Way back in 2013, I started writing a little story called ‘The Monster Below’. At the time, I intended for it to be a one-shot story that would avoid the dreaded trilogy creep. Then, halfway through, I got the idea for two more stories. Excited and energized, I went to work, and once ‘Nightfall’ was complete, I started work on outlining the final installment of the Monster Below trilogy with five goals in mind:

1. The story would be about a world-wide war indirectly caused by Silverspeak and his efforts to become and alicorn.
2. Mangus would return and be killed off for real.
3. Silverspeak would finally meet Princess Celestia.
4. Silverspeak would be old throughout the story, and die at the end.
5. Silverspeak would no longer brood or go crazy every time something didn’t go his way.

To go with those goals, the theme of the story was to be about what legacy we leave behind when our lives are over. From the beginning, ‘Sunfall’ was going to be the final story in the ‘Monster’ trilogy with no doubt at the end that there weren’t going to be any further outings or adventures. After all, it’s difficult to keep a story going after the main characters die and head off into the Great Beyond. But when I was initially brainstorming the outline, there were three big story ideas that were considered, but were ultimately discarded. They included...

Idea 1: Originally, Mangus’ grand plan had him experimenting with opening gateways to other dimensions to gain whatever weapons and powers he could find from them (one of which was the Equestria Girls realm, which he burned to the ground and destroyed; I want my ponies to stay ponies, dangit!), eventually becoming a god who would then work to take over all of Equestria, and every realm he could find. Mangus would also have success in creating pocket dimensions that he could store his prisoners in, including Silverspeak and Beakbreaker, who then had to fight off a Silverspeak from another dimension who succumbed to his lust for power and went insane. Good Silverspeak and Corrupted Silverspeak would fight, until corrupted Silverspeak was fatally injured. After seeing Beakbreaker, he would become his old self for a few moments, and use his magic to open a way out, letting Silverspeak and Beakbreaker escape before dying. This side trip would help Silverspeak realize that Mangus would cause the same misery to so many others if he succeeded in his plan.

Idea 2: Silverspeak’s horn was sentient and working to take over his body like a parasite, with Silverspeak having to constantly fight off its influence. Alternately, Silverspeak would start to show signs of dementia and have memory gaps throughout the story, but I decided it would take too much time and decided to have the horn cause a tumor instead.

This idea also influenced the earlier idea of Silverspeak meeting an alternate version of himself from another dimension, but that Silverspeak had been taken over by the horn, a foreshadowing of what Silverspeak’s fate would be if he didn’t succeed. At one point near the climax, Silverspeak’s horn would suddenly make one last attempt to take over his body, leading to a battle in the center of Silverspeak’s mind, which he just barely wins.

Idea 3: The story would largely unfold as it did in the finished version, only, instead of trying to find Celestia, the Resistance was searching for the time travel spell that Twilight used in the show to go back in time and stop Mangus before he started the war. Eventually, after much sacrifice, Silverspeak would succeed in finding it, and go back in time to the very first ‘Monster’ story, arriving when he was debating with the leader of the Guardians of Tradition, and team up with his younger self to hunt down Mangus and kill him… only to find that Old Mangus had traveled back in time as well, leading to two Silverspeaks and two Mangus’ fighting each other over over Manehattan in a magically-augmented thunderstorm, eventually ending with both Mangus’ being killed, and Old Silverspeak badly injured.

Before he dies though, Old Silverspeak meets with Celestia and tells her everything that happened in his timeline, which no longer exists. Magically scanning his memory, Celestia and Luna discover that he’s telling the truth, and immediately work to stop Chrysalis and prevent the events of ‘Nightfall’ and ‘Sunfall’ from ever happening. Old Silverspeak would then have a reunion with his parents and get them early treatment for their diseases, saving their lives, and then tell his younger self and Beakbreaker everything he had learned, so that they would learn from his mistakes, and then finally die of his injuries.

The ending to this scenario would have been told from Old Silverspeak’s point of view as a spirit as he watches his younger self marry Beakbreaker and grow old together, enjoying more time together than he did, and without all the heartbreak. And when both die, Old and Young Silverspeak merge into one and passed on into the afterlife together with Beakbreaker.

Idea 3 came very close to being written into the final story, mostly as an apology for the substandard quality of ‘Nightfall’ and for how awesome it would have been to have a time-travel team up and fights between the various Silverspeaks and Mangus’. However, I eventually realized that I didn’t want to do the comic book strategy of retconning every bad decision and story that didn’t work out in the trilogy, and that it would be more honest to acknowledge ‘Nightfall,’ learn from it, and not magically erase it and pretend that it never happened.

Finally, in going with themes of a war, I wanted ‘Sunfall’ to be the most serious of the three stories, where Silverspeak would undergo his greatest challenges and find out what kind of individual he really was when he had lost everything… but as I quickly learned when I started posting chapters, that was the wrong approach to take. While my readers rightfully criticized the story for killing off so many characters willy nilly, they had no idea how the story was going to get even darker: At one point, Beakbreaker was going to be kidnapped by Mangus, brainwashed into becoming an assassin who Silverspeak would eventually confront and try to snap her out of her funk… only to fail and be forced to kill her when she tried to kill him, a path that was thankfully avoided when the story was quickly revised so that the Mane Six and the rest of the show’s cast were not killed, and the overall tone was lightened.

With all that said, here’s the original outline for ‘Sunfall.’ that was written before I started posting chapters. As with the previous two outlines, my comments are in italics. Because there were a lot of little edits and changes to the story, I will only comment on the more substantial alterations.

ACT 1

Opening has Silverspeak flying through the clouds, overjoyed at being able to be a much better flier than he was when he first started out all those years ago. He can even go higher and higher than he did without passing out. He flies up and up and finally stops on a cloud that’s seemingly above the earth itself. Then he hears someone coming towards him. He turns and sees his parents sitting nearby. He’s overjoyed to see them, but can’t understand why they look so sad. Then there’s a bright light on the horizon. An explosion, one bigger than Silverspeak’s ever seen. It rushes towards him, obliterating everything in his path.

Silverspeak’s parents originally showed up early on in spirit form in this dream, but I decided that I wanted them to appear at the end instead, and replaced their appearance with a foreshadowing of Mangus’ return. However, this was removed in the ‘grimdark revision’ to try and keep Mangus’ return a surprise.

Waking up, Silverspeak realizes that it was all a dream. Yet, it felt so real, like he was really seeing his parents. Yet, their sadness shakes him. Getting out of bed (being careful not to wake Beakbreaker), he heads outside into the falling snow. He and Beakbreaker are spending Hearth’s Warming Eve in the forests near the Smokey Mountains. Figuring to give Beakbreaker breakfast in bed, Silverspeak’s about to fly out to get some fresh berries when the door opens and Beakbreaker comes out. Turns out she heard him get up and asks how he’s doing. Silverspeak wonders what to say, and then tells her about the dream, the first one he’s had of his parents in twenty years.

The two have breakfast and talk. Silverspeak asks if there’s anything Beakbreaker has on her list for last minute wishes. The question excites Beakbreaker, and she finally can’t hold it in. Silverspeak takes pity and says she can reveal it if she wants. Beakbreaker says that they’re getting close to middle age, and while she’s happy with her life, there’s one last thing she’d like: She wants to have a child, someone she can teach and pass on everything she and he have learned.

