Freaking loved it. I'd gladly wait another year just to get some more of your works. Good to know you're doing alright outside of your writing. Thanks for one of the best fics I've read on this site. Take care and I hope to read more from you.

do you mind if i try to make a fanfic of this fanfic?

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Brütal Legend, and classic metal in general, were a good influence on this story, yup.

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Hope you enjoyed the conclusion too. There might be a bit more to come, but no promises. Time is tight for me right now.

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Wanting to get the ending right was a big part of why it took me so long to return to this story. I wound up splitting it into three parts and making sure each one focused on resolving its specific component of the story as a whole. I'm glad readers are enjoying it, that makes all the effort worthwhile! Even though the viewership for the final chapter is a bit lower than I'd hoped, it's good to finally have this conclusion posted.

I think you already have, but do take a gander at some of my other stories. Every story I've ever posted is now tagged as "complete", so there's no cliffhangers lurking about!

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I hope you're enjoying the rest of the tale as well. Hellsing Abridged served as the catalyst, but it's expanded greatly from that core thanks to reader support and my own imaginative additions.

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Go for it. I outlined my thoughts on that here, just for the record: https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/560597/happy-trails-and-a-note-on-fanfiction-about-fanfiction

Based on your user-page, you sound like you have a lot of ideas but struggle to get them down on paper. I can sympathize. I've always struggled with that. Here's what works for me. Use a minimalist writing tool, like Q10 or WriteMonkey. Microsoft Word is full of too many distractions. Just focus on getting down core concepts in the first draft, mark each line with a // or a + to signify that it's just an idea that needs to be expanded on, and keep writing. Sometimes it all comes together in a perfect flow, other times you need to put down a placeholder note and keep going. Either way, get everything in your head onto the page. Once you're done with the first draft, get away from the computer and get some air. Only come back when you're ready to edit it. "All writing is editing," as the saying goes, but once you have that first draft "scaffold" built, you'll be on the right track. Edit, chop, cut and add where needed. It's not easy, but it's possible. I'm living proof of that.

Bon Hadescream started out with just Darkness Dawning, a short story based on the opener for Hellsing Abridged. I expanded on that short snippet to create this big ol' story. Try that approach if you're having trouble putting your world into words. Don't aim to write something big, let that happen naturally. Focus on just delivering a short story, maybe two thousand words. Anything over that is bonus, and might even need to be trimmed. Once you have the short story, you can build on that. This approach has worked for me on many occasions, not just here on FiMfiction. I hope it helps you too.

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Mmm-hmm.

6622938 Are sea-ponies and changelings 'Touched by Discord' or are they 'normal' like ponies?

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Glad you're enjoying the 40k themes so far! Since you're posting in Volière, I'm going to assume you're asking if I see Equestria's gryphons as analogous to 40k's Orkz. Brutish, happy-go-lucky war-hungry monsters that are always either getting in a fight or going to a fight. While I enjoy the concept of the Orkz and think they add a much-needed dash of humor to the 40k universe along with providing a solid enemy whenever one is needed, I don't feel they are analogous to gryphons in Bon Hadescream. I try to stick as close as I can to established FiM lore while still adding in creatures of the night and secret societies. However, there are times when the advancement of The Show and other official lore obliterates things I've previously written in the story. In those cases I follow through on the track I began for the sake of internal consistency.

With that said, the gryphons did not have a tremendous amount of 40k inspiration. Instead, I wanted them to serve as an example of how Equestria waged "visible war" against an external threat, rather than "shadow war" as secret societies do. The gryphons suffered a devastating defeat, lost their pride as warriors and as a nation, and still pose no credible threat to Equestria. However, they were allowed to live. Why? Well, I don't see Celestia as the type to genocide another race unless it's the only sure way to keep them from threatening Equestria. Far better to let them live on life support across the ocean, as an example to the rest of the world.

