Out of This World Is Complete!

Out of This World is officially complete! Thank you all so much for reading the story. If you haven’t finished it yet, go and finish it so you don’t get spoiled. I’m going to talk about a bunch of stuff that I had in mind when writing this story, so if it gets rambly, forgive me. Also, if you have any questions about the story, feel free to comment below, as I am more than happy to answer anything you throw at me. 

Concept:

I came up with Out of This World about two years ago when I was lamenting the fact that there were so few stories that centered around Mean Sunset. It came to me that, under the right circumstances, Mean Sunset could have been just as powerful as other villains if put in the right scenario. The parallel between Sunset and Chrysalis formed, and I couldn’t resist plotting out a story around it. The first scene I imagined was Twilight chasing after Sunset at the bus stop, followed by the chaos of the Fall Formal, and then Chrysalis sinking into the water, turned to stone. I couldn’t get the idea out of my head, so I finally decided to write it out.

Characters:

Sunset Shimmer

I’ve always been a fan of Sunset, but one of the things that I found slightly disappointing was how she just “became good” after getting rainbow-blasted. It makes sense within the story, but I still feel like the juicy bits of development were glossed over by doing so. So I attempted to make a more gradual change in Sunset’s character into the person she became in the later movies. I think I did okay, and she’s certainly different from where she was at the beginning of the story. 

I knew the way I wanted to get Sunset to change was to place her against Twilight, who had become everything Sunset wanted to be. However, Twilight’s desperation made her far more eager to try and reach out to Sunset, so the two had to eventually find common ground. From then on, once the two decide to become acquaintances, Sunset becomes very anxious when stuck between the pull of Twilight, who she should be, and Chrysalis, who she was planning to be. 

Making Sunset the Element of Forgiveness was tricky, because I didn’t want this story to be a “Sunset’s the 7th Element!” type of story (although, the show sort of did that itself). So, I decided to make Sunset’s magical powerup a one-time thing, leaving the option open for the future. It’s up to the reader to decide if she eventually chooses to become an alicorn, but I could not bring myself to make her ascend before Twilight did. 

Twilight Sparkle

If there is anything I could go back and change in this story, I would give more development to Twilight. She still gets some, but I feel as if there is still an unexplored portion that I never tapped in to. As mentioned previously, Twilight is at her wit’s end in this story. She’s just suffered the greatest loss yet in the show, and is completely alone when she arrives across the portal. I found it natural that she would cling to Sunset, the only other person who could somewhat understand what she was going through.

Twilight defeating the Dazzlings was a tricky bit, because I knew I wanted her to realize that the Elements of Harmony were far stronger than just a petty squabble, but I also feel like I might have pushed it too far by not even having the other Bearers there. But, Twilight’s whole arc was about developing the independence she would eventually need to become a princess, and I certainly gave her that.

Principal Celestia

I did not plan for the Principal to become such an important character when I started planning this story, but she just became the answer for so many different holes I needed to fill. Most notably, I needed someone who could: A) be outside of the “pony sphere,” B) be an adult with access to adult stuff, and C) give the Princess a place to hang out when everything went down.

I love all of the “Principal Celestia adopts Sunset” fics, but I wanted to do something different here. Instead of making the Principal’s biggest problem be about motherhood, I focused on her legacy (which tied into a few other themes, of course). If you found out that there was another copy of you just a short walk away that had the power of a god, wouldn’t you feel a little insecure about where you are in life. The Principal is just that, a principal. But all of her self doubt gets confirmed when she meets the Princess. Naturally, she comes to see how much less freedom the Princess has than her, and chooses to enjoy the mundane lifestyle she’s been given.

Contrasting the two Celestias was just a no-brainer. In all the fics I’ve read, I’ve almost only seen the two get into fights with one another. I imagined them as closer to highly critical relatives. The context of this story, set after the Princess’s first major defeat in many years, made it natural that the two would wallow in their mutual self-pity for just a bit. However, the Principal ultimately comes out the better of the two, in my opinion.

Princess Celestia

I wasn’t originally going to have the Princess show up at all, either, but she became such an integral part to the story. As mentioned before, she has just taken a huge blow. She goes to Sunset as a last resort, which probably hurts Sunset even more. The Princess is motivated to seek reconciliation with Sunset because she needs her to beat the Changelings, but the Principal helps her realize the only way to do so is to actually reconcile.

There are so many angles to attack the Princess from, and I decided to mix in the “ancient god” and “ruler of many mistakes” versions together. I don’t think she’s a tyrant, but she has to face many of her shortcomings in this story, and she will for a long time by letting Sunset back into her life.

Chrysalis

I intentionally changed Chrysalis around a bit in this story; she’s a bit toned down, and she doesn’t take command as much attention as she does in the show. I changed her backstory and her personality to better mirror Sunset’s, but I tried to stray not too far away from canon. As much as Princess Celestia was the Principal’s successful half, Chrysalis was Sunset’s in the same regard. 

Chrysalis’s swan song was one of the first things I thought about writing, and although I may have leaned too far into the poetic nature of it all, I hope it was an enjoyable section to read.

The Dazzlings

In my mind, the Dazzlings were the addition to this story that made it the most fun to write. How do you fight a group that harnesses love? Use one that harnesses hate! Adding the Dazzlings in to defeat the majority of the changelings was a fun idea in my mind, but I realized doing so would need a whole reevaluation of the story. The Dazzlings became the wild card that I ended up working around, but I think their addition makes this story what it is.

My Thoughts on Everything

I started writing Out of This World to do just that: write. I’ve never hidden the fact that I’m an amateur, but I’m quite proud of what I’ve got here. It was far from perfect, but it was still a blast of a project to work on. I hope that you enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it.

What’s Next?

The universe of Out of This World is a closed book, as far as I’m concerned. I don’t have anything left to say, so I’m not planning on a sequel. I’m going to take a break for the next month, but I’ve got a couple short stories coming down the pipeline still. I hope you stick around for when they release!

Once again, thank you all for reading Out of This World. It was so amazing to write this story and see the reception it got. I appreciate every kind word you all sent me, and I’m glad to finally put this idea that’s been bouncing around my head to rest.

I’ll leave you now with one last excerpt from the song that Out of This World gets its name from:

After waiting so long 

for the right time

After reaching so high  

for a star

All at once, through the long and lonely night time

And despite time, 

there you are

I'd cry out of this world, 

if you said we were through

So let me fly out of this world

And spend the next eternity or two 

With you

Happy Hearth's Warming,

Mouse-Deer

Comments

[lighting_spark]

Happy Hearth's Warming

[Secundum]

Thanks for the ride. And I agree, the story wouldn't have been as good without the Dazzlings as the final boss.