"Better Luck Next Time" and Other Short Storiesby Tarot CardChaptersBetter Luck Next TimeImprintingHere Comes The SunContactThe One Where Rainbow Dash Momentarily Loses Her CoolProblem SolvingPinkamena's MissionGood Day In HellBetter Luck Next TimeThe prompt: Rainbow Dash’s first sonic rainboom gave all of the mane six their cutie marks. What did her second rainboom do? Apple Bloom gave one last stroke of the paint roller, before dropping it back into the bucket. She sighed, and sat back on her haunches, exhausted. It had taken her two weeks, working everyday, from after school till dinner time, but she was done. Covered in sweat, sawdust, and paint, she stepped back to admire her handiwork. The little hoof-me-down clubhouse was almost unrecognizable. She had spared no labor, no expense in making sure she and her friends had the best meeting spot for their crusading. All the old and rotted planks were replaced, the windows restored, with new shutters and even crown moulding. She remembered scrambling on top of the roof, and installing new shingles, with nothing to go by but a set of old home improvement magazines loaned from Twilight Sparkle’s collection. The paint had been the real challenge. Not so much the color scheme, but reaching all the nooks and crannies.The little yellow filly had to drag a ladder all the way from the barn by herself. Keeping purchase on the wooden rungs was difficult enough without having to apply accent paint. Still, with remarkable and uncharacteristic care and patience, she turned the dingy tree fort into a filly’s dream house. Even though she had never tried her hoof at renovation before, The tiny clubhouse was just as charming and sturdy as any residence in Ponyville. Hay, her workmanship would probably have exceeded Ponyville building standards had it been built on solid ground. The fact that she was just a filly, (and one without the assistance of a horn, or even anypony else) just made the feat all the more impressive. She briefly considered finding Applejack and showing off the clubhouse, but then she remembered her sister was visiting Cloudsdale with her friends that day. Even though there was nopony else to admire it, she felt a sense of awe at her own achievement. Had she really crafted such a lovely thing with her own hooves? The structure was masterwork. Apple Bloom was good at building. She was really good at building. She thought to the time she made a crib for her doll. Stole Big Mac’s tools right from under his nose, and he didn’t find out till she showed him what she had crafted. The rocking chair she made for Granny Smith’s birthday. The fence Applejack had her put up. The family apple cart she repaired dozens of times. Could it be? Could it be her one special talent? Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw a glowing… coming from… her flank! Before she could react, she heard a roaring boom, like a lightning bolt striking right by her. A pressure wave knocked her off her hooves and onto her back. she watched in stunned silence as a ring of rainbow expanded across the sky, spreading out to every corner. She felt a second pressure wave as the ring passed over her, and she thought she saw a rainbow streak flying through the center. “Now what the hay is that?” she asked to nopony in particular. She got back onto her hooves and spun around, trying to get a glimpse of her flank. She saw a blur of dust coating her flank. But she managed to contain herself long enough to surreptiously wipe away all traces of soil and sawdust before taking a second look. She closed her eyes, counted to three, and popped them back open.Her flank was blank as ever. “Ah ponyfeathers, ah thought fer sure I was gonna get a cutie mark this time.” She dusted herself, and looked at where she fell in the dirt. In the midst the splashes of paint, was a neat little picture of a hammer, overlapping a saw, forming an X. She studied it momentarily, and nudged it with her hoof. It shifted, as though the image was comprised of grains of grit and dust. A gentle breeze scattered the hammer and saw into the wind. She thought of the sand, and wondered how it got into such a shape. It reminded her of one of Cheerilee’s lessons. Something called “Mandalas”. Little pictures made by monks far up in the mountains of Neighpal, by placing each grain of sand, individually, until the whole picture was made, only for it to be destroyed by rain or wind. That gave her an idea. Apple Bloom packed up her tools, and trotted home, planning her next crusade. She wondered with a small grin how Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo would like the sound of “Cutie Mark Crusader Mandala makers”. ImprintingThe Prompt: Spike witnesses something he won’t soon forget. The newborn dragon, unaware that sudden fluctuations in one’s growth were not an expected part of life, sucked on his tail, trying to make sense of what just happened. One moment, the comforting, confined darkness. Then an explosion of sensations that he had never experienced before. There was something fundamentally different about these feelings. He felt growth before, but never this dramatic. And there was something else... The pressure within and bearing down on him, was gone. In it’s place, was the freedom of movement. He experimentally tugged some muscles, and instead of his appendages meeting the barrier of his shell, they flopped about. Even though he could move, he chose to curl back into a ball. He felt...exposed. Gone was the warmth and insulation, and he felt the frightening chill of the bare air around him. And the colors! The whirling masses of shapes and shades and hues had no inherent meaning to him, but they were bright and pretty and confusing, and even though he liked them a lot more than the darkness of his shell, it still hurt his head. The baby dragon suddenly became aware of the blaring cacophony all around him. The chaos of incomprehensible noise, rising and falling, rising and falling, was nearly enough to addle the newborn’s brain. Was there danger? Was he being hurt? The rocking vibrations shook him, scattered him. The poor dragon couldn’t handle the flood of information pouring into him. His own wails joined the madness of sensations around him. All he wanted to do was to be wrapped into his shell once again, with peace and quiet and darkness. The noise around the purple dragon without warning, fell away. The source of fear gone, his crying slowly ceased. Tentatively, he opened his eyes. His vision was still full of confusing blobs and shapes, but they seemed calmer, almost. then he felt a new sensation, touch. A white hoof, lined with gold, touched his face, wiping away the tears. It felt warm, comforting. His tears gone, he saw a white face, smooth colors gently flowing all around it, very unlike the mess of everything else. He looked into the two dark, soft eyes looking at him, then at the white spiraling horn just a little above them. He heard sounds coming from the face as it’s lips moved. He didn’t understand what was