Trivia / MLP Grief Is The Price We Pay

• What Could Have Been: A blog post reveals alternate directions the story could have taken and chapters that were planned but were dropped for various reasons.
  • A plot about the discovery of another rogue changeling in Vanhoover.
  • There was an idea that in the climax, Thorax doesn't die or Spike dies in his place. The former was dropped due to it trivialising the emotional turmoil that the cast went through while the latter will essentially turn the whole story into an even bigger tragedy than it is needed due to how connected Spike was to the entire cast, essentially creating a Downer Ending.
  • A chapter involving Lyra Heartstrings was planned but was scrapped for being Filler in the grand scheme of things.
  • A chapter focusing on Fly Leaf's trust on Spike and Thorax while showing her side of the story was cut.
  • A Nightmare Night chapter was planned but cut due to it being Filler and the lack of a solid timeframe that would have a possible Nightmare Night happening in the period between "The Times They're a Changeling" and "To Where and Back Again".