What the Future Would Have Been for Sunset: Stranded · 10:37pm Apr 27th, 2022
This post is going to be controversial, but at the same time, it might give some folks a bit of closure. That said, I'm somewhat confident that the same trollish behavior that hit when Sunset: Stranded reached its conclusion might rear its ugly head once again, because the negativity that Stranded brought down was pretty aggressive.
I'll get to the point: I currently have no plans to continue with any sequels to Sunset: Stranded. There's simply too much on my plate as is. For my job, I've got Starforge to finish and sequels to write for One Drink and Axtara, while on the fanfic side of things, I need to start looking at delivering the fourth Dusk Guard Saga book, Fires of the Earth. I simply do not have time (or money) to throw two more books into that mix. Sunset: Stranded was an experiment, a personal test to try out a few new writing techniques and approaches, some of which I've already put into practice now that I've refined things a bit. I understand that it was well-received by some of you, and even very enjoyed.
However, that doesn't excuse the frankly juvenile reactions of some of its readers who, upon reaching the conclusion and hearing that the story was over, mass downvoted every other story I've written as a form of protest. I guess they though that if they "showed me" how much they hated my other work by downvoting everything in a small collective they would "force me" to write more Stranded. Guess they never read my piece on detractors.
Don't get me wrong, it still stung. I had stories that had hundreds of upvotes with one downvote because they were almost universally loved, and had stood that way for years, and in a single evening, within hours of updating the final chapter for Stranded, they were swarmed with new downvotes. But it didn't have the effect those trolls anticipated. Some even coyly suggested in comments that I get right to work on Stranded because it was 'clearly what the people wanted.'
But as some bullies who I've outlived on Fimfic could attest, I don't respond well to threats. Especially such empty ones. Seeing the parade of downvotes for such a petty reason stung—and still does—but it also told me something about Stranded itself and the kind of audience it had attracted. One that, like the audience of the game it was a crossover with, had a small but angry population that was incredibly toxic and self-destructive. And unfortunately, in finishing Stranded and letting the world see it, I'd exposed the rest of my fandom and any future readers to that same toxicity. Stories are forever marred now by their childish attempts to bully me into writing more Stranded.
And because of those bullies, as of now there are no plans to write anymore content for Stranded. Scheduling plays the largest part of that, to be sure, but there was a chance, at least initially, that maybe after The Dusk Guard Saga concluded I would come back to it.
That chance is largely gone now. The last thing I want to do is A) bend to bullies and B) encourage that behavior across my library and readers, to say nothing of Fimfic as a whole. That kind of childish mentality? I don't want it among my readers.
To those of you that truly enjoyed Stranded and are saddened by this, I'm sorry. This is a case of a few toxic, entitled people poisoning the well for everyone else. They peed in the pool.
But I can at least tell you where the story would have gone. Because as with everything else, I had ideas. So you can get some closure from that. I'll spoiler some of the bigger things, like the overall ending, just in case things do change, the toxic folks recuse themselves and step away, and future Sunset does end up on the table after The Dusk Guard Saga concludes but ... I wouldn't count on it. Besides, the reason I was hesitant to write any more of it in the first place still stands: Time, and time is money. I have rent to pay and bills to worry about. New Axtara books and other writing projects pay those bills, and Stranded, fun as it was, doesn't past being a way to experiment with new takes and concepts and deliver you guys some fun content.
So you likely never would have seen the other two books anyway, because they wouldn't have broken any new ground. There wasn't the same room for experimentation (outside of retreading ground from Stranded). But I think those of you that were curious where the story would have gone would like the closure of at least knowing what the plan was. So, without further lead-in, here's what the rest of the story could have been.
Sunset: Soldier
Soldier would have picked up a few weeks after the end of Stranded, and been a story in two parts. Sunset would be experiencing COG boot camp and struggling to quell her ego while still trying to figure out why magic continues to elude her. Her fellow trainees, as well as connections within the COG, would have nicknamed her "Princess" due to her self-centered and self-assured nature, further driving her already problematic anger issues and complex with Princess Celestia into the open. Sunset's arrogance and pride would finally catch up with her when she'd be pulled aside by a superior and given a dressing down for the ages that would culminate in threats to kick Sunset from the training program if she doesn't shape up ... but also the first hints and advice about what true leadership is, something that was sorely lacking in Princess Celestia's training and a key root of Sunset's massively inflated ego.
