Chapter 37: Epilogue
Dawn stretched his wings, feeling the joints where they met his shoulders pop as he strained to spread his feathers out as far as he could. He reveled in the warmth of the late afternoon sun as it seeped into them. After a decent training session with Scootaloo, just basking in the sun helped relax his body and muscles. Even the cloud he was lying on felt blissfully warm. He only wished Scootaloo could be there to share it with him. But she seemed to have something she needed to take care of and had left as soon as they finished their training session.
Since Twilight's coronation, everypony had returned to Ponyville. The days had taken on a peaceful, regular pattern. Dawn attended school with his friends, trained with Scootaloo in the morning and afternoon, worked at the tea shop on the weekends, spent the evening with his mother and father. Scootaloo's birthday, then her friends' came and went, Dawn enjoying them thoroughly. Though he maintained his awareness and kept a watch for any sign of danger, there had been no problems from the remnants of the Cult Solar or anypony affiliated with the Noble Court. Even having a new Princess living in Ponyville hadn't changed things much. Aside from sporting a pair of wings, Twilight lived much the same way as she always had, though Arkenstone now lived in the library with her and Spike.
These quiet and peaceful days were a welcome change from the past year of trials Dawn had gone through, to say nothing of the years before it. That year he had spent in the Everfree Forest and the years before, when he'd been on the run, moving from town to town to escape ponies hunting him, all seemed so much like distant dreams. The memories had a strange, unreal quality that unnerved him at times.
It's amazing to think that things have changed so much...that I've changed so much. Dawn smiled at the thought. If things were radically different from how they were before, then he was grateful for the change. He was happy now. Though Scootaloo and the others still bothered him about crusading for his cutie mark, Dawn didn't feel any rush to fill the space on his flank just yet. Such things would come in their own time and he was content to wait until then. Arkenstone had already promised him a full-time position at the teahouse when he graduated from school, though such an occasion was still a couple of years away.
Checking the position of the sun, Dawn decided that, even though it was still early, he might as well head home. Normally, he and Scootaloo would hang out with their friends and fellow Crusaders after school before parting ways for the day. But, for some reason, everypony had had something they needed to do or take care of right away. So he and Scootaloo had skipped straight to their training before she had needed to go off and do something as well.
Even taking his time, Dawn still reached his home fairly early. He took a brief moment to look down on it from above as he circled in for a landing. Already, he could see the shadows of ponies and animals moving through the windows. Strange...it looks like there's more than just Mom and Dad. Are we having company over for dinner?
Looking at the house next door, where the griffon mercenaries who had previously been Fluttershy's bodyguards lived, he noted that the windows were dark and there was no sign of anything going on in there. Skan and Zhan might not have been employed to protect Fluttershy any longer (now that Flash Spark was no longer an issue), but they had settled in Ponyville, explaining that they planned on starting a family of their own, even signing on to the Weather Team. Zhan had recovered well from the injuries she'd received during her fight with Flash Spark. However, the arm that had been injured in that battle would be stiff and unresponsive for the rest of her life, not that she would allow it to slow her down all that much. That there were no signs of activity in their home wasn't an ominous omen of any kind, but it did strike Dawn as odd.
Landing in front of the door to the cottage, Dawn perked up his ears, listening for what was going on inside. The sounds coming through the door seemed quieter than they should have been, as though the ponies behind it were doing their best to avoid making any noise. Relaxing and calming his mind, Dawn allowed his awareness to seep out through the air around him, spreading and moving through the cracks around the door, letting him get a feel for what was going on inside the house. To his surprise, he sensed several ponies on the other side of the door. Once upon a time, the realization would have alarmed him and Dawn's first thought would have been to expect an attack. However, he realized that the sensations of these ponies were familiar to him. His friends were in there, as well as Fluttershy, Caramel, along with other ponies from all over town. He hadn't thought the cottage had room for so many ponies.
