Chapter 34
It was long past sundown by the time Cliff and Fluttershy finished their tale. The two older dragons were a bit uncertain at first, but slowly began to relax as the link allowed them to feel the love, trust, and respect that Fluttershy and their son radiated towards each other.
“Spirit Shield,” Scenic Trail whispered with a smile. “I can't believe we finally found him.” She pulled Fluttershy into a warm embrace. “Thank you so much for taking care of both of my sons.”
Sky Painter watched them with a grin. “You might want to ease up, dear. Cliff probably wouldn't like it if you strangled his fiance.”
“Oh hush.” She pulled back long enough to stick her tongue out at her husband. “I just learned that my son is alive and well, I have an adopted daughter, and very soon I'm going to have a daughter-in-law. I need to hug at least one of my new family members.”
“Does that mean you approve of us, Scenic Trail?” Fluttershy asked hopefully.
“You followed Cliff all over the continent because you wanted to support him. Of course I approve.” She gave the pegasus one last squeeze. “Oh, and call me, 'Mom.' Everydragon else does.”
Cliff let out a breath that he didn't know he'd been holding. It wasn't that he expected his parents to reject Fluttershy or anything, but there had always been that nagging worry.
Meanwhile, the yellow mare pulled Scenic Trail into another hug. “Oh, thank you so much... Mom.”
Apparently overdosing on adorableness wasn't lethal, otherwise Cliff would have died happy. “Dad, record them.”
“With pleasure.” Sky Painter motioned, and the air in front of him seemed to solidify, perfectly capturing the image of Fluttershy and Scenic Trail embracing. He pulled out a small metal sheet from his bags, and the image shrank down to fit onto it. “By the way, Cliff,” he leaned over conspiratorially, “what's it like kissing a pony? Is it furry?”
Cliff didn't justify that with a response.
“Fine. Party pooper.”
Scenic Trail finally released Fluttershy, and moved to embrace Cliff next. “How long do you think it will take us to get to Everfree Village?”
“Well, first we have to find the Emerald Meadow Coven,” Cliff said as he returned the hug. “After that, depending on how many want to come with us, it will take about eight days to reach Redstone and pick up the dragons from the other covens that are waiting there, then eleven more days to lead them all to Dodge Junction. After that, it's just an overnight train ride and a quick walk away.”
“We've waited twenty-seven years to meet Spirit,” Trail said with a sigh. “I suppose another twenty days won't kill us.”
“Actually, we could send him a message right now,” Fluttershy said.
“He'd definitely appreciate it.” Cliff released his mother and dug through his saddlebags until he found a quill, some parchment, and a glowstone. He gave them all to her. “Here. Celestia used some sort of magic on me before we left. It lets me send letters to either her or Spirit just by breathing fire on them.”
“Are you serious?” Trail asked, staring at the quill and parchment dubiously. “Even when you're this far apart?”
“It's Celestia, Mom. Do you really think there's much that she can't do?” Cliff pulled out a letter and gave it to Sky Painter. “Spirit sent us this just yesterday, telling us how the second group we took to Everfree is settling in.”
Sky Painter took the letter and skimmed through it in the glowstone's light. “Who's AJ, and why is she about ready to kill somepony named Angel?”
Fluttershy blushed. “AJ is short for Applejack. She offered to look after my animals when we first left. Angel is my pet bunny. Sometimes he can be a little...”
“Evil,” Cliff finished.
“I'm sure he just misses me. It has been a few months since our last visit.”
Sky looked up at her with a raised eyebrow. “And is it normal for Spirit to pass along death threats from your mother?”
Cliff nodded. “We get those about once per week. She just worries about Fluttershy, and wants to make sure I'm keeping her safe.”
“Sky,” Scenic Trail looked up from the letter she was writing, “set up an illusion to signal Emerald Meadow. They've got to have at least one sentry on lookout.”
The gray dragon groaned. “Can't we just find them in the morning? I was hoping to get a good night's sleep.”
“The sooner we find that coven, and let Cliff and Fluttershy ask for volunteers, the sooner we get to meet Spirit. You can sleep some other time.”
“As you command.” He closed his eyes and focused for a moment. Giant glowing letters flickered to life in the sky above them, spelling out, 'WARNING, OVERBEARING DRAGONESS! SEND HELP!!!'
Scenic Trail rolled her eyes and went back to writing.
