Epilogue

“Hello? Is anypony there?”

“I’m here.”

”Sis?”

“Is everypony okay?”

“As okay as I can be.”

“I don’t get it... where are we? Why’s it so dark?”

...

“We’ve been cancelled, Izzy.”

“What?”

“... I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not really that sad. I knew this was coming. I just didn’t expect it to happen so soon. Was it something we did? Do people really not like us?”

“I’m sure they did, Izzy. But sometimes... things just don’t work out.”

“Well it’s not my fault. I tried my best. I really did. But I just couldn’t get the plot moving. It didn’t help that you were so wrapped up in your smoothie business that you did almost nothing to help. I’m just a side character, I couldn’t carry the story on my own!”

“Well then, whose fault do you say that it is?”

“Let’s not get caught up in blame games, Pipp...”

“I’m not blaming any of you. I’m blaming the Humans for setting us up to fail. They gave us this massive legacy to live up to, and I’m sorry but it’s not our fault if we fell short. We just needed some more attention to detail to really soar. If a star comes out with a bedhead, glasses and dirty hooves, and then gets booed, it’s not the star’s fault: it’s the fault of the ponies who were supposed to be shining her up and didn’t. All we needed was a little care... but they never cared about us. They cared about ‘Diversity’ and ‘Inclusion’ and ‘Friendship’. They never gave us the time of day. And now that we’re gone, they’re probably going to sweep us under the rug forever and make everything that we did pointless, just like they did to the ones before us.”

“I’m sure we’re not gone forever. They’ll make another show and we’ll have cameos in it, you’ll see.”

“No they won’t. No, they won’t. Why would they want to bring back a bunch of failures? ‘Cause that’s how they see us. Failures.”

...

“Do you remember when we all first met?

Yeah. Yeah. Mhm.

“At that one party where I totally went though everything way too fast?”

“I remember how alone I felt, that day. You were all part of something wonderful and I, just, wasn’t.”

“Ah, Misty...”

“Every time I tried to plot a way to steal those stupid crystals, I couldn’t help but feel horrible. That’s why I buried the lamp in the garden, instead of taking it straight away. You gave me your trust so freely, and, even though I didn’t know how to express it back then, I didn’t want to betray it.”

“This may be the end, but... honestly, I feel better now than I did back then. I’m really the luckiest pony in the world.”

“Oh, cut it out, Misty, you’re gonna make me cry.”

“The great Sheriff Hitch, crying? Now that’s something I have to hear.”

“Sprout?”

“Have you been there the whole time?”

“Of course.”

“Well why didn’t you say anything? It’s rude to listen in on ponies when they don’t know you’re there.”

“Sorry, I’m not the talkative type.”

Allura?

“It’s alright, I’m... good... now. Sort of.”

“Opaline, are you back there too?”

“... No?”

“... I guess not. She didn’t seem like she’d want to be around us, anyway. I bet she’s off sulking somewhere by herself.”

“Ch. She’s lucky. At least she got to look competent. In my entire life, I’ve never been anything but a joke, and now I’m dead.”

“I’m sorry, Sprout.”

“You’re sorry? You know what, since it doesn’t matter any more, I think I’ll say it. You were always what I wanted to be, Hitch. Competent... smart... handsome... for so many years, I thought that maybe, tomorrow, I’d find a way to be as successful and famous as you. But in the end... I’m always going to be stuck as this. And I hate it. I hate everything!”

“Sprout? Sprout!??”

“I think he left.”

“Damn it. Pardon my language.”

“Hhuhhh.”

“I always wanted to lead him straight. I promised my dad I would. But... I dunno what went wrong. I guess you really can’t save somepony, unless they want to be saved.”

“That’s my biggest regret.”

“It’s okay. You did the best you could. You know that.”

“Are you okay with the way things turned out? ... Hitch.”

“I guess I am. I got to be a dad to Sparky. I got to spend my time doing what I love. And I got to spend my leisure time with a bunch of fun ponies who care about me. I guess you can’t really ask for more than that, huh?”

“Honestly, despite what I said, Sunny, I don’t really wish things had been different. I just wish they had gone on... for so much longer. Princesses, I’m twenty. I thought I had my whole life in front of me. And it’s already over?”

“They screwed us over. What was the point of being given everything when we couldn’t do anything?”

“I dunno, guys, but I had a fun time. I made lots of new friends and made lots of ponies happy. Created some rad artwork, too. But, the thing I’m most grateful for is that I got to be myself, at least once. I didn’t have to worry about hiding who I really was and following weird superstitions I didn’t actually believe in. And even better, I got to be surrounded by ponies who loved who I really was! Isn’t that the greatest thing ever?”

