Welcome to the second prompt writing challenge of the Time Action Glory Challenge group! On our quest to lift the overlooked out of obscurity, the first and most obvious place to start would be right at the bottom.

For this month, the stats record a conspicuously large number of character tags who have yet to pass the easy benchmark of ten stories apiece. The aim of this prompt is to give these stragglers a headstart.

First of all, here is the entire list of characters who fit that category, taken from the main Stats thread as of the beginning of February. Take a look now, and see if there are any that catch your eye:

SIDE CHARACTERS: Moonlight Raven, Sassy Saddles, Troubleshoes, Wind Rider, Steven Magnet, The Smooze, Zephyr Breeze, Vapor Trail, Sky Stinger, Saffron Masala, Coriander Cumin, Plaid Stripes, Yaks, Minotaur, Twinkleshine, Gabby, Spoiled Rich, Sunshine Smiles, Tender Taps, Quibble Pants, Garble, Double Diamond, Party Favor, Svengallop, Mr. Stripes
SCHOOL KIDS: Zipporwhill, Ruby Pinch
ANIMALS: Pets
BACKGROUND PONIES: Cloudchaser, Flitter, Lily, Pony Joe, Daisy, Parcel Post, White Lightning
EQUESTRIA GIRLS: Micro Chips, Sandelwood
LORE: Private Pansy, Chancellor Puddinghead, Smart Cookie
COMICS: Tiberius, Princess Amore, Radiant Hope

If you've seen any names of interest, please read on for the next step. If not, ah well. 'Tis a free country, after all.

Now, to give these guys a leg up, the challenge this time around is simple: pick a character with fewer than ten stories to their name, plan out or dream up a scene, short story, or - if you're really ambitious - a novella featuring said character, and complete the story before the end of the month, (midnight exactly, according to your timezone). In short, pick a tag, plan a story, and complete it. Easy peasy.

(N.B.: There will be no word limit, and if you want to submit more than one story, all well and good! However, please remember to aim for a realistic goal. Ambition is all very well, but even a 1,000-word illustrative scene will be perfectly fine.)

For the sake of openness, there are no restrictions on content rating or category tags. However, to make it at least somewhat more interesting, there are three simple conditions:

1. COMPLETE: The story must be complete when you submit it. It's too easy to give characters a load of unfinished chapters; it's better still to give them a wrapped-up book with a bow on top. Again, try not to do anything too ambitious.

2. MAIN CHARACTER TAGS: At least one of the tags has to be from the list above, and the story has to feature them prominently, ideally but not necessarily as the main protagonist or focal character.

3. THEME: To make things a bit more interesting, the story must include, in some way, the following theme, which is at least somewhat relevant to the current month:

That said, it should be more interesting than just setting it during winter, though you can simply do that if you want. But consider how characters might deal with physical aspects like snow, or with psychological responses such as depression or admiration of its beauty, or with any social events like Hearth's Warming.

It could be about them facing a monster, villain, or jerk somehow related to the winter, such as the windigos or a pegasus specializing in snowflakes. It could be about a metaphorical winter, a dead time in their life before things liven up and spring back, provided winter is actually discussed and not just mentioned once for effect.

It could be about some character's attitude towards cultural beliefs or values concerning winter. It could simply be about how winter works in the world of Equestria, such as their role (or lack of a role) in a Winter Wrap-Up. Or it could be anything you like. The possibilities are many.

And, of course, the usual site rules apply. When you're ready, post a comment here with a link and some basic details about the story. Feel free to give each other comments, offer feedback, and/or just chat generally if you wish to do so. Sadly, there are no prizes, but I hope you find it fun, challenging, or whatever floats your boat. If you have any questions, just ask.

Good luck, and remember: the secret ingredient is lurve.

5807900
Probably not going to write anything, definitely not to that deadline, but it's still fun to think up ideas on how to bring several of those tags together.

Steven Magnet's river has actually frozen overnight, and there's only so much cold a sea serpent can handle. But what better to help brave the cold than ordering a pot of hot curry from that delightful restaurant his friend Rarity recommended.

Sassy Saddles has taken her lesson on originality and creativity to heart, and her new year's resolution is to be more ambitious in her designs. Very ambitious. Too ambitious.
Trying to personally negotiate a trade deal on genuine Yakyakistan yak wool might just be a bit more than a third-row friendship student can handle.

Even after meeting his hero and finding out she is actually a real pony, Quibble Pants has no ambitions for adventure. He is absolutely content to read and occasionally write about them, without having any actual contact with the strange and supernatural. But it would be a lot easier to ignore the green glob hibernating in his basement if it wasn't for some reason wearing a bow tie and top hat.

5808359

Probably not going to write anything, definitely not to that deadline, but it's still fun to think up ideas on how to bring several of those tags together.

