Thanks, but please don't send me cash "tips." Instead, support this charity: The Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club.
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I was still a young colt when I took my first steps into the world of steam engines and railroading. I was meant to sing the song of steel, the chorus of the railways. Despite the challenges, discomfort, and dangers, I wanted to be a railway pony. I wanted a fine steam engine like #3803. I wanted to be like Highball.
What I got? Well now, there's a story worth telling...
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Lovin' the artwork!
4124436
Yeah... it was pretty much the only thing I could find that fit the bill.
Whelp, looks like I gotta call in sick today, because a new Descendant story just came out!
It's been awhile since I read something from you. I bet I'm going to love it.
That was utterly fantastic and beautiful. This got me to see the world of locomotion in a new light.
Whoo! Glad to see a new story from you. I'll comment further once I've had the opportunity to read this in peace.
this is so awesome
As someone who works on the railway, this could be very interesting to see where it goes.
I learned how to be an automobile mechanic from my dad. Not something I would do for the rest of my life but, this resonates with me, taking care of the machine, listening to its breathing and the satisfaction when it purrs down the road. I think I cried a bit.
There's a new piece by you? I can't want to get out of class so I can read it!
Typo:
New Descendant story, new (to me) beautiful IPA by New Belgium, today is looking like a good day!
I love this line. It's short, it's emotional, it's near to the essence of the story, and it fits the lore.
Beautiful piece.
And simply brimming with history, of which I whole-heartedly approve.
Every good story, I think, is about only one thing. They may span different times, have a bunch of characters and plotlines, but their essence should always be something simple: a feeling, an idea, a message, an emotion, or even a picture. Of course, different people can interpret the message differently, but everyone should still be able to get something out of a story.
For me, this story is about how things change. It is about how the new way can often be better, and also that the old way came to be for a reason and should not be too easily abandoned. It is about passion for what you love doing, and how hard work is never wasted. It is about nostalgia, and melancholy, and simple happiness. Though this may sound like a bunch of different things, for me, all of this is like a single idea, a single feeling. I'm just not a good enough wordsmith to sum it up better.
Getting of my Amateur Literary Critic Chair for a moment, I enjoyed this story a lot, even if it popped up at an inconvenient time and made me lose several hours of sleep. Also, sorry for not responding to your comment on my userpage, TD - I couldn't think of anything to say at first and then I forgot about it. I just happened to suddenly remember that I never had gotten around to favouriting Zenith, and then did it.
4132860
Heh, you appear to be one of a select few who decided to pass the day doing that.
4132861
It's been five months since I wrote something; I'm glad that you stopped in to see it! Hey, did you get a notification about this story, or did you just see it on the front page?
4132941
I'm glad that you could see it in a new light. Did you get a notification that I had uploaded this, or did you see it on the front page?
TD.
You have made me very sad.
Over a train.
Good for you.
4132956
I hope that you enjoy reading it when you get the chance, Lurk. Hey, did you get a notification about this story, or did you find it some other way?
4133062
I'm glad that you enjoyed it!
4133109
I'm looking forward to your viewpoint on it.
4132956
I hope that you enjoy reading it when you get the chance, Lurk. Hey, did you get a notification about this story, or did you find it some other way?
4133062
I'm glad that you enjoyed it!
4133109
I'm looking forward to your viewpoint on it.
4133128
Indeed, maybe a little sad, but I hope it engaged you otherwise.
4133151
I'm glad that I was able to get some emotion out of you, Int. Hey, did you receive a notification about this story saying that I had posted it, or did you find it some other way?
4133155
Hey, Kal, did you get a notification about this piece, or did you see it on the front page or something?
4133982
Thanks for the catch, Bee. Hey, did the system send you get a notification saying that this posted, or did you find it some other way?
4134274
I'm glad that your day was brightened by my words, Fan. Hey, some people said that they didn't get a notification that I had uploaded the story. Did the site send you a notification that I had?
4134392
I was very proud of that line. Did the site send you a notification that I had uploaded this story, or did you see it somewhere else, Grollo?
4135053 I reachieved a notification for this gem of a story.
4134557
I'm glad that those aspects appealed to you, Aorts. You got a notification from the site that I had posted this, right? Or, no? Did you find it another way?
4134575
I'm very grateful for the introspective comment, Grollo. Every good story does float around a central theme, and I'm glad that you found one that suits your vision for this work. I hope that it gives you plenty to ponder, even if it came about at an inconvenient time. Don't worry about responding to my comments if you don't have time, I understand. You may have noticed that I'm asking if people got a notification about this work from the site, or if they found it some other way. People are saying that they didn't get a notification, which is worrying. Did you?
Gorgeous.
4135105
I'm very glad that you enjoyed, Spacey. Hey, did you get a notification from the site saying that I added this story? A couple of people told me that they didn't.
