Author's Notes + Sequel
And so, this story is complete. But I have a few things to say first before I finally close the book of The Sweetest Gem for good.
This fic had a very long history. I first got the idea for it, and subsequently started planning and outlining it… in August of 2011. Yup, totally serious. This was about two months after I became a brony and my mind was full of ideas.
An early prototype of the first chapter was actually submitted to Fanfiction.net in early September, before I decided to take it down because back then, I was trying for an Equestria Daily feature and so I had my standards set very high.
Finally, the first two chapters were submitted in late November and early December, respectively. EQD then rejected them… due to problems with the characterization and prose.
And so, the next four months were endured as I gave this story to the Training Grounds on Ponychan, and for those four long, agonizing months, I kept rewriting only to have them constantly send it back with more errors.
The first four chapters you see now are the final product of the original two chapters, which you can still read in their original forms: here and here. THOSE four chapters were put on FF.net and DA in mid-April. It was after I finished the fifth chapter in late May that I finally had the idea to put this story on FiMFiction.net.
Why did I decide that? Two words: NO FOALSHIPPING. That was the new rule Equestria Daily put up around that time, suddenly making The Sweetest Gem unable to be featured on that site. I wasn’t bitter, though. I’m still satisfied with the fic that I now have out of that initial prepping to get the fic on EQD.
So yeah, this fanfic’s been 11 months in the making. And BOY was it worth it.
As for why I started The Sweetest Gem in the first place? Sweetie Belle and Spike does happen to be my ‘OTP’ as people would call it, or the shipping I support the strongest. And yet… it’s not a very popular and widely looked-at ship.
I’m not going to chalk it up to an unpopularity of foalshipping in general, because I’ve seen PLENTY of SpikeXApplebloom and CrusaderXCrusader content, so that’s a moot argument. So… yeah, I don’t quite understand it. It makes logical sense to me.
Spike is in love with Rarity. One of the main reasons ‘Sparity’ is implausible beyond the simple child-crush IMO is the age argument. Yes, I’ve seen all the fanart and fanfics that depict them as being ‘older’. I still find it pretty jarring. It’s still a major age difference.
FACT: Rarity has a sister.
FACT: This sister looks very similar to her.
FACT: She’s also the same age as Spike.
There is a stigma attached to the whole idea of SpikeXBelle, that idea being “CAN’T GET THE GIRL? DATE HER SISTER”. So my mission was to create a fic that not only stayed as far away from that idea as possible, but also basically stomped on it and threw it out the window.
And so, The Sweetest Gem chronicles around a story where it’s Sweetie Belle who crushes on Spike first, and then her intimate bonding with him (particularly the giving of the sapphire) slowly instigates a change of feelings from Spike, as he finds himself involuntarily crushing on Sweetie Belle back, and eventually his love for her dominates over his love for Rarity.
My intention with The Sweetest Gem was to begin a new revolution. And so far, it seems to be working. I’ve seen much more material pop up regarding SpikeXBelle and new romance opportunities for Sweetie Belle in general.
The original draft of The Sweetest Gem even inspired a Scootabelle fanfic by darkshadow051 called New Discoveries (which by the way is a very excellent fanfic that you should ALL go read).
One last thing I want to say is… thank you. To all of you.
When I submitted The Sweetest Gem to FiMFiction.net, I was expecting at most a handful of people to read it, and I was hoping that maybe at least a few people would comment on it… possibly.
And then a few hours after I uploaded it, I checked into FiM to discover 64 new notifications waiting for me.
And then a little while after that, it got FEATURED.
Suddenly I was looking at thousands of views, hundreds of likes, at times, it even got to a point where over 100 people were favoriting it a day.
I am... STILL overwhelmed at how popular this fanfic has been on this site.
Thank you, everyone. Thank you for reading The Sweetest Gem. Thank you for favoriting The Sweetest Gem. Thank you for commenting on The Sweetest Gem. Thank you for rating The Sweetest Gem. Thank you for liking The Sweetest Gem.
Especially thanks for all the praise you guys give me. At times, I would make even Eeyore from Winnie-the-Pooh shocked at how little self-esteem I have for myself and my writing. I especially thank those of you who have been giving me your criticisms and suggestions for improvement. I could always use those.
Just… thank you!
As it says in the story description, The Sweetest Gem is only the first episode in a larger storyline that I like to call “The Gems Saga”. I deliberately left this fanfic open-ended, with quite a few questions left unanswered.
How will Rarity react to Applejack’s newfound romance, considering her last line of dialogue? Will Fluttershy ever confess her true feelings to Rarity? What was up with the statue of Discord?
