Think i'm stepping away. · 6:58am Jan 31st, 2023
To all my fans,
I want to start by saying that this post is coming from a good place in my heart. I hope you don't perceive this as self-pitying or defeat. For me, this is growth.
It's been so long. I started this fic when I was a sophomore in college. It's been so long since I was invested in MLP. I haven't even seen half of the seasons.
Every time it occurs to me to write this story, in my mind it feels like a chore. Now I have a career. A Mortgage. And I realize that I'm finally ready to let this story go.
I always wanted to finish it. I really did. But at this point, I'm calling it quits.
Please don't be sad. I think I've known for a while that this fic was never going reach the end. My life has changed so so much since this fic started, and the me that began this fic, is not the me I am today.
Let me tell you a little about myself: I'm a physicist. I think of myself as smart, and so I always felt a connection to Twilight. That's really where my interest in the fandom began.
I started writing this fic after I read Fallout: Equestria and decided I could do it too. I wanted to write a story that I would read. It was originally going to be a six chapter story about sessions with each of the mane six but, it got away from me. In the best way.
The relationship with Guilty and Derpy became very important to me. Guilty, admittedly, is a stand-in for myself in many ways. And Derpy is a stand-in for my partner. There are differences, of course. But in my mind this was, sort of, a story about us. We met shortly before I started writing the fic, and we are still together today. Happily married.
Around 2015, 2016. I don't remember the exact date. But something very traumatic happened to me. I'd already been struggling to write. And between finishing grad school and this trauma, I simply did not have the mental fortitude to keep writing.
I managed to get another couple of chapters out at some point, but I was running on fumes. My father had passed away. My thesis was destroying me. And somewhere in my mind, I knew it was over.
I struggled for so long with the idea of picking this back up again. In a way, it was scary. I felt like I was such a different person than I was even a few years ago.
Today, out of nowhere and apropos of nothing. It occurred to me to pull the plug. Someone said the word "fanfiction" in a YouTube video and it all sort of hit me at once. It was time.
(I sound like I'm putting down a pet, don't I?)
This is maybe the most fun I've ever had engaging in a fandom. I'd never read fanfiction before. Never read forums, or followed a show in any way beyond just watching it.
But I've stopped reading fimfiction. I haven't looked at a single MLP piece of media in years. And I think I've maybe just reached a point in my life where it no longer speaks to me.
Thank you for the comments. The likes. The follows. It really was what kept me going for so long. You're all wonderful, and I wish you the best.
I had a few plot points that I had lined up about how the story was going to finish. If you're curious, read on.
The meeting with Applejack and everyone was going to end without a change in status quo. Applejack and guilty would both leave without really resolving anything.
Eventually, as many predicted, Smoky mountain would erupt. It was going to be largely off screen. The Mane Six would go save the day and the Mantle Rays would all return home. Poncho included.
Guilty and Derpy were always going to get a happily ever after. I hadn't pinned down if they were going to live in ponyville. Move to Manehattan. Or something else entirely.
Guilty was going to sell the magical cloud bed for a hefty sum and use the money to try and go back to school.
Though, it may seem anticlimactic, Guilty and Applejack were never going to get along. Be civil, maybe, but at the end of the day: no one is friends with everyone. Some people just rub you the wrong way.
Aside from that, everything was really up in the air. I tended to wing it as I wrote. I never had a solid idea of what a chapter was going to be like until I was writing it.
Once again, thank you. You guys made this some of the most fun I ever had being creative.
A really lovely story, and I'm happy for what we got. Thanks a lot for the writing you shared with us. I'm glad you're doing well, have a great career, and are happily married. Congratulations to you!
Well, Disco it's been a fun read the fic was a good one I hope you find new horizon's to reach for. it's a little sad I won't get to see it end I won't lie. I have been in the fandom since the beginning, I've always had ideas of my own of fics I could write but I never did. at least you tried it. I hope the future treats you well. Farewell.
I wondered when this day would come. I enjoyed the fic and it was one of if not the first clopfics I ever followed.
But times change, we change and when we look back sometimes it's hard to see where we going. Glad to see you're happy with your life and I hope you continue to be so.
Sad not to see the rest, but glad to hear that things have generally been good for you amd your life. It sounds like you're in a good place, and that's what really matters
Happy for what we did get, sad it’s not concluded. Though we all go from one thing to another in life. Good luck & best wishes for you in the future.
Sad to see it go, but at least it wont remain in "incomplete" limbo
Although I am sad to see this story go, I get where you are coming from. Not being able to connect to a story that was started more than a decade ago is very relatable to me.
Pony spanned so many years a lot of us actually had time to mature and change so much. I honestly feel curious what the current you would produce if you started a story today.
I do hope that canceling this story does not mean you will stop dropping by though. I would love it if you let us know when you eventually get that Doctorate, for example.
Take care of yourself and your significant other.
Sad to hear about the story, but I am happy to hear your life is going better much for you and that you are doing well. Goodbye and best of luck to you.
A stop-loss on a hobby project is difficult to follow through on. I've had to force myself to "put-down" a few dear projects of my own. Sometimes it really is the healthiest answer. After so many years, too.
I feel strangely content with my memory of quitting.
I must admit that I've been in more or less the same boat. I love MLP and this fandom, and always will, but between a lot of changes in my life and getting older, I just don't seem to have the time or energy to write. So kudos to you for recognising it, and thanks for giving us an idea of how the story would have ended. It's a great story regardless, and you should be very proud of it. I'll miss Guilty, and you.
