Bonus Content · 7:51pm Oct 20th, 2014
So, while I wait for November to start up, I figured I'd pop in here to do a little followup. You know how DVD (or Blu-Ray nowadays) have bonus content with commentaries and production info and stuff? Think of it like that. First I'll give you guys a bit of a peek back into the past history of this story, and then I'll answer a few questions that seem to pop up a lot.
So what's this sneak peek? Well, if anybody would've taken the time to dig into my (unfortunately currently neglected) Deviantart gallery, they would've come across this. What's that? That's the first part of this story that I ever wrote. It's the scene where Twilight finally tells AJ how she feels. Before I had any idea of writing a long-term romance, I wrote that little snippet as a proof of concept. I can really only speculate about my own state of mind when I wrote it, but here's what happened:
Back when I wrote that, the fandom was utterly drowned in shipping fics that followed the general pattern of "X has feelings for Y, but then it turns out that Y feels the same way, the end." So I decided to write an example of a scene that didn't follow that mold. Romance isn't that simple, and having one character simply go "hey, me too!" is really an unsatisfying conclusion. The general scene remains mostly unchanged, though I had to make some tweaks to fit it into the story's overall context. But that was the first part of the narrative I wrote, and what I was building up to. When I got past that, I it changed how I wrote the story because I didn't have an end scene in mind. Well, I kinda did, but it wasn't such a defining moment. That scene, the second one I wrote, is here. Unlike the confession scene, this one didn't make it in. The story had simply deviated too much from my initial approach to plunk it in. But looking back on it, the same elements are there, Twilight trying to get her nerves under control, Rarity fussing about the dresses, etc. Even though I didn't end up using the scene, it really gave me an idea of the type of stuff that that part of the story would address.
Now we can move on to the questions that people want answered. For the most part, there are two questions I've been asked multiple times, so I figure here is as good as any for answering them.
Why aren't you writing a sequel?/Why aren't you continuing the story on past the wedding?
There are two main reasons for this:
#1: Once I get past the wedding, there's a lot of stuff popping up that would be really problematic for me to write. There's lots of material there (Applejack's family getting used to her living elsewhere, the permanence of AJ and Twi's relationship affecting their relationships with the rest of the cast, etc.), but a lot of the logical progression would be rough. For example, going into their adventures in married life would eventually raise the question of having children. And in order to address that, things start to get a bit hairy because there's no canon to base it on. Everything up to the wedding is character-driven and can, to a point, be extrapolated from their previous interactions. But the concept of two female characters trying to have kids is something the show will never touch, meaning I'd have to make it up from scratch. Likewise, assuming they do have a kid at some point, by whatever method, I'd have to come up with a personality for the child, essentially creating a new character with no real precedent. Adding to this is the fact that while I can manage to look like I know what I'm doing when it comes to romance, when it comes to things like parenthood, I'd have no idea how to realistically write such a situation. I'm not married, and attempting to portray married life would pose some real difficulty if I want the story to feel realistic in that sense. In short, their marriage was big turning point in the story; after that chapter it goes in a different direction, one that I'd likely have trouble writing.
#2: Burnout. As much fun as I've had writing this story, I can only keep up my motivation for so long. Yeah, I could've probably kept going after this point, but after years of writing this same story, it probably wouldn't be long before I'd get tired of it. I'd probably keep working on it, but it would be out of a sense of duty rather than enjoyment. I wanted to wrap things up while I still liked working on this project rather than let it get to the point that it became a chore. I've had a ton of fun writing A Delicate Balance, but I can't keep writing it indefinitely. And as seen above, this seemed like an appropriate stopping point.
Why Twijack and not some other pairing?
Oddly enough, I wasn't really much of a Twijack shipper when I started this story. The choice of pairing was almost entirely utilitarian. I knew I wanted Twilight to be one of the ponies involved, simply because I was most confident in my ability to write her, and also she's best pony. The only real question was who to pair her with. Twidash was right out, for the simple reason that even back then, it was one of the most popular and ubiquitous pairings in the fandom, and I didn't want my story to get lost in the glut. Pinkie was a no-go for similar reasons plus the fact that I didn't think I could write her well enough. And in addition, as you saw in that old snippet above, the entire fic was based around a scene where Twilight's confession is responded to with a very cautious "maybe". I'd have no idea how to write such a scene with Pinkie; she'd be too likely to go "Sure! Why not!?", which is the exact opposite of what I was trying to write. It's an interesting story, but not the one I was telling. Fluttershy was also out for that reason. I still find her one of the most difficult ponies to write well (as evidenced in the fact that she gets the least screentime in this story), and I don't think I could've done a good job writing the scene with her in that position.
So that brought it down to Rarity and AJ. Rarity could've worked, but ultimately I figured that I could get the most mileage out of her by making her overly concerned by her own unique brand of romance, which wouldn't work quite as well here. I decided pretty quickly, that I wanted her in more of a mentor role to Twilight, trying to guide her with her own imperfect (but still useful) approach to the subject. That and Applejack really offered a perfect balance of what I wanted in that scene. Her personality contrasts very well with Twilight's, without being completely the opposite. They both shared a sense of dedication to their work, and she's blunt enough to not give Twilight a positive answer if she doesn't really feel that way, but also sensitive enough to let Twilight down easy and to actually consider the idea rather than shooting it down. She could respond to Twilight's confession in a manner that was blunt, but still friendly.
And having written for so long, I'm definitely a fan of the pairing. I still think that they strike a good balance of contrast in personality (AJ's blunt big picture approach vs. Twilight's detail oriented self-awareness), and there's a sense that they complete each other. The two of them complement each others flaws and and each have their own ways of showing how they care, while still sharing enough common traits (specifically their desires to make each other happy and their stubborn dedications to their chosen fields) that I think it's actually a plausible pairing beyond just shoving them together and going "NOW KISS".
Back off, Prime. They'll make out of their own volition.
But seriously, that's why I ended up going with that particular pairing, and it's definitely grown on me.
So yeah, that's my general take on why I did what I did, and I hope that it was at least kind of interesting. See you guys again when my next project rolls around.
So... it could have been Rarilight? Uhm, would you excuse me for one second?
...
...
ARRRRGH!
Seriously, I am very glad you took this approach to shipping. And the Twijack definitely worked.
I will, for once, not join in on the "Sequel pls" choir.
I will, however, suggest a blog post with that shipping pair interview meme thing that's been floating about.
Well, I'm not one to beg for sequels, and especially not when it's already been made clear that they won't be written, so you won't find me asking for one.
Though I have one question, if it isn't too much: Do they have a "Happily ever after" ?
SIR! There is a typo in your blog.
For shame...
2545883 Sure, why not?
2545883 This is why I need proofreaders.
2545799 I'm not even familiar with that (shows how little I actually follow things). Also, isn't there a rule against meme-spreading blog posts?
2546638
Well, not sure about rules, but it's not disallowed, I think. The idea is to have the pair from your story answer some questions, but I have no idea where those are. *shrug*
Oh, idea: Would Twilight from your story eventually become an alicorn? Because a oneshot set in Delicate Balance, as an interview with the new princess years later might be interesting.
2547012 I honestly have no idea. It would be an interesting concept, but by the time that happened in canon I already knew where the story was going. Whether or not it happens in this continuity is up to the individual, I guess. It would be interesting to follow up and see how that affects the relationship, though. Especially since it would technically mean that AJ is also a princess by marriage.
2547152
The Princess of apples!