A soft wind tickled at Anon’s face.

The warmth of the sun sapped any remaining energy he may have still had in him, but that was okay.

There was a time for movement, and there was a time for rest.

This was a time for rest.

Around him lay nine similarly drained creatures. Their breaths put the human’s mind at ease.

Below him was not earth, nor was it the wild abyss.

It was stone. Stone that, he assumed, stretched far and deep across the underground of Equestria. The marble was cool against his back, it’s smoothness perfect in design. Overhead loomed the petrified remains of tendrils poised to strike, great pillars that he thought were fit for such a great beast. What once was Evir now resembled a sort of temple, a grand monument of his power, and also his defeat.

Everyone present stood quiet for a long while, watching the few scant clouds overhead lazily drift. Such moments of peace after insanity were to be cherished.

…

Funnily enough, it was Twilight, who’d break the silence.

“Do you girls remember when we defeated Nightmare Moon? We all had just met, but we all worked together regardless. We saved Luna, and we learned together just how important friendship truly was. I think that’s my favorite memory.”

Her words hung in the air for a few moments, before some happy sobs filled the air. Soon enough, there was a roar of yips and cheers. Slowly, Anon tilted his head towards Gile, who held Fizzy against his chest in a loose cuddle. Their faces all shared the same utter exhaustion, but they shared tired smiles as well.

“So… so we did it?”

It was hard to hear Gile’s words over the celebration.

“Yeah. I think we did.”

Fizzy buried her face into Gile’s feathers.

“H’ooh… That’s the end of it, I hope.”

The trio shared a chuckle before joining in with the cheers.

…

It wasn’t long after that the Royal Guard and mages from Celestia’s camp would come swarming Evir’s Folly, ready for battle. Seeing the mountain roaring and the distant land shattering overrid their orders to stay put on base. They were very much confused at the sight upon entering the battlefield for this reason. Evir had been sealed away by the power of The Elements of Harmony, and all was right in Equestria once again.

A day later, Twilight and her friends, along with Celestia, were ready to leave The Badlands. Celestia’s newly fledged base now had a new directive: Damage assessment and the systematic dismantling of Evir’s smoke. During questioning of what happened during the fight, Anon was positive that he had seen a stallion inside the center mass of Evir, that great swirling sphere from which his painful shouts emanated from. Further study would need to be conducted, but the Head-Scryer ensured to Celestia that Evir’s ‘core’ would not be tampered with until much further study was conducted. Clear Sight’s sample had abruptly turned to stone as well upon the blast, clearing up that potential health hazard and threat to the nation nicely. This evoked her into further exposition on her theories why, much to the bemusement of many creatures in the room.

…

Celebration of the crisis finally averted shook the streets of Canterlot. Twilight and her friends, both old and new, were paraded through the city. Flags were waved on every street corner, hung from windowsills, standing tall upon buildings overhead. Roses and Orchids and other such pretty flowers had been thrown about, and they littered the streets in the most romantic of ways. The pegasi had done their job splendidly, and the cool winds blowing through the great mountain city held onto individual petals steadfast, and floated them across every which way.

But it was the ponies themselves that made the party.

They gathered in droves, all out in the sunlight, and danced and sang. Sang for the victory over evil, the return of Twilight, and the heroes she befriended along the way. Though the Canterlites did not know the whole story, that was okay, for they did not need to. It’s conclusion, so yearned for and desired, for so many months, was all that was needed. The party lasted long into the night, and long into the days. The gang would not return to Ponyville for almost a week, and they braced themselves for another bout celebration on the train back home.

Anon and his friends were given their just reward, not alone for returning Twilight safely, but for their heroism in uniting Twilight’s friends during the fight at Evir’s Folly to deliver the final blow.

…

“You have a brother too!?” Anon put his head in his hands.

“Big brother. His name’s Shining Armor.” Twilight said matter-of-factly, very much enjoying Anon’s nervousness.

“God… As if meeting Celestia wasn’t enough, I’m gonna have to meet your family too…”

“He’s also been recently promoted to Captain of The Royal Guard.”

Anon screamed into his hands.

“Aw, cheer up bro. I already met Fizzy’s cousin, and she was great!”

Anon eyed the coy Gile through his fingers. If looks could kill…

“Can we, uh, not talk about that night? Or Echidna at all for that matter?”

“I agree with Fizzy.”

Gile just scoffed and tossed Spike one of his gems, which the little drake gobbled up gleefully. Twilight’s friends had since retired to their own homes, the festivities in Ponyville finally coming to a close. Though the trio now had enough money to their names combined to buy Ponyville in its entirety, Twilight had offered them rooms in The Golden Oak Library during their quasi-transitionary period from homeless thieves to rich, reformed rogues.

“It’s no fair! Why didn’t Celestia bring me along to The Badlands? I bet I could’ve knocked Evir’s socks off with my dragon breath no biggie!” Spike puffed out his chest and flexed.

