How the Tantabus Parses Sleep

by Rambling Writer

Years Later: Perpetual Support

Flurry sat in her bed, staring at her open closet door, her blanket pulled to her chin. Even with her dark-adjusted alicorn eyes, blackness yawned inside the frame, concealing all that was within the closet. And who knew what the darkness hid?

Flurry. Flurry knew.

What was inside that closet was awful, terrible, unthinkable, the worst product of this day and age, every eight-year-old’s worst nightmare. She hated what was inside, but she knew she’d never be rid of it. What was inside that closet would always be there and her parents would never understand. She would always be tormented by it, unable to do a single thing. She would have to sleep in this bed, opposite that closet, full of the knowledge of what lay beyond that darkness. Taunting her. Forever.

And so, although she tried to remain strong, Flurry began to cry.

---

Shining Armor was jolted from his sleep at roughly the same time Cadance was, a scant half-second after Flurry’s first sobs began to ring through the palace. His paternity senses were tingling strongly. He didn’t get up immediately, though. He lay and listened to the tempo of the cry, its timbre, its intonation. Was it the usual cry or a new one? …The usual.

“My turn,” he mumbled to Cadance. He loped out of bed, fumbled with the floor, and managed to stand up.

“Thanks, honey,” Cadance murmured to her pillow as her husband stumbled out of the room.

Shining made his way towards Flurry’s room, attempting to blink the hallway into focus. They could’ve had servants for this, but he and Cadance had both decided that, no, Flurry needed to be taken care of by her parents. She needed to grow up to be well-adjusted, and that couldn’t happen if the ponies who were watching out for her could leave if the pay wasn’t good enough or they got bored. Her parents would personally be there for her, whatever it took.

No matter how very very, very very, very much they rued that decision.

Fortunately, Flurry’s room was nearby and it didn’t take long for him to reach it. He pushed open the door and squinted into the darkness. Flurry was sitting on her bed, sheets drawn tight around her, eyes as big as dinner plates as she stared at the closet. The second she saw him, she wailed, “Daaaaaaddyyyyyyyyyyy!”

“What is it, sweetie?” asked Shining, although he already knew the answer.

“There aren’t any monsters in my closet!”

“I know, sweetie.”

“All the cool stuff happened before I can remember it! I wanna see you and Mommy beat up a monster! Just once!”

Shining didn’t have the energy to bite back a sigh; fortunately, he didn’t have the energy to sigh, either. He again told himself it was just a phase and again failed at convincing himself. He dragged himself over to Flurry’s bed and sat down next to her. “Come on, honey. I know you won’t see any neat monster fights, but look on the bright side. Equestria’s safer now. We’re at peace.”

“No one gets to beat up monsters in peace!”

Deep breaths, Shining. Deep breaths. Deeeeeep breeeaaaths. “Okay. Why don’t I tell you the story of how Mommy and the Great and Honorable Uncle Spike the Brave and Glorious saved the Crystal Empire from Sombra?” It was a favorite of hers. Nothing quite like tales of attempted child murder, PTSD attacks, assaults by arcane tyrants, and throwing your wife like a javelin to send your daughter to sleep.

Sniffling and wiping down her eyes, Flurry nodded.

“Okay. It was almost ten years ago. Mommy and I had just gotten married…”

---

“So is it your fault or mine that Flurry wants to watch us fight monsters?” Cadance mumbled. She took a drag from the coffee pot like it was liquor.

“Twilight’s,” said Shining. “Flurry keeps hearing stories about all the monsters Twilight and her friends have beat up, so she wants to see that for herself, and we’re around.” He snatched his waffles from the toaster, grabbed the other coffee pot, and stumble-walked to the table.

“So not her personality?” asked Cadance. Already, she was looking more alert from the caffeine, even if that bar was record-settingly low.

“Nah, not yet. That’ll come when she’s, oh, fourteen and wants to fight monsters herself. Really wants it and knows the risks and it’s not just a childhood obsession.”

“As long as she’s not waking us up at 12 every night, I can live with that.”

“Even if she’s waking us up at 1 every Monday morning because she’s in the emergency room?”

