Good to see this has come to an end at last.
A fun story all round.

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Thank you! It was easily the longest, most ambitious thing I've ever written. It may not be perfect, but everything I wanted to do with it was accomplished so I'm quite proud of it.

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So to follow.
We have the main six, Chrysalis, and now Berry & Co.
Not a bad line up, shame about the one with Daring Do ever being finished though.

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I have some tentatively good news, depending on if you recall this: The Last Crusade with the Cutie Mark Crusaders is finished and it continues the Daring Do story, in a sense!

It's the same Daring Do. Same name, rank, wounds, from the Australian Navy, she got their the same way, she has the same special talent. I would have liked if The Last Crusade wasn't mostly The Sweetie Belle story, but we get to see Daring's big contribution to the story at least!

There's also this short story in the Five Scoreverse by the same author as the original Daring Do story we both love: All That's Left Behind. It's technically finished but it's not a TF story.

Somepony put together a personal 'finished' list here: https://www.fimfiction.net/bookshelf/602109/5s-4-complete

There I go, recommending more stories. : P

That said, I obviously have a fondness for the unfinished ones. : ) When I read them I think "what were they planning?" and imagine the rest. That's what led us here!

That’s it, the end of the Road... and what an amazing journey it was!

Congratulations on bringing your story to such a satisfying conclusion. Truly one of the best Five Score stories out there, and one of the very few to have reached completion too. It’s been a pleasure to read and comment along, and a privilege to get a proofreader’s insight into all the work you put into researching and planning and crafting Berry’s tale. You can be real proud of this one, my friend!

I remember way back when, answering one of the first reader comments on your fic about the surprise of seeing a new Five Score story in 2020, you said Berry’s tale was “sort of a send off.” At the time my first, superficial reaction was to be a little annoyed – I’d been struggling with writing my own Five Score fic for a year by then, with still many plans to come... But I was right to give the Berry Bunch a chance. Your striking yet deceptively simple prose, giving such an ‘everymare’ feel to Berry’s musings, your deep and sometimes provocative exploration of the pains and consequences of depression and addiction, your fresh spin on both the principles and events of Five Score... It was truly fantastic, and humbling. I had opted to break a little from what we typically have in mind when it comes to a Five Score sidefic (inciting TF incident; individual adventure; meeting at the farm; back to Equestria for the climax), but you dared retread these grounds so long after their heyday, because you had a story to tell. And this powerful story was so well-planned, you had no issue connecting your tale to the original fic, even with your main character already included in it, if only for the one scene, and in the process you added so much connective tissue and depth to the universe. As we were reaching the end, I started to truly grasp what you meant back then. Reflecting on your words, I once said that it was more than a send off, that it was a love letter, but frankly? You’ve recaptured what feels like a pure, essential expression of what the original Five Score elicited in each of us. And so, thank you for your dedication, and for giving us this awesome gift.

Ahem, me and my tendency to wax awkward poetics and get all hyperbolic... Okay, let’s talk about these last two chapters themselves then!

“...I think I’d remember how many seasons of My Little Pony there were or what year it is.”

I love it when you get meta! Doc’s explanations are delightfully on-point, considering our attempts to reconcile all the various sidefics and the three versions of the original. And speaking of meta, had such a big smile all along your very last scene, subtly reframing the whole story and giving us some fun, unobtrusive cameos. A sweet, cheeky way to conclude, for sure.

It was nice to see Andy, however briefly! Motivated me to develop her daughters a little more in the future. You really nailed their voice, both Andy’s and Sunset’s. You also did a great job with all your other guest stars, as always – giving us even more glimpses of the potential conclusion of their respective stories. In particular, Celestia and Equestria’s new dawn was such a powerful scene, you managed to elevate it to the same level of awe and majesty you had instilled in Luna’s dreamscape.

