I've had the idea for years, planning to use it for the May Shipping contest one year. I have the plot, setup, and the ending, but I can't think of the middle part for the life of me. It's like this...

Fluttershy is making an effort at preparing her animal sanctuary for a meeting with Filthy Rich, hoping to get an endorsement from him to keep the place going. Angel wants attention as he so often does, but Fluttershy can't spare the time for him and expects the best behavior from him during Rich's visit. As it seem like he's about to whine over this, we jump over to Diamond Tiara trying to 'but' her way out of a punishment established by her father. Due to getting a midnight release of a book that's parodying the Twilight series, Diamond broke her curfew and now has to follow Filthy Rich as he makes his way to the sanctuary. Diamond finds no interest in seeing a bunch of animal, claiming that they're boring and titling the place as 'a zoo' and would rather read the book that's currently confiscated by Rich as part of the punishment, so she's finding this whole ordeal unbearable.

Filthy Rich and Diamond Tiara eventually make it to the sanctuary and are greeted by Fluttershy. Fluttershy was planning for Filthy Rich by showing him around, but is accepting of Tiara's inclusion and tries to get on her good side by giving her the chance of meeting the animals more closely, yet Tiara puts on an act of being polite and decline the offer, saying she'll find it more enjoyable to lean against the bolder off to the side. Fluttershy is a bit baffled by her behavior, and while Filthy sees her actions to be rude, he sees this as a way for Diamond to redeem his trust. Rich tells Tiara that she's allowed to stay here, but when he returns, he expects to see her there, and she accepts the terms.

Two minutes in and Tiara gets bored out of her mind as she rest against the boulder, unaware that Angel is on the other side of the rock. Something happens that gains his attention (like Tiara popping open a bag of carrot sticks) and Angel tries to pull out his cute side to receive some attention, and while Tiara acts enchanted, she leads him into a trick (like shoving that empty bag over his head). Tiara enjoys Angel's angry look at her and she continues to pester him. After poking the bunny too many times, Angel bites Tiara's hoof and the chase begins.

This is the part I'm lost in, so it's up to you on how to fill it. I keep seeing it like a cat and mouse kind of thing where one reigns dominant for a while before the other reclaims it. Whatever you choose, something happens to Tiara and she's in need of help that only Angel can provide. I keep thinking that she falls into a hole that she can't climb out of and Angel has to dig her out of it, but I'm not too proud of that option. What matters however is that Tiara's pleading eventually gets to Angel's conscience and helps her to which she's grateful for.

The story ends with Fluttershy and Filthy Rich finding Diamond Tiara and Angel back at the boulder in a more harmonic display. They could be playing, Tiara could be petting him, whatever. Fluttershy says something and says Angel's name, catching Rich's interest as it's a unique name to him. Fluttershy explains that while Angel can be spoiled, he can be a real guardian angel when we need one. Filthy Rich finds it amusing as he named Diamond Tiara in a similar fashion despite her harsh boasting and bullying, saying that comparing how a diamond's flame can make a beam of light become brighter, Diamon Tiara has a way to bring the best out of others.

There you have it. A story that was in my head long enough to invoke too many headaches to keep track of. Take the idea, write a story, bring attention to who gave you the idea, and have fun.

You need to write this yourself! It's a solid idea, and you already know almost the whole story. More importantly, it's your idea. Nobody else can possibly write your story. Plus, it's May, so you can enter the May shipping contest.

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Alright, then perhaps you could suggest something that will invoke some kind of inspiration within me to fill in the part that I've been struggling with since last year's May Shipping contest.

Conflict between Diamond Tiara and Angel. What tools could a little girl use to gain dominance over a varmint? What tactics can a bunny rabbit use to turn the table on her? What can be resourceful for the situation in the environment of an animal sanctuary? I'm coming up with nothing other than Diamond tying Angel up with a jump rope to be the victim of a makeover and Angel leading Diamond into a wolf den only for her to run out screaming. The May Shipping contest is about how two characters working so well together despite the lack of stories about them are out there, and there's so little back and forth that I have for them that it doesn't help at selling the moment where they place aside their spite and accept the other.

I tried turning to Tom & Jerry, Looney Tunes, even Buster Keaton to gain some ideas and inspirations that could be usable in a chase segment in a setup like this, but none of them are sparking any ideas that would suggest that a little girl and rabbit could perform it without going too far. Because I don't think people would take too kindly at reading that a filly is pinning an ornery bunny down and is punching his face in until there's fear in his eyes or a rabbit is clawing a little girl until blood begins to spill.

