And so it Begins... · 3:29pm Nov 25th, 2012
Well... that's that. I just submitted my first fanfiction. Maybe I should feel happy? Or accomplished? No, it's neither of those things.
I'm so nervous right now... 
I know I probably shouldn't be nervous. I'm not new to writing at all. I have confidence in my own abilities, and faith in my proofreader. Even so, there's just something about clicking that "Submit" button that seemed so intimidating.
Maybe it's the fact that I'm taking a bold step forward in my bronyism? I've always been somewhat reserved in my fandom, sticking to memes and late night episode binges. Does fanfiction represent the next level of progression? If so, what's next, conventions? 
Maybe I'm nervous about everyone seeing my first work? I mean, I've written as a part of online forum-based RPs for years, but never in front of this large of an audience, and never about magical ponies.
Or maybe I'm nervous about keeping a decent pace to my fic. I lead a busy life, most of which does not revolve around the adventures of the bearers of the Elements of Harmony. I hope that whatever "fanbase" I gather (if I can be so arrogant to assume I will gather one) is patient enough to understand.
....
Then again, it could just be the ChimmyCherryChangas I ate... 
I know that feeling... that was exactly how I felt before submitting my first fanfiction a few months ago. And to make it worse, that was actually the first time I had ever written anything longer than some school essays or forum posts in english. The feeling I felt afterwards after seeing the audience liked my story—despite all the grammatical errors it had—made the effort really worthwhile though.
You already know I liked your story, and I hope others will like it too.
A brave new soul has entered the world of fanfiction writers. Welcome to the next level. Beyond here lie conventions and beyond that lies LARPing.
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Thanks for all the encouragement, Twippledash. It does me good to think of this fanbase as forgiving.
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... That scares me. 
MLP Larping? ...
Nah, but seriously, I've slowly been becoming more open with my fandom, and slowly moving away from being a "closet brony". I even have a brony t-shirt now: it has the chemical symbols for Hydrogen, Argon, Molybdenum, Nitrogen, and Yttrium cut from the Periodic Table arranged side by side to spell out "HArMoNY." Thus, the "Elements of Harmony" My Science Geek/Brony self had to have it.
538602 Yes, MLP LARPing would be scary. I don't plan on approaching that level. Don't care how many achievements I could earn, that level is just too scary.......... I'm slowly moving away from being a closet Brony too. I don't realy hide it, but I don't advertise it. I just don't feel like dealing with the shit some people would give me for it at the moment.
538602 From my experience the fanbase is quite forgiving, unless a fanfic has atrocious grammar and/or formatting, or the characters are very badly out of character (your fanfic is far better than those). And even then there are many people who are willing to help, as long as the author is not acting like a jerk and is willing to accept the advice.
I am completely a closet brony still, even if I've been watching the show for over a year now. None of my family or friends know that I am a brony, and neither I have any pony merchandise or anything. I would likely tell the truth if someone asked whether I was a brony or not, but that's something that has not yet happened.
By the time I'm writing this your story has been out for 30 minutes, and it has already 5 likes, 0 dislikes, 10 favourites, and 1 comment (it is common to have more favourites than likes on incomplete stories).
It seems that the story was liked by the audience; not that I really doubted it at any point anyway.
Now just keep up the good quality with the following chapters!