-_-_-_-_-_-
Hey guys,
I can't believe you're in Dodge Junction already! Glad to hear your trip was uneventful. Nothing much has happened around here either. It's amazing how much things have calmed down since Celestia passed those anti-libel laws. Denying visitation permits to the worst reporters hasn't hurt either. Yeah, yeah, it's kind of fighting dirty, but in all fairness and maturity, they started it! Besides, what was the point of setting up a new country inside of the Everfree Forest if we weren't going to take advantage of the powers that come with it?
Twilight's holding Friendship Court right now, but I'm sure she'd be honored to officiate at the wedding. Well, after she finishes panicking about it. You know her.
Oh, Fluttershy, we got the response from your parents a few days ago. They say a week from Saturday will be fine, and send their love, along with the usual death threat for Cliff if he lets you get hurt.
No, Mom, Autumn isn't made of crystal. She sends her regards, by the way, and has set aside a bowl of crystallized flowers for you and Dad. It's a good thing so many crystal ponies asked to immigrate, because Pinkie keeps ordering more crystals to bake into party food. It was getting to the point that Autumn couldn't keep up by herself.
Speaking of Pinkie, she says to tell you that she's working on an extra big surprise party for your arrival tomorrow, “So you'd better be surprised!”
I think you're going to like some of the changes that we've put into effect around here since your last visit. The only thing still giving us grief is trying to figure out how to run an economy when nearly half our population is still against the idea of some form of money.
It isn't that big of a problem as long as they stay inside of Everfree Village, where pretty much everything is free, but lots of ponies, and even some of the dragons, like to go shopping in Ponyville's marketplace. Right now we're having them charge purchases to the village itself, but it's only a matter of time before somepony starts abusing that.
At least Everfree's finances are sound. How ironic is it that dragon magic works so much better than unicorn magic for enchanting, when most dragons avoid owning anything? Anyway, we're still exporting glowstones, fashion accessories, etc, as quickly as we can make them. Twilight just put the finishing touches on a new invention. It's a suit of armor that maintains a Scale Armor effect on anypony wearing it. Sure, the willpower in it needs to be recharged every few years, but that's a relatively minor issue. Celestia already commissioned enough for the entire royal guard, along with a bunch of those heat-immunity medallions that everypony in the village wears.
She also started a new project recently. You know how Rainbow Dash's dragon abilities only turn on when she wants them, right? Well, wyrm spellcasting and the berserk transformation are too closely linked for her to remove one without the other, but Twilight thinks she can install a 'switch' similar to what Rainbow has, making it so wyrms can only use spells when they're consciously willing that ability to be active. Put simply, it would be impossible to go berserk unless you're currently using magic. Sure it won't be much use for adults that are always maintaining at least one spell, like Grandma, but we think it should help a lot with hatchlings.
In other good news, we had another berserker scare just this morning. The wyrms nearby were able to restrain him immediately though, and a unicorn cast the memory spell before there were any serious injuries. Those mandatory training exercises have obviously been doing some good.
I've enjoyed being your pen pal too, Cliff, but it's going to be great to finally have you back to stay! I'll see you all tomorrow!
-Spirit Shield
-_-_-_-_-_-
“Alright, everydragon,” Cliff shouted over the crowd. “We're nearly there now. Come this way.”
Sky Painter walked alongside his son, eyeing the ponies nearby nervously.
Just over fifty wyrms followed the pair away from the train station. Most were adults, but quite a few hatchlings either rode on their parents' backs or walked along with the group. At the very back, Fluttershy was making sure nodragon fell behind, as she talked with Scenic Trail.
“As you all know, this is Ponyville. It's where we first experimented with dragons living in Equestria. Unfortunately, inter-species tensions eventually forced us to seek other options. If it weren't for the tireless efforts of my adopted sister, Princess Twilight Sparkle, and our brother, Spirit Shield, the Cultural Exchange Program would have collapsed entirely.”
Several reporters ran up to the group, snapping photos and asking for quotes. Luckily, the dragons had all been warned to expect this, and ignored them.
Cliff activated a voice-amplification spell and continued, “WHEN IT BECAME CLEAR THAT CHOICE WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT ELEMENT FOR PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE, SPIRIT SHIELD CAME UP WITH THE SIMPLE IDEA OF MAKING A NEW TOWN, SPECIFICALLY FOR OUR TWO RACES TO SHARE. THAT WAY, EVERY PONY AND DRAGON THAT MOVED THERE WOULD KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THEY WERE GETTING INTO.”
