And So It Ends... · 3:45am Jul 5th, 2016
As I was wrapping up the epilogue for Wear Flowers in Your Mane, I only just came to realize that I was finally finishing something that I began over two years ago. Additionally, I also realized that I was finishing the lengthiest fanfiction project I've ever started, for FiM or otherwise. So I figured that this was probably an occasion worth making a blog post over.
I never intended this story to have anywhere close to 100,000 words. When I started, my initial goal was for 25 to 30,000. I'm really not sure what happened in between, but lo and behold, I've somehow managed to write a novel without originally intending to do so.
When I first started writing this story, I had only attended one funeral before, back in 2009. I've since attended four more. In the latter half of 2014, I lost a great aunt and also an uncle who I unfortunately did not know very well. Just a few days into 2015, I lost my grandfather, and towards the end of the year, I lost an aunt. This ultimately went on to have a significant affect on my story. In particular, it inspired Fluttershy's line that this would not be the last funeral they would attend. That was mostly a reflection of my own thoughts about the situation. With all the relationships I have, large families on both my mother and father's sides, there's simply no telling how many funerals I'll end up attending in my lifetime. A really difficult fact of life when you think about it. The more relationships you build in life, the more relationships you have to potentially lose... 
Another thing that was different when I started this story was my opinion of Rainbow Dash herself. While she was initially one of my favorites of the mane six, I began to like her less in the episode Tanks for the Memories, in which she causes a massive amount of damage to private property for a completely unjustifiable reason and manages to get away with it scot-free, which was simply one of her attempts to stop winter for absolutely no one's benefit but her own. The more recent episode, Newbie Dash, also did not leave me with the best impression of her, and it had the added sting of finally realizing her lifelong dream in an immensely unsatisfying way. So she's unfortunately kind of slipped a bit in my mane six rankings. 
Anyway, I feel the need to address the numerous long delays and wait times I've given you between chapters, which I'm sure ended up driving some of you to frustration. In one of the chapters, I even left an author's note saying that I would be getting them out on a more timely basis, which I unfortunately did not end up living up to. Nearly every single time I ended up setting a deadline for myself, I would miss it, and often by a long time. The problem simply lies in the way I write. Sometimes, I'll get to a point where I'm about finished with a chapter, but when I go through it again, I end up making several changes, which could go on to delay the chapter for over a week. Additionally, though I sometimes try to write fics simultaneously, it usually doesn't work for me, and so I eventually end up just sticking to one until I've finished it. So each fic I wrote since starting this story was usually written during a period when I wasn't working on this story at all. So yeah, just to get it out there, I'm really not the best when it comes to prioritizing my writing time. 
In closing, I feel the need to thank everyone who has followed this story, especially if you've done so for two years. And for everyone who has left me a comment saying how this story has made you cry, or how much you've been able to relate to Rainbow Dash, I sincerely thank you. Comments like those motivated me more than anything else. 
There's also one last thing I felt the need to do before I could consider WFiYM complete: a dedication. I've dedicated this story to my late aunt, who died seven years ago today. It's also dedicated to those of you who have cared about this story enough to deal with my long delays to see it finished. Seriously, thank you. Perhaps I didn't deserve your commitment.
Rainbow Dash has had the longest week of my life. I'm relieved it's finally over. 
-- jkbrony
I still haven't read it so sorry. But *hugs you tightly*
Forgive me for being one of those people who read only finished books, but when I first joined this fandom(or at least this site), this was one of the first stories I found. If i recall, it was on chapter 3 at the ime, so i read all three and afterwards basically left it alone. The reason behind it being that because of the time between chapters, I didn't want to go back and reread and potentially lessen the impact that the story would otherwise have.
I'll be readin the rest of this story soon.
Personally, I actually love Tanks for the Memories, and don't mind the fact that RD got away scot free (nopony outside of the mane 6 knows she did it, and the others have caused destruction far worse and weren't punished for it).
And Newbie Dash is another episode I really love. I personally found it satisfying enough.
About Wear Flowers in Your Mane, though:
The chapter of the story that took me the longest to get to actually reading was chapter 13, mostly due to how long it is.
picture of RD and a title that has flowers in the mane? yea, im reading this when i get the time.
it was a fantastic
story and i really enjoyed it