happening, but the sounds were calm, musical; reassuring, almost. He cooed, and the white face smiled demurely at him. The baby dragon, in spite of everything, felt happy to be in its presence. The eyes offered love and nurturing, the horn above them promising protection and safety. As long as he saw the lovely countenance, that dainty smile, and the alabaster horn, he knew that he was in good hooves. (written as a possible explanation of Spike’s attraction to Rarity) Here Comes The SunThe Prompt: The last pony in Equestria It had been so simple, really. No pony ever truly appreciated how much their lives revolved around the sun’s movement, and by extension, it’s stewardess. She took a step forward, a blackened plant crumbling to dust beneath her hoof. The heat coming off of the stone pathway was bending the air around it, limiting her vision to only a hundred yards or so. The blaring sun was veiled by the smoke and dust high in the air. The whole sky was black with a large gray disk at the center. It hurt her eyes to look at it. On the day of Twilight Sparkle’s funeral, that same stewardess was absent from the ceremony, in spite of the eulogy she was expected to give. After every other pony had made their own speeches, the crowd waited hours in the blistering sun for the princess to arrive, until they decided to end the funeral, princess or not. Nopony noticed the sun had halted at the height of its arc. Each house was a smoldering husk. Strewn about the streets, scorched and nearly indistinguishable from the debris, was the evidence of an attempted evacuation. A suitcase here, a broken carriage there. And of course, blackened skeletons. Trapped under collapsed buildings, huddled in the train cars, and train station, lying in the streets. By the next day -or at least what should have been the next day- the sun had not budged an inch. The growing line of concerned ponies outside the Canterlot castle were informed the sun goddess was missing. Poor luna, whose magic was much feebler from a millennium of disuse, was unable to move the sun. She surveyed the destruction of the farmland. Every patch of soil was dry and cracked. Every tree in the barren farm (Sweet Apple Acres, the metal plated sign informed her) was a blackened pillar, some still glowing red with embers. Not a soul left, plant or equine. All around her was death and fire and ash. As crops began failing in the relentless sun, ponies all across Equestria began searching for their princess. They were sympathetic, and had allotted her a few days off duty to grieve for her student in private. But this was going too far. If the sun didn’t drop soon, they would all starve. Pegasi were pumping out clouds at the maximum rate, but there was nowhere near enough to provide shade for all the farmland in Equestria. [Time Limit] In short, like every other town she had seen. Celestia watched the growing panic of her citizens through her spyglass, perched on top a mountain. She would not aid them now. Or should she humor them for another century or so? Let them play out another generation, one more cycle of ponies growing, eating, giving birth to more ponies, then dying? A flicker of mercy darted through her heart, only to be replaced by steely resolve. No, She’d been wanting to do this for millennia. It was not the extermination of individuals, but the ending of a tired, infinite cycle. She focused on the sun, her glowing, and let it go. As simple as letting an egg slip out of one’s telekinetic grasp. And like that, the sun fell. She wondered how the ruler of Equestria could have grown so cold, so apathetic to her people, that she would be able to do this. Had she really forestalled this holocaust for the sake of one pony? Kept the world alive and running for one more generation so her student could live a full life? Aside from the howl of wind, it was very quiet. She continued walking across the field, but stumbled over the skull of a pony, hair and a bow still attached to it. The sun fell to the ground as if it were sinking through molasses. Ponies ran, ponies screamed. Some packed their bags, and tried to flee to the countries that were not directly under the sun, growing ever larger. Some made it. The rest perished in the inferno when the sun kissed the earth. Luna flew with them, became the guardian of the dark side of the world, ruling over the dozen or so survivors. Celestia bent down, and looked at the skull. She remembered this pony. Her name was Apple Bloom, wasn’t it? She looked deep within herself, tried to feel something. Some pang of regret, remorse, ending the life of this filly, for bringing about the end of the world. But she felt nothing. A world without Twilight Sparkle was not a world worth keeping. A/N: Due to a snafu on my part, the story was submitted to the tumblr blog without the italicized parts being, well, italicized. Long story short, the original was in a format that was admittedly slightly confusing. The italic portions convey the events leading up to the story, while the plain text describes what is happening at the moment. It is all from the perspective of an omniscient narrator. Contact(This prompt isn't from TMPS tumblr, but This Reddit contest) PROMPT: Twolight Sparkle. There has to be at least two Twilight Sparkles running around - of any variant, including clearly defined alternative personalities. You can have Future Twilight and Dusk Shine fighting Nihilus and Nightmare Twilight, or a homeless showmare Twilight making out with a humanized Twilight, I don't care, as long as there are at least two of them and you're not breaking any laws. 500 word max Contact by donald trump card Dusk didn’t know how long he’d been staring into his counterpart’s eyes. They were so close to his, but so feminine, so filled with beauty. Their faces were so near, they were sharing each other’s breath. Twilight Sparkle, she called herself. Dusk cast a glance to one side, then another. It was just the two of them in the dusty old library. Nearly identical to his own. “Looks like we’re the only ones here.” “Heh, heh, He’s probably out on an errand right now.” Twilight coughed uncomfortably, covering her mouth with her hoof. The two broke eye contact for a moment, pretending to examine the bookshelves, as though one of the dusty old tomes would contain the solution to the dilemma at hand. Finding nothing, they again turned to face one another again. Despite having known his alternate self for but a few hours, he was painfully aware of the bond between them causing their muzzles to drift closer and closer together. He looked down at his hooves, avoiding her gaze. “This was a stupid idea, wasn’t it?” She opened her mouth to give some reassurance, but no words came. The sound of a door opening sent Twilight’s head turning so fast, it nearly gave Dusk whiplash. “Spike!” He saw a baby dragon, jaw hanging wide open, standing in the doorway. “Twilight! What’s going on? Who is this? What are you two doing?” “We’ve been looking everywhere for you! Could you lend a hoof? Dusk