As for your own characters, it was a nice touch to see Nathan and Chad reunited with their friends. At first I thought that Minnie’s round belly and her Earthly plans suggested that the her and Chad’s flame could’ve been reignited in some way between then and now, but of course the timing indicates he either had to stay in Equestria with her, something I don’t think he ever suggested, or like Comet she simply hooked up with somepony else during these two-and-a-half years. And for Berry herself, it feels so good to see she finally found her place, and managed to turn her inescapable relationship with alcohol into something productive she can be proud of. She fought for this bright future, endured all these painful ordeals, and now, at last, yes, she has come home.

For yes, just like you said right from the start – this was a story about going home. And what a beautiful story it was.

What a bunch of silly pones!

What a Journey. Seeing this story come together piece by piece, chapter by chapter and being able to chat and be a small colorful little buggo in the corner cheering you on has been an honor. This story is an astounding journey of growth, the way Berry overcomes so many hardships, the love and bond between filly and mare. The "stars" she carries with her, showing that true Earth Pony persistence. She is enduring, holding all others together. You're food descriptions and cooking stuff is as rich and invigorating as the real things you cook.~

I've loved the vividness of the characters you have created, specifically Pinch & Berry. The realistic dynamics of the ponies and all their friends. Your story has brought more and more of us all together throughout your writing journey (and helping us out on our own!) I've loved the opportunity to get to know you as a great friend from our humble introductions.

Thank you for sharing such an amazing journey and story with the rest of all of us meager mortals & pony aspirants. Looking forward to your future masterpieces as they come.

And of course,
Congratulations! 🍇

a amazing story i love it..

i am supper happy to see a new five score be started and completed and you did this story vary vary good.

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Thank you, Harts Fire! I'm really happy you came along this journey with me!

The ponies who left the really long messages right before you, I've already thanked through different means. Your constant praise and approval though has been important to me as well in different ways! I know you're as big of a fan of this setting as I am. It's good to know ponies who don't know me as well approve.

There's so many Five Score fans around and ponies still making Five Score stories. There's so much left a pony can explore while still strictly sticking to the setting and going off base. I know as we continue to grow and change, these stories can keep evolving too. In the meantime, we still have such a wealth of inspiration tucked away in the group's list of stories. They're not incomplete to me, just the beginning of a journey unrealized in text. They all inspired me to write this and it's ponies like you who kept me going!

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i do see this grate story in the five score group so i am really hopping you will get more readers.

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It's a very useful group for finding more Five Score stories! Eventually I became a moderator there. I found a few stories on fimfic that we missed and added them since. I think we got them all there now! The ones the authors didn't delete anyway. Those are scattered through fimfetch.net.

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the translator works fine, it just gets confusing when translating names instead of keeping them unchanged, or in sentences that only work in english, so sometimes I have to turn off the translator to get the full meaning of the sentence, but nothing that harms the experience

Just wow.

Absolutely amazing story Hyreia, from beginning to end you really nailled it

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Thank you so much! I'm really proud of this!
I guess you know why I wanted you to finish it now. That being said, I'm still intending to help you. Let's figure something out!~

Well, I hope you're proud, chef, because this fic was so engaging that I stayed up almost all night reading it and lost out on sleep as a result . I think it would've killed me to read this before it was completed, so I at least lucked out there. But this was really really well made, and I honestly can't wait to see your next work!!

I will admit I probably should've read the original five score first, but after reading your most recent "woke up as a pony, this is fine" story, I was just curious what else you had in stock. So, uh! Thanks for the good read!!!

ps >ywn get turned into a pony and end up at the equine equivalent of Woodstock

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My goodness! You stayed up almost all night to read this?? I can't even imagine. I'm so happy you liked it so much! I have to know then: for you, who was Best Pony?

I loved writing the farm part. Ponestock! I could live in those chapters forever. They were also the hardest to write. (You don't want to see my notes!)

I really am proud of this story. I poured an embarrassing amount of myself into this and it's the first story I ever approached with a plan. It was my obsession for years. And now, Five Score in general seems to be. When I started reading the original over six years ago now, I thought I was getting into just some weird wish-fulfillment story but there was this wonderful epic about becoming yourself instead. There's so many wonderful people I'm blessed to have met because I wrote this.

