So.... yeah. Hi. (Final ACitM update for awhile) · 6:36pm Mar 4th, 2014
Howdy ther- ...
...
... oh @#$% it.
Look; I can't pretend to be all sunshine and lollipops here like I usually am. I @#$%ed up... I @#$%ed up bad.
And I'll freely admit to it.
A Cog in the Machine ISN'T dead; just going to throw that out there now before I get any further. It just ain't. Despite all the delays, and the slow update, and the stopped progress on the reboot... and the recent reveal that the Flim Flam brothers are going to reappear in a future episode, possibly helping Applejack acquire her key, this fic AIN'T dead.
Where I @#$%ed up is thinking that I could continue it in my current state... and that I kept TELLING you guys that I could continue it in my current state.
Big, @#$%ing, mistake.
Work, senior year of college, bills, internship, real job hunting, supporting jobless brother, papers, exams... the @#$% was I thinking, sliding writing into this @#$%ing schedule?
The @#$% was I thinking, telling you guys that I COULD slide that into that kind of schedule?
I'm truly sorry to all of you for pulling you along like this for so long, and I'm truly sorry for putting something out there that you enjoyed, but are now forced to wait so long to see it continue.
...
... So, with that said, I'm going to COMPLETELY contradict myself here and actually throw a plan out there for you. Nothing set in stone; just telling you what I THINK my current plan is.
A Cog in the Machine will return...
... during season five, next year.
Retooled, rebooted, rewritten, restarted... whatever the hell you want to call in; a year from now, this story will be starting over from the beginning. Cog will still be a season two brony, Flim and Flam will still be flankholes, Nathan De La Griffon will still be adorkable, Vinyl will still get royally screwed over by the universe, Starswirl will still be nuttier then a fruitcake, Seaponies will still be nasty as @#$%, and friendship will still prevail in the end (or will it?)... but the story is going to be completely revamped.
Characters will meet at different times,
Later story concepts will be introduced sooner,
My plan to make this into five stories will be reconsidered,
And the lore might be completely renovated to better fit the show's canon, while still being sparkled with my particular brand of @#$%ed up headcanon flakes.
I still love ponies. I still love writing. I wish to write more stories. I wish to properly tell THIS story. I want to have a steady life. I want to deepen said life by creating things people love. I don't want to disappoint those who have dedicated so much time and heart into my work.
So, by that logic, completing A Cog in the Machine is a must. No question.
Just... not right now.
Now is the time to hit the books... or hit myself with the books. Has about the same impact either way...
I'll still be floating around here on the site, don't you worry. I'm not the most talkative, but if you have any questions on things I might be able to help you in whatever little spare time I have!
So, that having been said... good bye. For now, at least ^_^
Love,
-Derply
Life can suck, but we will survive while you get everything in order.I will be patiently waiting for your triumphant return.
No worries, classes and bills come first! No ifs, ands, or buts about it! We will be here waiting for you.
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Just...be careful out there?
...I'm still downloading the old story.
I'd say just go AU and disregard the season 3/4 stuff like most people are doing with the (a human entering would alter the timeline thing) Coz I kind of like the story that you got now. But then again it might be worth the wait just for Cog's reaction to the season 3+ cannon.
Either way no worries on the wait man,life shit comes first- good luck.
Just be sure to keep your tongue behind your teeth when it comes too books- it helps in both cases.
I will quote Pinkie.
I missed you, sweet prince.
I ain't quitting you, Derply. Just let me know when you plan to start writing again, be that this weekend or this weekend next year, heh.
1895682
Haha, I'd really like to see what Cog's reactions will be like to all the crazy stuff that's happened in the magical land of ponies between now and the end of season two. So much has changed, and junk I NEVER thought would happen... happened!
Cog will probably not take any of this well.
I can easily imagine her, at Twilight's princess ceremony, freaking the buck out. "Oh God, w-what have I done?! WHAT HAVE I DONE?!"
