On Sweetie Belle from TSC · 8:36am Nov 15th, 2013
So I drank a monster... and a lot of coffee and now I can't sleep. And this means the writing might be a bit hectic but... good thing I don't work later to—
Damn.
Anyway, so, a preamble. From time to time, when writing a story, you can get a bit exhausted and suffer from writer's block, indifference and lack of willpower to write. When this happens to me, sometimes I sit down and write about the story. Not the story, but about it, or the characters in it.
In this case, as the title says, I'm going to write about Sweetie, but instead of keeping it to myself, I'll share it with you guys.
So, Sweetie Belle in the Sweetie Chronicles: Fragments.
Warning: Contains Spoilers
When I started this project, I decided a few things. First off, Trixie did not meet Ryouga in the forest and follow him through the multiverse like classic Ranma 1/2 fics.
Rather, it took place in an AU, a bit ahead of the time in the TV series. It was before S2 came out, so I was ambivalent on how much detail to put in, but at that time, we didn't know about Rarity's parents, so Sweetie and Rarity had none.
Sweetie had grown up the happy filly we all know from the show, pretty much sticking to canon, except obviously under the care of her older sister, for whom she had a very deep love, more like a daughter/mother than sisterly feelings most of the time. Her friends had also grown, and although they hadn't found their cutie marks yet, they had found mentors, Scoots in the form of Rainbowdash, and Applebloom like any good Apple, with her family, leaving her alone and with not much to do.
So, naturally, wanting her to do something, anything, Rarity asked Twilight to mentor Sweetie in magic. And that's where our story started. Remember, this is still a kid we're talking about. In my mind, at that point, she was roughly 10. Naturally the classes under Twilight were not very exciting at the beginning... she struggled with levitating stuff, just like Twilight and I'm sure many other unicorns, and slowly got better.
Twilight and Sweetie's relationship was a bit strained at the beginning. Sweetie saw the whole thing as a chore, while Twilight was in unknown territory: trying to teach magic to a filly that didn't want to be there in the first place.
Of course that slowly changed, and Trixie's blunder helped cement their friendship and trust... by the time Twilight started her experiment, Sweetie was a devoted student, impressed by Twilight's achievements and strength, but also understanding it took time and effort to get there.
And then... she screwed up and her world was torn upside down. And sideways. And time and space turned into soup, and Twilight into a crystal statue that burst into pieces.
Sweetie is still 10. Now, let's put this in context, a child is not completely useless at that age, in fact, children are resourceful and Sweetie had the basics down for simple spells, but her Crusader years and her personality is what helped her surmount problem after problem. In Of Mares and Magic Werewolves, for example, were dangerous, but also a factor she knew about already.
Trusting Trixie took some doing on the showmare's part (gasp! LuS!) but once Sweetie understood she was not in the same world, it was a surmountable challenge, and Sweetie emerged stronger from that bond of trust. So, this 10 year old and Trixie go rescue Twilight. The important factor here, I think, is to remember that although it was a dangerous moment, Sweetie was still surrounded by ponies that loved her and cared for her. Rarity, Trixie, Twilight... they took the time to help her and gave her a very important artifact: her notebook.
This is the pillar of stability and familial love that Sweetie can carry with her. In fact, it is her most prized and loved possession. It represents friendship beyond worlds and time... and in a way, she had that reinforced when she met the Crusaders again in BB's Nightmares Don't Last Forever. Her prank war against Nightmare Moon was humorous and controlled. She was never in danger, and again felt protected from Nightmare Moon herself, to having her friends and family supporting her during her test at Celestia's Nightmare Moon's School for Gifted Unicorns. She was afraid, in a childish way, to confide in her friends about who she truly was, and her lesson was important: not to lie to those that love her.
That made things a bit easier in her next visit, where she ended up in a situation where she was still loved, still supported... but she had to deal with an uncomfortable feeling. Sweetie knew something Rarity had done to herself was really, really bad... but she didn't really understand how bad it was, or what those clothes around Rarity's forehooves were covering.
She just knew that Rarity had hurt herself and that she had been suffering for the longest time. Of course, the interaction with this Sweetie really helped Rarity step out of that hole, and if BrianBlessedPony ever continues it, you'll find that TSC canon is going to change Rarity's future for the better. Anyway.
