Friendship Journal Third Edition - Foreword
FOREWORD
To the readers of the Friendship Journal:
Thank you for purchasing and reading the third edition of this journal, a book created and published to spread the magic of friendship. The first foreword, written for the second edition, was the initial reason this third edition now exists. The content past this page remains largely unchanged (save for a few rewrites to make it accessible to all ages), but the major reason this new foreword exists is because of a very important reaction to its predecessor.
The journal was meant to bring ponies together, not to tear us apart. The initial reactions to this work were quite out of line, true enough, but my response to them, in the form of the second edition’s foreword, only served to feed the fire. My reply was inexcusable, petty, and juvenile, and I cannot be more sorry for what I’ve said and my lack of care for it. What gave me the insight to realize this was not the angry protests outside my door (a mere extension of the out-of-line behaviors), but from the protests I never heard until it was almost too late.
It is at this point that I now dedicate this third edition to the ponies who opened my eyes to what I was too angry to see. This latest edition shall be dedicated to the Unofficial Ponyville Book Club.
To Cold Chill, whose calm and respectful demeanor proved that not all fans are intrusive.
To Heat Stroke, whose passion and loyalty proved that not all fans misuse their emotions.
To Heart Shard, whose honesty and sensitivity proved that the love of one fan beats the hate of a thousand any day.
To Rainfall, whose strength of heart grows every day, proving that no matter how hard the road to learning one lesson gets, it’s all worth it in the end.
And last but certainly not least, to Grey Sky: a pony who, despite only having lived in Ponyville for three years, has just as much love and dedication in his heart as any lifelong citizen. He proved to me that not all fans should be addressed the same. He proved to me that fans must be trusted to learn the importance of that which they care most about. He proved to me that the simplest of things can bring friends together in ways that make it seem like it was meant to be. And he also proved to me that the actions of one pony can save the life of another without them even realizing it.
And finally, they all proved to me that, even though the bad may outweigh the good, when it comes to friends—and fans—it’s always quality over quantity.
To them, and to all of you, thank you.
Your faithful, ever-improving princess,
Twilight Sparkle
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Are you.... are you fucking kidding me?
I needed this. Thank you.
Hell. Yes.
I love this story. It's something I can see happening, and the characters are on point.
8418310
Thanks for reading!
8418301
Thanks, and thanks for the fave!
I can't say this in an objective manner so I'm going to be honest. I don't like this story. I get wanting to have Twilight and the others meet the positive part of the fandom, but the method used bothers me. Having Twilight write a scathing and insulting foreword to a second edition, guilting her over it, then calling her out on it repeatedly? Does not really make sense to me. It all seems unnecessary, and feels pointless. It just doesn't sit well with me.
8418362
I understand. I knew the risks when I wrote this story. But you have to understand, the foreword is symbolic. It represents the episode upon which this fic is based. And most of the fans reacted just as they did in the episode itself, but the good few fans (representing myself and whoever else felt bad after the episode) made Twilight (the writers) see that the foreword (the episode) was wrong.
I get that it's not going to sit well with some people, and that's okay. I still thank you for reading and offering your thoughts in a thoughtful, kind manner.
Uh... Yeah... No. There's really only one way to sum up this story.
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8418365
Congrats on being not only one of my few story down votes but the first one to make me break my rule of reading the story first.
That you imply that people like you who took this episode far to personally are part of the "good few" fans over the actual majority of people who liked it, laughed at it and themselves, and has the common sense to understand this episode targeted a small minority is far more insulting than the episode was and ever will be.
