A Short One, Please!

by gapty

Rating: everyone
Tags: Other, Equestria Girls, Sunset Shimmer, Anthology, Main 6, Trixie, Dazzlings, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 3047

A collection of stories with no more than 150 words, each having a set prompt.

A collection of stories with no more than 150 words, each having a set prompt.

All stories are written for the monthly Flashfic150 competition by Loganberry, which are held in the Flashfic group.

Published 2023-03-28 15:40:00 UTC
Last updated 2024-08-30 14:11:07 UTC

September 2022: "Even the Heartless Have a Heart"

Author's Note

First entry into the monthly competition. Click here to check out the other entries!

September 2022: "Even the Heartless Have a Heart"

Trixie Is

The Great and Powerful Trixie.

A mare that is an entertainer. A mare no one else can compare with. A mare that is impressive.

She never gets beaten in a challenge. She doesn't have any weaknesses.

Trixie is someone everypony looks up to. Trixie is unreachable. Trixie is the best.

No one is like her. No one can do the illusions like she can. No one is as great and powerful as her.

For Trixie, everypony is a spectator. For Trixie, everypony wants to be impressed. For Trixie, everypony would have ignored her if not for her acts.

…

No, Trixie doesn’t need anypony else! The applause, the admiration… They all don’t understand that her shows are just an act of kindness!

…

And then I help a stuck filly to get free. She smiles at me. Seeing that friendly grin was something I had missed seeing for so long.

December 2022: "A Terrible Day to Have Eyes"

Author's Note

Click here to check out the other entries!

December 2022: "A Terrible Day to Have Eyes"

Melodramatic

“The horror! The horror!” Daisy exclaimed, falling to the ground.

“It’s just a darn fogged window!” Apple Bloom rolled her eyes. “Do you always have to be so dramatic?”

The flower ponies remained laying on the ground as Apple Bloom left them alone.

“It’s getting annoying,” Rose muttered.

“I agree,” Daisy sighed. “How many times are remaining?”

“I think about five,” Lily replied. “Let’s do ten just to be safe.”

“Alright, then let’s go around and be in fear!”

As they walked through the town, they came across Pinkie, who had offered them free samples of her new cookie recipe.

It was the best cookies they had ever tasted, so much so that they forgot the time and praised them non stop.

They realised their mistake when the whole town was shaking and the ground was ripped apart in two, releasing a being they wished to have never seen again.

October 2022: "The Feeling's New to Me"

Author's Note

Click here to check out the other entries!

October 2022: "The Feeling's New to Me"

Protective

Lil’ Cheese reached for the gift ribbons and pulled on them, laughing as the ribbons rolled in waves around him. He turned in circles and was soon all wrapped in it. Pinkie hid her giggle behind her hoof, as she watched her colt turn himself over on the ground.

But the more rapid his movements were, the more worried she got. Then he tried to bite on the ribbon. This only made it worse, and his movements became a wave of rapid shaking to get free.

Pinkie’s heart raced. She jumped up from her seat and ran towards him.

She could only exhale in relief when she removed the ribbon from him.

"No gift ribbons!" she declared and put them up on a shelf.

She turned her view back to her colt and smiled.

She would protect him from anything.

November 2022: "skintight bodysuit"

Author's Note

Well, weird prompt, but it didn't stop me. Anyway, here are the other entries! :trixieshiftleft:

November 2022: "skintight bodysuit"

A Question

“Rarity, can I ask you a question?” Sweetie Belle asked her sister.

“Sure thing,” Rarity replied without looking up from her current work.

“I was wondering: Why is it normal for us to walk without any clothes, but as soon as one wears a skintight bodysuit, it gets ‘inappropriate'?”

Rarity stopped, her eyes staring into nothing in particular.

“Rarity?”

Sweetie Belle didn’t get an answer, and when she saw Rarity remaining in her motionless position, she got bored and left her sister alone.

February 2023: "Love, Ambushed By"

Author's Note

Click here to check out the other entries!

February 2023: "Love, Ambushed By"

Ambushed by an Expression

On an autumn evening, three sisters were walking down the streets of Canterlot City. Despite the cold temperatures, they didn’t have warm clothes, so they jumped and rubbed their hands to somewhat combat the freezing.

They’ve had everything: unlimited food, servants, a huge mansion. It was easy to mind control the Rich family into taking them in, or more specifically Spoiled Rich. Following her around, always being in hearing range so the woman would hear their singing, and finally they got accepted as “lost family members of a love drama between her sister”.

But now, it’s all gone.

“I’m cold!” Sonata cried.

“Don’t you think we all are?” Aria gritted her teeth.

“I want to go back!”

