Trivia / Why Am I Crying?

• In Memoriam: The third chapter in Sweetie Belle's arc was dedicated to a friend of the author's who died of cancer.
• Outdated by Canon: This fanfic was written prior to season 5 episode "Crusaders of The Lost Mark" and so contradicts that episode and some others, besides Diamond Tiara not dying before that season and surviving into adulthood:
  • Diamond Tiara's mother is revealed to be dead having passed away due to complications with the pregnancy of Diamond Tiara's little brother, and her name was Crystal Eyes. In canon, Diamond Tiara is an only child and her mother's name is established as Spoiled Rich who's shown to be very much alive and unfortunately nowhere as nice as Diamond Tiara's mother in the story was implied to be.
  • The Cutie Mark Crusaders are implied to have gained their Cutie Marks separately (it is mentioned Scootaloo got hers last). In canon, the Crusaders gained their marks at the same time.
  • Diamond Tiara's Cutie Mark is explained to represent a desire to be like her mom - a model. In canon, Spoiled Rich is not a model and the Cutie Mark was revealed to represent Diamond Tiara's skill of leadership.
    • The fic shows that Scootaloo lives with her father who is divorced from his wife. Season 9 episode "The Last Crusade" revealed that Scootaloo's parents have been away traveling and are still together.
  • The final chapter, where the CMC are adults, has a future version of Ponyville that has Twilight still living there. In the show's Grand Finale, Twilight returned to live in Canterlot while the CMC were still children.
• Reality Subtext
  • Sweetie Belle's arc is based on the author's experiences in confronting the concept of death.
  • Some of the stuff that happened to Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon at the camp actually happened at a camp where a friend of the author's was counselor at.
  • The Crusaders' grim remembrance of the Gabby Gums incident is a nod to the polarized reception of "Ponyville Confidential", which many called the lowest Diamond Tiara had stooped.^List Though her harsh words toward Scootaloo in "Flight to the Finish" are another strong contender. It also mentions how the ponies of Ponyville admitted their hypocrisy by not caring about who the gossip column targeted until they were were the ones who got targeted, referencing an issue that many fans felt wasn't touched upon enough in the episode.
• Shout-Out
  • Before becoming a teacher, Cheerilee was a teacher's assistant to one Miss Wormwood.
• What Could Have Been: It was originally going to have Diamond Tiara save Apple Bloom from the carriage instead of Silver Spoon.