This is the first time Sweetie has dealt with a personal, deep hurt like her sister's. It's not an immediate threat, and that moment when they are all singing together helps her realize things are going to be okay... and in the process she found a new, unknown mentor: Octavia.
Her visit to On A Cross and Arrow was another moment where friendship proved stronger than distance and circumstance. She was still a Crusader. She had a brother, not a sister and Luna's counterpart proved to be as amiable as Luna herself had been during Nightmare Night. Not a bad run for a 10 year old.
But then, she was thrown into a place where she had to face the fact that things would not be as easy as that all the time. Meeting Puppysmiles and the Goddess in Pink Eyes, was my chance to give her a taste of the actual dangers out there, while still not going full Wasteland on her. Sweetie had to grow up a bit there, and face the fact that not all ponies are her friends and that they can hurt each other.
This revelation deeply affected her, still showing its ugly head in the world of The Best Night Ever, which is where she grew up the most... and yet not.
You see, Sweetie spent two years of no consequences there. That means, that no matter what she did, there was no punishment, no actual measure of good or bad. She grew in many ways, but she was still a bit off... because again, whatever happened, she was fine. She learned to duel, and play the cello, as well as how to speak a couple of languages and behave in court... but other than a couple of hard lessons, even her deaths were inconsequential in the grand scheme of things... this twelve year old left with the same impression of love and friendship overcoming everything... which brings me to Aesthetic B's The Immortal Game.
Some people had issues with how Sweetie handled Rarity. To put it in perspective, Sweetie was under the impression that no matter where she ended up, her sister/mother-figure would be there to protect her and love her... seeing Rarity as a monster (through Esteem's manipulation and Rarity's paranoia about her sister just having to be safe somewhere else) and see her do what she did... was truly too much for a filly so trusting. Remember that Chrysalis' training was also done in a sleeper-agent format, so Sweetie had no way of understanding she was being manipulated to that extent.
Was she selfish when she refused to even forgive Rarity? Yes, but on the other hand a young filly her age, with two full years of no-consequence was definitely not prepared for that. She fled, a bit colder, a bit more callous but still a child. Will her choices in future world steer her to the light again? Well, that's what I'm here to tell slowly in each chapter.
So, while she's visiting A Heart of Change Sweetie still needs to really deal with that... perhaps Apple Bloom and Scootaloo are right, wherever she goes the Crusaders will be there for her... but can she trust them?
Sweetie has still some growing up to do, and where she is now will provide some amazing moments of growth and understanding for her. I hope you guys love where I'm taking the story itself, because it's not going to be as easy as deciding what will happen just because she's in a specific type of story!
~WD
Interesting.
You know, I should get caught up in TSC. I am so far behind...
WD, is that what I need to get back into my writing... a fuckton of caffeine? Damn... I need my DD Great One cup filled to the top with Espresso. That way, I will be able to see aromas and maybe write again
1509505 Your not the only one.
I'm still two chapters behind on this one, I haven't read The Immortal games or A Heart of Change yet 
I really need to though.
1509516
Just get thirty Five Hour Energies. Trust me, they work. You will be out of your mind, but they will work.
1509519
Dude, I am seven and a half chapters behind. XD I have so much to read, you have no idea.
1509522 I am already out of my mind... at least, that is what the Veterans administration and a judge said
1509524
It's a mixed blessing to be so far behind. One one hand, you have no idea what's going on, but on the other hand, the volume of words to be read will be pleasurably immense.
1509530
Yeah, just a leisurely 151,000 words. No biggie.
Good to know that I'm following her growth as you're intending thus far!
I can somewhat perceive how she's going to be emotionally recovering in her time with Scootaloo and Spike in EoP. At the same time, the tenacity exhibited by the inhabitants will encourage a cementing of the emotional growth pattern that TBNE had largely shaped and TIG had crystallised in a few aspects.
While quite unconventional up front, EoP will do Sweetie good. She needs time to learn how to mourn as an older soul, see how life can grow in even the most harshest of situations, and a dear friend who's soul is equally, if not more so, older than her own. Scootaloo has learned some lessons in EoP that Sweetie desperately needs right now.