Silverspeak points out that he doesn’t have the ‘equipment’ to have a child. Beakbreaker knows, which is why she’s thinking they should adopt a child. Silverspeak’s a bit undecided. While the idea of having a child is exciting on one hoof, on the other, he has really deep fears. He messed up so badly with his previous gifts to the world, and he’s terrified of messing up again with a child. But Beakbreaker assures him that the technology the two of them have created turned out all right.

Silverspeak still isn’t quite convinced, but promises Beakbreaker that he’ll think about it, and not in a dismissive, ‘I’m only saying this to get you off my back’ way. He sees how badly Beakbreaker wants this, and that she’s been thinking about it for a while. That satisfies Beakbreaker.

The two head to the airport and board a giant airship that’s taking Medicomp’s best and brightest to Canterlot, not just for the festivities, but also to finally see Celestia’s first public address in twenty years. Ever since recovering from the Arch-Dragon attack, she’s been working overtime to ensure they don’t come back, and building up alliances with other nations, as well as strengthening her own magic and helping others do the same. Silverspeak heads to a get-together and meets up all manner of guests, including the Wonderbolts. Rainbow Dash is really busy with guests, and Silverspeak meets up with Soarin, who has now retired from active flying and is an instructor. There are other models for Medicomp, but Silverspeak is one of the most famous of the guests, and even gives a few autographs, including Soarin and other cyborgs. It still feels strange being admired and looked up to, but he likes to make others happy, and does so.

Silverspeak meets up with Coin Counter, who’s happy to see Equestria’s most famous cyborg. He’s looking forward to the speech Celestia’s going to be giving tomorrow, especially as it’s written by Silverspeak himself. Silverspeak’s looking forward to it, too. All his life he’s wanted to meet Celestia, and tomorrow he finally will. Jokes about how the universe seems determined to keep him from meeting her, but Coin Counter assures him that it just means that when they finally meet, it will be one of the highlights of Silverspeak’s life.

When writing, I was trying to come up with logical explanations as to why Silverspeak hadn’t met Celestia even once since ‘Nightfall’. Initially, I wanted Celestia to be so busy that she didn’t have time for such a meeting, but eventually I just decided to make it so that their schedules never allowed for such a meeting, and put in an in-joke about how the universe (i.e. me) didn’t want them to meet. I knew from the beginning that the two would meet at the end of the story, and wanted to hold it off to make it more meaningful than if they met earlier.

I originally wanted Soarin to come back for one last cameo, but realized that at this point in his life, he would be too old to be a member of the Wonderbolts any longer, and he was removed, along with Rainbow Dash, keeping the focus on Silverspeak’s story, and not cannon characters.

I also realized that there was no foreshadowing here of Iron Hoof at this point in the story, and added him in, along with a get-together between Gusty, Coin Counter, and Silverspeak so they could muse about their lives, where they are, and what they want with the time they have left.

As night falls, Silverspeak heads back towards his cabin with Beakbreaker. On the way, he sees some families enjoying themselves with their kids. He notices how happy they are. Back in the cabin, he and Beakbreaker get in bed and read for a bit. Silverspeak thinks out loud about how nice it would be to raise a child and leave not one, but two lasting impressions on the world. Beakbreaker hesitantly asks if that’s a yes. Silverspeak thinks, ponders, and says yes. Overjoyed, Beakbreaker decides to give him an early gift, and pulls him in for a kiss, Silverspeak making sure to turn out all the lights with his magic, except the candles.

I combined the two separate scenes of Beakbreaker wanting a child into this one to condense the story and have some foreshadowing and build-up to it earlier.

The next day, the airship finally reaches Canterlot. Everyone’s dressed up and ready to land, and the city is crowded with lots of airships bringing ponies, dignitaries, and guests from all over Equestria. The ship heads in, and from so high up, Silverspeak can see a stage being set up for Celestia. Guards are everywhere, as are the guests. This is going to be one of the biggest get-togethers in Equestria’s history. The Wonderbolts fly down to take up their positions.

Excited, Silverspeak heads to the viewing deck in the nose to watch the scene. But as they’re looking, Beakbreaker notices something in the distance. Silverspeak takes a look and sees several black specks/things flying their way. A nearby cyborg zooms in with his eyes and says that they’re dragons. Puzzled, Silverspeak looks through some binoculars and sees that he’s right. They are dragons. But not normal dragons... Arch-Dragons.

The dragons attack, spewing fire into Canterlot and swiping into it with their tails and claws. The sky is filled with chaos and destruction. Instantly forgetting everything but Beakbreaker, Silverspeak rushes around to find her. He does so, only for the airship to be cut in two. Grabbing her, he dives out of the airship, Coin Counter on his back, with Gusty being carried along by magic. Silverspeak twists, spins, dodges fire, and almost crash-lands in the streets near the castle as the rest of the fleet above is destroyed. But as he watches, ponies around him are caught by other ponies swarming down and dressed in strange outfits. There’s thousands of them, and when they spot Silverspeak, they all immediately focus on him.

Silverspeak takes off for the palace, but the fighting there is even worse. In an explosion, Gusty and Coin Counter vanish, but there’s no time to look for them. He has to save Beakbreaker, no matter the cost. As they run into the palace, the arch-dragon bombard it, breathing fire on the walls so hot that the paint inside starts to melt. Silversepeak retreats down into the Alicorn Sanctuary, but as he gets inside, a squad of the other ponies attacks. Before he rushes out, he embraces Beakbreaker and tries to tell her that he loves her... but then the sanctuary is partially destroyed again, and Silverspeak falls into the abyss as Mangus has. His last view is seeing Beakbreaker and he yells for her... and then everything goes black.

When I started writing this sequence, I realized that it was too similar to the climax of ‘Nightfall’ and changed it so that it ended on the fields outside of Canterlot, instead of the city itself. The idea also came to me that having Iron Hoof’s agents try to apprehend Silverspeak and Beakbreaker before the attack would add some paranoia and give Silverspeak the chance to beat up a smug bully, scenes that I relish writing whenever I get the chance.

The next thing Silverspeak’s aware of, he’s inside a tube of some kind. Gel-filled. He’s groggy and has trouble waking up. There’s someone before his tube in a uniform similar to what the attackers were wearing, but much more advanced. He panics, but waits until the individual leaves before struggling. It’s hard to move in the thick gel, but he finally manages, ripping a ring off his horn and firing, blasting his tube apart. He collapses into the hall, his head hurting so badly he almost passes out. But he manages to keep going, and sneaks through the concrete halls of wherever he is. He doesn’t recognize anything and doesn’t know where he is, or where Beakbreaker is. But he has to get his bearings. He hides as a squad of soldiers troops past, led by a middle-aged pony in what looks like a general’s uniform. He keeps going, only to hear an alarm raised, probably by his escape.

Reaching a window, Silverspeak breaks through and emerges into the sky outside a giant, concrete block even bigger than Canterlot. Below it are dozens of plain, concrete towers, gigantic, colorless, and ugly. Silverspeak tries to fly away, but his wings don’t work, and he soars downwards, crashing into the streets. But there’s no life here. It’s all plain, functional, and without color. But there are soldiers running around, and Silverspeak manages to sneak onto a train as it takes off across the land. But this isn’t the Equestria Silverspeak knows: the land has been blasted and ruined by war. There’s hardly anything green and living. It’s nothing but dirt, gravel, and rock as far as the eye can see.

