Bedtime Stories

by Holy

Rating: teen
Tags: Other, Equestria Girls, Comedy, Slice of Life, Human, Main 6
Length: 3493

A collection of warm up or practice prompts that are completely unrelated and aren't long enough/don't really deserve their own story slot

This is a collection of all the short little warm-ups or bits of practice I think might be worthy to share with the public. Anything from sad to horror, so the tags probably aren't a good indication of what you'll find. If it's bedtime and you're in the mood for a tiny ficlet to pass a few minutes, you've come to the right place.

Published 2014-01-03 03:10:05 UTC
Last updated 2015-11-28 02:01:55 UTC

Firelight (SoL, 2nd, Sonata)

The soft crackle of the fire filled the air, along with that trademark smoky aroma of real wood burning. You swirl the hot chocolate around in your mug for a moment, not really wanting to take a sip just yet. You were much more content with just listening to the fire, and enjoying the company of the singer sitting next to you.

Your eyes averted to her for a moment, a brief feeling of worry washing over you as you see her shiver. You'd already given her your thickets blanket in hopes that it would push away the cold she gathered in her walk over here. The worry lingers, though, when you look to see her face. She looked uncomfortable there, her eyes glued to the mug in her hands. She looked... sad, like she felt bad about something. A morose expression was unbecoming of her otherwise beautiful face. You shot her a look of concern and asked, "Sonata, are you alright?"

The question lingered in the air for a few moments, long enough that you opened your mouth again to say something, but Sonata finally piped up.

"Why are you so nice to me?" she said, not taking her eyes off of her mug.

"What do you mean?" you asked with a raised eyebrow.

"After everything me and my sisters have done... no one else even wants to try to like us... Aria and Adagio... they didn't even want me around anymore. Why do you keep being so nice to me when everyone else doesn't even care? Why do you do this when you know I don't deserve it," Sonata said, still not looking up from her mug. You can see tears forming at the edges of her eyes.

You set your mug to an end table on the other side of the couch. With a gentle hand across her wrist, Sonata finally looks up to you. The look on her face is that of fear and sorrow, half expecting you to realize she's worthless and kick her out. Instead you give her a smile. "Because you deserve it, Sonata. Because you matter to me. I don't care how any one else sees you. I invite you out here because I enjoy being with you, and because you're not that monster anymore. I care about you. I hope you know that."

Sonata looked back down to her mug for a moment, her cheeks flushing through in a shade of pink. She looks back up to you with a soft, thankful smile and gentle eyes before leaning forward and giving you a quick kiss.

"Thank you..." she said in a humbled tone.

Sonata readjusted herself beside you in a newfound aura of confidence, nudging herself up under your arm like a loving puppy. You settle into the couch, wrapping your arm around her form.

"I care about you too," she said softly as she lies her head against your chest, her soft hair settling against your side.

Until It's Gone (Sad, TS)

Author's Note

I recently lost a friend through decisions of his own, and felt kinda down. This is what came out of that.

Until It's Gone (Sad, TS)

"...and that concludes our duties for the day." Celestia trailed off, looking over the list in front of her. Twilight nodded absentmindedly, this had become such a routine for her, she could even predict her next words.

Celestia lowered the list back down to the table and looked to her. "It's been a long day, you should get some rest, Twilight."

Twilight nodded, then headed back to her quarters for the night. Everyday was the same: wake up, deal with the nobles complaining about the bureaucracy, deal with the bureaucracy complaining that the nobles are pushing things to fast, deal with all the requests and problems that the citizens of Equestria would tell her and Celestia, deal with envoys from neighboring countries, and finally, check the mail.

Spike had long since moved on to live a life outside of the castle. Every now and again Celestia would recieve a letter on how much he had grown, or where he was headed next; it was all the same to her, it wasn't like they were going to see each other anytime soon.

Twilight passed by the mail room for the second time that day. Usually a courier would bring it to her personally, but it never hurt to check. Twilight walked up to the counter, where a young servant filly worked quickly to get all of the mail in the right slots before the end of the day.

"Um... Excuse me."

Twilight looked over the counter just in time to see the filly bang her head on the counter above her, then turn around apologetically while rubbing the back of her head.