Cliff continued to talk, explaining everything that went into the founding of Everfree Village, including the extremely long waiting lists for ponies that wanted to immigrate. “PONIES ALL OVER EQUESTRIA ARE WILLING TO LIVE IN PEACE WITH US. THE ONLY PROBLEM IS THAT WE WANT TO KEEP THE RATIO OF DRAGONS TO PONIES ROUGHLY EVEN. NOW THAT YOU'RE ALL HERE, WE CAN EXPECT A STEADY STREAM OF NEW PONIES OVER THE NEXT FEW WEEKS.”
After passing the outskirts of Ponyville, and the still abandoned Dragon House, Cliff directed the group to a well traveled path, leading into the Everfree Forest. “Remember, everydragon, this forest can be dangerous. Stay in the protected zones, like this path, or you might run into timberwolves, or manticores, or the stars only know what else.”
A few minutes later, The Castle of The Two Sisters came into view. It had been fixed up a lot since the last time they were here. Cliff could hardly tell it had once been a ruin at all. A cluster of buildings surrounded it, encompassed by a stone wall. He led them up to the front gate. “Technically, this isn't even a part of Equestria. It's a tributary state. In essence, we obey all of Equestria's laws, but the Council has freedom to add, remove, or modify as needed for our... unique population.”
They passed through the front gate, which was always left open. Twilight had cooked up some kind of magical ward to keep any unwanted creatures out.
“Remember,” Cliff said as they walked through the empty village and up to the castle, “act surprised.” He pushed the door open.
“SURPRISE!!!” Pinkie jumped out of the darkness inside amidst a rain of confetti.
Behind her, over two hundred dragons and ponies cheered and applauded under a banner that read, “Welcome Home!”
Leaving the newcomers to mingle, Cliff and Fluttershy led his parents to where Spirit, Twilight, and the rest of their friends and family waited. The Cutie-mark and Name Crusaders ran to meet them halfway, and Cliff scooped all four of them into his arms for a big hug. Behind them, he noticed a disheveled Applejack standing next to a cage containing an even more disheveled Angel Bunny.
Fluttershy flew to them immediately. “Oh, Applejack, I hope Angel didn't cause you too much trouble.” She took out the white rabbit and tenderly hugged him to her chest.
The farm mare kept her expression carefully neutral. “It was an experience. Tha's all ah'm gonna say about it.”
Cliff winced a little for what she must have gone through, and carefully set the Crusaders down. “Anyway, Mom, Dad, I'd like you to meet Spirit Shield, the best little brother I could have asked for. Spirit, meet Scenic Train and Sky Painter, your-”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Fire Claws cut him off and shoved her younger grandson forward. “Hug your parents already.” She then followed her own advice and wrapped the three of them in her arms.
Cliff and Burning Torch joined them.
“Twilight, Fluttershy,” the older dragoness jerked her head, “get over here. No family members are getting left out.” She turned her gaze to Autumn, and though she didn't say anything, the crystal mare nodded and joined in as well.
The moment would have been perfect if it weren't for Angel hopping out of Fluttershy's arms to kick Cliff's shins. It was pretty good anyway.
-_-_-_-_-_-
“Technically, Twilight is the ruler of Everfree,” Spirit explained as he gave them the tour. “Just like, technically, I'm its ambassador to Equestria, but really, we're just two of the ten members of the Council. Sure, Twi's got the deciding vote in case of a tie, but that's really it.”
“Melding two distinct cultures was always going to be difficult,” Autumn said, “and we wanted to be sure that neither species had more power or representation than the other.”
“At least for the first few years,” Spirit continued.
Autumn nodded. “After that, species won't be a factor at all in determining who fills which seats on the Council.”
Sky Painter leaned over to Cliff and whispered, “Am I the only one getting whiplash from the way she keep finishing his thoughts?”
“That's just something Autumn does,” Fire Eyes replied. It had taken some convincing to get the white dragoness to give living with ponies another try, but Whisper's constant begging had eventually won her over. “You'll get used to it.”
“The nests in the castle can be used by any villager, but for the most part, they're for visitors and newcomers that don't have a house yet.”
“Speaking of which,” Autumn continued, “we have a number of vacant houses at the moment, so most of this group should be able to find one and move in right away.”
“And if they can't,” Spirit took over, “even most of the ponies around here have gotten used to sleeping in a nest with strangers, so nodragon will have to sleep in the castle unless they want to.”
“Quite a few are still wary of owning a house though. The nests in the grand hall are filled almost every night.”
By the time they finished in the castle and moved outside, Sky Painter was holding his head and groaning softly.
-_-_-_-_-_-
Scenic Trail finished writing something and looked up at Twilight. “Okay, what happened on the eighteenth day of their courtship?”
