I tried so hard to sound posh in my writing that I'm actually a bit embarrassed from reading it just now. I can't believe that that's the first impression I've been giving people. 
That took a while... · 7:36am Sep 14th, 2015
I'm sorry this chapter took so long to get out, but it's here, so yay!
Other than this chapter being really difficult to write, part of the reason it took so long is because I started writing a one-shot that I really hope to finish and post.
Anyways, in the intervening time between this new chapter and the one before it, An Expedition to the Crystal Forest turned one year old, so in honour of that, how about some trivia relating to the story?
1. More than 2000 words were cut from chapter two to make it less lengthy. I didn't want to spend too much time getting the characters to the island since I felt that dragging out the trip any longer would have made reading those first two chapters into a chore. The cut scenes all took place on the airship but included mostly nothing of interest. There was a scene with Rainbow Dash flying outside the airship that included some interesting imagery, a bartender who contributed very little plot-wise and was cut unapologetically, and some snooping around in an off-limits area of the ship that I thought was rather comical, but in the sake of pacing they all had to be cut. On top of that, I had planned for a more in-depth scene at Donut Joe's, but that idea got the shaft when I saw the word-count and realized that the last thing that chapter needed was more fleshing-out. It pains me to cut things I like from my writing, but when the pacing demands it, it has to be done.
2. (this one is extra trivial) The word 'tatzeldrake' was my own creation. Its derived from the german word 'tatze' meaning paw, and the english word "drake" meaning dragon. Because that's what it is, a hybrid of a some kind of carnivorous mammal and a dragon. Ideally I wouldn't have had to use the word 'tatzeldrake' at all; I would have used 'tatzelwurm', but that word was unfortunately already has a place in the MLP canon.
interestingly enough, 'tatzelwurm', when split into its constituent parts, translates to exactly the same thing as tatzeldrake, since 'wurm' is german for worm/wyrm which is just another word for dragon. The tatzelwurms in MLP, however, don't seem to realize that the wurm half of their name is meant to mean dragon and not earthworm. A quick google search of the term will reveal that MLP tatzelwurms are unique in their earthworminess when compared to all other renditions of creatures bearing the name.
3. The name of the island, Lliannwn, only mentioned once in chapter two, is a combination of the Welsh words 'Lli' and 'Annwn'. Admittedly, I don't speak Welsh, or even know much about the language, but if I haven't made a fool of myself, then the words translate to 'sea' and 'otherworld' respectively, since the island is an otherworldly place in the middle of the sea. It is pronounced as chlee-uh-noon.
side note: "Annwn" also appears to commonly be translated to "Hell", so make of that what you wish.
4. In the year since I published this story, I still haven't thought up a better title. Though I honestly couldn't see myself changing the title at this point even if I did.
5. The title of Chapter six, Tooth and Claw is a reference to the Doctor Who episode of the same name, in which the Doctor faces off against a werewolf. There's really no deeper meaning to the reference at all. It just worked as a title.
6. Continuing with titles... the title of chapter five, Sweet Dreams and Thin Walls is a reference to... something. I honestly don't know what. I was just googling around for something catchy and found a quote using the phrase.
7. The first two chapters were written under the pretense that the story was going to have RariDash as the main shipping aspect.
Main shipping aspect?. Yes, main shipping aspect, meaning there would have been more than one. One more than one to be exact.
What I originally had planned was for Fluttershy to fall for Rainbow Dash while Rainbow Dash and Rarity fell for each other. I also had planned a slice-of-life sequal story in which Rainbow Dash and Rarity would find that they aren't quite right for each other and go their separate ways, at which point the FlutterDash shipping would commence. It was around chapter three that I decided to not do the romantic conflict route because I decided that it would end up being tacky as hell. Entertaining perhaps, but tacky nonetheless.
And I'm not sure I can write convincing RariDash either, so there's that too.
8. I had basically zero experience as a writer before starting this story. Almost of the things I was forced to write in school were lazily-hobbled-together, barely-coherent messes, and it wasn't until I started writing this story that writing "clicked" for me.
9. The Ultimate Expeditioner's Handbook (previously The Ultimate Expeditioning Handbook, because I change everything) is basically a ripoff of The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy. If not for Douglas Adams's books, I likely never would have tried my hand at writing.
10. I tried writing two one-shots while writing An Expedition and hope to finish them eventually.
Funny enough, when I first started reading this I mistakenly thought it was a poly shipping story. I love Rarity and I think she adds a lot to this story, but I'm glad you settled on Flutterdash in the end.
Well damn, you sure put a lot of effort to this story.
Good, it made your story an A+ story. Or what the famous Rainbow Dash would have said, "Totally awesome!" And I would be near her nodding my head.
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Thanks.
I will continue to put as much effort into it as I have been until the story's finished.
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It's easy to see how that was the case. The description was deliberately vague about the romance aspect early on.
And I definitely agree that Rarity adds a lot to the story, she and Rainbow Dash have great chemistry, and she also goes well together with Fluttershy, but the best of her is yet to come.
Sadly one of the scenes cut in chapter two was oriented around Rarity and Fluttershy to showcase how well they play of each other, but what's done is done.