Why is Pinkie acting so uncharacteristic and not keeping promises very well anymore? Does that weird prophecy she made in Chapter 9 actually mean something? Why does it seem like a lot of ponies are finding love all of a sudden?
And most importantly…
What is in the tea Rarity makes that apparently makes it so good?
All of these questions will be answered as we move further through the Gems Saga. And I’m pleased to announce that the next major fanfic in this grand storyline is…
The Gemmed Satyr
Rarity becomes desperate to find her special somepony once and for all as an air of romance in Ponyville continually surrounds her. But little does she know… that her own best friend has been secretly harboring a crush on her for a very long time.
Yup. It’s a Fluttershy X Rarity fic that continues directly on from where The Sweetest Gem ended, and continue the hidden arcs already seeded throughout this fic.
It’s now up, and you can read it here!
Wow, did you actually read all of that stupid and boring old text?
You deserve a cookie.
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Snap. now I need a glass of milk
The answer to all of those questions?
COCAINE
Um, your welcome? Shouldn't we be thanking you for making such a high quality work of literature?
A prepubescent puppy crush is hardly "being in love."
My response to 'Fluttershy X Rarity': Celestia help us all.
I personally think SpikexSweetie Belle really started picking up after the end of "A Canterlot Wedding Part 2" with that one snapshot that showed Spike and Sweetie Belle dancing together but all in all this was a really good fanfic and I'll hopefully get around to reading the sequel soon.
Quick thing, I'm pretty sure Spike is older than Sweetie, he just ages slower. Twilight hatched him with her magic before she was Princess Celestia's student(Princess Celestia took her as her personal student right after); she was a filly at the time, and Rarity was too. I don't think Sweetie Bell was alive when this happened. I can't say which he's closer to in age, but I don't think the age difference is enough to pose a problem. Though, one thing people tend to leave out of fics involving Spike and romance that could pose a problem; is the fact that his life span is much, much longer than that of a normal pony. He'd have to watch them grow up, get old, and eventually die while he remains fairly young. While he may be similar to an adult pony at some point, that will pass and then his size will start to become a problem(might be a spell to stunt his growth). The life span difference was in my thoughts every chapter I read, and that took much of the enjoyment out of the fic. I can see shipping Spike with a princess, since they share a similar problem, but with a regular pony it's a relationship destined for destruction by time; leaving Spike all alone without the pony he'd come to love for milennia.
Heh, sorry this turned into a bit of a rant.
I absolutely HATE shipping between mane six, and honestly think the concept should be d@mned...
BUT I MUST FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENS!
1416429
Applejack and Rainbow will have expanded roles in the third episode of the saga, and one of them will play a rather vital part later on in The Gemmed Satyr.
1429195
Hmm... Perhaps...
It all depends, really. *shrug* I get your point, though, for sure.
BUCK YEA! COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOKIE!
Wait...
I’m not going to chalk it up to an unpopularity of foalshipping in general, because I’ve seen PLENTY of SpikeXApplebloom and CrusaderXCrusader content, so that’s a moot argument. So… yeah, I don’t quite understand it. It makes logical sense to me.
WHERE?! WHERE?! WHERE?! I can't find any anywhere on the internet!
Either way, great story. Favorited, upthumbed, and a look at your Gems series.
1527155
Thanks for pointing those out. No, I'm a native English speaker. Just a few cases of bad word choice, I suppose.
"Bristled" is a real word though, and I'm certain it's appropriate in that context.
1559680
I originally wrote it so Spike was very unenthusiastic about Twilight's tasks. But as I went along, it occured to me how much I was making Spike sound like her personal slave. So I tried to make him more optimistic.
And yeah, the first few chapters are the fic are very erratically paced. That was before I started planning out my story and chapters ahead of time. For the first half of TSG, I was just making up crap as I went along. (I don't think I even know how I was going to end the story at that point.)
Trust me, it gets much better later on.
1559872
Yeah, there's never been any indication of the show that Sweetie knows about Spike's crush.
1623196
There is a reason that I did that scene with Discord, and why he can communicate. It won't be answered in this fic, but a later one. This is the first part of a bigger saga.
And that wraps up that. GIVE ME MAH COOKEH
!!!
...Anyways, delightful little story you've got here. I know I bashed a couple aspects about it but all in all it was a fun read. It was sweet and heartwarming, which is what I was hoping for. Time to go add Satyr to my Read Later list. Thanks for sharing!!
Cheers!
