It has been more than one hundred years since Celestia banished Nightmare Moon. While Equestria has enjoyed a century of relative peace and prosperity, there are still lingering tensions between the three pony tribes.

Shadow Kicker, a proud warrior of Pegasopolis, must navigate the treacherous noble court of Canterlot and address the concerns and wounded pride of her own tribe in a desperate effort to prevent matters from coming to open warfare.

Twilight Sparkle's friends have lived long and happy lives. Now their time is coming to an end, but Rainbow Dash, at least, will not go gently. Twilight has the power to save her friend's life. Is it worth violating the natural order?

"The things that pull at your heart—the memorial in the prologue, the wedding in Chapter 1, the births and deaths and relationships to come—are not the point of the story: they are the stakes, and the story is at its heart about a decision that must be made."
—horizon

Twilight and her friends are approached by Princess Luna who presents them with a set of questions that trigger a long and perilous journey.

Did you ever stop to wonder what became of Trixie, Gilda and Blueblood after your encounters? What did these episodes truly mean to you? What role will they yet play in the lives of the Elements of Harmony?

Last, are these questions as relevant as the journey towards the answers? Who will benefit from seeking these answers - you, them, or I?

A pony is called stubborn when they refuse to change their mind no matter the persuasion against them. A pony is called persistent in hindsight when their refusal turns out to be a wise decision. "Persistence" is nothing more than what they call stubbornness when it turns out to have been for the best all along.

Pinkie Pie and Applejack may or may not be persistent, but they are most definitely stubborn.

~This is my entry for the winner of TAW's contest for rare ships. FimFic needs more ApplePie.

Now EQD Approved!

Zecora, the zebra shamaness has lived in the Everfree Forest for some time, but has never gone beyond except for the sake of finding roots and herbs for her potions that her woods cannot supply. But upon making friends with young Apple Bloom and later Twilight and her companions, she has taken it upon herself to travel beyond for a time. Stopping at Sweet Apple Acres for a minute to speak with Applejack, she catches the eye of Macintosh. The stallion falls for Zecora at first sight and then does something very poorly thought out to prove himself to her...

Cloud Kicker might just have the wildest life of any pony in Equestria. Marvel at the insanity that is her life, and laugh at the suffering of her poor beleaguered best friend, Blossomforth. And maybe, just maybe, there's more to her than just the lovable sex maniac everypony thinks she is.

This is a semi-sequel to "The Incredibly Dense Mind of Rainbow Dash." Not really a proper sequel, since it's focused on Cloud Kicker and Blossomforth instead of Rainbow and Pinkie, but it's in the same continuity. So I guess that makes it a follow-up-side-quel story. Or something. You don't need to have read "The Incredibly Dense Mind of Rainbow Dash" to read or enjoy this, but you ought to read it anyway, just because.

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The central story of the Winningverse.

We got a tag for Cloud Kicker, but Blossomforth still deserves one too.

Rainbow Dash struggles to figure out why Pinkie Pie keeps acting weird, and seems so happy about spending Hearts and Hooves with hanging out with her, while also puzzling over the fact that Cloud Kicker and Blossomforth seem to be going out of their way to help the two of them enjoy the day.

Cloud Kicker and Blossomforth need to have their own tags, because they're awesome characters who deserve to have more stories written about them.

Has a semi-sequel-follow-up-side-story:"The Life and Times of a Winning Pony."