//------------------------------//
// Epilogue 
// Story: Ruin 
// by RB_ 
//------------------------------//

Sunset stood by the statue and looked out over the crowd of people, formerly ponies, who had gathered on the school’s courtyard. Not quite the full three-hundred and thirty-nine; not everypony had made it, or had even wanted to come, but that was okay. They were in charge of their own lives, now. 

Five years had passed since the day the pony-siders had come to the human world. Today was the anniversary. The last day before summer vacation. Sunset could feel the eyes of everyone in the school on her and the crowd, of the students gathered by the windows.

Sunset herself was no longer a high school student; she was in college, now. So was Twilight, standing beside her, and Starlight, on her other side. They’d all gone to the same school, even though Twilight could have easily gone to a better one. Their shared experiences had bound them together; a bond that wouldn’t break.

Even if Starlight would be leaving them soon.

Sunset lifted up the megaphone in her right hand and spoke into it, the volume cutting through the murmuring of the crowd.

“Alright, everypony!” she said. “Everyone who’s going to Equestria, line up over here so Twilight can scan you!”

The crowd began to move. Not everyone was going; in fact, most of them were staying. They all had lives, now, on this side of the portal. Many didn’t want to give that up to try and salvage what was left of a dying world. 

But some of them did, and these were the people who moved towards the line. The rest were there to watch. Today was an important day.

The people of Canterlot City had welcomed the pony-siders with mostly open arms. Magic had become kind of an open secret, at the time, and so an earnest explanation as to what had happened had convinced many people to take in the Equestrian refugees. They’d even had some support from the city government. It turned out that Principal Celestia had friends in high places, and with her support, they were able to get documentation for those who needed it.

Sunset cast a glance back at the machine that Twilight had constructed. The new Can-Opener was much larger than the little one they had employed all those years ago. A whole rack of computers were needed to control the output of the massive capacitor bank. The whole thing was about the size of two fridges.

Twilight hadn’t given up on her promise to find a way to re-open the portal. She’d spent the years between studying everything she could about magic and how to control it, and her studies had paid off. This new machine didn’t need the remains of the mirror portal; the wormhole it opened could stand on its own.

Sunset turned her attention back to the ponies, who had formed a line. Many of them carried supplies either on their backs, in their arms, or in wheelbarrows. Things like seeds, farming supplies, tools, building materials, food and water, and more. Everything that they would need to survive In the dust.

It had been five years. That wasn’t a coincidence; it was the same amount of time it had taken for Sunset’s natural Equestrian magic to dissipate. The ex-ponies were basically human, now. They had no inherent magic of their own anymore. Still, they wanted to be safe, and that was why Twilight was scanning each of them with her thaumometer. Things appeared to be going well so far; the ponies who had already gone through the screening were gathering in front of the portal. They talked to each other happily. Hopefully.

Sunset smiled. Among those ponies were Twilight’s friends. They had become leaders, or maybe they always had been. They’d all unanimously decided to go back to Equestria together. To carry Princess Twilight’s legacy back to Equestria with them. To reclaim their homeland.

“I guess I’d better get going, too,” Starlight said. Sunset turned towards her, and smiled.

“Good luck,” she said.

“Thanks,” Starlight replied. “I’ll see you around?”

“I’ll come visit you,” Sunset said. “Count on it.”

“I will,” Starlight said. With a smile, she headed off to join the other pony-siders. Sunset watched her go.

It wasn’t goodbye. With the new Can-Opener, they could visit either world any time they wanted.

Sunset looked back out over the crowd of pony-siders. 

She smiled. Then, she looked up at the sun.

Five years had passed. And in this case, and maybe in every case…

…time really had healed all wounds.








The End