and I...” She gave a mighty sigh of embarrassment. ”... We sort of glued our horns together.” FIN The One Where Rainbow Dash Momentarily Loses Her CoolPrompt: Two of the Mane Six have just learned that they’re related “I don’t get what you’re saying,” Rainbow Dash said, furrowing her brow. She eyed the picture of the stallion her mother always had identified as her father. But that was all he ever was. A photograph. A photograph that stayed tucked in the back of the photo album, one that never showed up for dinner, or asked her how her day was, or scolded her for staying out too late, or kissed her goodnight. She never imagined for even a moment that he was a flesh and blood pony, who cared for and raised a whole other family in a boring old rock farm. Let alone one that made a point of polishing his shotgun whenever colts came by to take his daughter out to dinner. It was Just Dash and mommy, a pair that scraped by in spite of dumb old stallion leaving them both. Still, it felt really lonely, especially when her mom was working. “It’s simple Dashie! When I was born, my daddy says he had a ‘mid-life crisis’, and made a lot of mistakes that made mommy really angry! He was always out late, and sometimes he’d be gone for weeks at a time! It turns out that he had a few marefriends... I guess your mom was one of the marefriends that we weren’t ever allowed to say the name of.” Pinkie pointed to the stern, brown Earth pony, standing next to her frizzy maned, filly-self. Dash stared at the picture. “So... Are we like, sisters?” she said after a minute of silence. “Half-sisters, but sisters all the same!” Pinkie tackled Dash into an embrace. “Isn’t this the best? You can come up with me for the next Pie family reunion! It will be great, there will be dancing and singing, and you don’t even have to travel! They're all coming to Ponyville! And...” Rainbow’s focus drifted away from the loquacious pink pony, fixating on one word. Sister. Sister. Sister. This sugar addicted, hyperactive party pony was her sister. Her own flesh and blood sister. Well, half-sister if you wanted to get technical. She imagined for a moment all those lonely days, waiting for mom to come home from work, but with the addition of a certain pink pony. “But, I’ve never had a sister before...” “Oh, it’s the best! And that means Inkie and Blinke are your sisters too! We’re gonna have so much fun!” Dash didn’t know quite how to respond. She thought Of Applejack, and how she envied and admired her care of Applebloom. She scraped her hoof against the ground wistfully. “Will you take me to the sisterhooves social?” she blurted out. Pinkie look surprised for a moment. Dash was painfully aware of vulnerability of her question. She quickly composed herself, and crossed her forelegs casually. Calm. Cool. The very picture of nonchalance. “If ya want, since we’re sisters and all now...” she cast a quick glance at Pinkie to see her reaction. Instead she was greeted by another bear hug. “Oh Dashie, of course! After all, that’s what sisters are for!” Problem SolvingPrompt: Spike goes on an adventure with some or all of the Mane Six. Spike, Applejack and Pinkie Pie craned their necks, looking at where the wall met the ceiling of the dusty old ballroom. “Ya reckon one of those tapestries has a map on it?” Pinkie furrowed her brow, looking at the ancient note. “It says to look for the map on the back of the family seal.” She squinted, and aimed the lantern in her mouth across the wall, glancing at each item illuminated by the cone of light. “Nope, no seals anywhere. Not even a walrus.” “Wait. go back. Now up,” Applejack said. Pinkie obliged, moving the beam once again. The light caught on a coat-of-arms mounted on the wall, the handles of the sword nearly touching the crown moulding of the ceiling. “That’s it right there. The family’s sign.” “Ya mean that Griffin we keep on seeing all over this creepy place?” Spike asked. He was clinging onto Applejacks neck, riding on her back. “Think so.” Applejack squinted at the shield. It was as high up as ten ponies. “Spike, you got any ideas how we can get that thing down?” “Let’s levitate it down!” “Spike, do ya see a horn on ma head?” Applejack said. “Oh... Well, we could get Twilight or Rarity to do it-” “They’re trapped in the basement, remember?” Pinkie said. “Well, Fluttershy could fly up there and-” “She was too afraid to come in,” Applejack said. “Well, Rainbow Dash would-” “Also trapped in the basement.” Pinkie pointed out. “Wait, she is? I thought she was still downstairs!” Applejack said. “Didn’t you hear the trap door open? And all the muffled falling?” Applejack shot a confused look at Spike. “Yeesh. Ya’d think a pegasus would just fly out or something. Anyways, We gotta get that shield down If we’re gonna get everypony outta here in one piece.” Spike gave a shrug. “I guess, we could just throw stuff at it till it falls down.” “Way aheaf of youf Spife!” Pinkie cheered, her speech muffled by the framed picture in her mouth. She whipped her head, launching it upwards. It made contact with the wall, and broke into dozens of pieces. After dodging the shower of broken glass, all three looked up again. The coat-of-arms was still firmly affixed to the wall. “Well, what are you guys waiting for?” Pinkie said. Applejack nodded, and picked up a vase. with a mighty kick, it went flying at the wall. And so for the next ten minutes, they flung the glass trinkets all over the room. at the coat-of-arms, but to no effect. “Ah think we broke everything,” Applejack muttered, her hooves crunching the broken glass on the floor. Pinkie looked around. Everything that could be used as a projectile was in smithereens. “Well, I’m out of ideas.” Spike gave an exasperated sigh. Applejack, turned her head, and looked at spikes tail, dangling on her shoulder. Then she looked at the shield, and then back again. “Ah think ah got an idea myself.” Spike eyed her warily. “AJ, What are you -” He was cut off into a scream, as Applejack bit his tail, and flung him straight at shield on the wall. His flailing claws latched on crown moulding, and his feet scrabbling for purchase on the shield knocked it loose from its mounting. The shield fell onto the bed of broken glass, revealing a weathered scroll fastened to its back. “Hey, it worked! Good job Spikey!” Pinkie called up. The baby dragon hanging on by hilt of the swords looked back at his companions. The distance between him and the ground made him feel queasy. “Great, but how do I get down from here?” Applejack gave a weak chuckle. “Heh heh, guess I didn’t think that one through. Oops.” Pinkamena's MissionThe Prompt: Who is Pinkie Pie, really? The small parasprite flew into Pinkie's bed room. The pink mare was gently snoring, her rear leg kicking gently, as though she were dreaming of the Running of The Leaves. The parasprite landed on her nose, and waited silently. Within moments, the snoring ceased, and Pinkie cracked an eye open, and a smile broke out as she glimpsed the blue, winged furball. “Kemeris! I