Last Pony on Earth: The End? · 2:48am Jul 4th, 2015
Hey everypony! This blog is about whether or not the story should end soon. If that doesn't interest you, you can probably stop reading. Consider this a spoiler warning as well. If you're not current on the story, don't read on.
So, my original plan for Last Pony on Earth was to end after two more entries.
Why? Because the largest drama of the story is largely over. The biggest mystery is now resolved. We know Alex's gender. We know what caused the Event. Soon Alex will be returning to Earth, and it will be back to survival. No more trips to Equestria, no more big mysteries to resolve. Further, it seemed that most of the survival story is already told. They did lots of that stuff in Los Angeles (before it burned down).
Yeah, there's more that could happen. Winter hasn't come yet, more real relationships are developing, and the HPI will be much more a factor in their lives.
The question is, should I end the story in a few entries and move on to the sequel/epilogue. (the epilogue takes place five years later, and jumps further ahead to see society develop, without hanging around for too long at any one point). The sequel will be written no matter what (the first chapter is done already), so don't let that sway your decision.
I suppose the question is: should I add an after-story to Last Pony on Earth? I had originally planned on the story going on for two months, and there's some content I cut to end it here; those things would make it back in, and we would continue for another few weeks. Seems like a really long anti-climax to me, but... I'm still excited about the story.
The question is, should I write it, or just move on to the Epilogue/Sequel story?
Make your voice heard in this poll!
I'll probably take a break until Saturday either way (that is, after what would've been the ending, not right now. Saturday's tomorrow anyway). It will take time to get another week's entries together, so that would mean four days without chapters. Other than that, I'll probably go with the majority. I'm excited to write the Epilogue story, but I also wouldn't mind get to explore the drama of the existing characters a little more.
Please let me know how you feel!
Regardless when the story ends the last chapter should at least show some instance of their attempts at rebuilding a community being more successful than earlier chapters.
I'd say write a minific set in between. An Immediately-after continuation in a small in-between story, then the 5-years-later sequel. A Last Pony 1.5, if you will.
What I really want to see is more 'former human and HPI interaction in the immediate aftermath when they are first learning to trust each other.' I very much doubt a 5 year time skip will let me see the parts of that I so want to see.
You're already up to the size of a reasonably hefty novel, if you're about to reach the point where your original story arc ended I would say this is the perfect place to put a separator between this story and a sequel.
And I'm not just saying that because I've been waiting for this story to be finished before I start reading it. :) Too many great stories turn into endless meandering leading to nothing because the author doesn't want to put a cap on it. Sequels are great - a discontinuity would let you do all sorts of new things with the next story that might be hard to do with a seamless transition.
It's time for the sequel split. We've gotten to the climax, there's no need to drag out the resolution of the story.
djthomp is correct. We've hit the climax, now give us the resolution and don't drag it out. Then give us the sequel/epilogue for anything else you want to tell.
It's up to you, you have always done an amazing job at original world building, the Apprenticeverse taught me that. You''ve done an incredible job of seeding the roots for this fictional verse ... while at the same time, you've done a great job of wrapping this up for a tight cohesive story. This post-a-day schedule has been amazing and has to be exhausting, I would NEVER expect any author to keep this up on the long term. I vote that you end this as you intended, and if you wish to continue, write sequels at your own pace.
Edit: I would like to thank you for your daily updates to this story, I do NOT want to expect any author to do this, but it has still been a highlight to my day, finding your chapter updates to this story.
I would largely agree.
Unless you're going to extend this story to double the length or more, with more arcs, it doesn't make a whole heap of sense to continue on.
If there is no significant dramatic arc, it'd just be slice of life, and while that's not at all a bad thing, it's probably not a good idea to have a story just trail off.
I leave it up to your gut feeling.
Here's the problem with jumping ahead: the side stories. We've got so many people creating a universe, and if you jump ahead you ignore them and their contributions by creating the future that they are forced to make.
Now, this shouldn't hold you back entirely. We will follow your lead. Just... something to think about.
