I’m planning on doing a romance fic between Party Favor and Night Glider. I was particularly inspired to make one after seeing them have a romantic moment in “Hard to Say Anything”, as shown in this picture here:

My biggest conundrum concerning that, however, is that because of their lack of screentime and major roles throughout the series, as well as having no sections on their wikia pages that detail what they’re like personally, I have been unable to acquainted with them enough, especially in contrast to others like the Main Six, Starlight, Spike, and Discord. I would like the help of someone who would be a complete expert on the two of them, knowing who they are and what they’re like as if they personally know them. I hope that wouldn’t be too much to ask or too much of a problem.

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The easy part about fanfiction is that you’re always starting with an idea, a world, a character, a story, or a setting that’s at least partially already there. The fun part is taking that idea and running with it in your own direction. You can chose to emulate the show or you could take it in a completely different direction.

Now, the fact that they’re in Starlight’s village at all is a huge bit of their character. Why were they tempted by Starlight’s lies about equality, happiness, and friendship? What made them give into the temptation? Were they weak-willed? Desperate outcasts? Genuine believers? That choice is up to you, and will shape the direction you take each of your characters in. You will know your characters better if you answer these questions yourself, and if you know your characters well enough, they will seemingly take on a life of their own. It’s such a magical thing to watch when you’ve gotten your characters so well-developed that they do their own things in your story, and you just have to guide them through the plot and chronicle what happens. If you’re ever stuck in one spot, start asking more questions.

Equestria has this weird thing for Mane Six Tropic Characters (MSTCs). There’s the strong fliers (Rainbow, Lightning Dust, Night Glider), the party animals (Pinkie, Cheese Sandwich, Party Favor), the magicians (Twilight, Star Swirl, Trixie, Sunset, Starlight, to a certain extent Sunburst), etc. A good way I’ve found to write MSTCs is to highlight by contrast. The reader is given a sense of familiarity when presented with an “Almost Rainbow Dash” or an “Almost Pinkie Pie,” which essentially does most of your work for you. But then, they see something that clearly isn’t what they were expecting, and that’s where the character can really shine, and even come into their own as more than just a foil. It doesn’t have to be just a positive trait, either. Seeing a character fail is just as revealing as seeing a character succeed. It gives them a struggle, an arc, and that makes people remember and care about them.

In conclusion, a warning. My own trial and error has led me to conclude that it’s generally a bad idea to introduce the MSTC to their Mane Six equivalent too soon before you’ve fleshed out their character. I know it’s tempting to put Pinkie Pie and Almost Pinkie Pie in the same room together, but just hold off. In fact, I’d say such a scene would have to be very carefully constructed to be effective. Not to say it can’t be done (and done well at that), but a scene like this is high risk, high reward.

Hope this helps!

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It does.

Thank you.