Two Years AE

Just to let everypony know, I don’t have any new stories to announce in this blog post. It’s just some of my ramblings and thoughts on the LPoE series. Feel free to skip this if you’re not interested in that sort of thing.

So as of about the time I’m posting this message, it’s been exactly two years since Last Pony on Earth was first posted. To commemorate the occasion, I’ve written special updates for Last Pony on Earth and Founders of Alexandria, both of which will be posted today (the first one is going to be posted the exact moment the “Event” would’ve taken place, the founders update will be coming this afternoon). I’ve tried very hard to capture the spirit of the original stories, while contributing sections I hope will add things I wish I’d included the first time through.

As of the moment I’m writing this blog, the universe and series has died down greatly in activity, sortof reached the end of its life cycle as it were. There are still a handful of new stories coming in, as new people discover the series and come in on the ground, but I’ve largely said what I want to say with the stories and many others have as well. A few people besides myself are still updating regularly, but not very many compared to those early days.

I was completely unprepared for the level of popularity the story received back then, making it to the featured box every day for a summer. I was unprepared for the growth in my following, or the formation of the community that followed. That community still exists today by the way, in case anyone missed all the author’s notes I’ve included over the years, with about 40 active regulars who talk about far more varied subjects than just LPoE. Check out the discord link if you’re curious.

I never imagined where this community would help me go. I’d like to say thank you to everyone who’s been a part of things over the years. Thank you for your stories, for your contributions, for your ideas. For your comments, the help you gave me improving my writing. I’m still imperfect, still got a great deal to learn and much practice to do, but I feel like I’ve grown a great deal.

If I could go back and change anything, I think I’d probably have handled the supernatural a little differently. Dealing with the humdrum requirements of survival in every chapter was getting dull, but I could’ve done more to keep things from getting out of hand, particularly with Alex’s reincarnation becoming more of a gag than a dramatic element. It would’ve been nice to make that more subtle.

Alas, but for hindsight. I’m happy with how the story turned out. I’m happy with the dramatic places it was able to go. But I’ve nearly run out of stories to tell. A little more in Bedtime Stories, and then I think I’ll be ready to hang it up on the setting.

The Event probably didn’t happen this year, though I am writing in advance so I suppose nothing is certain. And if it does, well–guess I’ll see you in Alexandria.