Trying to send a message to anyone nearby with his magic, Silverspeak gasps and falls to the floor, clutching his head in agony. This isn’t normal. Nothing makes sense, other than some battle has been going on since he was knocked out. He has to get back to Canterlot, but doesn’t know where it is. Desperate, he runs through a nearby dead forest, only to emerge onto the other side and finding himself on the edge of a cliff. But it’s not a natural one: the land has been shattered for miles, creating a deep, jagged, canyon that’s instant death for anyone falling in. Trapped, Silverspeak has nowhere to go, but is saved when a giant form swoops in and takes out his pursuers. When the smoke clears, he sees a dragon. Not an arch-dragon, but still big, and still dangerous. It spots him. Silverspeak panics and tries to fight, but the pain from his horn is excruciating. And as the dragon grabs him, he tries to fight, only to pass out from the effort.

When writing this passage, I realized that having someone be present to help explain to Silverspeak what’s going on would help ease the audience into what’s happening, as well as help set up that the Resistance sees Silverspeak as a threat and want to take him out, as well as set up Gold Wing’s appearance, so Green Wing was created to help him get out. I also added a scene of her being beaten up to show that Iron Hoof’s ponies are not the type to mess with, but the tone of the scene was lightened up in the ‘grimdark edit’ to make it less of a torture scene, and more an interrogation.

When Silverspeak wakes, he’s now in a small room built of carved, black rock, and he’s momentarily horrified at being back in the prison in Canterlot, but realizes that it’s not a prison room. It’s more comfy and well-made. And as he tries the door, he finds it’s not locked. He leaves, and is immediately met by a guard, who immediately sends for a medic, assuring Silverspeak that he’s safe and with the good guys. Silverspeak isn’t sure what to believe, but as the commotion increases, general Blueblood appears and asks what’s going on. The guard explains, only for Silverspeak to cut him off and ask Blueblood what’s going on. Blueblood asks his name, and Silverspeak gives it.

Stunned, Blueblood asks Silverspeak to come with him immediately, as there’s someone who will want to meet him. Silverspeak follows Blueblood through this strange, underground base; the rocks here are like nothing he’s ever seen before. Eventually, he’s led to a giant observatory, where the dragon is. Silverspeak almost bolts, but Blueblood assures him that he’s in no danger. This is Spike, famed assistant to Twilight Sparkle. He’s the one who saved Silverspeak and brought him here. Spike comes over and sees him, acknowledges him, and then leaves. Blueblood takes Silverspeak towards the veiled windows and introduces him to Princess Luna, who is stunned to see him. She has many new scars, and while Silverspeak is glad to see her, he begs to see Beakbreaker. Luna realizes something and asks Silverspeak if anyone has told him what’s happening. He says no, and she reveals that he’s been missing for over 25 years.

Silverspeak collapses, shocked. Twenty five years ago, a war was unleashed on all of Equestria, and while it was once hot, it’s now cold. An army of cyborgs controls the planet. Planet? Silverspeak asks, and the windows are unveiled, revealing that he’s in a base on the moon. It’s the one safe place left that the loyalists, those dedicated to Celestia and Luna, remain. Silverspeak begs to know where Beakbreaker is. Luna hesitates, and Silverspeak gets a horrible feeling.

Luna reveals that for twenty years, Beakbreaker devoted herself to only two things: helping advance the resistance’s tech, and searching for him. She never stopped believing he was alive, and did everything to find him. But one day she was kidnapped in a raid, and hasn’t been seen since. Because of her value, she’s unlikely to have been killed, and Silverspeak is now determined to rescue her. But there’s a problem: his body is twenty fifty years out of date. With the advances ponies have now, he’s practically an antique. That doesn’t dissuade Silverspeak, however. He can still fight, and he’s sure as hell not going to just stay here, and uses his magic to show that he’s still capable. But he gets a terrific pain in his head and collapses.

Silverspeak is taken to the medical hall and examined. As they’re waiting for the results to come in, he asks why the Bearers haven’t stopped the cyborgs yet. Luna takes him to the hall of the Fallen, where all those who have died are remembered. The Bearers are there: They were killed in the first year of the war, when the other army commenced an assassination strike just to take them out. Manehattan was destroyed, and the Bearers successfully evacuated the city, but at the cost of their lives. But what about Celestia? She has been leading the army for decades, but then the unthinkable happened: As victory began to get closer, she asked Luna to take over while she went out to find the new Elements of Harmony, which, when combined, would guarantee that their faction would win and undo the damage that’s been wrought. But then she vanished, and hasn’t been seen since. And since then, the cyborgs have been slowly but steadily gaining ground, and turned the tide of the war thanks to their converted armies, and the emergence of tech that shouldn’t even be possible. All the cyborgs are involuntary, and under complete control, immune to fear, fatigue, or pain, they make formidable warriors.

I originally wanted Blueblood to have a major part in the story, mostly for the chance to help redeem him and make him into a respectable character who has learned to become a leader and focus on helping others instead of focusing on his own self-importance, but he was cut out because I decided that I would rather see Silverspeak interact with Thorax, who would be more enjoyable to hang out with.

In the original outline, Spike was going to be one of ‘Sunfall’s major characters, with him and Silverspeak becoming buddies throughout the story, both united by losing someone they loved (Twilight and Beakbreaker) and eventually managing to rescue both. However, when Chrysalis entered the picture, I realized that she would be a more interesting companion for Silverspeak, so Spike became a background character. Poor guy.

Originally, all of Iron Hoof’s forces would be cyborgs, ALA the Terminator movies, but I instead decided to make them special units, and to have the majority of his followers be ordinary ponies who joined of their own free will, to show that Iron Hoof wasn’t some maniac who wanted to brainwash and enslave his followers, but who really did want what was best for the pony race, and that there were ordinary ponies who secretly supported his genocidal vision.

Originally, Silverspeak was not one of Iron Hoof’s greatest assets, but just someone who was kept prisoner and out of the way so he wouldn’t be hurt. But I figured that having Silverspeak unwillingly help his cause would make him into an enemy in the eeys of the Resistance, making his relationship with them more complex and uneasy, even though he is a good guy.

The results come in and show that Silverspeak’s brain has been slowly been corrupted by his horn for decades. It’s like cancer, and it’s spreading, and its too advanced to be surgically removed. It could be, magically, but only Celestia is skilled enough to do so. And if Silverspeak tries to cast magic, it will only cause the cancer to grow even faster. And even if it is removed, he still has the brain of a older pony. It may not survive the process. Like it or not, Silverspeak is now over 70 years old. He’s no longer young. He agrees, but says he can still help. If Celestia was captured, maybe he can locate where she is: the leader of the enemy reveres him, and he’d be more than willing to talk. Silverspeak can sneak in, gain an audience with him, gain some intel, and then escape. Luna considers this, and agrees.

Silverspeak now has two objectives: Find Celestia to win the war and cure his cancer, and more importantly, find Beakbreaker.

ACT 2

Now ready, Silverspeak readies to head back to Equestria, but meets up with both Onyx Shield and Gusty. Both are now way past their prime, but still find use helping out, with Onyx commanding raids on various enemy outposts, and Gusty servicing aircraft. Due to his age and slowed reflexes, though, he can’t fly anymore, but wishes Silverspeak the best.

Silverspeak teleports back to Equestria and heads towards the headquarters of the General. Reaching the gates, he’s stopped by a division of cyborgs, but as they look him over, they stop. Ten come forward, surround Silverspeak, and escort him inside. He’s led past machinery and many rooms filled with tech he can’t comprehend... along with some pony and other prisoners being turned into cyborgs, screaming and panicking all the while.

He’s brought into a throne room overlooking the city and the surrounding plains. The General, leader of the cyborg army, comes in to meet him. He’s an Alicorn, and is overjoyed to see Silverspeak alive and well. In fact, he’s almost reverent. He apologies for the misunderstanding, and guesses that this is a big shock for him. It’s a big shock for the general, too, as he’s been waiting for Silverspeak to wake up for a long time.