Twilight consulted the journal she shared with the rest of her friends. “Ah, that's the day Spirit and Autumn asked them to go on a double date in Canterlot. He was unsure of pony courtship rituals, and so he came to me for advice...”
“Are you sure you need to be here for this?” Cliff asked. They were in Rarity's second boutique, the smaller one she had set up in Everfree Village, but while the two females were sitting and enjoying a light snack, he was being forced to stand in place while Rarity made some last-minute adjustments to his suit. As though the endless stream of suits he had been trying on all week hadn't been enough. “It sounds like you have all the important details.”
“Yes, but we need you to check the facts on what I have written,” Twilight explained. “Otherwise we might get something wrong.”
It had been a crazy week, that much was for sure. Between Everfree Village's bizarre mix of pony and wyrm culture, getting used to having his parents around again, and planning a wedding, Cliff had barely had a moment to relax.
“You know how important it is to get the historical aspect of my stories correct, Cliff.”
Twilight nodded. “And this is being made for posterity as well. Poor record keeping is why there are so many misconceptions about zebras.”
Cliff decided to stay quiet. He knew better than to argue with either of them when they got like this.
“Now now,” Rarity said as she worked. “There's no need to gang up on him. After all, it is his wedding day tomorrow, and he isn't even having a bachelor party to celebrate.”
“By my own choice,” Cliff reminded them. As soon as he found out what a bachelor party was, he informed everypony that he wouldn't be following that part of pony tradition. The decision was made even easier by the fact that Spirit and his father were to be in charge of planning it. The stars only knew what those two would have cooked up. “If anything, I would have wanted to do the Day of Reflection, like normal wyrms.”
“Hmm, yes.” Rarity marked something on the suit's hems. “Spending the entire day together, talking about the future does seem rather romantic. However, it's a pony tradition not to see the bride on the night before the wedding, let alone sleep next to her, and Autumn and I did put a fair amount of effort into planning the bachelorette party.”
Twilight checked the clock. “Speaking of which, we need to get over to the palace and start setting up.”
Cliff nodded. “Before you leave, would you mind if I asked you something?”
“Of course not.” Twilight closed the journal and put it in her saddlebags. “What is it?”
“I heard Autumn mention something about getting edible clothing to give to Fluttershy tonight. Why would Fluttershy need to eat her own clothes? Is that part of some tradition that nopony has told me about?”
Twilight blushed, and exchanged a long look with Rarity, who was also turning red. “No, it's, uh, something that you and Fluttershy should talk about in private. We really need to get moving, Mom!” She practically ran from the building.
“No clue what that was about,” Scenic Trail commented, “but at least she's finally calling me 'Mom.'” The dragoness put away the last of her notes and climbed to her feet. “I'll see you later tonight, Cliff.”
“Yeah, see you then.” He shook his head as he turned back to Rarity. “What could be so embarrassing about clothes anyway?”
Rarity cleared her throat delicately. “You may understand after you see her wearing my own gift.”
“You mean the wedding dress?” She had refused to let them pay for it.
“No, an outfit with a,” Rarity cleared her throat again, “slightly different function in mind. In any case, we still have two hours until the bachelorette party begins. We should make the most of them.”
Cliff resisted the urge to groan. Another two hours of this? And I still don't know what sort of clothing they're talking about...
-_-_-_-_-_-
It was still dark when Cliff awoke. Like a traditional wyrm wedding, the ceremony was to be performed at dawn. He gently shook his friends and family awake. Spirit, Twilight, and Autumn had really adapted to wyrm sleeping arrangements during his absence. It was almost a shame that he hadn't been there to see the awkward transition phase.
Getting ready was a blur. Cliff couldn't believe how nervous he was. He wasn't afraid, at least, he didn't think he was, but his heart wouldn't stop racing. After slipping into his suit, a black tuxedo with green flame patterns, the young dragon joined the rest of his family at the door, and they made their way to the castle.
The inside was filled with flowers, ribbons, and balloons. Putting both Rarity and Pinkie Pie in charge of decorations had led to a bizarre mixture of styles that was somehow perfect for the young couple.
Nests ran down both sides of the main hallway. Since they couldn't be moved, they would take the place of normal seats. An altar to the stars had been erected on the small landing at the end of the hall, where Cliff and Fluttershy would say their vows.
“I'm going to forget something!” Twilight moaned, frantically reviewing her flashcards.
Spirit Shield rolled his eyes. “Come on, Twilight. You say a few words, pronounce them mare and wyrm, and that's it.”
“But what if I make a mistake? If I accidentally pronounce them mare and colt instead, then the wedding will only be valid if Cliff is a stallion. I'd have to transform him into a pony!”
