Afterthoughts: Society as We Know It

"Society as We Know It" is a story about reformed changelings. And, to be honest, that's it at the very core. While some of the chapters do focus more on the ponies than on the changelings, the overarching theme of it all is the changeling race after their wholesale...change. Now that it's been over a month since the end of that long tale, what's left to say?

How it All Started: Or, When a New Year's Resolution Meets a Contrarian Meets Productivity Goals

By the end of December 2016, I was in the hiatus waiting for Season 7 to show up. In the meantime, I've been getting the feeling that the new changelings at the end of the Season 6 finale weren't that well accepted; responses ranged from petty complaints about the color scheme to thought-out essays about why their sudden redemption eliminated what's probably one of the coolest villains of the show (and I approve the latter far more than the former). I had no objective idea who the majority was: those who liked it and those who didn't like it. But, thinking that I was in the minority for actually liking the new changelings, I...didn't do much.

As 2016 came to a close, I considered the possibility of actually following through with some New Year's Resolutions. This, coupled with how relatively unproductive I was that year, drove me to at least do something. In the end, I made up two. One was a non-pony personal project that I've done considerable progress in for the past year although it's still not finished. The other was getting (back) into the fan fiction scene.

It didn't take long for me to think of a topic for my first fic in ages. The new changelings were in my mind and I wanted to show some of the fandom that a story about the new changelings can be good (although others have already jumped on board before I did).

By the 3rd of January 2017, I'd begun writing that changeling fic.

The Long Game

Well, I didn't want to write a mere one-shot. I wanted to write a full-blown novel of sorts. The question then was: How will it end?

During the first few months, I paid no attention to the ending. My mind was full of ideas to throw out into the open air. How would the changelings react to this? How would the ponies act around the new changelings? What concepts can I cram in? Any misconceptions that need to be dispelled? But, as I entered October, I realized that the story needed an ending—in fact, the closer I got to Christmas, the more I felt the nagging feeling that this story had to end. Not all good things last forever and this was one of them. Why?

I was running out of ideas.

However, it's not just that I'm running out of ideas. It's that it's a slice-of-life story. Adventure stories and their type get a pass when they get to half a million words and above because, when done masterfully, one can string out a grand epic. However, I've found out the hard way that it's difficult to do the same to a slice-of-life story. Could I make the reader think of some interesting thoughts once in a while? Yes. But, what about the story? What happens to the characters? In an adventure, characters go through growth many times as they face obstacles and challenges toward their goal. In a slice-of-fic when the threat or the enemy isn't as obvious (if there's even a threat to begin with)? Yes, characters can grow in day-to-day life—we've all experienced that in real life. But, it isn't as exciting and it isn't as easy to make exciting.

Then, there's the length. The tremendous length.

Take a look at the word count of the story. It's 436,000 words long. On the surface, it's impressive. But, when you realize that most of it is slice-of-life set in a peaceful backdrop, it's not going to rile you up in a fit of suspense or amazement. To some, it might even be a boring sludge to get to that final chapter, to at least see something of worth.

Chapters of Note

I'm not gonna read through the whole story to tell you which ones strike me as the best, the worst, and the interesting enough. I'm not even gonna press every chapter and skim through. That would take lots of time. However, here's what I got:

Canterlot and Wealthy Struggles: This (not-so) dynamic duo shows off the two tenets that much of the story is built on. They're how ponies interact with the changelings and how the changelings interact with ponies. While the first chapter already has that, these two chapters expanded upon those things, making the world a more believable place.

A Time with Changeling Culture: If you want a fun fact, here's one—the changeling narrator repeating words? That's because I wanted to finish the chapter already and typing sentences twice in a comedic context was a good excuse. But, with that aside, there's the exploration of what changeling culture is—which isn't much at this point. Thorax's subjects are ridiculuously respectful to the point of being patronizing, there's lots of open space, and the library is almost empty—and the books that are there weren't made by a single changeling at all. Culture takes time to build; it doesn't happen overnight.

A Lovely Visit: Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor don't have the best of histories with changelings. So, what happens when they meet up again with new management? Not a lot of good. Shining Armor was brainwashed by Chrysalis and he was almost married to a changeling queen that would suck the love out of him—and he didn't know it until it was too late. How would he not have a rocky start the moment he stepped foot (or hoof) in the Changeling Kingdom? Also, I don't think I've had the two appear in the story yet, and including them in the story was, to me, essential.

