Epilogue
Lilac flew for the first time a few months later. She hadn't told Firefly she was coming—that was entirely the point. Her friend had seen her slow recovery in Willowbrook Municipal Hospital for long enough that she would probably guess Lilac would be released soon.
But would she expect her to make the trip up on her own two wings?
Calling it “flight” was a bit generous at this stage, true. Lilac spread both wings in a constant gliding position—then found a promising spot above her, and teleported there in a flash. Then she would glide as slowly as possible while she recovered enough magical strength to jump again.
The trip was good practice for all kinds of new abilities, some far more disciplined than others.
Finally she was above the house, and all she really had to do was glide. Even that proved trickier than her reading suggested—a little too far to one side, and she accelerated into a dive. She managed to change direction in time to avoid the house, instead landing face-first in the cloudy ground.
It was still clouds, so the impact only winded her, leaving her sunk up to her forelegs, so deep she could feel one hoof poking through to the other side. “I'm, uh... not sure if anypony can hear me! Help!”
She didn't struggle, not when moving forward made her slip further through the opening, threatening to drop out into the night sky.
The ground rustled beside her, sinking like a trampoline with someone new joining her to jump. Then she felt a hoof on her shoulder, lifting her up onto the cloud.
Firefly stood over her, wearing an orange and yellow dress. Far more than her friend usually wore, particularly in the evening. “You flew up here?” Firefly asked, looking her over. “I didn't even know you were out of the hospital yet!”
“Surprise.” Lilac spread her wings wide. They were still moving on their own, still confusing her with hard-to-process feelings. Every single feather told her things, about the wind and the temperature and the currents of air flowing around her. “Who else would I go to see first?”
“Surprise.” Firefly hugged her, but only for a second. She dragged her towards the open front door, and the light glowing out from inside. “I want to get a good look at you.”
Lilac didn't fight her—mostly because she wasn't strong enough. Up here, she couldn't draw her usual strength from the ground. She felt fragile and weak, without that steady supply of magic flowing into her. At least she was with somepony she could trust.
“Surprised you could fly up here on your own. I didn't think breezie flying really translated.”
“It doesn't,” she said, grinning. “That's all about being so light that the wind carries you where you want to go. Doesn't work that way for a pony.”
They walked into the house, which was more remarkable to Lilac the further in she got. Her hooves should've sunk through the clouds, taking her plummeting to the earth below. But if they were going to, she wouldn't have crashed in the first place.
Firefly took her just inside, to a large entryway mirror probably made of glass. She held one of Lilac's wings in her own, staring down at it.
Thanks to months of magical therapy, the wounds had all healed, and feathers grew where once there had been only ragged flesh. Even so, they didn't look any more natural than the night the new limbs appeared. They were a mismatched collection, as though taken from a dozen different ponies.
So many colors without any coordination looked brown from a distance. Up close they just looked like the manifestation of a migraine headache. “They work?” Firefly asked, letting go. “And the...” she tapped her own forehead with one hoof.
Lilac nodded. “The horn better than the wings. I've had a lifetime practicing to use magic. It's a natural extension of everything I was already doing. I'll be way better at magic now, even if... it helps not to think about where they came from.”
Firefly raised an eyebrow, prompting her to continue. “A dozen Inquisitor ponies died that night, summoning a demon. It was... made of them, I think. Did Luna ever tell you why our magic was so strong?”
They crossed the house together, then up to Firefly's bedroom. A half dozen different dresses were out, along with bits of jewelry tossed all over the bed. “I think so,” Firefly said. “Princess Luna, uh—we absorbed the magic when they summoned us.”
“It stuck,” Lilac agreed. “Ponies usually have a limit to how much they can hold. It's built into Equus—about conserving a limited resource. There's only so much to go around. Since we weren't born here, we don't have it. So we're just, like... drowning in it. Until we die, and we give it back.”
Firefly nodded absently. She lifted a colorful hairband, then held it up to her mane. “What do you think? Yellow? Or red?”
“I'm the wrong pony to ask,” Lilac said, waving a dismissive leg in her direction. “What's up?”
“A date,” she answered, turning her back on Lilac, and fussing with her mane. “I've thought about asking her for a long time. But I was looking at somepony else, and I didn't want to move on until I was... ready, I guess.” Her tail tucked behind her, ears folding over. “I do now, though! It makes sense. Give it a few more years, and I'll be as confident as Rainbow Dash.”