"Sorry. Is there something you need, Princess?" she looked up at her with a bright smile.

Twilight had long since given up trying to get them to just call her by her name, so the title no longer bothered her. "I just came by to see if I had gotten any letters."

"Um..." The filly cast an uneasy glance back at the empty box that usually contained Twilight's mail. "...I could check for you."

Twilight knew the answer already, but didn't want to accept it. She returned her bright smile and asked, "Please?"

She knelt back down and began to look through some of the letters that hadn't been sorted yet, digging around and throwing letters and scrolls to the ground that weren't labeled 'Twilight'.

The seconds grew longer, and Twilight's heart dropped with each piece of paper as she could hear it lightly tap the ground.

The filly slowly rose back up to meet her with an uneasy expression. "I-I'm sorry, Princess, but there's nothing here for you."

She was about to continue, but Twilight cut her off by raising a hoof. "Don't worry yourself. Thank you for checking," she tried to say brightly, holding back the tears forming at the edges of her eyes.

Twilight turned back toward the hallway and decided to go to sleep, with nothing else to do for the day.

As soon as she was away from anyone that could see her, she let a couple of sniffles echo through the hallway, and a the occasional teardrop hit the tile floor.

She had sent at least two letters to each of her six old friends within the past year. Not a single reply had ever come back. Still, everyday she would check her mail, and everyday, she would well up with tears in disappointment.

The last time they had spoke, they were all living happy lives on their own. Rarity had moved to Manehatten and had become quite the seamstress, taking Equestria's fashion scene by storm. Rainbow Dashed toured the world, living her dream as a wonderbolt. Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Fluttershy were still in Ponyville as far as she knew. None of them had bothered to send a reply though. She couldn't blame them, she was far too busy to even think about visiting now, she had to think they were facing more of the same.

That didn't ease her aching heart though. She yearned for just a single word from them. Anything would be better than this.

She pushed open the wooden door to her room and made sure it was closed behind her. She nestled into the finest silk sheets in the world, and futily held back a sob.

The lonliness crashed down upon her. Every day without a letter, every night without someone to talk to, all her sadness and frustration came pouring out of her face as she gave up trying to hold it back.

She wailed into her tearstained pillow for the hundreth night in a row, before she finall cried herself to sleep yet again.

Parabears (Comedy, All)

Parabears (Comedy, All)

Ash floated through the air like a dense blanket, blotting out the sun and leaving nothing but the fires of burning wreckage and destroyed forestry to reveal the surroundings of the bleak battlefield.

"Twilight! We need to fall back, now!" Applejack looked up from her rifle and yelled.

Twilight simply stared out into no-pony's land ahead of them, a dark smile crawling across her scarred face.

"No, Sargent. We hold out ground."

Applejack gasped at the order. "What!? Sir, our loses are already too high! If we stay, we'll lose the rest of the battalion!"

Twilight snapped to look at Applejack with a sharp glare. "Are you questioning my orders, recruit?!"

Applejack tensed at the sudden scolding, and settled back into her prone position. "N-No, sir."

"Good. Stand your ground, ponies! Tonight, we will be victorious!"

She raised a hoof into the air with confidence, but the pony soldiers around her didn't share the sentiment. They were only kids after all, drafted to fight before they even had a chance to grow up much. They looked between her and the dark battlefield in worry, fearing for their lives. Twilight smirked at the danger; unbeknownst to them, she had a secret weapon.

Silence loomed on the great expanse of mud and burning machines of war ahead of them. They all knew what this meant: They were close.

Tensions were thick in the recruits. Twilight could see some of them begin to break down; constant attacks and gunfire wore at their sanity, but she knew this would be the deciding factor.

Then it began. The changeling swarm quickly zoomed out of the thick ash and towards them at unstoppable speeds, quickly closing the gap between them.

Twilight forced a hoof into the air and yelled with all her might. "Fire!"

A cacophony of rifle fire, artillery, and the constant cracks of the machine guns filled the air. Hundreds of changelings fell to the dirt instantly, left as bloody piles of even more perforated dead-weight.

The stream of explosions and gunshots did not let up as some soldiers stopped to reload. The volley dropped hundreds of the hoard ahead of them, almost creating a line of injured enemies.

