EG:BFF I - One Thousand(ish) Views - Whoo!

It is a sad truth that, no matter how much MLP may preach lessons that can make us better people, reality is not quite as positive an experience.

In reality, I am the antithesis of MLP.
I am a bitter, cynical misanthropist who gave up on so much of what they once believed in. Passions, hopes, aspirations—all of the things that made me an aspiring artist—they all withered away long ago.
Now, don't misunderstand me. I don't say these things to elicit pity. The truth is, I'm very proud of the person I've become. I'm proud that I was smart enough not to stand directly against, and be utterly crushed, by an uncaring and broken world too massive to stop. I'm proud that I was clever enough to simply slither through the cracks of society, and find my own little corner with which to flourish while the walls come crumbling down. I have a good career. I have a good system. I live a good life. My only regret is that a big part of who I was had to die so that the rest could live.

Of course, I say that a part of me—the artist—had died, and yet here I am writing a story for public eyes to look upon and judge as they so please. Believe it or not, I only did this because of a single comment I heard from someone completely unrelated to me.

"If there's one thing I can't stand, it's people who claim to be creative who never finish shit."

For some reason, even though I gave up on creating anything ages ago, that comment cut deep down into me. Turns out, the artistic part of me hadn't entirely disappeared, much to my surprise. And after hearing that statement, I simply couldn't stand the thought of being that kind of person any longer.

Long story short, here I am now—creating a fan fiction for a spinoff show that lost its popularity almost 2 years ago. Not the most ambitious or worthwhile endeavor, granted, but it was nice to simply feel like I was taking a chance at something creative and public, regardless of the outcome.

Five months have passed since I started EG:BFF I, and I just noticed that, much to my shock, the story has amassed over 1,000 views, which is frankly incredible.
Again, don't misunderstand me. I hold no delusions about that number, and the bitter cynic outside has plenty to keep me from getting even remotely encouraged by it. After all, of those 1,000 views, most are either just one-off looks from passerby's, or repeat readings from a very small number of fans. Furthermore, one must also consider factors like drop-off between chapters, inaccurate aggregation of the data, and reception to the story overall.

And yet, despite all of that, I still take pleasure in this undertaking. And deep down inside, there's still some fragment of me that recognizes the very real possibility that my work helped to brighten someone's day, even if just for a few minutes.
So, to however many people have read this story. To whomever enjoyed it. To whomever didn't enjoy it, even. And to whomever has commented on it.

To all of them, to all of you:
Thank you.