Curious as to why so many ponies were visiting, Dawn pushed open the door.
"SURPRISE!!!" shouted several voices at once, the sensation washing over him like a tangible force. Again, the past Dawn might have retreated several meters to assess the situation and prepare for an attack. But Dawn, as he was now, had already sensed a complete absence of hostility and the only force the collective shout carried was the weight of the overwhelming enthusiasm of the ponies doing the shouting. He could see them now, assembled in the living room so that all of them had a clear view of the door, all of them with happy grins on their faces.
Something fluttering caught Dawn's eye and he looked up to see a banner strung along the wall above them. His eyes widened as he read out the message spelled out in letters, painted the same turquoise as his eyes.
"Happy birthday, Dawn!" shouted Scootaloo as she bounded forward to hug him tightly. Dawn was too floored to return the embrace, staring blankly up at the banner.
"But..." he said quietly, looking from one pony to another, "...it's not my birthday. At least...I don't think it is. I don't know when it is."
"That's okay," squealed Pinkie as she bounced over to them, an ear-to-ear grin on her face, "Just because you don't know when your birthday is doesn't mean you can't have one. Everypony needs a birthday because that's when we all get to tell you how happy we are that you're here."
"Pinkie's right," said Fluttershy, also walking up. Scootaloo still hadn't let go of Dawn, but she did shift over a little to give Fluttershy enough room to hug him as well. Leaning down, she spoke softly into Dawn's ear. "I always tell you I love you, but I want a special day to show you just how important you are to everypony, just how glad we all are that you were born into this world. This is a special day for us and you."
For a moment, Dawn said nothing. Then, finally, he tilted his head so that he could return Fluttershy's tender nuzzle. "Thank you," he said, "I really am glad that I was born, that I got to meet all of you."
Fluttershy kissed Dawn's cheek and he turned to look at Scootaloo just in time to catch the filly's kiss on his lips. Dawn flinched in surprise, then simply leaned into the kiss and returned it as best he could Finally, Scootaloo let go and backed up. Dawn's eyes swept across his assembled friends. Aside from Fluttershy, Caramel and Pinkie Pie; Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, and Twilight Sparkle were all there. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Spike, and Rumble were there too, along with Rumble's family. Red River and Storm Front stood off to one side, along with Skan and Zhan. Arkenstone pressed himself up against Twilight as his muzzle pointed vaguely in Dawn's direction. Ditzy and Dinky stood next to Big Macintosh, who was wearing one of the largest smiles that Dawn had ever seen on the red stallion's normally impassive face. Lyra and Bon Bon were there, wearing identical grins. Ms. Cheerilee, was there too. Suddenly, Dawn had an idea as to why she hadn't assigned any homework tonight, even though it was a school night.
All of them were looking at Dawn with warm smiles and happy expressions. The entire room seemed filled with their affection.
"Do you know what today is?" asked Fluttershy, looking down expectantly at her son.
Dawn's ears flicked as he rolled his eyes upward, searching for an answer. "...Wednesday?"
A wave of giggles and chortles washed around the room, his mother joining in freely. "Actually, I meant something else," she said, "It's been a full year to the day since we first met back in the forest. Do you remember?"
"I do," said Dawn, his eyes widening.
"I'll never forget that day for as long as I live," said Fluttershy, pulling Dawn close and hugging him against her, "That was the day we first met, the first time I ever laid eyes on you. We might not know your actual birthday; but, for me, that was the day that you were born to me. So I decided, if you're going to have a birthday, it would be today."
"Thank you," said Dawn again, tears leaking out of his eyes, "Thank you so much. I love you, Mom."
"I love you too," said Fluttershy, wrapping Dawn in the cocoon of her wings, "Happy birthday."
As mother and son cuddled together, the surrounding ponies broke into raucous cheers.
