Hey, I don't really write ponyfic anymore, bye · 1:28am Jan 22nd, 2016
I'm not sure what to write here besides "Duh."
I haven't been regularly posting stories, blogs, comments, and whatever for a long time. But someone asked, and I get that it can be frustrating when people fade to black without so much as a last word, so here I am.
The stories I want to write can't be written with ponies anymore. It's not a matter of moving onto something better or more mature, because obviously excellent stories can be written with ponies. But there are a lot of kinds of stories that just don't work in the setting of Equestria, and those are the kinds of stories I'm interested in now. Also, I'm very slowly reaching a point of my life where I'd like to do something other than retail and food service to earn a living, and writing is my only skill. Anytime I sit down to write fan fiction, I can't not think about how I'm investing a lot of work and emotion into something that I will never ever get paid for.
More than anything, though. My interest in the show has waned to almost nothing. It's been a few years. I'm ready for something new.
I'm writing original fiction. I've been submitting stories to various magazines/journals, gotten a lot of 'Please submit again' type responses. I'm confident that eventually some of those are going to turn into 'Accepted' responses. I've been told that editors don't bother asking you to submit again if they don't actually want you to submit again. It'd be an awful practical joke if they did. I've also been looking into various conferences, residencies, and MFA programs as potential opportunities to make a career in this, but who knows.
I will still participate in the writeoff, because I find the criticism worthwhile. Maybe if I have time, one or two of those stories will make its way onto fimfic. I will finish Some Hugs Last Longer than Others, because I want to leave one last good PinkieDash fic behind. It'd be a goofy kind of poetic to enter and exit the stage on the same goofy ship. I also still plan reading on through my 'To Read' list on that mythical day in the just-out-of-reach future when I have lots of free time.
Looking back:
I think I found most of whatever it was I was looking for when I first started writing ponyfic. I got stories featured in all the places a fimfic author is supposed to want to be featured. I am, or at least was, being followed by all the people I wanted to be followed by. I even still have screen shots of each of the little notifications when they first followed me. Same for stories in the feature box. I have a story with over a thousand upvotes and another with over ten thousand views. Never quite hit that coveted 1000 follower count, but jeez, I got close. I made a friend during my time here. Singular, one, but you can't get greedy with friendship, magic though it may be.
When I first started writing horse words, I was an asshole. Now I'm a little less of an asshole. So thanks for that, I guess.
I am, and will forever be, sexier than all of you.
Peace out, see ya around.
Good luck, and thanks for all the horse words.
Sorry to hear that you're leaving us, Hoof. I love your horsewords, and many of them have come to find a home on my Favorites Bookshelves. You will be missed.
On another note, I guess that that means that you won't be finishing Through Rain, and Sun, and Snow. Sorry to hear that, as it's a great story, and had a promising start.
Anyway, much good luck to you in your future endeavors out there, my friend. It's been a pleasure knowing you and reading your stories.
Well, fair enough I suppose! Good luck with all your original fiction writing stuff. You're a good writer and I look forward to the day when all the good ponyfic writers are all winning writing prizes somewhere and stand on stage and someone shouts "Rainbow Dash is best pony!" and then the next day all the newspapers have pictures of a giant ball of people wrestling around on stage and three famous writers with black eyes.
Or not. I dunno.
But anyway, I bid ye good fortune with your future writing endeavors.
It was awesome having you around.
As the Enola Gay would say, it was a blast.
aw :(
I bid thee with good life. And thanks for all of your stories.
Thanks for ride. I think you were one of the first people on this site I followed for their story content rather than just their blogs. Glad to see you're moving on to bigger and better things
Good luck with your non-pony
smutwritingThanks for all of the really great stories. I hope to someday read your original works when they get published.
Thanks for all the stories you've written. Spring is Dumb is one of my favorite works in particular. Good luck with your original fiction.
Thank you for the good times, and the best of times to you. Good luck.
Sorry to see you go.
Good luck in the future.
Best of luck out there. I hope you come back and visit sometimes.
Sexy, and considerate!
So many great writers have faded into fimfic oblivion, than you for thinking of your readers and not ghosting.
Thank you also for your pony words, which have brought joy to so many, myself included. Wishing you the best of luck as you spread your wings and share your non-horse words with a broader audience.
Stay sexy
Sad to see you go, you will always be one of my fav authors on this site. All the best in your endeavors!
The absolute best of luck to you and your "real" writing. You're a lock for being in the 1% or so of the amateur writers tooling around with fanfiction who can make the transition to original fiction and make it good. I guess this might be my last shot to mention this, but I always thought Ponies and Throwing Knives was one of the most brilliant stories on the site, for being a primer on the trust and intimacy in something that's innately sexual without actually having any sex in it (something which might have passed by a lot of the people who read it, I think). Bring that clean and cutting insight to your current work and I know you'll do well.
Best of luck. If you're ever suddenly inspired by small horses again, don't be afraid to come back for a spell.
3703827
If you're interested, here's the second chapter of Through Rain. I was waiting to publish until I wrote more chapters.
Spoilers for how the rest of the story was going to go:
Twilight's the one who died, partly Rainbow Dash's fault. Rainbow travels south, following rumors of a power to bring loved ones back from the dead. Story splits between their two narratives as they travel through an old ruined kingdom (with some kidnapping, battles with the undead, betrayal, and an ancient underground city along the way). Rainbow released a necromancer, while Applejack close behind learns the true nature of said necromancer. He can bring ponies back from the dead, but not back the way they were before, and he's only using Rainbow to regain power and restore his lost kingdom and city. In the climax, they meet and AJ convinces RD to help her stop the icky necromancer. They return home a long time later in a rainy epilogue.
Theme: Dead is dead, and AppleDash is best pony.
I know it sucks to be left in the dark when a story you were interested in gets canceled. Hopefully this is some compensation.
3713534 Thanks for the second chapter, and the spoilers for the rest of how the story would have gone, Hoof. I appreciate this more than you know.
As to that last spoiler, than's very true, and yes, it is.
Yes, it does, but this helps, and the compensation is wonderful.
As I said before, much good luck in your future endeavors (wherever they may take you), and know that you will be very much missed.
*huggles Hoof goodbye*
so long space cowboy...
Best of luck with your future projects I shall continue to reread your stories with fondness
Thank you for the fantastic stories over the years. You're a fantastic writer, and I wish you well
When your stuff starts coming out in the real world, can we get a name/title/release announcement to keep an eye out for?
This farewell post was rather gentlemanly of you, and you have my thanks. As one who's taken steps toward exiting retail, I can only say that it's a sometimes unforgiving transition, and my sole advice is to keep that friend close. Let him/her help you stay grounded and sane.
I also want to echo 3896257 and ask if there's a pseudonym your fans might keep a vigil for.
Best of luck! I will echo (and elaborate on) something I've said elsewhere:
I once had a really awful job that I hoped to escape through professional writing, and I got about as far as it sounds like you have. Things are better now, but long before they were I realized something vital: equating writing with money sucked the life out of it. Thinking about writing meant thinking about money and where it was coming from, and writing is my primary means of relaxation. I don't mean to say that getting paid for writing is bad. I'm working on that myself. I'm just saying that it's worth being careful with how you go about extracting cash from your passions.
Good luck, have fun, and all other assorted pleasantries. I'll always look back on the writeoffs we were both in with fondness, and I hope to see some of your original work sometime soon. Keep us in the loop!