4135096
Yeah, a new story notification in my feed. (Which doesn't happen very often - as I am so utterly terrible about remembering to put people on watch and such - so I noticed it fairly quickly (though it had to wait until later in the day before I got to reading it!))
4135117
I did.
i.imgur.com/cBBUjVY.png
4135117 I got mine, for what it's worth. However, I did find the feed went a bit mental, too. At one point I had the first six or seven entries repeated twice. No clue what that was all about but it seemed to clear up quickly enough.
4135131
Oh, okay. Thanks for getting back to me. Rainbow Bob and others were telling me that they didn't get a notification. I was scared that there was something going on that made it so that my stories weren't be released to my Watchers.
Now, all I have to deal with is the fact that this story just went over like a lead balloon. Oh well, can't win them all.
4135074 I did see it on the feed.
4135155
Okay, thanks.
4135053
I subscribe to you, Descy. I was alerted to it when I saw it in my feed.
4135211
Okay, thanks. Some people are telling me that it never appeared in their feed.
I got a notification of this story also. I'll crack it open when I don't have an exam and assignment due.
4135293
Okay, thanks. I have some people who are telling me that they didn't, and I'm pretty worried about that.
4135365 It might be the new notification system doing something weird to their notifications. Keep in mind that group posts are in the feed now, so your new story may have gotten buried for some people.
4135386
In either of those cases, do you think I should ask Obsolescence or WandererD about it?
4135148
Well - some part of that is I suspect, because stories about, if you will forgive the rather artifical but illustrative terminology, original characters (sic) have to work several umpteen times harder to catch people's interest (let's face it, most people read fanfiction to read about the familiar characters they see on the shows (et al) in more (mis)adventurers and such). And non-comedies in that vein are even harder. (I know I'm personally far more inclined to take a chance on something with the comedy tag than any other.)
Put it this way, I read a LOT of pony fanfic, and I can count on the fingers of one claw attack how many I've read that actually have no canon or fanon Named Characters in at least a lead-in. I can only think of Sagebrush's In Her Majesty's Royal Service and it's sequel offhand.
(I have read equally large amounts - of not more - of Naruto stories over the years (I read that almost exclusively for four or five years before pony started) and there is exactly ONE that fits the entirely original characters-as protagonists mold and even that has the main cast as supporting characters.)
So, to some extent, rightly or wrongly, with a story with no Named Characters and a sad tag, I think that was more of an uphill battle from the start. (If I can be brutally honest, had I just seen the story summary and not seen the author, I probably would not have read it myself. (That's not a denigration of your summary skills, by the by, just an observation.)) So I wouldn't feel too bad about it. (If it's any consolation, it at least appeared in the "popular stories" column at this neck of the woods, at any rate.
I will, of course, be recommending this story to my local ponythread (as I tend to do), but that's currently offline for the week.
*leans back* I live within less than a block of one of the main Union Pacific lines in Central Texas, and every time I hear the horn of the locomotives, whether they are UP or Amtrak, my mind is put at ease that all is right in the world. My grandfather would be proud of that.
I haven't read the whole story yet, just the last chapter but once again you have shown how damn good you are TD.
Now I really need to think of a better name for the "State and County of Mareland"...
4135464
I appreciate your continued support, Aotrs. You certainly do have some valid points about the state of original characters. I wasn't expecting this to be a blockbuster, but I'd be a liar if I wasn't hoping for more than, well... this. Oh well.
4135476
Oh, so you're one of those types who read the last chapter first, eh, Pal?
4135508
Not all the time, it doesn't help that you post your stories all at once. Though I can say I see your reenactorness peeking through, trains proving themselves in wartime?
4135394 I think you may wish to, if only for clarification. You could also ask about it on Knighty's blog post regarding the new site changes, which would likely get you a reply sooner.
I'm a bit of a train enthusiast, so this was like somebody playing my favorite song.
It's probably not some people's cup of tea, but I loved it. What inspired you to write it?
(Also, I saw this on the front page. Don't know if that helps.)
4135605
I've loved trains/railroading my whole life. My grandfather worked for the railroad, and his house was full of train books, lanterns, even uniforms I'd wear. I volunteered on a scenic railroad for a few years, too. I have steam in my blood!
I do not have the time today to read 24 kilowords, so I shall have to get back to this later, perhaps the weekend. Perhaps the slow uptake might be from the length of the story than broken notification. That is not to say that for some, the notifications did not break.
By the way, I do not complain about the length. I love disappearing into a good read for e few hour. I just do not have a few hours today.
4135692
Wow, really? That's so cool!
[envy intensifies]
I used to live down the road from a switchyard, so I would always enjoy going down there and looking at the trains. I've also always wanted to build myself a model railroad, but I never found the time to do it and now I'm going to be going off to college here soon. Maybe I can build one someday...
My grandfather was a beekeeper, though. No trains there.