• Published 14th Sep 2015
  • 2,805 Views, 147 Comments

The Last Dreams of Pony Island - horizon



The colony of Myinnkyun is tearing itself apart after the suspicious death of an old merchant. Piece together its final days from the dreams of its inhabitants.

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Epilogue: Rosetta

Author's Note:

This chapter is by Skywriter, and was the winner of my contest to write an epilogue explaining the mysteries and contradictions of Myinnkyun's dreams.

This is the story's official ending; its conclusions are canon. If you've only read the original 16 chapters, I hope this offers some closure the original may have lacked.

As such, it contains major spoilers if you want to solve Myinnkyun's mysteries on your own! STOP NOW if you're still piecing together clues, and only read the epilogue once you've finished!

Finally, note that its solution is NOT the only possible answer which is capable of explaining all the facts. If you'd like to read some of the might-have-beens, check out the other contest winners or read all of the entries here. The contest was filled with fantastic, out-of-the-box ideas.

—Horizon





(spoiler space)

Rosetta

My darling Nostalgia,

Coy to the bitter end, I see. This is always the dance
we do (did?)
but we both know you are not to be pitied. You knew
the nature of this dance when it first began
from the band's first notes, when they struck up
"The Colt Who Loved the Inquisitor"
you knew this dance.
I do not know what poor soul will find your missive
while sifting through the ashes of Myinnkyun, or what
she will feel when she does
probably sorrow
that this letter will never find its mark.
She need not fret.
She does not know us.
To you, my love, I say, "Confession received."
I knew all already.
I loved you still.

* * *

The truth is this:
We all burn with needs, my love,
yours no more shameful than anyone's.

—a scout who'd ruin a merchant to prevent a war
—a politician who'd foment rage to win an election
—a dancer who'd conspire with a monster to hide her perfidy
—and a golden kelpie lurking beneath the waves
basking in the rumble of an approaching storm

* * *

Rosetta I am called, for like the fabled translating-stone
I open the doors of language.
I know and understand the lowing of the Mooken
the mad chitter of the Protean
and the seductive keen of the Siren
(a convenient gift, for my occupation;
it is helpful to know the words of the dreams that I see)
but I have also come to know that language is a trivial thing
a fine suit of clothes we wrap our needs in
So we can imagine there are higher and purer motives for them
So we can imagine we are more than beasts who feed

So we can imagine we are a greater thing than, say:

—a Protean insect, nourished by the love of a Mooken bull
(who himself does not yet realize his mate is long dead
slain by the fangs of the very beast he lies with)
who one day decides that while nourished is good
stuffed to bursting is better
and who does not yet know how the betrayal of trust
can turn sweetest love into bitter, unpalatable hate
sending her fleeing through the jungle to the as-yet-untainted well
of Myinnkyun
where she adopts a new face
and tries to pierce him who once pierced her
with a far different spear

So we can imagine we are a greater thing than, say:

—a golden-eyed mare, nourished by the love of a sun-blind scout
who one day decides that while nourished is good
stuffed to bursting is better
and in her eagerness to taste both night and day
forms a pact with the Protean
little realizing how high the price would become
or how deadly are the storms
that rise from the beating of insect wings

So we can imagine we are a greater thing than, say:

—a Siren, nourished by the gentle strife of a quarrelsome village
who one day decides that while nourished is good
stuffed to bursting is better
and who does not yet realize that a roaring bonfire of hate
(while warm at the time)
consumes all
and leaves nothing but cold ash in its passing.
"One death will fan the flames higher," she says
and, taking a cue from her younger blue cousin
(who seeks, improbably, to make harmony with the land-ponies!)
comes to an old, troubled merchant-mare
lured to the docks by the Protean's friendly but stolen face
and with her song makes her want the quiet of the deep, smothering water
more than anything in the world
more than life

So we can imagine we are a greater thing than, say:

—a night-colored princess, nourished by the faint praise of a job well done
who one day decides that while nourished is good
stuffed to bursting is better
and
(you can see where I'm going with this, I think).