Tour of the palace. The General explains that he was little with the changelings invaded Equestria; his town was a border one that was the first one hit, and he lost his parents. Realized that Equestria needed to be strong to fend off all those who threatened it. If you’re not with us, you’re against us, that sort of thing. But as he grew older and joined the military, and tried to make it the dominant force to protect Equestria’s citizens, he was frustrated at how all his efforts failed. Thus, desperate and determined to succeed, he realized that the princesses were holding the country back and making it weak. Tried to reason with them, but they were determined not to become warlike or nationalistic. So he eventually joined forces with the Arch-dragons for the good of Equestria, and began his war. But he purposefully captured Silverspeak to save him and Beakbreaker from harm, though she escaped.

The General tells Silverspeak that he’s his biggest fan. Watched him throughout the years and admired his determination to get what he wanted, no matter the cost. Pulls away his uniform to reveal that he’s a cyborg, too, with only his head remaining as the original piece of his body. Took inspiration from Silverspeak to become the best he could be. Horrified, Silverspeak goes along with it and flatters the General, asking him for information on his plan. Gushing like a fanboy, the General reveals that he’s actually guided by the Arch-Dragon leader. Where is he? Hidden somewhere safe. He promises to take Silverspeak there, soon. Silverspeak asks about Celestia. He learns that she was about to find the last of the elements of harmony when almost all the Arch-dragons went after her. The resulting battle was apocalyptic: all but one of the dragons was killed before Celestia was finally subdued. She’s now being kept in a hidden location. Can’t risk her breaking free before the great plan is complete.

Iron Hoof (who was unnamed in the outline) was based on a scrapped idea for a character in ‘Nightfall’ who would have been a younger competitor to Silverspeak, but I eventually removed the fanboy elements to make Iron Hoof more focused, determined, and nothing like a giddy fanboy. I also changed him from an alicorn to an earth pony because I thought it would be more interesting for a pony without magic or the ability to fly to conquer and overcome other ponies with those powers.

Silverspeak asks where Beakbreaker is. She was captured and is now working for their cause, the General says. But he understands that Silverspeak wants to see her. She’s working in a hidden outpost in the Forbidden Jungle. They’ll go tomorrow. But there’s still so much to show him here. Silverspeak agrees. Gets a moment away from the General and his guards in the bathroom, and informs Luna and Spike about what’s going on. Spike agrees to lead an attack on the city to try and capture the General and to destroy it.

Going back to the General, Silverspeak sits with him for lunch. He’s horrified at the thought that he inadvertently created this pony, but at the same time, wants to try and turn him from that path. Maybe he can end this war without fighting. Asks the General if really was the best way to go. Is this really the best use of his talents and gifts? There are other ways he could protect Equestria. The General is surprised at this, and wonders why Silverspeak would ask such a thing. There’s no negotiating with those who want to destroy you. Silverspeak didn’t say that. The General now gets suspicious, and wonders if Silverspeak is up to something.

A strike force attacks the city, with Spike and Luna providing most of the heavy hitting. Silverspeak tries to knock the General out to take him back with him, but the General, enraged, escapes. Silverspeak does, too, fleeing with some escaped prisoners onto an elevated train riding through the wastes, and Spike’s efforts manages to destroy the city. But as the train rides away, something’s launched through the air and hits the ground far behind them. The explosion is so huge it starts ripping the earth apart, expanding towards the train, destroying everything in its path. A frantic evacuation manages to get everyone off the train, Silverspeak being the last one. And as they all fly away on transports, Silverspeak looks out to see even more of the explosions erupting across Equestria as far as he can see.

I added in the idea of the leader of the arch-dragons having an (unrevealed) plan to win the war in short order to add a ticking timer to the story, and keep it moving, as well as having Iron Hoof being the one to destroy his own base.

Chrysalis was originally not in the story, but I thought it would be interesting to revisit her when she’s now elderly and focused on killing Iron Hoof, no matter the cost. She was only going to live through the train attack, dying after throwing Silverspeak onto the shuttle, but I decided to spare her, as the idea of having her gradually be reformed over the course of the story was a fascinating idea that I wanted to play with.

Inside his transport, Silverspeak reports to Luna about what the General said. They have to get to the research and production facility to learn more about these weapons. Luna explains that they’re decades ahead of anything the Resistance can produce, and has no idea how the General and his forces got them. The strike that just took place was a retaliatory strike for taking out the General’s city, and early estimates have almost a quarter of Equestria being rendered all but uninhabitable from the destruction. If more strikes occur, there will be nothing left for the Resistance to save.

Silverspeak asks if there’s any talk of surrendering. Luna doesn’t say yes, but she doesn’t say no, either. But their next move has to be carried out: Reach the facility and gain intel about the bombs and what else the General has up his sleeve. They’ve never found the facility, and this is their first chance to strike. Silverspeak insists on going, as Beakbreaker will be there, but Luna says no. And now that the General knows Silverspeak is with the Resistance, Silverspeak’s fame won’t protect him anymore. She tells Silverspeak not to go. But Silverspeak won’t take no for an answer. He’s afraid that Beakbreaker will be killed in any crossfire that takes place, or that the General, in retaliation for his betrayal, will give orders to have her killed. If he can go, he won’t try to study the bombs or take anyone out. Luna’s commandos can take care of the guards and the equipment. He’ll just be there for his wife.

Luna thinks about it, and reluctantly agrees.

I added in a brief interlude with Green Wing and Gusty to both let the audience breathe for a bit, and to help further Silverspeak’s relations with the two, as well as introduce Gold Wing and foreshadow how she’ll be adopted by Silverspeak and Beakbreaker at the end of the story

A ship flies into the Forbidden Jungle at night during a heavy rainstorm, Silverspeak on board. It lands, and a commando group sneaks up to the research outpost. Onyx stays onboard to provide intel and lead the operation from the air. The outpost itself is heavily defended and camouflaged with magic. It’s busy, and will be hard to sneak into, but the group will do so anyway. They make their way to it, Silverspeak at the rear. But things go disastrously wrong, and they’re spotted. In the resulting firefight, the group is killed, and Silverspeak is damaged. He plays dead as everyone is dragged inside to be experimented on. Once all is clear, he sneaks out, and manages to make his way through the facility, finding an archive of everything the General has been working on, and learns their secret: The General’s forces have been mining ancient artifacts from a lost civilization deep underground. Thousands of years ago, before the three tribes of the ponies lived, a civilization became very technologically advanced and wiped themselves out in a war, and were subsequently forgotten. But now the General is using their tech to create weapons of mass destruction, and aside from the bombs and guns, there’s something else: A bomb that can sterilize an entire continent. It’s not ready yet, but it’s getting there.

I originally wanted Iron Hoof’s base to have a more technological feel to it, and to try dabbling in spy/infiltration scenarios. However, I decided that going with a survival horror theme by having the sequence take place in the darkened, mostly abandoned labs would have a more gripping atmosphere, as well as a chance to include a horror element with the cyborgs. In retrospect, I would have liked to include more of Iron Hoof’s weapons of mass destruction, but I believe it was a better choice to focus on Mangus’ plan and uncovering what it was.

I dropped the idea of a lost civilization because it was cluttering up the story, and it was more efficient to focus on Mangus and his goals.

