9665221
Good news. ;)

Sweet merciful jesus it lives

I know what I'm doing tonight

Sorry, everyone. Things got crazy for a while. I have some new chapters planned, and hopefully I'll get them out. This chapter was hard for me to do, but I have a clearer picture of the next one, involving Fluttershy.

9819305
Oh my god I'm so glad to see this story revived

Nice to see this update! Can't wait to see more though... anyway, ñice chapter!

A new update, awesome! Can't wait to read the new chapter, I always really liked this story!

Whoa hey, welcome back. I look for ward to reading the new chapter. :3

And read. Alright! now we're moving on. Interesting. Would've loved to have more detail on my favorite pony (AJ) and you hit a clockwork/modular pony, so definitely a plus.

9820757
None of the ponies are done - Twilight came back during this one, and there's going to be ongoing work there. The AJ part was awkward for me. I ended up just needing to wrap it up, or else I never would have gotten it out there. There will be more in the future. :D

A lot of story comes out in this one.

First, there is no actual death of personality. There is just some suppression.

Applejack comes back to her senses as soon as the voices leave her collar.

Rarity even realizes, at first, that this is her friend, and says it will just be temporary. But as she's using that "tool" longer, she loses sight of it as anything other than a tool, forgetting that it's a friend, and eventually the magic drains into the active collar.

It eventually drained. It wasn't right away. So there's a limit on the collar's draining ability.

Applejack resisted. “No, she’s... she’s my friend! I already have a breeding cow in Twilight! I don’t need another one!”

So even when it has "taken over" someone, that isn't absolute control. AJ couldn't tell it to leave, but could tell it "no".

So it seems that the "spark transfer" corresponds to the personality suppression. It didn't happen with Spike, who is going to be the hero that saves the day. It happened with Twilight, Big Mac, and Applejack, and all of them are now something else.

But it definitely looks like all that data, personality, power, is still there, and if someone could get control over that voice, could put it back. After all, as long as those collars on the changed ponies stay there, they are "fine" and recoverable, right?

I mean, even with her insides hollow and made of gears, in parts and mechanical, separated, etc, Applejack is still "alive" in some sense.

Now, two questions:

1. How does a pony look at the collar on their neck, given how their heads are shaped?
2. AJ touched her collar with her hoof, and made a new one in her hand hoof. Not made a new one on Rarity's neck, but in her hoof. That's a pretty significant new ability.
3. AJ put the new collar on, and it was a "boss collar", not a "slave collar". So if the rules are consistent, then what we've seen so far is that if someone with a boss collar put a collar on your neck, that's a slave collar unless/until the voice goes to it. But, if you make an independent collar, then if someone puts that on, your collar becomes inactive unless/until someone with a collar gives you an order.

This has a really nasty implication. Elsewhere there is another collared group, that made a backup/standby collar, and hid that. Twilight found that backup collar, and activated it. Which would imply that there is some other group that has worked with this thing, and there's someone from that group that knows what the collar does, and up until a few days ago was using the collar power -- and now is free of it, and can possibly interact with this group of collared ponies.

Hmm ... Another thought. If your collar goes from "boss" to "inactive", since it's crystal, you could probably shatter it. The boss collar only let you control someone with a collar on; so if you destroyed the collar on your neck once the voice leaves, the new boss/voice collar would have to put a new one on your first.

And, for someone like Rainbow Dash, getting that touch would be kinda difficult. RD isn't a jewelry person, she isn't going to voluntarily put it on, and if she has any suspicion then you'll never manage to lay a hoof on her neck.

And, with her loyalty, she *should* be immune to these voices.

9819305
If we give you more food pellets, will we see an update?

9909497
I sure hope so! Stuff has been crazy lately, but it won't be another 2 years until the next one. :)

9911767
I'm glad to hear that.

hope this continues this is getting good! that collar is like the one ring, I wonder who will get it next?

I love it and i hope for more parts

Is this thing died again?

10381066
What? I said it wouldn’t be two years. At least, that’s not my intention, but the whole first part of this year has been challenging. Sorry to hear you’re upset, but my life comes first.

10381066
Grow the fuck up. 2020's been a bitch to everyone. And seriously?! Out of all the petty, ragey stupid, childish things you could legitimately whine about, you're complaining about a FanFiction Author?!

If you're not over 18, then seriously. SERIOUSLY. Consider additional classes. If you are over 18, literally. Buy your own fcking porn if you can't wait you lowlife scum.

I wonder what Fluttershy would do under the collar's influence. Animal transformation is getting old, Twi and AJ already did it (also, missed opportunity of Raricow!) She's a real mystery here, others – not quite.

Pinkie is pretty obvious, something party-themed, maybe throw a transformative party, or make a party sex toy out of her collared friend.

RD? May just make the previous wearer their admirer and sex slave, without much tf. Or transform them into additional wings to become faster.

I also hope there will be a happy ending, with defeated Collar and restored ponies. Otherwise it would be too depressing.

9911767
👀

10950106
And what about this year?

11108075
Hopefully. I haven't forgotten about the story. I've had a lot of sickness in the last year so hopefully this will be a better year.

11109392
Wish you health!

Despite everything, I am still here.

11290880
Me too. Still hope.

And I STILL haven't forgotten about this.