“Yes. More overall sleep.”

“Well, when you put it that way…”

“And she’s an alicorn, she’ll be fine. I know that from experience.” Another gulp from Cadance. “Besides, when she’s that old, she’ll be old enough for us to talk to her and convince her to wait until her monster-hunting excursions can be parentally supervised.”

Shining smiled. “Yeah. That’ll be nice.”

“But until then…” Cadance opened the top of the pot and stuck her muzzle in so she was breathing in an atmosphere of boiled caffeine.

Shining gave his own coffee a chug so his brain would stop making weird noises as he tried to use it. It worked at least well enough to shut down the worst of the noises and reduce them to just sounds. He arced his neck back, working out the kinks in his spine. He loved Flurry, truly, but he also loved sleep. Now, if only one wouldn’t get in the way of the other, well, that would be a dream. (He snorted as his still-starting-up brain thought using “dream” metaphorically in relation to sleep was almost peak hilarity.) But that would require satisfying Flurry’s nightly need for monsters, and-

Ding.

He sat up straight, looking out at nothing, thinking. That could work. Maybe. If-

“You look like you just got stabbed in the rump,” said Cadance.

“I think I know how to help Flurry,” Shining said. “Want to hear it?”

“No. I’d have to think and I need to save my brainpower for Princess Akili and the rest of Zebrabwe’s shamare delegation.” Cadance downed a large gulp of coffee. “Just don’t go Sparkle crazy.”

Shining raised an eyebrow.

“You know,” said Cadance, blearily mustering some sort of defense. “Blowing everything out of proportion. Especially when it’s insignificant. Remember when Twilight nearly destroyed her castle making pudding? Or when you used Canterlot’s security to protect a tinfoil crown?”

“What’s so insignificant about the Hard-Won Helm of the Sibling Supreme? It was a Sparkle family tradition for almost half a generation!”

Now it was Cadance’s turn to engage in eyebrow elevation.

“But don’t worry, Cadydid,” said Shining. He leaned forward and kissed Cadance on the cheek. “I promise I won’t go Sparkle crazy.”

---

In Shining’s defense, as a prince, personally contacting a princess wasn’t remotely crazy for him. Even if that princess didn’t exist physically.

Years ago, when he was concerned about Flurry’s dreams, Shining had learned a little bit of oneiromancy. He didn’t need it anymore, but he still knew it. Including how to send out messages.

So that night, he stepped from the river of wine onto the shore, shook himself off (habit), and sent off a letter. It wasn’t long before the air rippled and from it strode Princess Moondog.

Celestia and Luna were alicorns and they were big. Cadance was an alicorn and she was getting big. Twilight was an alicorn and, while not big just yet, she was finally taller than Shining (much to his chagrin). Moondog was an alicorn (usually), yet she (usually) was not big (usually). She was still smaller than him, as a matter of fact (usually). She hadn’t even changed her default appearance all that much in the years since her accession, merely swapping her starlit mane and tail for an auroral mane and tail, and even that just seemed selected to make her body a little more diverse. Weird that the active shapeshifter hadn’t changed all that much, but that was Moondog for you.

“Evening, sir,” Moondog said. She swept a leg across her chest and bowed deeply. “Everything going well in your imperial phase?”

“Well enough, Princess.” Shining bowed back. “Figured out how to duplicate yourself yet?”

“Mom, I wish,” snorted Moondog. “I’m almost there, I know it, but… bleh.”

“Talked to Discord about it?”

“The day after Twilight supports illiteracy. Anyway…” All at once, a business-suited Moondog was sitting behind a bureaucrat’s desk, a scroll and quill floating before her. “Whaddya need?”

“You know Flurry and her obsession with monsters.”

“That’s presumptive,” Moondog said as the quill poked Shining in the muzzle. “Also true.”

Shining waved the quill away. “So I was wondering if you could do anything to help get her to sleep more. You’re good with illusions; maybe if you make her see something scary, it’ll calm her down.” He wasn’t sure how that would work, but he knew it would.

