746573

Prompt: Nightmare

Rainbow Dash laid next to Twilight, a foreleg wrapped around her as she tossed and turned in her sleep, grunting every now and then. She felt so… helpless.

Give her a Dragon and she’d buck it in the face ten times over.
If it threatened her friends, she’d beat it to a pulp to protect them.
If it dared to threaten Twilight Sparkle, she’d damn well try to launch it to the moon.

But she couldn’t help her now…
Not in her dreams.

They’d started a week or two ago. It really wasn’t surprising that Twilight could have bad dreams, if not worse than her friends. She’d been through hell and back once… literally, and Rainbow suspected that there was yet more she refused to share.

They’d asked Princess Luna to help, yet she’d revealed that Twilight Sparkles dreams, and all elements of harmony, were no-longer under her domain. She’d have to fight them herself.

But she didn’t have to sit next to Twilight every night before bed and coax her to her nightmares.
She didn’t have to lay there next to her as she tossed and turned, mumbling at horrors Rainbow herself could only dream of.
She didn’t have to feel the guilt every morning as Twilight woke and vowed not to sleep that night, even as she made plans to make her do so.

Yet she could not be mad at the Princess for something which she could not do… no matter how hard she tried.

She just had to wrap her hooves around her marefriend and hold her tight, protecting her against the unspeakable horrors of the night.

New Prompt: 60 minutes

Claimed!

Prompt: Sixty Minutes

I bit my lip as I finished my thirty-second lap around the waiting room. Groaning, I steered my head back to the spot on the wall that had garnered most of my attention for most of my time here. The clock read nine forty-two.

Fifty-five minutes.

Almost an hour.

It had been almost an hour since they'd taken her into that room—the one with screams of blood-curdling agony ripping through the walls. They wouldn't let me in with her. "Too many unknowns," they'd said. "We've never dealt with this kind of circumstance. We need all the space we can get."

After that, they locked me out here.

Alone.

To wait...

Celestia had said that it would be dangerous—maybe too dangerous. Nopony had ever done it before, but Twilight wanted to, and by Luna, she set her mind to it and Celestia helped her out. Now, I could hear her screams echo down the halls, each one sent shivers down my spine.

Hang in there, Twi. It's gonna be okay...

Fifty-seven minutes...

The screaming stopped. A doctor in a white coat opened the door. "Miss Dash?" he said, peering around the room.

"Over here," I answered.

The doctor motioned me closer. "Now," he said softly, "It's not exactly pretty in there... Try not to cause any undue stress."

I nodded and pushed my way passed him. On the other side of the door lay Twilight, white bed-sheets covering her figure. I stepped inside and walked over to the side of her bed.

"Hey, Twi," I whispered, "How ya doin'?"

Her tired eyes drifted up to meet my own. The amethyst orbs said it all: pain. Lots of it.

And peace... A quiet kind of tranquility drifted around in there too.

In her embrace, a little bundle wailed. Twilight pushed a scrap of blanket off the face of a deep indigo pegasus. The foal cried and cried and cried.

And so did I—

At minute sixty...

Next Prompt: Confession

Why not! Claimed.

Prompt: Confession
I decided to take a definite AU on this one, but I really like it. Bonus points if you can guess what inspired it.

Dear Princess Celestia,
I’m sorry. There is no more to say besides that. I’m sorry. I have let you down. You always taught me to be good, true, and honest. I tried to follow you in the light, but a darkness came over me and I sinned. I cannot bear to see you again knowing I’ve let you down in such a way. I am supposed to be your most faithful, but I have fallen into shadow. Even as I write this I tremble with the power of my affliction. It is only through thoughts of you and what you have taught me that I have the strength to write these words and do what I must.
I must be punished for I looked unto another mare in lust. A dark spirt has come over me and infected my mind. Do not blame the mare for she is oblivious to my plight. The conflict is my own for I have brought these spirits to myself and my soul feels as if it is tearing itself apart. My punishment as the part of me that is good and true pits itself against the darkness that has blossomed inside me since I have left your side. My actions now are a necessity to ensure my soul stays in the light. Forgive me my crimes, for I am not of sound mind.
Let the light guide my soul forever.
Twilight Sparkle.

New Prompt: Spiral

748039
Alright...
That was...
odd.

*Cough*

Anyway...
Claimed

Note: Claim is void in 45 minutes from time of posting.

Spiral

To Twilight, it was the epiphany of all that was wrong in her life at the moment. The endless and monotonous line, closing inwards towards a foregone conclusion.

Maybe… maybe she’d hoped for this too much? Maybe she’d meant what she’d said?

It didn’t matter. She’d taken her temper out on Dash, and now she was paying the consequences. One wrong move, and her life had ground into a standstill, a singular point.

All that she had to do now, was lift the pen from the paper.

Except… no, she’d remembered what it felt like for her, for everyone you love to abandon you and leave you alone. She’d never wish that on anyone. Not even her worst enemy.

No, she’d fix this before she closed the book.

Even if it did become worse, she’d try to simply reinstate everything to before they started their relationship. As the best of friends.

Who knew what could happen though?

As she stared off into the distance, her quill, Rainbow Dash’s feather, re-traced the spiral she’d drawn on the paper.

From a singular eventuality, into the horizon.

New Prompt: Burnout

Aww... jeez. I would claim, but I'm about to go for the night, so... if it's still here in the morning, I'll take it.

