Epilogue - What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?
“So, did you have fun?”
A familiar laugh sounded from the other end of the line. :“Yeah, even if I didn’t do too much skiing. Still, Basey had a blast, and no one broke a leg, so I think things went okay.”: His tone shifted as he added, :“Still not sure if it’s a good thing that we didn’t have wi-fi.”:
Sunset smiled reassuringly. “The whole storm around Anon-A-Miss blew past you without you knowing it. Trust me, you’re lucky.”
:“Yeah, but I didn’t enjoy being confused when Cherry gave me that big apology once I got back. Small comfort her being my neighbor.”: She could easily imagine Flash Sentry’s worried look as he asked over the phone, :“Are you sure you’re okay?”:
A sigh. “I will be. But don’t be too hard on the girls once school starts up again, huh?”
:“I’ll try. I mean, I’m glad they all apologized, and I think it’s good that you forgave them, but…”: A pause, and Flash continued, :“If I’ve learned anything in life, it’s that you don’t hurt the ones you love.”: A small laugh, and he added, :“Still, all’s well that ends well, right? Hopefully, tomorrow will see things change for the better. Happy New Year, Sunset.”:
“Same to you, Flash. See you when I see you.” The call ended, and Sunset checked the time and date again; six thirty, New Year’s Eve. And she was spending it alone, just as she had the last two that she’d spent in this world. This year, she’d had the option, but after spending several days with her friends after Christmas, well, a little time to herself would be a good thing.
A gentle knock at her door broke her out of her reverie, and Sunset rose from her chair and swiftly answered it. She looked upon her guests in surprise. “Hello. What are you doing here?”
Principal Celestia smiled. “We didn’t see much sense in letting you bring in the new year alone. May we come in?”
Vice Principal Luna held aloft a bottle and assured her, “We do not come alone.”
The fire-haired girl smiled. “No, you don’t. Come on in.” They entered, and she closed the door behind them as she remarked, “It wouldn’t be smart for me to try and stop you anyway. You both have a key. So, you planning on staying the night?”
“Unless you’ve been renting out those two bedrooms upstairs or want us to get tickets for DUI, yes.”
Sunset laughed. “Well, I was about to start on dinner. Shouldn’t be a problem to make extra.”
-
With a small mass of spaghetti wrapped about her fork, Celestia raised her food to her mouth and ate. She chewed and smiled with approval, then swallowed and noted, “I probably should have taken you up on that offer a while ago, Sunset. This is very good.”
“Thanks, but I still haven’t quite gotten my mother’s recipe down.”
“Are you certain it’s the recipe and not your tastebuds?”
Sunset shook her head at Luna’s suggestion. “Everything else I’ve eaten here and in Equestria tasted the same, which means I either don’t have the recipe right, or my perception’s altered by nostalgia. Still, at least all my attempts so far have been edible.”
“That’s something, at least.” The vice principal set her utensils down and steadied herself as she asked, “Forgive me, I know you’ll be sick of hearing this soon, but are you alright?”
“I am, yes. And I’m really looking forward to putting all of this Anon-A-Miss mess behind me.” She sighed and looked to Celestia as she realized, “But something tells me it won’t be that easy, will it?”
What pleasure from the food faded from her face as the elder of the two sisters addressed her. “You almost took your own life, Sunset. Even if I wasn’t your legal guardian, or didn’t know about your origins, I’d have to do something about that.”
The teen nodded. “I thought so.” She gently pushed her plate forward and explained, “Things haven’t been the best for me since the Fall Formal, but they’re a lot better than they could have been, thanks to the two of you and my friends. You could have tossed me aside and left me to fend for my own, but you didn’t, and I’m grateful for that.”
“However?”
A sigh. “But everything that happened? That just tells me I still have a ways to go.” Some bitterness was clear in her voice as she closed her eyes and continued, “I thought they trusted me. I mean, more than they did. I understand why they acted the way they did, that’s why I forgave them, but still, it hurt the way they acted.” She opened her eyes and eyed her reflection in the silverware. “I still see it sometimes, if I’m not careful. The monster that I turned myself into. It’ll be a long time before they don’t see it, and even longer before I don’t see it either.” Sunset heard Celestia push her chair back, and shortly afterwards felt the older woman’s arms wrapped around her in a gentle hug. “Don’t you think this is a little improper?”
“There’s nothing improper about providing comfort to someone who needs it.”
Sunset looked up to find her principal looking upon her with a smile, not unlike those she’d received from Princess Celestia over the course of her studies. She smiled back and held a hand up to the principals’. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Celestia released her embrace and noted, “Sunset, I think you know as well as anyone that trust is something that takes time to build. As understandable as their mistake was, it was still a mistake on the part of your friends to think you were behind Anon-A-Miss. They won’t forget it anytime soon. That they realized their mistake and came to find you, however, says a great deal.”