“Remember the Stillness, sis.” The dragon patted her back. “We both know that you won't make that mistake, and even if you did, you could just correct yourself, and everything would be fine.”
“I'd actually like to see Cliff as a pony,” Fire Eyes said. After Rarity explained what a 'best mare' was, Cliff had immediately asked his oldest friend to fill the role. “What do you think he'd look best as, pegasus or earth pony?”
“How about an alicorn?” Cliff suggested.
“How about not?” Spirit replied. “I vote earth pony.”
“I say pegasus.” Fire Eyes said.
“So long as Fluttershy likes it, I'll take either.” Cliff excused himself and walked to the altar. Dragons and ponies were already starting to flood in, and they would be starting soon.
Discord waved cordially at the young dragon as he passed. Cliff still had mixed feelings about the draconequus being invited, but he had given them the most astonishing wedding present imaginable by Pinkie promising that he wouldn't pull any pranks or cause any chaos or mayhem.
Fluttershy's parents sat next to him. Her mother, Silver Lining, was giving Discord a look that guaranteed death if he broke that promise.
Celestia and Luna were among the last to arrive. It was a bit surprising that they had found time to come at all, but given that Fluttershy was a national heroine, Cliff couldn't say that he was completely shocked. If the Council hadn't outlawed reporters for the day, it would probably have been a media circus outside.
Once the Immortal Sisters had been seated in their private booth, Twilight gave the signal for them all to get into position.
Fire Eyes, along with Cliff's parents and grandparents stood behind him as his 'stallion's men,' even though none of them were stallions, and only two were male, while Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Autumn, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie took their places on the opposite side of the room as Fluttershy's bridesmaids.
“Is everypony ready?” Twilight asked.
They all nodded.
“Okay.” She took a deep breath and motioned for Spirit to start playing the organ.
As the music began, the front door of the castle opened, and all four Crusaders pranced up the aisle, tossing flowers as they went.
Walking behind them came the most beautiful creature that Cliff had ever seen. Fluttershy's mane spilled down her neck and shoulders in a style that looked completely natural, until one noticed that it framed her engagement necklace perfectly, and drew attention to her large teal eyes, which shone with tears of joy. A white lily was tucked behind one ear. Her dress was of the same color, with white ribbons woven through her wings. Pink shoes and a matching belt finished the outfit.
Only one word could adequately describe her: angelic.
Cliff had to remind himself to breathe. I can't believe that such an amazing pony would actually want me for her husband. He didn't even care that her demonic pet, Angel, was carrying her train.
Fluttershy drew near, and gave Cliff the most heartwarming smile imaginable.
He couldn't have stopped himself from smiling back if he'd tried. And of course, he didn't try.
Twilight had to wipe away a stray tear. “Fillies and gentlecolts, dragons and dragonesses, we are gathered here to celebrate the union of Fluttershy and Cliff Runner, who showed the world that love really can overcome anything. Not because it can destroy armies, but because it inspires each of us to be the best we possibly can, to reach out to others, to accept each other for who they are. Love is the purest form of friendship, and I can think of nopony who deserves to find it more than these two.”
Using her magic, the alicorn lifted a small emerald, the same one Cliff had once given to Fluttershy to look after. She pressed it against her friend's engagement necklace, and in a flash of light, it replaced the sapphire that had once been there. “I now pronounce you, mare and col- wyrm!” She blushed, and a light chuckle went through the audience. “Y-you may kiss the bride.”
Their lips came together in a tender expression of love. Cliff felt like he could lose himself in that one perfect moment. He gently stroked his claws across the soft fur of her cheek, and broke off the kiss so he could nuzzle his forehead against hers. “I love you so much, Fluttershy.”
“I love you too, Cliff Runner,” she whispered back.
-_-_-_-_-_-
The celebratory breakfast in the courtyard was everything a newlywed couple could hope for. No pony or dragon was surprised by this. Pinkie had been placed in charge. Food was everywhere, including a variety of meats. This might have caused problems once, but the residents of Everfree Village had long since accepted that dragons were omnivores and ponies weren't. Games for both the young and old were scattered around the area. A Canterlot string quartet played alongside a choir of dragons. Everywhere, dragons and ponies were celebrating, not just the union of Cliff and Fluttershy, but the union of their two races.
After hugging and being congratulated by nearly the entire village, the newlyweds were finally able to get their food and take a seat with the rest of their friends and family.
Spirit leaned over and patted his brother's back. “Congrats, bro. Is it weird to be married?”
