My Apologies · 5:35am Aug 29th, 2020
Hello Everybody,
A year and a half; that's how long it's been since I've updated The Wanderer of the North. A year and a half of a small distant voice in my head saying "someday soon, but not today." I should not pretend anymore. It is by no shortage of leisure that I've neglected my story and its audience; only my own lack of discipline.
Perhaps one could tell from my writing, but I have a preoccupation with history. We periodize spans of time, marking certain events as important or as watersheds of history. As one era closes, a new one unfolds, but the lingering memory of the previous elicits a melancholy from those who survived past their prime. The Alicorns embody this, and perhaps that is why I am so captured by the writing of Tolkien.
I bring this up because this whole project feels like a piece out of time. My story, and my greater "career" as a fanfiction author began when both I and the world around me was very different. My time as a fan of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic was some of the best time in my life. Everything was so new and there was so much to explore and discover. I met some good people along the way. It's funny; in my mind the Bronies seem like a quaint pleasure in the calmer early 2010's; there I go thinking on the page. But now all the others I knew in my personal life who could be called "Bronies", even the very one who first introduced me, have moved on.
Perhaps I should do the same. I should not lie to myself, and certainly not to all of you anymore. I cannot pretend to have the passion, the drive, or even the talent to give this story the ending it deserves. I've had so much fun building the world and characters, and seeing how all of you responded to it, but I must say goodbye.
I wish to indulge myself by discussing my previous sojourns in fanficiton on this site, three of which were so terrible they've been made private. My first "success" was Project: Chrysalis; fun to write but devoid of much substance or structure. Someone however went and flattered me by producing a reading of it on Youtube, embarrassingly before I had embarked on a mass-edit of all my previous works. Of Coal and Diamonds was also nice, but again the story was middling and essentially amounted to some Randian fantasy.
But De Surgente Cadenteque Alicornuum and The Wanderer of the North were where I think I hit my stride. And I hope all the critique I received went towards making a better, more focused story as the latter continued on. I cannot finish it though; I could read off my notes of its ending however, if any are so inclined. I simply no longer have the story in my thoughts as I did when it was first conceived; instead those thoughts are occupied by other projects that have my interest. This is almost painful to admit, because I once said I'd finish this story. I cannot, and I think it's time to move on. I have to let go and move forward.
When I began writing MLP fanficiton my youthful ambition was great, for I sought to rank among the greats of the early fandom. Instead I carved out my own intimate place where I had some very supportive readers whose encouragement I could not have gotten this far without. Some fanart, fan readings, a TVtropes page, and a feature on both Equestria daily and FIMfiction were pretty nice too. I cannot begin to express the gratitude and humility I feel when I think over all the readers over the years who have left their thoughts in my comments. It was a journey I shall cherish for the rest of my life.
So from the bottom of my heart, I would like to say Thank You to the many people who read and critiqued, and helped me all along this adventure. And finally I offer my most sincere apologies. I'm truly sorry that at the end of it all, I have not finished this story. I hope if you do not agree or condone (and I shall not blame either), you can at least understand.
Goodbye, My Friends.
And thus, another one falters in the pursuit of completion. A setback, but not the end of things.
It's alright. I obviously won't say I'm happy about it, but I'm just glad you finished the Discord stuff before coming to this conclusion lol. You didn't really blue balls anyone unlike some others, so I'm thankful for what we have. I hope you're doing well IRL, and don't forget to wear two watches so you'll always know what time it is.
Every time i sort by random i find masterpieces of "time long past" even the cancelation of this story has happened only two months after i started reading fanfictions on this site, the last chapter even further before.
A salute for all the things that were, a moment of silence for all that could have been.