//------------------------------//
// Epilogue - Hope for Harmony 
// Story: Danganronpa vP: Harmony of Despair 
// by witegrlninja 
//------------------------------//

The damage the Tantabus had wrought on Equestria was unprecedented.

Buildings were razed, but they could be rebuilt. Utilities were destroyed, but they could be repaired. The supply chain of food, medicines and other necessary resources was scattered to the winds, but it could be reorganized.

But the real damage had been done to the ponies themselves. Once free from the grasp of the Waking Nightmare, they could hardly believe what they had done. Relationships were forever tarnished. Trust was forever shattered. Friendship was an uncertainty. Ponies everywhere were riddled with guilt and stared in fear of one another, the knowledge of what they had done to each other scarred into their minds. Many sank deep into denial, their own minds unsure of how to proceed with their previous life. Thousands were stricken with agonizing mental anguish over their actions, and far more than that dealt with severe depression and anxiety. More than an expected amount of unfortunate ponies just plain snapped - their mental state was already vulnerable beforehand, but the Waking Nightmare had driven them fully insane. Some were rendered mute or even catatonic. Cases of agoraphobia, aichmophobia, aphenphosmphobia, equinophobia, enochlophobia, hypnophobia, scoptophobia... well, lots of phobias involving sleep or their fellow ponies skyrocketed.

Princess Luna was right: the Tantabus had finally been utterly destroyed. Yet the psychological damage it had inflicted on the citizens was so thorough, so relentless, it was as though it had accomplished what it had set out to do after all. It had left a deep scar throughout Equestria... one that Twilight feared would never heal.

But together, with all of her friends both old and new, she knew what they could do to help. She never gave up on the citizens of Equestria... she believed in them all.

First she asked for Princess Celestia's and Princess Luna's permission to open the Royal Treasury, and spent countless Bits on ensuring that the citizens' essential needs were met. They all agreed that this was important - if basic needs were not met, then how could a pony ever be expected to concentrate on healing from mental trauma? Then she resolved that everypony would benefit from therapy... but how? Not only were there literally hundreds of thousands of citizens, but the therapists themselves were suffering!

So she asked Nurse Redheart for help, and as just as she said in the Killing Dream, she was true to her word. Summoning the best counselors and therapists she knew, she stood by as Princess Celestia, Princess Luna and Princess Twilight spent hours with them as they all worked through their issues - expedited by the fact that they were all experts in their field and knowledgeable about how their minds worked - but it was still a difficult process. Meanwhile, she also accompanied the Princesses into the realm of dreams, reaching out to as many ponies as they could. Together they offered their compassion and mercy, encouraging each pony they encountered to simply talk to one another, and offer each other their trust, support and understanding. Their work was tireless - when they weren't speaking to the populace in their dreams, they were holding multiple group therapy sessions every day for anypony who wanted to attend, only stopping long enough to eat and rest. And finally, when the experts had recovered enough from their own suffering that they could effectively help others, they joined the Princesses in the dream realm as well, spreading their help and support exponentially.

Of course, not everypony heals at the same rate. It would take many years for the majority of citizens to finally come to terms with what happened. And when the day finally came for Princess Twilight to be coronated as the Sole Ruler of Equestria, her first act was to nearly empty the Royal Treasury in order to fund plentiful mental health care and research. In time, entire schools specifically for counselors and therapists popped up around the country, populated with teachers who never ceased to search for new ways to help their patients, and students who also came to believe in each other and wanted to help other ponies. And as these students graduated, therapy quickly became widespread and freely accessible to everypony - mental health workers were considered as vital employees to the country and received an ample salary.


~


Applejack was quite busy. Having realized that some things are better said while one could still say them, she confessed her feelings to Rainbow Dash. At first she thought she was joking, but after a significant glare she knew she was serious. Blushing, Rainbow admitted that she felt the same.

Together, they returned to Sweet Apple Acres and began to repair and replant Applejack's ruined orchards. To her delighted surprise, Flam offered to help... just as he had promised. With his help, the trees were quickly replanted, their tools and equipment repaired or replaced, and her ever-ramshackle barn was rebuilt and enchanted to never fall apart again. When the last task was finished and Sweet Apple Acres was open for business once again, Flam then offered Applejack a business deal; he would exclusively sell her family's cider and other apple products at his and his brother's casino resort, and pay her and her family handsomely in return. She was initially taken aback when she saw just how much he was actually offering, but once she realized he was serious, she gently shook her head with a smile and insisted she would only accept a fair deal.

And what about Coloratura? When she first woke up after Applejack, she cried and apologized over and over, begging for her forgiveness. Sure, Applejack was mad about being murdered, but after a while she conceded that the circumstances had clouded her judgment, and she - tentatively - forgave her. But she emphasized that she had no romantic feelings for her, and now that she knew that Rainbow was alive and well, she would not wait any longer to tell her how she felt.