The party lasted well into the evening. After Dawn's arrival, Pinkie and Fluttershy brought out blankets and set up for dinner in the yard outside the house. Caramel, with some help, produced a hefty dinner to feed everypony. Naturally, Pinkie Pie brought the birthday cake, of which, Dawn had a small piece. The sun was down and the moon well into the sky by the time Scootaloo and Melon, the last guests to leave, headed for home. Dawn helped Fluttershy and Caramel to fold the blankets and bring in the dishes for washing. Fortunately, they had the foresight to use paper plates for most of the food, so there was minimal washing that needed to be done. Dawn helped with what he could and was stifling yawns by the time they finished.
Despite the relatively late hour, his eyes seemed to want to stay open. So he instead curled up on the couch between Fluttershy and Caramel, content to snuggle with them until he finally fell asleep.
"Did you have fun?" asked Fluttershy as she wrapped a wing around him and drew the colt tight against her side.
"I did," said Dawn, giving her a small, but genuine smile.
"It sounds like you enjoyed all the presents," Caramel pointed out.
Dawn had received presents from almost everypony. Many of them were small things, things that he appreciated all the same. Arkenstone, working with Twilight and Spike, had created a new blend of tea for him. Coco and Rarity had collaborated to produce a scarf and sweater that Dawn could wear during the fall and winter months. Bon Bon and Caramel had worked to invent new candies that Dawn could enjoy without feeling too woozy. Scootaloo had given Dawn another picture to put up in his room, a picture of the two of them standing together during Twilight's coronation, both proudly wearing the medals that Princess Celestia had bestowed on them.
Strangely, though Dawn had only really noticed it in a peripheral sense, the one pony he had not received a present from was the one currently cuddling against his side. He didn't really feel that he needed any kind of present from his mother. Her words affirming their affection for one another and explaining the reason she had picked this day as his birthday had seemed like more than enough of a present for him.
"Dawn," said Fluttershy, almost as though she'd read his thoughts, "I haven't given you my present yet."
"I don't need one," said Dawn, resting his head on her forelegs.
"I know," she said, "But it's a very special present, one that I've been wanting to tell you about for a while now."
"What is it?" asked Dawn, blinking and looking up at her. Her choice of words confused him a little.
"Well...I hope you'll see it as a present," said Fluttershy, her cheeks turning pink, "I think you will."
Dawn remained silent, waiting for Fluttershy to explain. She blushed a little bit harder and seemed to dither for a moment before finally speaking.
"Dawn...?"
"Yes?"
"How do you feel about being a big brother?"
To Be Concluded...
We really are spoiled with these updates.
I am giving myself 24 hours to digest before I read the whole thing over again.
...and then I might read the whole series again. So many delightful pony words!
This story has been a hell of a ride, man. Thank you so much for sharing it with us
so i came into this chapter fully expecting it to be the last we'd ever see of Dawn, and while i'm glad that we'll get one more story, i just wanted to say that this is by far my favorite series on Fimfic, and one of the best stories i've ever read, easily rivaling many well-known authors in character development, plot progression, and pacing. Each time a new story came out, it made my month because i knew i'd get to read more of it every day (or nearly so). so thanks for sticking with it and writing this wonderful story.
I'm guessing Dawn's cutie mark will be in teaching martial arts. Throughout the series, the times he most felt proud or accomplished were when Scootaloo advanced in her training. If not that I'm guessing it will be something about protecting others.
Well, I'm kinda sad that this awesome series is coming to a close. Still, great job on the whole thing, moguera. It held my attention and interest the whole time, and that's an accomplishment, let me tell ya.,
Ive commented less and less as the series went on, not because the quality dropped, but because i did not want to be overly repetitive. Either way, the series is a masterpiece, and the story wrapped up perfectly. I am looking forward to the epilogue story.