1509534
Welcome to how I often read the slower serial epics!
My only issue with the TIG chapter was that Sweetie trusted Esteem at all. He is so obvious. But that is more an issue with TIG's character design and less TSC's plot.
1509631
It's possible that WD nudged Sweetie in that manner (admittedly of which is quite contrived) so as to develop her character for proper rebounds with future pathings. TIG is pretty balanced out with itself, so TSC kinda required a bit of... Rocking the boat to bring about the desired outcome.
More reasons to read it.
Or re read it.
~Skeeter The Lurker
I like that Sweetie gets to be a character, rather than a caricature.
So many authors treat her like a poor interpretation of Bubbles from the Power Puff Girls...
1509516
HEH... just be cautious. When I was experimenting in kitchen, I learned hard way, that one energy drink and huge mug of my "Super-Strong Coffe And Hot chocolate mix", So strong and dense that it has consistence of mud, can have really weird effects. World for me literally slowed down, no one could understand what I was talking, And I had to be constantly in move, my whole body was twitching, and heart pounding so hard that it hurt. When It finally burned out I instantly fell asleep. And whole next day my head was hurting so much that it was hard to think.
I think I am going to sell that thing.
Ps. Imagine giving it to Pinkie
1509524 It's to bad Fred2266's youtube account got deleted, he had most of this one read. Audio Readings help when you get behind.
And as far as I know he was the only one doing readings for this epic. His new account only has up to "The Lights Never Go Out" I think.
Either way though, this one is worth the read. Specially "The Best NIght Ever" it's seriously one of my favorite chapters so far, as long as it is. Gotta to admit, I believe this story is one of the motivations that got me into writing my own. Though my own writing ability isn't anything compared to Wanderer Ds.
1509524 I'll agree with 1509952. TSC is what got me into writing again, and The Best Night Ever chapters are pretty amazing. If nothing else you should really read up to and finish those ones. I hope you find the time to do so
1509991 Yea, I actually have read those, I love "The Best Night Ever" chapters. Those along with "The Lights Never Go Out" are my favorites of this story.
This could not have come at a better time for me. I've been working on a TSC offshoot off and on (mostly off) for months now, and today I was going to apply the final coat of polish and release it. I wasn't quite satisfied, but it would be serviceable. Then I saw this blog.
Now, armed with a far more comprehensive understanding of Sweetie's character (and knowing precisely how much subjective time she spent in The Best Night Ever,) I can make my little tribute much, much better. Thanks, D.
1510005 For sure, they're my favourites as well. The Light Never Goes Out is what spurred me to get writing again. I read it and thought, 'I have to try and write something, and maybe, just maybe, people might like it.' And boy, am I glad I decided to do that. And of course The Best Night Ever is just fantastically written and adds so much to Sweetie as a character.
Writing about a story? That sounds like something I can do!
1510026 Yea, The Best Night Ever I think was the final push for me to list Sweetie Belle as my favorite out of the CmC,
Course I shouldn't let fanon influence me on a character but it's hard not to. Course I always did like Sweetie Belle, I just never really considered her my favorite.
The Light Never Go Out, though, that one had a lot of emotional moments I just loved. The overall story reminds me a lot of my favorite anime Tsubasa Chronicles.
Well, now I'm definitely going to be keeping this point in the forefront of my mind with every chapter. It makes a good deal of sense, especially considering where she is right now. Her visit with "Harmony" is going to knock both of them for a loop.
I'm way too excited about this next chapter for my own good. I LOVE EoP.
(* these after words mark that an explanation is done about the word)
TSC is one of those godlike stories*, which bring up some of the simplest and finest questions up in perfect ways, like growing up. Well okay, growing up is not simple, but it takes many years to do so, which is why it can be taken as simple thing, how ever, Sweetie is going through necessary changes with speed so astonishing that it makes me think of a sniper rifle. Each chapter is a bullet that either is fatal hit or not.
"That made so much sense..."
Shut up, I'm not the best of writers, I'm more of that guy who's complete fucknut crazy.
"Is that why you keep talking to your brains in these comments of yours?"
I said shut up.