haven't seen you in years! Why didn't you tell me you were gonna visit huh? I would have thrown you a party!” “Hush, Pinkamena,” Kemeris hissed. “The ponies will hear us. I came here only for the fiftheenth year debriefing. Do you know of any place we can adjourn to that we will not be overheard.” “Ooh! Ooh! I know just the place. Follow me!” The parasprite hopped into her puffy mane. Silently, Pinkie Pie tiptoed out of sugar cube corner, and gently closed the door. She felt the cool night air wash over her. Pinkie began trotting along the less traveled back streets and thoroughfares of Ponyville. After they were a safe distance from Sugarcube Corner, Pinkie began to address the bug in her mane. “How are all the souls doing with the parasprite bodies? I really miss everyone back in the hive!” It was odd to see a pony going for a walk in the dead of night, let alone a pony that was having a lively conversation with her mane. But with Pinkie's reputation, nopony would think twice about such eccentricities. The parasprite was careful to keep her voice low. No one would question Pinkie talking to her mane, but they would certainly question hearing her mane talk bout. “Truthfully, not well. These insects, these parasprite bodies are not ideal hosts in the least bit. They are fragile, and live short, brutish lives. There appetites are voracious, and every area we try to graze is demolished within days. This is my eighth parasprite host since you've began your mission. The bodies are dying too fast. We barely have time to transfer a soul from one body to another. We've nearly lost three souls because their hosts' bodies died too quickly.” “That's terrible! I hope nothing happened to Wanda...” “Wanda is fine. But you see the urgency of your mission. Now tell me, have you made any progress since the Pie family? Have you managed to successfully integrate into this community of ponies?” “Sure did! Ever since I left the rock farm, I've been working for this really nice couple in that bakery, and I've been making all these yummy treats! I think you would really like one of my muffins, too! But anyways, a couple of months ago, I got all these awesome new friends! There's AJ, she works on an apple farm, and does a bunch of boring chores all day, but she's really nice and always helps me bake stuff. and Flutters, she has bunch of cuddly wuddly animals that she takes care of!” She rocked to sleep an imaginary rabbit in her forehooves. Pinkie continued. “Rarity's makes dresses, and then There's Rainbow Dash! She's sooo cool. She was the one that made that weird explosion when I was infiltrating the Pie family. Oh, and Twilight Sparkle! She's the Princess's student, and Celestia's going to come visit all of us in a couple of days!” “These ponies, do they fully trust you?” Kemeris asked. “Sure do! They're my best friends!” “And they suspect nothing?” Pinkie's good cheer died down a bit at that question. “I don't think so...” “Excellent. Tomorrow, we shall begin the infiltration of Ponyville. At the ninteen hundred hours, tomorrow, lead this Twilight Sparkle to our base of operations. We will take care of everything from there. With a bit of luck we can use her body to get close to the princess. If we manage to get a soul implanted in the princess's body, the assimilation of the pony race will be a cakewalk.” Pinkie halted her stride for a moment. “...You aren't going to hurt Twilight, right?” Kemeris sighed in exasperation. “Not physically. She'll be sedated, and then one of our souls will be implanted in her brainstem, and take control of her mind and body. Like we did with your host's body.” “But will Twilight still be in there?”' “No.” “So she'll just be gone?” Her pupils shrank to pinpoints, and she gulped. “Is there an issue with that?” Kemeris said, her patience wearing thin. “Yes! She's my friend, and I don't want you or any soul kicking her out of her body!” The parasprite flew “it is your duty, Pinkamena. We put you in the body of a pony so you could infiltrate their society, so that we could move out of these wretched bodies, and into more suitable hosts.” Pinkie looked up at the parasprite, eyes brimming with tears. “I don't want to anymore. I don't want to hurt anymore of my friends.” “You're defecting from the mission, Pinkamena. Such is an act of treason.” Pinkie looked down at her hooves, saying nothing. A single tear drop fell onto the street. “You will report to the base of operations tomorrow night, with one of your pony friends in tow, or I will be forced to take all of them by force. If you still do not cooperate, I'll be forced to raze this entire town.” The parasprite started off on it way back to the Everfree forest. “But—” “Nineteen hundred hours, Pinkamena.” The blue parasprite flew away into the night. Author's Note (sort of a crossover with Stephanie Meyer's “The Host”) Good Day In HellThe Prompt : It’s clear to everypony that Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy are a couple. Everypony except Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. Rainbow’s menacing look was waning, as her eyelids began drooping. “Quit asking me. We’re just friends.That’s all. Just really...really close friends, and stuff...” The cerulean blue pegasus barely suppressed a yawn, and closed her eyes just for a moment. She slumped onto the seat, but was careful to scootch a few inches away from her sleeping companion, in a feeble attempt to deny Rarity anymore matchmaking ammunition. “Just, let it alone, okay? It’s way too hot for this.” It was clear that both the unicorn and pegasus whispering were adamant in their convictions, and neither intended to yield. “Honestly, Dash. Do you expect....Dash? Hello Dash?” She paused to look at her friend. Despite the sweltering heat, Rarity found herself giggling. The heat of the day, in combination with the long monotonous train ride, had finally lulled Rainbow Dash to sleep. She snored gently, and her head flopped onto the neck of the sleeping Fluttershy. In spite of the sudden impact, both remained unconscious. Stifling her laughter, the alabaster Unicorn gestured for her friends to come closer, and observe the two sleeping pegasi in their cuddle puddle. Twilight and Pinkie came quickly to Rarity’s sides; Applejack just stared sullenly over at the yellow and blue mares, before turning back to looking outside the window. Rainbow stirred once more, and for a heartbeat, Rarity was sure the blue mare would jump away in shock. Instead, Rainbow yawned, then unthinkingly cast her wing over Fluttershy. The two were side by side now, leaning into one another, in an almost embrace, and they didn't even know. Twilight smiled sweetly at the sight. Pinkie’s adoration was less reserved, and had to be silenced by a white hoof to avoid disturbing the two sleeping mares. Even if Rainbow Dash would never concede that she felt something for Fluttershy, the actions of the unconscious mind made their feelings for one another more apparent than any verbal declaration of love. At least, to their friends.
