The Empty Room: Complete · 10:44pm Apr 29th, 2012
The Empty Room
Warning: Waffy!
Well, it's over. And I can't shake the feeling of loss I have about it. If I'm honest with myself, I think one of the reasons that made it take so long is because I didn't want it to end. Yeah, it sounds silly, but it's true.
What I want to really emphasize, is that 'The Empty Room' is not only a story; it was my introduction to the world of Bronies; my first step into sharing my pony stories and actually becoming an active member of our community. Honestly I never expected it to become as popular, or even influential as it did. But beyond that, this story allowed me to meet amazing friends and it also really helped me become a better writer with their help.
It has been quite a ride. I've read all sorts of reviews and comments about it all over the internet. Hell, it was mentioned in the forum of some old "enemies" of mine. It was crazy. A brony confessed that he had gotten into a fight with his brother because he thought the story behind TER would make for a good (non pony) RPG.
Others compared it to a boy playing with toys (in a very informative review), or accused me of throwing in every character I could think of just to have a large list of characters. And let's not forget how the comments in EqD sometimes would get pretty confrontational. More than once I had to insist that I had a plan, that if somepony died there was a reason for it.
It's not my best story, hell the first two chapters are, well, not horrible but certainly not that good either. But you know what? I loved writing this story. It was awesome in a way I can hardly describe: I could literally see what was happening, I would dream about it, think of ways to make the dialogue more meaningful, how to create strong emotions, how to create monsters and heroes, fear and hope, hatred and forgiveness. No, it's not my best story, but damn it, its really good in some ways.
Even most of the people that hated it read the whole thing before going at me in the comments. I enjoyed the theories and wild accusations as well as random guessing and people taking credit for stuff happening that had already been planned in advance.
But I think the greatest gift I got from 'The Empty Room' were my friends/editors/pre-readers. Some stayed, some went off to their own projects, but all of them are awesome. I was getting all nostalgic with them, fishing out the first emails they sent me, looking at the first comment they posted on TER... yeah, I got teary-eyed. I'm pony enough to admit it. 
And let's not forget the readers. Wow. You guys/gals... you stuck with me for almost a whole year. You added me to your watches and faves, you commented, liked, disliked, encouraged and even threatened me 
and here we are at the end of the [ROLLERCOASTER] that is "The Empty Room"
I truly hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did, and that you'll remember it fondly when you look back in the years to come and think,"Yeah, I once read this story, it was really crazy and could've been better, but man, I had a good time reading it."
Thank you all for reading, commenting and being there. It was an honor to write this story for you and with you.
~WD
Magical Trevor: Wow... I just... Can’t believe it’s over... I’ve been following this since the beginning, and then as a pre-reader and editor, and now that it’s over, I just... Wow. We’ve come so far... I can only hope that you all enjoyed this as much as I did working on it with Deleteh! I honestly don’t even know where I would be in life if I hadn’t gotten to pre-read for this story. Deleteh and I chat every day now, and on a couple of days, that was the only thing keeping me sane, it felt like... I’ve had some... Horrid things happen to me, and if it wasn’t for this group, I might have done something really, really stupid...
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it! The journey is now over, sadly, but that’s just an opportunity for the next journey to begin. To use my fave pic...
To anyone who’s thinking that, I... Well, it’s simple. No matter how much we love a story, one day, it has to end. Why? So that the next one can begin. Books are like lives. Life is a series of greetings and farewells, and that’s what makes life in general so special. You might not be here for long, but you impact so many other people, so many things you don’t even realize. Stories are the same way. They’ll impact you, whether you realize it or not. And stories, like lives, have to end some day, so that a new story can begin, and start impacting other’s lives as well. So don’t be depressed, if you are, that the story is over. Smile, and find another story to read, so that it can impact you as well.
Orpheus: Well. It’s been a long (and purple) journey. TER may not be the best of fanfiction, but it’s definitely getting a special place in my heart. Yes, that is just because I worked on it. I’ll fully admit that. Gotta contribute to the fandom in some way. At least, that’s what I think. You may not think you have to contribute anything; that it’s okay to just sit there on the sidelines and critique others without submitting things and okay yeah I’ll shut up about that. The thing that initially drew me to this was my friend, who pretty much made me read it, and then I got intrigued. I applaud D for being willing to spend more than a hundred thousand words to set up a reveal for Twilight being an alicorn, which is probably cliche. I just don’t think he really needed all those words. :P Seriously. There’s a reason why I said this was a purple journey, and it’s not just because Twilight is purple. D loves his descriptions. Anyway, you’ll probably see my name elsewhere. I’ll be offering my services as a beta reader/proofreader to various fic writers and help organize the TtEoAP animation project. Be on the lookout for the pilot of that soon, by the way. Why yes, I did just plug an unrelated thing here. Problem?
