Working on my first fan-fic

So I bit the proverbial bullet and have actually started writing my first fan-fic. Well, my first one set in My Little Pony, at any rate. (I'm pretty sure I've written others set elsewhere in the Multiverse, but for the life of me I can't recall which ones.) It's sort of a cross-over in that it's about a grifball (the latest professional sport in Equestria) team somewhat based on my actual NGA/GGL/AGLA grifball team (and what counts as locker room dialogue in our Facebook chat).

Anyway, I'm slogging through coming up with character sheets and designs for a bunch of OCs since main cast won't necessarily be seen at all. There are references to some of them already (Twilicorn) and I came up with a way to have everypony's favorite griffon pop up. Likewise, I'm going to have nods of the head to other authors' OCs with the understanding that I'm making no claim to be in anypony's canon besides my own.

Setting-wise, it's after Twilight's coronation but not necessarily that long after since the Equestria Games haven't occurred yet and in some to-be-determined city. Part of me says I could set it in Canterlot (but I wanted to save that location for later) or Manehattan (I'm a Chicagoan, so there's an inherent dislike for things related to New York City). It's definitely not in Ponyville (the population is too low to support the basic premise of a professional sport's presence).

As for grifball, I've come up with ponyfied rules and game mechanics since I'm taking the position of it being a live-action sport (similar to the Rooster Teeth/Halo Waypoint "Team Slipspace" miniserieses). Luckily, there's magic in Equestria and my head canon says that enchanted armor is commonplace, so it's easy enough to get things like respawning to work without littering the court with dead ponies. Starting off, it's not a perfect system: Hammer Shield is injured from a recent game as of the first paragraph of the story.

The origin story for grifball, if people can guess, is that it's a revised griffon game. (A fitting, but possibly overused Grif-is-spelled-with-one-eff reference, I suppose, but I only realized that Shining Armor's name was a reference to "a knight in shining armor" a fortnight ago, so forgive me for not being terribly quick with pony puns.)

The one thing I'm struggling with is who goes to professional sports in Equestria? Or, more appropriately, who'd go to a professional pseudo-bloodsport in Equestria? The nobility goes to derbies as in "Sweet and Elite." There's clearly hoofball and the Equestria Games which would seem to get the masses for attendance. Tribe-specific events, like The Best Young Flyers Competition, are popular enough it seems. There are some ponies I am clearly writing off as not going to attend a match for anything but royal business: Cadance (too violent), Fluttershy (too violent), Celestia (too violent), Zecora (not a sports fan). The rest of the Mane 6 I could see as going: Twilight for the experience, Rainbow Dash for the awesomeness, Applejack just to try it, Rarity to complain at the garish armor, and Pinkie Pie because it's an excuse for a party. Secondary character-wise, Gilda's definitely going to show up (it is a griffon game, after all), Big Mac might get dragged along by Caramel, Luna probably still fondly recalls ancient gladiatorial sports, the CMC to try for their Cutie Mark Crusader Grifball Player cutie marks (lolz), Shining Armor as a colts night out with other guards. Ponies that I'm not sure of: Cheerilee (though I like her being kick-ass in a bunch of stories), Spike (would Twilight let him go?), Blueblood (I can't come up with good reasons one way or another why he would or wouldn't attend).

But again, these are just examples of who in the cast might show up, not that they will or that there will be any interaction with them whatsoever.