“And something else that says a great deal is the fact that you forgave them. You could have just as easily yelled at them or cast them aside, just as they had done to you.” Luna gained a proud smile of her own as she added, “That speaks of much maturity for one your age.”
A shrug. “Well, what good would more anger do? Besides, I could tell they regretted what happened.” A half-smile. “I developed something of a knack for reading others after I arrived here. That hasn’t really left me.”
“Regardless, that doesn’t make us any less proud of you.” Celestia shared a smile with her charge, though it turned sad as she admitted, “However, as much as I want to put the matter behind me, I can’t do it either. Sometime during the first week of the next semester, I want you to talk with a professional about this.”
Sunset looked at her as though she’d just grown a duck’s bill on her face. “Wait, you want me to see a therapist over this? I’m sorry, I know that’s probably policy for something like this, but don’t you think that might be a bad idea?” As Celestia regained her seat, she continued, “I mean, any shrink worth their degree’s going to be able to tell that I’m not being completely truthful about what I’m saying, and if I give them the whole truth, well, they’d think I was really crazy.”
“That depends entirely upon the shrink, doesn’t it?”
Sunset couldn’t help but notice the conspiratorial grin that had been shared between the two sisters, and she laughed and shook her head in defeat. “Alright. The two of you have trusted me since the Fall Formal, and I’ve trusted you. No reason to stop.” She turned to Celestia and noted, “But the less I get of this cryptic mentor stuff, the better. You don’t have to be exactly like your counterpart.”
“And it’s probably just as well that I’m not. Running a school is enough trouble for me, thank you. I’d rather not run a nation.” She turned somber as she noted, “And that’s ignoring all the loss she’s known.” The elder woman looked to Sunset and noted, “Do you know how tempted I was to outright adopt you after the Fall Formal?”
Sunset looked upon her in surprise. “Really? What stopped you?”
“The need to keep you out of anyone’s attention as much as possible, given your counterpart’s existence.” Celestia gestured about her at the apartment and noted, “I thought of this as a good compromise; you’d still have some freedom, and I’d still be able to check on you when needed. But perhaps, if I had…”
“Celestia? It’s alright.” Sunset smiled and assured her, “I’m touched that you’d consider going so far as to take me in and call me your daughter, but I’m okay that you didn’t. It would have been kinda weird anyway, considering I’m a full-grown adult back home. I’m glad for my space, my independence, and for the trust you had in me to look after myself.” A shrug, and she noted, “Cloned phone notwithstanding.”
“Trust but verify, Sunset. But it’s just as well that she didn’t take you in with us, given she would have smothered and spoiled you with affection.” At her sister’s glare, Luna grinned and noted, “What? You would have done it, Celie.”
“Still, you didn’t have to just bring it up so casually.” Luna teasingly stuck her tongue out in reply, and Celestia sighed before turning to Sunset and explaining, “Unlike your Celestia, I never really got a chance to be a mother. No marriages arranged for the sake of political convenience for me, thankfully, but the one time that I thought it would work out, well, it didn’t.” A smile graced her face. “Still, that doesn’t stop me from being proud of the progress you’ve made, and from looking forward to what’s to come.”
Sunset smiled. “Thanks. And thank you, for trusting me with that. I’m sure you would have been a great mother.”
Celestia sighed. “Perhaps.” She shook her head and noted, “Anyway, back to what we were talking about. None of us want a second Anon-A-Miss incident. If you have ideas, I won’t object to listening to them.”
The young teen grinned as she went back to her meal. “As a matter of fact, I did talk a little about that with the girls. They think my ideas are sound. Hopefully, you’ll agree.”
Luna smiled as she went back to her own meal. “We’re all ears, Sunset.”
The three continued to talk over dinner, and Sunset found herself glad not only for the company, but for the continuing chance to move forward. She had love and support, from her friends and her family. It had been shaken, yes, but it would only grow stronger from here. A new year meant a new beginning, and maybe a chance to show that her past was not all there was to her.
And she couldn’t wait for it to start.
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I think Sunset forgave them too easily, i perfer her to get mad maybe yell at them or snap at them.
Or at least tell them sadly she needs time before she can hang out with them again.
The CMC screwed up but they were kids stupid kids but kids, seriously cyber bullying is very terrible thing and in real life has cost lives.
But the girls screwed up more, and I'm glad Maud got mad at Pinkie, wish the scene was written would been awesome.
The point is they royally screwed up and hope they feel guilt over what they done and almost drove Sunset to for a good while.
I gave my opinion of the edits via PM, and the epilogue doesn't change my opinion. In short, there's improvement, but too many issues still remain for me to retract my downvote. The Rainbooms still have their double-standard, they still face no consequences for abandoning Sunset, and the Crusaders still got off too easy (though the last point could be debated).