Even worse considering you consider yourself a fan for a series whose episodes you won't watch and yet complain about much to people's annoyance.
based on what you wrote in your summary I decided to just skim this. When one of the OC ponies mentioned respect I decided against more. Respect is earned and the ponies Twi met in that story hadn't earned any
Okay, first major problem with the story is Twilight's character. Lashing out? Name me one instance in the actual show where she's actually done that. Twilight's the Princess of Friendship, and her writing a scathing forward like that goes against every aspect of her character and her title, and she rightfully alienated her subjects here which is the only outcome of this. The Twilight in the show, she never would have done something that spiteful. She's neurotic. She freaks out, has panic attacks, not goes on full blown tirades like she does here. The Twilight in here, that's you speaking, not the character.
Also, you missed the fact that quite a few fillies and colts behaved like idiots as well (Granted, they're children, so they will be immature) and tore out a few pages of the journal to read only about Rainbow Dash.
Same with the subjects, which is the story's second and major problem. They match quite a few things you've said in your blog posts, which is pretty much what this story is. A blog disguised as a story and published for the masses to read. Accusation fics like this, like Jay the Brony's "That's it?", they feed of the feelings of the readers and their anger and vitriol against the characters being accused. And then there's this, this comment I have to take issue with.
Uh, wrong. Times have changed, most of the fans got the joke the episode was making, and are laughing about it. You implying the true fans are the ones that took this far too personally, that just implies to me the message of this episode flew right over your head. I'm going to quote my good friend RuinQueen on her thoughts on the matter when we discussed this episode on Discord.
So again,
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It's here. It's published.
A great story, as I said while prereading it. Awesome work as always, LS, keep it up
8418484
I'm sorry for how this might sound, but how is it okay for the writers of the show to use ponies as mouthpieces for meta commentary, but not us?
I get that you disliked the story. I knew people were going to. But I won't conform to anyone's standards of how character should or shouldn't be used. It's my story, and I do what I feel is right with it. Besides, this needed to be said for people like me.
In any case, the ending was a contradiction. The message is that the lessons are important, but the strawman fans didn't learn a lesson. If anything, the lesson was "people are assholes who won't change, so don't worry about what they say, even if there is a grain of truth to their fanaticism."
I don't want to start another fight with you, so I'll stop this here.
8418460
Quoted from the character Heat Stroke:
And the way Twi treated her fans was without decency. Which is the point of the story. I'm sorry you didn't like it, but I won't apologize for writing it.
8418447
And people can laugh at themselves, because that's how they chose to take it. I'm not going after them for the way they took it. I'd appreciate it if you didn't criticize me for the way I took it. I'm letting them laugh at themselves. I expect the same in return.
And no, I don't watch the show anymore. And yes, I complain about it. But again, you don't see me being annoyed by people who blindly praise it and think it's immune to criticism. I am, but I don;t talk about it. I expect the same in return. Live and let live.
Again, sorry you didn't like it, but not sorry I wrote it. It needed to be said.
8418498
Thanks again for your help, and thanks for the fave!
I feel like these fics wouldn't need to exist if the legitimate criticisms of the show weren't either completely ignored or demonized.
8418367 You're quite welcome, hun.
8418513
Precisely. And the episode gave the impression that legitimate criticisms are just fanatics being fanatics. It trivializes their concerns. I may think the complaint that Fluttershy learns the same lesson over and over is dumb and easily explained, but I can see where people are coming from with it. Same goes with the Rarity hate and the Twilicorn hate (the last one, not quite as much, but I can still see it).
8418506
Except I'm not calling you out for how you took it.
I'm calling you our for having the audacity to imply that you and a bunch of thin skinned whiners who take things way to personally are the "good few" over all the mature people with common sense.
Love this story so much. I think this is my new favorite of your stories after "Critical Analysis". The characters are well written. Everything feels like a legitimate episode. And I can see your reason for writing this. Meeting the slim group of people who respect and value the lessons and themes of a true life story is touching. And I believe this story perfectly captures the real world. You can make a biting critique of an entire group of people, but there area fraction of people in that group that are the mitigator for aggression.
The foreword was an odd choice of plot kick starting, but nonetheless a strong choice as it perfectly captures the essential base of conflicts. Generalization. Assumption. These two elements make the foreword stronger than it is being given credit for.