And without despair driving her to insanity, Coloratura was perfectly fine with that. In fact, not only did they ultimately remain friends, she was both one of Applejack's bridesmares at their eventual wedding, and the live entertainment. And for as long as she performed for her throngs of adoring fans, there were always two backstage passes ready and waiting for them.


~


Everypony had seen Fleur de Lis' darkest secrets. There was a clamor for something to be done about her parents, filly beauty pageants and Fancy Pants -  enough for him and a few of his associates to slink away into hiding. There were also the inevitable arguments that leapt to his defense and lobbied that something should be done about her instead. In the end, the Princesses sanctioned an investigation into her handler and his treatment of her, and when sufficient evidence was found, flushed him out of hiding. A trial was held... and it was a perfectly ordinary trial. He was eventually found guilty and sent to prison for fifteen years with the possibility of parole. His assets were seized, and the contract between himself and Fleur was deemed invalid.

Now that she was free to do whatever she wanted, Fleur spent some time in the spotlight, enjoying the surge in popularity that came with her newfound infamy. But within months the act faded away, and one day she suddenly vanished from the public eye and never returned. Some ponies say they'd seen her in Silver Shoals, without her designer makeup or accessories on, her mane and tail cut short into an easily-manageable style, and her svelte figure healthily filled out. She seemed happy and carefree, like she was perfectly content with herself and her life... she had finally found peace.


~


Although she was oddly touched by how much Trixie cared for her (she did try to commit murder, after all), Starlight had no intention of running away with her to Saddle Arabia. Her place, as far as she was concerned, was at the School of Friendship, doing her part as the Head Researcher to keep the Dream Machine running while therapy for the masses was needed, and then to resume her duties as the Headmare of the school. But she was still willing to let her remain the school's Guidance Counselor - and that was enough for Trixie. They remained best friends; Trixie even played matchmaker and eventually got Starlight and Sunburst to admit that they had feelings for each other. After much discussion they agreed it would be alright as long as they kept it quiet and private, and never let their relationship get in the way of doing their job.


~


Lightning Dust returned to her little sister Indigo Zap, finding her safe and relatively mentally sound. After ensuring that she was okay she resumed her stunt work with The Washouts, now focusing a little more on safety and accountability.

Bulk Biceps also returned to his life of work as a masseuse at the Ponyville Day Spa and selling his homemade artisanal roasted nuts. However, he and Lightning remained close friends - they joined the same gym and were each other's workout buddy, Bulk attended Lightning's stunt shows and cheered her on, and Lightning went to him for massages after her shows. Then they'd go out to the bars and paint the town red together... Bulk always remained sober enough to keep Lightning out of too much trouble.


~


And so, Princess Twilight became the Sole Ruler of Equestria. She invited all of the ponies she had become friends with to her coronation, especially those she had fought and struggled so hard with against the Killing Dream. She made sure to visit the abdicated Princesses Celestia and Luna in Silver Shoals at least once a season, while she also ensured to meet with both her newest and her closest friends no less than once per month. She made sure she set aside the time to officiate the weddings of Applejack and Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Cheese Sandwich, and Fluttershy and Discord, as well as the ceremonies the others would come to have - both joyful and somber. She attended every fashion show that Rarity headed and always made a fuss about accepting her frequent gifts of stunning regal dress. She was there when Rainbow Dash was finally promoted to Captain of the Wonderbolts after Spitfire's retirement, and watched proudly as she spent the rest of the day celebrating with Sonic Rainboom after Sonic Rainboom. She couldn't possibly attend every party Pinkie Pie threw, but she made sure to always attend the birthdays of her friends and their loved ones; at the birth of Pinkie's son Li'l Cheese, Pinkie made her his godmother. And whenever Fluttershy popped into reality from the Chaos dimension she shared with Discord, she would always stop whatever she was doing and share some tea and conversation.

For Twilight, it was everything she could ever dream of... everything had turned out just fine, and she and her friends lived happily ever after.

However... Although she would never admit it out loud, Twilight had gained both a new appreciation for her closest friends, and a barely-contained fear of losing them to death once more. When things had finally settled down, she began her own secret research on how to help them ascend into immortal Alicorns, just like she had. She was disheartened when she learned that it required a life-changing self-actualization of their own individual Element before she would have the ambient magic necessary and therefore the ability to transform them, but that didn't stop her from gently encouraging them to always be loyal, honest, kind and generous... and to always bring joy into the hearts of ponies everywhere so they would laugh.

But it was also okay if they never did, and they eventually grew old and passed on... such was the way of nature and life.

...

...

...

...Besides, there was always Necromancy.


~



~ The End ~



~