A Herd of Ponies and Ungulates: Behind the scenes, and What's Next

I'm happy to say that A Herd of Ponies and Ungulates is finally finished! Even though it took almost a year

I'd say the reason it takes so long is because of multiple factors, but the main one is I've never done a full fledged fic like this. I'm more comfortable with short fics, max 5k words, perhaps, so making a fic that's almost six times that size kinda burned me out at a few points . It was worth it though! I loved how when I wrote the final scene in the epilogue, I actually felt I was saying goodbye to something, or closing a book. I'm quite happy how it turned out

So, I might as well share my thoughts, what I originally planned in the start, and other behind the scene stuff, in case anyone is curious~

-) Before the fic is even published, I actually had already finished the Pom chapter, and the idea of Pom and Fluttershy meeting each other and become friends is actually the spark that made me want to write the whole story! Those two are just too precious

-) From the get go I wanted to find a way to get Spike into the story somehow, since he's one of my favorite characters (Totally not biased because I really love dragons, nope). Originally I thought of him appearing in Oleander's part, but feel like Tianhuo's part is missing something to make it good, so that's where he goes~. I didn't think about it before, but a dragon with a Longma really fits together.

-) Originally I had an idea where Arizona and Applejack would join a competition together or something, but I scratched that because I feel it didn't explore the characters deep enough. With the final idea of them applebucking, I can show how these two are really close with their own family. Plus, Arizona is considered to be young, so Applejack has a chance to teach her some deep stuff relating to her parents~

-) The chapter I'm worried about the most is probably Velvet's chapter, since at the time of writing, she has little backstory other than her "Up to 11" smugness. On my part I was sort of unprepared for this chapter . It took a lot of brainstorming to make a story better then just "Rarity snapping because of Velvet's attitude and they get into a fight". Thankfully, I'm able to find something that makes Rarity to be socially smart and put the duel between her and Velvet .

-) For Paprika's chapter, I opted to get something much 'simpler', something that might fit into the show, and her unintentionally messing up Pinkie's baking sounds like something that can set Pinkie off. Though I thought of using depressed Pinkie (Pinkamena), I don't think it'll fit, and it might drag the chapter too long. It's solved by making Paprika to turn into her own form of Pinkamena~

-) Still in Paprika's chapter, for a LONG time I was trying to figure out how can she communicate . Should I make her squee, giggle, and make kissing noises? Or just describe her act? Then I remember Fimfiction's emojis . It's a tad tedious, and some who pay attention close enough might notice I copy pasted some parts, but I'm happy I thought of that!

-) Also, interestingly some people thought a goof off might happen between Pinkie and Paprika. I actually never thought of that, mainly because, frankly, Paprika is most likely unable to grasp the concept of one. Other factors are I don't know if I can write a good goof off scene, and Paprika isn't Cheese or Pinkie, she cannot restrain her affection to make it funny instead of... painful and destructive .

-) Oleander's chapter went through plenty of ideas, and that's why it took so long . The spar scene isn't planned originally, just thought of them studying something together, to Fred creating some havoc, or a fight of wits or sorts. Eventually, I realized I need to make them fight somehow, and I choose a spar so they can focus more on learning each other. That requires a third character, but it's easily solved by Starlight~ The sparring is originally supposed to be detailed too, like Oleander is asked to dodge certain things, but that might take too long. Sadly I used the same reason on why Twilight fighting Oleander isn't shown . However, I got a flash of inspiration by comparing the natures of their magic and tying them to the concept of friendship .

-) One last thing, I almost wrote Shanty before she's even released, willing to take a shot at her personality, but Mane6 delivers her quicker than anticipated, so might as well wait a bit to see what she's like! The idea remains the same where she would take the champions home, but in the end I make her take advantage of that a bit, making her more unreliable and potentially hostile. I mean, you wouldn't trust a pirate right away, would you?

So... what will I do now that I finished my biggest fic yet that turns out to be pretty successful? (Featured twice too! I didn't expect that, and was happy beyond belief.). First of all, I'm gonna need a rest , that takes some out of me. I might make more short stories about MLP x TFH, set in the same universe, but perhaps just one offs. Say, how will a brawl between AJ and Arizona will end up. My only reluctance is the state of both fandoms. TFH is trying to break free from the whole MLP stereotype, which I support, but it's making so little progress. We'll see how it's gonna happen, but personally I think some fanfic meeting them together is okay, right? It won't be as different as making a fanfic about Marvel meeting DC.

Anyway, if you actually read all this, I just want to say thank you for all your support~ I experienced a group of people actually staying loyal to my fic and read it till the end despite my writing speed, and that makes me happy~ May your days are blessed by the Ponies and Ungulates

Comments

[Cyrus Colter]

bear in mind that there are a few comics where Marvel and DC heroes work together to stop their respective villains who also teamed up.
unless that Marvel villain works for HYDRA, and is trying to recruit Joker.
that's just asking for a lot of their troops DEAD.