I present the epilogue...
And so, it was through the battle for the then unnamed city, that Zootopia gained its fame and its origin.
The might of the Savannah Shire and it's many regions began to dwindle and crumble over the years, though not from war. The coalition that came to defend Zootopia did not need to march south to take the fight to them. Vast regions at their borders seceded, seeing that the age of a prey controlled state was at its end.
With a singular city of such cohesion between mammals of all walks of life, the coalition grew in strength of arms… and that of culture. The prey controlled regions fell out of favor and began to die a political death.
Their influence grew, as did the city, with many such nations taking residence within the walls and partitioning regions off for the purpose of making Zootopia a city that could be home to a little piece of all kingdoms. The Tundra Federation, The Mountaineers, The Meadow Plateau, The Rain Keepers, The Saharans and eventually… even those of Savannah Shire that turned against their oppressive government.
Zootopia became a cultural, trading, and governmental hub, with many years of construction and expansion turning it into a veritable sight to behold.
All of this… because of two mammals that were never meant to be together, but formed a bond anyways…. And set out to change everything.
"Silence and Valiance were the names known only in proverb," a moose female began to tell a class on a field trip, with many small younglings paying her undivided attention. "Although… new evidence provided to the city of Zootopia portrays a far different tale than some accredited theories have suggested as a founding story."
Looking up, she noticed a fox and bunny holding paws, suddenly entranced by her words and making their way over to listen in. Figuring the inclusion of a couple more mammals was no big deal, the moose tour guide continued in kind to explain.
"It is now revealed through old texts recovered, though greatly degraded, that two mammals of unknown species rose as the rallying force behind the legend of our city's origin hundreds of years ago. Silence, he who took an oath to quiet his own strife, and Valiance, she who made a vow to overcome her own fears, brought together a great many mammals to give Zootopia its founding moments."
One student, a zebra, raised their hoof in question, hopping slightly in an effort to be noticed.
The moose nodded to her, encouraging her to speak.
"Wer… were they in love?"
The tour guide smiled.
"The texts recovered do mention of their unbreakable bond, though never directly spoke of it being one of friendship or love. Some of the things mentioned seemed to state they made a pact to be joined in another life if they ever fell before their time."
Looking back over the crowd of younglings, the moose saw the two mismatched mammals share a glance or two once more, seeming rather enthralled by the conversation. Not wanting to disappoint, the guide began going on about the stories within the texts, journeys that were logged, cavernous havens explored, heroic tales, and even light tinges of what could be implied as romantic drabbles.
The fox and bunny finally decided to walk away, a new crowd joining the listeners and giving the moose their attention.
"That tale almost seemed romantic…" remarked the grey doe. "Wonder how things worked out for them in the end."
"Ha!" the red fox laughed. "If even one of those 'legends' are true, then I'm sure all of them were fine."
Their banter continued for a few minutes, before falling into a comfortable silence.
"You think… if they were real… that they ever found each other in another life?" the bunny bashfully asked.
"Well, Fluff…" remarked the fox, "I'd like to think so…. So yes. Yes I do."
"Since when did you become such a sap for romantic endings, Nick."
The rabbit leaned up to close the gap between herself and him.
"I blame you for that, Judy."
His lips met her for a brief moment, parting after a few seconds.
Looking down and pressing their foreheads together for a brief moment, their paws clasped together, a faint shadow of something fading into their vision. But it quickly faded away before they could make sense of it.
Looking into each other's eyes, they smiled and turned to resume their date at the Natural History Museum, a faint flash of a shadow encompassing the wrist of the paws that grasped one another….
… in the form of a cloth wristband connected between them.
Among that shadow… and echo seemed to emanate.
"let this bond between us, tied by a single piece of cloth, be our bond…"
"I promise here and now that no matter our fears, no matter our fates, I will always find my way to you, even if I have to come back in another life."
"… I'll find you."
"Not if I find you first."
For those unsure what I was doing here... I tied this into my first posted story Dusted (In chapter 15).
Yes... this was planned out that far ahead, thus why I've been so excited to get to the end.
Again... I hope you enjoyed this and I shall continue to try creating more stories, endeavoring not to disappoint.
REVIEWS!: Seeing as this is still part of the update in the same day, I will be relegating my responses to reviews here.
Combat Engineer: Good call. I've never seen an origin story for Zootopia, so this story sort of morphed into a telling of that in my own rendition. I hope you enjoyed it. And thank you for all the support. You know what you did. XD
AStoryTellerBook: I wish I could say there was but alas... if there is... it was not intentional. XD I will not deter your creative interpretation though.
Maliaki: Thank you very much! I hope you enjoyed yourself.
GUNSLINGER99: Lol. Thank you so much for that. And yes, there was some spirit from other venues though i hope i was able to construct an original enough speech. XD and I did contemplate that with Stu... but i wanted to portray Judy in a certain stage of character development. I wasnt sure if that would fly well. (Also... cake never has a bad time for eating)
USA Patriot: I didn't expect that either, but my experience has shown that in final arcs or big battles... i get really amped up to write and keep them going until they finish. So you wont get cut offs from me.
I'm glad you love the descriptions and can follow them without being thrown for a loop. And yes, they are. I've wanted to implement a flying battalion for a while, but wasnt sure what mammals would have a fighting prowess until a friend pointed them out. Thank you ever so much for your interest and complements. XD
Cimar of Turalis WildeHopps: In response to all your recent reviews I have yet to reply to, (apologies for that delay) I am so glad you are enjoying yourself and have so much good to say. I always look forward to your comments. I thank you and am much obliged that you took the time to follow my tail through to the end.
DrummerMax64: Dang a tang... you sure know how to leave a detailed review. I mean that in the best way. XD I'll try to answer in kind, though my skill is more in lengthy writing, not reviews. lol.
Aside from the obvious overall Thanks I have for you in respect to your overwhelmingly pawsitive comments about my writing and my story structure, I'm so glad you think it fits together and has been building up with each past chapter to this point. I do hope I have pleasantly surprised you with the last chapter, as well as the epilogue. *wink* And thank you for noticing the anniversary... because i sure as heck didnt. XD
And another thanks for saying as much in your latest review about my large scale battle. I wont deny i was sooo worried about my transitions but it is good to know i balanced them well without oversaturating it.
Guest:... well? hehe.
DONE!
Also... I was so excited to finish this story not only for my sake or yours... but my wonderful love of my life who is my greatest inspiration for writing. I would still be as creative as I could, even if she were my only avid reader, or even the only one that loved my writings.
I even made a little snippet for her
FortunesArkHero is her name on here.
This is my wifey
This is my bun
I do this for her
And I do it with puns. XD
(Read that as if singing the "This is my rifle, this is my gun")
Now onto new projects, of which I hope to start on after a short reprise from writing. (Not for months this time. Hopefully just a week) And then I'll get my butt back on Shards, as well as a couple other potentials I've been waiting to try out.
It's been a beautiful hustle, Sweethearts.