I Have Returned (Apologies and Explanations For My Absence) · 3:26am Feb 10th, 2023
Hello everypony, this is Admiral Producer again. I know most of you haven’t heard from me in a while and I would like to address that here. Sorry if what I say comes off as rambling or a little melodramatic, but I really need to get this off my chest and explain myself here. So…where to begin? As you all know, I haven’t posted any of the last three entries to the Misty Saga in over two months despite claiming to have two of them finished. Well, that’s because I lied. None of them are finished in the slightest. I’ve had it really rough lately and I tried to pretend like everything was okay, but it really wasn’t. Let me explain.
So a week after posting Can I Go, Mom? (Skystar’s story), I started to write both The Fall of Opaline and Redeemed simultaneously. I wanted to write both of them so I could release them a week apart and then finally pick up where I left off with Trials of the Force. Only…that’s not what happened as something was revealed to me several weeks ago that just spiraled me into a massive depression.
Ashley H confirmed that Remembrance was cancelled.
This hit me hard, like I’m not even exaggerating here. To say that I loved this audio drama was an understatement. It was my favorite audio drama. Like, it was the only one out of the main three I was watching (Princess Trixie Sparkle, Daughter of Discord, and of course, Remembrance) that I would just drop everything I was doing and watch an episode no matter what I was doing or how important it was. I set strict reminders for when an episode would premiere and I would always attend the premiere on time from Episode 5 onwards, which was when I first discovered the series. I loved everything about it; the story, the emotional core, the character arcs, the allegories and heartfelt lessons it taught…everything. I felt like a part of my essence had just…ceased to be, to quote Starswirl. I remember discovering it and being unprepared for all the twist and turns the story would take me. I know the cancellation was announced months ago, but Luna dammit, I was blissfully unaware of it all, patiently waiting like a good fan would for Episode 10. Once I checked Ashley’s Twitter page though…it all fell apart.
My happiness, my excitement, my morale, my motivation, my drive…just vanished in an instant. Upon learning why the series was cancelled, I felt nothing but anger and disgust. How could we as a fandom have done this to Ashley?! This made the unjustified and nonsensical backlash to G5 look tame in comparison. I could not understand how this was possible. Yes, we had a few kinks to iron out as a fandom, especially the nostalgia-blinded anti-G5 radicals, Derpy haters, what have you. But this…this was just terrible. I read out her posts and she detailed the bullying and harassment she received from the very first episode, how people told her that she put little to no effort in the series, so on and so forth. The harassment made her depressed and that was why she didn’t want other people asking about Remembrance. I was confused at first when she asked people not to comment about it in her videos, but now it all clicked together. She did a damn good job of hiding it, but in the end…it was too much.
I wanted nothing to do with this fandom, my thoughts spiraled out of control and just left me sad. Surely there was a chance she could change her mind? Maybe this was just to get the trolls off her back…perhaps I could negotiate the rights to the series and finish it myself despite knowing nothing on how to handle a project of this scale. I’m still not out of the denial stage and I just feel angry at what this fandom did to one of its most beloved creators. I felt disgust at the fact that the Brony fandom, the supposedly kind, open, and welcoming fandom, bullied a creator into cancelling her own passion project and made her hate even looking at it. I didn’t feel like writing after that and for the next few weeks, I just left the Misty Saga behind. It didn’t help that I had no new G5 content coming out to motivate me. The Hasbro financial crisis worried me big time and it certainly didn’t help that fellow user Leondude put out a blog post saying that if G5 was untimely cancelled due to the horrible situation, then that would be a good thing. Seriously, these people can be so insensitive. I imagine he has no G5 fans following him as that’s a real alienator comment right there. I’m sure he’s a great guy, but still…try to be more mindful how you say things, man, no offense. I still stayed on FIMFiction, talking with fans via PM and hoping that my horror would just fade away and although I did a great job of hiding it (in my opinion), it didn’t go away.
Then one day I woke up.
I think it was about yesterday or the day before, I realized that I couldn’t just leave the fandom or the series I was working on. I know it sounds real cheesy, but Ashley probably left thousands of loyal fans of Remembrance devastated in the wake of the cancellation and I wasn’t about to do that to all of you. This is a big problem, but…I have the power to change it. We have the power to change it. I’m still heartbroken that I will never be able to watch the rest of Remembrance and see this amazing story reach its intended conclusion and if Make Your Mark receives the axe too in the wake of the financial crisis and Hasbro actually gives those toxic, whiny manbabies what they want, then that might be the final straw and I might just quit this fandom. I won’t even stay for G6 if this happens as it just wouldn’t be worth it. But right now, what I really want is for Ashley to be happy in whatever she does next as she’s one of my favorite pony creators. Maybe she’ll bring the series back when she’s in a better place, most likely not, but…I can’t control that. What I can do is give you my projects and not give up on them. You have all stuck with me this long, there’s no way I am leaving it all behind.