Better Luck Next TimeThe prompt: Rainbow Dash’s first sonic rainboom gave all of the mane six their cutie marks. What did her second rainboom do? Apple Bloom gave one last stroke of the paint roller, before dropping it back into the bucket. She sighed, and sat back on her haunches, exhausted. It had taken her two weeks, working everyday, from after school till dinner time, but she was done. Covered in sweat, sawdust, and paint, she stepped back to admire her handiwork. The little hoof-me-down clubhouse was almost unrecognizable. She had spared no labor, no expense in making sure she and her friends had the best meeting spot for their crusading. All the old and rotted planks were replaced, the windows restored, with new shutters and even crown moulding. She remembered scrambling on top of the roof, and installing new shingles, with nothing to go by but a set of old home improvement magazines loaned from Twilight Sparkle’s collection. The paint had been the real challenge. Not so much the color scheme, but reaching all the nooks and crannies.The little yellow filly had to drag a ladder all the way from the barn by herself. Keeping purchase on the wooden rungs was difficult enough without having to apply accent paint. Still, with remarkable and uncharacteristic care and patience, she turned the dingy tree fort into a filly’s dream house. Even though she had never tried her hoof at renovation before, The tiny clubhouse was just as charming and sturdy as any residence in Ponyville. Hay, her workmanship would probably have exceeded Ponyville building standards had it been built on solid ground. The fact that she was just a filly, (and one without the assistance of a horn, or even anypony else) just made the feat all the more impressive. She briefly considered finding Applejack and showing off the clubhouse, but then she remembered her sister was visiting Cloudsdale with her friends that day. Even though there was nopony else to admire it, she felt a sense of awe at her own achievement. Had she really crafted such a lovely thing with her own hooves? The structure was masterwork. Apple Bloom was good at building. She was really good at building. She thought to the time she made a crib for her doll. Stole Big Mac’s tools right from under his nose, and he didn’t find out till she showed him what she had crafted. The rocking chair she made for Granny Smith’s birthday. The fence Applejack had her put up. The family apple cart she repaired dozens of times. Could it be? Could it be her one special talent? Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw a glowing… coming from… her flank! Before she could react, she heard a roaring boom, like a lightning bolt striking right by her. A pressure wave knocked her off her hooves and onto her back. she watched in stunned silence as a ring of rainbow expanded across the sky, spreading out to every corner. She felt a second pressure wave as the ring passed over her, and she thought she saw a rainbow streak flying through the center. “Now what the hay is that?” she asked to nopony in particular. She got back onto her hooves and spun around, trying to get a glimpse of her flank. She saw a blur of dust coating her flank. But she managed to contain herself long enough to surreptiously wipe away all traces of soil and sawdust before taking a second look. She closed her eyes, counted to three, and popped them back open.Her flank was blank as ever. “Ah ponyfeathers, ah thought fer sure I was gonna get a cutie mark this time.” She dusted herself, and looked at where she fell in the dirt. In the midst the splashes of paint, was a neat little picture of a hammer, overlapping a saw, forming an X. She studied it momentarily, and nudged it with her hoof. It shifted, as though the image was comprised of grains of grit and dust. A gentle breeze scattered the hammer and saw into the wind. She thought of the sand, and wondered how it got into such a shape. It reminded her of one of Cheerilee’s lessons. Something called “Mandalas”. Little pictures made by monks far up in the mountains of Neighpal, by placing each grain of sand, individually, until the whole picture was made, only for it to be destroyed by rain or wind. That gave her an idea. Apple Bloom packed up her tools, and trotted home, planning her next crusade. She wondered with a small grin how Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo would like the sound of “Cutie Mark Crusader Mandala makers”.
ImprintingThe Prompt: Spike witnesses something he won’t soon forget. The newborn dragon, unaware that sudden fluctuations in one’s growth were not an expected part of life, sucked on his tail, trying to make sense of what just happened. One moment, the comforting, confined darkness. Then an explosion of sensations that he had never experienced before. There was something fundamentally different about these feelings. He felt growth before, but never this dramatic. And there was something else... The pressure within and bearing down on him, was gone. In it’s place, was the freedom of movement. He experimentally tugged some muscles, and instead of his appendages meeting the barrier of his shell, they flopped about. Even though he could move, he chose to curl back into a ball. He felt...exposed. Gone was the warmth and insulation, and he felt the frightening chill of the bare air around him. And the colors! The whirling masses of shapes and shades and hues had no inherent meaning to him, but they were bright and pretty and confusing, and even though he liked them a lot more than the darkness of his shell, it still hurt his head. The baby dragon suddenly became aware of the blaring cacophony all around him. The chaos of incomprehensible noise, rising and falling, rising and falling, was nearly enough to addle the newborn’s brain. Was there danger? Was he being hurt? The rocking vibrations shook him, scattered him. The poor dragon couldn’t handle the flood of information pouring into him. His own wails joined the madness of sensations around him. All he wanted to do was to be wrapped into his shell once again, with peace and quiet and darkness. The noise around the purple dragon without warning, fell away. The source of fear gone, his crying slowly ceased. Tentatively, he opened his eyes. His vision was still full of confusing blobs and shapes, but they seemed calmer, almost. then he felt a new sensation, touch. A white hoof, lined with gold, touched his face, wiping away the tears. It felt warm, comforting. His tears gone, he saw a white face, smooth colors gently flowing all around it, very unlike the mess of everything else. He looked into the two dark, soft eyes looking at him, then at the white spiraling horn just a little above them. He heard sounds coming from the face as it’s lips moved. He didn’t understand what was happening, but the sounds were calm, musical; reassuring, almost. He cooed, and the white face smiled demurely at him. The baby dragon, in spite of everything, felt happy to be in its presence. The eyes offered love and nurturing, the horn above them promising protection and safety. As long as he saw the lovely countenance, that dainty smile, and the alabaster horn, he knew that he was in good hooves. (written as a possible explanation of Spike’s attraction to Rarity)