Cliff looked at Fluttershy, who was talking with Rarity, but smiled when she saw him looking. He smiled back. “No, it's the most amazing feeling under the stars.” He nudged the younger dragon playfully. “Why don't you just propose to Autumn already so you can see for yourself?”
“Give me time. Aren't you the one who told me that dragons should get used to thinking in the long term?”
“Yeah, I suppose I did. Well then, what's the long term for all of this?” He gestured around them.
“Work out the kinks in the Everfree Village, then build another one like it next to Canterlot,” Spirit said without hesitation. “From there, spread them all across Equestria. Give it another century, and we won't even have to keep them separate anymore. Dragon-pony coexistence will just be the way things are.”
“Your name suits you.” Cliff smiled.
'Spirit Shield' could mean, 'One Who Protects the Hearts of Others,' or, 'One Who Calms the Raging Beast.' Given what Spirit was doing with his life, however, the best interpretation was probably, 'One Who Guides Others Towards Greatness,' and Spirit wasn't just guiding anydragon, he was guiding two whole species.
“Thanks, Cliff.” The younger dragon frowned for a moment. “I still think it's weird that I can't think of 'Spike' as my name at all anymore.”
“Your whole sense of identity gets tied to your true name when you earn it,” Cliff said with a shrug. “Of course nothing else seems to fit you after that.”
Spirit nodded thoughtfully. “You know, you never did tell me what your name means.”
Cliff leaned over to his new wife, and caught her in a firm hug, planting a few kisses on the back of her neck.
She giggled cutely and returned the embrace, kissing him once on the lips before returning to her conversation with Rarity.
“One Who Embraces the Future,” Cliff said, and motioned towards Fluttershy. “I just had to figure out which future to embrace.”
The End
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Holy shit. You are one of the greatest writers on this site, and that's all I can really think to say.
Great story. I loved it. I hope there may be a sequel, about Spike and Autumn. I say this was a story has made my Top ten list. Thanks for writing this story.
It was a long, wild read and man it was beyond worth it. This thing had more twists and turns that I can count. The drama got more than a little thick from time to time but it is nice to see a happy ending with a great future just beyond the horizen. I hope to see more stories from you soon.
sequel? i know that they had many problems in this story, but i can't help but want to see how they would deal with an organization hell-bent on ruining the whole coexistence thing by any means necessary.
Great wnding to a great story! I'm very pleased with how everything turned around in the end.
You had to end it onchapter 34, didn't you.
Also, I can just imagine a side shot where Cliff is still confused by edible clothing during coitus to the point of frustrating fluttershy out of sex.
Noooooooooo!
at least its a happy ending
just noticed though, how could Twilight be the deciding vote on the council if there is an even number of members?
4761029
If five council members are for something, and five are against it, whichever side has Twilight, wins.
4761019
Yeah, I guess rule 34 really does have no exceptions, even in a story with no clop.
4761015
I've got a couple ideas for a sequel, but nothing that has grabbed me by the throat and demanded that I write it.
4761042 in the story, it says that Spirit and Twilight are two of ten council members. an error, perhaps?
I really hope there will be a Sequel with Cliff and Flutershy's first child.
4761062
There are five ponies on the Council, including Twilight, and five dragons, including Spirit, for a total of ten. You might say Twilight's vote counts as 1.5 regular ones.
It was a beautiful ending! Have plans for a followup to this story?
Very good story!
It would be cool if you or someone did little one shots of pony/dragons stories of things that happened/or going on in the village, it could be fun.
Also where's Zecora in all this, she lives in the Everfree after all? I know it would not be with the village, but still.
Way to finish strong! Didn't find a single error amongst the chapter!
And the chapter was nice too! It's just sad to see it end.
Well, that was awesome
Idea for a sequel: We didn't get to see that much of Spirit getting to meet his parents, so get them some bonding!
All good stories must come to an end...
I hope there is a sequel or something. If not, at least we get a nice lil' ending for this story.
just started this story three days ago and it ends today. meh.
Over all a great story. The ending was quite fitting. I'd give you another thumbs up if I could so I'll give you this instead.
4761015 Well if he decides to bring the templars in Fire Eyes can always join the brotherhood
There is one word to describe the story...EPIC.
im surprised that Spike couldnt find a balance between both his pony and dragon names. Spike Spiritshield could have worked perfectly...
Great story man. A bumpy ride of emotions. You get
/ 5 Mustaches from me.
Side note( Yo, what happened to zecora?)
That furry joke made me laugh more than it should have. Also, Cliff is about to have a saucy night.