Fan-fuckin-tastic as per the usual
*immediately adds to favorite stories section of user page, where it joins the other eight *
we still don't have a complete explanation for the eyes of the nightmare, are they dragon eyes? changeling? Don't leave us hanging
6880221 hey, just cause the series is ending dosent mean this universe is. He could deside we may like to see how dawns life become after the series is over? *hint* *hint*
Are we going to see Discord reformed like in the show? He appeared briefly, so it would be odd to for that to not lead anywhere. Oh wait, if you do plan on doing it, you wouldn't be able to say so either way, would you? Spoilers and whatnot.
This has been one wild ride. I've read the stories from the very beginning (though I think I discovered them a little after you had published one or two of them), and they're some of the best writing I've seen in the community.
I don't know what your future plans are, but I for one sincerely hope you will continue the series into future stories and adventures. I'm grown so very fond of your original characters; they're like friends now. That's something good cartoons do, but to find it in a fan fic is really something special.
Thank you for everything.
And another great story done. This has to be my all time favorite series on this site. And it sounds like the next one is going to be a nice, wrap-up style, slice of life end for it all. I almost wish this was a printed series as I would buy each and every copy. Anyways, can't wait for the next one!
>calc.exe
>add up all the wordcounts
>1,475,323 words total
i.imgur.com/7lZwLKc.jpg
Bravo sir, Bravo. This series is easily one of the best I have ever read. I can't wait for the final story and the few threads I hope to see resolved are: the other ponies with nightmare eyes finally making an appearance and what happens to the captured cultists, especially Uncle Blenheim, who was essentially brainwashed. I wonder if they figure that out or if he winds up doing time in prison.
Great ending!
Looking forward to seeing more!
Happy Birthday!
And has it really been a year?
i think we all can say cdn.meme.am/instances/500x/52925043.jpg
great job
I your got one major thread in the notes Mogera. And that is the Eyes of Nightamre themselves. They haven't been fully explained nor why Dawn's is so much like Nightmare Moon's.
Drop the comma.
I wonder... is the Eyes of Nightmare hereditary? Did Luna have a foal somewhere down the line, and not tell anypony?
I'm just going to say, Dawn would be the coolest older brother to have ever.
Also, fun fact: Savage Skies is now at 1.47 million words
6880291
I, for one, would love a series of one-chapter shorts, perhaps gathered in one story, of tales of the Celestial Knights. One for each, something like the one chapter about Spitfire and the Wonderbolts we got earlier in the series. We never got to see half of them in a fight.
Much has been said and done, and I'll be dammed, if I wasn't this whole last chapter.
Not going to play the repeater so I'll leave the details of why this has possibly become one of the most epic reads on the net to the others
I have now read just this chapter 3 times and after really thinking about how I wanted to comment this is story.
I was going to make some long winded sappy post and I even started it only to delete it and start over a few times.
the Savage Skies series
the hole series is just amassing, just (one of the many) things I love is the attention to detail as that is the cement that holds a story to gather.
to be honest I can see this hole series coming out in print vary Easley yes it is that good.
as to Dawn's cutie mark I have 3 ideas that would fit perfectly but I will keep them to my self.
ok I am stopping here with a simple vid post that I think speaks for most everypony here.
this, the Savage Skies series is awesome and deserves a standing ovation.
6880847 is the Eyes of Nightmare hereditary
this is a vary interesting idea I see a possible story in this simple question.
I wondered when they'd come into the picture. Seems even more likely now that Dawn is recognized by the crown to quite the extent.
6880289 I thought they already figured that out. Now how they came to be, but an explination anyways. It's a very rare gene, that is very hard to find because activating it requires feeling a very strong emotion. Because of this, some ponies could have this gene but no one would know, not even themselves, because through out their entire lives, they never feel that strong emotion that triggers it.
Because of that, it was very very rare to see, and the only person in history to be recorded having those kinda eyes and becoming famous, is Luna. Cults latch onto it being evil because while as Nightmare Moon, those eyes were always there and made her very unique, and because of this and it being very rare and hardly ever seen before that point, ponies believed it originated from NMM. But it didn't.