Part of the reason your series fascinated me so much was it was reminiscent of one of my favorite genres in books, the Alternate Universe scheme. Usually, it works the opposite of this. Usually, it's a group of humans who end up taken back in time and get every opportunity to change and mess up history. But that sort of thing was still inspiring for me for many reasons. Including our determination as humans (no matter what form we take) to begin rebuilding and persevering. Which is where this story inspires me so. That process of trying to come back despite everything the universe threw at us.
Those stories did have a certain habit. They often happened in succession, through multiple books, sometimes covering different places. But that struggle, that rebuilding of lives, culture, and technology from what they had left was always there.
As you already stated, you can close it out here. If you honestly believe that nothing else will happen between here and going to whichever site Alex would choose for establishing his own colony, then that might be the best choice. If not, well, there are other options. On the flip side, if you think that the process of them getting there and establishing themselves would be that interesting, you could always make it a separate story from this, even after the epilogue. The epilogue, in the end, only covers where things stand in 5 years. You'd always have the ability to fill in the blank between then and now at your leisure. To make it another story of its own, with its own strife and climax.
With that thought, I might recommend ending here. =)
So.... You're asking me if I want.... MOAR?
Really? You're really going to ask me that?
[sarc]No. I couldnt POSSIBLY want any more! [/sarc]
i.imgur.com/lhjhbB9.gif
I say end the story shortly. Anything of note could be covered in the epilogue, or added in an interval story of stuff that didn't make it into Alex's journal.
As for side-stories and you, I feel that we are all in a nice pseudo similar reality. There are some facts presented in side stories I wouldn't want to see considered as canon, but they fill their own niche nicely. So long as you don't go out of your way to negate the side stories, it should be fine. If they wanted to remain relevant into the future beyond a throw away line or two referencing a joke, place name, or past event, they'd have their own sequels I think.
End this right now, but have a mini-story that tells what happened a bit later? :)
sequel?
With where you left off I was thinking Alex was going to die, but you seem to be implying otherwise. If the story is ending I think you should let it end. Good things don't often come from continuing a story after it ends.
I love how unhelpful we are.
i.imgur.com/2xgrVKS.png
3204480 It's a question of structure. Moar tacked on to the end of the existing story, or moar stories in the form of sequels? :)
I think wrap it up and do the time skip, kinda feels like the right time to do so.
I would definitely end the story here. We've reached a climax, and there's no need to try and force more into a story that has already ended. I say cover more of the story in sequels and leave this as it is.
3204626
Yes.
3204350 Yep...I'd agree with this. I'm happy to read more of Alex's story, and thrilled to hear that there's a sequel coming. But I do have to agree that *this* story feels like it's coming to a natural endpoint...even if there's still much to be told. Wrap this one up, give us a side-story if it makes sense to (that is, if there's actually a cohesive story to be told from the bits and pieces not included here) and then...on to the sequel!
And as others have said, though I could never expect it of anyone, it's been a real joy to have the daily updates if this one. Thanks for all your work on this!
I'd end sooner rather than later, not that its bad, just that if it continues too much it could get repetitive. Though there is much I still want to know.
I too would love to see more, as I have enjoyed this story and not just for the drama. Even the slice of life is highly entertaining and I will be excited to see the continuing adventures of Lonely Day.
I think a few more chapters would be good to wrap up the aftermath of this enormous revelation. Alex has also shown that (s)he is extremely good at getting up again each time the universe punched her in the gut and it would be a nice wrap-up to see that again, in journal style. It would also be good to see Lonely Day make the best of the situation and set everything on the right track, as far as that is possible. It would probably take a very, very long time for all that self-loathing to subside though, if ever.
Anyway, getting off track here. Yes, end it after a few more journal chapters. I'd really like to see how the others react to that memory crystal (do they get to see it?) since it doesn't only reveal what happened but also nearly everything about Lonely Day's inner workings. It's her memory after all. At least that's what I got from the second person perspective, the view it would be like if you could ride passenger in another's mind through that crystal. Unless it's just a kind of recorder, but that wouldn't warrant the description 'memory crystal', would it?
