The Scion of Harmony

by Thornwing

Epilogue

The mild breeze of a late autumn afternoon swept through the streets leading to the footings of the Crystal Castle and the pedestal of the Crystal Heart. I stood with my hooves planted along with my friends, Princesses, and Starswirl, all focusing our magic on the event horizon of the spell holding open the portal to the lost dimension. The signal sent, and the doorway opened, we waited.

The strain on my magic wasn’t nearly as taxing as was the waiting. It had been nearly an hour since we began, and only now did we have something to show for our efforts. The crowd broke into a cheer as the Crystal Queen ventured through the portal.

I waited until the last of her flowing tail passed through before letting the magic collapse back into itself. The gateway sealed, and the promise I had made to myself stood fulfilled.

“Welcome home, Your Majesty,” I said, nearly falling into a bow with my legs wobbling precariously beneath me.

A royal fanfare played. Streamers and confetti rained down from the castle above. Pinkie made sure to go all out for the royal welcome home party.

“It is good to be back,” the Queen said amidst the cheers from her crystal ponies.

The rest of the day was mainly a blur. Another celebration to mark to the return of balance and harmony followed, much like the others. There had been so many celebrations lately that I had almost lost count. I hadn’t forgotten about the Queen, but it had taken a while to prepare for this moment. I was still getting used to my magic and exploring the limits of my new potential.

Not to mention the wedding.

It had only been a week ago that I said goodbye to Seachelle. Following her release from the Guardian’s service, she mustered the courage to ask Buckaneer for his hoof in marriage. I was honored that they asked me to officiate. My heart swelled with joy when I saw them off on their honeymoon, the Flying Dutchmare able to carry them wherever they wanted to go.

She told me they would return soon and often, but I wouldn’t hold her to any promise like that. Seeing her happy for the first time in her life was all I could hope to ask for; the occasional visit would be a welcome bonus. They had the rest of their lives to spend together, a destiny of their own to fulfill. I was glad I could be a part of it, if even for a short while.

She did promise to return the following month, and I wouldn’t object to that. The entire kingdom was invited to attend. I finally found the courage and followed her lead in doing some asking of my own. Although it might be awkward to have seven Mares of Honor, she had definitely earned her place.

The ultimate adventure awaited, and I don’t think I could have been more ready for it. Though it might seem weird, I was actually looking forward to becoming Missus Starswirl the Bearded.

THE END

Author's Note:

So, there you have it. Nearly a year since I started writing, I made it to the end of what is still technically my first story. I never imagined it would take this long or go this far. It's been a fun ride, and I've learned a lot on my journey.

I hope you all enjoyed it as well.

I want to take a minute and thank the fandom. Without the help from a long list of people, I wouldn't have been able to write this. Starting from rejections and harsh critique, I got a swift introduction to the world of fimfiction. Ocalhoun, Sir Truffles, Present Perfect - they were only a few of the many folks that took the time to help me become a better writer. By no means am I anything amazing, but I can say I'm better because I met you. Same goes to everyone involved in the Writeoff Association. Your amazing feedback fuels my creative fire and pushes me to always try and do better.

To the great musicians and artists in the fandom, I don't think I'll ever compare with your amazing talents. BlackGryph0n and Baasik's music inspired a lot of what I wrote, if not directly then indirectly by keeping me in the right mindset to write. Going off the first and last track in in their Immortal album, I want to leave this thought that basically sums up the entire journey of this story for me:

{Faster Than You Know)
A hundred thousand stories have filled my head
As I look for the answers in what I've read
Secretly waiting for my life to change
And with this transformation, something's strange

Now my world is bigger than I know
I'm losing all control
I never thought I'd make it...

Now I know
This world spins faster than you know
And I'd give anything to show what I'm trying for
Just what I'm fighting for, oh...
This world spins faster than you know...

(Another End)
It never felt like a life risk, slight miscalculation of the heart.
Never wrong, never once tried mending what we knew was bound to fall apart.
And I think we know by now
It's time to show somehow
That what we had in the past still lasts and was worth it from the start.

And now it shows
And you can see
That I'll turn back, eventually
And we can just pretend, cause we have something that should never end.
And we both know
That we can be
The one we want
The one we need
And we can just pretend; another story with another end.

