This captured a lot of what my uncle went through when he suffered from dementia; very well written, Dawn.

Having dealth with this situation myself, this hit home, and it hit home hard.

Don't you ever stop writing.

really great man you captured the emotion perfectly

I... I can't deal with all these feels. This brought rise to new fears and doubts about my dad's death as much as it brought some closure. I don't know if I'm crying from sadness or whatever else...

I agree with R-B-D.

Don't you ever stop writing, Dawn.

Yaiy, thanks! Finally a Vinyl Scratch story without a romance tag

Why you make me have feelings?

Excellent story, .

That was really, REALLY good

Dude!  Just when I thought the worst was over SADNESS, falling like rain.  Oh man... I don't even connect with this situation and I feel it.  

This is... actually, this is superb. Send it to EQD! This fic is too good to get only dozen of likes.  

Reading the comments here makes me nervous, are you going to make me cry Dawn?

ARE YOU?

Could you even handle the guilt?

~AC

Had to fight back my feels in class. Having dealt with this in my family, it hit close to home. Great story though, you captured the emotions perfectly.

Very nice a short but bitersweet story about Vinyl Scratch's father, it really tugs at the heartstrings.

>>13082931308293 Lucky you, I was trapped inside the feels. I threw up emotion everywhere.

wth is up with these sad fics today first changes and then this

I.... I can't........

Very well done my grandmother is going through what her father is so you hit home for me, very well written can't wait for the next university days and nights chapters. Keep up the great work

That was powerful.

Excellent job.

>>13082931308293 truth

Image: http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mai9ioo2sd1rgp9x7o2_400.gif

SO MANY FEELS! This was amazing....so sad

Based on the thumbs and the comments.... This story was good and sad..... Oh the irony.

I'm glad I've never had any particularly bad arguments with my parents... And I'm glad that I have a number of years yet before I lose any of them.

oh god, im in school and reading this.

now i have to explane to my teacher why im crying

This was beautifull! I love it!

That was wonderfully written and very sad.

Nice work.

... Ouch.

Holy fuck, them feels.

Very well-written, is this in the university days universe?

BTW, I'm planning to reference university days in a future fic Im writing, so I'll send u a link, dawn.

Huh, that was a touching story. Nice to see a story with Vinyl but without the romance. Your story is well written so that's a plus. Good job man, i'll looking forward to your other works. Best regards.

>>13082931308293

Couldn't say it better myself.

um what was the illness that her father had? if i dont know then i dont have anyone who experienced it and i dont have any emotion to understand the story with but ill try

What a lovely story.  Reminds me visiting my nan in her nursing home...

All I can say is well done.

Simple, and amazing.

Same thing happened to grandmother. Little stories like this help me see past all the cynicism, bickering, and ignorance. The things this fandom produces often help restore one's faith in humanity.  

Well done good sir. Well done.

>>13094271309427

Dementia. Memory lapses and losses resulting from old age or Alzheimer's disease. No known cure.

My hoof of approval for this one.

oh my god the feels... you have my adulation and praise. well done.

Is this written out of personal experience? I'm curious from an author's point of view, as people tend to write about things they have some connection with. Memory loss is one thing I haven't had in my life or anyone I know, really.

Really sad story. Sadness. Feels.

Image: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/misc_Vinyl_sad.png

Is Alabaster a unicorn?

You have allmost every reader commenting your Aweso0me story! and i gotta say, it truly was Awesome, Keep Writing PLZ!!!

WAAAHHH Dear, the emotion you pulled out of me; it hurts. If you haven't dealt with dementia personally, you've done a very good job of capturing the emotion of someone who has.

I'm crying. I have not come across many things in this world that make me cry. But this story does.

Fantastic job, written perfectly and executed flawlessly.

Image: http://untamedhellcat.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/sad-sad-kitty.jpg

Bring back memories of my grandma nicely done sir/mam nicely done.

Right in the feels, man...

I was always ticked at the large number of bad dads there are, in fiction. Seeing a story like this warmed my heart and made me think about the day I'll be a dad.

A truly beautiful story, plain and simple. Wonderful job.

Thanks mate, you made me think of my good ol' Grandpappy with this beautiful piece of work. Thanks for making this, and making me cry.

Wow, I... I don't have words enough to convey how painful this was to read. Vinyl's father slipping in and out of memories and her roller coaster of emotions trying to keep up with him were both beautifully executed.

Beautiful, yes.

Image: http://cdn.crushable.com/files/2012/08/right-in-the-feels.gif

My grandmother's beginning to lose her memory these days, so I know what it's like. You've captured it perfectly.