Ultimately, I am back and better than ever. I apologize for being gone for so long, but I needed to properly deal with my depression over Remembrance being cancelled. This really was a big wake up call as to how big of an issue this is. In order to combat this growing amount of harassment in the Brony fandom, I’m going to announce something big when Video 5 of the G5 defense video series comes out. I won’t spoil it here, but this new experiment will be designed to empower fellow pony creators and help them fight back against harassment. I’m even considering extending its reach beyond the Brony fandom and to others like the Star Wars fandom. If you want to know what this secret project is early though, then feel free to PM me and I’ll spoil it for you as I don’t know when those videos will be coming out. As of right now, I’m in no hurry due to the lack of G5 content to release them by, so feel free to ask me personally via PM if you’re interested. I’m also concerned about whether they will actually reach people or not. After all, you would all rather be spoon fed the popular opinion from a YouTuber of over a thousand subs than the truth from basically a nobody with only 7 subs to the name at the moment. The videos will most likely have to break over 10k views realistically just to reach enough people, so I’ll be counting on you guys to spread the word. I’m no stranger to defending controversial stuff, but this honestly means a lot to me, so I’d appreciate all the help I can get.
So yeah, I’m back as I said. I’m going to get back into the swing of things and actually write the last three entries and cap off this Saga with a bang. You all deserve the most satisfying ending I can give for all the investment and interest you’ve shown. It started with one Misty story born out of inspiration from Make Your Mark and now it’s become an overarching story in its own right. I’m still shocked by how far I have come on this site since my humble beginnings and I do not intend to stop anytime soon. Thank you all for being patient with me. I know this Saga has gone through a rocky journey, but that’s because I only want the best quality from them. And here’s hoping Ashley recovers from all the shenanigans people on both sides gave to her. Remembrance may be gone, but I’ll never forget it and the amazing ride it’s been. It really was a labor of love from one mind and one mind alone. A singular vision, and a powerful, emotional journey. My favorite characters are Galaxy Star and Flurry Heart. Those two were perfect together in my opinion. I could really relate to both of them on a personal level and the Nightmare (Mariett) is the best MLP villain in my opinion. Ashley, if you somehow stumble upon this blog, I just want to say: Thank you for everything and I wish you the best. The series may not have been perfect as you said, but damn was it a truly thought-provoking and terrific story.
Anyhow, that’s all to the story, I guess. If this all sounds crazy, that’s because it is. The whole arc I’ve been through over the past few months, from seeing how insane and delusional G5 haters can be, to reading about everything Ashley H went through for the past several years, has taught me a lot. And if there’s anything I’d like you all to take away from this, is that no fandom is perfect, not even ours. But together, we can make it a better place, but only if someone is brave enough to take the first step, and that’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to start cracking down on this sort of behavior, both in and outside of my inner circle. I’m going to be more active, work on finishing the Misty Saga, getting those G5 defense videos out for everypony to see, and kickstarting the Lunar Literary Universe. I love MLP in both incarnations and I’m not afraid to admit it. This is what being a Brony really means, and it’s time we start fighting for what this fandom should be.
Expect The Fall of Opaline to be released near the end of February or sooner. See you all soon!! 
Damn... I didn't think that in my time in this fandom I'd see something like that happen to a creator I've been depressed before so I can only imagine what Ashley is going through I personally never really watched remembrance but I thought it was alright at least that being said I never wanted to see it cancelled even though I wasn't a big fan of it it's disgusting to think there are people in this world with us that will bully someone to the point where they cancel there passion project
Anyways glad to have you back admiral good luck with the next two installments of the Misty saga
The pettyness of the human race will never cease to amaze me. How we can hurt each other over the dumbest of reason or literally no reason at all makes me really ashamed to be apart of it.
I remember a line from the FiM parody series "Friendship is Witchcraft" spoken by Twilight in the episode "Foaly Matripony" that I think perfectly describes these people.
"What do you know? I threw a tantrum and everything turned out exactly the way I wanted it to. That's how we know I'm the good guy."
Man, that frickin sucks!!
Sorry to hear that
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Thanks, I really appreciate it.
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I’ve only watched a couple episodes of “Friendship Is Witchcraft” series, so I don’t know which installment has the quote you put down, but man, is that pretty much right on the money. It’s disheartening, really.
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Thanks. What really hurts was that the series was really starting to come into its own, we had that jaw dropping twist in Episode 8, and it looked like that the Cadence and Flurry arc was going to be given a satisfying wrap in Episode 10. Plus, all roads were leading to Twilight resurrecting her friends, which would’ve been the crossover to end all crossovers, with it being the perfect tie-in to the original SFM animation. The story was really reaching its peak, so the cancellation sucks big time. I hope Ashley gets better though. Remembrance or no, no one deserves to go through that.
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indeed. bullying is not good
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It definitely is not.
