Somebody pm'd me to ask me how this was going to end and I realized I did in fact have it in me to post this. Sure wish I'd managed it six years ago! Things in parentheses are the bits that'd take too much time to handle in this format.

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https://www.fimfiction.net/story/392308/a-new-sun-rewrite

I'm posting any ANS material I get. Here's one! A New Sun Rewrite, by Pinklestia.

I'm busy with school, my hands hurt, and it turns out my dog has pancreatic cancer. So these are going to get shorter, but they have to happen because, I don't know, they just do.

The following is either one or two chapters.

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Meanwhile, Playboy puts out a special rush issue with Celestia on the cover and consisting mostly of the interview (they found time for that one photograph, never mind how). It turns out that Bob, the interviewer, didn't edit out a damn thing except where Celestia requested the removal herself. Celestia's power and personality are both a matter of public record now. Jeff compliments Bob's testicular fortitude in ignoring all censorship demands in the name of honest journalism, but Bob

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And then Celestia gets an idea. The elements of harmony worked once, so why not again? The elements can do anything. If anything can turn Inca into a peaceful and orderly society, it's the elements. She's had this on her mind for a while, and she's been grooming people she thinks highly of for this purpose, people such as Mag, Bittermann, Valerie (as a fixer-upper, admittedly), and a few other possible candidates.

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You saw the other one? I've been uneasy about my treatment of this made-up South American culture. I worried it was a little irresponsible. the author's notes at the end would have been a lengthy discourse of what I know of Incan culture irl, and what it's turned into in the modern day and how they're doing. I'd have briefly covered the natives of Bolivia and Chile, and made it clear that there are huge differences between the real South American natives and the stuff in fiction. Sorry, people,

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First of all, here's what I had of chapter 27.

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Celestia had left after announcing an intention to draw up a bubble bath, and Jeff had hurried off to learn more about the Nightmare’s host. Mag and Bittermann sat together in the rec room, Mag with all of the CIA files, textbooks, and encyclopedias Jeff had been able to find and leave with her on short notice, Bittermann with Jeff’s handgun disassembled in front of her for cleaning. The room still smelled like spilt vodka.

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This sucks shit, but I've got to cancel A New Sun. It's just not going to happen. I don't have the time, and I can't bring myself to deal with this fic's inherent, snowballing flaws anymore. I can gush about what I intended for anyone who wants that, about future plans and so on.

if I ever find the time I might come out with a one-shot or two. I still love writing, and this site isn't dead yet for some reason.

On one hand, I don't know how much time I'll have because I need a new job and I've sworn to get one within the month, no matter what it is -- I've had to quit my last one because that's what destroyed my hands in the first place, you see. I've also got a commission I accepted on a whim that I'll need to decide what to do with once and for all by this weekend (btw, to be clear, in spite of what I just said I AM NOT ACCEPTING COMMISSIONS RIGHT NOW).

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More important: convo 25 got sent to the editor. So far he likes it better than the previous version, mainly because things actually happen. Don't know how long it'll be before any of you actually sees it, but it's coming.

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Let's do a focus group. Can some of you describe her character for me? I need to make sure I'm communicating what I want to communicate. Likes and dislikes? Attitude toward anyone except Mag? Values, principles, politics, height, eye color, full name, history, interests, hobbies...

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Bad news: this is going to take another few weeks to a month to fix. Arcanist Ascendant, your savior, pointed out a basic, crippling problem with this upcoming chapter, and then I noticed a couple more after taking a step back. I have to scrap most of this sucker.

I'm pretty sure the holidays, winter break, and my new job all came together to throw me off, or something. I don't know. What I'm saying is that I blame society.

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Luna - There is a popular book of ribald songs, anonymously written, called "All my Exes have Antlers." The title is taken from the refrain of the first song, in which the singer describes all of her ex-boyfriends' antlers in suspicious terms. The book's real author is a state secret.

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Man... two weeks? I don't know. I took a week off from work and my hands don't feel much better, so I've been leery of doing the chapter. Then there's the fact that Arcanist Ascendant decided it's time to take a hard look at the earlier chapters and fix them up to our current standards. I read through them for the first time in like eight months and, yeah, he's right. Those look pretty patchy to me now, and AA is noticing things I didn't, as well. This means we'll be splitting our attention a

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First of all, is there any official definition for what the Dark tag represents? When do I need to change? And what exactly does a "teen" rating mean, as opposed to mature? I'll change the tag to Dark if/when I have to, but I'll do everything in my power to avoid the mature rating.

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http://www.equestriadaily.com/2015/12/story-new-sun.html

Email from EQD:

I'm happy to approve your story for posting on Equestria daily. you've captivated several of us pre-readers and we eagerly await the next update.

Quote from the post itself:

A truly exceptional story, this one will hook you and not let go. It is proof of witty banter's status as an art form

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Draft of convo 24 sent to editor. No idea how long it'll take to finalize and publish.

Still not used to work. I should be working right now, actually, but my deadline is in nine hours and, well, fuck it, basically.

e: God damn, AA is absolutely booking it. He finished his first pass already.

Because why not? I'm leaving out parts of this passage and it's subject to change, but posting it feels like it could be a fun experiment. And for anyone wondering why my chapters need a week of editing, here is a part of the answer.

"Humanity, this is Princess Celestia. I’ve implied certain promises to my current host, the American government, so there are many things I plan to say to you that I won’t say here and now.

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A couple weeks ago Arcanist Ascendant, Anti-Pope, Vicarius Judi Iscariotae and editor of A New Sun, mentioned listening to story or character-appropriate music while writing. I can't listen to music and write at the same time, but coming up with character music sounds interesting.

CELESTIA
"Crucifixus," by J. S. Bach
"Outer Scorpion Squadron," by The Mountain Goats

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The current goal is Monday the 13th at between noon and 3:00 PM EST. Editor and I are currently dickering over the pacing and working out how to properly set things up for chapters 21 and 22.

"But Ragnar, why is it taking so long for you to get these chapters out, when you used to have one a week?"
1. Burnout. I had to take a break.
2. Rethinking things. I've been unhappy with the way certain story elements were going, and I needed to take a step back and consider what I'm trying to do.

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