6814817
6815597
Valid points both, and thanks for your thoughts on the story. I'll keep all of that in mind with future stories.
I seem to have taken up the position of that guy in the comments that points out mistakes that were missed in editing, so lets get that out of the way first.
It seems to me that this would read better as
Though, that could just be me.
I have no idea what that means. Please explain.
And that's it for that. Now for the rest.
I liked this story. I can see why some people may have a problem with it(see above) but I don't have those problems. It seems like a well made story that made the Anon-A-Miss incident more bearable than the original source material. I enjoyed the original version of this fic, but I also enjoyed this version, and must say that this one is superior in some ways. I still liked that song of yours though and wish you were allowed to keep it in. Oh well, c'est la vie.
Overall, I enjoyed this fic and can't wait for the next instalment of the Quiververse.
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6817446
Thanks for spotting the errors. Stuff like this is why I need a proofreader. As for 'trust but verify', Wikipedia is your friend.
And I'm glad that you enjoyed it. As for the next installment, alas, that shall be a while. But I've gotten started on two, so with luck, we'll see something new fairly soon.
this was absolutely beautiful
you did a fantastic job on this wonderful piece of art work.
6820807 Thanks, I'm glad that you enjoyed it.
6990963 In my defense, I wrote this whole thing in a bit of a crunch.
This was a nice story to read.
thank you
7224310 You're very welcome. I hope that you enjoy the follow-up as well.
7344508 Thanks, though some stuff's still lingering. Got a story on the way that will address the remaining issues.
7361353 I'd like to point out that there's more to the story than that. And I'm working on a sequel that will hopefully fix whatever issues people thought this one had.
7361378 I've seen it before, you go in-depth and write it out like it's all bad and Sunset made her final decision until you get to the ending chapters where she turns around, a complete 180 mind you, and forgives them just like that. Despite them turning on her with the flick of a wrist for her it's written like it was just a bad dream and they all live happily ever after.
I hate forgiveness because I keep seeing it time and time and time again.
I'm looking for one where, for once, she DOESN'T forgive them for turning on her and so quickly to boot and, whether or not she stays or goes back to Equestria, moves on and eventually forgets them as they had turned on her.
Forgotten for Betrayal.
Same goes for Twilight and the wedding incident.
7453947
7453949
Some news for you, fella? I wrote this story in a rush. I won't deny that I didn't think it through quite as thoroughly as I could have, nor am I going to call it perfect. Hell, I went back and edited it to try and smooth out some of the issues, as I've clearly stated, though I clearly didn't get them all. But even if I'd considered then what I've thought about now, odds are the story still would have ended in much the same way.
I don't want to write about a world where bitterness holds and where lives are ruined because of pointless animosities. The real world gives me enough of that, thank you very much, and wherever I can, I want to give my characters as happy an ending as possible. If you don't like that, then that's your choice. Lots more folks do seem to like it, however, and I'm thankful for that.
7453947 Try this one if you want to see her cut ties with them [link]. Twilight gets pretty mad too I think.
Okay, she gets more disappointed than mad, but I think you'll like it.
7656234 He's already condemned that one as a "forgiveness" fic. He condemns all Anon-a-Miss fics as such. Just ignore him.
7453949 Someone FINALLY calls them out on that incident and he isn't even on the show? That is just...
7773875 ...um, okay, I think maybe we're veering off-topic a bit here. I'm not saying I haven't tried to acknowledge that particular snafu - I've done so, and have plans for doing so in the future - but I'd kinda like discussion to remain on my story if at all possible.
I know, kinda selfish, but still.
7808214 Remember, a slap to the face is an insult, but a slap to the back of the head is a wake-up call.
7978711 ...not quite what I had in mind when I wrote that, but I guess that sorta works?
8084454 Why others haven't brought it up, I've no clue.
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8084496
Two problems with that. The first is, promises - even Pinkie Promises - are ultimately worthless. An honest person will keep their word, even without a promise, while a dishonest person will break their word if it suits them, regardless of any oaths sworn. And if the promise is broken, what then? It's not like the offended party can actually do anything to the oathbreaker. Even in the one case where we see a Pinkie Promise be broken (by Applejack in The Last Roundup), the only thing Pinkie can do is demand an apology. The only thing on the line for an oathbreaker is trust - which leads to the second problem. Due to the above, no one would believe any promise from someone they don't trust, and none of the others trusted Sunset during the Anon-A-Miss fiasco.
8100493 ...a sad and true point.
8458256
Then I'll read that one next
8663235
Fair enough. You are the writer, after all.
Trixie has just never been a character I've really warmed to. Some of her defenders really get on my nerves with their attitude... I've tried to separate the character from the fans, but it can be hard sometimes.
Indeed!
8663256
Admittedly, I'm not all that crazy about her either, but that doesn't mean I'm going to demonize her either.
8663421
Sure, sure!
