Chapters PROLOGUE
Pain. It will always be around. You may not always feel it; that just means it's not your turn yet.
But don't run from pain when it comes to you. It can be a powerful catalyst. Harnessed and used properly, pain can end wonderfully.
Applejack didn't have any words. Rarity was crying. And this wasn't her usual diva “getting what I want” crying. She was genuinely sad. She felt unwanted. She felt unloved. But she wasn't unloved. All her friends completely love her.
Especially me.
Applejack's own thought surprised her. It was something she had known for a while but hadn't ever put into words until now. But it was scary. Especially since Rarity was her best friend. Should she risk that?
Applejack reached out and touched her friend's cheek. She leaned in and pressed her lips to Rarity's. Rarity leaned in as well, wrapping her arms around Applejack.
Their kiss was electric. Applejack felt it through to the core of her being. And when she pulled back, she saw that Rarity felt exactly the same.
What just happened?
Rarity felt amazingly giddy. She had been wanting this for so long. Applejack was looking at her with a bit of concern and a whole mountain of hopefulness. Rarity knew it was her move.
She smiled. A smile so genuine that even Applejack wouldn't sense any fault in it. She pulled Applejack in for as tight an embrace as she could muster.
"I love you, Applejack."
The words, whispered into her ear, cause a slight tension in Applejack. And that tension, I'm turn, caused some worry for Rarity.
Applejack released her hug and pushed Rarity away to arms length. The motion scared Rarity. She was scared that she ruined the moment. She was scared she ruined their friendship.
Through watery eyes she looked to Applejack's face. Her grin said it all, but her words confirmed it.
"I love you too, Rarity."
Applejack pulled her in once more and kissed her. Rarity could really feel Applejack's passion and she happily reciprocated.
"You see!? I TOLD you there wasn't anything like that between me and AJ."
Rainbow Dash's words brought them all back to reality. The rest of the girls had been watching Applejack and Rarity from the bakery across the street. They were all quite surprised at the event. Everyone except for Rainbow Dash, anyway.
She kept exclaiming that she knew ever since Equestria Land. The other girls kept saying different variations of "I never saw it coming".
Then, Fluttershy spoke up with a question that caused the table to go silent.
"Do you think pony Applejack and Rarity like each other too?"
The silence was broken by a familiar drawl.
"Hey, y'all. Rarity and I have somethin' we need to tell you."
Pinkie Pie rocketed out of her seat. She popped up between Applejack and Rarity and pulled them into an almost painful hug. She couldn't stop squealing.
"We saw the whole thing, AJ" Rainbow Dash said as she got up and slugged her friend in the shoulder. "We're super happy for you guys."
Applejack and Rarity looked around the table and saw nothing but smiles and nods in agreement. They looked at each other and smiled.
"Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!"
Pinkie's chanting was not really a surprise and they were happy to oblige.
Twilight looked up at the sky. She didn’t know why she did. She knew there was nothing there. There hadn’t been in years. No stars. No moon. No sun. No clouds. Sometimes she wondered how she was alive. She always reached the same conclusion: she was an alicorn. Of course, that didn’t really mean much. If that actually meant anything, then why was she the only one left?
She didn’t even remember exactly what happened. There was a bright light and then she was alone in the dark. She couldn’t find her friends. She couldn’t find anybody. No ponies. No animals. It took her a little over a day to walk to Canterlot. She couldn’t fly because of the darkness. She walked the tracks using the light from her horn to keep from losing her way.
Her horn glowed permanently now. She didn’t even have to consciously maintain the spell. She didn’t know if she could even turn it off. She didn’t care either. There was no one to bother. No one to find. It was all just a black void. She spent her days scavenging for food at this point. She had cleaned out Ponyville a while ago. She didn’t know the name of the town she was currently in the middle of cleaning out.
Twilight didn’t know why she bothered trekking back to Ponyville from Canterlot. When she had been in Canterlot, it was all the same. No ponies. No animals. Even Celestia and Luna were gone. She cried herself to sleep in Celestia’s bed that night. She had thought about ending it then. There were plenty of ways that she could have done it in Canterlot. The only thing that stopped her was the fact that she was an alicorn. There would be something that would hinder her death. She just knew it.