“We can’t because of you!” Aria’s fierceful eyes were aimed at Adagio.

However, Sonata thought it was meant for her, so she replied: “I didn’t know that ‘buttering her up’ wasn’t meant literally!”

March 2023: "Multiversal Mayhem"

Author's Note

Click here to check out the other entries!

March 2023: "Multiversal Mayhem"

Only One at a Time

“Sunset Shimmer?” Sunset asked.

The girl, looking exactly like herself, stopped playing the guitar and looked up. When the eyes met, the girl tilted her head.

“My name is Sunset Shimmer too.” She stretched out her hand.

No reaction.

“Uhm, it’s kind of fun to see a lookalike, don’t you agree?” Sunset chuckled nervously.

The eyes were empty.

What was going on with the girl? Why did she act so… hollow?

Finally, the girl moved, but only to strum a few chords. The eyes were staring forward, the hand movements choppy.

“And who are you?”

Turning around, Sunset saw a woman giving her a firm expression.

“Sunset Shimmer,” she replied.

The woman sighed. “At least you’re you.”

“What do you mean?”

“That girl,” the woman pointed at the counterpart, “lost herself five years ago.”

Sunset gasped, realising that it was the same time she had crossed the portal.

April 2023: "And Nothing Was The Same."

Author's Note

Click here to check out the other entries!

April 2023: "And Nothing Was The Same."

Newfound Destiny

Trixie sighed and let her head fall onto the bar in front of her. She couldn't help but feel exhausted with her life, especially as a pony who still hadn't discovered her special talent. She had tried everything, but nothing seemed to click.

The sudden eruption of cries from the crowd behind her caught her attention. Curious, she turned to see a stallion.

"Pick a card" he said, gesturing towards the deck of cards he held.

Trixie blinked in surprise, realising he was referring to her. She hesitantly picked one and watched as he placed it back in the deck and shuffled the cards.

"Choose a number." He laid card by card out on the bar.

"Um, seven.”

The stallion paused at the seventh card, and with a dramatic flourish, he revealed it. Her jaw dropped in amazement as she saw that it was the very card she had selected.

July 2023: "Pure Evil"

Author's Note

Click here to check out the other entries!

In case one doesn't get who is talking to who, it's Sunset Shimmer to Wallflower.

July 2023: "Pure Evil"

Twisted Fate

You won.

You truly won.

I saw you running away, only minutes remaining. I didn’t catch up until it was too late.

Now, only the memories of me terrorising the school are left.

I can’t return the memories of my friends or the school anymore. I have lost years of progress in becoming a better person for them.

You took everything from me.

Wouldn’t you have won, I would’ve forgiven you. I would’ve understood you, but now, all I feel is hatred for your pathetic life.

I’ll use the Memory Stone daily. No one will remember anything but the awkward girl messing up everything. No one will remember that you did something good for someone, nor any of the smiles or support you’ve given.

There won’t be any good memories of you anymore. What a funny, twisted fate, isn’t it? Exactly what you were afraid of before, becoming a reality.

August 2023: "Underrated"

Author's Note

Click here to check out the other entries!

August 2023: "Underrated"

Underrated Power

“Girls, we need to focus on coming up with a plan!” Sunset said.

“What’s the point?” Rainbow complained. “None of our previous plans worked out.”

“My plans were perfect!” Twilight retorted, pounding the table with her fists. “I took each of our superpowers and our strengths and weaknesses into account.”

“And yet we’re still here—without the magical artefacts the thieves stole!” Rainbow replied.

“That’s because someone didn’t stick to our plan!” Applejack groaned.

Rarity scoffed. “I did what I had to do. Besides, it was your job to stay at the entry door in case the thieves ran away!”

“Again, I was saving Pinkie Pie!”

The argument stopped in an instant when Fluttershy sat down and put the missing artefacts on the table.

“But… how?” Twilight asked, as perplexed as anyone else.

“I used my power,” Fluttershy answered, grinning widely. “There is nothing one can do against thousands of insects.”

September 2023: "The Prophecy"

Author's Note

Click here to check out the other entries!

September 2023: "The Prophecy"

Foretold Emerald

“It’s ours,” a Crystal Pony ambassador declared, standing before a mountain-sized emerald. “Long ago, our ancestors foretold of a stone that shall bring us a new era of prosperity.”

“That’s what you think,” Grampa Gruff replied, flying over the emerald in circles. “It has been foretold by King Guto that the loss of the Idol of Boreas shall be replaced by something even more precious, bringing back the Griffon’s glorious era.”

“Actually,” Thorax intervened, “the prophecy of this emerald was amongst the Changelings for centuries and promised for us a new and better hive.”

