i.imgur.com/MIj6o.gif

Now stop the complaining you got your ending

If anyone complains about this. I'll personally hunt them down and slap them until they cant speak anymore

had this playing when i read this, the feels where doubled.

**sigh** I think... you shouldn't have had her live an entire life in the last few chapters. She should have ascended while still within mortal age so that not too much time had been skipped over. The life of an archmage would not be boring for the rest of her mortal life, so tons was bound to be stepped over. I think it would be better to skip as little as possible.

However, either way could allow other authors to fill in missing space. I'm seriously hoping they do, because this is (was) one of the best setup stories I've ever read. The character dynamics you've created could interact extremely well with boundless additional plots. Granted, that's probably why you stopped writing it.

Other than that, this really has been one of the best stories I've ever read on here, all the way up there with Past Sins, Duties and Powers of Harmony. You've done good.

I really don't understand. The author complains about people demanding an ending in a blog post saying they are ungrateful bastards. So to get back at them, the author chooses to (obviously, don't deny it) half ass an ending to get it out as soon as possible. Author then proceeds to tell us to "take the fucking ending and choke on it" in the blog post.

Why would you disappoint people truly loyal to your story as a response to the assholes making you miserable? If anything you should have made them wait longer and proceeded to write the best thing you could create. You said yourself that this story means a lot to you. Why do this?

I'm also amazed that when you got some honest critique in the last 2 or 3 chapters you churned out, you proceeded to bite the head off of anyone not completely adoring your writing. Don't step all over your readers just because some kids on the internet insulted you.

Call me a jackass, downvote, whatever. This needed to be said.

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People should be able to complain all they want. They shouldn't insult the author or try to make him feel bad, but disallowing someone to even make a negative comment on the writing is stupid.

So we did get this route after all. It does make me feel better, happy endings are always nice, but I feel like it's been cheapened a bit. This was meant to be a surprise for all of us, all that was required was a little patience. People here need to seriously calm the fuck down when it comes to the choices authors make with their stories. If you don't like how something is being written, don't read it. Or go write your own if you think you can do so much better. The bitching and complaining needs to stop.

Thank you again for the magnificent ride Loyal, I'm sorry your surprise was ruined by jackasses.

What would have happened if twi had chosen otherwise? if she had chosen not to return and became a God instead? how would Luna cope? What was the other ending?

Ehhhh yes yes yes the last what I thought ending was fantastic even if sad fantastic to say the least but by celestia I'd give you a billion hugs just for adding a happy ending loyal you are by far one of the best writers on this website please never stop writing and always write what you want sad or happy it seems like you've got the talent
5/5 mustaches for this story and all others. You may write

I retract my earlier statements....
*grumbles under breath*
good ending

I have read many stories on this site and many more outside of it and this is without a doubt the greatest story I have ever read. you are the ONLY author to have brought me to tears so forcefully I had to actually stop reading because I could not see. You are without a doubt among the greatest authors to ever put word to page, should anyone say otherwise they are nothing but jealous.

Told ya you guys were freakin' out for nothing.

awesome story, Loyal. i'll be checking out your other ones one of these days... when i'm not busy with fifty million things i already have to do xD

This story...This story is...Aduro Approved.

Yup. This is totally going on my list of 5 best Completed Story I read ever.

I really hope you make an alternate ending. I want to know what'll happen if she chose to become a god!

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*Ahem*
As mentioned in the blog statements you reference, Iroh and I had decided on this ending a long time ago. Right around the time I had started writing the story. I did not "Half-ass" this ending. I did not rush it. It took me three days to write, polish, and prepare. Prior to those three days, I spent several long weeks discussing how it would go with Iroh, who decides he is no longer a part of the fandom and as such won't assist me with the story.

So on top of dealing with comments like these, I've had to go at this alone, with naught but the help of Wolfton, who was a boon both to this story and my rapidly-deteriorating mood. Admittedly, I could have taken more time and polished this ending more. But without Iroh's help, I'm afraid these last few chapters are lacking my charm and commitment.

So say what you will, but I'm telling you now:
This ending was not "Rushed." This ending was thoroughly discussed and as well thought-out as anything I've put my time and effort into.

I'm sorry I've upset you with my hard-fought decisions and stress.

2677082 I think that's what would have happened had she chosen to know what the prophecy entailed, instead of choosing free will.

I still don't like how you skipped over 1½ century of Twilight's life, but I must say that the fact that you made the Archmage position more of a title and gave them the time and space needed to have a family makes up for it a little bit.