Despite the Equestrian's superior firepower, the changelings had numbers, and it was becoming evident that they would not be able to stop the onslaught with how few ponies they had.

The changelings quickly gained more and more ground. Despite dropping like flies, there were always two more to take the place of every one that fell.

Applejack yelled out over the thunderous cracks around her. "We don't have much time, sir! We need to fall back!"

Twilight didn't even look away from the scene unfolding in front of her. "Stand your ground!"

Applejack grunted in frustration, a few more minutes, and they would all be sucked dry of emotions, and their organs.

The changelings continued onward, now only a few hundred meters away from the front line. Some of the ponies began to turn tail and run, knowing what would happen to them if they stayed to face the enemy.

The few that stayed silently accepted their doomed fate. Twilight's smile never left her face.

Just as it seemed all hope of fighting back the hoard was lost, the sound of plane engines overhead overwhelmed the otherwise deafening noises of the battle. Twilight laughed maniacally as they started dropping through the cover of ash.

The Parabears. Eight-hundred pound grizzly bears with gatling guns strapped to each shoulder descended from the dark sky in enraged frenzies, swiping their razor sharp claws at the air and snarling their steak-knife teeth waiting to attack.

The changeling slowed as the beasts came nearer to them, unsure of what they were facing. After a moment's hesitation, they continued onward at full force, which would be their worst mistake.

The gatling guns on all of the bears whirred to life, and with a menacing six-thousand rounds per minute, began cutting down the changeling hoard with the ease of sliding a razor through water. Thousands fell before the Parabears, leaving a macabre wake as they continued to descend to the muddy battlefield.

The wide reach of the Parabears deadly claws swatted and cut down any changeling unlucky enough to find themselves close enough to feel their sharp sting. Some particularly strong swipes would cut some clean in half. The Parabears grabbed the changelings that flew too close to them and wrestled them with deadly strength to the ground, slamming them hard enough to leave a crater in the loose mud.

Once the Parabears landed, they opened fire into the air, stopping any still airborne dead on the spot. The air lit up with the bright orange traces of the constant stream of bullets from their gatling guns, streaking lines of white hot death into the sky, leaving none to pass through.

In the face of the most terrifying enemy that they had ever seen, the changelings quickly turned back and retreated into the dense ash, fleeing as fast as their wings could take them.

Applejack and the other soldiers slowly stood up, astonished at the scene that had just played out before them. Upon seeing that their enemy had turned tail, and that they had won, they all began to cheer happily, leaving their joyous cries and the vicious roars of the Parabears echoing across the battlefield.

Twilight smirked at their victory and looked onto her new bear comrades with pride. "That'll do, bears. That'll do."

Author's Note

A very dumb skype joke that ended up taking shape. Find it in your heart to forgive me.

Can I Sleep with You? (2nd, Luna)

You let out a long sigh as you slowly let the servant's uniform fall off of your shoulders. It's been a hard couple of weeks since Luna returned from her banishment, but you were getting paid either way, so you had nothing to complain about. You pull a more comfortable shirt out of the dresser next to your bed, careful not to hit the walls of the tiny room you were allotted while you put it on.

It's well passed midnight now, and you can't wait to just lay down and go to sleep already. Just as you turn around, however, your heart jumps into your throat when you realize someone's in this tiny room with you.

"Princess Luna?" you ask, once your heartrate returns to a normal pace. You clear your throat and look away, feeling your cheeks heat up at the sight of her in her less regal attire. "Wh-what are you doing here?"

Luna looks away from you as well, a light blush forming on her pale cheeks. She brushes some of her unruly hair out of her face as she stares at the floor. "I... my chambers are... unsatisfactory," she stammers, the hair she just brushed away falling back into her eyes.

You quickly grab your uniform off of the floor, ready for duty. "My apologies, your majesty. I'll attend to them at once."

Luna raises a hand off of the pillow in her grasp to stop you. "Um... that won't be necessary," Luna says, the blush growing brighter on her face. "I wish to sleep in here..." she says, nervousness growing on her face. Her feet fidget in place as she looks anywhere in the room but at you. After a moment of confusion, Luna lets out a meek "with you".

A strong blush grows on your face now as well. After a few weeks of working in her section of the castle you could tell something was wrong with her, only now you know what; she was lonely.

