Every End is a New Beginning
The sun greeted me through the window as I was stirred from my slumber. I yawned, much like I did that strange night over twenty three years ago. I laughed lightly at the sudden memory, rubbing the spot I had stabbed myself in an attempt to prove I was dreaming.
With a happy sigh, I climbed out of bed and make my way to the bathroom. I take a quick shower and brush my teeth. The smell of breakfast was already filling the house from Jynx's cooking. I want nothing more than to run down and start stuffing my face. Instead, though, I head down the hall and knock on the last door on the left.
“Come in, daddy!”
I open the door and see my little girl sitting on her bed, holding her little wolf plush in her fore-hooves, giving her room a slightly sad look. The room reflected its resident, the girly-ist tomboy you've ever see. The shelves against one wall held plushies and knives. Her pink painted walls had posters of Slate Gray, the action movie star, and an autographed one of Chaos Hammer, Scootaloo's band. Her weight set had stickers she printed off from my computer of G1 MLP.
“How's it going, Snow?” I asked. “You excited about today?”
“Kinda,” She replied. “It's weird thinking this was the last night I'm going to be spending in this room.”
“Yeah, I know,” I agree. “When Midnight moved out to Sweet Apple Acres, I was sad. When Razor went off to college, I was almost in tears. Now, though, my baby girl is moving out all on her own? It's just too surreal. My youngest cub is about to leave the den.”
Snow scoffed, “I wouldn't say I'm a cub. I'm mistaken for a unicorn-zebra at least twice a week at the club.”
“Yeah, but you're tiger at heart,” I countered. “Now come on. Your mother's making food.”
“Sweet! I'm starved!” my little girl exclaimed and jumped from her bed, running down stairs.
I chuckle as I follow, shaking my head. That kid is a strange one. I see so much of her mother's enthusiasm with my own love of random fun.
As I enter the kitchen, I greet my wife of twenty one years with a kiss on the cheek. “Morning babe.”
“I was wondering when you were going to wake up,” Jynx replied, teasingly.
“I was having wonderful dreams about you and your clone,” I poked back.
“Here's your plate,” she rolled her eyes as she levitated my food to my place at the table.
I take my seat, Snow already eating across from me, her fork enveloped in an amber glow. She definitely has more of her mother's magic than mine, unlike Razor. Jynx sat down beside me and we began eating. I take a bite of the breakfast sausage and moan in pleasure. I could never figure out how a pony could cook meat so good. Apparently, Snow agreed, as she had a similar expression on her face.
“I'm definitely going to be coming over for meals a lot,” my daughter said after she finished off her meat.
Jynx replies in a teasing tone, “Well, good. You better visit regularly. I don't want you to be like some of those other children that move out and never visit.”
I poke her playfully in the side. “Jynx, you know Midnight is busy with the orchard and foals. You wouldn't want him to neglect our grandchildren, would you?”
“No, I want him to bring our grandchildren,” came her reply. “How can I spoil them if I never see them.”
“You can spoil me,” I recommended.
“I do plenty of that,” Jynx returned. “You need more discipline.”
I grin. “Mmm, kinky.”
“Eww!” Snow exclaimed. “I don't want to hear that!”
“Hey, I can't help that I love your mother,” I said in my defense. “She the sexiest creature in existence.”
“Oh, right,” Jynx elbowed me. “Like this old mare can be sexy.”
I ran a paw through her mane. “The gray streaks in your mane, the wrinkles on your eyes from years of laughter, the hip that bothers you sometimes and gives me an excuse to carry you up the stairs. You're like a fine wine, only getting better with every year.”
“Aww,” Snow coo'd. “I want what you guys have. Why can't I find a guy that would talk to me like that?”
“Cause you date ponies,” I stated plainly.
Jynx raised an eyebrow at me, “And what, pray-tell, is wrong with ponies?”
“Nothing,” I said, “but no one in this family dates regular ponies. Your mom married a tiger from another world, your aunt married a dragony, your oldest brother married a dhampir, and your other brother is dating a changeling.”
Jynx stared at my in thought for a while before finally speaking, “Wow... I never realized that.”
“So...” Snow looked at me curiously, “I should keep an eye out for a werewolf, or minotaur?”
I laugh, “I'm just messing with you, sweetie. Well, I gotta go to work. I'll be back in time to walk you, Snow.”
“Have fun, honey/daddy,” the two mares said simultaneously.