Dawn tho, is a very special case. For it seems that his eyes aren't linked to an emotion. So they are defaulted to 'on' and can not be turned off.
I remember this being a plot point a few stories ago, to try and educate ponies and show the Cult of Solar they were wrong and lying. Twilight did the study, and if I remember right it's why Flaxseed was introduced. Twilight needed more than just Dawn and Luna, so found Flaxseed and invited him to Ponyville.
Such a fantastic story!!! I can't wait to see how it all ends!
Somethings off, you wouldn't devote a whole story to an epilogue. I have a feeling the battle isnt quite over yet...
6881169
Actually there were a few ponies with it that Derpy sent letters to [it allowed the introduction of Dinks into the story as well as Derpy and Big Mac as an item]. But so far only Flaxseed has arrived, although Flaxseed hasn't let Twilight do her experiments on him yet to see his baseline. Nor have the other ponies come to be studied to give more information on the eyes ... I think that is the only case of What Happened to the Mouse? trope this fic has as of now.
6881033
Well he did say that Perlin's Redemption Arc is a whole story unto itself. And the other Knights / ponies while not being covered in the next fic will happen peripherally, so perhaps they'll get their own stories as well. I mean this series has made so many arcs, and potential side stories that by the time it ends, ends. I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up being 5 million words.
Of course I would then hope that Moguera makes the series and side series into a printable book so I can buy it off of him ^_^.
THAT CLIFFHANGER!!!! Also im sure i probably missed it but im curious as to the fate of Perlin too. anyway ive had a wonderful time reading this series and I cant wait for the next story.
6881386
The series is longer than the Harry Potter series at this point, actually. You wouldn't be buying A book, you'd be buying a whole crate.
6881329
With a series this long, an epilogue-story isn't too out of place. And there is a wedding to go, now. And of course, who knows if Dawn's parents mightn't show up. But the greater story arch, the main conflict is over. The cult is broken, the noble court is either locked up or fertilizer, and Wight Shade/Morning Star is, uh, dissolved, I guess?
And of course, this is Dawn. The battle's never going to be over. Because when it is, he'll seek out new battles. Such is life.
At about one and a half million words this series is probably my all-time favorite on fimfiction! Thank you for sharing it with us!
A rising sun with a pair of wings. Wouldn't that be a slap to the face for the remaining cultists.
6881580 Whaaat?
Wow, it's true. And we aren't done yet!
I would still love these books in hard copies. I looked in to book binding, it's not easy to do yourself, nor is in cheep.
6881580
That's true. But I'd still buy the crate. It'd be worth every cent.
6881725
That's true they aren't all that cheap. Still if this was in a Kickstarter type deal. It'd be totally amazing, and would definitely help with making these into a book format. And with the earlier works having hit over a thousand likes, and with him having over a thousand followers I'm sure it'd definitely make up the money to cover it. Hopefully.
6881725
I know there's these self-contained book-binding machines that you just toss a PDF into and it binds them into soft-cover. They're at some libraries in the states, I believe. Sadly, none of them in my country, as far as I know.
6881782 Anzel from Quill and blade did it, I'm sure we could ask for advice and get something together. I'd definitely be interested in it. Their word count on the book (Memoirs of a Royal Guard) was 148,206, and their cost per book (with 55 ish orders right now) is $40 per hardcover copy.
We would need Moguera's blessing of course, and probably a through proofreading party.
6881787 I did a quick google search, they seem to be for the plastic bound "books" though I think they are more for manuals and information guides. I'd rather try and find a service that does more book sized bindings than the A4 paper size.
6881851
These things
the-digital-reader.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/6256317164_b132e2154c1.jpg
Heard about it from this guy.
6881941 Sweet Celestia they have one in my (and if my
stalkinghunch is correct, moguera's) city!That is something to look into.
6881842
I'd definitely be happy to be part of the pre-reader party. Although with the awesome group of readers we have. We probably have all if not all of the errors pointed out in the comment section. All we'd need to do is find if those are still there, and fix them up before sending them to get published.