Now...she wasn’t so sure. Celestia and Luna were both gone. Twilight had even checked out the Crystal Empire. Nobody there either. Cadence. Shining Armor. Flurry Heart. Gone. Of course, being gone didn’t mean dead. No matter how many times Twilight tried to end her suffering, that little piece of logic always came in and stopped her. So she carried on. Scavenging what she could to survive.
That first day and night were the worst. Thank goodness she had a friend like Rainbow Dash. She flew as fast as she could to Canterlot as soon as they noticed it. Twilight was walking around Ponyville calling out, not noticing any of the responses. Her friends tried yelling, poking, even pushing her over. Perhaps the most odd, though, was when she arrived at the train station and started walking the tracks. Her friends kept her company the whole way. Walking alongside her. Making sure she didn’t fall.
Her arrival at Canterlot castle, despite the warning from Rainbow Dash, was unnerving. Twilight was clearly scared and, though she was surrounded by her friends, utterly alone. After walking the whole castle, calling out for anypony to answer, Twilight ended up in Celestia’s room. She crawled up onto Celestia’s bed and started crying. Celestia held her all night, crying with her.
The next day, Celestia decreed that across Equestria, all must watch over and protect Twilight Sparkle until this spell could be undone.
That was five years ago.
No progress had been made on anything. Daily, Celestia would try her hoof at trying to break through the spell. Nightly, Luna would try to break through Twilight’s dream door. It was completely immune to Luna's power.
And every day, the citizens of Equestria cared less. It's not that they didn't care, but what could they do. They all had their own lives to live. You can't stop the world for one pony.
Author's Note
This was a deleted scene/alternate take on my recent story featuring Scootaloo:Stuntmare Scootaloo
Rise of the Cannon
Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo exploded into the throne room in a rolling ball of giggles and gab. The same chaotic energy they had at the library hadn’t ceased since they left Ponyville four hours ago, yet Celestia still wore her regal smile as she followed them. She sat on her throne and continued to watch the three fillies run around laughing.
After a few minutes, the girls realized they had just been running around and Celestia hadn’t said anything. They looked up to her and Scootaloo spoke up. “So, what are we gonna do here in the throne room, Princess Celestia? I mean, the ceiling’s high enough, so I’m sure we could practice here.”
“Oh my little Scootaloo, we’re going to do so much more than practice. I’m gonna send you somewhere where you can master those little wings of yours better than any pony in Equestria.”
Applebloom grabbed Scootaloo’s shoulders and shook her, “Ooooh, you hear that, Scoots, yer gonna master yer wings!”
“Yeah! You’ll be even better than Rainbow Dash.”
Once Scootaloo’s eyes stopped rolling around in her head, she grinned her biggest grin and looked up to Princess Celestia. “I’m so excited! When do we start?”
“Right now, Scootaloo.” Celestia opened a little door on the side of her throne and pressed a button. A loudTHUNK caused the girls to scream and grab hold of one another. The ground started shaking and the floor beside the throne began to open. All the Cutie Mark Crusaders could do was stare as the floor opened and kept opening until half of the throne room as a dark pit leading straight to Tartarus.
When the shaking had finally stopped, the girls let go of each other and started breathing normally again. Scootaloo walked over to the edge of the casm and looked down. All she could see was a black so black that the word “black” didn’t quite describe how black it was. It was so black that it felt like it was pulling her soul out of her body.
“Don’t mind the squeaky gears.” Celestia’s words pulled Scootaloo from the pit. “I’ve oiled them so much, but they keep squeaking.”
Then she heard it. There was a faint sound coming up from the pit. And it was growing louder. She began to make out a faint shape emerging from the darkness. Scootaloo knew her shapes. It was a circle. And the circle kept getting bigger and bigger and louder and louder. Soon, she had to cover her ears and step away from the edge of the pit. She noticed her friends covering their ears as well. Still, the squeaking gears got louder. On the brink of pain with tears in her eyes, Scootaloo looked up and saw Princess Celestia laughing with a wild look in her eyes.
