Those of you following Changeling Heart and the New Moon will know by now that the story is done. Finished. Closed up shop and gone home. It's been so for a few days now, and I even remembered to change the status to 'complete' last night.

It's been a year in the writing, and what I fully consider my first book length story ever, even more so the first to even comprehend completetion, let alone get there.

Of course, I'm still keenly interested in feedback, opions, sentiments and questions. Ask me anything pertaining to CHatNM here, and I will answer it. It's far from the perfect story, I'll be the first to say it. So far, in fact, you'd have to stop for gas and directions on the drive, maybe more than once. So point out anything, ask anything, and it will be answered.

Oh, and if anyone could point similiar directions to the way to get some story specific, customed cover art, that'd be great.

Doubles.

As has been scientically proven, doubling something makes it, at the very least, about three times better.

And so it is that I've got not one update, but two- the Final chapter of Changeling Heart and the New Moon, the epilogue, finally posted. It's a big special feelsy moment for me, so excuse me whilst I take a moment to pat my back.

On the other hand, we have an update to my surprsingly (yet pleasently) popular story A Ballad of Eeyup and Nope. It's of the smaller length, but neatly (I hope) wraps up the loose ends of the prior chapter, and the first plot arc in general, if I can be so vain as to even use those words.

With the completion of CHatNM, I suppose I can start applying more of myself to other stories, which is something I've been meaning to do for a while now.

So I've been pretty off form for the last week or two, getting a good half of the epilogue done and a little chapter of Washed Up. Not a great deal, but sometimes its like that.

It's going to be like that a while longer yet, as tommorow I'm leaving for a few days, to put in the week at animal rescue centre. I'll be spending my nights there as well, and I don't expect to have internet access, so that means no updates, no writing, none of this.

All in all though, I feel good about it. I suspect I'll come back with make good fast writey

The epilogue is in the works, it really is. Once that's posted...that's it. The story's done. Let's see what that's like, yeah? Will be up soon.

So I stumbled across this and it turned out to take as much time as making a cup of tea. Check it out; help a guy get his scholarship. He's doing free Ponyart requests as well on proof of thingy, so that's a boon too.

Pretty sweet deal, all in all.

*edit! - The oppurtunity for free drawings is now closed, because while the spirit may be willing, the hand that holds the pencil can only draw so many ponies. You can, however, still sponser this fine sir, secure in the knowledge that it is greatly appreciated.

I think...It's done. The next chapter. The (sorta) final chapter.

Draft version, that is. But it is happening. Not much longer now, I promise.

So I intended to make a blog about saying I was back in the saddle, so to speak, with that being the keyboard. As I sip black chai tea and regain my strength, writing will happen.

But, splendiferous as this news is surely, it didn't feel enough to warrant a blog post on its own.

SO, to that effect- I had an idea. A proto-story idea, so to speak.

Relics Of The Crystal Empire - The ancient and enigmatic empire holds a wealth of artifacts, long thought lost, many forgotten from history entirely. But the reclamation of these is no quest for the meek, for the dark king Sombra also collected many powerful objects to himself in the black days of his rule.

-Exhibit 3-72-16-X-

Using Dig Site's (Ph.D) abbreviated cataloging system: 3rd Expedition - 72nd item of interest found - enchantment potency (of a maximum 20) - Danger Rating X (maximum).

The 'Do-Unto-You Mirror'

The mirror is a full length mirror, standing at a height and breadth easily accomdating any pony and then some. It has a heavy frame of what has been identified as bog oak, carved with thick runnels and stylised engravings in Old Griffon, preliminary translations suggest it is a poem. A large impact in the upper left corner in the glass has left a series of cracks, with one major breakage running from the heart of this all the way to the base. Observervers have been put in mind of these cracks forming what looks to be an eye with a tail, and indeed even without this trait the Do-Unto-You Mirror is forboding. With them, the relic is quite entirely ominous, even malicious. One finds themself looking back constantly at the 'eye,' all jagged edges broken pieces of their own image, feeling and half expecting it to be truly watching them, weighing them.

