on my tiny phone screen.
3014290 Heh, if you wanted to make the sequel better than PLA, then on whatever god's name do it. It being good as PLA, not trying to pressure you or anything, was just a little minimum requirement. Regardless on whatever quality the sequel strives for, I'll still read it. The waiting period is not really a big deal, gives me some time to catch up some other stories.
The conclusion, at first I thought it was Scootaloo moving to a new city after the fallout with Sweetie, but no, true to your words it was a bittersweet throwback to the earlier days of Sweetie. It is just... jarring to see how much Sweetie has fallen. I think someone else said this, but Scootaloo befriending Sweetie was well-written, in a quite believable and natural sense. One of the much better first interactions between them.
I guess thats...comforting?