“I'm sure you will.” Lilac touched her shoulder, meeting her eyes. “I'm sorry about getting you trapped in horse world forever. I don't think I can get us home.”
Firefly burst out laughing. “Fun way of saying 'you're welcome'!” She went with the red hairband, and started brushing her mane. She could somehow hold it with one wing, while she worked gently through. It was long again, the way she seemed to like it.
“What about you?” Firefly continued. “Equestria's newest Alicorn. How are things going for House Vale? You think anything will ever happen with... the night of the fire?”
Lilac shook her head firmly. “Iris received a pardon for her role stopping the Unmade from invading Equestria. Rebuilding on the manor is going pretty well... but I don't think she'll ever live there. She wants me to take it over, with... with Risk. We're coming up with the design together, before the architects get involved. I'd like if you took a look before they break ground.”
“Lotsa balconies,” Firefly said, without turning around. “Once you get better with your wings, you'll understand. Way faster to fly around to the side of a fancy house than to walk there. And you might want to leave from all over. All the bedrooms should have them.”
Lilac nodded. “You might have more insight if you see the plans. I've got a hotel room with my mom downtown, maybe you'll visit sometime.” She lowered her voice, both wings folding again. “Just don't call me an Alicorn to anypony else, please. Technically I'm not, I just have wings and a horn. I'm a... unipegipony. Or something. God willing there won't be any more of me.”
The clock chimed, and Firefly tensed. She spun around, darting past Lilac. “That's time! I have to... buck, I should've left ten minutes ago. Can you get down on your own?”
“I'll find a way,” Lilac said, hiding her fear as best she could. But so long as her magic didn't run out, she could always find a way to glide.
Firefly galloped out the open doorway, then vanished into the night, a yellow streak slowly fading from sight. Lilac took a little longer to get the courage to follow. But there were ponies waiting for her too—and plenty of debts accruing in her name on a certain mountain.
It was probably time to figure out a fairy payment plan.
Also LikedSimilarAuthor
- Starscribe · 111k words · 534 25 · 7.1k views
- Starscribe · 194k words · 739 19 · 7.7k views
- Starscribe · 87k words · 236 7 · 1.9k views
- Starscribe · 84k words · 282 11 · 2.7k views
- Starscribe · 246k words · 376 28 · 5.3k views
- Starscribe · 193k words · 875 27 · 10k views
- Starscribe · 35k words · 294 9 · 2.5k views
- Starscribe · 47k words · 490 59 · 4.8k views
Stats
Page generated in 0.203 seconds
Total duration
780 users online
1,250,739 hits today, 2,151,698 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
I liked the story overall, but it was very slow at times and the ending was very anticlimactic. Is there going to be a sequel or does their story end here?
Yay! Enjoyed this one!
It is unlikely... but we definitely would like a sequel! You've written a very fun story, as all your HiE adventure stories.
Thanks for writting this, Wordsmith!
That was a lot of fun! Despite the tags, you really jumped around the genres there— drama, mystery, and Slice of Life, yes, but also a bit of adventure, a bit of comedy, quite a bit of dark given the contexts… But yeah, I enjoyed!
While a sequel would be kind of cool, personally I dunno where you could take it aside from some more SoL stuff. I feel like side stories would be more likely… But that's just me; I'm sure you could think of something.
Good story, but I feel it needs a sequel.
...wait. It's over? NO!
Thank you for the awesome narrative throughout the story. Whatever you plan this story is a gem.
11434266
I'm not sure if this is the right place to say this, but most Starscribe stories I've read ended quite... abruptly.
Wish it showed more of what happened on earth after they left. They left lots of evidence behind as of what happened to them including video evidence on Charlie's phone (remember he propped it up recording when they got pulled in).
Lovely stuff. This chapter of their story has come to a close. Lilac and Firefly are free to live their lives as normally as they possibly can... though in Lilac's case, that comes out to "not very." Still, they're in a much better place than they've been for much of the story, and whatever happens next is on them. I'd love to see some of the details there, but that's up to you. In any case, thank you for this one.
This is a nice ending even though we don't see what will become of Lilac now that she has extra appendages.
Do the new appendages roots look natural? Apart from that good epilogue.
Imy confused now, most stories run for too long or end so early it feels like I'm missing stuff. But this story and ending seem perfect.
I still wish i could read many more chapters, but this is a great way to finish. Thank you starscribe for writing and sharing this.