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Work was as uninteresting as ever. Ponies came, ordered food, I cooked it, they ate it, rinse, repeat, profit. Midnight stopped in with Applebloom and the kids to get some lunch and catch up. He assured me he would be coming over to see Razor later when he arrived. Other than that, nothing happened.
After work, I started for home but met Snow half way. “Hey, princess. Anything happen while I was gone?”
“Mom knocked herself out again,” she said. “A wrench fell on her.”
“She okay?”
“It's mom.”
“Right.”
It was afternoon and the club was going to be opening soon. The Wub Shack was Ponyville's premier club, founded by Vinyl Scratch, now run by her and Octavia's son (magic, ain't it cool), Turn Table, aka DJ Col-7.
“Behave,” I said.
“I will, daddy. See you this evening.”
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Jynx and I cuddled on the couch, still catching our breath after an hour of hot, porn-tastic sex. Age didn't slow this kitty down, I'll tell you that. She snuggled up against me, purring in content.
Eventually, my love spoke. “You know, the one good thing about having the house to ourselves is we can do this, where ever and when ever.”
I smile down at her. I knew she was trying to convince herself that Snow leaving was a good thing for us as well, but I could tell it wasn't working. We fell into silence. The knowledge that this was going to be the norm made the silence oppressive.
I sighed and said, “How did we live like this before?”
“The quiet used to be nice, but I already miss the sound of rowdy foals,” she agreed. “You think Twilight can undo menopause?”
I laughed, “I think we're a little too old to be keeping up with foals anymore... though I know how you feel.”
“Razor will be here soon,” Jynx stated. “We better get cleaned up.”
I smile and nod, following her to the bathroom. As we step inside, I take a look in the mirror. The tiger looking back is so different from the one that used to occupy that space so many years ago. My stripes were fading, now a dark gray instead of black. The wrinkles along my eyes and mouth were becoming more prominent. My eyes were not as vibrant anymore.
I was old. There was no denying it. The story of my life had entered it's epilogue. That thought should have been saddening, but you know what?
Every story has to end...
finished reading this right as you post the new story cant wait to get started on that!
88 chapters?
that are fast paced?
short as well?
static1.fjcdn.com/thumbnails/comments/4340591+_8324893f044c9f660ebe0f9ffc5a3f99.png
Should be their not there.
Nicely done, old dog, nicely done. You and I have been absent from our works for far too long. Time for us to make our comeback! I came first, and now its your turn!
On a side note, just shoot me links to whatever whenever and I'll get to it pronto. But now, gotta read your new addition, and sleep. Worked a 12 hour shift today and I'm beat.
3669353
3669364 Yea, I was waiting for that. Walked right into it too, didn't catch it till you replied.
Dang now I wanna read this a second time...
Ok third <.<...>.>...
ALRIGHT fourth time T.T get off my back man
3669405 I ain't complainin'
3669353
Keep it clean.
gogaminggiant.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/SI.jpg
this version of pinkie...
she scares me...
being able to say fuck you to reality and create a black hole out of thin air...
id rather witness cupcakes
3671449 Only because of the ribbon she had. It's a Divine Element called the Abyssal Tether and is the source of her "Pinkie Powers". It's a tool meant for thieves and assassins, but Pinkie uses it for fun.
2spooky4me
3671884 Spooky...? Huh ?
3673195 Well, he loves science and believes knowledge should be shared
I'll go insta fave that link!
3678445 No one. I couldn't find anyone to edit, but I'm starting a project to clean it up. If you're interested go here.
3690478
Okay, I won't answer.
3695456 How dare you say that about the greatest animated movie of all time
3702775 Exactly
3706211 I believe he added the 'almost' after my comment. I think it was originally "15,000" and he changed it to "almost 14,000"
3712855 The 'almost' was already there, but I did have 15,000 before.
3702775
I love you.
3717306 Agreed
3732914 Here are your fics;
"Escape Brony, Escape!" 7 likes, 12 dislikes
"The Fool of Sorrow" 7 likes, 3 dislikes
"MANesfestations Of Equestria" 10 likes, 36 dislikes
Now my fics;
"Chaotic Harmony" 498 likes, 54 dislikes
"Into the Black: A Mare's Tale" 1495 likes, 70 dislikes
"Dawn Shield" 246 likes, 15 dislikes
"Children of Chaos" 84 likes, 12 dislikes
"An Unexpected Visit" 36 likes, 5 dislikes
Even at my worst I'm better that the best piece of crap you call a story (and yes, I tried reading them). Why would I care what you say is wrong with my fics? You're obviously the last person I'd take advice from. If you're going to insult someone's talent, make sure you actually HAVE some.