Another lifetime
Another photograph
Another memory that leads us down another path.
Another night time
Another life to spend
Another story with another end.

Thank you all for reading. Let me know what you think in the comments. If you want to read more, like, favorite, or follow and I'll do my best not to disappoint.

Comments

[Thornwing]

5286291
So, I got a little carried away and made it go ten plus an epilogue.

5613371 5892689
Guess what? I finished it!

6063536
I been waiting this whole time for someone to make that joke. Thank you, sir!

I hope everyone enjoys the ending.

[VoxelTron]

Wow, I thought that this week couldn't get any better, then I find a mass-upload of chapters. And i've gotta say, you handled the ending spectacuarly well.
The plot has has me hooked from the start. Everypony in character. And this is still one of the finest interpretations of Starswirl i've ever had the pleasure to read. Not yet a Magnum Opus, because I believe you've only just begun your literacy adventure.
This is a standard that you've set for future stories, that I hope will catch me as much as this did.
Ciao. Until we meet again.

[Thornwing]

6072593
I can't tell you how much I am looking forward to reading this. This one is about equal to a good deal longer than the other two put together. Hope you like it.

[Thornwing]

6237806
Try and think of it this way, Twilight is trying to solve the riddle of how and why Starswirl showed up in her bedroom one day. It's not that he's some random stallion she's blindly following — he's literally her idol. She knows practically everything about him, but she can't quite put the pieces together yet of how he came to be present in her day and age. It'll get sorted out in the end. Keep reading.

[Kitcat36]

6237874
I thoroughly enjoyed the ending, but if you ever go edit this story, you should definitely make that clearer. It really ruined a lot of the lead up 9 chapters, and a lot of the interaction with Starswirl, for me That said, the ending was epic and wonderful, even if I'm not keen on the marriage.

[Thornwing]

6239029
It's always a tricky balancing act to say just enough but not tell everything too early.

[Sunlight Blaze]

So we open the epilogue in the Crystal Empire.......for some reason.
Am I forgetting something? I feel like I'm forgetting something....
(The Crystal Queen, remember?)
*DING*........ Duh! Twilight was looking for a way to free her from King Sombra's trap! And now that she has this newfound power, she's DEFINITELY got a way to do it!

As usual with epilogues, this moment takes place several months to a year after the events of the previous chapter. What's all gone down since then? Well....
1. Twilight went on a training montage to hone her new skills and test her limits, all in preparation for releasing the Crystal Queen.
2. Seachelle and Buckaneer got married.
3. Twilight is currently - or working the courage to propose becoming - betrothed to Starswirl the Bearded.
And now, with the Crystal Queen released, we have our connection with the second book.

[Sunlight Blaze]

And that's The Scion of Harmony.
Y'know what, I had a lot of fun reviewing this trilogy of books. The first one was an excellent piece with a few hiccups along the way and a little bit of a rushed ending, but compensated with an excellent boss fight and fulfilling conclusion.
The second book had a wide variety of awesome concepts, but most of the conflicts were resolved too quickly and the ending was noticeably rushed.

This book took all the mistakes the previous ones made, shredded them, and threw them out the window of the Friendship Express before they could get down on paper again.
The pacing was on the money. For a third book in a trilogy, the kick-start was definitely a way to get things going. Each of the conflicts were resolved in a reasonable amount of time for each one, with the possible exception of the final trial which felt like it took just a little too long.

There were several times where I was left with a derpface, I was so confused - particularly in those last few chapters, as you saw - but things were explained well enough in due time. That's something every story should do, and it was done very well here.

And that ending was definitely one worth waiting for. Seriously, the resolution is three and a half chapters long! (reminds me of Metal Gear Solid 4's ending in terms of length and effort to tie up the loose ends.)

Literally, my only complaints are petty complaints about the StarswirlXTwilight shipping, Twilight's new title as Queen, and the future Alicorn Mane Six. None of them hurt the narrative in the slightest, and the thing with Starswirl actually brings the story's introduction full circle with Twilight being first introduced to Starswirl. ANd the Queen Twilight thing, while it doesn't roll off the tongue all that well, does bring a nice closure to Twilight's overall character arc. I guess I'm just sad to see this trilogy finally end.

