Final thoughts regarding "A Daring Day"

Well, "A Daring Day" is finished and fully online. There hasn't been a horrible reception to it so far, and I'll always call that a good thing. I figure now's a good time to go into what led into the rest of the story.

When I was initially thinking of this story, Ahuizotl's plot was closer to what he was trying to do in Daring Don't - bring increased heat to a region, albeit with a captive Twilight as part of it rather than the use of artifacts. I'm glad I didn't go with that idea, as it would've been rehashing what had come before rather than doing something new. Eventually - and I confess, I'm not sure how - I came across something that I realized would make for a more interesting and unique story. I do feel sorta bad about not including those, however - my initial thoughts were that it would've involved a refugee crisis from Maretonia, and Celestia setting up an area for them in Equestria's northwest would've furthered the divide between her and Luna far back in the day. Plenty of stuff in canon and to come, however, was there to hurt the relationship, however, so I can live with dropping that.

I didn't make up the nahual - it's also referred to as a 'nagual', and tales of them are present in Mesoamerican folk religion even today - I went with 'nahual' because it's pronounced the same with either spelling, and the former spelling is closer to how the word is pronounced. Shapeshifting, being able to assume the form of creatures such as jaguars or donkeys, relationships to particular days of the year, all come from the stories, though I did take some liberties. Nahuals in real-world myth can supposedly place curses upon a person, but never be able to take control of others or turn others into creatures like themselves. Also, some accounts have them as tricksters, though most portrayals have them as outright evil. I'm not sure exactly when or how I came across it, but once I did, I figured it would fit perfectly with Daring Do's theme.

Another early idea was that Star Swirl the Bearded would've been part of the backstory, but I opted against including him because let's face it, he's always popping up (I even lampshaded that in-story). I initially replaced him with Mage Meadowbrook, but then decided to just go with an anonymous Earth pony - that opens up possibilities down the road, should I choose to indulge, and doesn't interfere with established canon or what's been hinted at for stories to come.

Quiver marching into the lion's den in order to save Twilight while Rainbow Dash and Daring Do worked on another part of the plan was always going to be part of the story, however. As plans developed and the Quiververse came to be, I came to the conclusion that Quiver wasn't always going to be a meek young stallion - he'd grow up, Take a Level or two in Badass, and gain confidence in himself and in his abilities not only as a writer, but as a pony in general. You can expect that to continue as soon as "Scars of the Quill", as well as some elaboration on why he is the way he is. But this story? It's a good step forward for him.

And speaking of stories to come, I look forward to the speculation that arises from Ahuizotl's benefactor. I imagine that someone will figure out who he is sooner or later - I dropped several hints in story - but I'm also hoping that they don't spoil anyone else. As for when the reveal comes, well...pay close attention to "A Mad Pony in a Box".

Anyway, new stuff's coming in November. I hope that folks will enjoy it.