The strongest point of The Last Pony was actually all that slice of life. It brought the characters to life in amazing detail. I probably wouldn't tire of reading that for another month at least, but that should be the content of another story that focuses on the rebuilding and the relationships. There's also the thing of the appearing ponies, I imagine regular appearances of those to be extremely stressful to those who are already there if it's more than one or two per month. Counselor for newly ponified arrivals is going to be a fulltime job really soon. So yes, a lot of slice of life that I'd love to see your take on. In another story.
The mystery's resolved. Showing the characters' immediate reactions to the revelation would be interesting, but you're definitely in the denouement. I don't think you should drag it out more than necessary.
Huh. Strange how the poll is clearly leaning towards continuing with this same story, while almost every comment I've read supports ending it now and continuing in a sequel.
I'd personally like another arc continuing immediately because I care about the Herd as it is now. However, I think it's for the best to have this new arc in a separate story here on FimFiction and leave Last Pony on Earth end in its planned stage.
Ah, a binary choice, I see. Have you considered... alternatives?
Basically, you're nearing the natural structural end of the story, and you want a clean start for the sequel, but you also have more stuff that you want to write. (And stuff that lots of readers, like myself, would love to read.) This suggestion 3204350 would let you do all the things. You could even publish this interquel/minific/short-story-collection after you've started publishing chapters of the sequel. Lots of people, (especially writers) will say that having a properly structured ending and beginning are very important, and they might be right. But even if they are, this isn't any kind of traditional publishing, this is the Internet, and you can do what you want! Do what you want, cause a pirate is free, you are a... pony?
3205152 I think a lot of people want to see more of the little herd but not necessarily as integral part to the main story. The binary choice in the poll kind of suggests to either keep going or start a completely new story that doesn't do that. The problem with polls is that the wording and the options have a strong influence on the result. There's a reason that this is a problem discussed in a great lot of academic research papers in the social sciences ;)
I'd completely agree with Spectrumancer. There's no point just 'cutting content', but there's less point in putting it where it doesn't belong.
Simply take all the content and do an extra story. Maybe do one chapter from each character's point of view, then again to resolve them. That'd be cool and would provide its own structure for you, as opposed to 'yeah here's the stuff there wasn't time for.'
I'd love to see more of our little gang at the present, not in five year's time when everything's been resolved.
Your poll is a little binary, so I'm not voting. My vote is for this alternative, and it looks like I'm not alone in this comment section.
I vote against artificial extension of the story beyond the planned end. By all means write a sequel if you've got one in the works but don't do one because everybody demands it. That's a recipe for poor work.
yes, more please.
It's way too sudden to end it here. The climax just happened and we need at least a few more chapters to leave us thinking about the future before it's over. Relationships need to be proven and objectives need to be set. I personally hate it when a story doesn't clarify if two characters are together, and then the sequel makes a jump into the future where said characters are already together.
I would say yes, please do explore the characters a little more.
And while they've gotten a convoy running, survival will still be a challenge. As odd as it sounds, I would use The Walking Dead as an example. Sure there are no zombies running about (at the moment anyhow), but there's a heck of a lot more required to survive. Food, shelter, supplies, resources, protecting said resources from either hostile creatures or the elements themselves (LA's a fine example of a fire hazard). Things like that. Diseases are an outside possibility too. who knows if any diseases will mutate from thaumatic radiation exposure. Plenty of things can be explored. You could go on for three million words and not cover everything.
While I haven't started reading this story yet, I do have to wonder, if one has a opportunity to go elsewhere where others would be, and not be utterly alone...shouldn't the character opt for the one where they'd be with the others? Anything else and its going to be obvious in its inevitable end.
I say this story shouldn't continue further than it needs to, because what would you have the ultimate goal be now that the last one was met? Can't have a story without a goal.
Sure, it'd be fun to continue with the story and build on the characters and their interactions, but I can't see it going any further than that, it'd get boring after a while.