I'M NOT DEAD! (One-year Anniversary post/Sneak Peak) · 4:39pm Jul 7th, 2014
"IT'S ALIVE!" -Dr. Frankenstein
Yes! I am still here and kicking! No need to worry. And of course I am still working on Chapter 24 of Past, Present, and Future, slowly but surely... very slowly but surely. Don't get your undergarments in a twist. I am here to just give you guys a quick update on my status, as well as the status of my story. For those who aren't aware, this Saturday (July 12th) will mark the one-year anniversary of PP&F!
*insert cheering here* 
Granted, about 1/2 of that year was almost entirely updateless... So sorry about that, guys.
I could make up some half-baked excuses, but in reality, it was really just a lack of motivation, mostly brought on by minor depression. Life has really caught up to me and given me the largest kick in the flank I have ever gotten.
BUT! I am currently working to fix that! I'm hopefully gonna get things under control and find the motivation to write again. The latest chapter is completely planned out and I have ~6,500 words written, which is only about half of the whole chapter! That means a big one is coming your way. For those of you wondering about this little slightly confusing arc the story has taken, it probably won't last more than a couple more chapters, so yeah... The benefit of this arc is that it allows me to fill in some of the blanks left in previous chapters about the past, as well as build up to the exciting Finale! That's right! We are actually approaching the end of PP&F.
*insert awws here*
Yep, I estimate the story to finish around the 30 chapter mark, give or take. (Probably give, but you never know) That's why I tried to say it would be finished around summertime back in January/February. I honestly thought I'd have more work done at this point. This doesn't mean that this is the end of Zack Hutchens! I do, in fact, have a sequel planned, a bit of a Slice of Life story following Zack through some of the events of MLP:FiM Season 3. Possibly even Season 4 if I feel entirely up to by then.
Now, I cannot promise that this chapter will be ready by this Saturday for the anniversary, but I will try my darnedest.
Before I get to the Sneak Peak of the newest chapter, I want to announce that I will also be making a few Profile changes soon (i.e. username change, new profile pic, etc.) No date yet, just whenever I can sketch up the desired pictures and such. My reasoning for these changes will be revealed eventually, but for now, just know that they're gonna happen.
In the meantime, here's a little snippet from the next chapter. It's not much in terms of content, but it's something:
The waiting room was unbelievably boring! I reclined in my hard chair as best as I could to get comfortable, but every effort seemed futile. Not to mention the irritating high-pitched squeal it released every time I shifted even slightly.
With as much traffic as this place sees on a regular basis, you’d think they could at least make the waiting area a bit more, you know, tolerable. I’m sure many a pony have been forced to sit here and do nothing for much longer periods than I have, the poor souls, so would it kill somepony for a new chair or two? Maybe even a throw rug? Even that would be better to sit on than these bricks they call chairs.
The drab room I found myself in was at the Canterlot courthouse. Not my first time here, with the occasional arrest or testimony I had taken part in over the last year, but the first time I had been subjected to waiting over an hour outside an office as my friend’s lawyer and his buddy discussed the possible case we had with the judge inside. The room was fairly small, with a single window and only two doors, one leading out, and one echoing with the faint sounds of debate on the opposite wall. There were two rows of five very hard plastic chairs against one wall with nothing on it besides an ugly landscape painting.
Near the opposite wall with the window and a couple potted plants was a small desk holding various papers and a typewriter on top as well as a lovely receptionist sitting behind it. She had a short, messy red mane and was magically filing her creme-colored hooves with such disinterest in her surroundings that I just wouldn't be me if I didn't try to rouse some sort of reaction out of her.
Things started pretty simply with the squeaky chair. I could have just as easily moved to a different chair and then try to get comfortable, but I could use this to play an innocence card. ‘Oh, I was just trying to get comfy, miss.’ Unfortunately, for the whole fifteen minutes I sat there, she barely did anything more than cast a glance in my direction. Oh, you wanna play hardball, huh?