Oh, September.

>>13084741308474 i know how you  feel bro my grandma is in a nursing home with dementia too. only she is on the other side of the US away so i can hardly visit her. wonderful story btw.

I have little experience to speak of in these situations, but this really hit me. Maybe its fearing for my own future, where I will find myself in a position like this? I'm not sure.

Kudos to you, DawnFade.

Image: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/misc_Redheart_smile.png

Uh . . .

What is this story filled with so many feels?

I'm probably the only one to say this but... Son. I am disappoint. I mean really Dawn. After reading you're other stories I expected a lot out of this.

Image: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/misc_Vinyl_shock.png

Whenever the synopsis says a pony "visits" another pony, it's usually a graveyard surprise.  With "Alabaster" as the name, that is what I was expecting.  This was more real, and at this point in the Cycle of Fanfic Cliche, more painful.  Thank you.

Very, very well done. Everything about it was just PERFECT.

So many feels were had

well done sir it hits close with a lot of folks and it makes me think about all the stuff i coulda done...well done

Well, I do love this. You have quite a knack for writing emotion into a fic, and making us feel like the emotions are real.

And even though it's sad, the final message shows that there is always a light in the darkness.

Thank you for writing this, and well done.

>>13109881310988

What exactly didn't you like about it?

>>13114891311489

Let's try... Everything? I mean, really. After all your other stories this one is just too... Dull.

The feels. :< My favorite part is how careful you were with each any every aspect, especially the "special somepony" part. You didn't once gush about Octavia, even though you had several chances to, which I am very happy about. I don't like that pairing anyway, so hey, I'm happy. xD I much prefer NeonScratch. Either way, you were able to use the "father viewing his little girl finding love" idea as a tool to enhance the feels without marring the fiction by going too in-depth. Good job! This is a masterpiece.

>>13114981311498

I'm not going to stick to lighthearted genres, you know. I like writing this serious stuff as well. Perhaps next time I post a story with the Sad tag, you should just ignore so you're not disappointed. I'm sorry I couldn't capture your attention this time.

I think this story touched us all. We all have dealt with sadness and regret and I feel that this story was able to touch upon that while still remaining a good story. Well done. Now, to cry some more.

I've never dealt with this situation personally, but I know people who have and I think you captured this perfectly.  Very bittersweet rather than sad in my opinion but an excellent, excellent story.  Two thumbs up!

Wow, this was really well written. My feels were just... I don't even know man. This was a great fic, and I look forward to reading more from you also, I like Spectrumancer's gif.

gahh...so sad

Very powerful stuff.

Now THIS is a good sad story... I'm actually intrigued you chose Vinyl and her father. Any particular reason why? Or could/would you have chosen any other pony?

Wow. Very well written. My grandfather passed a few months ago; he had dementia and my mother and I were the ones taking care of him. Your portrayal was very accurate with what it was like.

You do some amazing work. This definitely was a hit to the feels.

>>13121541312154

Well, I've written about Vinyl quite a lot, so I can't help but feel like I know her (or at least my idea of her) very well. At first this was supposed to just capture a fairly mundane moment in her life, but it quickly grew a mind of its own. I liked the idea of this super-confident partying DJ having to deal with such a very real, emotionally stressful problem.

I... may have projected a few of my own regrets in there too.

Graduated today. Didn't cry.

Read this. Manly tears were shed.

Your writing is amazing!

Ah, I understand. Still, good work. You nailed the feelings quite well in this.

“I’ve been an old fool my whole life, Vi. Next thing you know, you’ll be visiting me in a nursing home.”

I'm going to have to read a good comedy now. This stab wound hurts.

She couldn’t fix her mistakes, but maybe she didn’t need to.

Maybe this was fate’s final blessing to the good.

To forget.

I...I lost it at about there. Drew up some memories of my Grandma while she was in the nursing home. And...Ow. My feelings. They ache.

>>13114891311489

Hi I love your fic. I have 2 question.

Is Vi's dad has Alzheimer ?  & Is Vi's a lesbian ?

>>13126041312604

I'd rather not define his particular problem. If I keep it unnamed, more people might relate to it and find it more engaging.

As for Vinyl, in this story she is, yes.

>>13126311312631

Also why Alabaster ? What is it ?

>>13126441312644

Alabaster is a silver-grey colour, the same as Vinyl and her father's skin.

There's other meaning I've put into it, but I feel really pretentious doing stuff like that so just take it at face value.

What's this? It seems some one has stabbed me in the heart, though there is no blood, and covered my cheeks in water. Peculiar.

