I Finished the RCL List from 2013-Aug. 2014

Way back in August 2014, when I first joined this site, I put every story that was in the Royal Canterlot Library at that time into my "Read Later" list. For a few days/weeks, I read all of them at a steady pace. Many of them I enjoyed, some I didn't, but they were all very interesting to read.

Then, at some point, when there were three stories left, I stopped.

For the last three and a half years, I continued to ignore those stories and kept adding a lot of stories to the "Read Later" list. Nothing much was read, as I was too busy in college to read them (or at least that's what I told myself). And so it went.

Or "So It Goes", if you prefer the present tense.

But as I spent some time away from college and reflected on things, I began to reflect on my life, both in the fandom and out of it. I wondered about the writing I'd done at college and if I was all that satisfied with it (I wasn't). I wondered if I was satisfied with the fandom (I didn't know). I wondered if it was worth even frequenting FimFic if I didn't even read anything, let alone write something. I decided, "No, it wasn't if all I was doing was gathering stories and not doing anything with them".

So I decided to read the three stories I had left from that dalliance with RCL: Twilight, There's a Ghost in Your Basement, RUN, and More Than You Know.

I read them all today. And I loved all of them.

And that's when I realized why I was drawn to this place to begin with. There are stories us in the fandom can tell that the show can't, and that's very attractive to me as an artist.

And I want to write these kinds of stories. Maybe I'll get in RCL, maybe I won't, but I want to write stories that mean something to me.

I have one I wrote in November that I really like. I'm going to find a pre-reader and editor to see if I can polish it, and I want to have it out before mid-May.

But to anyone that's been here a long time, either on FimFic or the fandom itself, and you're feeling frustrated with the fandom, either through the deeds of some rotten members or the fact that the show will soon be ending, read some stories on this site. Maybe from RCL, maybe just at random, but read any. If you're lucky, you'll read something that will remind you why you're here.

I did. And even if the stories weren't happy, I am now.

May you all be happy too.