Then it stopped. Scootaloo blinked the tears away from her eyes. Celestia was sitting and smiling at them. She could have sworn the Princess had been laughing just a second ago. She looked over to where the pit was, but it wasn’t a pit anymore. In its place was a cannon. A big cannon. Her eyes followed it up to where the tip of the barrel looked like it was touching the ceiling.
Scootaloo’s breath caught in her throat. “Cool.” was all she could manage. She wasn’t even sure anyone heard her. She walked up to it and placed her hoof on the base. It was cold and she could feel her heat being pulled out by the smooth steel.
Once Scootaloo was in the cannon, she started having second thoughts. The opening was so far above her head. Plus…there was a ceiling between the cannon and the night sky. It might hurt to go through that.
“Uh…Princess Celestia? Does the ceiling open up? Because as it is right now, I think I might just end up being a bright red spot up there. You know?”
Princess Celestia laughed and her two friends soon joined in. “Oh ho, little Scootaloo! I know! I’ve been meaning to paint the throne room.”
“WHAT?!”
“Yeah Scoots! Help Princess Celestia redecorate.”
“I’m sure you’re much better paint than a singer, Scootaloo!”
“WHAAT?!?!”
The terror in her voice caused her friends to laugh. Scootaloo started scrambling to climb out of the cannon. The slick steel was so slippery, that Scootaloo kept sliding down to the stuffing. She started hearing another rumbling and began praying that she wouldn’t feel any pain. Then the little light at the end of the barrel began to get brighter. She looked up and saw the bright sky. She started breathing again.
“You guys are jerks!” All she heard was more laughter in response.
The laughter died down as Scootaloo caught her breath.
"Hey Sunny! Come on in!" Izzy stepped aside and let her friend into the cottage. Sunny looked around at the new unicycling projects and Izzy got to work.
While Sunny was turning the crank for the new music cylinder, Izzy unfastened the clasp. As Sunny marvelled at the new moving pony sculpture waving at her, Izzy released the strap.
Sunny turned to face Izzy. "So what have you--" She was cut off by her bag being lifted off her shoulder and over her head. Izzy lifted the bag up into the air with a big smile across her face.
"Izzy! Oh my gosh! I didn't even feel anything." Sunny's wide eyes were glued to her bag hanging up in the air. Her smile grew even more as Izzy began bringing other things to hover in the air around her bag. Some cans and a barrel. A bucket and some string.
The items began tracing a lazy figure eight through the straps of the bag. Sunny, completely mesmerized by the sight, remained completely unaware of her surroundings while she what's her friend's amazing display. She didn't notice that Izzy wasn't across the room from her anymore or that a certain flower had appeared beside her.
Sunny gasped as the items in the air began to take very specific positions around her bag. Soon, the items were arranged into the vague shape of a pony. An orange pony with a purple mane. Sunny was about to say something when the pony in the air began to move. It walked through the air carrying Sunny's bag around the room. Sunny followed it with her eyes and burst out laughing when she figured it out. "Oh my gosh! Ha ha Izzy, is that me?"
The floating homunculus stopped in the air and slowly fell down into a pile behind Izzy. Izzy's horn was throbbing and she could feel the sweat dripping down her face and neck, but the giant smile on Sunny's face was totally worth it. Sunny's eyes landed on hers as the pile fell behind her and Izzy couldn't help but smile her biggest smile back. She pressed a button and the flower between them started spinning.
It opened up, revealing two tea cups with a kettle in the middle. Sunny's smile dropped as a cup settled to a stop in front of her. "I kind of stomped all over your heart last time this was out, didn't I?"
Izzy nodded. "You did. You were so focused on getting those crystals. It was important, though. And I'm glad you were able to make that call. I was hurt but I understood. Plus we still got to do makeovers!" She clapped her hooves and giggled.
"HaHaHa you're totally right. Those were fun makeovers." Sunny relaxed and took a sip of her tea. "This is good tea. Probably should be one of the first exports of Bridlewood."
