It was quiet enough in Ponyville. Well, considering the events of a few days ago that devastated the entire Equestria. On the streets of the city, today's editions of newspapers were actively bought up, in which there was an unusual lot of interesting information. However, this and the many ponies on the streets did not prevent the Pegasus in the sky from collecting debris over the city. Rain is planned for today. And no one is going to change the plan.

When the first drops began to fall on the ponies' heads, they began to go to the nearest available shelters from the rain. The luckiest sellers in the market had a small roof over the counter. Others had flimsy roofs at best, or nothing at all. Small children were just returning to their families' homes. At least that's what obedient children did.

But there was one house in Ponyville that had no one to return to. A flimsy hut, miraculously not collapsed under the weight of time, which was located very close to the forest. Through the cracks, water dripped into the abandoned room, which fell on a table on which there was an extremely unusual thing. Today's edition of the newspaper. How could she get here? Who brought her here? Probably some teenager chose this place as his personal melancholic refuge.

In any case, there was a black-and-white photograph of a multitude of creatures on the front page of the newspaper. On the left, Six colorful ponies are owners of harmony elements that, alas, can no longer be used. In the very center, two thestrals, one of whom blinked in the photo, changeling with a bored face and Ahirata, who looked extremely nervous. And finally, there are both princesses on the right. There was a loud headline under this photo a few days ago that read: "The wedding in Canterlot could have been the greatest tragedy in the history of Equestria if it hadn't been for them!"

A sudden gust of wind through a hole in the wall of the hut caused the newspaper to open, revealing more details. The wedding in Canterlot was interrupted by a Changeling attack and the betrayal of the captain of the Night Guard, Daniel Ctumer. Moreover, after the defeat, the latter confessed to a variety of crimes, which include: the murder of several ponies, damage to state property and the attempted murder of princesses. A royal trial was held over him, the results of which are still not known to the public. In response to questions from the press, our good rulers only said the following: "In old Equestria, the death penalty was imposed for such crimes."

Many experts point out that the modern criminal code of Equestria does not provide for the death penalty. So, the most likely and popular scenario is that the former captain of the Night Guard was imprisoned for a long or life term. In any case, justice has been served.

The wind turned the pages once again as if it were a real reader and opened several articles at once related to the events in Canterlot, their participants and what contribution everyone made to the victory over evil. In the first and shortest article, the following was written: "Sergeant Report Stutter, despite the danger, made his way through the changelings and, having reached the castle, woke up Princess Luna. He refused any comments and photos, saying that he did not want too much attention to himself. Despite this, Princess Luna has publicly stated that Report will receive a monetary reward for her heroism."

A drop from the ceiling fell and soaked another photo. It depicted a thestral with a cap on his head and a coat with a crescent moon symbol. Below this image was a brief summary of the following content: "Since Report refused the promotion that was offered to him in the first place, Sergeant Rising Moon received the title of new captain. "

Upon taking office a few days ago, he made the following statement: "What happened recently is a tragedy. Yes, safety is preserved, but still several living and breathing creatures with dreams and families died. I don't want this to happen again. I believe that my task as captain of the Guard is not to brutally end conflicts. My task is to protect the weak, to avert threats that threaten someone's life. And I sincerely want the prevention of threats to happen bloodlessly. No matter how naive it sounds."

A few more drops fell from the ceiling onto the photo of the new captain of the guard, which made it absolutely not clear. Fortunately, the photo associated with the following article was still more or less intact. It showed a changeling with the same bored face looking straight at the camera. Under the photo, it read: "This changeling helped in the victory over evil and declared that he completely renounced his hive (Whatever that means). His name is Abdomen and for a long time he was disguised as a thestral. Moreover, being in a strange guise, he received the rank of sergeant of the night Guard. Therefore, the question of whether the Changeling can retain his title or not is being actively discussed. Although now most are more interested in what to do with the rest of the changelings and their queen who have been captured. "

The final article on this page did not have a photo, but it was still quite intense: "A former villain, the sole creator of Tartarus and one of the most cruel creatures ever to travel the lands of Equestria. This is how historians know the almost forgotten name of Akhirata. However, this mare belonging to an unknown species received a full pardon from the princesses for helping to defeat evil. Ahirata refused to give any comments and to be photographed, saying that she considers it extremely strange. However, in the last few days, there have been rumors that she has been seen several times in Ponyville interacting with Harmony Elements. But has Ahirata really reformed, or is she just waiting for an opportunity to betray? Time will tell."

With a powerful gust of wind, several boards inside the hut broke, but the most important thing was that the newspaper overflowed to the next page. There were many short articles in it, only two of which had photographs. The first one was that after the day of recovery from the events in Canterlot, Shining Armor, the captain of the Solar Guard and Princess Cadance got married. The photo showed the newlyweds waving their hooves goodbye.

The second article was perhaps the last of the interesting ones in today's issue. It had a picture of a Minotaur and a centaur playing guitar and drums. There was an article under the photo: "Popular among young ponies and at the same time a scandalous group called the Civil Offensive, recently performed the largest concert in the history of Equestria, which took place in Vanhoover. According to approximate estimates, more than fifty thousand fans attended it. Although many people are worried that the band, which was formed earlier this year, organized its own concerts from the very beginning. Where did they get so much money from? If they have a secret sponsor who benefits from a band that openly offends all Equestrian traditions?"

In response to the question posed at the end of the article, the rain suddenly began to fall even harder, which is why the hut began to creak, preparing to fall apart at any moment. The walls started to shake due to the wind and eventually the board suddenly fell right on the table, right on the newspaper. A piece of wood covered most of the text of all the articles except for one sentence.

THE END

Author's Note

Uh, yeah. This is the finale. (The main character has finished striving for perfection). I started writing this story over a year ago and finally finished it. (To be honest, when I started writing, I didn't think this moment would come at all. Have you seen most of the HiE stories on this site?) Will there ever be a sequel? Yes, probably yes. I already have a few ideas. Completely random and not having a clear connection, but I have these ideas. When will the sequel be released? I have no idea. Maybe tomorrow I will write and publish the story "Striving for Correction" (the name was invented in two milliseconds). Or it will happen in a few years. Or something in between?

Anyway, thanks to everyone who reads this. Each of your comments, likes, and views gave me motivation to keep writing. Thank you all for your attention to my story, I hope that it has caused you at least a little positive feelings. Thank you all.

Well, that's all I wanted to say (or should I say write it?). So, bye, see you someday!