But yeah lots of webcomic series make book version of their stuff. But yeah we can hope that he does that one of these days.
6881725
Hell, you guys should see the Blooming Moon/99 worlds saga. link to author
Its 10 stories long and clocks in at 4,441,432 words all together.
6881580
I still think something is up, Wight was WAY to indifferent about dieing along side his life's work.
6884999
Well, "indifferent" pretty much sums up his attitude towards everything. Pony had brain issues (and that's before he replaced it with dark matter).
And yeah, I've seen that series. And downloaded all ten books to my phone. Now I just need a month free, at some point :Þ
6881619
That would be amazingly appropriate
This story and this series as a whole has been amazing. There are so many reasons why this series is brilliant and the question of where to start may never see an answer. However, I shall try my best.
First off the characters.
In this series you have gone to the effort of creating a ton of original OC's.
From Dawn, to the Knights, to Morningstar and all the others, all of your characters have been strong and unique. Each and every one with their own personalities and capabilities. Not to mention the effort put into making them all have good story lines was evident.
Secondly the world building
You managed to create an amazing world with your words and introduced many elements that I have not seen in any of the other hundreds of stories I have read. The Arcanite was executed beautifully as were the other forms of magic, both in theory and in the writing.
However I do have a few criticisms for the future.
First off I suggest making the segments for each character last a bit longer, as I read further into the story I felt like I wanted to skip over massive blocks of text to find out what happens to the characters I am the most invested in.
Secondly, well at this point I have no other criticisms though I feel some of my fellow readers might.
All in all this series has been a wonderful ride and I am both sad and excited to see its conclusion. You have truly made a work of art here, and the dedication alone to take it into 6 or so stories is mind blowing.
I would rate this story
4 Hearts and a Spike (4.75/5)
And as a whole I would rate this series
5 Hearts (5/5)
I look forward to seeing your future work, keep up the amazing.
Quite an excellent conclusion. I honestly did not expect Twilight's ascension , but I think it was well deserved and well executed. I am also very glad that my comments early in the story of my faith in Twilight's capabilities were vindicated and that she got to have some awesome moments. Purplesmart has always been a favorite of mine.
A year doesn't really seem like enough time for all this, but then again, a lot can happen in a year. The Wheel of Time epic takes place over the course of only a year and a half or so too.
I know he is a rather despicable character, but I wonder how Scootaloo's father would react to his daughter being awarded the half moon. Maybe it would be nothing, some people never change, but maybe it would be the catalyst to him realizing his mistakes and starting the process of mending fences.
I'm excited to see the conclusion of the series and this phase of Dawn's growth and whatever else comes.
What happened to kombu?
I followed your story from roughly just after the first book finished. I was with the story throughout the whole adventure, it's ups, downs, and whatever non-euclidean geometry there was at the end. I loved it, you are without a doubt, one of the single most talented author's out there, and you managed to show me the vision you had in your mind and put it down into text. Thank you for sharing this.
:D
So, Moguera, I need to tell you that this story was amazing. Thank you so much for writing it! Actually, thank you so much for writing ALL the stories in this series You've done a truly fantastic job. If the publishing/prereading thing that some of your other fans like TheGreatEater and redpandapaw and Spectrumancer are talking about does come to pass, PLEASE count me in! I would love to touch up those minor errors and typos that pop up every so often. The usage of commas in particular often bugged me in this story, although I was able to almost completely ignore that in favor of the wonderful plot. I'd really love to be one of the people to help put that extra polish on the stories, and print copies (even if they'd be really hard to afford, with so many books) would be super cool. In short, I love your stuff. Good luck with writing and with life, and I'll see you when you next release something on fimfiction!
CALLED IT!! Great job on this story dude. Can't wait for the next installment
I have to admit that this series has felt nothing short of legendary. Bravo!