Aftermath · 2:28am Dec 18th, 2012
A fine evening to you all,
So, it's been approximately 48 hours since the conclusion of Happily Ever After. During this period, I have received much hostility, much anger, much animosity, and even an offer to rendezvous with our good friend. Mr. Kalashnikov. To all of this, I merely reply with this:
Lol, but seriously, I know it's all in good fun, In fact, I consider it a huge honor and the highest praise that people would care so deeply about Graves and Rarity. The fact that there was such a strong reaction to that ending shows me that you guys really care about him, and for this I sincerely thank you.
As a token of my appreciation, I'd like to take some time and address some of the more common questions that have popped up in recent days.
First off, we are currently in season 2. Season 1 ended with Untangling the Knot, took a sort of filler stage during Lazy Summer Days, and started off Season 2 with Return to the Gala. Not that big of an issue, but I thought I'd get that out of the way.
Second, everything except for the the majority of events in Happily Ever After are true. Graves did in fact survive Operation Elder, he did come to Ponyville, and he really did meet Rarity. They actually did have a magical night at the Gala, after which he was shot by the crossbow bolt filled with Heart's Desire extract. This put him in a comatose state where he dreamed up the events beginning in Happily Ever After, after which, he woke up in the hospital and returned to reality. My goal was to blur the lines between reality and dream, but my intent was to leave people clearly understanding the differences by the story's end, so I hope this clears things up.
Lastly, and most importantly, will the Journey continue? Obviously, I could leave things right here and end this story as a fantastic romantic tragedy. I could be like tons of other writers who do everything in their power to make you feel miserable. I could be the ultimate troll and have spent the last year leading you all along only to leave you with the most unsatisfying of endings that my fiendish mind could come up with.
I could, but I'm not going to.
Why not? Well believe it or not, I actually like Graves, and having him go out like this just doesn't do a man of his stature justice .Plus, I still have to address all the loose threads that still dangle most heinously, like: what exactly happened in Operation Elder? What's going on out west that's got the brass all riled up? If D really is Discord, how much was he involved and what's his game in being so helpful all of a sudden? And last, but certainly not least, why in the name of all things great and good would Graves just up and leave when he had a chance to make his dream a reality? All of these are actually issues that I aim to weave into The Journey and tie up before I reach the final conclusion.
What this means is that no, Happily Ever After is NOT the ending and there will be another story. Which leads me to my big problem.
I want to write. I really do. But life has a funny way of screwing me over in that regard. These last few months have been my first semester in law school, and the experience has been akin to riding a bucking bronco naked into a tornado. Between all my classes and studying, it's been a challenge getting anything written down at all. I've gotten a good chunk, but nowhere near enough to begin posting again.
As such, I must once again go on hiatus to continue work. My goal is to get the next story done over Christmas break and hopefully, write on a more consistent basis over the next semester now that I've been through the wringer once and hopefully can be more efficient with my time. Whether or not things will work out like this, I really can't say, but I just wanted you all to know that I still plan to write and will do everything in my power to make that happen.
So... yeah. Now I've got to get back to studying and what not (still got one more final left). Thank you all so much for all the love you've shown The Journey, thank you all so much for reading, and I promise you, I will do everything I can to give Graves and Rarity the ending they really deserve. Please bear with me during this period of interlude,and I hope to see you all real soon!
Sincerely,
GentlemanJ
You got an offer to met Mr. Kalashnikov?
Cool.
Believe it or not, I'm fine with it. I'm willing to wait as long as your schedule allows for more of Graves. It's worth it.
So it like tv, we have to slog through a summer of reruns before we can get back to the good stuff. Fine, I'll just go back and read Seasons 1 & 2 again.
YAY!
FREE POTATO!
coo.
The trick is to take a mentality that school is for suckers and devote five hours of writing per week regardless of the situation. Part B to that trick is to decide if it will be one hour per day across the week or five hours all at once on a day. But stick to it.
I liked the ending because I knew right away the story would continue from that. Despite how terrible the situation was, it was also a great twist and I had no way of seeing it coming.
For some reason I got an image in my head of Spike challenging Graves to a duel for Rarity's honor/hand. But I'm not sure I want that to happen because it would likely end in a very dead Spike.
I can't wait for more.
Fantastic! As a grudging romantic, I can appreciate the merit that horribly sad ending on its own, but desperately want to see a happy ending.