"Oh..." you say, trying to ignore the sudden burning on your face. You offer her a gentle smile as you sit down on the bed and open up the sheets. "As you wish your majesty."

Luna's nervous expression turns into a subtle grin at your approval. She flips the light switch on and follows you into your bed.

She quickly snuggles in next to you, leaving you no choice but to lay one arm around her. Her hair falls against you, spreading the aroma of soft lavender against you. You can hear her let out a content sigh as she settles into her pillow beside you. "Thank you," she whispers.

Bad Grades (SoL, Twilight, Rainbow)

"Not a problem, huh?" Twilight asked, looking over the papers in her hand, "A 36 is definitely a problem, Rainbow." Twilight turned the papers around, showcasing the large, red F written on them.

Rainbow looked away, an embarrassed blush crossing her face. "Come on, Twi. It’s just one little F. Not like I’m gonna fail the class or anything."

"Rainbow! With this grade you have to make at least a B on the rest of the tests for any hope of passing! This isn’t high school anymore, Rainbow, you need to take this seriously!"

"Eh, I’m not worried about it. That class is so easy I knew I could take on test off. I’ve got this, Twi."

Twilight set the papers down on table and gave Rainbow a stern glare. "No, you don’t. Now come here, we’ve got to study before you fail physics too," Twilight said, pulling Rainbow’s physics book out of her bag.

"Come on, Twi. That’s gonna take forever. How about we just chill tonight…" Rainbow said, leaning in with a sultry smile on her face. "Curl up on the couch, a little making out, and then…" Rainbow let her hand crawl across the table towards Twilght.

Twilight grabbed her hand and placed it on the physics book with the same stern impression. "You can only try that so many times, Rainbow. Now get your notes out. Your test is in four days and we’re going to need most of it."

Rainbow gave an exaggerated, disappointed sigh.

Twilight rolled her eyes with a tiny smile. "Once you can identify electron shells on different elements and tell me how many they can hold… I suppose we can relax for the night."

Rainbow gave Twilight a bright smile, then leaned over the table to give her a long, loving kiss. "Awesome."

How Bright (Tragedy, Sunset, Fluttershy)

No one ever said how bright it would be.

Everything I'd read and everything I'd seen never prepared me for it. The world turned white and it seemed that the light itself would sear me into nothing but ashes. I knew better than to look directly at that second sun on the horizon, but some weren't so lucky.

I held Fluttershy close, whispering sweet lies into her ear about how it was going to be alright, and how we were going to get out of here soon, and life would go on like it was. She hadn't been able to see for three days now, and barely let anything past her lips but quiet sobs. I ignored the strands of pink, red, and yellow hair that fell out so easily around us, and kept telling her those sweet little lies, trying to believe them myself.

I told her we would leave just as soon as she could see again. Maybe we would make our way to the portal and live the rest of our lives in a better world, a world that wasn't so dead anymore.

I wiped my hand of the strands of hair, and ignored the nausea growing inside me. I closed my own eyes, going back to stroking her hair, and wondering what might've happened to the rest of our friends. It didn't really matter, the more I thought about it. They were going to end up like us anyway.

I breathed in a gulp of icy air, wishing the skies would clear and everything would go back to normal already. The clouds swirled outside a nearby window into wicked shapes, taunting the growing unease an urge to panic inside me. I closed my eyes tightly as I could feel my mouth and nose start to tingle at the sight.

With a quick wipe against the leather sleeve of my jacket showed me all I needed to know. That telltale red glisten shined brightly against the soft leather in the otherwise dark room. Fluttershy's whimpers, which had become progressively weaker by the hour, were almost completely quiet now. I breathed out a sigh in a mixture of sadness and relief. It would be over soon.

I held Fluttershy closer, a soft smile coming over my face. I was thankful for the short time I had with them. I laid her down and took my place beside her, resigning to let the fatigue have its way finally. I thought of all of the wonderful moments we'd had together, and thanked whatever powers may be for allowing me the last few months of my life. Fluttershy calmed down as I stroked her hair and kept telling those sweet lies. Finally she let out a gentle "thank you" as I watched her leave.

No one really told me how bright it would be.