Image: http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m7acuow8HD1qd132h.gif

Good God, the feels were tremendous. Never before had something stabbed me in the heart like that... Well... aside from My Little Dashie.

You, DawnFade, are incredible. Never stop writing stuff like this: it's amazing.

This was beautiful! I never had to be in such a situation, but I certainly hope I'll never have to be...

Reading this... Maybe dementia isn't such a bad thing afterall. Great story and very well written!

keep up the great work!

>>13103321310332 ...So many bad ones in fiction because there's so many bad ones in fact... Mine learned about my fandom of MLP, and ... well, let's not talk about that.

...I have, however, experienced this. Great-grandmother, when she went. ...Took me several minutes before I could even compose myself enough to write a response to this story.

Author... Good Job. Don't stop writing. Site needs this among others...

Wow, this was truly well written. You had me entranced from start to finish, and brought a tear or two to my eye.

I am crying my eyes out...

My Aunt, when she was dying.. from COPD, she got like this in the end because of her medicine.

My great grandmother, got like this in the end, from dimensia.

And my mom... ever since my dad left... Her COPD has taken a turn for the worse... and her memory is getting worse every day.

Maybe I needed something to bring out the tears I hold inside. Your work is beautiful. Thank you.

Hold on to them, cause when they forget you. Never forget them.

Beautiful, absolutely beautiful.

Epic thumbs and fav.

>>13129381312938

I've had experiences with a bad mother, personally, so that's partly where my dislike of the bad father cliche comes from.

That, and I know not all fathers are bad. I plan on being the best father I can be when I have kids.

that diseaseis one of the few out there that i think is actually evil. The common cold fever even nasty ones like HIV are just disease but to make someone forget or live the same day over and over is evil.

I really like the expression here; shows real heart to get a message out to those who potentially feel the same way, having struggled through this kind of problem before.

It's not really much of a FiMfic, though. I feel that this kind of story could be told by just replacing the names and done just as well. Of course, it's still written well, and that's what's important.

So, in any case, good job

I was listening this while reading:

Enourmous mistake

I saw the title of this and I have to read it ;3

I'll comment back when I'm done.

I am dumbfounded, this invoked a lot of emotions in me, well done Dawn, you have made me shed manly tears today, I had to read through all the comments before I could even think of writing this out to let my mind settle.

My only complaint is that this stoy and emotions didn't feel unique to Vinyl's character.  I feel like she could have been replaced with several other ponies, and the story would be completely unchanged, such as Rainbow Dash, Lyra, or a grown up Scootaloo.  Or maybe you could have gone off the beaten path and picked a pony we don't usually associate with a rough childhood, like Cheerilee, Carrot Top, or even Gilda.  My point is that no matter the name, the impact would be the same.

This...

It made me feel so...

Image: http://02.images.fireden.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/feels.jpg3.jpeg

This was so good, I think you captured the feelings of the situation so well, it is such a sad situation, and even worse because there are so many people who have to deal with it. Good job

I managed to dodge my parents dementia getting this bad. ...Barely. But still, dodged. Of course, having to watch both my parents waste slowly away, this STILL stirs up old memories. Memories best locked away? For me, yes. I don't ant to remember just....Watching.

But, in any case, my sympathies to everyone who's gone through this, or something similar. I know where you are. Well done.

>>13143241314324 (Dragon Turtle)

This kind of situation and the feelings may not be unique to Vinyl, but I think the reason it came out so well is that the author has developed a real sense of Vinyl's character.  If it were a random pony, then there'd be exposition needed to give us a reason as to WHY there are certain reactions.  While this might be a common tragedy, it's the subtle familiarity with the character that helps to create a compelling story rather than a dry recitation of dialogue.

I know that for me, having read through University Days, this sounded very true to the Vinyl that DawnFade has created in that story.  Without that background, connection, and body of experiences to draw on, I don't think this story would have had as much meaning to me.

Now that I've been presumptuous and jumped in where I wasn't invited, I'd like to say that even though this was a sad story, I thoroughly enjoyed it.  The pacing was not fast, but it was appropriate to the situation.  There perhaps could have been more emphasis on setting, but in reading again I think the sparsity of descriptions is more effective- this is about past relationships and the unstable, fluctuating nature of the current relationship she's trying to maintain with her father.

I really liked that it ended not with guilt, which would have been the standard, logical way, but with her feeling an unexpected emotion, and coming to a new view of the relationship.  I love the stories here that have these kinds of twists- where characters grow and do small, unexpected things while overall staying true to their (canon or fan-created) characters.  Thanks for the great read, DawnFade.  I look forward to whatever else you can come up with.