I loved this story and while I would like to read a sequel, only do it if you are 100% that's what you want.
Buuuut, here are my 2 cents on possible plots for one:
1)Cliff actually gets Fluttershy pregnant with an hybrid (a Kirin, I believe) and now they have to learn about this new species without turning the child into a lab rat or a media circus.
2)the return of the dragons from the episode Dragon quest (Garble, Fizzle, Spear, etc.) who wopn't like the idea of wyrms and ponies living together, which will get support form a few pony narrow minded idiots (it could even be used at the end a moral about how ironic dragons and ponies can get along to work together to prevent drgaons and ponies form working together)
4761412 why not both?
4761430 Well, the author may like both, just one or none. These are nothing but sugestions.
This story is one of the best I have read. GOOD JOB!
What about Autumn and Spirit Shield? Would Autumn accept a longer lifespan to stay with Spirit? And if she did, would she want him to become a pony, herself to become a dragon, or they both stay the same? And what of the CMC? How will they turn out with this new lifestyle around them?
4761015 Personally I think that would be an awesome sequel. There are always those that are so afraid of change that they would literally do anything to either keep things the way they are or change them back to the way they were. So yeah I like that idea a lot and it could lead to who knows how many different challenges for them to overcome. After all no one can truly predict the future for it is always changing.
Epic story by the way loved it.
4761479
I wanted to leave some things open to the reader's imagination. My personal wants go that Autumn gets her life extended, the CMC start spending all of their time in Everfree Village, where they eventually get cutie-marks in various dragon-related things, and Twilight eventually cooks up a safe way for dragons and ponies to crossbreed.
I'm sad that it's over, but I hope to see more stories in this world, from you or other authors.
Scenic Trail and Sky Painter are interesting characters. Scenic acts as the basic, kindhearted mother figure and Sky acts as the comedic father figure. It seems my theory on where Spirit got his brand of humor from last chapter was completely correct. I did notice one small inconsistency in your writing here. It's a complete nitpick, but I thought I should say it anyway. It seems you skipped using the formula you applied while creating Fluttershy's parents when writing these two. I suppose there's always one group that doesn't fit the mold.
The explanation of how Applejack was appointed as the temporary caretaker of Fluttershy's animals makes a lot of sense. When considering the traits of her five closest friends, Applejack is the only one who has experience in handling a long list of demands due to her life at Sweet Apple Acres. Twilight is already busy handling her job as a princess, Rarity despises filth of any kind, Rainbow is too harsh for the more fragile creatures, and Pinkie is a bit too chaotic for the job, leaving Applejack as the only one who's character doesn't prevent her from being effective at the task. Besides, she is the only character who could have pulled off that scene with Angel when Cliff and Fluttershy returned. It was hilarious. Now that I think about it, all of Angel's comedic appearances in this chapter were pure gold.
Everfree Village is a creative answer to the problem at hand. Having a small country of sorts set up and filled with volunteers covers two of the major issues the original program had. First of all, anyone entering the village knows what to expect and is prepared to live with the opposing species. Second, the ability to make laws more freely allows more options for dealing with reporters who decide they want a big paycheck regardless of what damage it causes. The mandatory classes to spread the memory spell prevent (or at least minimize the damage of) berserker attacks, solving the biggest issue the dragons bring to the table. As a whole, this village is a much better step in uniting the two cultures than simply throwing dragons into a pony village and hoping for the best.
That wedding scene was all kinds of heartwarming. As I've said many times before, I know nothing about deep romance, but this scene sets it up as something absolutely beautiful in its purest forms. The part of my brain that allows me to feel such things as romance is still practically dead, but I can still feel happy for this couple. Gentleman, deploy the celebratory fireworks! Spirit and Sky, deploy your hilarious brand of humor! Fluttershy and Cliff, commence snuggles! We'll leave you before you decide to tell Cliff what the edible clothing is for, assuming no one gets the idea to write a clopfic based on that moment. If they do, I'll just silently hope it wasn't me who gave them the idea. That's exactly what's going to happen, isn't it?
I have a few ideas for possible sequels. None of them have gotten past the basic concept stage yet, but maybe they're worth thinking about. The first is one that a flood of people have already recommended, a story based on the six months you skipped for the sake of keeping the pacing in this story consistent. The second is a story based on someone with a lot of political power trying to tear apart the two species for either monetary gain or twisted morals (kind of like the judge from Disney's Humpback of Notre Dame. I'd say his name here, but I'm afraid I'd mess up the spelling to a borderline offensive level.) The third is a sad/tragedy story based on Cliff trying to help Fluttershy move on from the death of Angel. The last one would be best suited for a one shot, but it's still an idea.