Well, at least i wasn't right like i was afraid i would be, because i have read stories like that before, and i tend to want to "fix" them
I'm sure that if you read my comment(s) on the latest chapter then you'll be sure that I'm sure that I know what Grave's problem is.
I only have to take one final this week, and it's a required final!
Thank goodness for my ability to get more than a 99% in Honors Calculus with zero time studying it! 
Trust me brochacho. I know exactly how that feeling goes, wanting to write but being unable to. It sucks. My own stories have taken their own break (shameless self-advertising) because I'm going through problems of a more... emotional nature.
Good luck man! Godspeed!
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Thank you for this. I am beyond relieved to hear that Graves' story will continue. Please write as you're able, school first darling. Can't wait to see the next story
Good, keep writing! I do want ot learn more about this world that you've created... as well as see more of Graves... even if he totally was a dick in that last chapter.
Take as much time as you need man. As long as you do all the awesome justice we believe you will with this saga's ending.
I'm so relieved!
Good luck with school and the writing
Who's Kalashnikov?
So will the next story begin with the traumatized Graves, or a heartbroken Rarity?
I also envision five vengeful ladies out to smack some sense into the Marshal.
Law School? That sounds like a bundle of joy. And here I was complaining about my Accounting major. GJ, take your time. I am sure you are aware but school far outweighs any of this and that shouldn't change no matter how much we rage over the time it takes for a story to be published. While on the note of school, good luck on your last final and your next semester.
On the topic of the fic, as always, please take your time. Never feel rushed by us asking for more. While I figure that you were not going to give up on Graves (as was implied in another blog before although I could not tell you which one), it is reassuring to hear you say you are not now. Also I can't wait to see how the other Elements take the heartbreaking news and what they do about it. Why do I feel that AJ is going to knock out and drag back a certain gray-haired, gun metal eyed soldier?
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refers to Mikhail Kalashnikov the inventor of the AK-47.
'Kalashnikov' is often used as a slag term for the rifle in question.
Well that made my day!! I really didn't like the ending to Happily Ever After, but I'm very happy you're going to continue it!! I can actually relate to Graves and I really hope things work out for him and Rarity. If not with Rarity, then just Graves in general. Godspeed my friend
Ah, real life sucks, don't it?? Here I am wanting to nothing but read ponies all day
and yet here I am, sat on a coach with a L85 going for "battlefield lessons".......
Oh well, take your time if you have to, and good luck with your exams.
That's an image I could have done without.
Take your time, GJ. So long as you don't forget us, I'd prefer you took a while and did a good job rather than rush out low-quality filler.
yes, please do
the ending pleased my rage so greatly and the tragic impact of it all, it was stupendous to say the least.
I forego many a typo and minor grammatical error when saying this is by far one of the better fan fiction stories I have read and shared with friends. Upon sharing this series to my friends, the amount of good feedback it received was quite gratifying, if only you could've heard their praise.
"Happily Ever After" is by far the best faux ending of any story I've read this year. The tragic impact from the climax to the resolve left me in shambles, in a good way too. Props to you good man, you deserve it.
I hope you get through your current problem too. I agree that studying does have to come first before anything else, especially since law school is quite hard.
I am thankful that this is not the end of Graves' story, since this has been one of the better fics that I have had the pleasure of reading.
I am looking forward to the next story
I got around to reading the final chapters on the train this evening. I swear, my heart nearly gave out when Graves walked away from Rarity!
Good to hear it's not over yet: I'm looking forward to the next instalment, when you have the time for it. Lots of interesting developments to come, and an ending all the sweeter for the current despair, I'll hope.
Honestly, I actually liked the ending. It kinda gave off a "people never change" vibe. Looking forward to more Graves in the future.
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Ah, but that's the whole point of life, isn't it? People changing, for good or for ill.
I cant't wait for the next story, godspeed GentlemanJ
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Too true. if there's three things you can count on in life, it's death, taxes, and change. Change, however, is only good if it makes things better. As for Graves...well, I'll have to wait and see, won't I?
It's okay :D we still love you <3 :D (in a platonic way of course (albeit i can only really speak for my self on this subject, but there is hope!)) even if you did toy with our emotions like a kitten with a ball of twine ^^ and honestly i thought it was absolutely fantastic writing and im sure everyone agrees when i say this that you really brought him to life :3 so hazzar! I drink a beer in your honour good law-Brony! May you bring us many more fantastic stories and adventures that we make laugh cry and rage at you about!
YOU CAN DO IT!
