Before I go into any details about the story, I really want to thank the following people for being beta-readers, editors, and for generally helping me out during this. You should read their stuff.
First up, Cloudy Skies. If you read shipping you know the name, or you should. He writes the best Pinkie Pie in our entire fandom. Any mood, any situation and she's still feels like Pinkie. He also has the best take on FlutterDash friendshipping ever. He really helped me out with this entire thing: from planning the original outline to giving me feedback when I was uncertain about characterization, and general cheerleader assuring me this wasn't the worst thing ever written (don't laugh, I have little to no confidence). He even came through and helped me do final line edits, despite being in the middle of editing his own fic for posting. It's safe to say, without him, this wouldn't have been written. So thanks!
Next up is Present Perfect. He totally agreed to read and comment/edit on this back when I was thinking 15k, even though he has his own TwiDash thing. He didn't get around to it until 35k+. Not only did he hammer on some of the weirder things I did, but he also he put up with my inability to master commas. The man is an amazing writer and an amazing editor. Like, a serious superhero of English language. Thanks so much PP.
Whiteout, #mlp-training-grounds' resident baker and general Pinkie Pie pupil, gave me an the idea for a much better ending. Sure I had to rewrite a week's worth of the fic, but it turned out so much better. I think I was blinded by following my outline. What worked for a short cliche was entirely inappropriate for what this story morphed into. Thanks Whiteout.
Fox E and Tchernobog both read parts of the work in progress and gave feedback and encouragement and suggestions. And thanks to everyone else in #mlp-training-grounds who listened to me bitch and moan about this for the last two months!
Several other people helped me hammer out awkward phrasing and more errors or confusing text. So thanks to Cupcakes and Drakmire too.
Thanks guys, this story wouldn't be the same without you.
To the rest of you: thanks for reading; thanks for commenting, even if it was just a quick "I like this story." Every writer loves to get comments, even if you don't think what you're saying is important. If you have questions or anything you wanna ask, but don't want posted, you can totally message me on fimfic or email me at kitsuneymg+twilightslist@gmail.com. The "+twilightslist" will route it to the right folder, but isn't totally needed.
Wow. This took a lot longer and became a lot bigger than I could have ever imagined. Both in the sheer size of the fic and the response I got. I started the outline for this on Feb. 7th in response to a post I was linked about a TwiDash contest ending on the 12th or something. I intended to make it a short little thing about Twilight dating Dash for all the wrong reasons and falling for her in the process. Original estimates put the fic at 15k words, tops. Since it's creeping up on 47,000 words, I think it's understandable that it's a month or two late. So it's only three times as long as all the other pony fiction I've written put together.
I have to say, writing this way was different. Completing the full story and just waiting to get line edits before posting was kind of maddening. I spent three months fretting and worrying that it would never get done. That date scene/act lasted forever. Even as I was writing the epilogue, "the end" seemed so very far away. Now, I like the whole "wait until it's done before posting anything" approach. It means people don't drift away. It means I get attention. Yeah, I'm a bit of an AW. It also means that the cliffhangers are dramatic, not annoying, I think. It's almost an experience, waiting for these updates, yeah? For all of you who read since Chapters 1-3 were posted, you know what I mean. The impact just isn't the same reading the whole thing in one go. The nail biting uncertainty as you saw their feelings bloom coupled with the constant reminders of the Sword of Damocles that hung over the whole thing seems to me to be a lot more pronounced if you can't immediately sate your curiosity.
Now, if you've been reading the comments, this next bit'll be old news. I think. This story is modeled on a three act play. Wikipedia has a whole bunch of stuff about what that means, but it boils down to setup (ch1-3), build up (ch4-9), and climax (10, 11) plus epilogue (12). It's a normal, successful form that millions of stories use, but which I seldom seen done "right" in fanfiction. Usually you see stuff go wrong in the tail end of Act II when the author tries to sidequest the whole story to stretch it out.
Twilight's List is also modeled after a classical tragedy. Like Romeo and Juliet (they still make y'all read that, right?) the train wreck is seen coming miles away. You spend a good deal of time yearning for the characters to gain your insight and avert the oncoming storm. Unlike a classic tragedy though, no one dies. Double yay!
Haha! The above makes it seem like I know what I'm doing. Not really. The only "writing" class I have ever taken was writing 102 in university, a thoroughly worthless course, and 325, how to write a resume. So I guess I have a tiny background in creative fiction. But seriously, I read a ton. My account shows 3,000,000+ words on fimfic. That's when I'm logged in. I forget to do that unless I want to rate/track. My "job" as a pre-reader had me reading two or three fics a day until around Christmas when I burnt out and fell to 1 every two days or so. During the posting of this fic, I haven't done anything for EqD.
So what's next? First off, I owe some people big time. I'm going to make sure that I do anything I can for them. Then I need to finish Featherfall. That has languished far too long. After that, I have some utterly reprehensible ideas that branch off of this fic called "Twilight's Lust", because as some of you may have noticed, this wasn't a completely non-physical attraction. Don't worry, it's getting it's own, separate story post as is entirely "for the lulz". Well, as much as End of a Rainbow is "for the lulz". After that? I'm free! I have some ideas for an adventure fic, the desire to do first person noir using Apple Bloom, and an old ship fic I may want to write (PinkieDash, but the PoV is Rarity 100% of the fic). Who knows? I certainly won't until I actually get invested in one.
- Kittyhawk Contrail
People made me FANART
Rainbow Stache!
Ice Skating/Twilight stares at Dash's butt.