Why Did I End Rarity's Story So Unsatisfyingly in Yours Truly? · 4:57pm Apr 13th, 2013
I get asked this question more than anything else. What happened to Rarity? Why didn't anypony talk about her or wonder what happened to her?
The answer is because some friendships don't get satisfying resolutions. Some friendships don't last forever. Sometimes you don't get a goodbye - just a long, attenuating silence.
There's a guy on my Steam contact list who I haven't spoken to since High School. He's there every day, online, and I never reach out to him. I don't have anything to say to him. I've got even less to say to him with each passing day. He used to be one of my best friends and nowadays I've got no idea what he's up to, or what he's doing, or even who he is. He's not the only one - MSN contact lists, email address books, old mailing lists, people who I used to know and just don't talk to any more. They're still there. They're still, in theory, my friends. They're just not part of my life any more. Their stories don't matter to me like they used to.
I will bet that every single one of you have people like that. People on contact lists who you don't speak to, and haven't for years.
Yours Truly was about friendships I held through the internet, friendships that could vanish the day one party became too busy to pick up the other end of the line. Rarity's story was a touch on one of the worst endings to those friendships.
It was the story of a friend forgotten.
And if that made you sad, upset, or resentful then I advise you to reach out to one of those lost friends, today. Before it's too late.
Lovely advice, thank you.
Funny thing about friends; it only takes a quick 'Hey, what's up? It's been a while' and before you know it you've picked up right where you left off.
For the record, I didn't find Rarity's fate in Yours Truly to be unsatisfying. I think if her conclusion had come later in the story nobody would even raise an eyebrow
The one thing I was going to complain about it the review... Oh, well. At least it makes sense now.
And I am still working on it! I've just had a problem (I was too verbose in my review of "The old Stories" and it just dragged). Sorry for taking so long.
Oh yeah I've got plenty of friends like that. Some I feel bad for not having kept in contact with, but that's how it goes sometimes. I'd happily reacquaint with each of them, though.
And to be honest, I never felt unsatisfied about Rarity's ending; I would've liked her tale to last a bit longer, and perhaps have her dissappearance get more of a reaction from her friends, but I wasn't unhappy with how it ended. Quite the opposite. She decided to give up her current life and wait for Spike; while that sucked in one manner, I knew she'd be happy in the very end (though perhaps not? It's been quite a while since I read it). Unless of course I missed the mark of what exactly you're referring to.
Looks like you just make your first blog post here ever, apparently, so hello! I have to say I loved both Study in Rainbows and Yours Truly and the second will always have a special place in my heart. It was one of the first fan fictions I ever read (linked back from this page, if I recall correctly) and boy did it leave a good impression! I actually re-read it recently and it's still good!
Yes, you can count that as fan mail, if you wish. You earned it.
Now the thing about Yours Truly, the thing that sets it apart, was how true to life it was. At the moment, I'm dangerously close to hitting 30, and what happens in it seems so real. I've had many groups of friends drift apart like the mane six did. It's how life works, nothing lasts forever. So, to the younger people who might read it, treasure every happy moment you have. Even if the future turns out to be bright, but it won't ever be quite like the present. There's no hurry to get there.
Rarity? I'm didn't really have a problem with her ending. It made sense, she worked out what it was she really wanted and went for it, and it served the main theme of the story very well by providing contrast. Applejack and Twilight managing to fight the world to stay together is all the more meaningful when you see everypony else slowly drifting apart.
Well, now I know. I guess I was right.
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I'm ... sorry about that review. I try to comment on every story I read, and that may not end up being an entirely good thing. Word vomiting my opinions has become easier the more stories I read, but it's also easier to fall into the trap of just comparing everything to the other stories I've read, and I'm finding that a fair number of authors don't seem to actually read all that much fanfiction themselves. I'm not entirely sure what to make of that. Regardless, it's silly to accuse fanfiction of being derivative. If "Yours Truly" didn't affect me as much as other stories did, it's because I didn't let it, and as a result, I spent a surprising number of words complaining about something that's not really your fault.
Anyway, this post has really.. uhm.. elucidated a few things about "Yours Truly" for me. The lack of focus that bothered me so much is entirely the result of the theme of drifting apart. I think it would have made more sense from a more central perspective, with characters that drop out of contact with Twilight or Applejack dropping out of the perspective of the reader altogether. But, from your comments on "Easy as Lying", I see you approach writing from a perspective of experiments in exploring concepts and producing reactions, rather than the creation of entertainment. I don't think I can really offer any useful feedback on that kind of thing.
Seriously though, you don't need to apologize to me, and I'm not sure why you did. I liked "Yours Truly", I just expected something else.