A long time ago, she was known as Daring Do, a great archeologist and writer of the best selling novels of the same name.
Now, she was just A.K. Yearling, who was currently flying across the skies as she pondered an important question:
What do I do now that the Daring Do series is over?
The pegasus closed her eyes and hummed in thought, hoping this could help her find the answer. After all, she could always just write another book series, but there was no guarantee they would be as well received as Daring Do was.
Her train of thought, however, stopped there, as the sound of magic being used caught her attention. She flew towards the source of the sound, and found it came from a peculiar Grey-coated make unicorn.
"Uh, excuse me?" Yearling asked as she set hoof on the ground. "What are you doing?"
The unicorn flinched and turned around. "Oh, uh, sorry, I didn't see you there. I was scanning the scenery for any inspiration for my next story."
Inspiration? Story? "Would you just so happen to be a writer?"
"Yes, but before we go further, let me introduce myself!" the unicorn bowed slightly. "Name's Stygian, nice to meet you."
Yearling smiled and returned the bow. "The pleasure's mine, Stygian. My name's A.K. Yearling."
"Oh hey, I've heard your name being thrown around a couple times before," Stygian scratched his mane. "You're the writer of the Daring Do book series, right?"
"Yeah, that's me," Yearling answered, lightly kicking the ground. "Now, what about you? I haven't heard your name before, so you must be a new writer, right?"
"If by new, you mean a couple of months, then yeah, I'm a new writer," Stygian smiled. "I'm the writer of an autobiographical work detailing my experiences bonded with the Pony of Shadows."
A book about the experiences of being bonded to a fantastic creature? Why didn't she think of that before?!
"It's become a bestseller pretty quickly," Stygian continued. "However, I just recently finished writing the last book in that series and it's due to be published very soon. So, I'm looking around for my next big idea."
"Huh, I see," Yearling lowered her head. "I wish you good luck with your search."
Stygian's smile slowly turned into a frown as Yearling took a deep breath and sat on the grass, facing the ground with a saddened look.
"I'm probably putting my nose where it doesn't concern me, but is something wrong?" Stygian inquired. "I mean, your big series is over, yeah, but you can start working on something new! Isn't that something to be happy, or at least curious about?"
"I guess? I mean, I'm happy that I gave the series a conclusion, but..."
Stygian raised an eyebrow. "But?"
"I don't know, I feel a sense of melancholy too," Yearling finished. "I mean, I've been writing these stories since the beginning of my career and, even though I knew it would eventually end... I was still caught off-guard when it came."
Stygian moved to Yearling's side. "I know what you mean: I had the same feeling when I wrote the last story of my book series."
Yearling raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you just start writing a few months ago, like you just told me?"
"I still got quite a lot written in such a short time. I though the books would take a year to finish, and yet, I wasn't even a third of the way through before I wrote the last chapter," Stygian sat down. "And now, looking for the next thing to do, I can't help but feel excited."
"You're excited, yet you're not worried?" Yearling asked incredulously.
"I never said that: I'm definitely a little worried for my next book," Stygian lifted his head and looked at some dragons flying by. "However, I'm also pretty excited to give this writing gig another go. Who knows, it might reach the same popularity as my previous series!"
Yearling chuckled, and Stygian grew concerned. "I'm setting my standards too high, aren't I?"
"A little, but it's okay to dream high sometimes," Yearling took a deep breath. "Just, make sure you have a plan when you start writing, okay?"
"Sure, I'll keep that in mind..." Stygian raised an eyebrow. "By the way, sorry if the question comes out of nowhere... But what are you planning to write next?"
Yearling opened her mouth to answer, but paused as she got an idea. A new writer whose first big series was over, and an experienced writer, whose big series was also over, and they were both looking of what to do next.
This might be just what they both needed.
"Before I answer, let me make you a proposition," Yearling got up. "How would you like to write a story with me?"
Stygian hummed as he got up as well. "I've never co-written with anypony before, though. Would that be a problem?"
"No, in fact, I think we can deal with it pretty easily," Yearling smiled. "With my expertise and your enthusiasm, we might be able to write a book together. We can make it work!"
"If you say so," Stygian slowly grew happy. "This could also be a good chance to learn from an expert on the field..." Stygian smiled and nodded. "Alright then, let's do this!"
"Perfect! We can meet up at my shack when you want to start!" Yearling spread her wings... And promptly retracted them. "Um, you can't fly, right? Maybe I should show you where it is on hoof."
"Thanks, but before we forget, we should give this new story we'll write a placeholder name," Stygian said as he followed the pegasus. "Just to have something to call it while we iron out the details."
"I agree..." Yearling got an idea. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
The ponies exchanged a look that meant they had the same idea. A look that promised that this would be the start of something very, very interesting:
"The Fifth Generation!"
A silence followed...
"Of what though?"
"We'll figure it out later."
Author's Note
Gen four is over, and we can't do anything but keep writing stories about the characters we love.
And hey, when gen five comes, let's give it at least a little shot, okay?