I read somewhere that finishing a good story feels sad like saying goodbye to a good friend, so farewell lilac and firefly it has been an amazing journey.
11434283
This is pretty neatly wrapped up, so a full blown sequel would need its own hook, and personally I think these fillies have been through enough. Maybe if it was an anthology of little Slices of Life.
That was a good story.
Thanks for writing this story, I enjoyed it.
i've seen "pegacorn" in several other stories.
Scary, 5'' tall debt collectors.
derpicdn.net/img/view/2020/12/26/2517277.gif
Well, this was a fun adventure! I'll mirror what others are saying, a sequel would be amazing and i'd definitely read it - but that's down to the mystery commissioner (I bet you're reading these comments, whoever you are!) and Starscribe. This has to have been my favourite fic on the site in the 'modern era'.
11434287
There's all sorts of time travel shenanigans going on, the way the alicorn fortress reacted to them, any possible reincarnation of the Watcher (do we know if he truly died? If we're going by standard DnD rules, he lives as long as his Phylactery did), the devastation of the earth and such... If I were Starscribe and trying to brainstorm a sequel, the alicorn fortress would be an AMAZING starting point. It reacted to them magically, but WHY? Is there something else that we're unaware of?
Would taking Lilac and Firefly out of the OG timeline mess with history and cause the creation of another villain, or the release of a demon hiding behind a pony's skin that they would have otherwise defeated? There's lots of possibilities...
11434498
they are still an earth pony as well, they have all three tribes, just aren't an actual alicorn.
i did had my doubts at first when i first read it,but now i see it was actually really good,great job.
Awww. What at awesome story. The ending came quite quickly it seemed. I can't wait for any possibly sequel!
Me uniera gustado que ambas terminaran siendo alicornios:p
This needs a sequel, it just feels so unfinished and unresolved if there isnt a follow up that goes more indepth.
So now this story has wrapped up, after all.
I liked this one a lot. Usually you tend to lean more towards sci-fi in your writing and that tends to sneak into most of your stories that don't have a sci-fi premise themselves, but this story managed pretty well to stay in the boundaries of regular fantasy. I'm not as much into sci-fi, so I appreciate that you managed to write this story without veering into that direction too much. This may very well be my favorite story of yours.
This was an enjoyable read. Slow at times, but every chapter felt like was adding a brick to the path.
This was a fun ride!
And that's another story finished. The sisters may not have found their way back to Earth but they've certainly found their way home.
11434565
I was expecting the alicorn fortress to have a bigger part. As it currently stands it feels superfluous to the story.
11435965
It serves the role of being a slight clue to the underlying mystery of what exactly was going on with them, but it feels like there could definitely be more there.
I was expecting the thing from Beyond to come back for more, but apparently not. Tons of rock is deadlier than I expected. A more sudden ending than I thought, but one I will accept. It's a fine enough place to end on.
This was a fun story. I struggled a lot when it came to reading wherever I left off, but I always ended up devouring chapters like crazy when I pushed through to actually start reading again. It's an odd effect, and not one I've often experienced.
I guess the question now is whether or not there will side stories or sequels.
It's nice to find out that Lilac's new appendages are functional. The multi-colored wings are a nice detail as long as you don't think too hard about why.
Is there gonna be more?
11468261
Possibly, but if so it would be a chapter or two to tie up loose ends. I don't plan on sequels at this time.
This was a fun story! I liked it! I wouldn’t mind a sequel, as there are some plot threads that could still be expanded upon.
I like to imagine the video that was on Charlie’s phone that he left behind will be the beginning of what started humans to research higher planes of existence, one day allowing them to cross over into a past Equus to form a new world, the Equestrian they know today.
I really enjoyed this story! The setups felt a little slow sometimes, but they were worth the figurative wait. I particularly loved the fae/outerdimensional fantasy (or whatever it's called) theme! I liked science being magically explicable just as much as your other stories where the magic is scientifically explicable, and it felt much more mystical than a "side by side worlds" story.
Oof, wish I had come back to finish this story sooner. I stopped reading about halfway through to wait for more chapters to binge but never came back after it was completed. It's been sitting in deep storage until I've so thoroughly exhausted anything to read that I've started rereading things like Arrow 18, The Maretian, and now this...
And now I've realized that I'm out of things to read again, despite having hundreds of stories in my read-it-later list... Buck
It's been fun!
I absolutely loved this story! Would love to see a sequel!
Took me about three days to reread this.