Future of Ponies Protecting Ponies · 1:09am Nov 6th, 2014
STOP: POTENTIAL SPOILERS FOR Ponies Protecting Ponies AHEAD!
(Assuming the blog title didn't make that obvious)
Just over two months later, and this story has reached its conclusion. I want to thank those of you who have been following it up to this point; your kind words and enthusiasm for the characters and story make getting to this point worth it :)
Now, I've been asked about it a few times, and if you're reading this, I can only assume that you're curious yourself: where do we go from here?
First off, I want to say that as much fun as I had working on this, I'm not quite ready to start something new right from the get-go. There are a few others aspects of my life needing attention right now. A few other things to work on, improve, and, in some cases, complete. Anything new related to this story maybe be a ways out yet, but hey, at least I waited until this one was completed to say that, right?
My first goal right now is to get more recognition. I've already gotten a reply from EQD once, and have applied as many of their improvements as I've felt that I can at this point in time. With the story now complete, I'll be submitting it again, and again, and again, until I can get it posted on the website. That may seem like a lofty goal, especially for a beginning writer like myself, but their last response was very positive, and I have confidence in this story. Octavia's Reprise as well, but at the moment, this one has more attention. I've got a list of other places to try my luck on, but I won't list them here. Doesn't feel right, somehow. I suppose we'll see 
So. Let's talk sequels. What else is in store for the ponies who protect other ponies? I have a few ideas. First, and this is the boring one, I just leave this story as a one-off and let the readers use their imagination on how they might be involved in other events. Like I said: that's the boring one. Though I do want to see how reactions go from these others sources I plan on approaching to best assess what's working, and what isn't. What excites people, and what bores them. I think it'll help guide me to make the best sequels possible.
Second, I start another "story" where each "chapter" is a self-contained character exploration kind of thing detailing what's happening in the background of each episode. Though from a fan perspective I could see where this could be a lot of fun, I personally think it sounds exhausting. That's twenty-some chapters with varying amounts of action and background ponies, and I just wonder if I could really come up with something good for each one, and make sure that each chapter is just as interesting as the last.
Third, and most attractive option to me at the moment, is to do a six chapter story in which each chapter is a character-driven piece about each of the story's primary characters. I love how each of them formed while writing this story, and I've still got pages of notes detailing aspects of their histories and personalities that haven't yet come to light. Kind of like Marvel's recent trend of superhero movies, I think it would be a great way to get to know more about each character before bringing them all back together again for the next big thing. And heck, some of their stories could even overlap with ones from the show. I've also thought about stories about pairing the characters, kind of like the "Friends Forever" comic line, but one thing at a time.
Naturally, both the second and third options would then be followed up by a bigger story focused around big events from the show. In other words, exactly like the show does: slice-of-life stories in between the big adventure romps. I've even got ideas on how to handle some of them, with some questions brought up in this stories finding answers; I planted seeds in these chapters in case I ever intended to grow them. What might that be? Hopefully I can get around to letting you find out 
Lastly, I made a comic just for fun and posted it on deviantArt. I've been asked about how I could possibly handle the Tirek story arc, and then this popped up into my mind. It's not a preview, or a sequel, or even intended as anything more as just a joke from me to you guys. I hope you enjoy it :) I've also thought about doing an ask blog for these characters, but that's another thing that would take some serious commitment. Again, we'll see how fan reaction goes: I'd like to have a lot of people on board with the idea before committing myself to it.
Alright guys, have at that comment section: this is the place to freely talk about any spoilers and voice your opinion on what should happen next!
An idea I had of something you might like to do was a bit of a mix between your second and third sequel ideas. Talking specifics, from your second idea, I had been thinking, maybe you could do a collection of one-shots based upon certain episodes of the show. Obviously it wouldn't need to (or even should) be every episode since I imagine trying to figure out where the PPP fit into every situation involving the Elements of Harmony would be very tiring. From your third idea, I imagine original chapters would be a good way to explore the character traits of the different ponies. Whatever you decide to follow though, I'm glad to have read this, I look forward to whatever you might publish in the future.