The Cupcake Chronicles
Author's Notes and Scrapped Content

Alright, so I figured a considerable number of my readers wanted some more insight into how this series of mine came to be, so I worked up this set of author notes, and alternate scenes that were cut or made into something else entirely. I hope you enjoy!

Part 1: A Precious Rainbow

Well, if you've read the last 'making of' doc, you'd know that the original idea for my alternate ending to Cupcakes came from a 15-second dream I had in the truck in June of 2011, which just featured Rainbow in a hospital bed surrounded by her friends, minus Pinkie, which caused me to connect it to Cupcakes, which I had read months earlier. Knowing that I possibly had something, and wanting to improve my pony content after 'Spirit of Loyalty' got a mediocre reception, I started to flesh it out a bit.

At first, I was only planning on writing it up to where Rainbow left the hospital, spent half the night in the traveler's inn, and then went to Sweet Apple Acres. As I was writing that out, I began to realize it could be more, and that a part of me wanted to portray Rainbow in the farm life.

What's In A Name?

I'm not sure what I was thinking when I came up with A Precious Rainbow. I'm assuming it had to be how precious Rainbow was to her friends, especially after her brush with death.

Cut Content: Rainbow Can't Cope

The bedroom scene where the Crusaders saw Rainbow's wingless state was, in it's first form, very different. I was originally going to have Rainbow fall into such a depressed state that AJ comes in to check on her in the night, and finds Rainbow sobbing, and in the process of removing her cutie marks with a knife from the kitchen, and Applejack, in her shock, proceeds to deck Rainbow off the bed, knocking her senses back into her. While it sounded good and powerful in theory, I couldn't flesh it out into words, and realized that I couldn't realistically show Rainbow falling as far as self-mutilation. I tried once again to bring that scene to fruition as a nightmare for Applejack, but again, couldn't get it quite the way I wanted it, so I ended up scrapping the idea entirely.

Deleted Scene: Precious Rainbow Epilogue Part 2

Just as I was flirting with the idea of making another story after A Precious Rainbow, I had already wanted to dip my fingers into some shipping. What we have here below is my very first attempt, which was clearly much more fleshed out when it was saved for later in the Apple of Her Eye oneshot. Take a look:

'A Precious Rainbow'
by milesprower06

EPILOGUE PT. 2
APPLE OF MY EYE

A/N: Appledash shipping warning! That's the primary reason I separated this from the main epilogue, in case this isn't your cup of tea. I've been wanting to try some shipping, but wasn't ready to devote an entire fic to it.

SWEET APPLE ACRES FARMHOUSE
THAT NIGHT

Applejack came out to the front porch to see Rainbow sitting on her haunches by the steps, looking thoughtfully out on the dusk horizon. The workhorse stared at the wingless Pegasus for a few moments.

The stubs on her back weren't as noticeable as she feared, save for the long scar that went down her back from the left stub down to her tail.

“Dinner sure was good. That pie Macintosh served up was de-lish.” AJ commented.

Rainbow looked over her shoulder at her host and friend, and gave a warm smile.

“Yeah. Sure was.”

“You alright, Sugar?” Applejack asked, coming up next to her friend on the porch.

“Yeah, I've just had my mind on something.”

“Do you wanna talk about it?”

“That's just it. I'm not sure I can put it into words. I don't think this is something can be said. It's...it's so confusing. A weird feeling in my stomach, ya know?”

“Well, 'ah doubt it's a good idea to keep it inside ya if it's givin' ya butterflies. Come on, Rainbow, what is it?”

“Like I said, I don't think I can explain it. B-but if I do it, I don't want you to think less of me...”

Applejack was a bit confused. Whatever was on Rainbow's mind, it was turning her into a jibbering mess.

“Rainbow, you're my friend. Nothing you do will make me think less of you, ya hear?” she assured, putting her hoof on her shoulder, staring into her eyes.

“Well...I...I...”

And with that, Rainbow leaned forward, and her lips connected with Applejack's. The moment they touched, she felt as if a surge of electricity rushed through her body, moving down her spine to the tips of her hooves and back again. She closed her eyes, while AJ's eyes widened. Time seemed to slow to an inexorable crawl.

To Applejack, it came as a bit of a shock at first, then she too felt that spark, and warmth wrapped around them both.

The kiss seemed like forever, yet only lasted a two seconds, when Rainbow broke it, and opened her eyes, staring into Applejack's; those beautiful, apple green eyes.

“Rainbow...” Applejack started to say, but no other words emanated from her mouth.

“Thank you...for saving my life, Applejack.”

Rainbow returned to her sitting position on the porch, her cheeks a bright red.

Applejack, still speechless, came to her side, and kissed her again on the cheek, then sat next to her and put her arms around her.

“You're welcome, Sugarcube.”

As you can see, not quite up to par with what I wanted, and one story later, I was ready to devote a oneshot to some Appledash.