I tried to sum up my perspective on gryphons with this statement: "Noble warriors who bet against the wrong horse." I also feel that the backstory adds a bit of contrast to Vinyl and Octavia's own struggles to "do good". Gryphons have historically caused trouble for Equestria, just like Vampires, but Rollins is a loyal member of The Organization just as Vinyl is (most of the time) a loyal Asset. One of the core "themes" of Bon Hadescream, inasmuch as it has any at all, is the idea that one is limited only by one's own will rather than one's ancestors or physical form. I wanted to reflect that theme in the gryphons' history.

Of course, if you're asking about gryphon-tech working like 40k ork-tek, in that it shouldn't-but-somehow-does, well that's a shiny perspective! I'm going to lean toward "yes" on that, especially with things like Rollins' Stun Gun. Given that it was inspired by Commander Keen's Stun Gun and is actually a nod to my other story Love is its Own Reward, along with the fact that good ol' Commander Keen had a "Bean-with-Bacon Megarocket" made out of "old soup cans, rubber cement and plastic tubing", I think it would be safe to say that gryphon innovations have some scary parallels with the things that come out of mekboyz' shops. Also, given how ramshackle modern gryphon society actually is according to recent episodes of The Show and the comic series, that sort of technology would actually make a lot of sense. (I'm quietly proud that some of the stuff I wrote long ago is still holding up pretty well against recently revealed lore. That's part of the reason I try to do lore-research and integrate even obscure tidbits into my writing.)

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I try to stick as close as I can to official lore for established pony-types and enemies, slipping in notes of eldrich horror where possible. The origin of Changelings has been detailed in the comic series I think, and unless it's absolute rubbish I recommend going with that. I personally would not make them derivatives of Discord, since a good writing technique is to have multiple distinct sources of foes. Look at 40k, they have the Tyranids creeping in from outside of the galaxy, the Orkz causing mayhem everywhere, the Dark Eldar raiding from out of the webway, Chaos from the Eye of Terror and Daemon Worlds... and the list goes on!

As for mermares and sea ponies, I think they would be considered "standard ponies" just like the pegasi, earth, and unicorn ponies, especially given their depiction in the comic series. Perhaps Celestia and Luna had plans to integrate them beneath the banner of Equestria, but then Luna turned into Nightmare Moon and everything went pear-shaped, so the aquatic ponies have largely been left to their own little empires for the past thousand years? There's lots of great worldbuilding potential there, but remember to stay focused on publishing a short story rather than constructing a beautiful backdrop!

Remember those Plunderseeds that Discord planted in S04E01/02. Anything "touched by Discord" should be similar, something intended to sow mayhem. It may or may not end up sowing mayhem, consider the way that Celestia has sort of co-opted vampires into relying on stable order to ensure their own survival, but that must always be the intention of Discord at the time of production. That's my rule of thumb. Or, of course, they could have been "touched" just for the laughs. This is Discord we're talking about, but there is usually a method to his madness!

I hope this helps. If you're in doubt about a story concept, mix up a playlist of Pantara, Judas Priest, Rob Zombie, Motorhead, and a bit of Iron Maiden, then start reading up on official lore or watching episodes of The Show with subtitles on. You'll figure out something pretty good in short order... or go deaf from a heavy-metal overdose.

6662390 here is what the wiki says.

the changelings were born from a carnivorous plant that grew from a rotten acorn that fell into a magic pond under a cemetery. They were inadvertently released by Star Swirl the Bearded, who nailed a warning sign to the plant to keep others away, only to create a crack from which the changelings emerged. At the end of the issue, the changelings escape from imprisonment together with Chrysalis.

not sure if you would keep their origin but i think it is shallow

Edit: I'll write them as if their pony sub-races.

Bloody hell....
This fic has way too few likes compared to how great it is....

Need to try and fix that i suppose

This was a fun read but for me the whole Aquarium arc was way too long and nearly bored me enough to stop reading. It does not detract from this awesome piece of writing and is only my view, I just felt it was way too much filler and did very little to advance the plot.