I won't hold back on my opinion on that, but I will stress that it does little to lower my opinion on the story as a whole. It was very well done with only a few things I thought could have been done better, if any at all. I'm sad to see it end, as I am with every story I enjoy.

2677082
I think the other ending would be for Luna to cope through the knowledge that Twilight was 'alive' in some way. She'd still be a "princess of magic", but more in the sense that she becomes magic itself, and not just a princess of it.

Awesome ending I'll admit I wasn't expecting Alicorn Twi outta this because of yours and Iroh's comments but eh, I'll happily take it.

Overall, I wish you's gone into way more detail about what happened in the journey to the library and what actually happened there. I also wish Twilight could have been the element of Magic one more time, instead of just the Archmage (read: go on an adventure with her friends as the Archmage) otherwise I fucking love this story.

One thing I wonder about with alicron Twilight (in general, not specifically in Archmage's case): Is she still the element of Magic? Will she be so forever? Will the other elements find new bearers should the need arise or will the others of the mane six simply be reincarnated?

Your story almost gave me a panic attack when twilight died. or almost died.My heartrate was at 145 durring that chapter.

There aren't enough feels gifs in all the internet to express how good this story was. I'm sad to see it end, but it ended well

great history great ending for it

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Then I apologize for assuming. However, as the reader, I do feel rushed. Also, I still believe that you shouldn't be disrespecting anyone who has some sort of critique. Most critics for fanfiction do it in the interest of the author improving, not to insult you. Just as I have made assumptions about your motives with these chapters, you assume that we are all heartless assholes. That isn't ok. Not to mention you tell your blog readers to "choke on it." Typically the ones following you are the ones who like your writing the most. You just said that to the wrong people.

Again I'm not commenting in the interest of adding to your distress, though I know I'm certainly not helping. I just believe some of this needs to be said.

It really is hard to articulate how fantastic this story was to read.

2677130

**hugs** You've done fine. Very well given those circumstances.

Ah, so it's finally over? This was a good read, wonderful job.

I feel like sunshine and smiles! Both endings are good, this one is a bit more fitting for a bunch of happy pastel ponies. The one I prefer is the first, because it moved me the most, and is more realistic... Though the part when lots of ponies would die is disquieting.

Great job, concept was amazing, the smex was nice(I'm no expert...), would like to see some twilunestia ... Because it could happen, with them being immortal and what not.

I am eagerly anticipating your next piece of pone literature.

That is all.

i saw that it was over
im gonna get to reading it asap
but it makes me really sad, this was truly a wonderful fic.
it started out as what sorta looked like a good fic with some okay clop but then it got so much more intense and showed some scenes with super badass twilight and i really liked it. i was always super happy when this updated.
i also really liked the idea and the way it was written.
can't wait to see what you write next!

Holy shit... it ended.

All said, nicely done. Damn good story.

2677130
Hey, I loved the ending, it had a bunch of feels and a happy ending, I couldn't ask for much more than that.
(Twilight as a deity would have been interesting.)

-Mis

I'm so sad Why did this have to end. Out of all the possible things this is THE. WORST. POSSIBLE. THING!! *faints*

Great Ending good Author... I had much fun reading and watching your story progress....

I hope you write many more great storys...

As for Iroh... Im sorry he left

Bravo Loyal, Bravo! An epic conclusion with plenty of feels.
Looking forward to (and hoping for) your next great epic!

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Just perfect, the transition was perfect, the story was perfect, you created a world, an amazing world where you made us cry, get angry, curse, but also smile, love and enjoy, thank you, this story really made me happy.
dont be mad at them, its just theyr opinion, after all this story is your story and if you ask me, it reflects how you felt while you where writting.
Also sorry for my bad english.

2677129
If she became a god, The whole world would end. She had a final decision as part of the end of the prophecy and she chose the right choice. If she chose to be a god, the thing in the sky wouldn't have turned into twilicorn. It would have ended everypony except the princesses.

I know that it's difficult for some folks to separate the story from the flurry of emotions that surround it, but you can hardly reach an objective conclusion about the story otherwise. The writer and the commentators alike have to be rendered irrelevant; the story must stand on its own merits.

Can Archmage stand on its own merits?

Disregarding the fuster-cluck which surrounds the release of the ending and certain accusations made by other parties, the "time lapse" method of writing at the end does mark a rather abrupt (but not unacceptable) change in the pace of the story. The transition could have been a little smoother, and perhaps the time lapse could have been stretched out a bit to provide a better sense of closure to the story. What you have is fundamentally sound, but it could have used some more time in the oven.