Here Comes The SunThe Prompt: The last pony in Equestria It had been so simple, really. No pony ever truly appreciated how much their lives revolved around the sun’s movement, and by extension, it’s stewardess. She took a step forward, a blackened plant crumbling to dust beneath her hoof. The heat coming off of the stone pathway was bending the air around it, limiting her vision to only a hundred yards or so. The blaring sun was veiled by the smoke and dust high in the air. The whole sky was black with a large gray disk at the center. It hurt her eyes to look at it. On the day of Twilight Sparkle’s funeral, that same stewardess was absent from the ceremony, in spite of the eulogy she was expected to give. After every other pony had made their own speeches, the crowd waited hours in the blistering sun for the princess to arrive, until they decided to end the funeral, princess or not. Nopony noticed the sun had halted at the height of its arc. Each house was a smoldering husk. Strewn about the streets, scorched and nearly indistinguishable from the debris, was the evidence of an attempted evacuation. A suitcase here, a broken carriage there. And of course, blackened skeletons. Trapped under collapsed buildings, huddled in the train cars, and train station, lying in the streets. By the next day -or at least what should have been the next day- the sun had not budged an inch. The growing line of concerned ponies outside the Canterlot castle were informed the sun goddess was missing. Poor luna, whose magic was much feebler from a millennium of disuse, was unable to move the sun. She surveyed the destruction of the farmland. Every patch of soil was dry and cracked. Every tree in the barren farm (Sweet Apple Acres, the metal plated sign informed her) was a blackened pillar, some still glowing red with embers. Not a soul left, plant or equine. All around her was death and fire and ash. As crops began failing in the relentless sun, ponies all across Equestria began searching for their princess. They were sympathetic, and had allotted her a few days off duty to grieve for her student in private. But this was going too far. If the sun didn’t drop soon, they would all starve. Pegasi were pumping out clouds at the maximum rate, but there was nowhere near enough to provide shade for all the farmland in Equestria. [Time Limit] In short, like every other town she had seen. Celestia watched the growing panic of her citizens through her spyglass, perched on top a mountain. She would not aid them now. Or should she humor them for another century or so? Let them play out another generation, one more cycle of ponies growing, eating, giving birth to more ponies, then dying? A flicker of mercy darted through her heart, only to be replaced by steely resolve. No, She’d been wanting to do this for millennia. It was not the extermination of individuals, but the ending of a tired, infinite cycle. She focused on the sun, her glowing, and let it go. As simple as letting an egg slip out of one’s telekinetic grasp. And like that, the sun fell. She wondered how the ruler of Equestria could have grown so cold, so apathetic to her people, that she would be able to do this. Had she really forestalled this holocaust for the sake of one pony? Kept the world alive and running for one more generation so her student could live a full life? Aside from the howl of wind, it was very quiet. She continued walking across the field, but stumbled over the skull of a pony, hair and a bow still attached to it. The sun fell to the ground as if it were sinking through molasses. Ponies ran, ponies screamed. Some packed their bags, and tried to flee to the countries that were not directly under the sun, growing ever larger. Some made it. The rest perished in the inferno when the sun kissed the earth. Luna flew with them, became the guardian of the dark side of the world, ruling over the dozen or so survivors. Celestia bent down, and looked at the skull. She remembered this pony. Her name was Apple Bloom, wasn’t it? She looked deep within herself, tried to feel something. Some pang of regret, remorse, ending the life of this filly, for bringing about the end of the world. But she felt nothing. A world without Twilight Sparkle was not a world worth keeping. A/N: Due to a snafu on my part, the story was submitted to the tumblr blog without the italicized parts being, well, italicized. Long story short, the original was in a format that was admittedly slightly confusing. The italic portions convey the events leading up to the story, while the plain text describes what is happening at the moment. It is all from the perspective of an omniscient narrator.
Contact(This prompt isn't from TMPS tumblr, but This Reddit contest) PROMPT: Twolight Sparkle. There has to be at least two Twilight Sparkles running around - of any variant, including clearly defined alternative personalities. You can have Future Twilight and Dusk Shine fighting Nihilus and Nightmare Twilight, or a homeless showmare Twilight making out with a humanized Twilight, I don't care, as long as there are at least two of them and you're not breaking any laws. 500 word max Contact by donald trump card Dusk didn’t know how long he’d been staring into his counterpart’s eyes. They were so close to his, but so feminine, so filled with beauty. Their faces were so near, they were sharing each other’s breath. Twilight Sparkle, she called herself. Dusk cast a glance to one side, then another. It was just the two of them in the dusty old library. Nearly identical to his own. “Looks like we’re the only ones here.” “Heh, heh, He’s probably out on an errand right now.” Twilight coughed uncomfortably, covering her mouth with her hoof. The two broke eye contact for a moment, pretending to examine the bookshelves, as though one of the dusty old tomes would contain the solution to the dilemma at hand. Finding nothing, they again turned to face one another again. Despite having known his alternate self for but a few hours, he was painfully aware of the bond between them causing their muzzles to drift closer and closer together. He looked down at his hooves, avoiding her gaze. “This was a stupid idea, wasn’t it?” She opened her mouth to give some reassurance, but no words came. The sound of a door opening sent Twilight’s head turning so fast, it nearly gave Dusk whiplash. “Spike!” He saw a baby dragon, jaw hanging wide open, standing in the doorway. “Twilight! What’s going on? Who is this? What are you two doing?” “We’ve been looking everywhere for you! Could you lend a hoof? Dusk and I...” She gave a mighty sigh of embarrassment. ”... We sort of glued our horns together.” FIN
