Author Notes for Dashing Beyond Friendship

Before I get into the actually notes, I'd like to make a few remarks. While some like to put notes on each chapter of a story, I just felt it would be a bit more organized to do it this way, where I just compile them all into one thing. I made a reference to wanting to do this in a recent blog post I made. Any way, I'd also like to thank everyone who took the time to read/favorite/watch/etc. this story. I appreciate all feedback, as long as it's made with some sense of maturity. With that being said, let's get to it. First up is the method to my madness for the story as a whole. From there are similar remarks for each individual chapter.

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General Notes:
This story came about primarily because I had SoarinXDash on my mind at the time, and so I drafted this and made something for Deviant Art both to get those ideas out of my head and to get some stuff for Valentine's Day 2014. :) This story was, to be honest, an experiment. I had never attempted a shipfic before nor thought about trying to make one, though I have read plenty. It's not really something I do much, but I figured I'd give it a shot, and the rest is history. I'm personally happy with how this turned out. I worked on this thing on and off, and amid distractions and revisions, I got it done.

Chapter 1:
Obligatory introduction. Who's who? What's going on here? In this case, Soarin has unrequited feelings for Rainbow, and needs the right motivation to get those feelings out in the open. In other words, it's the common trope of "X likes Y, but can't say it without help from Z." I thought this would make sense, though there was some disapproval for the way I portrayed everyone here. Twilight and Rainbow get into it. That's just Rainbow's stubbornness making Twilight lose it. Fluttershy defends Rainbow while Applejack plays peacekeeper. When the meeting with the Wonderbolts happens, Rainbow is the only one who just doesn't get it until Soarin (who is a complete wreck over this) outright says it, with proper "invitation." From there, Rainbow doesn't know what to do and asks her friends and parents for help.

Chapter 2:
Obligatory Rainbow Dash chapter is how this began in the planning phase, but from there, I turned it into a soft moment between Rainbow and Scootaloo. There was a question of this chapter's relevance to the story, but this was one of the times when you really have to bear with the author. Scootaloo has some concerns of her own, so she and Rainbow talk it out. Rainbow gives her "sister" some advice on what to do, while Scootaloo can only admit to not really caring. Rainbow and Scootaloo spend some time hanging out, but that gets cut short by a surprise visit in Chapter 3.

Chapter 3:
Yeah, I used Firefly as Rainbow Dash's mother. Others have done this as well. My reason for doing this was mostly the whole "origin of G4 Rainbow Dash" story. Some elements used for her in this story were my own idea, namely the "retired Wonderbolt captain" angle. Her appearance here was meant to be the kind of adviser parents tend to be: "I went through the same thing before. Here's what I did in that situation." The appearance of Soarin was added because I thought it would make sense if he showed up to apologize. From there, it was a matter of the two talking things out and Rainbow agreeing to give Soarin a chance at friendship, and see where that went. The "forgotten memory" was something I just threw in as something to connect Rainbow and Soarin further.

Chapter 4:
Rainbow Dash and Soarin get a chance to ponder their past meeting with Twilight as mediator. After a moment between the three, Rainbow and Soarin spend some time to themselves. Again, it takes Rainbow a while to "get it" in regards to a situation. The end is just the start of the whole "pen pal" thing after discussing some childhood memories.

Chapter 5:
A Soarin-based chapter with inspiration from the episode "Rarity Takes Manehattan." We get to see some dynamics between Soarin and Spitfire, and even allusions to Spitfire's past. Minor elements here are what the Wonderbolts are like on a tour, among other things.

Chapter 6:
Back to Rainbow Dash's perspective for this chapter, and her status with Soarin as pen pals is in full swing. The premise of this chapter was to show, that by keeping in contact with Soarin, Rainbow slowly began to feel closer to him before finally feeling empty without having him by her side. Finally, she is able to apologize for her prior confusion and blindness toward Soarin's feelings and accept what she's been offered. From there, it was only fitting that she'd ask Princess Cadance for some advice. With the admission, she takes the opportunity to tell her friends and parents the good news.

Chapter 7:
This chapter is one of possible formats used for this sort of thing, and I felt it worked the best. Usually, shipfics end with the main couple not having any real fights and just getting together. That's not how it works. No relationship is perfect; all couples have conflicts of some kind. The conflict here is Soarin considering calling the relationship off. Rainbow takes the opportunity to remind Soarin of everything they've been through along the way, even citing the advice from Cadance and everyone else. Soarin accepts this, as he truly doesn't want the relationship to end before it's really started. With that, the relationship is able to truly begin.

Epilogue:
I had worked on this and Chapter 7 at the same time, and wasn't really sure whether to make this a Chapter 8 or an epilogue. After a bit of thought, I made Chapter 7 the end, and this became the epilogue it is. The premise here is an answer to the question of what the happy couple has been up to after some amount of time as a couple. I pondered the exact length of time for a bit before settling on a two-month gap. After having their relationship out in the open, Rainbow Dash and Soarin express gratitude for the support they've received and discuss their future together.

Shout-outs [to non-MLP things] within the story (listed in order by chapter)

Chapter 1
- Soarin's "secret technique" is named after one of the main techniques used in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword.

Chapter 2
- Rainbow's comment to Scootaloo at the end of the chapter is part of the song "You are the Wind Beneath My Wings." At the time I wrote that part, I had just read the fanfic "Tiny Wings," and the author had included the song at the end of the story.

Chapter 3
- Rainbow Dash's comment to Soarin, "and I can only imagine what it’d be like walking by your side, so to speak," is taken from the chorus of the MercyMe song, "I Can Only Imagine."
- Twilight's 'best camera' remark could be seen as a riff off of the whole "Character X is best whatever..." meme.

Chapter 4
- None here.

Chapter 5
- The Wonderbolt member, Maelstrom's "secret technique," dubbed Maelstrom Pulse was named after the Magic: the Gathering card "Maelstrom Pulse."

Chapter 6
- None here.

Chapter 7
- None here.

Epilogue
- None here.