Part 2: The Cupcake Killer

When I first decided to continue developing this alternate ending of mine, the first thing that came to mind is more of what the other five ponies of the Mane 6 would think about what Pinkie had done. It was obvious to me that the roots would be her bout of insecurity and paranoia in 'Party of One'. So I decided to make it a bit juicier, and add in the twist that Rainbow had initially suggested her surprise party.

Additionally, I never really paid attention to how large or populated Ponyville was, but I imagine they'd want to come together as a community to remember the victims of Pinkie's killing spree, so the idea for the memorial fountain was also born.

The heart of Cupcake Killer is Rainbow confronting what Pinkie had done in a more direct manner. Precious Rainbow had been mostly about recovery of her solely, and now I wanted to expand that to the town, and how Rainbow deals with one of her closest friends becoming a serial killer.

What's In A Name?

Seeing how Sgt Sprinkles wrote Cupcakes primarily as a shockfic, it was up to me (and many others) to create the world around it. I needed something catchy for a serial killer name, and The Cupcake Killer seemed to fit nicely, once the killings were discovered to have taken place in Sugarcube Corner.

The Other Victims

As described by Sprinkles in the original Cupcakes, Rainbow was far from Pinkie's first victim. So Ace and I worked to bring the other victims closer to Rainbow's story. We immediately decided they mostly had to be background ponies the fandom was familiar with. Simply adding a dozen or so OC ponies wouldn't have made any kind of an impact. The first of these victims was revealed to be Bonbon, almost always seen with her friend Lyra in the show. The others we came up with for Pinkie's journal.

Cut Content: Goodbye, Gummy

Gummy was a minor character I had wanted to include in Cupcake Killer since the beginning of planning it. It was one of the deeper connections to the Pinkie everypony was friends with. Driving one day, I began to picture Rainbow not able to care for Gummy, or believing he would be happier in his natural habitat, releasing him in Froggy Bottom Bog. I went over the scene in my head for nearly a week, but in the end, felt I couldn't make it work, so I ended up having Rainbow keep Gummy at the farm.

Part 3: Apple of Her Eye

And enter the shipfic! The third part of the Chronicles, for many readers, took quite the unexpected turn, as I began to complete Rainbow's recovery, and went in a different direction: romance.

Write If You Dare

It may surprise you that Apple of Her Eye was the result of a dare from another Brony to write a clopfic. While that didn't come to true fruition until part 4, it wasn't too long into my planning when I decided to take my cut epilogue, and expand it into what would become the final draft of Part 3.

How It Will End Again

The first whispers of Apple of Her Eye were in my head even as I was writing Cupcake Killer. And for several weeks, Apple of Her Eye was going to be the end of the series, until Ace and I decided to expand on it even more.

The Most Criticism

There seems to be equal numbers of readers who either loved, hated, or were indifferent the direction I took the series from recovery to shipping. Most of the criticism was how sudden it felt. While I viewed the series as a whole as a buildup, but you have to realize that I added this to the story as a dare, and when I was finished with it, I decided to continue it with Confessions of Love, as Apple of Her Eye was just shipping lite, and not at all clop-worthy that I had really been dared to write.

Part 4: Confessions of Love

Hot. Steamy. Cloppy. The working title for this lite clopfic was Apple of Her Eye Part 2. I say clopfic lite because it was my first true clopfic, but really was lite compared to other clopfics I've read. If I took a little more time with these oneshots, then Parts 3 and 4 would've probably been one story.

From the start, Ace and I had already planned up to Part 6. He began the first drafts of Journal, while I immediately started Investigations of a Nightmare, as Confessions left readers with a cliffhanger.

In order to have the Appledash make a little more sense, I included a short flashback of Applejack in the emergency room immediately after rescuing Rainbow, giving a little insight to her feelings for Dash. Nothing too deep, but critics of Apple of Her Eye made me realize that for the most part, I hadn't really laid a foundation for the pairing.

It may have surprised some that the love scene was one way, and Applejack didn't get her turn on Rainbow until a little later at the beginning of Part 7.

Seeing as how we were already planning two additional stories, I knew I had to leave readers wanting more, with the sudden arrival of Luna with Pinkie's journal, and it just ends there. It would begin what many have told me was a string of brilliant yet rage-inducing cliffhangers throughout Part 7.

Part 5: Investigations of a Nightmare

This was a parallel story to the beginning of Part 1, where the Royal Sisters arrive at the crime scene of Sugarcube corner immediately after the Rainbow's rescue, and Luna begins the investigation into why Pinkie did this. As a oneshot, it wasn't very long. Ace and I coordinated to make sure the number of victims were correct. If you're wondering where we got the number of victims, our one and only reference was the well-known picture of Pinkie's cutie mark dress. We made note of the different horns and Pegasus wings. We wanted to remain loyal to not only Cupcakes, but the rest of the well-known fanart of it, and add our own.

Luna Withholding the Solution to the Investigation

I haven't really gotten a lot of questions regarding why Luna withheld the journal from official evidence, perhaps because I explained it well enough in the story. Pinkie was dead, as was all but one of her victims, and she didn't want Mr. and Mrs. Cake's financial well-being by revealing what Pinkie had done with some of her victims' remains.