Speaking of Starswirl the Bearded, this portrayal of him, while different than what I was expecting, is unique and quite entertaining to read. Even if he can be too vague for my brain to take at times.

Anyway, we conclude my reviews of Thornwing's "Harmony" trilogy, as I've come to call it, with an awesome story with a very satisfying conclusion that will resonate with me for a LONG time.

Sunlight Blaze's Official Review:
Story: A (9.7)
Writing: A+ (9.8)
Humor: B+ (8.8)
Moral: A (9.6)
Ending: A+ (Perfect 10)

Overall: A (9.58)

I'm Sunlight Blaze, and I swear you made this to connect with the season two premiere's title! It and every book in this trilogy have the words "Of Harmony" in them!

[Thornwing]

6266673
I greatly appreciate the time you took in going through this whole series and commenting on every chapter. I had a ton of fun reading along as I relived the story along with you. At some point when I'm not incredibly busy with family/work/writeoff/BronyCon/etc... I plan on going over these notes and commenting on individual items.

The complexity of Scion wasn't something I fully planned from the start. It was mainly a two part adventure with Twilight making her way to the trial and then going through each one of them to round out the rest with a small resolution to wrap it up. I had the outline, and I worked to try and integrate pieces from the other books and previous chapters as I went. There are probably a couple of things I dropped hints at early on that never made a connection in the end. As I got going, I realized how big things were getting and had to slow down in order to make sure I wasn't rushing it out. I felt bad about short changing the ending, so I tried my best to make sure that didn't feel chopped.

I am contemplating a spin off series that follows the lives and adventures of the privateer crew. Of all the OC characters I have made, I believe Seachelle is my favorite. A little sarcastic, a whole lot of courage and spirit, but still nothing too over the top - she's an earth pony making her way in a strange world full of magic and monsters.

Aeon was really cool too - something I modeled after the "old sage" trope with influences like Granamyr, the dragon from He Man, or pretty much any old spirit from legend that holds the world together somehow. I may also write an appendix to the story to go over the history of the ancients and how Aeon's role fit into the current situation. The book, the magic, the ancient race themselves all figure into the story in a way, but they get only a partial explanation due to the exposition heavy nature of bringing all that into context here.

Again, that you for taking the time to read and thoroughly comment.

Thank you to all my readers, as well. It makes me happy to know people out there enjoy the things I've written and have taken the time and effort to let me know that.

[Sunlight Blaze]

6283496 Glad you enjoyed the review. Sucks that I haven't done one in a while, but that time in between gave me time to think over my style and improve on it. Glad to see it's payed off in the entertainment department.

You lucky twit, you got to go to BronyCon. I am so jelly!

While the story was complex, it explained itself at I feel to be the right moments; it gave me plenty of time to speculate, and while I was able to guess some of it correctly, I like the surprises you threw in every now and then. And I definitely noticed an improvement to the ending quality when compared to the others - particularly book 2.

Seachelle is definitely my favorite of the OCs introduced in this story. I've always been a fan of those confident, capable, all-around bada characters, and it's nice to find a female for the first time in a while. And I would totally give any spin-off you give her and the crew a read, if only just for pleasure; I may or may not give it an official review.

Aeon was an interesting one to put in. His mannerisms and role in the story definitely remind me of the Chronicler from "The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night." His design, I felt was a little over the top, at least in terms of how many eyes he had (seriously, how many does he even need?). Sure, the giant dragon - I think they called it "Red Death" - in "How To Train Your Dragon" (the first movie) had 6 eyes so as to provide a 360-degree field of vision in battle, but Aeon doesn't seem like the guy to be doing a lot of fighting. But, all around, he's interesting. Makes me wonder just what all he's done to maintain Equestria during the millennia he's been around, and makes me wonder about the other Ancients as well. Perhaps some conflicts that he's had to deal with in the very, VERY distant past?
(And it took me remembering my time in Final Fantasy X to remember that it's pronounced "AY-on", not "EE-on.")

[Sunlight Blaze]

6623071
I have ever since I watched Joshscorcher's review of Return of Harmony.

[Sunlight Blaze]

6623386 I know, right?

[Thornwing]

6865839
Assume nothing, but enjoy the ride!

[guardmaster]

Is there going to be a sequel?

[Legatus]

Another story with another end....

Ironic, and yet heartwarming indeed