Epilogue
Two months later…
Twilight sat in front of her desk, closing her eyes as she let her thought travel to the parchment that sat before her. She forced her thoughts to cease their restless disorder and organize, allowing her to write clearly.
Spike had kindly offered to help her, but Twilight had decided this was something she needed to do on her own. It was a private conversation, one between her and an old friend.
She had put this off for too long now. The parchment had been lying on her desk for weeks now, calling to her every time she entered the room. It had been calling to her without ceasing. With the rain outside, and no pressing matters of importance at hand, she decided it was finally time. Pulling a feather off one of her wings (She had found not long ago that her wings provided wonderful quills), Twilight dipped it in ink and began to write.
Dear Princess Celestia,
Firstly, I want to thank you for your kindness in allowing me to remain in Ponyville while you were away with Luna. Though I may be a princess, I find myself out of place amongst royal pomp and circumstance. I prefer the quiet solace of this small village.
Things have been well here since you left. The peace you helped restore remains. The names of my friends, and that of my own, are untarnished and whole. Your words soothed the land of Equestria and allowed everyone to know the truth. I know I owe you a debt of gratitude for that.
The Crystal Empire, though still heavily damaged, is beginning to find its way back. Under the care of my brother and Cadance, it seems the ancient city will soon be giving its light and power to the land soon enough.
The kingdom has truly been healing. The story of Cobalt’s sacrifice for us has begun to spread, and ponies everywhere are starting to wake up and see the world differently. What used to be simple conversations of daily rituals and normal events are turning into discussions of life, death, and the choices we make. It’s as if Cobalt’s sacrifice not only brought us a new chance at life, but also brought about an awakening to the moral world that so many of us ignored. The world around us suddenly seems more precious, more important, and deeper than we ever knew.
But I am beating around the bush, as you may have already guessed. I have written you because I remember our last conversation, not long after the execution. I blamed you for everything. I called you a coward, and said that your throne was more important to you than the ponies you loved. I hated you more than any one pony, than any one creature I had ever known.
And for all of that, I want to apologize.
Yes, I know you agreed with my words. I know you admitted fault, but that does not justify my own actions. My rage against you was unfair. If I was able to forgive Cobalt Storm for his own crimes, how could I be willing to hate you for your own? Cobalt may have hated you once, but it was out of a hurt heart, and jealous spite. When time had passed, he wanted better for you, even if you didn’t always know it. When he learned of how to stop the earthquakes, he returned to save you. He was always looking out for you.
And… I want you to know that I forgive you. For being afraid? Forgiven. For your failure to protect Luna? Forgiven. For the war? Forgiven. Even the pride that did not allow you to admit your mistake when you first arrested Cobalt, and no justification for his execution? Forgiven. We all have our weaknesses, Celestia. I can bear that, and I hope you can as well.
You told me that I was better than you, that I was more pure. As much as I value your words, I know that they are false. If I was truly better, then I would not have acted in such haste. I wouldn’t have brought my friends into danger, almost getting them all killed. My actions nearly brought disaster, even if I never fully understood it. If it weren’t for Cobalt, we never would have made it.
I want to live up to your words, I want to be that princess you believe I am. I may not be there today, but I can still reach for it. I can still make my life count, even if it takes a few mistakes along the way.
Cobalt’s death is a reminder. A reminder that our choices have the power to transform not just our own lives, but can transform the lives of those who we may never meet. Cobalt’s sacrifice for Equestria ensured that a new generation will be able to see another day, and feel the warmth of the sun for a little longer.
When he first came into our world, he chose to protect his people. He chose to protect you, he chose to fall in love with you. He chose to give himself over to hatred and revenge, and he chose to murder. He chose to act on so many things, that it seemed as if his life would be marred by his past forever.
But he chose to accept the consequences of his actions. He chose to stand up and walk back to you, and face death. As he destroyed a nation in life, so he saved another in death. He understood choices better than anyone I ever knew, and that was what allowed him to walk into death’s open arms so bravely, and save the lives of those he never knew. He understood that his final action would protect everyone.
Cobalt once mentioned that Starswirl understood that you would never destroy him after the Lunar Rebellion, that the old wizard understood you. You still loved him, didn’t you? Deep down, no matter what he could ever do, some part of you would never stop loving him… not even to this day. It’s why you were able to take the fall for what had come from all of it, and weep for him. Despite all the bloodshed that filled his story, your heart still belonged to him.
Someday, I want to know the story. All of it, from the very beginning. I want to know what he was like when he was young. I want to know the story of your love for each other, for the war, for everything.
When you return, tell me the story again.
Yours sincerely,
Twilight Sparkle
-The End
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4544692 Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it!
4545986 Haha, thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed the story.
4544672 Now if only I had more time than to just reply to comments.
4548317 Haha, I wish I had more comments to reply to, actually. I love it when people discuss my work and talk to me about the story.