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Yeah, pinning a bunny or clawing a filly wouldn't work. Unless the story is dark, but I don't think you're aiming for dark. More broadly, I think "dominance" is not where it sounds like you want to take your story. Having Diamond tie up Angel with a jump rope could be creepy, especially if it's about dominance. (Like if it were part of a fetish porn story.) It's only okay if her motivation is cute or innocent, like wanting to give Angel a makeover. And it starts to become funny if she honestly doesn't understand that Angel doesn't want a makeover. ("Angel shook his head no. Diamond Tiara said, 'You don't like it?' Angel shook his head again. 'Not even a little?' Angel tried to wriggle out of the jump rope as he gave another shake of no. 'Oh. I thought the princess look would be perfect for you. But that's okay! Let's try a goth look instead!'")

It's also not necessarily entertaining if one of them just wants something another one has. Angel wanting Diamond's carrot sticks could go in lots of directions. It could be cute ("Angel pleaded with big, tearful eyes.") or it could be dark ("Angel bit Diamond's foreleg and kicked her face until she dropped the carrots."). It starts to become fun when you exaggerate, like mock-tragedy ("Angel motioned to the birds, and there was a chorus of tragic music as Angel pretended to collapse from starvation."). Tom & Jerry and Looney Tunes often rely on slapstick violence, but I feel like that doesn't usually transfer well to prose. (Also, for what it's worth, real bunnies eat mostly grass. Carrots are kind of like dessert for them.)

It's also more fun if one of them wants something way more than it's worth. (Mock-tragedy is already going in that direction.) Maybe Angel snatches Diamond Tiara's tiara off her head? He might do that out of revenge or greed, and (again) it's not funny on its own. But it gets good when Diamond responds in an over-the-top way. ("Diamond hopped into a tank. 'Give me my tiara back and no one gets hurt.'")

Also, in order to have a satisfying conclusion, you need them to eventually team up somehow. They're not going to resolve their differences unless something pushes them to. So, for example, maybe Angel accidentally leads Diamond into a wolf den, and as they're both fleeing the wolves, they drop the tiara and the carrots. Now they have to work together to get them back.

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I think "dominance" is not where it sounds like you want to take your story.

I couldn't really think of a better word. Alpha Bully? King-of-the-Playground? One is enjoying the torment they're giving while the other refuses to be played as their toy. It's a fight over who'll get their way while the other has to suffer in some way, so the best description of that is...

Angel shook his head no. Diamond Tiara said, 'You don't like it?' Angel shook his head again. 'Not even a little?' Angel tried to wriggle out of the jump rope as he gave another shake of no. 'Oh. I thought the princess look would be perfect for you. But that's okay! Let's try a goth look instead!'

Okay, that sudden shift at the end was quite clever.

Also, for what it's worth, real bunnies eat mostly grass. Carrots are kind of like dessert for them.

I'm aware, as I have rabbits of my own and have been turning to them a couple of times to get Angel's character down. They're spoiled, want nothing to do with us, but when they hear the bag of treats shaking, they start begging on their hind legs. Their greedy behavior even inspired the description I gave about a bag over Angel's head (they dove nose first and swung their paws to get the bag off of them when they pulled back).

Maybe Angel snatches Diamond Tiara's tiara off her head?

That was actually one of the earlier ideas I had. It was intended to be the thing that would get the chase started, but I was in favor for that Poke the Bunny reference (it's an old flash game).

I guess something could happen where the tiara falls from Diamond's head for Angel to take... and toss it into that wolf den.

So, for example, maybe Angel accidentally leads Diamond into a wolf den, and as they're both fleeing the wolves, they drop the tiara and the carrots. Now they have to work together to get them back.

While I respect that option (I've even done it myself), it defeats the payoff that Fluttershy and Filthy Rich have about why they gave Diamond and Angel their names. Angel pushing aside everything that Diamond has done to him during her time of need, Diamond feeling her actions towards Angel waying down on her spirit that'll be determining her fate, I think that would be the best send off for the story. It's bittersweet, it gives a little bit of history to them, it reflects their behavior in the show better than it aught to be, and it's likely something people have never considered before. But... but is a hole the only scenario that can spur these emotions as well as provide a reasonable resolve to itself?

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It's a fight over who'll get their way while the other has to suffer in some way, so the best description of that is...

"Dominance" isn't an inapt word. My objection to it is that it could suggest other, quite different things. If you describe this part of your story as, "Diamond Tiara ties up and dominates Angel," some people will expect it to be NSFW. You don't have to switch to another word, but another word might avoid those connotations. You might consider "rule," "reign," "master," or other words from your favorite thesaurus. I think "King-of-the-Playground" is pretty good, actually, because "king" suggests a positive kind of dominance and "playground" describes how trivial their competition really is.

it defeats the payoff that Fluttershy and Filthy Rich have about why they gave Diamond and Angel their names

Okay, but initially, you said:

The story ends with Fluttershy and Filthy Rich finding Diamond Tiara and Angel back at the boulder in a more harmonic display.

In order to get them from fighting to harmony, they have to reconcile somehow. Maybe not totally, but they have to at least reach a ceasefire. If they don't, the only sensible outcome is that they're still attacking each other when Fluttershy and Filthy Rich come back.