I do wonder if it's worth pushing back the deadline. Only I gather Masterweaver has specific themes planned for next month, and I wouldn't want this month's challenges to blunder over and take up their room, in case it messes up the scheduling.

That said, darn those are some interesting combinations. It's just a pity I've got a few of my own ideas already, or I'd half-consider helping myself.

5808489
To be honest, at least for me the deadline isn't really the problem. It's mostly my laziness and maaaaaybe the fact that I'm already writing on half a dozen different stories.
Either way, if I write something for contests like this, it's usually all-or-nothing... so either I write the whole thing within 24 hours of starting, or it never gets finished.
But hey, have another one:

After a night in Las Pegasus Las Haygas with at least twenty drinks each and about as many minutes of intact memory between them, two stallions and a mare wake up in a hotel room with a large bag of Bits that was (probably) acquired through (mostly) legal means. Now Wind Rider and Svengallop have to decide between their ego and their self-preservation as they try to keep their ruined reputations a secret while also trying not to look like eligible bachelors to the aptly named Spoiled Rich, who herself tries to recover her wedding ring/bracelet without letting said eligible and apparently quite wealthy bachelors know that she is married.
Oh, and someone is probably trying to arrest and/or kill them, but between that and getting the sole ownership of a literal pile of money, a pony needs to have their priorities straight.

5808588

I wonder if it would be worth adding those to FanOfMostEverything's Idea Thread for this group. That one would be a good place to post story ideas for others to pick up and run off with, and it won't get lost once February passes by (since it's a sticky thread, and thus not likely to get pushed into obscurity like this one).

5808598
Might copy them there, then. Thanks for the link.
Also, "The Wondrous Winter Adventures of Tiberius the Possum"; the story who's protagonist was not conscious for any of it.

5807900
I can totally work with this.

5807900

Voila! Entry number one! Took most of yesterday and today to write, and that sort of pace is way too intensive to keep up regularly (yay for the weekend!). However, the idea struck me while I was writing the prompt, so I thought, Why not try it? So here it is.

Title: The Icing on the Hearth's Warming Cake

Characters: Saffron Masala, Coriander Cumin

Genre: Slice of Life

Summary: The Tasty Treat has never done better business since its grand re-opening, but as usual Coriander Cumin watches his life with eyebrow raised and disbelieving grunt ready and waiting. So when Saffron Masala persuades him to sample a bit of local culture and attend the Hearth's Warming Eve pageant in Canterlot, he's not exactly leaping at the chance the way she is. After all, one of them needs to keep their hooves on the ground.

Even if it is covered in bitterly freezing snow. Uncomfortably familiar snow, come to that...

5807900

Just past the halfway point, and I've managed to produce a second entry. This has been an anomalously productive month for me. I hope it sticks!

Title: Stinging The Trail

Characters: Sky Stinger, Vapor Trail

Genre: Slice of Life

Summary: Sky Stinger, trying not to fall asleep in a pegasus-themed gallery, once more asks himself what kind of friend Vapor Trail really is.

Once the aerobatic pride and joy of Stratusburg, he now has to live with the wind taken out of his wings. Oh, she gave it back again, only this time with uplifting words rather than with sneaky gusts. But he still remembers the shameful moment when she'd told him the truth, let him fly alone, and watched as he instantly failed a flip he'd "mastered" years ago.

What kind of friend, after all, would do something like that?

5808588

Bonus points to you: I actually kinda sorta crackship Spoiled/Svengallop--since they're Season 5's biggest jerks, after all, and we can't let them get to any more nice ponies.

5807900

And third time's the charm. (Currently no picture because fimfiction.net just has to fail the instant I try to add one, doesn't it? )

Title: As Winter Dies, So Spring Is Born

Characters: Private Pansy, Commander Hurricane

Genres: Drama, Sad, Tragedy

Summary: On the day of Equestria's first Winter Wrap-Up, the pegasus once known as Private Pansy – now promoted to Captain Pansy – leaves the celebrations early to face her former commander. Who is now in prison.

5807900
Finished a thing, just in the nick of time! It's not technically done yet as yet - - still to be scrutinised by its editor, but Winterheart, an Adventure featuring Gabby, Gilda and the seemingly-untagged Windigos, should be up shortly and linked here once posted.

5828459

Sweet. So long as I'm not the only one doing this thing, that's totally fine by me.

5828526
Delighted to be doing this thing. You've excelled with three stories, and I look forward to having a gander at them.

And voila, Winterheart! Technically past midnight where I am, but it's presumably still midnight somewhere.

5828945

Given that it's early days for the group, and since ten days is a little on the tight side, I think we can show leniency vis-a-vis the midnight rule. (If we start drawing larger numbers for future prompts, though, I'm cracking the whip. )

Thanks for taking part in the challenge. A winner is you.