8669602
No problem ^_^
Yeah, Integration is pretty good. I've really enjoyed it.
And I'd recommend giving "Myriad Thoughts" a read. It's a really brilliantly done "What If?" on the whole Anon-a-Miss debacle involving Sunset and Applejack. And it's got a pretty good sequel called "Sparks Catch," though it's been a while since that one updated.
8669605
I'll give it a look next chance I get.
8669609
Cool. I hope you find it interesting
This is how the comic should have been. Bravo, good sir.
9200681
Thanks, though I'll be the first to admit this story could've been better. Thankfully, I was able to do a follow-up.
Still, glad that you enjoyed it.
9201591
I'll add it to my favourites.
9202215
Thank you!
9202490
Absolutely no problem.
Coming back to this one almost three years later...after all the grimdark crap that's come in response to the comic since then, this one's looking much better than I saw it as back then in comparison. I still say that things would have just been a surface fix to the fiasco here if A Shimmering New Year hadn't been added, and this is the post-edit version, but even so, it's better than I gave it credit for back then. Though thinking back on it, my becoming a sounding board for you all began with my complaints here, and my defending my position in your blog. If it wasn't for that, I probably wouldn't have ended up as involved with the Quiververse as I am now. And now I can't help but wonder what a world (or at least this tiny corner of it) where that never happened would look like.
Eh, whatever. No point dwelling on it. Point is, in light of the first half of the above paragraph, I'm retracting my downvote. Not quite reversing it to a thumbs up (again, it still really needs A Shimmering New Year to be considered a satisfactory conclusion), but it's still miles better than the dreck that most of these types of stories have devolved into.
9268440
Believe you me, if I'd been a little smarter with this one and not nearly so rushed, it would've been better...though admittedly, A Shimmering New Year probably would've suffered in the bargain.
While I do still think this is the best story of yours I've read so far, it's definitely not by as much as I had been hoping. I mentioned most of the reasons why last chapter.
9503116
Well, thankfully, I do get better.
Always glad to see a finished Anon-a-miss fic. This one was pretty good, and I like how the interactions between the various characters went, mostly. It was a little fast for my taste, but it hit all the right beats. I would have liked to have seen more interaction between Sunset and Celestia, but again, that’s mostly just my own taste talking.
10026127
Believe me, had I been thinking this story through back when I was first working on it, there probably would have been more interaction between Sunset and Principal Celestia, and a very different story altogether. That said, I'm glad that you enjoyed it, and if you feel like seeing the immediate aftermath for this one, feel free to check out A Shimmering New Year.
10753305
he was just sitting in the movie theater with one of his buddies and he happened to have watched the Taco Bell commercial from 1998 way too many times so when he was watching Godzilla he piped up in the movie theater "here lizard lizard lizard" and then started saying louder "here lizard lizard lizard" then looks up at Godzilla "uh-oh I think I need a bigger box"
https://youtu.be/_x2q0w9Pw5s
10753324
Ah. I remember those commercials.
10817353
It may be frowned upon by authorities, but the authorities don’t have the right to have an opinion. Especially if your talking about the teachers.
Well, she should have done a better job at hiding them.
Even if it’s so they can have something to laugh at it’s called the closest of shame for a reason. As far as I’m concerned applejack, rarity, and sunset f*cked themselves over in that order. The fans of sunset may not like what I say, but it’s the truth.
Wow, I thought you had to be a detective to do that.
It was?
So it’s been three months since the fall formal or three months since the battle of the bands?
Will it involve a one-on-one fight?
10817434
Let me reiterate. I was bullied in middle school. I decided to try and fight back against my bullies. The authorities decided that I was the problem, and I was suspended. Several times. The bullies were punished too, but I got the worst of it in the long run. As satisfying as it would be, it isn't a good solution...at least, not in the short-term.
Three months since the Fall Formal. As I've explained several times, I moved the Anon-A-Miss incident so that it took place between the first and second films rather than after Rainbow Rocks, partly because of timeline issues and partly because I figured it would make more sense for the Humane Five to be so quick to turn on Sunset if they hadn't faced off with the Sirens at that point.
No.
10817450
Yikes. That’s rough.
Ohh. Is that mentioned anywhere?
Aww.
10817527
I didn't explicitly mention the change in the story's placement relative to how it was in the original comic within the story itself. However, I made the placement clear in comments and in several journals regarding this story.
10817534
Oh ok
10818214
Haven’t they seen her sing before?
Really? I thought that was the saying.
Well, shouldn’t maud be doing something useful?
So celestia basically f*cked over sunset? Also, now celestia cares about her past?
Since when could you do that?
I may have to look it up.
Does she know it could collapse?
If she went over that line, then I would put her in the same category as Sakura Haruno.
Ohh. I could not understand that western accent.
Also, you forgot to hit the reply button.