TSC is a lovely story, but it feels like it's not nearly as serious as it seems, why? Because of the crossovers. There's nothing bad in crossovers, they just make me cringe awfully easy, because it means unoriginal is colliding with original, especially in this case. But that is also what makes it harder to think of a good way to develop the character so it works. That's why this story is one of the only stories I accept crossovering with another story**, even if I haven't read that particular story, and fuck no, I'm not reading 100 000+ word story just to read a ~20 000 word chapter. TSC uses the crossover's environment very well, and brings it up a lot better than many other crossovers.
Anyways, TSC is a wonderful story, all I wish is that it would also make a bit more funny and happy chapters. I love those. Dramatic chapters and chapters with bad things are usually either epic, or extremely depressing. You're a good fucking writer, which is why every chapter happens to affect me with quite the power. I laugh, feel like shit etc. I think I even felt annoyed at some point.
Oh, and if none of this seemed to make sense or didn't make sense or sounded like idiot trying to be wise... well the latter is pretty much how it is. But hey, at least I tried!
...
"You shouldn't have."
I said shut up.
"I'm your brain... I think it would be quite fatal to simply shut up..."
...god damnit...
---------
*Godlike-list is my own list of the best fics I've read. To be one, the story needs something different and big to be a godlike story. For example, it doesn't need the best of grammar to be there, but good grammar is still required of course. The story needs to be something that changes my reading. Right now one of the biggest achievements on the Godlike-list is a story that would make me cry, that has never happened yet and I've read a couple of the saddest stories. About love, death, or simply happiness. 350 was so close that it got the place, but not only because of that.
**There is a story that I like very very much, but it nearly ruined itself by creating a totally unnecessary crossover out of no where. It was a dick move from the author, but I eventually got over it. It later turned out to be better than I thought but it still bothers me to the point that I need to wonder, should I dislike the story or not (the story has many other problems too, but it has an amazingly well developed main character, and the OC's are actually quite well made even if they sound like they're made with a pony-generator and 10 minute thinking time).
1509920 Sounds like when I took a whole package of No-Doze...
I was talking to a tree while driving my car!
Please do not overdo the Caffeine. At low levels it is a benign stimulant, but at moderate-levels it causes abdominal pain, palpitation, diarrhœa, and disphoria. At high-levels, caffeine can cause cardiac-arrest. After coming down from moderate-amounts of caffeine or surviving high-levels of caffeine, one experiences headaches. Please be careful.
Now on to the blog. I like the Sweetie Chronicles. I learned about it when This PlatinumCrown started referencing it. I Read the Sweetie Chronicles. I like them. I did not read the stories it referenced for lack of time with the exception of Pink Eys:
I took the Challenge FallOut: Equestria (the challenge for reading the longest FanFiction ever, which it is not any more because an other story in its universe, FallOut: Equestria: Project Horizons is now longer). I just found it strange that the story was happy.
The Sweetie Chronicles is a great tour of the universes of fanfiction about MLP:FIM. Mine only gripe is that it confuses universe and dimension. Other than that, it is great.
Gotta love Monster lol
Tell me something I don't know.
No spoilers here (if you've read all the chapters). At least I know now that I'm understanding the story correctly. Of course, this is when you'll throw that curveball you're saving. 
The only problem I had with TIG chapter is not really a problem at all. She didn't behave logically/smartly, but why would she? Our poor little filly is so immature still.
It's sort of like yelling at your TV when your favorite athlete clumsily drops the ball or something. It makes you get upset and go nuts, but you know there's really nothing to do but accept it and enjoy the game.
Sorry, but what did you mean when you wrote LuS?
ponychan.net/chan/youarespoiler.png
No!
I'm not going to read it...yet.
~Leonzilla
1510216 wrote : "Please do not overdo the Caffeine. At low levels it is a benign stimulant, but at moderate-levels it causes abdominal pain, palpitation, diarrhœa, and disphoria. At high-levels, caffeine can cause cardiac-arrest. After coming down from moderate-amounts of caffeine or surviving high-levels of caffeine, one experiences headaches. Please be careful."
I think I'm at moderate-levels, I'm experiencing those symptoms.
I better cut back on my caffeine.
I don't want to experience the high-level symptom any.