Ultimately Sunset would face and accept the truth that she is the problem, not the solution, and after a serious self-grapple with her own ego, we'd finally start to see cracks in the wall built over Stranded (and before) start to widen. After some self-reflection, Sunset would try to change, and that would start to realize that for all her talents ... she's not nearly the gift to everyone she's always assumed she is. I'm not certain exactly how it would play out, but a few of the things her CO would hammer on her—hard—would get through, and Sunset would realize that she needs to at least try to be a bit better. It'd be slow going, but bit by bit Sunset would see the change herself and keep pushing, finally setting aside her ego and setting her sights on being a "true leader" rather than the bloated, egotistical person she'd been reinforcing before. Ultimately, she'd graduate the program with praise that for once doesn't go to her head, and she'd join the ranks of the Cog just in time for Operation Hollow Storm.
That operation would have been the second half of the story, where all the growth and attempted change Sunset has put on herself over the course of the training would be put to the real test as she and her squad drop down into the Hollow in what fans of Gears already know will be an only partially successful strike at the Locust heart. Over the few days of the events of Gears 2, Sunset would find all her resolve and new habits tested, but ultimately rise above her old self and set aside her selfish pride for the good of her squad, finally realizing what she'd been missing and how wrong she was when she'd fled Canterlot. Along the way, she'd also realize that in Sera, the only way she's able to access her magic (and there were hints of this in Stranded) is when she's trying to survive ... or using her talents to protect others. Friendship, it turns out, is the conduit, and while she can't cast spells, magic does play a part in how tough and hardy serans are.
Soldier would end with the collapsing of Jacinto, and the dissolution of the Cog as the last vestiges of humanity on Sera become stranded together, and Sunset wondering what will become of their future.
She would not be in Delta squad. I don't do power-trip self-inserts.
Sunset: Survivor
Survivor would pick up about two years later (those who have played the games will know what that means). The Cog have long since fractured, and Sunset has gradually been promoted/risen to a higher rank among her small group of survivors traveling the world. The story would likely open with their latest camp being leveled by another Lambent attack, and hint at the theme of the final act. Where Soldier was about learning what it takes to be a good leader, Survivor would be about the harsh realities of being such a leader and the pain it brings with it. Bit by bit, with Lambent attacks growing more and more frequent as Sera spirals towards its apparent end, Sunset would be forced to make painful decisions and face the reality of the truism that no matter how good a leader you are, you can and often will lose. People and battles.
As one by one locust and lambent encounters continue to trim away at their small band of survivors, Sunset realizes there may be one place that could be safe: The portal to Equestria. Leading her desperate band of refugees, with attacks mounting every day, Sunset guides what's left of her squad and survivors back toward Holton, retracing her steps and facing with tears and pain constant loss as Sera dies around them. The journey would grapple with themes of trust and show Sunset truly coming into her own as she desperately tries to keep as many alive as possible. This would culminate in the final eruptions of Lambent all across Sera as they near Holton and take a defensive position around the same statue she'd arrived at all those years ago, hoping her math is correct.
The final push would see Sunset desperately fighting to keep her small band alive, most everyone left expressing faith in her capabilities despite her being cagey about her origins or what might happen when they pass through. The world's so messed up and the band's respect for Sunset is enough that they trust her anyway (though as some would point out, what other choice is there?).
Eventually they would be overrun, with the portal opening just in time as some of the last members of her desperate band are torn apart by the Lambent. Sunset would make it through, battered and alive, with one wounded comrade, a unicorn once more, and randomizing the portal spell to keep all but a single Lambent tendril from making it through ... Which she would promptly sterilize before slamming a quarantine shield down around her and her—now griffon—squadmate before a pair of stunned and shocked guards and shouting orders at them to issue a medical quarantine alert for the both of them. Whether the guards are shocked by her appearance, her words, or her wings is left unsaid.
Second bit spoiler protected for the full ending.
Sunset would be put under guard in a cell while being treated for her injuries and infection (Lambent, which would NOT escape, so no threat to Equestria). The Guard would note, both to her face and in reports to one another that she was not the Sunset they remembered, instead accepting her incarceration with a nod of acknowledgement, and in addition to her many scars an aura of military command and acceptance that reminded many of Captain Steel Song. Sunset has, for lack of a better term, grown up ... with every bit of pain that implies.
