2018, The Year in Review · 5:25pm Jan 1st, 2019
Well, 2018 started off promisingly enough and for a while it seemed to be chugging along just fine. But by year's end I think we were all fed up with it and just wanted it to be over and done. The show went through a rocky eighth season, there was another controversial site update, and we got bad news like ToysRUs closing and Bronycon shutting its doors, among other things (including celebrity deaths like R. Lee Ermy, David Ogden Stires, Stan Lee, and Stephen Hillenburg to name a few). Of course, it wasn't all bad though. There were some good things going on, particularly on the gaming front with games like Super Mario Party, Super Smash Brothers Ultimate, Spyro Reignited Triology, and of course Spider-Man for the PS4.
But how was the year overall for me? What was I doing during it? Well, that's what this look back will explain.
January:
My first fic of the year to be published is "Starswirl and the Royal Sisters", a one-shot involving Starswirl the Bearded during his years teaching Celestia and Luna. I subsequently go on to publish both "An Unexpected Reunion" and "Daring Do and Ahuizotl's Revenge". Then, my first padded pony fic of the year (and the first of many collabs) is published in the form of "A Padded Week with the Aunts". I return to EMU for another semester, and hit 600 followers.
February:
I publish "For The Cakes Who Have Everything", a little one-shot exploring Pinkie Pie's connection to Mr. and Mrs. Cake and the fact that Lauren Faust said they love her as a daughter. Later in the month, I review "Forgotten Friendship", the first new pony content of the year (not counting the leaks which I do not watch). And I publish two padded pony works: "Dizzy's Special Pampering" and "Cheerilee's Foalish Lesson". In between them is the first collab of the year with yodajax10 "Best Aunt Ever?", involving Princess Luna and Princess Cadence competing to be the better aunt to Spike.
March:
Seventeen months of consecutive updates comes to a close for "My Little Pony, Friendship is Magic: Stallion Edition" as it goes back on hiatus. And meanwhile, my first fic of the month is a Scootaloo one-shot involving Aunt Holiday and Auntie Lofty entitled "Scootaloo's Awesome Birthday", the second such fic to be an early birthday present for Madeline Peters (Scootaloo's VA). I also begin work on Volume Six of my "What If?" rewrite series, and begin to review the episodes of Season 8 as they come out, even doing my first ranking of the student six.
April:
I complete work on "My Little Pony Friendship is Magic What If?: Volume 6" in mid April, just as my classes begin to wind down for the Winter semester. Meanwhile, the episode "Grannies Gone Wild" prompts my first accusation fic of the year in the form of "Granny's Gotta Talk". And earlier in the month, I finally manage to do a full on review of the movie and give it a proper grade. The episode reviews continue as scheduled. Toward the end of the month, I take over and rewrite "Sisters Reunited" from Matt11.
May:
I update "My Little Pony, Friendship is Magic: Stallion Edition" again, getting into Season 7 territory. I also finish work on "Sisters Reunited". And despite beginning a research project with one of my professors at the end of the month, I still find time to write. My first new fic of the month is a collab with yodajax10 called "A Midsummer Night's Dragon", taking place after "Horse Play". I then go on to publish both "Wedding Bell Blues (And Whites)" and "After The Molt" (which is later uncanonized by the events of "Father Knows Beast"). And I do my six year Q&A session over a month after I was supposed to have done it.
June:
As the hiatus kicks in after two episodes, I again update "My Little Pony, Friendship is Magic: Stallion Edition" and do it twice. I do some more rankings, while also writing more fics. I publish "Letter to Home" and "Post Molt Blues" (the latter of which being a collab with yodajax10). My big padded pony project of the Summer takes shape, per the wishes of my fans it is a story of Starlight being babied by her dad, Firelight, and is entitled "The Padded Star".
July:
On the first of the month I release "Swimming with Silverstream" which involves three more members of the student six. Then I begin work on "My Little Pony, Friendship is Magic: Storm of Friendship" and review "Rollercoaster of Friendship" just before I leave town to attend a wedding over a weekend. "Storm of Friendship" is completed later in the month, and at the very end of the month I publish "Diamond's School Daze" which not only includes Diamond Tiara but also includes Gallus and Smolder, rounding out the fics devoted to the student six.
August:
The second half of Season 8 kicks off with a double premiere that I review, and the reviews keep coming (I again do not watch the leaks). On the first of the month I publish "Pegasus Problems", a birthday present for Matt11, and then set to work on "My Little Pony Friendship is Magic What If?: Volume 7", cranking out rewrites at a pace of two per week. On my birthday, I publish a spruced up fic originally published on Fanfiction.net entitled "Pinkie Padded Pie", and then the next day I leave with my family for a two day vacation in Sandusky, Ohio. When I come back I continue work on my rewrite series and complete it, while also finishing up my research paper with my professor and preparing to head back to EMU.
September:
I hit 650 followers just as I go back to EMU for the Fall semester. I also publish both an apology fic for Tempest in the form of "Storm Between Friends" and an accusation fic for Chancellor Neighsay in the form of "NeighSAY Nomore". I then publish the spruced up version of the stand alone sequel to "Pinkie Padded Pie", "Spike, The Cute and Glorious", and at the end of the month I publish a fic involving Scootaloo and my headcanon father for her, Quick Shot, entitled "Quick Shot's Little Quick Shot".
October:
I still review the remaining episodes of Season 8, despite the loss of my maternal grandfather early in the month. The last fic to be published before this change is "Road to Family", a one-shot of Trixie meeting Firelight. Then I publish a quick aftermath fic for "Father Knows Beast" involving a headcanon yodajax10 and I have frequently collabed on, the fic entitled "Princess Knows Best". Next to be published is "Class for Two", a sequel to a sequel of a CheesePie shipfic I wrote two years ago. And then there's "A Tale of Two Lovebirds", in which I jump on the GallusStream ship, and a collab with yodajax10 in the form of "Spike's Stormy Crush". I review "The Best Gift Ever" when it premieres towards the end of the month, and do many blog posts on various things after Season 8 ends. My most active month on the site.
November:
My first fic of the month is another padded pony work, this one a potty training comedy involving Shining Armor and Flurry Heart entitled "Prince of the Potty". but the only other fic I publish all month long is "Special Apple Family Dinner", a Thanksgiving themed fic involving the Apple Family and various character they've drawn close to. My least active month on the site (though I do spend time working on collabs with various authors or serving as a proofread for them).
December:
The final fics to be published in the year for me come out in the first week of the month, "Beneath the Golden Sun" is a collab with yodajax10 that is dedicated to both Stan Lee and Stephen Hillenburg, and "Spoiled and Sour" is a sequel to the last fic I published the year before ("Spoiled Rich's Hearth's Warming Carol"). I do work on a few more fics before and after Christmas, and of course there are comic reviews after Christmas just up to before the new year. I end the year with 122 stories published, 654 blog posts published, and 687 followers overall. And of course, I have completed another semester at EMU and learn that I am very close to graduating, needing to take only one more specific class.
David Odgen Stires died this year? I loved his voice acting in the Hoodwinked movies. RIP. 😕
Yeah, this year was pretty much a downer in my opinion. From 2003 to 2014, it felt like the golden age of America, and even the entire world, the good years since the 80's, and from 2015 to 2018, everything that has happened on our Earth has gotten worse and worse. Especially with so many passings of many wonderful people. Hopefully 2019 will be a better year.