Disappointing that we'll never get to see the conclusion to Guilty's story, I was especially looking forward to the confrontation between Guilty and AJ, but I do very much appreciate you taking the time to give us closure on this, and in particular giving us the rundown of what you had been planning. I have a lot of other saved unfinished stories in my bookshelves on this site, some even as old as this one, that will probably never get a final update like this, and we'll never know what happened to the author. It's good to know for sure that you are doing well and simply have chosen to move on from this fandom, so best of luck with all of that and thanks for the story you were able to give us.
I hate to see you go, but if you do put a outline of the rest of the story as you see it as a last chapter and any other notes. Your story is grand close the book well.
Such a sweet romantic story despite everything. Came for the clop, stayed for the feels. Sorry to see you go but thanks for the closure. The ride never ends!
Before the internet, it was harder to get published
Youngest Authors
1) Anne Frank was 15 when she died. It's one of the big reasons people say her diary was faked.
2) Isaac Asimov was 17 when he wrote "Cosmic Corkscrew". It was FAR from his best work (published age 18)
3) S E Hinton wrote most of The Outsiders at age 16. Published it age 18.
4) Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein at age 18 (Published age 20)
5) P G Wodehouse started writing age 20 (it took many years to hit his best works).
Most authors just don't hit their stride until their 30s or even their 40s. We'll miss you.
All the best with the rest of your life. If you don't mind sharing, what are you doing as a physicist? What do you want to be doing?
Thank you again for the incredible story you did tell.
It was an honor and a privilege to help you out with this story. May God bless your ever journey. See ya, space cowboy.
Thanks for sharing the final plot points.
I'm grateful to see how it ended, and I hope it offers some satisfaction for you, too.
This remains one of my favorites.
So long, and thanks for all the ponies!
Don't feel the need to be a stranger.
Still plenty for everyone to read here.
I can sympathize very well.
Thanks for posting the outline. Best of luck going forward!
Farewell, and thanks for the story. I'll leave it posted on my Favorites list.
While somewhat sad to know there’s not going to be a conclusive end many thanks to you, Mr author for the blog post explaining things. I always wondered how much of the story came from real life and how much of Guilty was drawn from the author. So in a way you’ve given other avid readers and fans like myself a satisfying conclusion because the characters can live on in imagination and we can draw our own conclusions to how the story ends. That being a roundabout way to wish you success and happiness in your future endeavours to both yourself and your partner (and a swift satisfying end to your mortgage). All the best and thanks for being a good part of the community of fan fiction writers, for what it’s worth I think this one here is one of the better around.
I loved your story and will be sad to never see end. Thanks for the cliff notes. Farewell.
I’m sad to hear this but I understand. I really enjoyed this fic, and honestly this is making me want to give it another read. Thanks for giving some of the plot points you had planned out, at least it gives some closure. I’m glad guilty and derpy got a happily ever after, they deserve it. Thanks for all the good times, and I wish you the best.
Ironically, after being away from the fandom for a long time, reading this fic was what got me back into reading fanfiction again. Sad to see you go but ultimately what you've left behind is one of my favorite fics I've read over my years in the fandom. And you even properly pulled the plug too which is worthy of respect.
Thank you for your prose. Thank you for your time in the fandom. Thank you for everything you've done. Know that your words made at least this one stranger on the internet happy again. May you have a wonderful rest of your life! Godspeed.
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I work in the physics department of my master's university. I manage some laboratories.
It'll be a shame to see it end. My husband and I loved being in the chapter Couples years back.
Still, life happens and we move on.
Best of luck to you in future!
From the spoilers it seemed like we were near the end, anyway. If so, it seems a shame to kill it; is there nobody you’d trust to finish the story?
Glad to see life is taking you in good directions! That's the most important part-- And sometimes we grow past our fandoms, that's okay too. MLP spoke to you once and you were a part of this community, that'll never change no matter where the future takes you. Thank you, for the story, for being one of us. Good luck and may you always find joy, fulfillment, and friendship in whatever you choose to do.
Bummer man, really enjoyed the fic though and I'm glad you went through with posting it here. You're in good company though, it's been over 10 years and it was fun but even a massive playground like equestria loses its luster given how it was constructed. That and well, fimfiction just isn't what it used to be unfortunately. I just hang around for the last fics I'm following to wind down or the rare occasion when a dead fic revives and finishes itself.
Still, part of me wonders if we could have seen to the end of guilty's tale if this had started as original fiction and not fanfiction. Just one last cope from me.
Even unfinished, it's still one of the best stories on the site, and I say that as someone not generally a fan of clop.
Thanks for dropping back in to give us some closure, and best luck where life takes you.
I wish you happiness. When I saw him at first sight, I thought it was not good, but after I read it I was deeply attracted, until there was more than enough. I don't know why my heart aches with the growth of Guilty, but I also never want to know the ending, because it means that the story of Guilty will never end. Thank you
Thank you, and godspeed.
Hello, I would like to ask permission to attempt and finish the story for you I've read this and shown it to both my partner and friends and we've all enjoyed the story. It's extremely profound in how you've written the characters the world and the psychological problems someone may have living the life that Guilty has lead. I kind of wanted to make my own literature and I have in the past but I find reading much more fun and I've found so many unfinished projects that were extremely well thought out and written and this is one of them. I understand life gets in the way and I'm very very close to having the same thing happen to me but I think this is something that has stood out enough that I wish to try and finish what you started I will direct any readers straight to your fiction and only be continuing the story so therfore anyone reading has to go through yours first to get the full picture. Please let me know what you think and I sincerely hope life is treating you well.