The story would reach its emotional climax, as well as the completion of Sunset's arc, when Princess Celestia would come to speak with her, both breaking down in tears and apologizing to one another, Sunset for being completely self-centered and blind, Celestia for being so afraid of what she'd seen happening to Sunset in her future—along with many chances for Sunset to never make it back—that she'd tried to conceal it to protect Sunset until she was more prepared and ultimately pushed her into it.
Reconciled at last, the two would embrace, Sunset finally making amends with her mentor and the two of them repairing their relationship. During the discussion it would be noted that Sunset had finally learned, through so much pain, what real leadership is, and through her self-sacrifice and change, returned to Equestria as an alicorn (the alicorn bit I might have cut, it would depend very much on being in the moment and seeing exactly how Sunset had wound up). Sunset would then prove that she'd earned them by stating that she had no more desire to lead or seek power any longer, and she would act the same with or without her wings. When asked what she plans to do now, as Celestia acknowledges that she's grown more than enough to make her own choices, all Sunset can think is that she saved one friend from Sera, and she wants to make sure that they're all right.
She would then reiterate that the portal to that world should never be opened again, as the Lambent would be a threat to Equestria like none other ... but even if they hadn't, Locust or Serans might have been, good though they could be.
The story would close with Sunset talking with her last surviving friend, who's still a bit weirded out but glad to be alive. Since neither of them has any idea what to do next, Sunset offers to do the inverse of what her friend had in Jacinto (as they'd be a squad member from her training days) and show them around Equestria while they both figured out what to do next. The final scene would be Sunset hugging Celestia goodbye as she and her friend set out to see the world and find a place in it, about to board an airship. Sunset would promise Celestia to return once she knew what she wanted to do and additionally showing that they truly had healed the rift between them by noting that Celestia would always be her mother. She and her friend would board the airship ... and that would be that.
So, that would be where things would have gone if I didn't have a dozen book projects and four more Dusk Guard epics sitting staring me in the face. Maybe someday I'll get to write them, after TDGS is over and done, but for now?
Well, I hope those of you that enjoyed Stranded are glad for the closure and the chance to see where all those hints in Stranded would have led. I know it's not the same as a story, but let's face it: It'd be at least a decade before I'd get the chance to write it at this rate.
In the meantime, you can always look forward to more Dusk Guard, or check out my website for my commercial fiction and some shiny paperbacks to grace your shelves. If you liked what I showed off in Stranded, there exists several worlds worth of words for you to devour and enjoy.
With that, I hope the good fans of Stranded enjoyed having some closure on where things might have gone. Viking out!
The entitled ones, AKA the Karens and Kevins, are everywhere and most will never learn that the world doesn't revolve around them.
Not sure what the future holds, but I plan on being around for another ten years,
I will check in then to see if maybe you changed your mind and decided to write the sequels anyways.
And in the meantime.... even though I have turned out to be trash as a prereader for you, my sincere apologies on that,
I will keep reading everything you put out, especially Star Forge and more Dusk Guard.
Dude, your work is just to good to miss. I'm here for the duration, for as long as you let the ride last.
Now you made me read that story, just because of all the drama around it.
I don't get what all the negativity is about.
It was a perfectly fine story, even though a bit boring at times. There are only so many times you can describe a ruin and make it interesting.
Maybe the Gears fanboys expected more mindless action and Sunset banging all the Waifus or something.
Although I am saddened by the decision, I support you. I liked this story a lot. Resourceful survivor Sunset is great. Perhaps I came to the story differently, as I do not have a Gears of War background. I will keep checking on you and your stories.
I loved the Stranded story, it really shows a bit more about her.
I hope that the other two about Sunset would be released, it really builds up a good story.
But still, one can dream. I hope you find what you're looking for in the end.
What a shame that people didn't take to this story, because it's honestly beautiful. You capture the sense of desolation and loss and faded grandeur of the Gears games so well, while still managing to integrate it with the light, fluffy world of MLP in a way that just works. It's a hell of a story, trolls or no, and you should be proud of it.
There's a lot of entitlement in the world today and it exists in many fandoms - just go back and look at the uproar that happened when the new Star Wars movies were released and didn't suit the existing fanbase.
I'm sorry to hear that that you had such a negative reaction to your decision not to write books 2/3 - I came to the series after you'd finished posting it and as someone who only has a base understanding of the Gears universe I found it to be quite a good read. I would have liked to read the next two books and will likely have a look if you do get around to writing them.
Thank you for spending the time and effort that you did on Sunset: Stranded.