With the tech found and the information sent on, Silverspeak heads out to find Beakbreaker. He finds some of the tech she’s been working on, including a few suits of power armor. But she’s not in the facility: she’s been moved underground, to the area where the artifacts are coming from. Ignoring Onyx’s protests, Silverspeak hurries after her, going deep underground, snatching a gun to defend himself. The ride down into the earth goes deeper and deeper, until Silverspeak can’t communicate with the surface anymore, and finally stops in some dark, obsidian-like ruins.

The suits of power armor were foreshadowing for an action sequence that was later written, but cut from the story.

I originally wanted to condense locations to streamline the story, but decided to take a side trip to Manehattan so Silverspeak could have an opportunity to revisit some locations from the first book, as well as reveal that there was a giant dragon lair beneath the city the entire time, and, finally, to have an action sequence where the island is destroyed, and have the MediComp tower be the last structure to fall, which, as I noted in the author’s note of said chapter, was surprisingly emotional to write.

Alone, Silverspeak creeps through the city, heading ever deeper, trying to find Beakbreaker. There’s no one around, but he can’t shake the feeling that he’s being watched. Heading through a gigantic chamber, he’s shocked to see it filled with thousands, if not millions of giant crystals, each holding the form of a pony or another creature. Is this where Beakbreaker is? But as he starts to look, Silverspeak freezes at hearing something moving around. Something big. To his horror, a massive dragon, the biggest one he’s ever seen, emerges from the darkness. It’s ancient, the scales dull and the horns gnarled, but still full of power. This is THE Arch-dragon, the first of them all, the godfather of all dragons. Sniffing the air, it looks around for Silverspeak, calling for him by name. Silverspeak is stunned. How the heck can this thing know who he is? The dragon says he has his wife, and knows he’s here. He’s been waiting a long, long time to see him.

Silverspeak realizes that this might be a chance to kill the dragon and sneaks around to try and get a clear vantage point. But when he gets to that spot, the dragon sees him. Silverspeak fires, but his gun is of no use against the beast. Amused, it lets him attack, and chases him when he runs, like a cat toying with a mouse, destroying giant caverns as it follows, until Silverspeak is cornered. The dragon says it’s been waiting for this moment for so long, and Silverspeak demands to know how it knows who he is. Through the General: the dragon only just learned that the general had kidnapped him all those years ago. Had he known about that, the dragon would have met him sooner. But no matter. He’s known Silverspeak long before the attack on Canterlot. Decades before then, to be exact. But how?

The dragon lowers his head, and seems to pass out. Then a slit on top of the head opens, and a pony pops out, connected to the dragon with veins, tubes, and all sorts of biological goop. It’s Mangus Bluehorn. Old now, and still missing his eyes, but alive. Horrified, Silverspeak tries to fire, but Mangus moves a limb, and the dragon’s arm grabs him, preventing him from attacking. Silverspeak tries to use his horn, but the magic is too painful, and he’s forced to stop. Mangus explains that all those years ago, he plunged into the depths of the Canterlot mountains, hit a river, and was swept deep into the depths of the earth. Blind, crippled, and helpless, it was pure luck that he was found by the leader of the Arch-dragons. For whatever reason, he took Mangus in and trained him, wanting him to become an agent who could sneak into pony society and carry out inside work to bring them down. But Mangus, learning many things from him, had better ideas. After learning that many of the dragon’s agents had heard of a pony who wanted to overthrow the princesses, Mangus was disguised and sent to meet up with him. A deal was struck, and the high dragon agreed to lend his dragons and their forces to the General.

However, when Mangus met with the high dragon again, he took an opportunity to kill him while he slept, using some of his, dark magic to take command of the body, using it as his own. With no one the wiser, he aided the General in his war, and has been secretly guiding it to his own ends, but refuses to say what they are. Besides, Silverspeak is more interested in Beakbreaker, he guesses. Mangus then shows Beakbreaker to Silverspeak, and he’s horrified: her limbs are all artificial, and she’s so old now, with a faded coat and wrinkles, but she’s still the zebra he knows and loves. Mangus figures that he also wants to see his beloved princess, too. He takes Silverspeak into a sealed chamber and shows him a solid, blood-red crystal with the faintest outline of a large pony trapped inside. No, Celestia’s not dead, just contained... for now, that is. She’s proven tricky to keep inside, constantly fighting to get out. She will, eventually. Not even Mangus’ magic, or the power of multiple magical artifacts can keep her contained But by then, it’ll be too late. Within two days, the Resistance will be dead, and his plan will succeed. And in a way, Mangus has Silverspeak to thank for that.

With Thorax and Chrysalis joining Silverspeak at this part in the story, it made for a more interesting scene where Mangus deals with three opponents instead of one.

Again, I wanted to streamline the story by having Celestia be present in this scene, but realized that it was more efficient to have her appear at the climax, so she was moved.

While I still believe the sight of so many crystals in the chamber is a great visual, I realized it was a bit cliched, and instead tried amber instead, as I can’t recall reading about dragons with the ability to spray it and contain their enemies.

Mangus shows Silverspeak another chamber, one filled with millions of ponies encased inside crystals. All preserved and in stasis. His new loyal subjects. When all is said and done, they’ll have no choice but to follow him. Normally Mangus would kill Silverspeak, but for now, he’ll let him live. After all, there really is no way for Silverspeak to stop him, and Mangus wants Silverspeak to watch as he’s defeated. But just to be on the safe side, he casts a spell that keeps Silverspeak from using his magic. Another spell goes on to ensure he knows where he is at all times. With that, he drops Silverspeak and lets him go. He’s free to do what he wants, and walks away.

Grabbing Beakbreaker, Silverspeak hurries back to the elevator and rides up. He gets back onto the ship with Onyx and they take off, getting in touch with Luna to tell her what’s going on. Luna recalls all her forces to the Moon, safely out of reach of Mangus and the General, who has been prepping his army for an unknown attack. Silverspeak forgets all that, focusing on reviving Beakbreaker. She finally wakes, and the two are reunited.

This scene was changed drastically from the original outline; I originally wanted to portray Mangus as being so powerful and confident that he knew Silverspeak could do nothing to stop him. While it would make for an interesting antagonist/protagonist relationship at this point, I realized it was too far-fetched, and that Mangus would realize that Silverspeak was a threat to be reckoned with, and would want him out of the way. Thus, I came up with the idea of sending him to an alternate dimension, as described earlier. But then Alcatraz, my editor, remarked that the idea of alternate dimensions was going a bit too far, so it was changed again to an amber prison cell, and Mangus threatening to torture Beakbreaker if Silverspeak didn’t reveal where Luna’s base was.

It was also at this point that I realized that ‘Sunfall’ had jumped the shark, because I had Silverspeak blasting off into outer space; When your earth-bound franchise sends its heroes into the cosmos, you know it’s starting to run out of ideas.

But as they reach the moon, Silverspeak is telepathically contacted by Mangus, who thanks him for telling him where the Resistance was hiding. It’s been quite a problem trying to locate them, and now they have.

The planet-cleanser bomb is hurled into the moon, fracturing it. The General’s forces attack it, and a ferocious battle takes place. Luna and Spike lead the resistance, and manage to take out a large chunk of the attacking forces, but in the end there are too many, and the cyborgs overwhelm the defenses. Onyx is killed in the fight, and Silverspeak, Beakbreaker, and Spike manage to hide with some of the Resistance as the General marches up to Luna and tells her to surrender. If she does, the rest of the Resistance will be spared. Should she refuse, the surface of the planet will be bombarded until nothing is left, and half those taken captive throughout the years will be killed. With no choice, Luna surrenders, and the Resistance is defeated. The rest of the group is teleported to the surface, with only those in hiding remaining still left.