I don't blame you for not wanting to read it before it finished. Like the concept of cross-species transformation in general for me: there's a lot of dark moments to it but ultimately it's about coming out of it better and, just maybe, more like yourself than when you started.

I absolutely have more story ideas! Some TF, some not. In the meantime, I can always recommend the original story and I will never not 'shill' my friends Aremna's and Alsey's inspiring stories. The second is a greatly underrated Five Score story, the first is a wonderful TF story about crossed paths, mysteries, and 'who we are'. I think they would be up your alley!

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Who was best pony???
oh man oh beans don't make me choooose!!
I wanna say ruby just because of her arc of growing so strongly in such a small time span!! that part where she used the minerals in that humans bones to keep him from firing a gun was like Jjba levels of weirdly specific battle genius!!
but most every pony had a role to play in this story and that's one of the things I really love about it! I guess when your narrative is populated by side characters, you can't get a case of protagonist syndrome hehe

it honestly makes me wanna write something myself, but last time I tried to write a FIMfic I literally lost the plot and scrapped it, so, bleh. it didn't make sense and I couldn't figure out how to mesh the ideas of Homestuck and MLP together, so I'll just keep on lurking around and reading fun pone tf stories like these. :> Like the ones you recommend!

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I'm glad to see you're still reading along!
I read Return of the Dawn! I really liked the author's version of Luna. I thought there were quite a few good ideas in the story as well. I wasn't happy with all the elements to the story, but that's fanfiction for you. I also read Lunar Phases and Total Eclipse of the Sun though! They seemed to be the more popular between the two, but some people don't like the tone of them.

What I saw as far as Luna, there was plenty of overlap in personality and backstory with both stories. If you've read both (Return of the Dawn and Lunar Phases) you'll know they also both have a source of wisdom to draw from.

There were a few specific details I took from Lunar Phases in this chapter (Moon and Shine) but as far as I remember they're details not contradicted in Return of the Dawn. The story is such you can imagine either one! I really tried to make sure either story would fit.

I loved writing the Luna dream sequences! It was a chance to really go imaginative. Berry Punch as a storyteller speaks relatively plainly and I love her for it but Luna's imagination brings out the poet in her.

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Thank you for all the commentary so far!

I have to confess that I had to skim the last few chapters of this story. For some unknown reason, I couldn't emotionally make myself read them; ask my therapist, I suppose.

That said, you've done a wonderful, wonderful job with this story. I wasn't around when Five Score- or MLP, for that matter- was popular, but I feel like I somehow speedran the nostalgia of those who did. Maybe that's the reason I couldn't read the end. Your prose is beautiful and everything any author should strive for, the characters feel indescribably real, and you've handled every social crisis imaginable in this story with far more consideration, tact, and kindness than I would've ever thought possible.

Personally, I really hope this doesn't need to be a true epilogue to this universe; finality makes me very sad. But if it is, it's a deserving one. I can't hug you- my arms aren't quite that long yet- but please imagine I am.

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Thank you for all of the wonderful comments! I understand the climax is very... highly emotional and personal. Allegedly I made a prereader cry. <3

I'm so, so happy you got to come on the journey with me. I wasn't there for the peak Five Score days, I was off in the fandom doing my own thing. It was reading all of these stories that made me want to give back. And as I read, I realized "there's an unfinished shared universe here with so many connections just waiting to be told!"

I can happily say that my friends and I are still working on Five Score stories! A little renaissance may be in sight. I'm about to start work on another.

We just may see all of our friends again and make new friends. Even if they're not written, the stories are still "out there" unwritten. Implied, inferred, existing in someone else's imagination. I don't think Five Score is over yet. Even if the story is approaching ten years old!