“I know the feeling. I spent so long shouting at the wind... I think that the thing I’m most happy about is that I got to prove my dad right. What about you, Allura? What are you happiest about in your life?”

“Don’t talk to me about happiness.”

“Why not?”

“I spent most of my life trying to make a portal between universes so that I could reunite with my brother. And now, I never will.”

“That sucks.”

“I’m sorry for your loss. Still, you shouldn’t have mind-controlled an entire village.”

“You’re right. I was greedy, and selfish.”

“What made you change?”

...

“Being treated like a monster. It forced me to remember that I wasn’t a monster. It forced me to get closer to Twitch, and learn what it was like to have a friend that wasn’t a family member.”

“Back then, I would have thought that a leopard having a rabbit as a pet would be ridiculous. In my eyes, you were nothing more than prey. I guess I was changing even before you overthrew me...”

“Well, we can be your friends now. If you want.”

“Huh... Actually... I think I’d like that.

“New Friend! Wahoo!”

“Welcome to the team. Even if it’s a little late.”

“Well, at least that has a happy ending.”

“Hrrr....”

“Pipp?”

“It’s fine for you all to be happy!”

“What is it, Pipp?”

“All my life, I’ve tried to be an image... an idol... the Most Popular Pony... only to be left in the cold! For what? It was all for nothing! I m-might as well have not even tried.”

“... Are you crying?”

“Yes, I’m c-crying. I’m crying and I’m not a-a-ashamed of it. Maybe all of you figured out how to have happiness, but I never got a chance to figure out who I was, or what I was s-supposed to do with my life.”

“Didn’t you want to be an influencer? A singer?”

“I did, b-b-but, I really wanted to b-be an a-adult. And I never was. MY ENTIRE LIFE WAS A WASTE! Woo-haha-haaaaaw!”

“Come on, it wasn’t a waste. You made lots of cool songs.”

We’re glad to have known you.

“MY LIFE IS RUINED, AND IT’S LITERALLY OVER!”

“It’s okay. She’ll get better, just give her some time.”

“D-don’t talk like I’m n-not here.”

“I know you’re here, Pipp. I care about you. We all do. I’d be hugging you if I could.”

“I know what it feels like to realize that everything you’ve done in your entire life was a complete waste of time. Maybe this is the end, but... you can still talk to us. It’s not over just yet. And, when it comes to being an adult, I think you already are. And going through this will make you even more of one.”

“There’s nothing special about being an adult. All of us are growing up all the time. No matter how old you are, you still have things to learn.”

“B-but I missed out on so much.”

“We all have. But we’ve got each other. And you’ve got me, sis.”

“No. No. I don’t deserve it. I WASTED IT! All this time, I thought I-I had all the time in the world, and I spent it on Cell Ph-Phones and Fame and stuff that didn’t matter. I thought everypony loved me but NOPONY CARES. They just cancelled me and threw me out like g-garbage the moment I turned my back. I spent all that time doing NOTHING that I should have spent h-having fun a-and being myself, BUT NOW I’LL NEVER GET TO BE MYSELF BECAUSE I WAS TOO LATE!”

...

“D-Do you still c-care about me?”

Of course we do.

“I- I guess that’s alright, then. snf. I wasn’t all that bad.”

“Pipsissiwa. You’re a great singer, and a great idol. There’ve been plenty of times I was angry at you, but at the end of the day, I’m proud to call you my sister. I know that you always had it in you to become a better queen than I ever could.”

“What? I think you’d make a great queen.”

“Maybe. But my heart was never in it. You’re the one who- who’s always wanted to be near our ponies. To me, it always felt more like a cage than anything, knowing that I’d have to take care of an entire nation when I wanted to ‘be myself’. So, I guess that this isn’t the worst thing that could have happened.”

“That’s too bad.”

“I wish I could give you all a hug. You’ve been such great ponies, always.”

“If this is your real self, I think I like who you really are a good deal.”

...

“What?”

“How are you doing this?”

“Alicorn shenanigans? Still... A nice hug. You’re all very warm and fuzzy.”

“It’s too bad we can’t go back. You’re so soft, Allura, that I’d like to use you as a pillow.”

“That’s Twitch’s place alone. Don’t be a hog, you’re a unicorn.”

“Thanks for doing this, Sunny.”

“Thanks so much.”

“Do you remember what we were like the first time we met? How lonely we were? How we all felt... incomplete?”

“Look at us now.”

“We’ve done so much together... It was just two years, but it feels like a lifetime. That even goes for you, Allura. We’ve become better ponies. Maybe even the best ponies... and leopards... we could have been.”

“I’m... not happy. I’m hurting as much as any of you. But I want you to know something...”

“I’m glad that, at the end of everything, I’m with you.”