Hello, dear ponies—and friends of every kind.

As I near a turning point in my memoir, I wanted to take a quiet moment to explain how I arrived here, why I returned to the company of ponies after so long away, and where I intend to go from here.

Let me take you back to the Celestial Year of 2013.

The community then was vibrant, but chaotic. Some would even say unstable. There were those chasing what we called horse fame—ponies who rose to prominence through art, music, business, or by standing close to the right spotlight. Conventions were plentiful, drama was constant, and reputation could be made or destroyed in a single weekend. I was a small voice among it all—careful, quiet, trying not to step on any hooves.

At that time, Alicorns in fan creations were… not exactly welcomed. If you wrote one, you made yourself smaller, or you were made small. Still, I wrote. I loved it. I built worlds, universes, echoes of Equestria and beyond. Some ponies read them. Some even stayed.

But the noise eventually outweighed the joy. So I left.

For eleven years I stayed away—writing only in private, at my own quiet desk (or cabin), with only my partners and the night for company. I wrote story after story. Some I loved. Some were terrible. But I learned from both. And something in me always felt interrupted, as though I had walked away before the last page.

When I finally looked back at the community, I found something different.

The loudest voices of drama were mainly gone. In their place were quieter, kinder ones—ponies who cared more about friendship and creativity than recognition. And so, I came back. Not hidden this time. Not in whispers. I stepped into the Running of the Leaves event—and for the first time in centuries… I ran.

And to my astonishment, I won.

Not that winning was ever the point. Belonging was. And I did feel it—among @Samurai Equine, @NitobitMoonlight, @TheRockARooster, Roswell @Shiny Silvermoon Shiny, and so many others who made that trail feel alive.

Which brings me to today.

If you count the unreleased chapters, my memoir has now passed 180,000 words. I never thought I had so much to say—though I have had two millennia to gather it. Writing my life in my own voice—without masks, without silence—has been healing. Honest. Hard. Beautiful.

For now, I’ll be stepping back from roleplay. Not forever, I hope. Just long enough to rest, to focus on finishing my memoir, and to return when my heart is quiet and ready.

To anypony who struggles to find their voice: you can. It doesn't have to be perfect—it just has to be yours. This community, more than ever, wants you to create, to laugh, to be yourself. That is the magic worth protecting.

Thank you—to everypony who welcomed me back, who read my words, who ran beside me.

I’ll be around—likely with ink-stained hooves, a mug of cider, and a heart full of twilight—waiting for the first snow or the next story.

Yours truly, in twilight,
Dusk Haven

(I used the spell checker for this with Grammarly Pro.)