So.
Farewell, and good luck in your future endeavors, whatever they may be.
^ To be fair, when I started TER, the Alicorn Twilight wasn't quite the cliche it is today. ^_~
Fifth Alicorn:
For me, TER represents a lot of what’s right in our fair Brony community. I’ve been part of a lot of fandoms over the years, yet I have never come across a community as caring and devoted to their fellows than the Brony community. And TER emulates that. To have a fantastic writer like D (along with others like Connor Cogwork, Cloudy Skies and Gravekeeper) devote as much time as they do to writing stories of this magnitude, stories that keep us enthralled and at the edges of our seats until the last word, is nothing short of astounding. I’ll be completely honest, I only read this story because of the intriguing cover art this story originally had, and I never looked back on this decision. In my well-traveled experience through multitudes of great fiction, not just fanfic, few scenes have hit me harder than Paper Craft’s denial of his parents at the Gallows, after the death of Lyra. I pictured that particular scene for days after reading it, and am still convinced that it is the best damn scene in this novel, and I call it a novel because that’s what it is. Only a great writer could make an impact on me like that did, and I’ve made sure D knows it.
I think I’m rambling now. All in all, I’d like to say it was a good run. It feels like the end of a fantastic era, and I’m sad to see it leave. My only regret is that I joined the team so late, but I had a fantastic time getting to know D, Trevor, Littlerobotbird as he is now called, and the rest.
FifthAlicorn, signing off. Don’t forget to read The Sweetie Chronicles!
Also, remember to add to the Empty Room TV Tropes!
Home stretch. I'm ready for this. As I'll ever be, at least.
It IS sad when a starting-point story comes to a close, isn't it? One of the first then-ongoing fics I got into was The Games We Play, and it felt weird that it ended. I think the drought between the previous chapter and the conclusion will make this that much more awkward.
...do I bring up the lack of recent updates to TER too much? I don't like sounding like a broken record of criticism, not when it's regarding a fic I love so much.
Congratulations on completion! =D It's nice to see the tale finally wrap up so I can give it a fresh go right from the beginning! ^^ I had to stop reading for a while because of those CLIFFHANGERS! DX It was tearing me apart to get to an epic part and have to wait a month or so for the next bit and start the cycle over again! Ah well, now I can give it a straight run and see it through. I'd be glad to do a review on it and I have never really reviewed a fanfic beyond comments on content, etc. I'm not a very vocal reader. ^^;;
Anyway, congrats again!
~Ciro
I have to agree... I am sad now that the ride is over. But all good things must come to an end eventually.
Going to read now, Wanderer D, I know you won't leave us hanging!
I'm ashamed that i haven't even read the FIRST CHAPTER! it honestly looks good.
i can only hope that my stories comes close to even being HALF as good as anything you write (it probably wont, but that's just me.)
as a fan of the sweetie chronicles and the moons twilight, i can say that you are one of the BEST authors on here, or anywhere
. the only other fanfic that i ever read that enthralled me as much as one of your stories was 'elsewhen and elsewhere' over on fanfiction.net. but that stopped updating a long time ago...
good luck to you in the future. rhaegas AWAY!
Just one thing. To you Wanderer D, Magical Trevor, and all the awesome bronies who helped create this world from beggining to end:
Thank you.
that picture of twilight is how i felt when harry potter ended, when eragon ended, and when this ended.
good job placing up among some of my favorite books wander.
It's... over...
Nein Nein Nein, it is not allowed to be over!! I command you to write more!
So you finally finished, eh? Even though I've never read it, I still have some things to say. You mention that the first two chapters are the worst, and I'll bye that, after all, when I tried reading it, I berarly got 2/3 of the through the second chapter before giving up, that perseverance only coming from my love of TSC. After you told me that it gets better in chapter 3, I went and read its TV Tropes page to see if I might like the story... Well, to be perfectly honest, it sounded stupid. But, I recently released that a story about a unicorn filly (who in canon can't use magic at all) traveling around a completely unoriginal mutli-verse slowly becoming as powerful as Twilight herself, is a pretty stupid sounding story, BUT in your hands has become one of my absolute favorite fanfictions ever, of all time (and across all fandoms). SO, just because this story sounds stupid, doesn't mean it is... So one of these days (maybe tomorrow, maybe next month, I really don't know), wail I'm bored waiting for the Sweetie Chronicles, I'm going to read The Empty Room, I'm going to push through the sub-par early chapters, and I'm going to read the whole thing.
By the way, now that your done with this one, dose this mean faster updates on the Sweetie Chronicles, or are you going to start on that other story you mentioned earlier?
Hmn, since this is complete I may move it up my RIL list.
I see it has the tragedy tag, how much tragedy are we talking, any main character deaths? Or would that be a spoiler?