Part 6: Journal of the Cupcake Killer

Our version of Cupcakes Pinkie.

That's what the central planning behind Journal was. Our sole goal was to chill our readers to their core. For five stories, even the shipping, the Cupcake Chronicles were praised for such a rich departure from the brutality of Cupcakes, and here we were, willingly diving back in to what all our readers came from.

And you all loved it.

Cupcakes Origins

Once we were going at full steam, it was clear what we really wanted to do with Journal other than freak everypony out; we wanted to connect the canon Pinkie to Cupcakes Pinkie in the most believable way possible. The question we posed to ourselves was “How could Cupcakes POSSIBLY happen in the context of the show?” Although the content was a drastic departure, our vision held true – making a connection between Cupcakes and what most Bronies consider to be show canon.

Ace wrote the majority of the journal, but real life events brought his progress to a halt, so I had to hastily write up the final fourth part in order to not torture the fans with waiting, and also to not stagnate progress on Part 7.

Part 7: Rainbow After The Storm

The grand finale. My longest story to date, spent the longest in planning, and underwent the most revisions. I knew this was going to be the end of my main story in the Chronicles, and I wanted to go out with a bang. Drama, love, supernatural occurrences, and even a subtle jab at Equestria Daily.

From day 1, I wanted to pull out all the stops.

Letting It Cook

I took a break from the Cupcake Chronicles after Part 6 to write a self-insert story, Tale of Two Bronies, which was also met with a good deal of praise. By the time I finished that up, I was ready to give the Cupcake Chronicles the ending it deserved.

What To Cover

From the very beginning, I knew I wanted to cover key topics; Rainbow and AJ struggling with their relationship going public, dealing with a pony who doesn't agree with their love, and finally bringing redemption to Pinkie.

Flashback Expansion

When I was done with the first draft of the story, I knew it was a bit short. It wasn't until I was just driving through Missouri one night when I figured out the perfect expansion; how Rainbow came to be in Ponyville, the beginning of her friendship with Applejack, and her extremely strained relationship with her parents. It took several outlines to properly space the flashback chapters with the post-Cupcakes chapters.

For the opening fight, I wanted Rainbow to be a troubled teen who wasn't getting the proper attention and parenting at home, but I also had to preserve the characters of her parents. I had to be very careful to not cross the line from overwhelmed parents to just plain bad parents who don't know what they're doing. In the end, I was very happy with the slow transition Rainbow's mom and dad went through over the course of the flashback.

Cut Content: Marty Moves To Appleloosa

For the longest time, I was planning on having Marty's situation be considerably more dire than it eventually ended up becoming. Originally, Marty was not going to be able to justify staying in Ponyville due to the sharp drop in business, and he moves his family to Appleloosa.

In Appleloosa, he writes Rainbow an apology letter. When I rewrote that part, I had him write the letter from Ponyville when Rainbow was training with the Wonderbolts, but to help pacing, I ended up cutting it. Here's the letter:

Dear Rainbow Dash

I'm writing this to you to truly apologize for my actions all those weeks ago. That charade in the store amidst the protests wasn't even close to enough, I know that now. I deserved every word of what you said, as well as the scorn of every single pony who surrounded my store during those days.

I'm glad nopony was seriously hurt during that earthquake, and I heard what happened to you during the night that followed. I wish you nothing but the best of luck in your performances, and should you ever come by again, whatever you need is on me.

Ponyville's population has seemed to move passed my actions ever since you brought that replacement window to my shop. So I have to also thank you for helping to diffuse that situation. I'm sorry to say that my bigotry was a result of how my parents raised me. I want you to know that I have changed my ways, seen the error of theirs, and that I am forever sorry for how I exposed you and Applejack. I hope in time, you can forgive this reformed bigot.

Sincerely,
Marty

Cut Content: Grand Galloping Gala

The ending of the Chronicles was something I toiled over for, literally, months. One of the scenes I ended up cutting for pacing reasons was Rainbow and Applejack going to the Grand Galloping Gala together. I just couldn't make it work in the timeframe that I wanted to get the epilogue released in.

Cliffhangers Galore

I believe a large part of why Rainbow After The Storm was so successful was because of how I left the readers hanging after most of the chapters. It was an advantage that was created over the course of three outlines, carefully tweaking where each entry left off. To be honest, I enjoyed the humorous reactions of readers as they raged over the cliffhangers, instantly wanting more.

Where Does It Go From Here?

It's important to note that while I said this was the finale to the Chronicles, I meant that in a sense that the core story was complete. Rainbow's journey of healing had come full circle and Pinkie's true spirit had been redeemed. But that in no way means I'm done. Yes, the cake is done. But if I ever get the motivation to enrich it just a bit more, I would really like to add some icing in the form of side-stories. Whether anything actually comes of that, well, we'll just have to wait and see.