“Hmm.” Moondog scratched her chin. “I think I can do that, shouldn’t take too long.”

“You don’t mind?”

“Of course not. Can’t manage your dreams if you’re not asleep to have dreams, right? Gimme a sec to think. Out of curiosity, any particular reason why you came to me?”

“You’re always around, in a way. Let’s say convenience.”

“I am pretty convenient, aren’t I?” Then Moondog’s ears went up and she rubbed her hooves together. “Ooo, better idea than just making her see a monster. I bet it’ll get her to go to sleep for ages. Buuuut I’d like to get your opinion on it first, since…” Whiteness flowed across her coat and her wings shrank as she morphed into a copy of Shining. “…I’d kinda be you.”

“Why? What were you thinking?”

---

Daddy had closed the closet door. But Flurry still knew what wasn’t in the closet.

Her life would be boring. She would never change the world. She would never have cool adventures like Auntie Twilight. She would never even have a tussle with a bear, and not just because Aunt Fluttershy disapproved. With all that, how was she supposed to be cool? She was just-

The door to her room opened up and Daddy walked in, holding a spear. The sight was enough to remind her of the awesomeness she’d never experience and she began to tear up. Then she noticed the way his ears were folded back and he was staring at the closet. “Did you hear that?” he asked in a low voice.

After a moment, she shook her head. She didn’t know what he was talking about, which was a pretty good sign she hadn’t heard it.

THUD.

It’d come from the closet. Flurry changed her shakes to nods. “What is it?” she asked hopefully.

“It’s complicated,” said Daddy, “but Auntie Twilight says the closet’s structural archetypal framework metaphysically links it to Star Swirl’s mirror, and encabulated arcanoresonance sometimes causes the two to behave similarly thanks to quiddity entanglement, so sometimes the closet lets in… things.”

The information echoed as it went into one of Flurry’s ears and came out the other, but she still nodded. Auntie Twilight knew what she was talking about.

“Now…” Daddy tightened his grip on the spear and inched towards the closet. “Let’s see what we have…”

Flurry realized she was holding her breath as Daddy crept ever closer. A dimensional portal to monsters! In her own closet! If that was real…

Finally, Daddy reached the doors. As he placed his free hoof on a handle, he glanced at Flurry. “Stay strong, sweetie.” He trotted in place for a moment, took a deep breath, and threw open the closet.

There was nothing inside.

Nothing except five piercing eyes, staring out and glowing orange in the darkness.

“Oh my,” squeaked Daddy in the second before a tentacled shape pounced.

Flurry scrambled to the foot of her bed to watch. Daddy had been Captain General of the Royal Guard, once, and now he was captain-generaling the stuffing out of that monster. His spells were slinging, his spear was swinging, and his battle banter was biting. Even with its ambush, the monster didn’t stand a chance.

And for the first time that Flurry could remember, she watched her daddy doing something cool. It was everything she could’ve hoped for, even though she didn’t recognize the monster. A fight, a real monster fight, right here in her room! It was wonderful, and with the knowledge that this sort of thing could still happen, even in this day and age, Flurry’s anxieties were cut away. By the time Daddy had thrown the monster back into the closet, sealed the rift, and bade her good night, Flurry was ready to sleep.

And being eight years old, she never quite noticed that what she’d been told made no sense, nor that all the sound had never attracted anybody, nor that the scuffle hadn’t even made a mess.

---

“Why don’t I remember anything that happened last night?” Cadance asked. She was staring at her glass of orange juice as if flabbergasted that she didn’t need coffee that morning.

“Because you got a full night’s sleep and so weren’t awake to remember?” Shining offered.

“Oh. Right. That’s what I’m feeling. I’d nearly forgotten it. Do you know how long it’s been since I last had a good night’s sleep?”

“Seven moons, two weeks, and three days?”

“Seven moons, two weeks, and three days.” Cadance stared at her juice for another moment, then raised her head. “Flurry didn’t wake us up last night?”

“Flurry didn’t wake us up last night!” Shining declared. He punctuated this with a pro-level pancake flip.

“Huh. Your plan worked?”

