Romance and the Fate of Equestria

I'd like to tell you a little bit about my writing process, how the chapters finally come to you. The first thing you need to know is that the chapter is floating around in my head for many months before it finally becomes something solid. Eventually, usually right around the beginning of each part, I write a short summary of every chapter idea I have, and make sure they're arranged in the proper order, pondering them for several months, jotting down a new idea in the big outline of the story's entire future every time I have one. It's here that I discover I have a lot more ideas for some chapters than others. Some summaries get longer and longer as I keep getting inspired. Others remain two-sentence summaries for their entire lifespan as ideas.

Once it comes time to actually write the next chapter, I speak the whole thing into my little tape recorder. It's pretty meandering, as I try to figure out the order all my thoughts about the chapter go in. Once I've spoken the entire chapter, I wait no less than a day before I listen to the recording, and type up what I hear. (I used to handwrite it, but stopped doing that about a year ago, and this is the first time I've ever told anyone that I don't handwrite it anymore… sorry, everyone I ever told that I handwrite one draft, that was a lie…) This typed draft isn't something that could be posted; it's a lot of shorthand and notes for undertones and implications that I want to convey, things that can't be written outright; it's also where I finally put all the ideas that were put forth in the spoken draft into the correct order. This gets me to the point where I can see the entire chapter.

The next draft is a re-typed version, done in 10-point Verdana font so it looks the way it will once it's on the website, while the previous draft was done in 11-point Times New Roman. I go down the shorthand draft one wall-of-text at a time and replace it with real prose. This draft is the final, and when it's done, I post. So basically, by the time it's in a form that could appear online, it's on its third draft. Fourth, if you count the one that was purely in my head. There's a case for doing that, 'cause even that one's pretty comprehensive.

In every draft, conversations lengthen, new jokes are added spontaneously. The really crazy thing is that every final draft includes vital details which I had never imagined during the many months I spent sloshing the chapter around in my brain; they just rise organically during the week or so it takes to run through my drafting process.

Even my author's notes go through that process. Including this one. Isn't that trippy?

What this also means is that by the time a chapter goes online, I'm pretty much sick of it because I wrote it three times in the past week, plus re-read it at least once to look for typos. Once it gets reviews, then it's validated in my mind. The chapters with the most detailed reviews become my favorites to reread. That's why I like the people who review as many chapters as they possibly can. Love me some validation. Keeps me healthy.

Oh, and one other thing: I don't bother writing any rhymes until the final draft. Unless a certain inspiration strikes me at an earlier stage, all I write is "Zecora/Okapiopteryx says something about X". It keeps the drafts going smoothly. Once the final draft rolls around, I start toying with my options for… rhymable things.

Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Five

In a grassy park in Ponyville, six young ponies were gathered around a picnic table. It was unseasonably warm; the sun was bright and beating down, while there were still patches of snow on the ground.

Truffle Shuffle was at the head of the table, hidden behind a screen made of propped-up folders, surrounded by notes and thick textbooks. The five fillies at the table's sides each had sheets of their own, and the bulk of the table was taken up by a large grid set with various painted metal miniatures. Oddly-shaped dice were scattered all around.

"So," said Truffle Shuffle, peering over his screen and addressing Silver Spoon, "once the two of you are completely alone, the Grandmaster approaches you, and gently touches your hoof." In a guttural, raspy voice, he went on: "Listen, lass… most ponies think that a balance between good and evil means the eradication of all darkness. This is wrong. It means darkness and light existing as equally-powerful forces."

"Oh!" Silver Spoon said in comprehension, affecting a fancy accent. "So if the prophecy is right about an approaching balance between good and evil, that's a bad thing. We want to prevent it, not cause it. Right?"

"Not necessarily," said Truffle Shuffle, still in character. "The high council is right. For all the wrong reasons, but they are right to want the prophecy to come true. They think balance means a bright light throughout the universe, but wherever there is light, there will be darkness. This is the true balance, and it is what is right for nature."

"Wow…," Silver Spoon gasped. "Everything my teacher preaches… everything my friends believe and are fighting for… is wrong."

"Yesss…" Truffle Shuffle hissed. "Join me, child. Be my student, and we will bring balance by wielding light and darkness in equal measure!"

He grinned wickedly, and everyone looked expectantly at Silver Spoon, who was staring blankly. "Aw, crap, the Grandmaster is evil, isn't he?" she grumbled in her natural voice.

Truffle Shuffle sighed in exasperation and also dropped character. "Yes! That was supposed to be obvious from the very beginning! I never intended for you to trust him!"

"So I've been derailing the campaign this whole time?" she demanded. "And… and you all knew this?"

"It was… fairly obvious," Sweetie Belle said sheepishly.

"In a religious order where we all wear white cloaks, I think we all knew better than to trust the one guy in a black cloak," Apple Bloom added dryly.

"Oh. My. Gosh," Silver Spoon said, flushing red with embarrassment. "I've been working for the bad guy since the first session! This is not good… okay, damage control. I draw my sword and attack the Grandmaster."

Truffle Shuffle smirked. "Why?"

"What do you mean, why?" Silver Spoon exclaimed. "Because I've just figured out that he's evil!"

"You figured that out," Truffle Shuffle countered, "but how would your character know that? If she's trusted the Grandmaster all this time, why would she stop now?"

"Um… um… an Insight check to oppose his Bluff check?" she said with a desperate grin.

"Sure, if you're actively searching for signs that he's lying, which you apparently haven't had any reason to suspect."

"…Passive Insight?" she peeped.

"Oh? What's your Wisdom score?"