The One Where Rainbow Dash Momentarily Loses Her CoolPrompt: Two of the Mane Six have just learned that they’re related “I don’t get what you’re saying,” Rainbow Dash said, furrowing her brow. She eyed the picture of the stallion her mother always had identified as her father. But that was all he ever was. A photograph. A photograph that stayed tucked in the back of the photo album, one that never showed up for dinner, or asked her how her day was, or scolded her for staying out too late, or kissed her goodnight. She never imagined for even a moment that he was a flesh and blood pony, who cared for and raised a whole other family in a boring old rock farm. Let alone one that made a point of polishing his shotgun whenever colts came by to take his daughter out to dinner. It was Just Dash and mommy, a pair that scraped by in spite of dumb old stallion leaving them both. Still, it felt really lonely, especially when her mom was working. “It’s simple Dashie! When I was born, my daddy says he had a ‘mid-life crisis’, and made a lot of mistakes that made mommy really angry! He was always out late, and sometimes he’d be gone for weeks at a time! It turns out that he had a few marefriends... I guess your mom was one of the marefriends that we weren’t ever allowed to say the name of.” Pinkie pointed to the stern, brown Earth pony, standing next to her frizzy maned, filly-self. Dash stared at the picture. “So... Are we like, sisters?” she said after a minute of silence. “Half-sisters, but sisters all the same!” Pinkie tackled Dash into an embrace. “Isn’t this the best? You can come up with me for the next Pie family reunion! It will be great, there will be dancing and singing, and you don’t even have to travel! They're all coming to Ponyville! And...” Rainbow’s focus drifted away from the loquacious pink pony, fixating on one word. Sister. Sister. Sister. This sugar addicted, hyperactive party pony was her sister. Her own flesh and blood sister. Well, half-sister if you wanted to get technical. She imagined for a moment all those lonely days, waiting for mom to come home from work, but with the addition of a certain pink pony. “But, I’ve never had a sister before...” “Oh, it’s the best! And that means Inkie and Blinke are your sisters too! We’re gonna have so much fun!” Dash didn’t know quite how to respond. She thought Of Applejack, and how she envied and admired her care of Applebloom. She scraped her hoof against the ground wistfully. “Will you take me to the sisterhooves social?” she blurted out. Pinkie look surprised for a moment. Dash was painfully aware of vulnerability of her question. She quickly composed herself, and crossed her forelegs casually. Calm. Cool. The very picture of nonchalance. “If ya want, since we’re sisters and all now...” she cast a quick glance at Pinkie to see her reaction. Instead she was greeted by another bear hug. “Oh Dashie, of course! After all, that’s what sisters are for!”
Problem SolvingPrompt: Spike goes on an adventure with some or all of the Mane Six. Spike, Applejack and Pinkie Pie craned their necks, looking at where the wall met the ceiling of the dusty old ballroom. “Ya reckon one of those tapestries has a map on it?” Pinkie furrowed her brow, looking at the ancient note. “It says to look for the map on the back of the family seal.” She squinted, and aimed the lantern in her mouth across the wall, glancing at each item illuminated by the cone of light. “Nope, no seals anywhere. Not even a walrus.” “Wait. go back. Now up,” Applejack said. Pinkie obliged, moving the beam once again. The light caught on a coat-of-arms mounted on the wall, the handles of the sword nearly touching the crown moulding of the ceiling. “That’s it right there. The family’s sign.” “Ya mean that Griffin we keep on seeing all over this creepy place?” Spike asked. He was clinging onto Applejacks neck, riding on her back. “Think so.” Applejack squinted at the shield. It was as high up as ten ponies. “Spike, you got any ideas how we can get that thing down?” “Let’s levitate it down!” “Spike, do ya see a horn on ma head?” Applejack said. “Oh... Well, we could get Twilight or Rarity to do it-” “They’re trapped in the basement, remember?” Pinkie said. “Well, Fluttershy could fly up there and-” “She was too afraid to come in,” Applejack said. “Well, Rainbow Dash would-” “Also trapped in the basement.” Pinkie pointed out. “Wait, she is? I thought she was still downstairs!” Applejack said. “Didn’t you hear the trap door open? And all the muffled falling?” Applejack shot a confused look at Spike. “Yeesh. Ya’d think a pegasus would just fly out or something. Anyways, We gotta get that shield down If we’re gonna get everypony outta here in one piece.” Spike gave a shrug. “I guess, we could just throw stuff at it till it falls down.” “Way aheaf of youf Spife!” Pinkie cheered, her speech muffled by the framed picture in her mouth. She whipped her head, launching it upwards. It made contact with the wall, and broke into dozens of pieces. After dodging the shower of broken glass, all three looked up again. The coat-of-arms was still firmly affixed to the wall. “Well, what are you guys waiting for?” Pinkie said. Applejack nodded, and picked up a vase. with a mighty kick, it went flying at the wall. And so for the next ten minutes, they flung the glass trinkets all over the room. at the coat-of-arms, but to no effect. “Ah think we broke everything,” Applejack muttered, her hooves crunching the broken glass on the floor. Pinkie looked around. Everything that could be used as a projectile was in smithereens. “Well, I’m out of ideas.” Spike gave an exasperated sigh. Applejack, turned her head, and looked at spikes tail, dangling on her shoulder. Then she looked at the shield, and then back again. “Ah think ah got an idea myself.” Spike eyed her warily. “AJ, What are you -” He was cut off into a scream, as Applejack bit his tail, and flung him straight at shield on the wall. His flailing claws latched on crown moulding, and his feet scrabbling for purchase on the shield knocked it loose from its mounting. The shield fell onto the bed of broken glass, revealing a weathered scroll fastened to its back. “Hey, it worked! Good job Spikey!” Pinkie called up. The baby dragon hanging on by hilt of the swords looked back at his companions. The distance between him and the ground made him feel queasy. “Great, but how do I get down from here?” Applejack gave a weak chuckle. “Heh heh, guess I didn’t think that one through. Oops.”