Izzy chuckled. "And I know what the first export from Maretime Bay should be."
"What's that?"
Izzy lit up her horn and reached out with her magic to grab something from the cupboard. She then slowly and lazily hovered a can of beans around in front of Sunny. "These."
Sunny laughed until she collapsed on the floor where Izzy joined her in her mirth.
Author's Note
This was a gift for the wonderful WaywardSon
She had a way of making you follow her. I really didn't want to, though. I wanted to go home, relax with a good book, maybe a snack, and then go to bed. It was a perfect ending to a pretty good day, but Pinkie Pie wouldn't let it happen.
She kept encouraging me forward, telling me we were almost there. I couldn't help but smile at her energy despite my mild annoyance. Then suddenly her face was pressed right up against mine.
She asked if I was ready. I guess I wasn't so annoyed that the walk was super long. A simple nod was all she needed to bolt through the door behind her. She called for me and I followed her in, but spun around in shock as she slammed the door behind me. She was grinning ear to ear as she reached over and turned off the lights.
The darkness was unnatural. It was pitch black. I couldn't see anything and I was about to protest, but then I saw it. It was faint at first, but slowly grew brighter until the room was as bright as a full moon night.
The walls were glowing with color. Stripes and swirls. Dots and stars of all colors scattered across the walls. Then my eyes landed on the pony that brought me here. She was also covered in color. Swirls, stars, and hearts. Even her cutie mark was glowing. But somehow in all of this, here eyes were brightest of all.
She was beautiful.
Author's Note
So I got this idea from a piece of art I saw. This story was instantly complete in my head.https://twitter.com/Darksly_z/status/1651416464551714816?t=sgNxwxsCujrlJ5vQr9xBxQ&s=19
She had been staring at Rainbow Dash for a while. She didn’t know why, but she couldn’t look away. Watching Rainbow Dash run back and forth across the field was just...relaxing. She didn’t care about the world around her. The only things that existed were the ball and the goal. Even with her energy and athleticism, she was very obviously at peace.
Sunset Shimmer was suddenly flooded with the memory of her dream from high school. She didn’t know why at first. That is, until she took another good look at the athlete. She was lost in her performance. Sweat caused her hair and jersey to cling to her face and body. Her focus and joy was...beautiful.
Rainbow Dash turned and waved to Sunset. Sunset waved back. She then barely caught the soccer ball that Rainbow Dash launched in her direction. Sunset glared at Rainbow Dash as she ran up.
“Nice catch, Sunset.” Sunset’s glare continued. “What? I knew you’d be able to catch it. I’ve played enough soccer with you to know what you can do.”
This was true. Sunset had played quite a bit of soccer with Rainbow Dash over the past few months. And Rainbow Dash was quite good at gauging the physical abilities of people. Despite this, Sunset couldn’t give in to Rainbow Dash’s assumption. She feigned injury to her hand and gave Rainbow Dash the saddest puppy dog eyes she could muster. Rainbow Dash wasn’t having it. She crossed her arms and just stared at Sunset.
“Ugh. You’re right.” Sunset admitted. “I AM fine. But still, you should pretend to be concerned.” She reached out and pulled Rainbow down to sit next to her on the bench. “Otherwise you might get less of this,” Sunset hugged Rainbow tight and kissed her cheek. Rainbow relaxed into Sunset’s embrace, a content smile playing on her lips.
After about a minute, Sunset noticed the time. “Oh shoot, we need to get going.”
“Why? It’s so nice here. There’s sun. There’s a nice breeze. There’s you.” Rainbow Dash batted her eye’s playfully.
“Yes yes. And I would love nothing more than to just sit here with you for the rest of the day, but we need to get going. We have to meet up with Rarity. And you need a shower.”
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, “I guess you’re right. Rarity can never appreciate my Athletic Chic.”
“More like Athletic STINK.”
“Hey!”
Sunset burst out laughing, with Rainbow joining soon after.
Author's Note
I wrote this as an ending to Sunset’s Setups , but then decided that I didn’t want to end it this way. But I still enjoyed what I wrote, so I decided to post it here. I hope you enjoy it too.