The 5 ponies you introduced at the bookclub meeting were awesome to read. Because they felt real. They felt like people you'd come across in real life. Painted smiles but truth be told they need a guide to start their reformative action. That's why I love these characters.
As for the 3rd edit of the Journal, and it's foreword. It's awesome. I love the image of a book giving a reason for its dedication to a certain person or persons. And it's remarkable to read.
Overall, it's an amazing story and probably the newest addition to my top 5 favorites on this websites. The heartwarming ending, the satisfying character development, and the presentation were spectacular. Thanks for writing this masterpiece. You're still a great writer.
8418536
Again, I'm sorry you took it that way. But you have the right to interpret what you want from whatever you want. Just as I do. Let's leave it at that.
8418567
Thank you for all your amazing support! Really, replies like this, it's hard to put into words how grateful I am and how touched I am at such intimate reactions I get from people. It's really like no other feeling. Thank you so much for reading. It's an honor to have written one of your favorites.
8418575
You're a great writer, and you deserve more credit for what you create. Many people try and fail a meta story, but you make them work. If you're ever lacking motivation. Just remember that there are supporters and fans amongst the dislikes and scalding review. I'd like to call you my friend, I thought we were after the "Starlight Glimmer Doesn't Deserve Forgiveness" group. That crashed and burned. But I stuck close to your stories and blogs hoping to become a fair friendship. Sorry, I'm getting all emotional right now. I wish you the best, friend.
8418584
The fact that you stuck by me after that fiasco is proof enough that you're a good friend. Thank you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.
8418605
You're always welcome.
8418397
So, you have kids who are jerks and kids who are decent.
And you have adults who are jerks and adults who are . . . . . ?
Not saying kids were good all the time. Just saying adults weren't jerks all the time, is all.
Fun fact: the word 'fan' is a short hand way of writing 'fanatic'.
This is not a joke, seriously search it up.
8418484
8418536
8418362
Well what more can you expect from someone who spent almost an entire week crying his eyes out over this specific episode? If anything this is more of "a what took you so long?" scenario rather than a "what were you thinking?" scenario.
People like him basically represent the "unpleasable fandom" aspect of the Brony community, the kind that refuse to take a nice look at themselves and acknowledge how they're acting, the kind that basically demand respect from a show that they refused to give respect to. Claiming that it's "dead" or "ruined" by a single character, and acting like no matter what good episodes come out of it it'll still be ruined. People like him who have the audacity to criticize the show and yet are too thin-skinned and hypocritical to take criticisms against themselves to heart.
False-Bronies like him are the kind of "fans" this episode portrayed 100% accurately.
8418505
Twilight didn't encounter any non fanatical fans
8418645
I understand how you feel. I really do. But you're wrong about me.
I loved the show before. It saved my life at least once. Now, the care is just not there, and it hurts.
I never demanded respect from the show. I just didn't want them to stoop to using their characters as mouthpieces to paint us all with the same brush. If it's wrong for us, it should be wrong for them.
There are still some good episodes nowadays, I admit. But it's just not enough to balance out what went wrong. I can't just sit by while a show I loved just throws away everything that made it great. If it means criticizing it, then fine. And if it means getting the evil eye from the die-hard fans, then fine. I expected that when I wrote this very fic.
You can criticize me all you want. But to outright say that what you see in me is fact, is not criticism. I know I can be frustrating and intolerant at times, but it's only because I care. I care so much. But how can I keep caring when the show cares less and less all the time? The more it goes on, the more meaningless it is to care so much. And now for an episode to come out that tells me I'm wrong to care that much? I couldn't stay silent.
I get what you're saying, and I understand why you're frustrated. But you don't know me. So you can't force yourself to believe you can get into my head and analyze me as a fan or as a human being. I'm not asking for trouble. I just wanted to post a story that I wrote from the heart. If you have a problem with that, then I think you're the one who needs an introspective. I already know I'm a lousy human being, and I've accepted that things will never get better. So I'm just trying to do the best I can for myself.