You can play the ending a couple ways. One is that Fluttershy and Filthy Rich are ignorant of what happened. The usual way of making this humorous is to use irony: "Oh, you look so sweet together! You must have had such a good time playing!" This irony works especially well if the fight is still secretly going on by some means the adults can't see.

The other possible ending is that Fluttershy and Filthy Rich are aware of what happened. The easiest way for that to happen is for Angel and Diamond to somehow interfere with whatever Fluttershy and Filthy Rich are doing. For example, maybe Angel runs right by them; then Diamond runs by, seeming to chase Angel; Filthy Rich says, "It must be a game of tag! Look how much fun they're having with each other!"; then it turns out that Angel and Diamond are running from an Ursa Major, and now Fluttershy and Filthy Rich need to run, too. One way to write this ending is to have Angel and Diamond mostly work out their differences by themselves and work together to solve whatever problem they've created. After that's done, they get lectured on how they should have been nice to each other in the first place. You can conclude with the same ironic ending where they're still secretly fighting, or you can have them continue fighting but playfully and with no intent to harm each other.

A different way to end the story is for them to not reconcile at all. The difficulty is that then, you have to figure out how to draw a satisfying conclusion. One option is further escalation: Fluttershy and Filthy Rich stop the fight, lecture Angel and Diamond, and order them to apologize; then Angel steals something from Filthy Rich and runs off, now chased by an angry Filthy Rich and Diamond Tiara plus a Fluttershy who wants to stop him. To make this work as an ending, you have to make Angel really mean it. His emotional arc has to be from being mildly offended by Diamond, to being extremely offended by Diamond, to being over-the-top comically offended at Diamond. In doing so, he has to become pitiable: He's not just offended, angry, and unforgiving; he's also deeply and pathetically petty.

I don't see a way to get a good bittersweet ending out of this setup. But also, I just realized that I'm the only one talking about humor. You mentioned Tom & Jerry, Looney Tunes, and Buster Keaton, but you haven't said that you want to write a comedy. Maybe I've been misinterpreting you; what tone are you going for? Is it comedy, or is it something like drama or slice-of-life?

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You can play the ending a couple ways. One is that Fluttershy and Filthy Rich are ignorant of what happened.

That was the plan. This story was intended to be part of the Locked Conversations tales that I've been making as entries for the May Shipping contests. In them, I try to make it where two individuals are stuck together for a time with no other characters at present, especially if they'd break the focus of the main pairing. What the adults don't know won't eat away at their conscious for the nurturing choices they made.

Maybe I've been misinterpreting you; what tone are you going for? Is it comedy, or is it something like drama or slice-of-life?

My approach was for it to be a light-hearted thrill that doesn't stray from the source material.

Since the main focus is set on what are essentially kids, they wouldn't be exchanging any deep conversations about themselves or sit idlily for very long (one is even more impaired at conversing than last year's entry). They'd be active, allowing their actions to do the talking for them. Tiara and Angel are antagonists more often than not with a selfish/pride personality, so they'd likely start fighting and it'll begin to escalate. Building it up like this would be more exciting for the reader, but it still has to stay within the show's structure. Comedy can fit in almost any given story, so there'd likely be a few spots here and there for humor, but it needs to finish somehow while showing that a positive bond was formed (as to the contest's rules asks of the writers). Despite them fighting, everything needs to end on a positive note, and reestablishing their brawl at the end as something of a friendly rivalry that pushed the other to do better would catch the reader off guard as something sweet despite the bitter outlook it may've expressed.

Most of these examples of rivalry is displayed in straight up fights where they take a stances and want a piece of each other (ex. Ash vs Gary, Goku vs Vegeta, ect), which would be impractical if I want this to be innocent. The next best examples would be chases, and the three examples I mentioned work well in their respected way, just not in the same way of MLP's style with the goal for this story in mind (Tom tends to always get it in the end, dynamite is in every Loony Tune character's back pocket, and Keaton is usually just running for his life and doesn't strike when the option is there). With so little references to turn to that don't have my direction in mind, you can see why I'm considering to pass this story along for someone to take and fill in the areas I'm lost for ideas on.

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My feeling is that the reason why you're running into trouble is because you've figured out actions but not motivations. You have vaguely defined motivations, like anger and jealousy. But as far as I can tell, you haven't worked out in detail what emotions the characters will have towards each other in each scene and how those emotions will influence their actions. Whatever action you have in the middle of the story, and whatever ending you eventually decide on, will only fit your story if it fits the characters' emotions. If you haven't figured out their emotional arc, then you're going to have trouble no matter how good the rest of your ideas are.

The great science fiction writer Alfred Bester once said there was a story idea that floated around in his head for years. When he finally figured out how to make it work, writing the story was easy. But then people would ask him how long he had worked on the story and the best he could do was say, "It took two days to type."

You might learn something about your story by attempting to write it. If you try this method, then you expect to get stuck at some point, but all the stuff you wrote up to that point will tell you about how the story goes, and that may help.