“My plan worked!”

“Huh.”

The two looked at each other.

“Should I be worried?” Cadance asked.

“Trust me, it’s safe,” said Shining.

“Alright.” Cadance looked a touch skeptical, but returned to staring at her cup.

Shining quickly looked around the kitchen and poked his head out of the doorways. He couldn’t see Flurry anywhere near them. He removed the pancakes from the griddle, set them on their plates, and put the plates in front of the relevant pony. Lowering his voice, he said, “Princess Moondog pretended to be me and beat up an illusory monster in Flurry’s room.”

Cadance’s ears twitched. “How did- Wait, you just contacted her with those spells she taught you years ago, didn’t you? And she just… went and did it? Just last night.”

“I was surprised, too, but you know what she’s like.”

“Yeah.”

Silence, which Shining took advantage of by taking some bites of pancake. A full night’s rest actually let him appreciate the taste for once. His mouth was still full when Cadance said, “Give her my thanks when you get the chance.”

“U’hh duh vuh,” Shining promised. Swallow.

Which, unfortunately, meant waiting sixteen hours until night again. Perhaps he could’ve taken a nap and justified it as “royal duties”. But he didn’t just need to sleep, he needed to dream, and that was hard to do while napping in the Crystal Palace. Especially since a full night’s sleep for Flurry meant she’d be even harder to handle today. (But Shining had also had a full night’s sleep, so it balanced out.)

---

Sleep came easily that night, even though Shining had been well-rested that morning. Circadian rhythms were something else. Once he remembered that fighting off a chimera with candy canes wasn’t normal (and completed the job anyway), he sent out his spell. For a moment, nothing.

There slammed into being around Shining a massive hall, not unlike Twilight’s throne room in Canterlot. On one side twisted a nebulaic starscape; on the other stood windows depicting images of Equestrian history in motion. The surface of the floor beneath him rippled with each step he took and the color of the torches was constantly shifting.

“So!” a voice thundered. “You’ve returned, have you?”

Shining turned around. Moondog, now with Luna’s proportions, was sprawled across a throne like it was an easy chair, looking for all the world like some casually dismissive evil overlord. Grinning at Shining, she boomed, “I trust my boon last night was sufficient?” In her normal voice, she added, “Because you and Cadance’s dreams were never interrupted, as far as I can tell.”

“It was great!” said Shining. “I actually managed to go for a full eight hours without my daughter wanting the world to be more dangerous. Cadance also says thanks.”

“Excellent! My work here is done.” Moondog rumbled. She sat up straight and spread her wings from wall to wall. “May your nights be ever safe and may your sleep be ever deep.” She promptly collapsed back to her normal size, almost looking like a foal sitting in a too-large chair. “I’ve been thinking of getting more regal, y’know?” she said casually. “Adding some magnificence to meetings, as befits a princess. Only at the right time, though, don’t wanna scare anyone off. Ah, well.” She disappeared from the throne and immediately appeared next to Shining. “Seriously, though, glad I could help with Flurry. Let me know if you need anything in the future.”

“I wouldn’t want to keep you from your duties-” began Shining.

But Moondog cut him off with a wave of her hoof. “I’ve gotten real good at this. Pretending to be a monster for a minute won’t even be a blip.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Great!” Then Moondog whispered in Shining’s ear, “So when’re you gonna tell Flurry?”

“When she has her own daughter who’s disappointed by the lack of monsters in the closet, probably,” said Shining. “Then she can ask you for help, and… I just started a tradition, didn’t I?”

“Maybe! We’ll see how it pans out.”

“You’d still need to be around, though.”

Moondog chuckled, her form slowly disappearing. “Don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be here as long as I’m needed.”

Comments

[hehelover]

Complete

Truly, the end of an era.

Or just the beginning of another chapter of Moondog's shenanigans, hopefully. In any case I eagerly await whatever else you have in store for us.

[TCC56]

All stories must have an ending.

It's been a wonderful, excellent ride. Thank you for taking us on it.