Princess Twilight sighed. What should she do? Every creature claimed that this emerald that fell from the sky belonged to them!

Suddenly, it cracked and split into small pieces, one of which fell before Twilight. Examining it, she realised that it was…

“Candy?”

Watching through a portal, Discord fell from his couch and couldn’t stop laughing.

May 2024: "In the Garden"

Author's Note

Check out the other entries here!

May 2024: "In the Garden"

Rules

They say that everyone is born with the ability to understand the unwritten rules of social interaction. And yet, when Wallflower would ask what these rules were, she would never get the same answer.

Even worse, whenever she would try to apply them, it turned out that there were several unmentioned nuances that changed the rules completely.

So why bother trying? Why bother to fit in?

If only she didn’t want to. Then it wouldn’t matter that she was alone during lunch breaks, that she stood awkwardly in a corner at a school’s party.

But she had something no one else did. After school, she would go behind the parking lot to her garden.

There, she was alone.

There, there weren’t any unwritten rules she had to figure out.

There, she knew what to do, what each plant needed and how to take care of them.

And she was happy.

July 2024: "Seashore"

Author's Note

Check out the other entries here!

July 2024: "Seashore"

Old Memories

Canterlot City had a beach—a crowded one on hot summer days. It was a perfect place to relax and cool down when the temperatures became unbearable.

However, Adagio didn’t like it. She preferred the rocky seashore western of the beach. There was nobody. No humans, no annoying voices, only the sound of waves crashing on the rocks. Here, she would just sit and stare at the sight before here.

“Here you are,” Aria interrupted her peace and sat next to her. “And I wondered where you sneaked out.”

Adagio didn’t reply.

In silence, they watched the waves crashing on the rocks over and over. Past times came to their minds, when they were little children. Sirens that called the water their home.

At last, Adagio stood up. “Let’s go. Sonata is waiting for us.”

“Finally,” Aria groaned. However, she kept her gaze on the water a little longer.

August 2024: "Syrupy Sweet"

Author's Note

This entry won the contest! :pinkiegasp:

Check the other entries here!

August 2024: "Syrupy Sweet"

Well Kept Secret

Sweetie Belle knew of a broken tube in a corner of a sweet factory. It gave little droplets of caramel every few seconds. It was a place to fulfil her need for sweets—Rarity had cut down on how many she was allowed to eat.

It was a well kept secret, as the droplets weren’t enough for more than one filly.

One day, the ground under her broke, and she fell into a narrow, deep pit. She screamed, but no one heard her. She tried to climb out, but couldn’t move her hooves anymore—maybe they broke during the fall.

The incident must have affected the tube. The caramel droplets were much bigger now, and they fell right on her, flowing down her body. So many, that a liquid layer around her formed before it hardened. Slowly, more layers formed. Slowly, it filled the pit.

If only she hadn’t been so greedy.

January 2023: "Second Chances" (Unofficial Entry)

Author's Note

Due to the "No Crossover" rule, this shortfic couldn't be submitted as an entry, so it's more of an "unoffical entry" I wrote for fun :pinkiecrazy:

For anyone wondering, it's a crossover with SCP-2000

January 2023: "Second Chances" (Unofficial Entry)

Deus Ex Machina

Sunset Shimmer read through the instructions one more time, adjusting and calibrating the last parameters on the biggest machine complex she has ever seen in her life.

Getting to this place—which she found out through an automated radio message—had been a several months long trip, but it was the only option, the only solution.

Starting it, she heard it humming and clatter, but the screen was giving comforting green lights. It finally worked.

She sighed, as she now had to wait for five days for the warm-up to finish. For the last weeks, she had at least been busy restoring the machine, but now, she had nothing to do than to consume the media stored in here.

Nonetheless, she was excited and, for the first time after her colossal mistake, had any hope for a second chance for humanity.

For the first time, she wouldn’t be the only human anymore.

January 2023: "Second Chances"

Author's Note

Click here for the other entries!

Since there was another option to have instead another prompt from last year, I decided to use this one and several others because why not :pinkiecrazy:

Following prompts were used:

Second Chance

Break the Rules!

Even the Heartless Have a Heart

A Terrible Day to Have Eyes

I didn't think the leopards would eat MY face!

Just This Once

skintight bodysuit

Received the hon mensh: I can only stand back and admire the willingness to take so many prompts and still make a readable story out of them.