Thank you for writing this story, I really enjoyed it

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11631101
Thank you so much for all the love! What was your favorite part? And who's best pony? : )

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Probably the early area when Berry was at "mom's" place and was considering Ruby to be her daughter, defending her from their mom, pampering her and being happy.
I also empathize heavily with Berry's state of mind, being your own worst enemy/getting in your own way draws a lot of parallels to how I think
As for best pony? well I'm kind of tied up between three for different reasons I like Comet Tail's Loyalty and gentleness when dealing with Berry, both in feelings as well as her attitude. Giving her a foal to begin with, despite his sexual preference, says a lot about how much he believes in her to do better.
Ruby Pinch as a whole is precious to my sensibilities in ways I can't accurately describe.
But of course Berry's probably my favorite, at least in this story.
A gripe I had was how I felt after the discord confrontation. It's only a minor feeling but I felt cheated after the rainbow magically healed all berry's wounds. I dunno if it was Luna's magic through her as a focal point to repair Pinchy's horn, dunno if it was explained (I may have just missed it)
The folder I added it to is my "Will read again" folder, kind of an upgrade to my favorites folder that I'll revisit in the future to re-read, just didn't know what name to give it. I'm sure it was confusing to see.
/)

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ALSO (forgot to add) I really enjoyed the crossover potential to other side fics, taking inspiration/adding to the more full universe and linking them in A/N really showed the effort and thought you put into this story and I really enjoyed seeing that.

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I totally agree! The storyline was very interesting and if I quote from pinkie from Daring don't, the whole story was like:

Wow, so much action!

Pity that this story never completed.

Anyway, I finally read it all! The way how characters developed(Espeically Berry), and integrating other side-fics was very smooth. To top it all, you gave life to unfinished stories! It was like watching the orchestra of random melodies slowly merging into single beautiful harmony, and I loved every single line of it.

Lastly, that shocking reveal of Sunset Shimmer! I'll be honest, I had tears in my eyes. Though I am kinda confused with backstory of her since it kinda doesn't fit with how Sunset left the message from Original story, the feeling, it just beats it.

In summary. It was a masterpiece. I've never been this emotional since Prench Tale and A new hive.

And... done.
A wonderful, warm ending to a fantastic entry in the 5 Score universe. Everyone seems happy and healthy, Minuette and Chad have worked something out, if I read that correctly, and Berry Punch is better than ever! Your mother would be proud, Berry!

I think I've made it very clear why this story is among my favorites, so I won't reiterate everything here. All I can say is: this was an excellent piece of work, and I get the feeling that you are exceptionally proud of this, and with good reason!

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Thank you so much for the comments throughout! You're clearly well-read and enjoy a wide variety of entertainment. I enjoyed your comparisons and seeing what stood out to you.

I left the fate of Chad partially ambiguous. That said, while I love a dark story, I'm a bigger fan of catharsis, people getting their chance to be shown in the best light and happy endings.

I think everyone I've talked to has indeed decided: "And Chad was there too."

11803000

Who? Me? You are aware of me?

11803130
Only of your Five Score fics! Which isn't fair. You write a lot of other stories as well. They're important though. They're some of the few that go past 2020!

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Awww, thank you. I'm still going through this one, but am definitely enjoying it. I did notice a few differences from my stories, but you are a fantastic author.

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She sure would be!

i just wrapped up reading this, i'd personally call this required reading when it comes to the five score universe. this adds so much to everything that happens in the main fic, if "the last crusade" feels like a B plot to five score then this feels like a C plot which now that i put that into words feels kinda dismissive? but its just so much more connective tissue in what's such a big big world. it really feels like being on the ground and witnessing the main plot from the sidelines

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I'm absolutely flattered you feel that way! That was definitely what I was going for. I'll say it again: it's a love letter to the shared universe. To the main fic and all of the sidefics I devoured when I wanted more. I had the benefit of writing mine after the fact so I was able to take it all in and I saw there was some crossover material and so much potential for more!

At the end of the day, The Last Crusade is definitely the B plot. I'm happy to come in late and provide some hooks and shout outs to all the other stories I remember fondly. <3