Hey there! I'm back! Chapter should be coming out in but a few hours!

But before that, I wanted a chance to talk with you all. My first chapter-but-not-really-a-chapter! Isn't that exciting?

So, Horse Magic went on hiatus. It almost got stuck on hiatus hell like so many other works, even one of my own previous ones. But, it managed to crawl back out, the horse's legs didn't give up, until it was able to kick open the gates of hell itself!

And I was only able to do it because of you.

That's right motherfucker. Ready your puke buckets, because let me tell you all about the Power of Friendship!

You see, I was in hiatus right? I didn't have the motivation to keep working on this series, honestly. There were flaws to my approach that really bothered me, and recent events just didn't excite me. I lost that spark, my muse left me, and didn't even go to someone else. (I actually have no idea wtf that saying is, and I don't care enough to google it. But logic dictates that if a muse leaves, then she should go elsewhere no? But nooo, mine just stayed there, watching me. Judging. Judging. Judging.)

ANYWAY!

It's quite common I've found, for authors to get into a rut after a fair number of chapters like mine. Last time it happened to me, I just allowed that fiction to die. For good reason, probably, but still.

What was different this time was the... I wouldn't dare call it constant, but there was feedback coming in, people engaging with the story, and taking the time to write a few words about it. Each one made me feel like an ass for leaving it. I know how much I get disappointed when something I love goes on hiatus, much as I totally get it and understand, that it can be really hard sometimes. But I still get disappointed. I can control how I react to my emotions, but I cannot truly control how I feel. Which is to say, don't harass authors please. They probably already feel like shit. You're in trouble if you need to get moral advice from me, a horse.

Regardless, I ended up thinking, to myself, if that was how I was making people feel. If they were disappointed, just like I would be in their shoes. And I get that it's not the most positive thing, but I wish to tell the truth. That that's what pulled me back ever closer to picking this series up again, continuing the story. That constant need to not be a piece of shit. At least, not in the ways I actually care about. Because I am indeed a piece of shit sometimes. Occasionally. Often? But definitely not always!

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

(Reminder to not take the wrong message from this and purposely try to make authors feel like shit.)

None of this of course is to say that I begrudge the feedback I receive. They're great, and they do make me happy. They just don't make it easy to let go, like love or some other horseshit. That's why I'm grasping for my return. The feedback that finally got me to break and return was a review from scribblehub, by a user named Mojoyscourge. Thank you. It made me feel very happy to hear that, specially since as I mentioned earlier, part of my hiatus are the flaws in my writing I noticed, or at least they were stuff that I didn't quite like.

The thing I'm talking about is how it dragged on. I felt like the story wasn't progressing. I was just going through the motions. It didn't excite me. It all seemed pointless.

The pacing was too slow for my liking.

That's why I am making some changes, which may not be preferable to some, but I wanted to write more concisely. I don't wanna explain literally everything, I don't want to needlessly drag things out. It started to feel really repetitive for me, and I'll try to end that feeling, if I can.

Next chapter, you'll notice a much lower word count too. That's what I'm most worried would disappoint most people, but give it a chance maybe? I legitimately wrote that entire thing without checking, only finding out once I pasted the script onto Royal Road. I wrote in a way that I think still left room for banter, but didn't take up all the space in the story. I tried to bring the world to life, without going brick by brick, describing every building or structure. By this point, I think readers already have the image of an apocalyptic urban hellscape in mind. That probably bored me just as much as it did you.

So all in all. I would like to thank you all again for taking part in my resurrection. I will make sure to spare you and yours once I take over the earth and all that lies beyond. I'm looking forward to it!