Spike's Family Journey

by frenettek314

Author's Notes: "An Anthology Sequel?!"

Hello to all of you who have read "Spike's Family Journey".

Now that Spike has officially found a forever family to be a part of, I know what you're thinking....

"But where can I see Spike and his family in fun, comedic, and sometimes emotional story format?"

Well, good news oddly specific viewer - now you can!

Introducing an official anthology sequel - "Spike's Family Chronicles"!

Spike, the Mane 6, Starlight Glimmer, and all your favorites are back in a growing collection of one-shot family stories that detail all the wacky slice-of-life adventures they have together in Ponyville! Together, they'll grow even closer as a family! There will be jokes to be had, tears to be shed, and oh so many hugs that Rainbow secretly likes!

And there's all new stuff in this sequel too! Including a growing cast of both ponies and other Ponyville-residing creatures alike!

So go check out the first chapter of the sequel now by clicking here!

(*Still can't believe this story got over 50 likes...*)

Hope you enjoy if you do! See you next time!

Sincerely,

frenettek314

Comments

[FieldOfMemories]

A few editing mistakes aside, this is one of the BEST stories on this site. PERIOD!

[LordFlareon]

I'll admit, I was a bit sceptical when I first saw this story. There hasn't been any real explanation in the show as to why Spike's been absent from a lot of the Mane 6's adventures. But it doesn't sit well with me that a lot of the fandom seems to support the theory that he's just been forgotten or ignored. As such, I'm not really a fan of these types of stories.

But with that said, I actually like how you went with this one. The idea of the Mane 6 having always considered Spike family to them but were holding back because of their own insecurities, and the resulting communication problems on both parts, it's a really interesting concept. I liked all the interactions between the characters and it never felt like you were outright shaming any of them.

[frenettek314]

10465454

I think a common thing people try to do when creating a “Spike Appreciation” or “Spike/Main 6” story is to have either the Main 6 become out of character and treat him horribly just for the sake of adding to the “abandonment trope”, or alternatively have Spike blow things out of proportion to where he either runs away or turns on the ponies in a darker tone of storytelling; and neither of those paths were ones I wanted to take.

I could have easily pointed the metaphorical finger on either side and shamed them for events that have happened in the show, but a common mishap that happens in almost every friendship is a lack of communication. Yes the girls had moments where they really screwed up and I’m not trying to excuse that, but there have also been moments where Spike has muddled the situation and either didn’t try or mishandled the friendship he could’ve had with them. (“Bridle Gossip”, “Just for Sidekicks”,...)

Both sides made mistakes and I wanted to create a story that truly reflected that. In a lot of stories (not just Fanfictions), we see there’s one good side and one bad side, but real life can be a lot more of a gray area than that. Spike was hurt and he felt like the others didn’t care, but on the other side, the ponies didn’t have much of a basis with him to realize things were amiss. That’s why when we see Spike confront each pony, a lot of complex emotions play out; because both sides realized that they didn’t communicate and that only ended up hurting each other respectively. There could’ve been some big hoax about how “he’s a dragon, he’s different” or “we don’t see him as a friend”, but I feel the miscommunication aspect can hit harder than any of those other elements, because we explore deep into the actual characters’ mindsets and realize these are mistakes that anyone (heck I know I have) can make, and that pushes the scenes into relatability.

In other examples I’ve seen, the 6 are either horrible to Spike out of pure dramatization of events (stories and fan-made) or it’s horribly waived into “We’re sorry” without much context. I think when that happens the characters are no longer in character, and that (at least to me) mutes any potential point or commentary the story is trying to make. Here, I wanted to keep everyone as in-character and believable as possible. I can see Rarity doing something because she thought her friends like it, I can see Pinkie struggling with a line between lightening the mood and dealing with complex emotions, I can see Rainbow being brash without really thinking of what she’s saying, I can see Applejack unintentionally hurting someone out of being overprotective, and I can see Fluttershy’s fears push her away from others. These are in-line with the characters we know and love so it gives extra weight to see them getting the chance to interact with each other in a way that the show couldn’t represent, yet we believe could’ve actually happened.

This was a long-winded reply, but basically I’m trying to say is I put pride into having both sides encounter the conflict(s) without solely shaming on one or the other. I think that allows for the perspectives of the characters to be driven full force and I’m really glad it came out as that way.

[PastCat]

i just wanted to say thank you for writing this. It had made me feel reflective about my own friendships. The Pinkie Pie chapter hit especially hard, since I tend to have similar reactions to her when confronted with negative emotions.

[Yoshifan30]

Yeah after I saw your update of your story I wanted to catch up to your previous story first before I got to your Sequel and I have to admit this was a really cool idea I've seen how spike in the others connect with each other can't wait to see the sequel