This was probably one of my favorite things to come from FiM, aside from the show itself. It's easily one of my favorite stories and I'm really glad to have read it.
I'm sad it's over but the ending was good, so it evens out I suppose. -spoiler- The only thing that bugs me (and it's a small thing really) is that Rarity never apologized to Applejack for, you know, holding a knife to her throat. Seriously, the whole time I was reading that scene I was going, 'Really, Rarity? Really? You would kill one your best friends for that? Really? That is not ok.' I mean, I know it's silly that out of all the crazy shit that goes down that's the thing that gets to me, but yeah. -spoiler end- Anyway, I loved this story and I know I'll re-reading down the road again and again. So, good job, because that was seriously awesome.
While it is unfortunate that TER must end, it is also a good thing. To never end and make the story drag on would kill it. I am assuming that it ends on a good note as far as closer goes, whether that is a good or bad ending, and that is the proper way to end such an, and please forgive the overused adjective, epic tale.
And so the weary traveler returns at long last to his home. He has seen so many things, met so many amazing people, but every adventure must come to a close. But as he crests the final hill and sees his family waiting for him with their backs to the rising sun, he knows in his heart that where one adventure ends, another begins. And so he marches home.
--Chronicler Arcanus
make another.
Sequal?
91279 Yeah. I could go for a sequal
I have something for you.
It's not much, but I kind of came up with it recently from reading all these incredible, amazing stories on this site. Truly, this story is worthy of the highest accolades I can offer.
Something fitting.
91279 91383
Do you have any ideas for the plot of a hypothetical sequel? If you don't, you probably shouldn't ask for one.
I personally think this doesn't need a sequel, that it can stand on its own.
90919 Well, it's done now, so no more worries about updates, right?
90922 Thanks!
I hope you enjoy it from beginning to end! Especially since Sunset was the story that finally got me to write TER!
90927 I know, I was disappointed when B5 finished... but... it had to. (Not that TER is as great as B5)
90930 Well, like I've said the first few chapters aren't ideal, but if you do read it, I hope you enjoy it!
90967 And than you for reading!
90973 I'm honored that TER has found a place among your favorites!
90989 Yeah...
90997 Nope... well, maybe.
91002 Well, faster chapters, I imagine. I have extra stuff around but TSC is going to be my main objective now. TER took time because it was a big project that I had to finish and I didn't want to :P
91010 Spoiler it's a bit dark
91078 Well, when Jade's story comes out I'll explain why she's so crazy about that secrecy
91144 Thank you! I can only hope the ending lives up to your expectations!
91177
91219 The Sweetie Chronicles?
91279 I'm afraid not, but Jade's story will come out at one point.
91383 Same as above, but thanks for wanting more.
91499 Thank you!
92661 You're welcome? It's not like one guy's accolades mean much anyway... but I couldn't just read it and say nothing.
92661
Better to end it properly than have it end in decay and shadow. Better to have it end in fire.
Thank you for writing the story Wanderer D and thank you for ending it with an ending that satisfies.
Looking forward to more of your stuff. Especially The Moon's Twilight!
92661 Alright, thanks for the response.
92661
After thinking about it, I believe what really bothers me about the whole thing isn't what she did, but rather, that she didn't seem to feel any sort of remorse or guilt about it afterword. Seriously, that whole incident just pushes my buttons in all the worst ways.
I haven't read TER yet (it's on my list!), but this was a very inspiring blog post. I've written a couple of stories in the past which took well over a year to write, but the big difference is that nopony ever saw them other than myself -- I can't really imagine what it must be like to not only spend that long on a single story, but for that story to also be so beloved by so many different people. From the sounds of it, TER became a pretty major part of your life, so it must be very hard to say goodbye to it
But like you said, if people enjoyed it and it helped you grow as a writer, then it was worth it. So congratulations, and here's to another successful year of fiction
93335
thank you, and, well I know that you're waiting to read it, but just so you know... I referenced ‘It’s Not a Cold Dark Place' in the epilogue. 
93575 Arg, this puts a lot of pressure on me to make sure the rest of the story delivers!
... Seriously, I'm incredibly flattered
. Also, I guess this means TER just shot right to the top of my reading list.
I'm late, aren't I?
But still, god damn.
This is...brilliant, amazing, wonderful, and several other positive adjectives wrapped into one.
From that first chapter all the way to the end, I was led on a roller coaster of emotion and events that I just could not look away from. Everything from the plot, to the writing, to the execution, to the characters was so amazingly beautiful and horrible in my mind, playing with my senses and my view of the world of ponies.
It just goes to show that good writing can last a lifetime, considering how old this is in internet time.
The sweetie Chronicles in what brought me to you. The Empty room is what made me love your stories.
Keep up the good work, Brony.
-Delta-