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Thanks for the comment. I haven't experienced anything exactly like this irl but I will say that mentally putting myself in that spot was probably the most unpleasant I've ever felt while writing a story. Glad it translated well.

Well, my heart was just put into a blender and tossed to the side of the road, but that's what's to be expected from a False Door story. I was sad, I was uncomfortable at times and heartbroken by the end of it. I could see this happening in the show if the characters were a little less kind (and if the target audience weren't little girls). Well done.

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11212651
Thanks! I'm sincerely super jazzed to hear that I've apparently established a recognizable brand of emotionally devestating storytelling.

Well, possibly dying from exposure in the snow is a healthier choice than definately dying in a fire. Not good choices of course.
Wow, most times the ending is left open in a story it's so the reader can imagine their own epilogue. But I don't see this ending in anything other than a tragedy. Starlight going down a mindhole, recognizing what is happening, but unable to see any other options. It hurts to read, but it also makes me want to keep going. When I got here (the last chapter and it's fatalist ending) I immediately looked for the next chapter. You couldn't leave it there, but you did. And after some thought it is a perfect ending. Because it was Starlight ending that whole part of her life. Just not the ending I wanted, but fuck me, am I right? I'm going to be up thinking about this for awhile.

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When I first came up with this story, it was built around the visual of Starlight walking away from a burning School of Friendship. Then I "drew the map" to that destination and when I finally got there, I couldn't do it. If I had her commit such a selfish act of violence, it would be much more difficult to empathize with her pain. I'd be wasting all that emotional momentum, so I just had her leave without the arson.

As for the implication of the ending, Starlight can just teleport anywhere she wants but there's something to be said of the meditation of taking a long walk by yourself. My thoughts while writing it were that no matter what happens next, it was a heroic selfsacrificing act to protect others from herself and that either she'd freeze or maybe end up in another isolated valley where she rebuilds Our Town. But I guess anything could happen, even something good. She could even have some life changing misadventure... but she'll still never be with Sunburst.

She knew why she wouldn't do that. Forcing ponies to stay with her didn’t make real happiness… but allowing ponies to leave did cause real pain.

Goddamn.

Sad to see it end there. Her friends would be looking for her if they'd heard from Gallus, especially when they saw the state of her office.

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No doubt they will look when they know. Sunburst might be already...

This is truly a masterpiece. You captured all ponies personalities very well and all the starlight scenes actually felt like cutting my heart. The progressive desperation and submitting to the intrusive thoughts was really heartbreaking (and a little disturbing, even for me). And the Gallus scene when she burned so many bridges in her life just by one action...

In the end tho, I kinda wished for more, either a bad or a good ending. The open one felt... unfinished, in my opinion.

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Thank you. Out of all the stories I've written, this is probably the one that makes me feel the worst... which is why it's one of my favs. And yeah, a reccuring thing with me it ending stories abruptly in a way that frustrates many readers.