3733393
Now that just makes it sound like you're full of yourself and can't take criticism.
3732914
But he's right, why should I or others keep reading if you can't fix the prologue.
He's giving you some solid advice even though he uhhh doesn't have talent?
I found the plot interesting but my God was it handled poorly. I tried reading more because the grammar gets better... Kinda, I really tried my best to read the rest because a tiger in equestria sounds interesting.
But I got a bland self-insert tiger who walks on two legs with even worse characters I can't even bring myself to care about.
3740004 There's a difference between criticizing someone's work, and insulting it. Your comments are criticism, but calling someone's work a "shitfic" is just insulting. Yes, my grammar sucks, I realize that. With this one, I couldn't get an editor, so it wasn't as good as it could have been. That's why I'm trying to find editors to help me fix it. I know it's a good story, because so many still like it despite the grammar issues, but I would like to make it more readable. In fact, if you're able to would you be interested in helping me with improving this story?
3747624 Most of that is poking fun at the cliches. Plus, I actually know how to use a katana, and have trained in its use for 8 years. I was even an assistant to my instructor for a time. Also, he's not really a Gary Stu, just OP. A Mary Sue/Gary Stu is someone that doesn't struggle to overcome any conflict. It's like they have an "I win" button. Yeah, there is some Gary Stu-ness, but I never went all the way with it. Remember, this is more of a comedy with ridiculous, over-the-top action and should be approached with that in mind.
3750930 My Little Dashie
thank you kind sir... thank you Have these and more of these
3706775
Indeed it is. The anime to be honest just plain sucked. I'm a ways behind in the manga as it is though because I've been in bootcamp for the past two months. I'll catch up sometime this week.
3777367 Welcome back. Now you can catch the sequel .
3793843 That was just the alternate ending. He didn't really die.
3820726 I don't know if I'd put myself up there with Pen Stroke, but thank you very much for the compliment and the follow. I trust you'll be moving on to the sequel now?
3832402
Oh-ho-ho!
Ew...
3876886 It means every 1300 years, our universe and theirs is linked for a few minutes, then that link is severed. Basically, Shiro would have to wait 1300 years to go home.
3877280 I know, but I meant gramatically.
3877469 Ah. I'm in the middle of cleaning this story up, so things like that will be fixed.
3877516 Funny how well he predicted that, isn't it?
Okay, this has so many references, so much mare-sueness, so many cliffhangers...
Yet it's still good.
3880993 I've gotten a lot better at writing, AND have an editor. Having that second one the first time around would have been great, but what can you do?
3882142 The link provided was wrong (I just fixed it). Here's the new one.
3882453 Thanks for translating that for me! I was stumped.
Mustache for you.
3933537
I meant the part about the bones being made of it.
And I did know about it being the horn, lengendarily-speaking(That is NOT a word, but I'm totally rolling with it.), but I REALLY like the way you spun alicorns' bones being made of the same material.
Did you know that the biblical unicorn was actually just several mistranslations of words referring to the Indian rhino?
Any other defining features of unicorns were added on as embellishments later on down the line.
3933569 I'm pretty good at world-building. If you've read Dawn Shield, the world Midnight came from is almost entirely fleshed out, from nations, city-states, history, religions, and culture. I'm actually planning out a series novels based in that world. Midnight even refers to the main protagonists.
3933646
I have read both versions, in fact.
You are indeed pretty good at world-building, imo.
The only real problem I had was that the emotions displayed by the characters came across as a little flat.
Now I'm one of those people that can feel what the character feels, but these characters didn't make me do that. They have personality, sure.
But their emotions didn't come across as genuine. Not that they were faking, but the emotions didn't feel real.
Worst case scenario is that I'm just in a mood, but that remains to be seen.
I still faved, though.
3936942 That's one of the reasons it's being edited. I only wish I had an editor when I was first writing it.
3940003
I see. I look forward to that!
3941446 The prelude and chapters 1 & 2 are done if you want to look.
3941887
Well, if they're the ones seen here, then I already have. I remember seeing the (edited) tag-things when I started reading.