The mirror displays strong passive thaumatalogical potency, even some pseudo-awareness, but remains entirely passive until such instant as a pony's reflection is entirely caught in it. It is suspected the mirror activates for all sapient creatures, but following the unfortunate incident with Sepulchre we have refrained from subjecting anyone else to the mirror's properties, keeping one half of it covered in cloth at all times during our investigations into it. (Sepulchre, am I told, is quite impressed with the artifact and is eager to return to work just as soon as he is discharged from the hospital.)

Admirably, he reported on his experience:

I felt a sudden, terrible chill, and in that instant I knew I'd walked into something that I'd be happy to walk back out of. I looked, quite out of fright and instinct, to what we have taken to calling the Mirror's Eye. To my wonderment, I was otherwise quite rooted to the spot, with both fright and the magic of the mirror. Before my very eyes, the broken fragements and pieces of glass pulled away from the Eye, revealing the utterly dark and ancient wood of the bog oak construction, wonderfully preserved through the millenia. I had little time to appreciate the longevity of the material, however, as the enchanted fragments flew about me in a storm of broken pieces. I observed some fragments actively changing shape and size, a capacity I suspect necessary to the Do-Unto-You Mirror's function.

There was a sudden, terrible grip on my mind, and it is here in this recounting that I fear my training and objectivity somewhat fail me. The pieces, now becoming hammers and nails, scissors and chisels, laid into me, and with each bash and laceration I recalled, with unnatural force and clarity, some instance in my own life where I had inflicted an identical and equal injury upon another.

The entire experience could not have been more than thirty seconds, but such was the intensity, physical and mental that it seemed much longer. I do not recall having walked away, being subsequently found, or brought to the field hospital.

Of the Do-Unto-You Mirror I must say this: what it brings cannot be considered justice; only judgement. It is judgement without forbearance or mercy. It does not know forgiveness, it does not care if harm was done in malice or accidents, accepted, forgiven and forgotten by all involved long ago. The Mirror remembers, and measures out the balance with utter exactitude. I am so very grateful to have lead a relatively blameless life.

I suspect I will be extremely more careful with my tools to the end of my days, though. Not, I daresay, a bad thing. I am sure the team will appreciate a drastic reduction in my clumsiness.

Despite the regrettable circumstances from which they were gleaned, the uncontrolled demonstration has given us a wealth of information, and I personally applaud Sepulchre's steadfastness in recounting the experience for posterity.

In accordance with the dual-accord of Equestria and the Empire pertaining to all relics class 12 and above, and/or X classed, the mirror is to be spell-locked, chained over and secured for the next available guard contigent for transport to the Crystal Empire vaults.

Firstly, let me explain myself, because while yes, I have been writing like a fiend lately and yes, none of this has so far been the final chapter to CHatNM, I gurantee you that it will come. It will, promise.

Just not today. Or the next few days, for that instance.

Because I'm actually writing this from the public library in the town in which I used to live. It's a great place to visit. Both the town, and the library herein, dangling participle be damned.

So I've been talking to people, most everybody I meet. A lot of shopkeepers, who are almost always eager for a bit of conversation when the business is a bit slow. And the market stall keepers, who delight at someone with even a threadbare and passing knowledge of their craft, provided only that there is some genuine interest to sweeten it. And that old guy drinking in the pub, from whence I had a pint roughly at about noonish (Ireland is great, might I add).

And, if you're wondering if this is just going to be a rather vain blog- well, I always find blog's to be kind of vain by their very nature, but maybe, if you've read this far, you actually are interested? To the point, then-

Imagine you are a Pinkie Pie. I really do believe she's the least appreciated character in certain regards, and is certainly, in my opinion, subject to the widest variety of interpretations. She's certanily my favourite, and the one I emphathise with most. Probably even the one I'm most like as a person. I can appreciate the silliness of everything I just said (which, in turn, furthers my empathetic feeling towards her, which in turn AGAIN makes the silliness of this more apparant, so on and so on...don't think about it too closely-)

She certainly seems, at a cursory inspection, simple. Forwards. Intense, but direct, like a flash of colour or a single blaring trumpet. She's incredibly sociable, which is, I well believe, something that we lack too much in ourselves. Everyone's heard to not talk to strangers, but that's sorta of how you make them not-strangers, right? (The social commentary ends here, I promise)

She's just a great pony- a great person, and I'm not embarrassed to say I kinda look to her as a bit of a role model. Again, I can appreciate the silliness of it, (just as she would, I'm sure.)