* * *

Everfree is in ruins.
Even now the Inquisition turns inward
trying desperately to find the distinction between
those loyal to the Night, and those loyal to its banished Princess.
(It is an impossibly narrow divide.)
I do not fancy they'd like what they'd find
should they turn their gaze on me.
Therefore will I become the smallest of poppies
complete my paperwork with a minimum of fuss
and not remark overmuch on loose ends.
(Shall I ever know how Peridot woke poor Tommyrum in the dead of night
and yet saw sun before the dark took her?
Perhaps not; when all about is chaos, closure is more dear than truth.)
So on the matter of Myinnkyun, I will write:
"Colony destroyed by animal attack."
Because it is true.
Because we are — all of us — attacking animals.
The Protean who fed on love
The Siren who fed on hate
And everyone in between who fed, alternately, on both.
I feel no guilt, because none of it will matter;
all will be ruin before any force can be mustered.
The walls of Myinnkyun torn down, the Mooken decimated,
the two sirens swum away, one fat and gleeful, the other destroyed
and you, my love, lost forever in a literal pipe-dream
regretting such little things.
In a mind so full of burdens, I hesitate to add one more
but I will
because I, too, am a beast with needs.

This is what I ask of you:

Let go.

Let go of all that weighs you down.

Know, at the last, how small it all is.

and once, one time, before the coming of the dark,

dream a little dream of me.

—Rosetta

Comments ( 28 )

So, when are you going to post your intended solution? :duck:

6483979
Oh, hey, guys, I forgot to mention that horizon messaged me the other day and said "LOL ONLY TEH WINNUR GETS TO SEE MAH SOLEWSHUN" and I was all like "Okay, I'm down with keeping this info away from everyone else!" so I totally read it and man it was amazing. Shame none of the rest of you will ever see it.

Always lovely. A deserved win.

6484410
Well, then I have yet another reason to envy you. And I'm okay with that. :raritywink:

6484421
I'll give you a hint: It was like the Zergling entry but with lots more sex. Just tons and tons of sex going on.

6484424 6484421
I see SOMEONE is launching a coup d'etat while I'm off infiltrating the convention. :rainbowwild:

It'll get posted, but I'm going to enjoy the con first. And when it does get posted, it'll go to the Dream A Little Dream Of Me collection.

Alright. I've never been very good at this interpretative stuff, but this story, it really interested me. Even with this epilogue, I'm still not certain I fully understand what happened in this saga. Is the below interpretation anywhere near close to the truth?

Obviously, spoilers if you haven't read the story proper. Uncover the spoilered text below at your own peril.

These poems chart the final days of Myinnkyun, aka "Pony Island, a tropical island colony found by Equestrians during the days of the first Celestial Diarchy - that is, when Celestia and Luna reigned together before Luna fell to corruption and became Nightmare Moon.

In fact, Luna has become Nightmare Moon in living memory, which means that "Nocturnes" - a sect of all three ponies who have transformed to more "nightly" forms, based on the bat-like "Night Guard" pegasi seen drawing Luna's chariot in the Nightmare Night episode in canon - are facing prejudice.

Myinnkyun is riven with dissent due to various factors. Political gambits, sexual affairs, Celestia vs. Luna worship, etc. The guard is underpowered, lazy and corrupt, ponies are suspicious, the whole place is going to hell in a handbasket.

Enter two factors who bring about Myinnkyun's doom: a Protean (Changeling) and two Kelpies (Sirens).

The Protean has been living amongst the local tribe of Mooken (presumably minotaurs), having murdered a cow and stolen that cow's husband for herself. Somehow, her "husband" learned of her deception - my reading of the stanza about it implies she deliberately revealed herself because she had fallen in love with him. Naturally, he didn't take it well, and attacked her. She fled to Myinnkyun and assumed a pony guise to blend in, but her angry "husband" followed. He was surprised by one of the guard and fled, taking one of the guard's spears with him in the process.

Two Kelpies live in the bay. One lives quite contentedly, even falling in reciprocated love with a pony. The other, long hidden from the view of the ponies, tires of feeding on the low-grade spite and strife of the colony, and goes for bigger game. She allies herself with the Protean and they lure a controversial figure to the harbor, where she uses her powers to force her to commit suicide.

