Epilogue: Choices
"Twilight?" Pinkie Pie asked, walking with her through the market. "Do you have time tonight for a party?"
Twilight Sparkle blinked. She couldn't remember the last time Pinkie had checked with an attendee before organizing a party. She couldn't remember the last time Pinkie had checked with the host. "I guess so, Pinkie. What's it a party for?"
Pinkie smiled at her. "It's a birthday party! Just for you and me."
Twilight blinked again. There was an awful lot of back-up-and-think-again involved in talking to Pinkie Pie sometimes. "Pinkie, it's not my birthday and it's not yours either." Another thought occurred and she added, "You don't mean a... private private party or anything, do you?"
Pinkie shook her head. "No, silly! This isn't a courting thing at all. Okay, I'll see you tonight!"
Twilight watched her pink friend bounding merrily away, shook her head, and went back to her shopping.
***
"So now will you tell me what's going on?" Twilight asked, standing on the library balcony next to Pinkie. The party pony had been intensely restrained, for her; the railing of the balcony was wrapped with streamers and a trio of balloons flanked the door, and that was it. She'd brought a small cake, too, barely larger than a cupcake, unfrosted.
"Do you remember Gus?" Pinkie asked, looking down at the cake.
"Of course I remember Gus," Twilight answered. She smiled sadly. "Poor guy. He turned physics on its head. Most of what he came up with wasn't possible to discover on our own. We might never prove some of it. There's just not enough detail. It only works if you start with his assumptions about the underlying model. Most of the most interesting bits don't work at all in Equestria, but they're still a framework for the rest."
"Do you remember how Gus left?" Pinkie asked. She took out a box of candles, opened it, carefully took none out, closed the box, and set it down.
"Yes," said Twilight, and looked away. "There wasn't anything left. I couldn't look at my tiara for months."
Pinkie took out a match, lit it, waved it over the top of the cake, then blew it out and set the extinguished match aside. "And a great big silly you were being, too. He didn't leave nothing behind."
"That's a double negative, Pinkie," Twilight pointed out. "And what are you doing with that cake, anyhow?"
Pinkie reached into her mane and pulled out a contraption. It looked like a plate with one of Tank's spare rotor rigs attached to it. She put the cake onto the plate. "You were worried he left nothing behind, so he didn't leave nothing behind, he just went forward. That was eleven months ago."
"Elev... Pinkie, anniversaries are supposed to be after a year."
Pinkie shook her head, holding the cake. "It's not an anniversary party, Twilight. This is a birthday party. Somewhere there's a pegasus mommy who just had the cutest little peach-coated foal with a yellow mane and funny little black rings above his hooves and a white mark on his head, and he didn't cry at all when he came out, he laughed and hugged the doctor right then and there. And they named him Rainwright because he's going to be so good at clouds."
Twilight stared at her friend. Hope surged in her chest. "Pinkie... are you saying... Gus is alive? You had... a hunch?"
Pinkie shook her head again. "Gus didn't know what was going to happen to him, but he kept believing it was all going to be okay. He never smiled except that one time that totally didn't count and that other time that was my fault, but I was so busy trying to make him smile that I never realized he was doing something totally else and it was my Element even. He was hoping. He didn't have any Pinkie Sense or hunches or twitchy tails or anything else at all, he just decided it was going to be okay. So... I'm not taking any hunches for him or Pinkie Senses or anything else. I'm just..." She looked up at the clouds overhead. "I'm just deciding he was right and it's all okay and he's going to have a long and happy life doing anything he wants and getting to have rainbows all day. And if I meet him and he doesn't know me then I'll have a party for him all by myself. But it's been eleven months so that means he should be getting born today."
Pinkie let the cake go. The rotor spun, lifting the plate up into the sky.
Twilight put a hoof on Pinkie's shoulder. "You can invite me too."
They started to sing Happy Birthday.
[ Edit: This was later found on Pinkie's wall: ]
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Pinkie NEEDS to be right.
Okay, this was well done. It has my like.
Jeez....
SEQUAL SOMEHOW!!!
...why, why do I get the feeling somepony will...or at least, SHOULD, give that Rainwrite a little writing...and moreover, a certain Pink mare being there to see him smile...and bring that joy he would have felt otherwise, to him. I figure anypony with a heart will want that. I know I do. Plus, let's face it, how else would someone want to move forward? Accepted into a world of wonder and joy, I know I would.
Brony on folks, and well done SpinelStride, well done indeed!
Give each other a hug.
In the case of nonlogical, counter intuitive actions, Pinkie is always right. Or in Pinkie speak.
Not knowing, I am unable to say with any due amount of accuracy. Therefor paragorically speaking from an imperative point of view it must be erratically so.
You know, regardless of whether Pinkie's right or not, I think this story really ought to have a Sad tag.
It's gorgeous, and I'm glad you wrote it, but that ending...
2998225
There's a strong quantum effect in the Equestria of Advanced.
It's only sad if you think it's sad.
This was such a good story, very well written and I loved how Gus was fleshed out so well. As the chapters progressed I felt like Twilight, getting more and more stressed out and worried about Gus. And poor Pinkie, trying to cheer Gus up and failing. It was a great story, though I'm with everyone else, and hope to hear more about Rainwright!
Well done good sir, have some chocolate with my feels.
Wow.
Just wow.
2998254
The implications of what the Elements of Harmony possibly could have done are just as scary as what the Fae did, if one thinks about it enough. ._.
Yeah, that made for an excellent ending: the protagonist accepts fate and opens his chest to receive the deathblow.