Pinkamena's MissionThe Prompt: Who is Pinkie Pie, really? The small parasprite flew into Pinkie's bed room. The pink mare was gently snoring, her rear leg kicking gently, as though she were dreaming of the Running of The Leaves. The parasprite landed on her nose, and waited silently. Within moments, the snoring ceased, and Pinkie cracked an eye open, and a smile broke out as she glimpsed the blue, winged furball. “Kemeris! I haven't seen you in years! Why didn't you tell me you were gonna visit huh? I would have thrown you a party!” “Hush, Pinkamena,” Kemeris hissed. “The ponies will hear us. I came here only for the fiftheenth year debriefing. Do you know of any place we can adjourn to that we will not be overheard.” “Ooh! Ooh! I know just the place. Follow me!” The parasprite hopped into her puffy mane. Silently, Pinkie Pie tiptoed out of sugar cube corner, and gently closed the door. She felt the cool night air wash over her. Pinkie began trotting along the less traveled back streets and thoroughfares of Ponyville. After they were a safe distance from Sugarcube Corner, Pinkie began to address the bug in her mane. “How are all the souls doing with the parasprite bodies? I really miss everyone back in the hive!” It was odd to see a pony going for a walk in the dead of night, let alone a pony that was having a lively conversation with her mane. But with Pinkie's reputation, nopony would think twice about such eccentricities. The parasprite was careful to keep her voice low. No one would question Pinkie talking to her mane, but they would certainly question hearing her mane talk bout. “Truthfully, not well. These insects, these parasprite bodies are not ideal hosts in the least bit. They are fragile, and live short, brutish lives. There appetites are voracious, and every area we try to graze is demolished within days. This is my eighth parasprite host since you've began your mission. The bodies are dying too fast. We barely have time to transfer a soul from one body to another. We've nearly lost three souls because their hosts' bodies died too quickly.” “That's terrible! I hope nothing happened to Wanda...” “Wanda is fine. But you see the urgency of your mission. Now tell me, have you made any progress since the Pie family? Have you managed to successfully integrate into this community of ponies?” “Sure did! Ever since I left the rock farm, I've been working for this really nice couple in that bakery, and I've been making all these yummy treats! I think you would really like one of my muffins, too! But anyways, a couple of months ago, I got all these awesome new friends! There's AJ, she works on an apple farm, and does a bunch of boring chores all day, but she's really nice and always helps me bake stuff. and Flutters, she has bunch of cuddly wuddly animals that she takes care of!” She rocked to sleep an imaginary rabbit in her forehooves. Pinkie continued. “Rarity's makes dresses, and then There's Rainbow Dash! She's sooo cool. She was the one that made that weird explosion when I was infiltrating the Pie family. Oh, and Twilight Sparkle! She's the Princess's student, and Celestia's going to come visit all of us in a couple of days!” “These ponies, do they fully trust you?” Kemeris asked. “Sure do! They're my best friends!” “And they suspect nothing?” Pinkie's good cheer died down a bit at that question. “I don't think so...” “Excellent. Tomorrow, we shall begin the infiltration of Ponyville. At the ninteen hundred hours, tomorrow, lead this Twilight Sparkle to our base of operations. We will take care of everything from there. With a bit of luck we can use her body to get close to the princess. If we manage to get a soul implanted in the princess's body, the assimilation of the pony race will be a cakewalk.” Pinkie halted her stride for a moment. “...You aren't going to hurt Twilight, right?” Kemeris sighed in exasperation. “Not physically. She'll be sedated, and then one of our souls will be implanted in her brainstem, and take control of her mind and body. Like we did with your host's body.” “But will Twilight still be in there?”' “No.” “So she'll just be gone?” Her pupils shrank to pinpoints, and she gulped. “Is there an issue with that?” Kemeris said, her patience wearing thin. “Yes! She's my friend, and I don't want you or any soul kicking her out of her body!” The parasprite flew “it is your duty, Pinkamena. We put you in the body of a pony so you could infiltrate their society, so that we could move out of these wretched bodies, and into more suitable hosts.” Pinkie looked up at the parasprite, eyes brimming with tears. “I don't want to anymore. I don't want to hurt anymore of my friends.” “You're defecting from the mission, Pinkamena. Such is an act of treason.” Pinkie looked down at her hooves, saying nothing. A single tear drop fell onto the street. “You will report to the base of operations tomorrow night, with one of your pony friends in tow, or I will be forced to take all of them by force. If you still do not cooperate, I'll be forced to raze this entire town.” The parasprite started off on it way back to the Everfree forest. “But—” “Nineteen hundred hours, Pinkamena.” The blue parasprite flew away into the night. Author's Note (sort of a crossover with Stephanie Meyer's “The Host”)
Good Day In HellThe Prompt : It’s clear to everypony that Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy are a couple. Everypony except Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. Rainbow’s menacing look was waning, as her eyelids began drooping. “Quit asking me. We’re just friends.That’s all. Just really...really close friends, and stuff...” The cerulean blue pegasus barely suppressed a yawn, and closed her eyes just for a moment. She slumped onto the seat, but was careful to scootch a few inches away from her sleeping companion, in a feeble attempt to deny Rarity anymore matchmaking ammunition. “Just, let it alone, okay? It’s way too hot for this.” It was clear that both the unicorn and pegasus whispering were adamant in their convictions, and neither intended to yield. “Honestly, Dash. Do you expect....Dash? Hello Dash?” She paused to look at her friend. Despite the sweltering heat, Rarity found herself giggling. The heat of the day, in combination with the long monotonous train ride, had finally lulled Rainbow Dash to sleep. She snored gently, and her head flopped onto the neck of the sleeping Fluttershy. In spite of the sudden impact, both remained unconscious. Stifling her laughter, the alabaster Unicorn gestured for her friends to come closer, and observe the two sleeping pegasi in their cuddle puddle. Twilight and Pinkie came quickly to Rarity’s sides; Applejack just stared sullenly over at the yellow and blue mares, before turning back to looking outside the window. Rainbow stirred once more, and for a heartbeat, Rarity was sure the blue mare would jump away in shock. Instead, Rainbow yawned, then unthinkingly cast her wing over Fluttershy. The two were side by side now, leaning into one another, in an almost embrace, and they didn't even know. Twilight smiled sweetly at the sight. Pinkie’s adoration was less reserved, and had to be silenced by a white hoof to avoid disturbing the two sleeping mares. Even if Rainbow Dash would never concede that she felt something for Fluttershy, the actions of the unconscious mind made their feelings for one another more apparent than any verbal declaration of love. At least, to their friends.
