I don’t normally do personal posts, but today I’m making an exception. And if it weren’t against the rules to post ‘personal’ things in every community group, I’d post this in as many Fo:E places as I could. However, I’ll have to settle with those of you who still keep up with my work, because I need to get this off my chest.

The current state of the Fo:E community is appalling, and I feel sorry for those who are just now finding their way into it. This post isn’t strictly aimed at those in the community who have been either trying to find their place in Fo:E as authors, or for those trying to figure out just what they should do now that they’ve finished the main or side stories. This is a post for everypony in the community.

I’ve been in this community for over three and a half years now. It’s not as long as some authors and fans out there, but long enough to watch the disturbing downward trend this community has been in. I want to bring up and share what I’ve seen posted time and time again on every website that Fo:E is involved in.

That even though we have thousands of stories, from authors whose skills range from professional editors, to recreational weekend bloggers, we somehow suffer from a profane lack of original and quality content. I’ve read hundreds of posts complaining about the many authors who aren’t well enough versed in college level grammar or story composition. Authors of stories so ‘bad’, that the poster’s of these remarks can’t stomach to even look at them. On top of this, I’ve seen post after post condemning the flaws of big fics like PH, or even tearing down Kkat’s work for no other reason than to prove that it’s not perfect.

We have too many underrated and undiscovered stories out there. So many places to explore and characters to see. Yet, no one seems to give them a fair chance. From what I’ve seen, and from what those most vocal in this fandom have been saying, I can’t say it’s anything less than a single overused excuse that leads to people putting down or tearing apart any story. Too many people refuse to settle for anything less than literary perfection. An errant missed tense here, a cliche plotline there, and for these community members, the whole story is now considered junk from page two. As I said, not even the original story is exempt from being picked apart and called garbage by those in this community.

We’ve forgotten what this fandom is built on, who the driving force behind it really is. It’s not built on professional novelists spending hundreds of hours crafting perfect timeless classics just to your standards. This has always been about the adventures of colorful ponies in a wasteland far too dark and grim to ever be perfect. It’s built on the mistakes that novices make, and personal passions that drive the events and plotlines themselves. Sometimes things don’t relate to the reader, or parts might not be phrased in the correct or best way. But that’s no reason to stop reading! These stories exist in a wasteland where they have always been about the big picture, the story as a whole complete adventure. Somewhere down the line, we as a community seem to have forgotten that.

We don’t need a ‘renaissance’ to revive the Fo:E community and make it as strong as it once was. We just need to make a small change how we go about interacting with the other authors and fans. To those who sit and post about ‘horribly written’ fics, why not offer your knowledge and skills to the authors? Reach out and help them to craft a better story with them. To those who tear apart the big stories for hours on end, why not go and find those stories that look promising, and give them the chance to become the next big thing? Give those authors who are starving for feedback a chance to hear the thoughts of others so that they can improve. And to those who are writing the fics with low views and little feedback, keep going. Tell your stories the way you feel they need to be told, and don’t give up no matter what. Strive to build the best story you can, and always aim to finish it, no matter how impossibly hard that may seem.

I realize that at the end of the day, this is the internet, and people will ultimately do whatever they please. But amidst the last week, so many things in my life have fallen apart for me. Again, I find myself falling back onto Fo:E as the only thing I have to keep myself from giving in completely to my own depression. I have too much love for this setting to stay quiet about this issue any longer. I’m not giving up on this community, and neither should any of you. I plan on continuing to read new stories, help as many authors as I can, and generally be here to share my thoughts about all things Fo:E.

However, in light of my issues with the community, I’m announcing that Fallout: Equestria - Long Haul will be the last fic that I post on this site. Once it’s finished, I won’t be producing any more content, Fo:E or otherwise. Long Haul is far from being finished, and chapters will still be uploaded at their normal rate, so those of you following it needn’t worry about anything. In fact, as of the posting of this, a new chapter will be up for you all to read, even though it’s not the normal day that I post things.

I realize that this has been a lot to read and take in, but I’ve been far too depressed lately to do anything other than try to keep myself focused on Fo:E. I’m sorry if this post has strayed from the normal happy and carefree style that I’ve presented in the past, but I hope that I can bring you that again at a later date. For today though, I’m going to be signing off for now. I might be taking an extended break from things on this site to try to get past this depression, but I can’t really be sure how long it will take. Thank you all for bearing with me and making it this far through my ramblings. I hope you all can enjoy the chapter, and maybe you all will even feel up to giving some of the other stories in the community a shot. Take care of yourselves for now, and I’ll see you all next time.