When writing this section, I realized that it fell into the all-too-frequent tropes of ‘enemy finds base, bombs it, overwhelms occupants, and conquers it with ease’. That’s when the idea of casting magic to make everyone go insane and kill themselves popped up; why risk the lives of your soldiers when you can have the enemy take themselves out? It was uncomfortable to write, but I feel it made for a more interesting and emotional sequence.

Act III

Everything’s fallen apart. Of the Resistance, only Spike and Blueblood are the remaining commanders, and maybe a hundred fighters. There’s no way they can win, now. Everything is lost. Mangus knows where Silverspeak is, and that he’s alive, but Silverspeak knows that he doesn’t care. Luckily, the Resistance knows where Luna is being taken thanks to a tracker she has in her body. She’s been taken to a remote island north of Equestria, which is essentially one giant mountain. And as the Resistance watch, the crystal containing Celestia is taken there, too. Mangus contacts Silverspeak, not in words, but in images, showing him that the princesses are to be executed, and then his plan will finally unfold.

It’s decided. The group has to launch a final, all-out attack. Do or die. But how? Their army isn’t big enough, and the mountain is too strong for a full-frontal assault. Blueblood, now in command of the Resistance, contacts the other groups on the surface who weren’t part of the Resistance and tells them what’s going to happen. They finally realize that they can’t afford to let the General and Mangus run free anymore and agree to unite. They still can’t win the battle, but if they can free Celestia and Luna, the two can take them on without a problem. Free Celestia, and the tide will turn. But there’s still the question of how to get into the mountain. And at that, Silverspeak has an idea.

Later, Gusty flies another commando squad to the outpost in the jungle. This time they bring Spike, and manage to overwhelm the facility, but it’s been abandoned. All the prisoners in the lower levels have been taken, too. But Beakbreaker guides Silverspeak to the power armor and helps him get into it. It will help in the fight. He wants her to stay behind, but she refuses. They’re all in this together. If they fail, everyone dies. She will fight with Silverspeak, no matter what. Besides, she has her own suit of power armor, too.

The combined might of the Resistance flies towards the island, with Gusty and the rebuilt Raven now at the forefront, Gusty ecstatic that he can fly one final time. He doesn’t think they’ll make it, but he feels better about dying while trying. They finally reach the mountain and the massive defenses it has. Mangus telepathically taunts Silverspeak about how they can’t even get in. But to that, Silverspeak smiles... and the massive ruins of Genesis, raised from the ocean by the Resistance’s remaining unicorns, are dropped onto the mountain, tearing through it like a bunker-buster.

The battle begins, the Raven turning invisible as the heavy hitters of the battle, including Spike, assault the mountain. The Raven heads inside, and then Silverspeak and Beakbreaker fight their way towards the crystals. Finally reaching both of them, they hide, sending out a signal to Spike and the others. But Mangus and the General are there, too, and the General can’t understand why the others continue to fight when all is lost. It would be better to join with him and work to rebuild and make the world stronger than it was. With the tech of both the ponies and the ancient civilization, they will make something so grand that it will never fall. Mangus, working to drain magic from both princesses, says that Silverspeak and his allies are the losers of history, knowing they’re about to become extinct, and giving one last push before the end. But it’s only fitting: the General would do the same, too.

Confused, the General asks what he means. Mangus chuckles and reveals that he never supported the General’s goal of making ponies the dominant race. He wants to rule it all, and taking so many prisoner was just a way of getting his new subjects together. Now it’s time to enact his final plan: Wiping the planet clean, and everyone and everything on it. The General is horrified, saying that wasn’t in the plan. Mangus admits that, no, it wasn’t. But no one would have gone along with him, including the General. He’s outlived his usefulness. He weakened Mangus’ enemies for him, and he has no further use. Horrified and enraged at learning that everything he ever did was for nothing, and that his dreams were never going to come true, the General screams and attacks Mangus, but is grabbed, squeezed, and crushed.

This part of the story underwent more revisions than any other; I had written the chapters for the aftermath of the moon’s destruction and the fight itself when I realized that after betraying them all to Mangus, there is no way the Resistance would allow Silverspeak to work with them, and decided to explore having them turn against him and casting him out, which required rewriting two chapters from scratch. However, I feel the end result is much stronger, and it was an enjoyable challenge to have Silverspeak face the consequences of revealing the base’s location, even if it was without any ill-intent.

From the beginning, I had wanted to bring both the Raven and Genesis back for the story’s finale – while ‘Nightfall’ was not the best sequel to the original story, I didn’t want to pretend it never happened. However, after the chapters were re-written, there was no logical place to include Genesis during the initial assault. I was afraid I’d have to drop it completely, but it was finally moved to the final fight between Mangus and Silverspeak, where I feel it works much better than acting as a bunker-buster missile.

Iron Hoof was always going to meet his end turning against Mangus, but when writing his scene, I realized it would be better to have him realize what he had done and join forces with Silverspeak to try and atone for what he did, as well as giving Silverspeak the means to bring down the spire.

The coliseum scene was never in the outline, but I believe it worked better than a straight-up assault on Iron Hoof’s island, as it allowed Silverspeak to engage in a verbal boss battle, so to speak, and defeat Mangus by discrediting him before all his followers, which was inspired by countless moments throughout history where the followers of dictators and tyrants realize that they’ve been worshiping/following a monster and realize how far they’ve fallen, morally. I also relished having Silverspeak speaking before one of the biggest crowds in history, and writing my favorite use of his silver tongue in the trilogy.

Spike bursts into the room with the remains of the army. Mangus spreads his wings and takes off. Realizing that something bad is about to happen, Silverspeak manages to fly onto him and grab hold as Mangus flies up into the Equestrian sky. Spike follows, clawing his way up the dragon body, shredding it as much as he can, only to be knocked off halfway up, leaving Silverspeak by himself. He climbs up to the head, but can’t stop Mangus before he heads into the uppermost limits of the atmosphere, where he uses his magic to take control of the sun and brings it close. Silverspeak, desperate, manages to shred the dragon wings, sending both of them plunging back to earth, slamming into a mountain range.

The sequence of Silverspeak climbing up Mangus was directly inspired from the climax of ‘Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2’, where Dracula and Alucard climb up the body of the Leviathan as it flies up to destroy the Earth from Space. Then I thought, ‘Nah. Set it inside a giant, flying building instead. That’ll make it more interesting’.

When Silverspeak regains consciousness, he finds himself at the base of the ruined mountains, and the destroyed dragon body. But something’s wrong: the sky is a hot, fiery red, as if it were on fire. Then Mangus emerges from the body and strolls over, his body cracked and lit as if on fire, possessing some of Celestia’s magic. He grins. In less than ten minutes, the sun will get close enough to the planet to burn it clean. Everything on the surface will be destroyed, and when that’s done, Mangus will be free to rebuild everything in his own image, and take all his prisoners to be his new subjects. If they refuse to cooperate, they die. All unicorns will be eliminated, and no one will be able to stop him. And what’s Silverspeak going to do about it? Even if he kills Mangus, it will be impossible for him to stop the sun. The others won’t be able to open Celestia’s crystal in time, and they will die. No matter what, Mangus will win. And now, he’ll do the one thing he never got the chance to do: Kill Silverspeak. And there’s no better place to do it, for the two have landed in the remains of Saddle Lanka. This is where everything began: Silverspeak’s obsession with becoming an alicorn, and Mangus being told he would be the best. And he has. He’s about to take an entire planet for himself, and in a way, he has Silverspeak to thank for it. His defeats at his hooves taught him the value of patience, and not being so headstrong. And for that, he’ll give Silverspeak exactly one minute to fight without any resistance.