Luckily I came prepared for boredom emergencies! Shuffling through my saddlebags a bit, I managed to dig out a paddle with a ball tied to it. I smirked to myself as I raised it in my cyan aura and began paddling. The mare initially looked up to see what I was doing, but went back to her hooves without a second thought. Just give it some time. She’ll crack.
Twenty minutes passed and I found myself lying across three chairs, still not comfortable by the way, bouncing the ball into the air at a wavering pace. A glance in the receptionist’s direction still showed no change as she blew a bubble. When the hay did she even start chewing gum? In a huff, I missed the ball and let the whole thing hang limp near the floor for a few moments before packing it away.
Now the room was completely silent again, sans the ongoing debate next door and the smacking of chewing gum. I sat back up in my chair, it squeaking as I did so, and considered what my next step would be. Normally by the five-minute mark, I’d at least have gotten a scowl in my direction, but this mare was almost radiating patience. I briefly considered giving up before mentally bucking myself. I ain’t no quitter! I’ve faced down Discord, corrupt ponies, a manticore, and even Luna on a bad hair day. To Tartarus if some office assistant’s gonna beat me!
So I started whistling. Dreadfully. Don’t get me wrong, I can carry a note when I need to, like during that weird surprise musical number last December, but the only thing worse than some unwanted whistling, is some unwanted tone-deaf whistling. Currently, Equestria was lacking in terms of music, not only because the kingdom was still fairly new, but also because vinyls and record players were still a slightly newer invention here, so not many popular albums have started circulating yet. Fortunately my most recent visit to the Hay Noir included an appearance of the ‘rising star’, as I heard some ponies put it, Sequin Shores. Three guesses on who their descendent in the show is.
Anyways, in my half-attempted howl of a whistle, I vaguely started the melody of her song ‘Call it a Good Night’. I’m not really one of the musically inclined, but even I had to admit that that mare had some talent in songwriting. I continued my noise-making until I reached the bridge and paused. Taking a deep breath, I was just about to whistle as loud as I could for the high note, when another high pitched sound rang through the room. The mare in front of me, still looking at her hooves, seriously, who spends nearly an hour on one hoof like that?, continued whistling where I left off, just as shrill as I had been whistling, and suddenly missing her chewing gum.
I figured she would know the song, but that she would be mad that I was botching it up so badly if anything. I didn’t expect her to join in, just as off-key as I was. I crossed my forelegs and huffed in defeat. I knew I wouldn’t be able to get to her in time for me to leave. As she reentered the chorus, I decided to join back in. It was a pretty good song, after all.
I couldn’t help but notice the miniscule trace of a smirk touching her lips as she continued the ear-splitting duet with me. Oh, she’s good.
Oh! And I just remembered after bringing up Season 4 earlier, so far, my story is still entirely canon to the newest episodes (I really do need to finish watching the last few episodes of Season 4, just to see that awesome finale, if anything). It's only by complete dumb luck that my story's history and my plans for the founding of the elements meshes so well with what happened in the premier episodes. Of course I have to rearrange a couple of minor details in my planning, but it still works well, so expect that sometime whenever I finally get back to In A Past Life.
You should consider reading the new 'Journal of the Two Sisters', which has been marked as the official canon. It only covers the period between Hearth's Warming and Celestia and Luna getting their cutie marks and being crowned. The various crisis of Discord, Sombra, etc., do not appear. Though that does raise the question of why Discord 'appeared' in the first place. If you're like me and want to keep as close to canon as possible, I suggest you give it a look. There's a few entries about the Crystal Empire and the Griffons as well.
2264676
Hmm, I'll strongly consider it. Just looking up some minor details about it, it seems promising enough. And I could even use some of the details in my inevitable rewrite in the future, things ranging from having alicorn and unicorn magic on fundamentally different levels, to silly things like Luna's ability to speak Manticore.
)
(Haha, cracks me up just thinking about it
I might get the eBook sometime, just to have a looksee. ~5 bucks isn't a very bad deal.
Thanks for pointing it out!
Although, I probably won't take it to headcanon if the history to too vastly different from what I've got. *shrug* Eh.