Interlude 4 Up! (Feb 14th) · 8:05pm Feb 14th, 2021
So, happy Valentine's Day everyone! I bring you a completely unrelated to Valentine's Day update! It's funny actually--so many pieces of this story could have some vague relevance to this holiday, what with all the whirlwind romance, so of course the update that actually happens on it has nothing to do with any of the romance. 
I haven't done a new Background Series piece in a while, so it's slightly overdue, but there's a reason for that. Just about everything I would've had to say there, I've stated already in other blog posts, when it comes to Chapter Four. That said, feel free to ask if there's anything I didn't mention you're curious about, and I'll try to answer for you.
When it comes to this particular Interlude, I have two things to say.
1. Twilight is not someone I would normally consider prone to suicidal ideation. At all. The fact that she answers yes to Starswirl's question tells you just how far Monoponi has pushed her. As Shining notates in the story... despite all her leadership experience, her adventures, and so on, when it comes to outright death, she's still just as innocent as she was the day she stepped foot in Ponyville for the first time. Thus, having someone rub such death in her face, constantly, is driving her insane.
2. The thing she refers to is not something we've seen in the show before. It's intended to be a surprise, though I will not be very surprised if many of you figure out what it is by the time it debuts.
Speaking of Chapter Six, I am this close to finishing, everyone. I literally just have the ending to the Chapter itself and then the final Epilogue to write. That's it. I'm almost done. And it's... an incredible feeling. I may or may not have said this before--I forget--but while I've written many things in the past, every time I've embarked on a long story like this before this one, I never finished it. Never even came close. So if for no other reason than it's an accomplishment for me, I'm glad I've written this story. And I'm so glad so many of you have enjoyed it as much as you have. I know it's been a bit heartbreaking at times, something unavoidable considering the themes, and I appreciate that you've stayed with me throughout it. Thank you. 
What are you going to do once you've finished with the whole story? What's your next project?
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Still not sure yet. Working on figuring that out.
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But I am strongly considering doing Cruise Mode. Probably not right after finishing this story, but as something to work on down the line. I'm still trying to figure out how I want it to go, and whether or not I want some audience participation involved. And, of course, any ships seen in the main story will not appear in it--to avoid being repetitive--meaning I'll have to be inventive. And it may or may not feature alternate endings.
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That's alright. I'm sure some people will be okay with the idea of Cruise Mode. It could be like, something to create fresh ideas for characterizations, interactions, and other stuff. Whatever you write, I'm sure that'll be something worth reading about!
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Hehehe, thank you, I appreciate that. I'm going to have to make a decision soon, seeing as how just a few minute ago or so I finished the story. I literally finished it. It'll still need tweaks of course, since nothing's perfect the first time it's written. (And, well, I do occasionally adjust things due to reader input, because there's always some detail I overlooked.