#9 - This Week, I Had a Surprise

As some of my readers may have picked up on in my earliest author's notes, I started writing The Country of Roses for reactionary purposes. I wanted to see if I could blend something I loved and something which I still approached with great trepidation. This phenomena called My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic was startling, bizarre, confusing, and perhaps a little frightening. I made fun of one of the best friends I've had in recent years, Bed Head, for enjoying the series, and I still do sometimes, but in his infinitely good natured way, he chose to absorb my blows like a sponge and take it all in his stride. I don't take back what I've said to him. I can't help but poke fun at everyone and everything whether I like it or not. If I did take anything back, I'd only ruin the sentiment by finding something else to tease him about. I'm thankful that he, and the rest of my circle of friends tolerate the crap I probably give them on a frequent basis.

Shortly after I began to write my story, adamant that I was too casual a viewer to be considered a true Brony as I understood them at that time, I met Cerulean Voice, who saw potential in the piece – certainly far more than I ever did. After that came a number of other readers who were extremely supportive. One was even so bold as to say he thought it could be the next Fallout: Equestria. I'll be honest and say that that statement, in itself, did not really register with me. After all I had heard of that particular story's reputation through an article on the satirical website Cracked.com (warning: very N.S.F.W.), and I took efforts to avoid it. Truth be told I still don't think the phrasing had any true effect on me, but the intent behind it is a different story. The piece I began for entirely selfish reasons was being read and, more amazing to me, enjoyed. Normally I'm prone to letting fan projects last only as long as my interest is at its strongest, and then it will slither away into oblivion. I now found some genuine motivation to push on, to continue the tale and nurture the world that was growing around it. Some chapters are scarier to me than others, some decisions I've made may not be perfect, but I was determined to reach the end.

In July, Camp NaNoWriMo came, and I pushed Roses aside to work on a separate project, always intending to return to Peacemaker's world as soon as I was finished. It is now September, and although I won the challenge I had set myself by entering that programme, I still had more to tell, and Roses fell by the wayside. It was not that my interest had died, only that it was overshadowed. I will take a moment here to say that after this entry, like George R. R. Martin, I will swear to refrain from making promises about the story's progress, because it is unfair to leave my followers hanging in suspense. If I am asked about the status of the current or any forthcoming chapters, I will not answer you, but I will be happy to discuss just about any other subject matter related to it, provided I am able. There is only so much I can give away.

Last night, on 18th September, I was contacted via Skype by one of my followers, Mishkiel, who delivered unto me some news that rocked me to the very centre of my being. He reminded me that it was he who had dubbed The Country of Roses the next Fallout: Equestria, complete with its sprawling collection of Apocrypha, an expanded universe to rival the most prominent science-fiction mythologies. His Fimfiction page has no stories released to the public, nor does it have any blog posts. Mishkiel has decided to change that, and he came to me for permission, to pen his interpretation of events taking place in the world I had brewed from Eye of Faust and Tongue of King. I was struck dumb by this. Now, this is not the first time such a thing has happened. Several years ago I co-wrote another alternate world fan-fiction based on the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise. It was called Queen of Games, and moved the action of the manga to Victorian-era England. In hindsight it was terrible, but one reader thought otherwise and asked if he could write a side-story. My co-writer and I told him he could. That was a mistake. What I found less than a day later on FanFiction.net was an almost word perfect copy of my work, one that replaced not only the names of the original characters, but the historical figures. It was removed within a few short hours before my co-writer even had the chance to see it, whether because the FF.net admins had reacted with uncharacteristic promptness or because the author realised he had been rumbled, I do not know, but it made me wary of Mishkiel's proposal.

I won't divulge what exactly we discussed, but I can say that I feel we have become friends in the aftermath. I did not confirm if his story would be considered canonical to The Country of Roses, but I was more than happy to give him my blessing, and I look forward to seeing his take on how certain capers went down. I admitted to him that speaking in text format as we were could not convey the level by which I was blown away, and still very much am as I type these words, probably even as you read them, whether that's minutes or hours from when they are published, or in some hundred-and-twenty-eight years following the inevitable invasion by extra-dimensional forces.

It always hits me like a white hot bolt of lightning when I am reminded that there are people who enjoy my silly, Technicolor melodramas, and that those people care about the characters and want to follow them through their adventures, cry with them, laugh with them, and if they don't make it out of this horror alive, at least have some fun with them. I am happy that I can provide a platform for them to do just that, Bed Head, Cerulean Voice, Mishkiel, and every one of you out there...cheers.

Let's go.

And the Tower is closer...