Well, spite is a factor, I guess :trixieshiftright:

January 2023: "Second Chances"

Not My Fault

“Listen, once Trixie saw that big, shiny diamond lying there, alone, inside a glass showcase, she thought of all the criminal ponies who would want to steal it. Trixie is a one-pony showmare, but even she has a heart and imagined how awful the owner would feel once his precious possession would be lost forever. Feeling pity, she decided to break the glass and ste—save it from the dangerous place and hide it somewhere safe—from criminals of course. Sure, it wasn’t a good idea to brag about being now the richest mare in Equestria, and putting it on top of my wagon to showcase it was probably a bad hiding place, but Trixie wouldn’t have ever thought that it would get stolen from her own secure hooves!

“Please, give me a second chance, Princess Twilight! Just this one time! Trixie can’t return to the prison; their outfits are too small!”

May 2023: "carousel"

Author's Note

Click here for the other entries!

It received the Hon mensh 1 -- "A clever use of formatting that doesn't become either tiring or tiresome, and an appealing portrayal of human Trixie."

May 2023: "carousel"

Waiting to Step Off

Wake up.

Shower.

Brush teeth.

Put on suit.

Eat breakfast.

Grab coffee.

Head to the door.

Commit to desk.

Check emails.

Respond to phone calls.

Attend a team meeting.

Take a lunch break.

Continue the project.

Clean your desk.

Entering the lift, Trixie sees a young boy with her mother. She grins and pulls out two red sponge balls. She puts both in her right hand and closes it, but after she opens it just one ball remains. With her free hand, she reaches behind the boy’s ear and pulls out another ball. She places it in his hands and closes them. Leaving the lift, Trixie smiles as she hears the boy’s excitement upon seeing multiple sponge balls in his hands.

Arrive at home.

Prepare dinner.

Watch TV.

“Hello Ms. Lulamoon, my son really loved your act. Are you available for a birthday party?”

Trixie leaps for joy. “Of course!”

June 2023: "A Unique Experiment"

Author's Note

Not exactly sure if Loganberry let my cheating of the word count slip or not, but whatever, here's the chapter with the lowest word count and yet most character count :pinkiecrazy:

Click here to check out the other entries!

June 2023: "A Unique Experiment"

Within Word Limit

Dear_FlimFlam_Message_Inc.,

I_hope_this_letter_finds_you_well._I_am_writing_to_address_a_rather_peculiar_situation_regarding_the_recent_ban_of_my_account,_@TwilightSparkle,_on_your_message_app._It_seems_there_may_have_been_some_confusion_on_your_end.

You_see,_your_app_explicitly_states_that_the_free_version_limits_messages_to_150_words_per_hour_unless_users_upgrade_to_the_Premium_version_for_24.99_Bits/week._I_am_well_aware_of_the_word_counter_that_blinks_annoyingly_once_the_message_exceeds_100_words,_as_well_as_the_pop-up_reminders_at_120_words,_urging_users_to_upgrade._These_measures_are_in_place_to_ensure_compliance_with_the_word_limit.

However,_it_appears_that_my_account_was_banned_under_the_assumption_that_I_had_exceeded_the_word_limit._Allow_me_to_clarify:_My_messages_are_formatted_to_appear_as_if_there_are_more_than_150_words,_as,_if_you_look_very_closely,_the_symbol_“_”_with_low_opacity_has_been_used_instead_of_spaces._Thus,_my_messages_never_exceeded_the_prescribed_limit_and_I_kindly_request_that_my_ban_be_lifted_accordingly.

Thank_you_for_your_attention,_and_I_eagerly_await_a_swift_resolution.

Sincerely,
Twilight_Sparkle

P.S.:_This_message_is_indeed_only_eight_words_long._It_might_be_worth_considering_whether_support_messages_should_also_be_subject_to_the_same_150-word_restriction,_regardless_of_the_app_version._Just_a_thought.

March 2024: "The Most Devastating Insult"

Author's Note

All entries here

March 2024: "The Most Devastating Insult"

Outrageous Insult

Starlight entered the prison cell, where Trixie was loudly snoring. With a long sigh, she raised her hoof and shook the sleeper awake.

“Huh, where am I?” Trixie muttered, rubbing her eyes.

“In prison,” Starlight responded.

“Oh, right,” Trixie said and stood up, stretching her body. After a moment of silence, she asked, “Why that face?”

“You know exactly why.”

Trixie shrugged.

“You kidnapped a filly, smuggled her out to another town, then forced her to appear in your show where you were about to shoot her out of a cannon.”

Trixie raised her head to the side. “That’s not true, she wanted to be part—”

“She screamed for help!” Starlight retorted, her patience breaking.

Trixie snorted. “It was her fault.”

“Really?” Starlight asked, rolling her eyes. “What did she do?”

“She called me narcissistic!”

Starlight sighed before turning around and leaving Trixie alone in her cell.