Yeah! Fight the power!
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If it makes you feel any better, you’ve helped give me the inspiration to write G5 stories of my own.
Your encouragement is the reason I have a story on this site now
... You know? I didn't knew how much I needed to read this...
Dealing with two fandoms were the negative stuff is always shouting louder (MLP and Sonic) makes me want to quit as well sometimes. In fact, while writing chapters, sometimes I feel like I should just sent all to hell and quit, just leave both fandoms already and look after something else, something that gives as much joy as these two franchises...
And then that last thing makes me realize (sometimes) how dumb those thoughts are. Yeah, these fandoms have lots of stuff that makes me question how did they even became a thing, but... Should I really let those things define me as a fan? Should I just give up on all the cool stuff and surround to the worse part of this fandom? Hell no.
Reading this makes me feel dumb... for even consider leaving these fandoms in the first place! As writers, we can either entertain readers with our stories, or we can let negative thoughts carry us away and just drive them away. We have the power to make the best of this fandom shines, so... we must take it.
Wow, I am really, really impressed with your story. I really am. This was so good, it’s honestly unbelievable. I can honestly see Not Good Enough and my story Divine Flight co-existing in the same continuity considering they address the same issues between Zipp and Pipp, and that fateful night with the concert was brought up, which was the original inspiration for the former. I hope you do more G5 stories. You’re right. The more stories we write about this generation, the better.
Again, I’m really impressed and it makes me so happy to know that my words inspired you to give this a go. Now excuse me while I promote your story to the entirety of FIMFiction.
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Exactly. It was hard for me especially to see front and center as I joined the fandom all the way back in 2015 when Season 5 was airing, and I was so innocent as to how toxic fandom culture could get. Since then, I’ve seen the best and the worst and this especially has shown me that the worst can definitely leave a massive impact on you, but we shouldn’t let that define us. After all, there was a reason why we were proud to call ourselves fans, there was a reason why we watched these shows and surrounded ourselves in these communities. We can’t let bad experiences ruin it, which is something I wish I could tell Ashley H at the moment considering she’s dealing with the fallout of Remembrance being cancelled. Ultimately, if we want to see this fandom get better, then we have to be brave enough to take the first step, stick to our guns, and weather the hit pieces, the verbal abuse, the blows, all of it. Because ultimately, if you believe in something worth fighting for, you gotta fight for it.
FIM taught me that lesson, and I’ll never forget it.
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Thanks!!
I may not care for for G5 personally, but it's harmless, and People need to leave People alone with what they like. What makes People happy makes them happy. So, if it's harmless, than People need to shut-up.
I know I may have left A bad taste in your mouth, but I want to help restore this fandom, other fandoms, and make the world A better place again. I also want you to know that all My surliness about G5 was A joke. If People like it, they have every right, and I don't mind.
I just wish G4 could have stayed up alongside the other series. It's not fair that G4 got cancelled most-likely just because Google and other idiots killed Flash. I don't haye nor blame G5 over that, and I don't hold any animosity toward G5 because of it. I apologise for making you sad iver it.
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Thank you so much. It wasn’t what you said about G5 that got me sad though. It was Remembrance being cancelled, so don’t worry. I vented my beef about Leondude’s blog post and my animosity towards toxic G5 haters in short spurts as my main reason for writing this was to get my sadness out over what happened to Ashley H and the cancellation of Remembrance. So don’t worry, you’re not at fault.
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I really appreciate. I know I don't want any bad blood among My self and any members of this community, so if I ever make mistakes, I want to redeem My self.
Well said, my friend
I've also had the misfortune of witnessing some truly horrible behaviour amongst the brony community. That combined with the backlash that G5 has received has really depressed me over these last few months. It's honestly made me lose a lot of respect for the fandom compared to when I joined it.
With that said, I'm really impressed with the lengths you're going to to defend G5. It's people like you that keep us hopeful and inspire us to keep fighting.
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Thank you so much. G5 really is something special in my opinion and I don’t recall being this impressed with the first season of a show before, save for maybe The Owl House or The Mandalorian or something. I really, really believe in this incarnation and with the direction we’re headed down, I think it has the opportunity to become something truly special. People just need to give it a chance. That’s why I will never stop defending it.
With the fallout of Remembrance’s cancellation and the truly toxic backlash to G5, it made me realize that this issue of harassment is on a scale truly unprecedented and that I should start taking direct action on it. I’m currently adding an entire new section to the first defense video in post that explains why I decided to take an active stance in this fandom. The only thing stopping me from releasing the first part sooner is the possibility of rights issues to my OC Hawk as you can see in my profile. I’m not in any trouble or anything, but I think I should at least give proper credit to the original artists, where I got all the assets for Hawk from and that’s going to take a bit as he goes through quite a bit of poses throughout the video.
You’re going to love this series when it gets released though. Stay tuned and thanks for your comment.