[N4rwh41]

D'aaaaaaawwww, Flurry wants to be just like her dad! That's adorable :3. Nice to seenMo9ndog hasn't changed that much over the years. I look forward to whatever happens nex5!

[Crazy_Balloons]

Awesome! This is the sort of slice of life that I just can’t put down once I stat reading. Just enough adventure to keep on reading but with low enough stakes that you’re never worried about how it’ll all go down. Along with Moondog’s comedic flair it makes for a tremendously enjoyable read. Looking forward to what comes next and to reading these all again.

[Young_Promethean]

Awww, thank you for moondog, but now I'm stuck wondering what happened to Selene...

[Malandy]

Aww! Nice ending!!!!! Complete!

Perpetual Support indeed! Tradition!!!! Woo! Like Nightmare Night, but smaller and stuff!

[Emtu]

11620993
11620997
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Remember, there were three stories before this one in the same continuity. I doubt Her Nibs will disappear that easily.

[Herald of Opera]

Moondog chuckled, her form slowly disappearing. “Don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be here as long as I’m needed.”

Because you can never get too meta.

[ShadowLDrago]

I love Moondog's unrelenting kindness.

[Natedogg2006]

Ah, I saw this coming. Once again than, thanks so much for keeping this going for all these years. I might drop a tear or two when I get a chance to read this final chapter. All the hope for good fortunes for you moving forward.

[Raugos]

It's been a great ride. Moondog is best golem. Thank you for writing it!

[Advisability]

Cheers for the fun moondog shenaniganery!

[Green-Venom]

I sense closure… All I have to say is that you did amazing! 4 years… it’s really been 4 years…

PS: Never favorited until now. How the hell have I never favorited this story!?

[RomanceLover7]

This was such an excellent story!

[redmar]

This was a good chapter but I'm disappointed it's the last one.

[Stahlseele]

it's over?
aaww ._.

[master_derek118]

What a wonderful story this has been. This has been one of the few stories I still kept up with. If there's a sequel, I'll read with great interest! Moondog's story is one of my favorite explorations into multiple different ways: Artificial Intelligence, Tulpamancy, the dream realm as a whole, and it gave me a new set of vocabulary to describe dream magic and all new lore to play with. It's been a great journey so far! Cheers!

[Asolem2]

“But don’t worry, Cadydid,” said Shining. He leaned forward and kissed Cadance on the cheek. “I promise I won’t go Sparkle crazy.”

Okay so, I wasn't concerned, but now I am

“Flurry didn’t wake us up last night!” Shining declared. He punctuated this with a pro-level pancake flip.

“Huh. Your plan worked?”

“My plan worked!”

And it's probably about to backfire

“Should I be worried?” Cadance asked.

Probably

[tsaukpaetra]

Why can't the world have more evil? Why, it's rather simple, Flurry...
Duplicating an actively running machine is indeed hard, unless the function to do so is baked in. Maybe Her Nibs may make children in the future, but they will necessarily not be cloned...

[Archlyn]

I'd just like to thank you for the wonderful stories in this little collection. I do hope we see Moondog again but all of her related tales were wonderful and I thank you for bringing me so much joy. Excellent work ^_^

[_Undefined_]

Of course I was sad to see the "Complete" tag, but I can't very well complain about 300,000 words of quality entertainment. Thank you for all of Moondog's entertaining exploits. (Computer pun not intended.)

[Late_Night]

Moondog chuckled, her form slowly disappearing. “Don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be here as long as I’m needed.”

what a line to finish on

[Anon E Moose]

“When she has her own daughter who’s disappointed by the lack of monsters in the closet, probably,” said Shining. “Then she can ask you for help, and… I just started a tradition, didn’t I?”

In grand-old Dad style, yes

[dzamie]

I'm sad to see no more Moondog in this story, but this is a wonderful ending to a fantastic fic!
I hope she eventually figures out how to go fork() herself.

[Cyana Flame]

Moondog, if that's true, you 'will' be in G5 later~

[BlueYoshi]

And here it is, the final chapter of the story, which ended on a cute, funny, and heartwarming note. I've had a blast reading and following this story for nearly four and a half years. Thanks for writing a wonderful story for all of us!