Silverspeak tears into Mangus, but he can’t kill him. And when the minute is up, Mangus uses his magic to fight back, equipped with a staff that acts as a spear, throwing Silverspeak around like a rag doll, ripping the very earth apart around them. And as the sun gets closer, the two watch as the oceans, forests, ground, and mountains rise up, ripped apart by the incredible gravity. But Mangus is able to cast a spell that protects the both of them. They get a front-seat view of the end of the world. And as they fight, Mangus easily overpowers Silverspeak. He’s about to deliver the killing blow when the Raven suddenly flies in, Beakbreaker having tracked Silverspeak’s signal. As it swerves in, Mangus easily destroys it, Beakbreaker leaping out, but Gusty, having gotten his last flight, is killed.

Landing, Beakbreaker attacks Mangus with the heaviest weapons she could mount onto her power armor. She hurts Mangus, but can’t kill him. He destroys the ground beneath them both, and all three fall onto a slope, and then a ledge above a giant, underground vein of lava. There Mangus fights Silverspeak again, tearing his body in half, and destroying all but one of his legs, and one of his wings, crippling him. He taunts Silverspeak, asking if this is what he wanted. Everything he’s ever worked for has led to ruin and death. The technology he helped birth gave the General the weapons he needed to overrun the continent and kill so many. That’s his legacy: Death, destruction, and ruin, and giving Mangus everything he needed to win.

Beakbreaker launches a final attack. Annoyed, Mangus grabs her and starts to crush her from the outside in. Enraged, Silverspeak breaks through the spell stopping his magic, and uses what little remains of his magic to pound Mangus, stunning him. Grabbing the spear, he impales Mangus and tells him that he’ll never hurt his family, or anyone else, ever again, and uses the last of his magic to yanks out Mangus’ head and spike, finally killing Mangus Bluehorn once and for all, his lifeless corpse plunging into the lava below.

The final fight between Mangus and Silverspeak underwent some substantial changes: Initially, I wanted to go all out and have Mangus become almost godlike from having absorbed some of Celestia’s powers, including having his skin turning into cracked lava from holding so much sun magic, and destroying everything around him for miles with a wave of his hoof. However, the fight eventually got too big and too ornate, and I toned it down to try and create something a little more grounded, while still being able to show off a bit.

I moved the earth being ripped apart to take place after the fight, so as to make Silverspeak and Beakbreaker’s desperate rush to free Celestia more exciting.

Originally, Silverspeak was not going to die during the fight, but the opportunity to have him be emotionally crushed and then briefly visit the spiritual realm was too intriguing to pass up. While there, he was originally going to be greeted by Celestia’s spirit, who would be disguised as a generic alicorn of light, but one that was lit from within as if by the sun’s rays, who would wordlessly encourage him to go back. But again, I realized that it would be better to save Celestia’s appearance until later, and only have the faintest hint of her show up beforehand (with her encased inside the amber). Thus, she was removed, and Silverspeak instead just felt a presence instead. Aware of how touchy spiritual things can be in fiction, I worked to keep everything about the spiritual world in the ‘Monster’ trilogy to not have any religious associations.

When I was revising the first ‘Monster’ story, I removed some curses that Silverspeak and Beakbreaker said because I wanted Silverspeak’s last words to Mangus to be the only time explicit language was used in the trilogy, and I couldn’t think of any other place to use it for maximum effect than before Silverspeak kills Mangus for good.

The spell shielding Beakbreaker and Mangus falls away, and the sun’s gravity takes hold, yanking them up into the sky with the rest of the rubble. Desperate, the two fight to reach other, finally grabbing hold with their legs, clutching each other as they fly up to their death... but then something happens. Everything freezes. Then the mountains, oceans, and rubble falls back to earth, Silverspeak and Beakbreaker included. They clutch each other as tightly as they can. And just before they hit, Silverspeak looks up to see something shooting towards them.

Blackness.

Once again, Celestia’s appearance was pushed back to keep her first full appearance later on. However, I did struggle with how to have Silverspeak and Beakbreaker survive Celestia reversing the sun’s gravity. Doing so would stop everything from floating up, but also send it all crashing back down to earth, and while it is poetically satisfying to have Celestia rescue Silverspeak after he freed her, the odds that Celestia would spot him and Beakbreaker among all the destruction and save them are laughably small. Thus, after trying and failing to come up with a satisfactory answer, I decided to keep things vague in the final story about how the two survived.

Silverspeak wakes up in a hospital bed. He’s alive. Intact, even. No sing of Beakbreaker. But Luna’s there. She assures him that she’s fine. Everything’s over. But how? What happened? Celestia managed to tear free of the crystal and stop the sun from incinerating the planet. The attack worked, and the General’s forces have been defeated. Celestia’s been busy freeing all the cyborgs and returning them to normal. But it’s been a long process... five years, to be exact. Silverspeak and Beakbreaker have been in stasis that entire time. Silverspeak needed it more due to his illness, but Beakbreaker was put under, too, so she wouldn’t have to wait without him. But why was he awakened? Silverspeak asks Luna. She smiles.

I changed it so that Silverspeak is only in a coma for a short time instead of five years so he would be able to help with the reconstruction efforts, and did the same for Beakbreaker. With all the medical help that would be needed after the war, having her spend years dozing away felt selfish and out of character.

Luna was also changed to Chrysalis because in real life, she’d be enraged at Silverspeak for what he had done, and I wanted to avoid a big conflict after the climax. Having Chrysalis take her place let her be seen well on the path to redeeming herself, as well as indulging in the humor of having the queen of the changelings be a glorified babysitter while Silverspeak was unconscious.

Luna takes Silverspeak out of the partially rebuilt Canterlot hospital, and to the gardens. It’s the first green Silverspeak has seen in a long time. There, Luna leaves him. He doesn’t understand what’s going on. And then he sees someone walking towards him, and he’s speechless.

It’s Celestia.

Silverspeak bows, but Celestia has him stand. He doesn’t need to bow to her. She’s heard so much about him, and she still remembers the letter he sent her, and the one she sent back. She’s wanted to meet him, and now finally has a chance to do so. But first things first... using her magic, she removes the cancer infecting his brain, healing him. But while his body is healed, Silverspeak’s mind isn’t... what Mangus said has stuck with him. He realizes that all he’ll ever be seen as is someone who led to the deaths of so many. His life, long as it has been, has inflicted so much pain. But Celestia stops him. Silverspeak is not responsible for what others have done with the technology he helped give to the world. And that technology is now being used to rebuild that world. If he and Beakbreaker hadn’t done what they did so many years ago, it’s possible that Equestria could never be rebuilt. He hasn’t doomed the world: he’s saved it.

Overwhelmed, Silverspeak collapses and cries, Celestia holding him in her legs. Eventually, he quiets down, relieved as never before. And then Beakbreaker is there, relieved to see her husband healed and whole once more. Celestia then says that she’s heard the two were once interested in adopting a child. She knows just the one, and brings out a small foal who lost her parents, and needs a mother and a father. Silverspeak and Beakbreaker accept.

It was a daunting task to write Silverspeak finally meeting Celestia, and while it was tempting to have the meeting go on for quite a long time, I decided to go with a shorter, more condensed scene, as I didn’t want to risk stretching it out too long and becoming too sentimental and syrupy, so to speak.

