First things first, I wanted to apologize for my lack of activity on this site as of late. It's been a hectic few months and I haven't had time to really sit down and go any further in my 'Sour Notes' fanfic than I am already. I could you post the half chapter I have right now but you guys deserve better than that, so I will find the time to really sit down and work on this fanfiction! Just hang time and keep looking out for other great stories. If you look through some of my favorites, they'll be some really good ones to read until I finally get the ball rolling again.

Secondly, i was messaged by Aramande who showed me a reading he had recorded. His very first recording and he chose my 'Brotherly Bonds' fanfic as his first story. I was really honored to have someone want to do a reading of my story and record it, and so I have to share the link and hopefully get him some more views and comments! Here's the link and I hope you enjoy it!

Brotherly Bond Review on EverFree Radio

Had no idea my story got reviewed by the folks of EverFree Radio. They say it was meh.

Meh to them as well :P.

Seriously, I'm happy that they took the time to review the story, even if it didn't really wow them. It means something when someone will take a full 20 minutes to describe your work to others, so big thanks to them for doing that!

If you're reading this, odds are you're aware of iTunes recently putting 'The Last Roundup' back in their catalog. Odds are you were aware of the whole Derpy scandal that was said to be the reason for that episode being removed in the first place. Odds are you're aware that while it has been put back on iTunes, the entire Derpy scene was changed with the removal of her name mention, the uncrossing of her eyes, and her voice being changed from the original.

While I'm not a fan of the change (I dislike any changes to cartoons due to 'political correctness'), I respect Hasbro's decision and do still thank them for the shout-out they did give us when the episode first aired. I can't say for sure if it'll be the last time or not, but for that moment, Hasbro did acknowledge we exist on a more grand scale. I'm not going to rant and rave about the people who complained about the scene, because isn't the whole mantra of the show 'Love and Tolerance?' If I was to start bitching and whining over this, then I wouldn't be any better than them. The reason for the blog is to remind everyone of one simple fact.

Derpy/Ditzy, whichever you prefer, is NOT going away.

Go to Ponibooru and do a search on her (may wanna put on filters if you're sensitive). Search the archives of this very website for stories that feature her. Go to Youtube and check out the fan-made videos that passionate and artistic bronies have made of her. I can assure that you'd be mind-blown over the sheer volume of material you'll find. And that volume is just going to expand.

Finally, that a look back to when she first started: a simple animation error among a sea of background ponies. After that, we gave her a name, a job, a daughter, an adoptive daughter, and a lover. She's as much a part of our canon as the mane-6 are. Derpy was never Hasbro's, she's ours. And she always well be, no matter what happens.

UPDATE: Here is the dA journal entry of Kreoss, an animator for the show. Just an interesting read with his take on the situation.

I had to wait awhile for it to set in but I think this pretty much sums up how I feel right now...

WHOO HOO!

I had NO idea that this random short story was gonna be such a hit! Thank you all so much for all the comments and faves and thumbs up! You all effin' rock so much! It made it EqD and folks have been referring it on blogs and forums, it's just amazing! Again, thank you all for everything!

I had this idea stuck in my head for quite a while and I really wanted to get it on text. It was tough trying to match up Twilight's dancing with the music and I ended up listening to the song countless times to get it as close as I got it. But it's an awesome song, if you haven't listened to it on Youtube or iTunes, go do it now!

As for my next project, it's currently in the works. The idea popped up literally a day after I posted Twilight's Guilty Little Pleasure on FIMfiction, and I hope it's gonna be another good one. If you want an idea of what to expect, I leave you with this video.

Figured that since it’s been a while since I finished Brotherly Bonds (not counting the extensive typo corrections) I’d figure I’d just give off a few author’s notes and some big thanks to some of the commenters and folks who helped out with this story. It may be a long blog, so if you don’t feel like reading it all, please do see the special thanks section at the very least.

First off, the inspiration behind this story came from two things. The first one was reading a story called Pipsqueak the Valiant a while back. It was a very well written and very enjoyable story that I would definitely recommend to everyone! If you liked my story, then Pipsqueak the Valiant is sure to entertain you as much as it did me!

The second one was the low amount of Pipsqueak stories out there on FIMfiction. I think he’s a great character and needs a lot more love! As sad as it is, I don’t think he’ll be making another presence on the show, so fanfiction may be the only way to keep him around in the ponyverse. There are plenty of good ones that feature him, especially DawnFade’s Pirates For A Day and Eternity stories. More recommended reading from yours truly!

Brotherly Bond was a lot of fun to write and I’m really happy with how it turned out and the amount of praise it received. I didn’t expect so much love and man tears to come from it, and it was a real joy to check my mail when I wake up in the morning or get home from work and see some tracks, faves, and comments in my inbox. If you star’d and/or commented, thank you so much for making my day!

Now for the critique it’s received. I do appreciate the constructed criticism and will keep the advice in mind when I write future stories. That being said, I went into this story with it all planned out and told myself not to change a thing about the overall plot because of what someone else had said. I do understand the whole ‘not pleasing everyone all of the time’ so I focused on just making a story that I liked, hoping that others would enjoy it too. If at any point in the story you felt let down or disliked it, I do apologize if I wasted your time. However, I’m very happy with how it turned out and it seems that plenty of others feel the same way. Again, if you stuck through it to the end but didn’t like how it turned out, I still thank you for reading!

One thing I did leave out was music cues. I love reading and writing with some mood-enhancing music in the background, but unless the sad songs from Kingdom Hearts and some tunes from Yu Yu Hakusho are your thing too, then my selection for some scenes may not have suited your tastes. If anyone is interested, I may post the songs I listened to while writing some of the scenes in another blog, because this one is getting long already. I might as well be typing out another story!

Now for some recognition!

SPECIAL THANKS TO:

Your Antagonist (VegaKS03) / Midnight Legend Press – It was awesome getting praise from one of the writers of the story that inspired this one! Really did keep the writing spirit alive and well in me! Thanks for the comments and thank you for your story! Hope I’ll be seeing more from you and your crew!

Spazkit – Pointing out the whole y’all and ya’ll confusion made me go back and change it up. I’m not too good with dialect other than what I use myself on a daily basis. I think the story looked a lot better after that slight change. Thanks for that!

Alexstrazsa – Before reading your comment on Equestria Daily, I honestly had no idea that you were the pre-reader before this fic made it onto the site. Your advice really helped me get this story looking better grammatically and in its presentation and it would have never gotten the boost of exposure without you! Thanks for the praise and for getting this story onto EQD!

Cloudhammer, Equestrian Deadpool, Tonto the Trotter, NecromancerX69 – Some folks who left multiple comments and in some cases, a stream of manly tears! Thanks for all the praise, you all were a big part in making this story worth writing!

MaverickVox – Thanks for sticking to the story to for as long as you did! I know that the direction it went may not have been to your liking, but your praise and the confidence you had in the story was really awesome! Hope the ending made up for the sudden twist, but if not, I still thank you!

That’s about it. If you have any questions about the story you’d like answered, do feel free to ask here in the blog comments!

Next story is on the way. All I can really say that it was inspired by a little song by Incubus called ‘Here In My Room.’ You may already have an idea of what to expect.