Introduction of myself and my fic

So... How do I put this? It's been about 10 years since I last wrote a fanfic, and all those years ago, I never even imagined that I would be writing something for anything involving little ponies. Living with a bunch of male fans, my interest was piqued. Especially once I learned that there were musical numbers throughout the series. I eventually came to watch it a lot, on my own time, and more than my three housemates combined. I haven't picked up any of the products, and I don't intend to. That's not where my interest lies. But, to be completely honest, it became a major "feel-good" series for me. And when I finally came up with the character you see as my avatar (I have artist friends who are very good at something I am awful at. Better versions of that art may come in the future.), I did so with a few things in mind.
First: Rather than being somepony stand-out and amazing and a fairly complete character, he was going to be one who had a fairly grounded backstory within Equestria. One that made sense, but still has a bit of a "fantastic" element to it. (That element would be lightning) He has some stand-out things about him, but they don't make him directly outshine those who are clearly better at a certain thing. For example, he could never hope to out-fly a certain tomboyish Pegasus we all know if he's actually trying to fly. More on that when his story comes to light.
Second: He is about as flawed as I am. After all, his original personality is based on parts of me that I'm not all that fond of. I felt it would create a more engaging character, and from what I've actually got written, it's worked to a degree. I even worked in my not-so-great nervous system, and my desperate need for escapist fantasy. Again, more on that in the fic in question.
Third: I want to stay true to what the series is at its core. I don't intend to have a lot of fight scenes, and I want to write relationships that seem believable.
I've got some good friends proofreading, but I'm pretty sure my writing ability has seen better days. I know I need to work on things like phrasing, descriptions (especially regarding things like facial expression), vocabulary, and overall dynamic actions. There's also a few characters that, when I think of them in some situations (most situations for certain characters), I have no idea what on earth I should do with them. Best example I have of that is Spike.
The first fic I'll be submitting, starring that orange stallion in my profile image, is something well within my comfort zone as a writer, and will feature a pairing with the character that, from a relatable standpoint, quickly became my favorite character. It's not overly ambitious, and I can't guarantee it'll be amazing or even good. I can, at least, tell you that it's as genuine as I can get right now. I'm probably taking it way too seriously, and ten years of writing rust is extremely hard to shake off, but bear with me. I can tell you that it's going to be an interesting ride, if not a bit perplexing.