Help, my stories write themselves! Well, when they feel like cooperating, at any rate.

A little behind the scenes on my story, Dining With Friends, for the maybe one other person out there who cares. I was going to put this in the bonus chapter A/N, until I realized how long it was getting. I realize this is a little early, but I started writing it before I realized there was no way to save a blog and post it later. Maybe put off reading this for three, four, five days, until the story is entirely posted, and read it first. I don’t think there’s any major spoilers, but as the author, I admit to having a potentially skewed view in that regard.

Anyways...

An Appetizer, To Go

It is in every way a bonus chapter, even for me, since it was never supposed to exist. As I originally conceived this story, it only included Twilight, Rarity, Wiz Kid, and Curly. Fleur and Strawberry Sunrise were not involved at all. I don’t even know for sure when I decided to include Fleur.

I think it started with the idea of some random pony, who ultimately ended up being Fleur, running into Twi and Rares at the door, on her way out as they were coming in. That obviously didn’t last, once I actually started typing it out. Instead, it became the three of them talking in the lobby, while they waited for their tables. So that’s more or less how she showed up. Not so bad, right?

But then she just wouldn’t leave! They just kept talking, and talking, and talking. And then Fleur felt bad about upsetting Rarity, and offered to pay for their dinner!

WTF Fleur⁈ You were supposed to be on your merry way, already!

Of course, then she needed prey of her own, and I decided to go on the MLPWiki, and find some random pony we don’t see much of. So that’s where Strawberry came from. Around the same time, I realized this place needed a maitre d’, otherwise, why were they all just loitering around up front? Besides, the place was supposed to be classy enough to have one anyways.

Then I felt like I needed to write about these two’s dining experience. That was originally supposed to be the second chapter, hence the title of ‘An Appetizer’. Until the other four ended up taking ~5000 words, so Fleur’s and Strawberry’s chapter got moved, and made a bonus, since it would otherwise break the 10,000 word limit of the contest

Main Course, and Miscellania

On another note, the Main Course chapter took way too long to write. I actually started this story sometime in mid-March. Then my parents got the flu, one after another. Bad enough to have to go to the ED. One literally the day after the first. Of course, they gave it to me, first. I ran a 101-ish fever for almost a week, before an ear infection, or something like that, had me going into the ED, myself. The day after the first parent got home.

That wouldn’t have been so bad in and of itself, but I also have an underlying respiratory condition that makes me extra-susceptible to lung infections, and this was also when the Coronavirus quarantine stuff really took off locally. So, since I was already in the hospital, they took some sputum cultures, and decided they might as well keep me in for the usual 2 week course of antibiotics.

It didn’t help that I kind of hit a wall in the writing. My previous story, Comforting a Student also involved vore. Where filly Twi was a nervous, kinda curious, ultimately ambivalent prey. In this story, Rarity ended up a nervous, ambivalent, but willing to try it pred. This proved so, so much harder to make work. She wasn’t exactly keen on the idea, so how could I make her come around to trying it? I had a mental block for 5-7 weeks, and just couldn’t think of any appropriate lead up, so I just didn’t write anything.

Until three (3!) days before the contest deadline. Then I just sat down and made myself write the Curly/Wiz and Twi/Wiz scenes. Then, when I finally get to the moment where I need to start the Rarity-Pred scene, barely five minutes of thinking, if that—hell, probably only two or three—and suddenly, the way to make it work flows so naturally, and is so stupidly obvious, I want to kick a field goal with my muse, for not sharing it with me sooner.

Closing Remarks

And one more time, I want to just apologize (possibly in advance) for the rushed, flat, kinda terrible ending of the Main Course chapter. When it comes to word limits, I must take a cue from Derpy and admit: I am not a clever brony