Stories: Admittedly, some chapters of this story are an author tract of sorts, and this is the first one I could remember from the top of my head. To cut the long story short: a changelings has a chat with Twilight Sparkle about pony culture "invading" the Changeling Kingdom; he expresses fear and disdain for a future where a changeling would be a pony in everything but physical appearance. Twilight Sparkle says, in response, that the reason why changelings are gobbling up pony culture instead of making their own is because it's probably not the right time for them to make their own.

What's the message behind it? Or, more specifically, what's my take on the topic? In simple terms: First world countries spread their culture around the world, and the rest of the world might think it's a threat to their own culture. However, considering that those countries throw foreign aid everywhere and have the funds to pump out good entertainment every week, what can the rest of the world do? Not resist but open up—learn from their ways and, later on, make it their own. We can talk about this for some time in the comments below, but that's the gist of what I was trying to imply in the chapter.

Good Time to A Long and a Short Talk: Oh, boy. The chain of less-than-2,000-words chapters represented, in my mind, the worst of the story. I didn't give the changelings a name, the dialogue's creaky and wooden, and I bet the rest of the writing's subpar. I didn't bother to use synonyms that much here, and if I did, they were probably there to be there. Why? I had a rough time creatively speaking, fearful that I might be using the wrong word or the wrong phrase. That led to serious overthinking and serious underwriting. So, if there's something to learn from here: Just write.

Inevitable and Flashback to That Time: What exactly happened in the aftermath of the Season 6 finale? While I'm sure many others have their versions up for good reading on this very site, I posited something a bit simple: A celebration that Chrysalis's tyranny was over. Blue Alarm, Red Noise, Humerus, and Neon Guard could now really be friends, not just squadmates. It's meant to be an emotional passage, but you're the judge if it's as emotional as it should be.

What Else?: This was the point where I began to truly run out of ideas. It's filler, but it's filler that's been a long time coming. It showed that there's not much else for me to write about these characters. While I could whip up some crazy ideas, they're better suited for one-shots. Throughout much of the story, you'll see that there's lots of situations that could fit well (or even better) as a one-shot than as part of a long fic.

Family: How can you keep up a reader's interest if he was able to slog through the rest of the story up to this point? Give someone a new life-changing desire. In this case, Blue Alarm wanting a family of his own.

The Verdict

I don't have a high view of my own writing. When I read other fics here, I not only have fun reading them, but I also see them as models to follow. How do they write? How do they use certain words? How do they do descriptions and dialogue? But my own stories? I barely read "Society as We Know It" the longer it got because, well, it's long.

"Society as We Know It", if I were to be as objective as I could be, is a mediocre epic. It suffers from its very nature: a long slice-of-life story where nothing too bad happens. Dialogue is at times stiff, descriptions can get repetitive, and, worst of all, the reader spends a good chunk of his time just going around in circles as the same changeling characters do somewhat similar things. On the other hand, it's a comprehensive look at how ponies and the new changelings would get along with each other and with others as well. It features mroe than a few personalities and perspectives on the reformed creatures (include those of the changelings themselves). Finally, it's a story that spans a long time, following new developments and the characters as the tale goes on.

And, want to know one final goodie you could get out of this story? It's long. So, if you're waiting a long time, read the .epub version of this book. At the very least, you'll pass the time.

One Last Go

"Society as We Know It" is done. I don't have a sequel in mind. I think it's better if I left it that way. The most likely scenario would be a spin-off mainly following certain characters, but, even if I do push through with that, I'd have to keep it relatively short—100k at most.

But, what happens next? Will they appear in some other fic that I'm working on? Like, well, "A War"?

Since "A War" takes place in an alternate timeline, I could just insert them into the story. However, I want to have a good reason for bringing them in and, now, I don't have one. (That didn't stop me from bringing Boiled Sweets from "The Search in Winsome Falls" into the story as a cameo.) If nothing else, this is probably the last chance those four changelings (and friends) got before disappearing forever from the future.

What's Next?

I promised to write my afterthoughts on "The Search in Winsome Falls" and all of my short stories in two more blog posts. The "Winsome Falls" one would appear early on next week and the short stories one would appear later on in the same week.

I hope you enjoyed reading what might be my last words on this story (well, on this blog).

Have a good day!