Yes, it is still active. No it won't be updated soon. · 2:42am Jan 30th, 2013
Dear Readership, Followers, Brother and Other Cretins,
You may have noticed over the year or so Night's Favoured Child has been in progress, I update very infrequently. That is due to many factors, including my appalling natural attention span, the access to internet serving as a source of procrastination, numerous other commitments - both online and in real life - and, of course, work. Exams and studying and the need to do homework etcetera is a constant plague, as it is for many of us, and I am very prone to procrastination and mind-wandering even. So, naturally, I will work very slowly. Sometimes it is also to do with my mood; that I just don't feel like writing for a while or I'll only write a little bit.
My answer to the flood of questions regarding the status of the story and my work progress is the blog title. Also, if you would all kindly stop saying "MOAR!" (or a variation thereof) or any other cutesy memetic internet-speak implicitly (or otherwise) demanding me to hurry the fuck up and entertain you already, it would be much appreciated. After all, it isn't as endearing/funny/adorable as you think it is. You will all know this is dead if and when I make a blog post saying that I hate the story and the fandom and therefore will not waste my time on it anymore and instead focus on writing fanfic of other fandoms and hanging out in Alternatehistory.com.
The reasons for recent gaps have been all of the above, with the added stress of Christmas, January exams and spontaneous family tragedies. I would recommend ignoring my story in between updates, so you won't really notice how long its been and you won't be overcome with the urge to add your questions or demands regarding the status of the story and its progress to the many dozens of others.
PS: Also, if you could impose a limit of none to three (depending on how you space them out) emoticons in your posts, I would be much obliged. Spamming faces of a pony crying or whatever is not needed to get the point across. On the other hand, using multiple emoticons as rating scales (e.g. five Spike Staches out of five) is fine and dandy.
With Bitter Love,
Municipal Engines
Take your time bro.
I'm sorry, it's just that the story is so amazing. It is a thriller that captivates me and always leaves me wanting the next chapter. Take your time and don't feel rushed. I can wait.
Yo man, just take you time.
Nopony likes a rushed story.
rushed stories......
Life always takes first precedent over all other things.
I hope you take as much time as you need / want, I know you'll have an enduring fan-base here should you make a return with more pony words; or in simply moving on, a legacy of an enjoyable story which sparked the imagination of thousands.
I won't rush take your sweet time
Then allow me to act as a counterpoint to the "MOAR" crowd. Please take your time, I don't mind. Very few of the best stories here were rushed out quickly. In any case, every new chapter I read is one fewer chapter left until the end, and reaching the end of a really good story is always bittersweet.
Good things come to those who wait, and I have become a very patient person over the years.
See you when you get back.
I'd rather have quality over quantity. You're in the favorites list, so I'll (probably) get notified when you update. Until then, I'll be quietly reading fics. And in case I haven't said so lately, thank you for writing!
Bitter love? Better than none, mate. You could take till the end of time for all I care. I forced story is terrible most of the time. Not to mention all the normal responsibilities of life. It's your free-time (you DO have free-time, right?) and asking you to spend all of it writing is selfish.
Dude. Take all the time you need. We just weren't sure if you were going to continue it. Sorry.
By the way, the bitterness was mostly sarcastic, to those who had not noticed.
I personally stopped saying those things after I saw the story was on hiatus. Take all the time you need to deal with what you have to, we will live if we don't get a story update.
Cheers,
The Princess Luna
One of the downsides of being extremely popular, as your story is, is that you will have a bunch of annoying and impatient people. They can be noisy, but keep in mind that no matter how noisy they are they're a very small group compared to everyone else.
(Also, they never shut up no matter what.)
It's a good story, and we're all very glad you've shared it with us. Your time is just that, and nobody on this site can make demands on it. Still, those of us that are on the more rabid side of fanficfans are gleeful to hear from you.
So, thanks for that.
Good to know. Yeah, I can wait for chapter updates. I knew what I was getting into when I started this story last month and I saw how often chapters were updated. So it's all good.
Wow, I didn't know people were pissing you off.
Folks, I don't know how often I can post this exact same paraphrasing, but here I go again:
Take your time, ME. We want something that you can be happy with and proud of, not something that was rushed or pandering.
Ugh, I'd never complain about a story updating once a year or so. I don't even terribly mind it. I'll hate you forever if you quit and don't announce it, but I still won't complain.
Some people need to understand that writers are not their bitches.
NFC was one of the first fics I read, back when I was new to pony, just decided to give fanfiction a chance after years of considering the concept silly, and when it only had a few chapters. This story has a special place in my heart. The wait between chapters is long, but I always find it to be worth it. It seems with this huge backstory that is only getting bigger and cast of well developed characters that there is still quite a bit of story to go as well. I am happy with this.
As long as the story doesn't die, I'll be happy. I'll be sad when it ends, as is the case with all good stories and especially those that I have grown attached to over a long period of time, but I'm not going to worry about that for quite some time. If I have to ask anything of you it would be to take your time and don't give up. I don't know how you manage to keep track of everything in this universe you have penned, but I can't imagine it is easy.
In short: this story is worth the wait, and always has been.
I didn't know writers found the "MOARS!" so infuriating.
I admit, I am guilty of one or two instances of "MOARE", but I always thought of it as,
"You have me hooked, I wish there was more to read, and I really appreciate you writing this for us to enjoy."
and not,
"WRITE MORE MY SLAVE!"
Nobody is forced to update frequently or sporadically. I thought writers and readers understood this.
I understand your frustration but this could have been communicated much nicer. I just finished reading what is currently written of your story (which I loved) in one go and was very put off by the tone of this blog post. It wouldn't have taken much to politely say that you were quite busy and wrote sporadically. Instead you adopted a tone meant to clearly tell certain people you were pissed off with their praise for your story. It seems to me you need to step back and think about it from your fans perspectives. Readers just want to ensure that their time was invested wisely. Just because a few people celebrated your writing and asked that you continue doing so in an immature fashion does not give you the right to snap at anyone.
Once again, I understand how frustrating it is to hear the same aggravating phrase over and over. I really do. Understand however, that those posts weren't meant to put pressure on you but were instead meant to convey the excitement of a good story, the hope for more to come, and the fear of never having the chance to complete such a wonderful tale. This I hope you can sympathize with.
I apologize if the tone of this post comes off as accusatory or rude but after reading the most recent chapter of your story, I felt upset that after writing about bullying, you would turn around and do so to your followers.
I am sorry if I've offended you but in the future, please don't be quite so harsh.