1895962
I'm not that talkative, but believe me when I say that I missed you too 
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You guys are the best fans I have ever had the pleasure to (sometimes) write for. Stay awesome
1895445
Heh, I'll try
The old story will be uploaded to google docs (and maybe fanfic) once I begin the reboot, and a link will be provided in the description, so no rush
1895854
Dang it all... why does that little Pink pony's words always speak to me the loudest
Stay awesome
1896214
1895854 That was fantastic, I thought you should know.
1897318 Mostly because I see everything through pony-colored glasses.
1897284
“No….NO! I can take a lot of things universe! I can take the species flip! I can take the freaking GENDER flip! I’ll even let the month with those two flankholes slide, BUT YOU DID NOT JUST MAKE TWILIGHT AN ALICORN!!!” cue frothing rage...
Just remember everything between the start of season 1 and the end of season 3 took place within a year.
1897911 It's more like frothing incomprehension. ...I just realized that my frothing episodes have gone up exponentially since I came onto this site....
1897911
It did? I thought it must have took longer than that. Just for the simplicity, I generally allotted each season a year's worth of time.
No one likes hiatus. But at least you told us about it and why it's happening, and that's more than a lot of other writers on this site bother to do. So if nothing else I'm grateful for the heads up, and will continue to wait patiently. We have plenty of words around here to occupy us in the meantime.
And if you're having trouble studying, I'm sure Twilight wouldn't mind having a study partner.
s3.amazonaws.com/bronibooru/c47a7e58097f915f67ba122d0677481c.jpg
Good luck with life partner.
1898064
First episode of season 4, Is the first Sun Celebration after Luna was free
1898397 Was it the first one? I always considered it just the first one that Luna was helping out in, and that until then, she's been taking it easy, getting acquainted with the new Millenia, after all, A LOT can change in 1000 years, politics, social norms, language it self (look at Old English, its nothing like what we speak no a days).
1898924
There are hints in the episode and there's no other mentions of annual events happening more than once throughout season 1-3. But it was a word of god season 4 summery that sold me; I’m just trying to remember where I read it.
1898924
I do know the time between episode 1 and lesson zero is about 26 weeks - because
freaked out about how she Supposed to send a letter every single week'
1899071 If we have seen every lesson she learned. For someone who knew very little at first, they could have omitted some "No duh" stuff.
Not really sure how to respond to this. I will say that even if the story is never finished, as it is, it is still one of the greatest stories I've seen.
I definitely support you getting your life sorted out first, before looking at this again.
If and when you continue or remake it, please avoid tearing it down, like some other authors do, both so people can still read the old one, and just in case something goes wrong anyhow.
As for the new season stuff, well, I don't really have up-to-date information. I haven't actually finished season 3. I have spoiled a ton of stuff for myself however, so yea...
Anyhow, I do agree the whole Twilight Ascension might be hilarious. I am pretty sure Cogwell doesn't know about Changelings, so is unlikely to be at the end of season 2. Hence, not only will anything there and forward be unexpected, he/she will still have the impression of Alicorns as gods or god-like entities. Which, also, is supported in this universe. Twilight ascending, however, doesn't really seem to fit into that worldview.
Anyhow, Good luck!
1898255
Oh gods do I want that Twilight doll so badly
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1899109
The timeline is going to be the hardest thing to fix in this rewrite. I view all the episodes as being in "chronological" order, that much will still be true, but that first episode of season 4 really threw one heck of a dozy into my mental timeline. If all of what's happened so far happened within a single year... Cogwill's going to have one hack of a bumpy year
Even harder is going to be the placement of when the Flim Flam brothers head to ponyville. Originally, in the story... they were supposed to make it there the first day of spring, after laying low the entirety of winter. Going to have to rethink that now... along with most of the fic!
Hopefully I'll have it sorted by next year
1899496
Thank you for your support. Means a lot to me
Don't worry; I'll be sure to post up the current state of the fic into either a google doc, on fanfic.com, or somewhere else entirely and have a link to it present in the story's description page. It'll be up there not only of the readers' sake but mine as well. You can't move forward unless you look back every now and then
On the subject of changelings... Cog actually has some experience with changelings, from chapter three, where she killed one named Legion. She was a brony during the great season two/three episode drought, so she's at least seen the wedding. The comics are unknown to her though... and the rewrite is going to see her interacting with the species as a whole a little bit more early on
About the god-like beings thing though... well I still want my headcanon of there being many alicorn-ish beings out there in their world to be true, but I also want things to better match the show... well hopefully I'll figure something out before season five