And it also made for a very good epilogue: he may have died, but his hope lives on. And at that, he may not be entirely dead...
...These Fae creatures need a lesson in manners. PINKIE PIE STYLE
Kind of a WTF ending that threw me there.
you have forced my feels, and now im beary beary sad.
please write a sequel
2998254
Considering the observer effect on reality in Equestria it's safe to assume that Gus turned out to be right one way or another. Same goes for Pinkie.
2999318
The observer effect worked on gravity, but electromagnetism didn't work at all no matter how much Gus expected it would. Magic is a separate force all on its own, not just the observer effect writ large.
But given the observer effect in the author's note? If you think you can safely assume that, then you certainly can.
2998603
Keep in mind that what the elements did was accidental byproducts of their own nature... To someone who was intentionally, maliciously altered specifically so they would have that effect on him.
The Fae performed brain surgery on a man just so people they hated but couldn't hurt directly were forced to watch heir own beloved magic slowly kill him.
They... Don't really compare.
It is in the nature of the Elements of Harmony to change something to their true, harmonious state - to make things what they were meant to be. It is up to the reader to decide what Gus was meant to be and how the Elements achieved that for him.
A lovely bittsweet but ultimately correct and true ending. Your explanation of Gus's condition and the likely cause rang true as did Gus's growing attachment to Pinkie. See, even though he couldn't smile, she smiled enough for him and he appreciated all she did for him, even if he lacked the mental capability to openly express it. That's why I think she was right about his ultimate fate because, on some level, they became connected. They both shared this out-of-control connection with magic that let them genuinely see the truth of each other.
One day, Celestia will meet these creatures responsible for what happened to Gus and the meeting will not be pleasant. For them.
I shed one tear. I congratulate you in your ability to make me shed a tear, very few fics can accomplish this rare and magnificent feat. You deserve any and all praise pointed in your general direction.
"Cross two worlds and all the rest, this'll turn out for the best."
*twitch*......
*twitch*.....
This was nice....felt so sad at the end...I hope there is some form of a sequel.
i.imgur.com/QwrdcCt.png
2999514
She's already met them. And it was very unpleasant. That's why they did this. They are petty and cruel monsters. And sadly, in their own world, they give gods pause. Woe unto any she finds within Equestria, though.
2999318
So Pinkie deciding that everything turns out okay will make her idea of what Gus became come true?
Rainwrite: Weather stallion, scientific genius, party animal.
3001906
The answer is in the author's notes of the last chapter.
This was a good story. I am not crying, just got some dust in my eye...
2988497
I do agree with you on that, what I was criticizing was that the story treats atomic theory as something that only someone with a PhD in rocket surgery could understand, when the level of discourse presented was that of a middle schooler.
A fantastic story on all counts. A fascinating narrator, an exquisite use of synesthesia, worldbuilding out the wazoo, and perhaps the best possible ending this story could have. Really, the only way it could be better would be if they invited Lero as well. Thank you, Spinel. Thank you very much.
2998254
I remain uncertain. Now could someone get me out of this box? I am not a cat person.
…
I don't even what is that
magic is magic is magic
And another Great story. With an ending like this and having such an amazing'ly set up epilogue, Sequel is a Go...... Please?
Liquid pride.
It feels rushed, to be honest. I originally thought this would focus more heavily on the technical aspects of Twilight's and Gus's talks, and the inventions and theories that would come out of it. The whole magical death thing came on a little strong.
What right there is a fantastic ending. Surprisingly deep for something involving pinkie. I'm impressed.
Awww...
a very nice ending after the bittersweet of the rest of the tale.
3008437
Well, they've been to at least two worlds, odds are they've been to many more. Whatever the implant is might not be recognizable. If it's just not made from whole cloth.
Fascinating, but a bit too strong
pinkie X rainwright next story
Lero took the back seat in this story understandably but did he have to be a hug robot with occasional emotion? The main character was the sociopath not him lol. Interesting. I still want to know what the F those creatures are that brought him and lero over and what it has to do with Celestia's hair.
3025891
Her hair is the same multicolor pattern as the creatures.
Nice ending. I really enjoyed it.
A truley wonderful fic, thank you so much for Writing it.
Elements never kill. They can turn someone into stone or seal somewhere, but never kill. So I think that Gus was healed anyway. Who knows maybe Pinkie is right? I only hope that he gets to remember being human at some point, Elements are not known of destroying the person, even if this is a reborn this don't need to mean that Gus is dead(mind wipe is for me same thing as killing the person).
Anyway, really good fic. Feels too short but... ended in good time. Bah. Like all the way for you.
3064998
Any other pony would've been reduced to confetti long ago. The Element of Laughter is the only thing keeping her coherent in the face of rationality.
3064998
It's not entirely belief-based. Electromagnetism and electrochemical reactions didn't work at all no matter how much Gus thought they should (though his lack of emotional states could have also meant he couldn't believe with all his heart et cetera et cetera). There's an awful lot of ambient magic around that's hard to isolate out of experiments, and virtually everything that exists on Equestria interacts with magic to some degree, and magic is definitely influenced by emotional states. Further experimentation is needed - and you can be sure Twilight's following up. Maybe latent pegasus genes in the pony population give them all some innate gravity influence; if so, zebras or donkeys ought to see both balls hit at once...
3107123
I'm afraid I'm not familiar with that character? I played only one Castlevania game back on the Game Boy Color, and that was it.
The elements ascended him into the next possible thing.