Writer's Recap: What Nymphs Want · 6:27pm Mar 28th, 2020
Blog up early.
Best you read the chapter first.
Another transition chapter, I actually managed to get this in mostly one go, although it did still take several months to actually get down to writing it because I took a break in the middle.
I wanted to get some interaction between Rainbow Dash and Driftwood specifically to explore their dynamic a bit more, as well as to flesh out Dash a bit more for myself as well as readers. The previous chapter already established that Dash, even if she doesn’t particularly like Driftwood (or changelings), she at least respects him because he was willing to stand up to Bon Bon, which was really a way of looking out for Twilight’s interests. This is not what she expects a changeling to do; a changeling is a trickster, but he faced Bon Bon head-on rather than trying to manipulate her. I see that Dash’s main issue with changelings is partly that some did attack the royal wedding (never a good first impression), but in a large part because they wear different faces, pretend to be different ponies, and do everything for their own gain, and therefore have no loyalty to anyone but themselves. The fact that Driftwood has at least a kind of loyalty to Twilight at least gives the impression that he might be “one of the good ones."
I also wanted to find some way to establish Dash as more than just an impulsive meathead. It made sense to me that she’s streetwise, as it were, even if we didn’t necessarily see that in the show, and it also made sense that she’s become more self-aware after being influenced by her friends, so it made sense that she’s developed the ability to check her ego (even if she doesn’t exercise this ability that often) and could see that Driftwood was attempting to manipulate her. She gets a second surprise when he actually owns up to it and apologizes, because again, this isn't what she expects a changeling to do.
This may or may not be another social commentary.
