Today’s story is a moving look at what happens when the story’s over but the characters still remain.

Tired
[Sad] [Slice of Life] • 7,033 words

Though the distance between Pinkie Pie and her five closest friends has grown in the half-century since they claimed their Elements, she does what she can to prevent the others from drifting away. It’s small things, mostly: tea with Rarity, a drink with Rainbow Dash, a few words with each of the others. The friendship still makes each day together magic, and she works as hard as ever to bring cheer to all of her friends. When the smiles come less frequently, that just makes each one that much more precious.

FROM THE CURATORS: The fandom is thick with stories about the longing and loss that await the Mane Six with the passage of time, but you don’t have to read much of “Tired” to learn why it’s such an exemplar of the genre: it’s got rare depth and maturity. “There’s no trickery here, no overblown drama, just life’s changes and the difficulties those can bring,” Vimbert said. Horizon added, “I’ve never seen a sadfic so effortlessly sandwich smiles and saudade.”

It’s also packed with strong moments of characterization and exquisite turns of phrase such as “Trivialities move the sun through the sky.” Not a word feels wasted. “The story’s brevity heightens the impact,” Chris said. “It doesn’t weigh itself down … and as a result is utterly moving.”

Read on for our interview, in which Ebon Mane discusses when not to write dialogue, and the convention experience that led to a “grand reconciliation with his mortality.”
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