I added a bit of Celestia giving Silverspeak the opportunity o use his talents to help heal those who had been mentally traumatized by the war, as I realized that having Silverspeak be absolved of everything he’d done without having any long-term consequences felt unrealistic.

Epilogue

50 years later, Silverspeak awakens in his Canterlot apartment. He dresses himself for a fancy event. Though very old, even by Equestrian standards, and with large wrinkles and a faded mane, he’s happy. Today is a very special day. He goes to a church, where his daughter is finally getting married to the stallion she loves, complete with kids. She wishes that Beakbreaker were with them, and Silverspeak assures her that she is. He has a feeling she’s happy with her.

Originally, Beakbreaker was going to die of old age during the time jump, as I wanted the series to end by focusing exclusively on Silverspeak during his final day of life, with Beakbreaker appearing shortly after he died. However, I realized that, having come this far, Beakbreaker deserved to be part of the ending as well, as she was spared from death one last time.

While I toyed around with the idea of Silverspeak living to 125 thanks to his cyborg body, I eventually decided that such an advanced age felt a little too old, and dialed it back so that he died at 105 instead.

Gold Wing was originally going to be married and head off on her honeymoon at the end of the story, but when the chapter was written to include those events, it felt like we spent very little time getting to know her or her own family, which made her departure have less of an emotional impact. Thus, I rewrote her chapter from scratch so that she’s preparing to leave Canterlot and giving both Silverspeak and Beakbreaker one day to spend with her and her family.

Silverspeak, the guest of honor, watches his adopted daughter at the reception, and even signs a few autographs from ponies who recognize and are in awe of him. But eventually, things quiet down. He says goodbye to his daughter and her new family, and heads off to the castle gardens, and goes to a familiar bench near a quiet, secluded area overlooking Equestria. From up here, he has a wonderful view of the towers and gleaming, sparkling cities that have been built with the help of both technology, and the relics from the ancient civilization, all under the most beautiful sunset he’s ever seen.

He hears someone coming. Looking over, he’s surprised to see his granddaughter coming up, and in tears. He helps her onto the bench and asks what’s wrong. She says she’s been teased by some bullies at school about how she’s a useless Earth pony. She wants to be like him, strong and powerful and able to do whatever she wants. Drawing on a lifetime of experiences, Silverspeak tells her that a very wise pony once told him that everyone can use the gifts they have to make the world a beautiful place. And she was right. His granddaughter doesn’t know what her special talent is, but when she does, she should follow her dream and use it to help make the world a better place.

Comforted, Silverspeak’s granddaughter thanks him, gives him a kiss, and heads on home. Moments later, someone else walks up. It’s Princess Celestia, and she’s proud that Silverspeak remembered the letter she sent him. Silverspeak thanks her for coming. She says it’s an honor; she even made this sunset just for him.

Silverspeak looks down to the small headstone of his beloved Beakbreaker and sighs. He’s old... very old. If it wasn’t for his mechanical body, he’d be long gone. Celestia quietly says that he wants to be with her, doesn’t he? He nods. Celestia’s magic has helped him live thanks to countering the effects of the brain cancer that would have otherwise killed him long ago, but now that he’s seen his child start a new phase of her life, he’s ready to let go.

Gathering Silverspeak in her legs, Celestia holds him tight as she readies to remove her magic. He asks if it will hurt. She promises that it won’t, and thanks Silverspeak for everything he’s done for Equestria.

Using her magic, Celestia removes the block around the cancer. Silverspeak sighs and closes his eyes, like one who has been awake a very long time, and can finally rest. But something happens. He feels so much lighter and alive. Opening his eyes, he finds himself in the garden, and looks around to see Celestia with his body. He’s died.

Hearing something, Silverspeak turns, and finds Beakbreaker and his parents waiting for him, all three of them young once again, and in the prime of life. Overjoyed, and crying in happiness, he reunites with them. And then, without the need for wings, they all fly off into the sky, heading into the sunset, and then beyond it, and Silverspeak is happy and content at last.

The End.

If there’s one scene every writer dreads doing, it’s the moment when their main characters die. You have only one chance to get it right, and messing it up can ruin even the best story. As stated above, Silverspeak was originally going to be by himself during his death scene, with Beakbreaker only showing up after he had died, and so I made it so that Beakbreaker died with him. But when the time came, I realized there was a problem I hadn’t considered before: Just how does a cyborg die of old age? I had originally planned for Celestia – at Silverspeak and Beakbreaker’s request – to remove the spell containing the tumor so that Silverspeak and Beakbreaker would then die from thirty years of tumor growth suddenly spreading out all at once. However, when I wrote this, it felt more like Silverspeak and Beakbreaker were committing suicide, which was something I wanted to avoid.

After trying to figure out exactly how Silverspeak and Beakbreaker were going to die, I decided to have Celestia neither help them die, or help them live by not renewing the spells, and letting nature take its course. In addition, I had Silverspeak’s parents appear to tell him that he’ll be dying soon, which was inspired by stories of the terminally ill somehow knowing exactly when they’re going to die, including one story I was told by an acquaintance about how his elderly mother, without any warning or foreshadowing, one day took off her jewelry (which she never did), lay down in bed, and died without appearing to be sick or ill.

In the final version of the story, the ending was changed from Celestia’s garden to a spiritual meadow with a sunset, and Silverspeak’s parents and all the other supporting characters were implied to be waiting for him and Beakbreaker, with Chrysalis being a last second addition, due to loving the idea of her redeeming herself enough to make it to the great beyond. (In case you’re curious, Mangus is... well, he’s not in the great beyond, but I prefer to think that one day, many centuries from now, he’ll finally have another chance to live again, but not before he’s been forced to feel the pain he inflicted on others, and learn that being a genocidal, would-be conqueror is a very bad thing).

Finally, Silverspeak and Beakbreaker’s parents came to meet them in the meadow before leading them to whatever lies beyond, but I removed them because I wanted the focus of the very last chapter to be on the two characters that we had followed for six years. And in case you’re wondering, yes, I did tear up while writing it.

Author's Notes:

***

With the benefit of hindsight, I believe that – like its two predecessors - ‘Sunfall’ is better than the original outline, especially with regards to having a lighter tone; if there’s one thing I’ve learned from writing ‘Sunfall,’ it’s that it’s not necessary to go grimdark in a series finale, and that it’s more effective to have a balanced tone.

But there’s one other lesson I learned from writing ‘Sunfall,’ as well as ‘Nightfall,’ that’s taken me years to realize: When a story has fulfilled its purpose for existing, it’s time to let it end. In the long run, I now believe that ‘The Monster Below’ should have ended with the first story; Silverspeak had learned what was really important in his life, and the ending was hopeful that he would get his happy ending. While ‘Nightfall’ and ‘Sunfall’ have moments that I’m proud of, I will be the first to admit that that they don’t live up to the first story. However, if they hadn’t been written, I never would have learned the importance of not stretching a story out beyond its natural lifespan.

Still, in the long run, I’m satisfied with the series. It had a great start, two sequels that have their moments, and a happy ending where Silverspeak and Beakbreaker finally get the peace they’ve earned from all their struggles and challenges.

To all of you who stuck around this long, thank you. Reading everyone’s comments, even the ones that were critical and pointed out flaws and errors, was an invaluable experience, and helped to not only make the story better, but to also help me learn more about the art of writing, character, tone, and knowing when to let things finish. And so, for that, I thank you all, and especially those who came along to the very end.

And so, with that, the Monster Below trilogy comes to an end. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I have.

Thank you for reading.