This is not the end · 11:02am Nov 2nd, 2014
New chapter of All for You is up, and making it my longest fic so far.
For those wondering that I said that this one would be the last chapter and that really doesn't seem like an ending, well, basically Random Elements syndrome occurred and as I was writing this chapter I decided to split it up. Probably a good thing as the last chapter would have been well over 10k words, and I do really like the chapter name I came up for this one. Plus it's also probably a good thing not to have a new character (even if she has been foreshadowed a couple of times) in the very last chapter.
After thinking it over for awhile this morning I've decided to drop the Comedy tag. I do still think there's a lot of comedy in there from the stealth wingfic, many of the references, a lot of the Trixitishy suplot, and all of the hen parties, but I now think it really does give a misleading impression given how seriously I've taken some of the consequences that resulted from Cadance's actions. Calling a fic a comedy and then hitting readers with the big Shining Armour and Cadance conversation or the event in this new chapter really isn't fair. I know some people would have certainly preferred a more simpler wacky take with a few romantic highjinks, but honestly I think this has made the fic stronger by taking the time to properly explore the concept.
Anyway, hope you enjoy and next time comes the real finale.
Edit: Bloody hell, I'm beginning to wish I didn't automatically get into the feature box due to length as the drive by dislikes are really aggravating.
You're hardly the first author realizing that their story is going in another direction than they first intended. Which isn't a bad thing all in all, as a story taking on its own life will be a lot more engaging. Changing the tags is only prudent. Not that everyone is that attentive with their advertising...
Then again, what is Comedy? Does the fanfic have to be a laugh a page? Does it have to be upbeat and no one gets hurt? Do you have to shoo out Pinkie Pie to avoid it? I suppose it's really a matter of how you feel about it.
Also, "Drive-by downvotes" is now the word of the week. Such a pain in the plot.
2569630
It's a tricky one it really is. There have been fics I've laughed harder at that were tagged Dark than those that were actually self-identified as comedies. Go see Night Errantry for a really great example that manages some real wit while it gets on with the trials of Luna on her path. Way I see it is you can either tag everything and end up with the dreaded Romance/Sad/Dark/Comedy/Crossover/Adventure... okay those are exactly the tags of the Sweetie Chronicles which is wonderful, but normally it indicates an author who can't make up their mind or want to get as much attention as possible by spreading the appeal as wide as possible.
As I've worked my way through All for You I've come to believe that you need the basics and that tells the reader what they're getting. Adding Slice-of-Life tags to By Royal Command or Comedy and Dark to Random Elements would certainly be valid as both of those fics have a fair amount of those elements, but it's not as helpful as saying this is a Romantic Comedy and this is a AU Adventure which seems a lot clearer and upfront to me.
Now personally All for You does contain some of my funniest stuff period and I really do think that. The stealth wingfic alone entirely cracks me up and hard
Thing is I think comedy you need to maintain the mood is the main part, be it wacky, comedic, situational, referential, or whatever. I remember when I submitted By Royal Command to EqD the first time they had a real problem that the humour dies away towards the end to focus on treating the new potential relationship more seriously... which personally I think is missing the entire point of the fic, but I can see it's a failure to maintain the mood if someone is expecting a straight out comedy. It's all about managing expectations really.
Yeah. I remember some pony writing guide or another break down the differences between stories that are planned out from the beginning, and stories that evolve as they're written. Basically, the former will tend to be tighter and more coherent, but it risks the characters feeling wooden, like they're just there to advance the plot. The latter can be dissonant and result in some major mood-whiplash, but the characters are likely to feel more "alive". I think that's because the writer has to ask themselves how the characters would react to the situation more frequently, and I tend to prefer stories toward that end of the continuum.
Or in other words, it's all good.
2569643
Oh hey, what's up name-dropper! Thanks. Maybe I should add the Comedy tag to it?
But seriously, I never thought of my writing as particularly witty, so that's a great new compliment. 
2569863
There's certainly a difficult path to take. You'll remember what a nightmare I had with chapter 8 of this fic due to not planning ahead enough and what I had planned being borderline unworkable when I got there. So without an idea of where you are going that it's entirely possible that you write yourself into a corner or just get really lost.
On the other hand Random Elements was reasonably well planned out, and yet only began to truly sing when I broke out off the rails and had some fun along with going back to fix the obvious omissions like bringing Gilda back in to the fic. Even then I very much got the characters were there to service the plot complaint and they were probably deserved in places.
Hey the praise is totally deserved as when I was thinking of a funny Dark fic Night Errantry was the very first fic that came to mind.