What about the rest of the story?

If Archmage has any one major flaw, it's one that I've mentioned before: the story seems to be written almost serially, with some uncomfortable transitions between major events in the plotline. Archmage exists in that awkward position between being a single story and a collection of short stories written within a common setting, and that really hurts it. This seems to be your primary weak point as a writer: making the story flow from point to point in a cohesive manner.

On the other hand, your strong point is very obviously your characterization. Not only did you manage to (for the most part) present the canon characters in a manner consistent with their behavior from the cartoon, but you managed to avoid the worst tropes associated with secondary characters. Rarity held the idiot ball a little longer than was absolutely necessary, but that's not inexcusable when she's involved.

Despite the flaws in this story, I do think that it's capable of standing on its own merits. Well done, author. Hopefully we'll be seeing more of you in the future.

nope, skrew that. i'd be a god. call me selfish, but i believe i'd do more good as a god than an alicorn.

2677304 my new favorite comment :)

Thank you for being objective.

the ending(I hope its not though) is like mass effeact3's ending before the DLC sooooooooooooooooooooo hope to god(or what have you) that thare is a happy ending.

Overall, I like this story.
Thank you for writing it

i already expressed my thanks and feelings for your story, but, once again, this was beautiful

They settled all of their arguments civilly, and Twilight had to admit the makeup sex was incredible.

i rofled, i rofled really hard if that would have been the final line i would have died rofling

kudos on finishing the story, maybe a little more conflict when the princesses choose to saw everything burn and star anew could have been a nice touch, aside from that loved it

This was a fantastic ending. Don't listen to the people who whinge and whine about inane reasons. I really enjoyed this story, from the descriptions to the story, through and through. I'll re-read it, just to relive the experience. Thank you for such a fantastic journey!

So, this is over? It has been a good journey through an interesting world. However, the ending was rather sudden. I can see why you did as you did, but you should have included more of her lifetime in the end, more time passed during one of those paragraphs than all of the 40 chapters before it.

I loved the epilogu chapter tho.

I have to say that I did enjoy this story. I remember when the ending was posted early, and then, I, like many others, thought it felt so incredibly rushed. Not because the writing in those ending chapters was poor, but that there was a much longer story that could have been written with what was presented, and I, for one, was disappointed that the story was over before I felt it really began. While the attitudes of most at the time were juvenile, as were their responses, it does seem they were correct, at least in regards to there being much, much more worth reading that nearly didn't come to pass.

Again, we have the ending behind us. Again, the ending still feels somewhat rushed. But also again, it's not because of a lack of quality of anything that's been written, it's only because it feels like the ride was ended too soon, and there is more that could be told here. I didn't think I'd be able to say that about something that's covered 200,000 words over 43 chapters, but there it is.

So, thank you for sharing your world with us. The ride was more than worth my time.

The way the ending is written makes me think that the 4 princesses eventually passed on. If they were meant to be eternal, then shouldn't it have been written present tense?

I enjoyed this despite that little mind bothering question.

I think the last few chapters were probably the weakest of the story. We spent 190k words reading about the detailed goings-on of Twilight's life over the course of a few months, then suddenly we covered hundreds of years in the final 10k words. It was jarring. I'm a little disappointed, because this is one of my favorite stories on the site, and it's the longest story I've read on here. Several chapters ago it appeared that it would be able to keep going for another 100k words or more, so the ending was surprising in its appearance.

It was a well-written ending, don't get me wrong. I cried. But I had come to view this story as a War and Peace, with a long meandering story, containing what could be split into many smaller works within itself, but still slowly moving towards a goal that wouldn't be obvious until the end was reached. I suppose War and Peace had a similar ending in as far as the pace suddenly picked up and skipped forward by a number of years, but there you go. I guess I was just hoping it would emulate War and Peace in length as well as structure, aka: I didn't want it to end yet.

Still, you wrote an excellent story, and even if the ending mars the final product in my mind, it is still one of my favorite fanfics.

Sigh, now I need to find a new source for my Twiluna fix...

edit: Dammit, I finished typing, posted my comment, then started reading the other comments. Turns out that Toxic Spill said pretty much exactly what I did, but in a slightly clearer way. 2677304 I swear I didn't just steal Toxic Spill's thoughts...

Congrats on getting featured—again.

2677417
Dont you feel like a twat now.

2677304
Agreed. Good comment, by the way.