[Icy Creation]

Aww the ending
On one hand it felt like just another chapter, so much that I didn't even realize the story said complete. On the other, that kind of makes sense as the final chapter.

This will be one of those stories I re-read often, it was amazing and just generally feels good to read. I wish it wasn't over, and I'll be looking out for a continuation or something, but all things have to end, ay?

[GeekCat]

I didn't notice thus story had been marked as Complete until others mentioned it, but what a chapter to end on. Thank you for creating Moondog and sharing this story with us. I enjoyed every second of it.

On another note, I like the idea of Flurry being a bit of a thrill-seeker, wanting to be like...pretty much any member of her family.

[Greenhorn]

“Blowing everything out of proportion. Especially when it’s insignificant. Remember when Twilight nearly destroyed her castle making pudding? Or when you used Canterlot’s security to protect a tinfoil crown?”

Wait, Twilight did what to her castle? I remembered the latter incident but not the former. And here I thought Sweetie is a MLP's lone kitchen disaster.

[Midknight Defender]

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Huh. And that was on top of the whole “the cake is alive!!” incident, too.

[Midknight Defender]

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Ooooooooo.....!

[Regreme]

That was adorable.^^

[Spectrumancer]

I maintain that Moondog is one of the best OCs this fandom has produced. And while the complete tag saddens me, all good things must, etc.

Who knows, maybe we'll see Her Nibs again in the future.

[Dan]

11620993

Aw... I was hoping for a chapter where Moondog gets roped into helping the Student 6 untangle their mutual crushes and (PG-13) dreams about each other. With Moondog getting some council and insight from Cadance.

[Dan]

11621794

I bet Cousin Nyx is a bad influence on Flurry with her stories of monster hunting. And that one time Button's Mom agreed to foalsit and got her into Monster Hunter and Warcraft 3 (before the Blizzard enshittification). And L4D2

[Killer20]

So it ends after many years of fun…

Thank you for writing this amazing Story!

[bailey_chap]

I wasn't expecting it to end like this, after 7 years in the making, I had been expecting a grand finale, yet, this also suits the tone of the story quite well, so if this is the end, then I won't call it an unwelcome one.

Good work Rambling Writer, and best of luck for the future!

[Gyro Pony]

While the arcs are are immersive and enjoyable in their own right, I love this Slice of Life chapter!!

EDIT:
Look at the chapter title: “Perpetual Support”.
Eeyup, Shining certainly did create a generational tradition.

EDIT 2:
Oh poo. I didn’t see the story was Complete.
So “Perpetual Support” has a deeper meaning than I originally thought. The story ends, but Moondog and her duties continue through time. A true immortal.

[Tsuguri]

I will admit that I despaired a bit when I noticed the Complete tag. This has been going on for so long and has been so enjoyable that I thought it might never end.

Oh well. All good things end, eventually. Here's hoping that we'll still get the occasional glimpse of her, even if it's only in our dreams.

[Alchemo Arrow]

What a journey this has been. From a pair of little stories to an amesome length story, this journey has been a lot of fun.

I will miss and cherish all the moments of great comedy and the occasional deep observation on the nature of the mind. Thank you for writing all of this.

On the one hand, I will miss this story. On the other, this is Complete. One of the very few stories of such length to reach completion. I read a LOT and is is always a little depressing when a story doesn't get finished. It just slowly dies in the dark, forgotten by many. Seeing that beautiful Complete status is very encouraging.

Farewell Princess Moondog. Hopefully you can prevent whatever silliness caused Twilight to think removing magic from the world was the correct solution.

[PartyCanonic]

Sweet Celestia this has been a wonderful ride. I'm sad to see it end, but I'm glad to have been following all of these stories for.....*checks notes*.....nearly half a decade.

Thank you for the wonderful stories, you glorious sonnuvagun.

[Eroraf86]

So long
Farewell
Auf wiedersehen
Goodbye

[SIGAWESOME]

What was inside that closet would always be there and her parents would never understand. She would always be tormented by it, unable to do a single thing. She would have to sleep in this bed, opposite that closet, full of the knowledge of what lay beyond that darkness. Taunting her. Forever.