1715108
I remember doing that a lot on purpose because of Spike being included in it.
great story, and thank you for the cookie !
*adopts Thrakerzod voice* I have achieved the cookie! Take me, so I may feast upon your mortal 'baked goods'!
1873416
My opinion has changed since then, slightly. Fluttershy is now my #4, beating out Twilight, who is my #5. Sweetie Belle is tied for my least favorite crusader, sicne Scootaloo is best and everyone knows that.
And also, you think RD is a background pony?
This is a background pony:
images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20111013212331/mylittlebrony/images/8/83/Davenport.jpg
Davenport. 5 seconds of screen time and only one line.
He's my favorite pony in the whole show, though. I mean, come on, the possibilities are endless!
1559723 Yeah, I'm really not a fan of Spike-as-Twilight's-slave as an idea. To my mind Spike cares about Twilight deeply; she hatched him and they grew up together. As such he feels some sort of sense of gratitude and debt towards her--maybe this week's episode will shed some light on it? As to Twilight, she used to have severe empathy troubles regarding any pony distracting her from her studies. She probably viewed Spike and his clumsy efforts to help her as irritating, if occasionally useful. It's only as she realizes her need for friends and learns more about empathy
. Oh yeah, and it's awesome to see someone else with an appreciation for dear old Seven. Sad his was the last of the classic series' tenures.
and gets over her massive crush on Celestiathat she begins to understand what she means to Spike and vice-versa. Think about how she treats him in "Secret of my Excess" and "The Crystal Empire" versus "Winter Wrap Up" or "Friendship is Magic Part I". Did you read all that? If so, have a cookie. I recently obtained one from some other boring text full of explanations, but it was oatmeal raisin1559723 So I just finished watching Spike At Your Service....That ending part--
I cried like a pussy
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I loved the story bro! I've been reading since the beginning and was hoping you would finally make the rest and you did. THANK YOU FOR A STORY THAT ACTUALLY MADE ME WISH I COULD LIKE A MILLION TIMES! I WILL READ IT ALL OVER AGAIN NOW!
I cried like a pussy. a soft weak pathetic pussy. just good show sir jolly good show
2065838
Thank you.
I deserve a cookie? Oki doki loki!
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EDIT: I may seem calm when posting this, but I'm dyin of diabeetus from this fic.
Great fic, you deserve the instant praise it got.
2233561
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Thanks.
This is a great fanfiction, keep on the good work! =)
2261648
Thanks!
Oh god I want to curs so much right now. How else can I describe how much I LOVED this story, I even had to take a break at points and smoke to calm my nerves. Dude you made me like reading!
Did you say "cookie"? I WANT A COOKIE!
Btw, I LOVED this story. I always had the same thought about Spike X Sweetie Belle. Same age, similar to her sister. It just kind of fit, you know? I'm glad I had the chance to read this. I can't wait to read the rest of the Gem Saga.
to the guy 2 comments beow this one: this guy made me love reading too
that was quite a wonderful story, and i am looking forward to starting the sequel
*gets a cookie and eats it*
It's no surprise to me to hear that this story got featured. It's most excellent.
To think that i found it from Youtube.
I loved how all the characters and their emotions were portrayed, how everything was believable, how Discord, how Luna, and how well written and humorous it all was. I'm most definitely looking forward to the next part!
2476526
DarkShadowFilms101's live-read, I presume?
2485527 indeed. I may have to go back and watch some more of that.
Thumbs up just for the cover art. It's soooo cute!!!
2513268
Thanks. If you want, you should follow the link to the person who originally made it and thank them too.
I read it! Now give me my cookie!!
wave106.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/662-the-cookie-monster-is-serous-about-his-cookies.jpg
2561651
AHH! Okay! Take it!
JUST DON'T HURT ME!
FACT: They are seen dancing together at the end of Canterlot Wedding.
Anyway, it was a nice story, but I think I'll get off here. Not into the whole lesbian mane 6 romance, which seems to be where your Gem Saga thingy is going.
2594127
Yeah, that's also true. Though I'm just talking about how I got the idea to do the fic (which happened before that episode aired).
And that's fine. It is all lesbian stuff from here apart from the CaramelXAJ stuff, so I perfectly understand. Not everyone's thing.
2594086
All these were uploaded on different dates...
Which one is the start of it? :/
2636776
The first chapter, "Sapphires and Sadness". It's still all linear, it's just some chapters had to be re-edited and somewhat rewritten throughout the story's run, so that's why the dates are all jumbled up.
Then where's mah cookeh?