//------------------------------//
// Foreword to the rewrite by DualThrone and Noble Cause 
// Story: The Empty Room 
// by Wanderer D 
//------------------------------//

I came to The Empty Room quite a few months ago, after it'd already been finished. Mostly, I came to it because I'd come to appreciate the author apart from his work, and always thought that it was very appropriate that his user icon looks so cheerful. But as the saying goes, I came for the author's reputation and stayed for the fun times. When an author kicks things off by killing a named character, you know you're in for something epic, whether an epic bullet train to literary hell or an epic piece of fiction; this thing delivered epic of the second kind. It had everything I could have wanted in a story, and that's why I finished it and said to myself, "Dual, if Wanderer says yes, you could write something really good in this AU." As you might be able to tell from the fact that Game of Worlds topped 100,000 words and the guy with a banhammer didn't hunt me down, Wanderer said yes.

There's a lot that happens here, and you're not going to like everything because let's face it, no one ever likes everything their favorite author writes, even if you'd sacrifice your firstborn in that author's name. But this has everything you could ask for from a well-made work: good characters, surprise twists, every death has meaning, and every canon character remains who they are while bearing the unique touch of the author that's using them. I admired this work enough to write an unofficial sequel with the blessing of its author... and I really think you'll admire it too. Happy trails, gallant reader! 



~DualThrone




The Empty Room’ was one of the first stories that really grabbed me in this fandom, not just as an Equestria Daily pre-reader, but as someone that loves a good mystery.  It really had me wondering just what was going to happen next, or what new twist was going to be revealed in the next chapter, and I greatly enjoyed the full ride from beginning to end.  This is part of my ‘go back and read’ list, which happens to be rather short indeed.  I can only hope that it appeals to you as well as it has me.

- Noble Cause, Equestria Daily pre-reader