And so, although she tried to remain strong, Flurry began to cry.
<...>
“There aren’t any monsters in my closet!”

Ennui is a terrible thing.

---

After so many years, it feels weird to see this marked complete. I certainly am in agreement with everyone commenting before saying thank you for a fun ride and looking forward to whatever you have next!

[Dorath]

When she has her own daughter who’s disappointed by the lack of monsters in the closet, probably

Sounds like my nieces when they were little.

Thank you for this story.

[Bloody_Tofu]

Congrats!! Thank you.

[AppleTank]

Very cute, and what a hell of a way to end. Thank you.

[Rikad]

I just found this (and the three stories before it), and it was a true delight to read. Moondog and Astral are fantastic, as is the way you wrote every other character.
Thanks for a great read.

[TerrorCooper]

…Ya’ know… at times like these I’m reminded of the keystone fact of my personal take on Nihilism; that we’re all but dust on the wind in the truly grand scheme of things.

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It truly is, for I have come to know it’s gnawing presence before. But, like the highest Apexes of Hope, the deepest Nadirs of Despair & all kin-peaks-&-valleys of such, the monotone Flats of Ennui, Purposelessness & Boredom cannot truly last without something happening to stir them up to some degree or another.

11622123
All things must end in one form or another eventually, my dear sibling, all things must end. But………… Considering what I’m planning to eventually attempt regarding IRL Lucid Dreaming by combining it with Astral Projection, one of us may yet see more than the barest glimpse of Moondog…

11621931
I, too, was half expecting some raucous Grand Finale to our viewing of this Chapter-Arc of Moondog’s tale mine good brother/sister/sibling. But as you said, this is just as fitting, for Moondog’s story did not begin with some dramatic turn of events, but a single word that might have gone unnoticed if Luna hadn’t been paying proper attention at the time.

11621794
I share your sentiment, for the ending of one Chapter-Arc does not preclude the beginning of another.

11621808
Now that would have been an interesting series of events, especially since I personally support the Poly-Student-6 Ship.

11621824
………………………Okay, NOW I wanna see how Moondog & Nyx would interact & see each other. I bet they’d eventually come to see each other as sisters due to them having both come about as a result of Luna. Hmmm… now I’m also wondering on if Moondog would subsequently use this as ‘justification’ to start up the Tuna ship…

11621495
Events of a Christmas Special. Twilight tried making a special ‘magic’ cake that required a great deal of carefulness to make, but her niece (out of toddler-style ignorance) ends up mucking it up due to her most likely wanting to join in or ‘help’ somehow.
& there’s always lands beyond both Equestria & those places currently known to it. We don’t truly know how vast the world of MLP:FIM Gens 4 + 5 actually is, so Flurry could always try expanding the map if she so chose.

11621363
I wonder how she’ll butterfly things &/or how Gen 5’s group will react to her…

11621252
If she does, then she’d find her multitasking abilities absolutely skyrocketing as a result.

11621250
MEME!Hoovy’s Voice: YUS!

11621238
Agreed.

11621180
Hopefully Luna won’t freak out too hard when the realisation that she essentially accidentallied an entire species into existence thanks to the result of a bout of self-hating/loathing/pitying guilt inevitably hits her like a freight train.

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Now let’s gedda’ flip outa’ this joint.

[SIGAWESOME]

from mom import introspect
from os import cmd

cmd.signal(SIGHUP, introspect(self))

-  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  /
Broadcast message from [e-mail]
Hush now, quiet now... No tears, only dreams.

Sending KILL signal to nocniced:    [   MUAHAHAHAHAHA   ]
Closing adwl sockets:                          [   OK   ]
Stopping dreamd:                               [   OK   ]
Stopping commentd:                             [   OK   ]
Closing chapter:                               [   OK   ]
Sending TERM signal to story:                  [   OK   ]

It is now safe to exit this reality.

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¡ɹǝʇɐl noʎ llǝɯs

[Mint_Keyphase]

11622410
wdym removing magic?