4548467 Well I am a rather nosy person. I am bound to pry into what you are planning.
4548503 Well, I won't reveal TOO much, but there's plenty of good stuff on the way.
4548510 I'll happily wait.
Awesome ending. I finally had time to read and not just talk. I am glad I had a chance to finish this.
4548830 Thanks for finishing it! Hope you enjoyed the ride.
4548860 I certainly did.
Claps slowly... Bravo...
4549223 Thanks a lot!
4566790 Search me.
I appreciate the enthusiastic response, I really enjoyed writing it. One of the better endings I've done so far.
I'm writing a story eerily similar to this. Great minds think alike, eh?
*adds to read later list*
4566871 You better believe they do!
I had the idea years ago, and finally got to try it out. I like the idea of something water-based.
4566795 I haven't read the end yet, I just know it'll be good/sad. I wish there were more fics like this
4567046 You're gonna be floored. All I'm saying.
4567068 If it's like the ending to Wolf's Rain then I know it's going to be painfully tragic. Great anime by the way. Heard of it?
4567086 Yeah, but haven't watched it.
4567190 Well, it's very old, very sad, has memorable characters, and is obviously about wolves.
Pretty well written and entertaining. The quality of the writing goes some way to make up for Cobalt being a Gary Stu.
This story is one of the more thought out stories I've read on Fimfiction, I enjoyed every bit of it
4569997 Glad you're enjoying it so far!
4570847 Thanks! I always put the best effort I can into my work.
4569546 Yikes, he's been labeled! I was hoping for better than that. Whoops.
4571305 Aw sorry.
He's certainly not a bad one, and like I said, the story is entertaining nonetheless.
4573999 Thanks!
Damn, that was a downer
Well done Echo, well done
Also, for some reason, when i read the ending i started thinking of this song. I think it matches this fic
4577623 Haha, thanks a lot! Sorry for being a downer, I usually write stories that don't have the "perfect" ending. After all, our choices have consequences.
4577688 Love it! Always enjoyed Japanese culture, so nice to hear some.
When it came for Cobalt's final scene, I actually had this song playing:
4577688 With this playing for the epilogue:
If you'd like to check out what other great music I was listening to, please take a look at my blog post that has the soundtrack listing. There's a lot of great music that you'd probably appreciate!
4612342 maybe
4612342 Hmm... Read on and find out!
4696309 Thinking bout it more than I was. Not intentionally so.
4834595 That's quite a reaction.
What brought about such a response?
4835146 Twilight and the others committed treason for a crime that they know nothing of and you are wondering why I have that response?
4967879 I had ideas why, but I just wanted to hear you say it.
They committed treason by helping Cobalt escape, that's how.
4967887 I know that. However, Cobalt/Ocean won't say what he did. Neither would Celestia. And Luna chose to remain silent. I intend to find out what the hubbub is about. Once and for all!
*Ahem* Sorry, slipped for a second.
*FYI: When you make comments on specific chapters, like I did, and get replies from the 'home page' of the story, the comments don't show as though there was a response. I thought so for a while, however this confirms it. Learn something new everyday!
4967924 You'll fine out what's going on eventually. All I'll say is there's a lot of shame and regret involved.
4967937 Honest critique time (I can practically hear the shuddering of anticipation or is it fear. Yeah, I got the pull to inspire fear, I say with the sarcasm meter going through the roof): You started out good, but ended weakly. The drama of everything going on could have been drawn upon longer (chapter wise) the sad parts, while having potential, felt flat to me. They had no soul to them, it's like having a monotone actor reading Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet.'
) while having literal tons of potential, just didn't deliver as well as I had hoped. It started going down hill at Chapter 4 and, while it did pick up a bit at Chapter 5, just seemed to keep going from there.
You did have the good mysterious aspect going, but the reveal (no spoilers
For overall content (including creativity, which was superb btw, and a few surprisingly good quotes), I give it a 5 out of 10. Nothing personal.
4973841 Admittedly, I've done better stories, and I plan for others to be better. I mostly wanted to explore the idea of facing the consequences for your actions, but didn't do it as perfectly as I wished.
I do still enjoy the visual of Ocean Blue bringing them to his home, not gonna lie.
4976145 Yeah that was pretty good. I won't deny that.
I would normally go deep into each chapter, but the root of it all really stems at Celestia's refusal to state why she's putting the stallion to death. That she would kill the very bearers of harmony over the betrayals. What sides of Celestia we didn't see in the story is what make her previous actions feel unbelievable and just crumbled near the end.
I rather enjoyed the story overall. I think it would have been good for the universe to have stretched out his stay a bit more. Get to know more ponies and in turn affect more lives. Before the timber wolves arrived. And let the readers get to know this pony a bit more. Before his reveals.
And now to be off. Have a like. Not a fav, but it was enjoyable.
5590400 I understand your sentiment. Thanks for the honesty, and glad you enjoyed it.
I'm sorry I put off finishing this for so long. Holy crap, that was a great story! The big reveal where we finally learn what it is he did? Perfectly executed.
5724843 Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it.
5725154 This was a grate all tho sad story but still an amazing story