"Eight, why?"

Truffle Shuffle wrote something down on a tiny piece of paper. "I don't normally do this, it's a bit unorthodox, but just to demonstrate what you've gotten yourself into, this is the Grandmaster's Charisma score." He slipped the note to her.

She glanced at it, and turned it over before any of the others could see it. "Son of a bitch," she said flatly. She gazed up at the sky, doing some math in her head. "But this means… this means it's literally impossible for my Insight to beat his Bluff skill. Which means…"

"Which means you have no choice but to believe everything he says," Truffle Shuffle agreed, smirking. "I wasn't going to paint you into that corner, I never suspected any of you would even begin to trust him… but you did, and at this point you've gone in way too deep, you trust him far too intimately, to turn back now."

"…And you're not gonna let my character just have an epiphany like I did?"

"Ummmm… no," he said decisively. "Remember, these characters haven't been exposed to a lot of stories, they don't know the genre conventions."

"So…" Silver Spoon stammered, "you're saying that because I didn't catch on at the very beginning of this game, I now have to play my character as if she still believes the Grandmaster is a good guy?"

"Which she does, yes," Truffle Shuffle agreed.

"Even though I know he's not?"

"Uh-huh."

Silver Spoon sat in stunned silence for a long period of time, breathing slowly, before a huge grin broke out on her face, and she threw her head back and laughed wildly. "I love roleplaying! This is so awesome! I'd like to apologize in advance if my new master sends me to kill any of you. And I'm saying that now because I'll be enjoying it too much to say it later. I say: Teach me, Grandmaster. Tell me what I have to do to make my friends see the light. No, wait, I wouldn't say see the light, not after what I've just learned. See the darkness? That doesn't sound right. See the… see the truth, I guess. To make them see the truth."

"…Was all that in-character?" Truffle asked.

"Sure, why not."

There was a wicked cackle, and the six of them jumped in surprise. Diamond Tiara had appeared at the end of the table, opposite Truffle.

"Really?" she said gleefully. "Roleplaying games? You're seriously playing roleplaying games? What is that, for my benefit? A visual cue in case I forgot you were all nerds?" She laughed hysterically.

Apple Bloom glared at her nonchalantly, rearranging her papers. "We may be nerds," she said darkly, "but we happen to be a group of nerds, while you appear to be walkin' around the park all… what's the word… alone?"

"Yeah," Sweetie Belle said nastily. "What happened to all your homies and biatches?"

Diamond Tiara smirked. "Still can't say the word 'bitch', huh? Somepony's earning that white wedding dress. They're around, okay? I've got all the friends I need, ready to travel the country at a moment's notice should I demand it."

Silver Spoon puffed, blowing a loose strand of hair out of her eyes. "Well…" she said, "anytime you ever wanna be… not alone anymore… just come to us and say the word. I'll always be saving you a place here."

"Not even in your most delirious fever dreams, you hopeless geek," Diamond Tiara spat, turning away sharply and walking off.

Silver Spoon watched her go sadly. "That wasn't out of line, was it?" she asked the others. "Telling her she's always welcome here?"

"No, no," Sweetie Belle said hastily. "If she came to us with a changed heart like you did, I wouldn't have a problem with that."

While the two of them spoke, Apple Bloom leaned toward Scootaloo. "We gonna talk about what I saw in the lobby on openin' night?" she hissed.

"Spike?" Scootaloo said casually.

"Um, yeah?"

Scootaloo considered Apple Bloom carefully, then decisively said, "It was pretty much exactly what it looked like." She winked.

"O… kay…" Apple Bloom said, looking disturbed.

Silver Spoon glanced at Twist's papers. "Hey, uh, what are all of these 'miscellaneous' skill bonuses on Twist's character sheet?"

Twist covered them hastily. "Hey, no looking at other player'th character theetth!"

"No, no, I'm very interested in where you got all those bonuses," Silver Spoon said suspiciously.

"Oh, that's simple, she's dating the Tomb Keeper," Sweetie Belle said dismissively, gesturing at Truffle Shuffle with her head. "No surprise that every one of her backstory ideas gets her the skill bonuses she asks for."

"Yeah," Scootaloo chuckled. "There's a widely-used term in the roleplaying world for the character who gets lots of perks because she's played by the Tomb Keeper's girlfriend. The term is 'Tomb Keeper's girlfriend'."

"I like that term," said Silver Spoon. "Straight to the point."

"Yeah, that's why it's widely-used," Scootaloo said knowingly.

"Hey, how about we, you know, finish this conversation quickly so we can cut back to the rest of you," Truffle Shuffle said evasively.

"Yeah," Apple Bloom agreed. "Now I know why they say 'never split the party'; I haven't done anything all session."

"Well, I do have to congratulate you for a huge accomplishment," Truffle Shuffle said dryly. "Splitting the party is inevitable, it happens occasionally, but it's not often that a group of players end up on six different worlds, so kudos. Especially since there are only five of you."

"Hey, I blame you," Scootaloo said smugly. "You're the one who put me into a situation where I'd have to be in two places at once. You even made that creepy NPC suggest it as a solution…"

"Yeah, but I didn't think you'd actually manage to do it," Truffle Shuffle muttered. "I still don't understand how you pulled it off…"

"Hey, it's all right there in the rules. With imagination and the dice, the rules can do anything."

Truffle Shuffle glared. "I know. I taught you that."

"Just answer my question, would ya?" Silver Spoon said, poking him.

"All right." He took a deep breath and proceeded in the Grandmaster's voice: "Here's what you need to know, my dear…"