Between this murder and the apparent "attack" by the Mooken, it doesn't take much for the malevolent Kelpie to fan the flames of paranoid mistrust and hatred. But she keeps on anyway. The colony tears itself apart, simultaneously declaring war on the Mooken and fighting amongst themselves over who is and isn't to blame.

The end result is that the colonists are massacred. Myinnkyun is left to crumble into decay, and nobody will ever know, or care, what really happened.

6489701
That is exactly my read, except for it was the changeling herself that threw the spear.

Other interpretations obviously exist. This was merely the conclusion Rosetta drew and as such is the "answer" to this piece, which may be a distinct concept from "what really happened."

6489701
Oh, and I thought the changeling didn't reveal herself, she was caught in the act.

Well, I didn't even come close to understanding this, even after reading the epilogue, but it's more than deserving of an upvote regardless.

6489701

Pretty much, although Luna doesn't just become Nightmare Moon in living memory, she becomes Nightmare Moon just a fortnight before Peridot is murdered (the 'Night of No Moon'). No-one at the colony actually knows this; they just hate the Nocturnes because racism. Dawn Patrol finds out from the boats, and turns them around because he fears if the colony hears what happened to Luna the Nocturnes will be slaughtered, including his kind-of girlfriend Littlemoth.

6489701
Nice summary! Between you and 6491285 and 6502063 that's pretty much it.

6497008
Glad you enjoyed it! :twilightsmile:

6502063, 6489701
Right, yes, that too. Sorry.

PresentPerfect
Author Interviewer

The ending still leaves me scratching my head. I can't remember the last time I had to read all the comments on a story that I hadn't written myself. Though after reading 6489701 I think I get it. I'm still not sure who Rosetta is, though. Is she the Nightmare that Night Guard what's-his-name noticed? Did that poor bastard just up and kack it in his sleep? How is that related to anything else?

6540728
Yes, Rosetta is the Nightmare. Not quite sure which "poor bastard" you're referring to?

PresentPerfect
Author Interviewer

6541294
Curse you, Google Translate! D: Still tells me nothin', tho.

6541852
Star Shooty badoody :B

Well, that was a fantastic ending to this. I was a little afraid the "official" ending would completely contradict what I had in mind, but this not only matched up with everything I figured out, but also added a whole bunch of things that I never would've thought of that make the whole thing make a lot more sense (like the changeling and Adagio's involvement). I am more than satisfied with this conclusion. Good job, Skywriter, and thank you, Horizon, for bringing forth this wonderful piece.

6558733
(cc: 6502393)
Glad you enjoyed it! Yeah, I was really happy with the winning ending, too. :twilightsmile: (There were some other amazing contenders as well.) It's great to see that moment when everything comes together and makes sense.

6558733
Thanks! I'm glad the ending didn't disappoint! And yes, many thanks to 6560576 for being way too smart and awesome and such in setting up this little puzzle box. (And in general as well.)

This was quite a ride. I've never seen anything like this done before; it was gripping and mysterious throughout, and trying to solve the mystery along the way was great. Glad to know I figured a few things out, even if some others eluded me.

Excellent job!

6582639
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it. :twilightsmile:

7116376

You made her sound naive as opposed to delightfully dumb as some fics like to portray her. Well done.

7522812 Yeah, it certainly gives a bit more "realism" feel to it. Even though everyone else died, and she got away with "only" a broken heart, I felt that hers was more tragic partly because we already knew her (another big chunk being the horrible misunderstanding :fluttershysad:).

8869217
Eh, I guess I just over looked something that I though was obvious from the front page. That or I already had a inkling of what was going to happen from foolishly reading the Lost Cities chapter of this story before going through this one.

Well, this is embarrassing. I reviewed this in 2019 and found it truly remarkable. Then I completely forgot to come over here and say so, give you your fave, all that jazz. I only discovered this while going through my old reviews just now. Just imagine it's three and a bit years ago, eh? :twilightsheepish:

11503857
It's all good, it's taken me a while to notice myself! :twilightblush:

Thank you for reading it, and for the lovely praise!

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