Maybe the fact that this show we love and write about has reached a lot of the unexpected success it has because of characters like this- ones that are sweet, charming and fun, but also very...what would the word be...deep? Applicable? -Good-? I hope the gist of what I'm trying to say comes across anyway.

Well, I wasn't really aiming to go anywhere particular with this blog, since it was, at the beginning, just supposed to be a simple 'ambion's afk for the week' deal. With that in mind, I'm interested in your thoughts, on what I've said here, or on my stories, or anything, really. Really, I am.

On a side note- if you guys have any particular ideas for me, or preferences to what stories in progress get priority, or interests where said stories go/do, or questions, I'm keenly listening, even if I mightn't be able to reply immediately.

A new short story has recently gone up. Melt, a nice, innocent, cute little story, perfectly tiny at under 2k words. Shorts are pretty damn fun.

In other news, the last chapter of CHatNM will come 'round when it comes 'round. I'll start being specific when I have specifics to go with. In any case, I intend for it to be a good 'un.

So I just posted a blog, like 34 seconds ago, or so, except it'll be longer now because I'm typing this one out and such. Gist is, For the first notable time in my life, I censored something in the stereotypical spy movie sort of way, and there's something that I thought when doing that.

ANYTHING, censored accordingly, will seem dangerous and scary and awesome. Let's try that, ok? Using the exact same post as a mere mare moment ago; spoiler tags. I'll even be somewhat realistic about it - I will only put spoiler tags over something that gives attributes to ME, or to the Assignment under discussion, which are fair enough and valid points I feel. Without futher adieu - a TOP SECRET SUBER DUBER STATE SECRET SAMPLE fo the blog I JUST posted.

Dear [REDACTED. DAMN, CENSORSHIP IS FUN!]

To be brief whereas normally I am not(and will soon prove myself to be quite the case): I'm having trouble with this assigment. More so than I feel is part of the work expected or involved.

The particulars you gave out are, as I understand them, essentially about -Getting- information on the given topic, then -Formatting- it appropriately. So far, I have a week's work done and nothing to show for it.

Nothing at all, essentially. I am firmly mired in the 'getting the information' phase, and figured it's best to contact you about this sooner, rather than later; so that I can show reliably that this isn't me trying to weasel out of work I haven't done when the deadline is looming.

Maybe it's me trying to weasel out of work I -have- done, if you like to see it that way, I really wouldn't blame you. Whatever works, right?

So far, I've been onto four groups that qualify under the criteria of the assignment- being Multinational, having 'Lab Technicans' specifically, and the other odds and ends laid out in the brief. So far, I've been shot down four times in getting anywhere with anything.

Not to drag it out more than it's worth mentioning, but mostly for my own satisfaction I will say that I've had one tell me they can't release relevant information due to company policy, another who's entire laboratory department and all personnel therein don't actually start their work until the end of the month and will be inaccessible, and a third who simply has been impossible to get a response from.

The fourth has been the most frustrating, because that's the one where I had some spot of hope with. Intially I DID manage to contact someone who DID agree to help me and DID give me contact details, with which I DID draft up a series of questions, followup questions and general extraneous questions that would cover all the necessary work to be done, which, of course, I DID send off to the technian last week to be filled out and returned to me, along with any particulars of information regarding Duties and Responsibilies in his workplace [spoiler]that would cover any bases my [spoiler]questionaire missed.

What I DIDN'T do is get a response after that. Of any kind, despite my daily calls and repeated emails to the technician, or even anyone in the entire department. Frankly, I can no longer trust to this attempt to get me anything viable to work with, or even trust that I can have the assignment in any way, shape, or form done by the due date. Having gone through four seperate entities with consistent failure, I am somewhat frustrated.

Now tell me that DOESN'T look like something more interesting than it is?