“I’m sure the castle had nicer accommodations than Evir’s Folly, little guy. Gotta love when life throws you a bone- er, gem.”

Anon stared out of one of the windows in Twilight’s upstairs livingroom, the last of the fireworks from townhall illuminating the sky. It reminded him of the first time he watched Twilight with a sparkler… which in turn reminded him of a jab for Gile.

“Besides, what’s that supposed to mean anyway Gile? ‘Meeting Fizzy’s cousin?’ Doesn’t sound like the plan to me. Infact, I recall you saying something about having your cake, eating it, then marrying the baker?”

Fizzy and Twilight both cocked their heads. “... What?”

“O-oh please! Totally different situation. Besides, the ‘plan’ is done, I can do as I please now.” Gile huffed and pulled Fizzy closer to his side.

“... You married a baker?”

Gile’s feathers puffed out with embarrassment. “T-there isn’t a baker! It was a metaphor- gah! Nevermind…”

And as the back and forth fell into small talk, slowly, the friends went to their beds and slept peacefully, without higher goals in mind, for the first time in a very long time.

…

Anon found Gile on Twilight’s balcony a few hours later, nursing a bottle of some Equestrian liquor.

“Didn’t wake your marefriend, did you?”

“Course not. Yours?”

Gile scoffed. “Psh, just because we aren’t thieves anymore doesn’t mean I can’t sneak around… Drink?”

“Please.”

Gile poured his friend a glass. He had brought two out onto the perch, predicting Anon’s arrival. Ponyville was quiet now. At ease. The stars twinkled softly, dotting the dark sky and helping paint the world below in a filter of calm, low purple.

“So, what’s got you still awake?”

“Doesn’t feel real.”

Anon sipped his drink. Echidnans have stronger stomachs than Equestrians, it seemed.

“What? Us being here?” There was no judgement in Anon’s voice.

“Yeah. Living as thieves for I don’t know how long, traveling with Twilight, fighting some sorta demon thing… Doesn’t feel like I’m that griffon. Doesn’t feel like I did those things. I thought the dream would always be out of reach.”

“Same thing keepin’ me up, then. One second we’re still traveling, the next we’re rich up to our eyeballs and the journey is done.” Anon swished his liquor around in its glass. “Gonna be weird not moving around all day.”

“Tch, I bet Twilight will be moving you around plenty bro.”

“Yeesh man, thanks for the compliment.”

Gile nearly choked on his drink. “Ack- fuck, I didn’t mean it like that! Why’s it always sexual with you?”

“Haha, I’m kidding, I’m kidding. You’re right though. Definitely gonna have to get as friendly with her friends as she is, and I bet she’s gonna wanna make up for lost time, yadda yadda…”

“It’s not bad though.”

“No, no of course not. It’s just… different. Wildly so.”

Gile poured himself another drink. “Yeah, I guess that’s my point. It’s different. No one ever tells you about what happens after the end of the story, just that it ends. I don’t think I’ve quite processed the whole ‘riches’ thing yet. We got all the bits we could possibly hope for now, but… “

“Nothin’ really to spend it on. Guess we just start buying a bunch of nice clothes from Rarity. Her boutique was filled with all those dresses. Maybe she can make us nice suits?”

“Clothes have never really been my style, Anon. Guess we’ll never go hungry.”

“Yeah.”

The friends were quiet for a long while after that.

…

“But hey. If it means anything… I think it stopped being about the money a long time ago.” Anon looked through the glass door of the balcony, focusing on Twilight’s sleeping form. “... It’s about a better future. And… and we’re here now. So all that’s left is to live it.”

Anon could make out Gile’s smile through the low light of night.

“... Yeah. Guess so.”

“And besides,” Anon held up his glass. “We really showed this world what we’re made of.”

Gile clinked his glass with Anon’s.

“I’ll drink to that.”

END.

Author's Note

Hello again! Thank you so much for reaching the end. I originally got this idea, admittedly, from listening to the Anastasia musical seven months ago and fell in love with the idea, if you couldn't tell by the, admittedly, low-effort name. This was my first attempt at something longer than maybe 3,000 words, so I didn't really know what I was in for at the time. I wrote everything up on a google doc and planned to release it all at once when it was finally complete, so interested readers wouldn't need to sit fretting on when the next update would come. This was a good idea in hindsight, because life gets in the way and suddenly the weeks turned to months. I'll continue writing in this sort of format for the future for the same reason.

I intend on writing some bonus epilogue chapters in the future, but no promises on when they'll pop up, if at all.

Feedback on the colored dialogue would be appreciated. It wasn't really an issue going through the story again and color-coding everything, but if people don't like it, I'll stop doing it.

Anyway, thanks again for reading, and I sincerely hope you enjoyed!

-slep