What if?

by Lynked

Author's Note

Hey people, it's Lynked. I imagine a few of you are griping about this, but dammit, I've got stuff to say. So let's start of with this:

The Loyal Brony has been inspired by this fic! Check him out. I've read his idea sheet, and completely approve of it.

Now, to the beef. I've been told a few of you could relate to this story. That's good, in a way. When I wrote this, I had done a bit of thinking on my writing. Pony fics, I thought to myself. These ponyfics had rekindled my love for writing. To be honest, I had actually tried to give up writing. I felt like I was a failure at it. That is, until one day, I thought, What if I give this another shot. And what do you know, that was the same day I discovered ponies. Needless to say, I fell in love with the show.

So I wrote. It was a poor fic, with some fair grammatical errors, and 90% of it was telling, not showing. But something about it sparked a little fire in me. So I wrote another. Then another. And eventually, I made my great Moonlight Sonata, which has been heralded (by a few, but still amazingly) as one of the best OctaviaxVinyl fics out there. It too was telling more than showing. It isn't anymore, of course. I'm still working with it, and I've edited it heavily. But I digress.

It hit me that a story is a big What If. What if Octavia and Vinyl were on a cruise? And what if their relationship was on the rocks?

So in time, I began using that as my basis for these stories. Not once did I imagine I would get on Equestria Daily, and even further away from that could I imagine I would be featured twice.

When I wrote this story, I was asking myself, What if I had never found this fandom. What if I had never found this show? Well, I tell you my friends, I would be an unhappy, sulking idiot who was wasting his talent as a writer. And now that I look at it, I realize that my life was so close to being pathetic that it was scary.

So thank you. Thank you bronies, thank you Hasbro, and thank you Faust, EqD, FiMFiction...etc. And thank you all who read this, fave'd it, and liked (and even disliked) it. It means more to me than you could ever know.

Comments

[Lynked]

Don't hate me for this I figured it needed these, and I don't care if I was right or not.

[Deletemeplz]

Wish I could write something as successful as this :(
Good story

[notSoPony]

Can't see a single reason why I should hate You for this. Wish I could be good at writing...or drawing...or anything related to art.
Anyway, good story. I hope for some more good stuff from You.

[Thespurgin]

I pull up FIMfiction to find that I have an update to this story... and it's an author's note.

Browser! One "Varying Degrees of Want" PLZ!
farm5.staticflickr.com/4054/4550930261_b0ec9a062e_z.jpg
...
Thank you browser.

To be honest though, It was nice to see this story again. I know I risk sounding sappy when I say this, but I've said similar things before, so screw being awkward.
I loved this story. Really. It meant a lot to me when I read it, not because it was pony, but because of the contemplative message it carried. I know what it is to feel indecisive and not know what to do... and this was a bright spot in a hard day. I grant that I'm weird by some standards... probably the fact that I prefer friendshipping or hetero in my ships, and that can be an issue for some. I may be a hopeless romantic at times and at others a cold jerk, and I usually think myself and my efforts are worth nothing and doomed to fail, no matter how intelligent or creative I get told I am.
I am the first to claim that I don't know everything, but there are a few things I am adamant upon. One is that stories are meant to convey messages to their readers. Those writers that acknowledge this fact gain control over the message their story sends out, and those that don't will write stories in which the messages are reflections of their subconscious.
I know not which author you are, but regardless, the message of this story will not be forgotten.

[PaperbagWizard]

Liked. Faved. Commented! I rarely comment. In this case, I just had to, because I can relate to Dash's thoughts and feelings here.
Very well done, but the end could have needed another paragraph or two about that weight leaving her shoulders. Maybe another hint at touching the moon? Also, lovely description of the sunset and clouds at the beginning!

[jack_fraust]

nice story. enjoyed.

[mike50333]

588673 For the sake of my sanity, please get out of my head...

But i have to agree with everything Thespurgin said, each and every story that is written by an author, and I personally hold you to this standard now that you've put out this piece of art, Lynked, has to have a message in it, whether underlying or abundantly clear (I assume this is what authors refer to as a theme). Otherwise, it turns into nothing more than an interesting story that ultimately holds little substance and holds poorly to the winds of time. But this work right here, this is worth something. And as much as I don't deserve to exude such a Great and Powerful Trixie grandeur of arrogance (may not be the word I'm looking for, I'm still working on my wordsmithing), I must say that this was very much worth my time to read.

I thank you for your contemplations. :)