In short, I loved this chapter! It tied up the last few loose ends while still leaving plenty of room for a sequel or side story if you decide to go for it. I just wish we had more time to get to know Scenic and Sky. The Exchange Program has returned with a vengeance, the wedding went off without a hitch, and the future is looking bright for the newlyweds.
As a whole, this story was incredible. It expanded on concepts only glanced at in the show, introduced a large number of enjoyable and well developed characters, told a believable and varied story, and did it all without feeling like anything got pushed aside too much to advance something else. I love this story, but the fact that I struggled with finding new ways to say that I liked the chapter I was commenting on for the last quarter of it probably gave that much away. It definitely deserves a spot in my top five list of stories on this site (but I haven't sat down to think about where it would be on the list, so don't ask.) I thoroughly enjoyed each and every chapter of this story. If you do end up writing another story in this one's universe, you can expect me to be supplying my usual brand of rambling down here. The same goes for any story you decide to type up for this site. Good luck in your future endeavors. I look forward to your next story.
And like all good things, it comes to an end. It was a hell of a ride getting here, but damn was it good ending.
OK, who wants to help me make a TV Tropes page?
Amazing chapter man please make a sequel the ending strung right at my heart strings.
4761553
I see. I wouldn't mind hearing about those, but I get why you left it open on those topics.
m.c.lnkd.licdn.com/mpr/mpr/p/8/005/05f/16c/0100995.jpg
hope to see a sequel
oooo permission to steal some of your ideas
though my story is no way related to this one...
4761808 Sequel would be nice, but honestly I would rather it be left on this note than something else that could possibly be a train wreck. If some people want more, I wouldn't mind a epilogue pertaining to Fluttershy's gift to Cliff.
I think
SpikeSpirit Shields' name should mean "HE WHOM BEATS THE MEDIA WITH A STICK TO CALM THE RAGING BEAST THAT IS REPORTERS"I'm still confused as to what the edible dress thing if for. What, was Fluttershy's wedding dress embedded with crystals or diamonds or something?
Oooooooooow :'D muy gosh !!!! This fic was really awesomeeeee .
I hope to see sequel plx !!! I want to know if spike will marry autumn toó :') .
Thx for finish this fic !!
Woo! I loved every chapter of this story, pretty much my number one story to read when it updated. Nice ending and I loved how so many ponies were waiting to get into the Everfree Village. Just goes to show that not all of them had their heads up their butts.
4762057
Go ahead. This story was inspired by things I saw on this site, so I'm just happy to pass the creativity along
4761087 ah ok :)
but wait. wouldn't that give her side automatic win, meaning that there will never be a tie?
4761709
I figured that there should be a reason why ponies seem to be the dominant power on this planet. It isn't that wyrms are weak, per se, so much as they're in a world where earth ponies can drag 35,000 pounds behind them (Big Mac, Hearts and Hooves Day), Pegasi can fly at mach 10 (Rainbow Dash, as researched by Death Battle), and unicorns can lift up an entire town and flip it upside down (Twilight, as mentioned in Friends Forever issue #3).
4762145
Yeah, my biggest fear about attempting a sequel is that I would screw it up.
4761666
Thanks for all of your feedback over the last... wow, has it only been two months? Anyway, I really appreciate your thoughts, insights, and brand of humor. If and when I start posting another story, I'll be sure to let you know.
As for Cliff's parents, yeah, I kind of emphasized the mother's similarities to Fire Claws and the father's similarities to Spike/Spirit to the point that you can't see a lot of Cliff in either of them. Let's pretend that he got his bluntness from his mother, and his go-with-the-flow attitude from his father, but I honestly didn't consider that at all when creating them, so that's just a shameless attempt to cover my butt.
Oddly, a lot of the ideas that have occurred to me for a sequel would be adventure stories (a wyrm joins the royal guard just before a war breaks out, Rainbow Dash is 150 years old and decides it's time to retire from being captain of the Wonderbolts and go explore the world with her good friend Fire Eyes, what Cliff and Fluttershy were up to during that 6 month jump, etc).
4762695
Edible lingerie. I've never used it, in spite of being married, but I'm told it's basically underwear made out of fruit rollups, which you're supposed to eat off of your significant other during intimacy. Hence why Twilight was embarrassed.
4763265
Good point. There's probably some technical term for Twilight's position (head of the council, maybe), but I'm not savvy enough on political stuff or governmental structure to know what it is.