Again, I'm sorry you feel this way. But I won't be sorry for writing from the heart.
8418656
Exactly. And she should have. It would have represented us more fairly and made us not look like fools. If they can laugh at that, then that's fine. They can take it their way, and I'll take it mine.
8418671
to be perfectly frank I didn't see myself as a pony fan in that episode. If you did then I think you need to look at yourself more than the writers
8418689
This was aimed at the fans. It's not about seeing ourselves in it. It's about whether they made it so we can in an accurate sense.
8418645
Not cool. Not cool. I will admit that all fandoms have problematic members, and I don't know the author beyond this story so I can't speak to their character (although they seem pretty polite from what I've seen here), but still. You don't go expressing an opinion of someone -- especially a malicious one -- in the comments of a story, and that person's story in particular. I don't like this story, nor do I very much agree with the common interpretation of the episode being a full attack on the fandom, but I'm allowed to feel that way just like the author is allowed to write such a story and have opinions on the show.
I can't stop you feeling how you feel, or doing what you want to do, but please don't try to drag me into it.
Best story since the invention of canned bread.
Every character is spot on, it's really how the episode should have been wrote for the show.
8418711
Much appreciated. Thank you.
8418702
people have a right to express themselves, would it be better if they talked about others behind their back?
8418720
A fair point, but as I said: don't drag me into it.
So then what is legitimate criticism? Because even though I've seen such where the flaws are pointed out and how they could be improved, they are completely cast aside for ones that are not. I guess they're easier to get mad about or something.
8418645
Nailed it.
I can probably guess it to be blatant fixfic wankery based purely on the comments and your conduct on the site blog and in the fimfic Discord. The summary alone is cringeworthy enough for a downvote, but I'm really not going to bother.
Are we still done with the show as of right now?
Hmm, I enjoyed this.
8418780
He really didn't. And this was in the works before my mistakes on Discord that night. You can see this however you want to, but at least read it before you downvote. If you don't want to, why bother commenting? It's not helping anyone.
8418782
I just needed to get this off my chest. The reception it's getting isn't making it much better.
8418783
Thank you, and thanks for the fave.
8418790
You good, bro. I haven't read the story yet, nor do I plan to. I was just wondering.
Maybe I'm taking this too far, but it seems to me that some people are criticizing this story in a vary similar fashion to how the financial ponys criticized the journal.
And maybe it's just me, but people also seem to be getting angry at the emotion and motivation behind the story instead of the actual story.
8418813
Maybe. Not like it matters at this point. I said what I needed to say, and it came out exactly the way I wanted it to. If they hate me and my story for that, then I'll just have to deal with it.
8418767
Everything that was in that episode is an example of what is not legitimate criticism.
8418787
There is a great irony of YOU who blatantly admits he doesn't watch the show anymore but constantly is complaining about season 7 telling others to read before down voting.
8418830
Why should I watch the show if it's just going to hurt me? My fics aren't hurting anyone but me.
See, if you'd have expressed your distaste in a polite manner instead of this "If I whine enough, maybe they'll listen to me" attitude you wear, maybe you'd have received a more open response to your person and your opinion. Alas, much like this story, it has gone too far for that.
The summary alone looks like it's trying to drive a point that's going down, not up. It's okay, you're not happy, we get it. Move on.
8418840
I tried. But every time I do, twelve people jump on me and tell me I'm wrong, and hardly proving how. I can't be polite when several people argue with me at one time. I've gotten so obsessed with being understood that my arguments hardly matter anymore. I just want someone, somewhere to say that my words mean something. But it's not going to happen.
I'm sorry my story isn't your thing. But I wrote it from the heart. That's all that should matter.
8418787 Because between the hurricane pounding my state and this fic, the latter is more of a disaster.