748128 Tentatively Claiming.

748128
Burnout

Rainbow Dash collapsed backwards onto her flared wings — panting hard. She reached up with a trembling hoof and wiped the sweat off her forehead. Crossing her legs, she rested her hooves behind her head with a satisfied smile.

Today started out perfect. She got plenty of rest and opened up the morning with a delicious breakfast of fresh juice. Avoiding heavy food in the morning was her secret to beginning every day with a bang right out of bed. A shower usually followed, it was important to wash all the sweat off from her early morning workout lest she suffer through endless provocative stares.

Refreshed from the shower, she set off to do the duties planned for the day. More cloud pushing. She didn’t always enjoy cloud pushing. But now, shoving her body against the soft cushiony surface and sliding those round clouds all over the place was bliss. She didn’t know why she enjoyed it so much, but she figured it because of her brightened outlook on life.

Even lunch was better these days! Normally, she’d just casually scarf down her meal. Now, she took the time to enjoy it. She buried her muzzle into her hot meal and savored every little bit. Twilight couldn’t really cook, but it didn’t stop Twilight from giving her the best lunch she could procure every single day. Rainbow Dash loved it.

The afternoons were reserved for showing off the latest tricks to Twilight. She demonstrated her super corkscrew spin and Twilight would gasp in delight. The Double-Fly-By always enchanted her marefriend and left her stunned. And of course, every so often she finished with her trademark Rainboom, splattering the colors all over. By the time night rolled around she was pretty tired and wanted nothing more than to eat and get to bed.

She snapped back to reality and snuggled up next to Twilight with a grin. “Burned out yet?”

Twilight panted heavily, her mane a mess, her fur completely matted and messy. “Nnn...can’t move.”

Rainbow Dash laughed and kissed Twilight on the nose. “I guess I win.”

Twilight groaned and pushed over the first copy of the latest Daring Doo to Rainbow before falling asleep.
---
Prompt: Countdown

750531

gonna write some quick fluff now, dammit! Claimed!

Prompt: Countdown

“Ten! Nine! Eight!” The bustling town square was filled with rumbling hooves as the excited chant bellowed from every lung, bouncing around the buildings in a cacophonous din. The flashes of light above the town hall filled the sky with numbers, leading the countdown in the chill winter air. Rainbow pulled her light purple scarf, a Hearth’s Warming gift from Twilight, closer around her neck as she shouted.

“Seven! Six! Five!” Twilight watched the puffs of her breath hang white in front of her muzzle as she yelled. A shiver raced up her spine, half from the cold and half from the infectious cheer hanging in the air. A sky blue wing unfurled and wrapped around her back as a warm blanket.

“Four! Three! Two!” The unicorn nuzzled her marefriend’s neck in gratitude. Rainbow Dash’s voice dropped in volume as she turned, locking eyes with Twilight. Magenta and violet, catching glints of reds and golds from the firework numerals, gazed deeply. The crowd fell away and transformed into a muted roar surrounding the pair. They moved closer, brushing sides. The frigid ends of their coats instantly thawed under the shared heat they passed back and forth, their muzzles drifting closer as they strengthlessly mouthed the final digits.

“One! Happy new year!” Purple and blue lips met on the final count. A second wing unfurled as they turned to face each other, encircling Twilight’s back as she raised her forehooves. Purple limbs slid around blue shoulders, pulling Rainbow to her chest. Their mouths opened simultaneously, an impassioned quest for more warmth and contact. Twilight could taste hot chocolate on her mare’s breath.

As the chant shifted to shapeless shouts and well-wishes, Rainbow Dash swept her hooves around Twilight’s back and flared her wings. With three swift flaps, she lifted them both into the air. They hovered above the crowd, oblivious to the few whistling cat-calls aimed at their embrace. Twilight traced her hooves gently through tousled mane, focusing on the fluttering beat of Rainbow’s heart pressed up against her chest.

Two pairs of eyes slid half open as they parted, seamlessly resuming their enchanted stare. They panted breathlessly, steaming vapor puffs wisping off their parted muzzles. Twilight continued stroking greens, blues, and purples. Rainbow Dash offered Twilight a tiny smile; one only she ever got to see that was devoid of her standard bravado. “Happy new year, Twi’.” She leaned forward and pecked the unicorn on the lips. “I love you.”

“I love you, Rainbow.” She returned the brief kiss with one of her own, a foreleg drifting back to cup the blue mare’s face. “Happy new year.”

A chorus of ‘awws’ erupted below them. The daredevil cast a glance at the gathered ponies making moony eyes up at the pair and rolled her eyes. Smirking, she beat her wings rapidly. The couple soared through the winter night. Luna’s moon continued its trek across the sky as the year fully came to a close.

It was a time of new beginnings.

Next Prompt: Wonderbolt

Claimed

5 minute fic. After that, it's open game.

What did you expect for 5 minutes?

Wonderbolt

She’d finally made it!

The Wonderbolts, her lifelong dream was within her reach.

Her dream had finally started coming to life when she’d received a summons to Spitfire’s office at the Wonderbolt training centre. She’d been going there for a year now and as far as she could see, she’d been going from strength to strength, her moves were the fastest, the most elegant, and after the first time, she’d hardly broken anything around the course…

Much.

When Spitfire invited her in with a smile, Rainbow had wondered what was going on, Spitfire NEVER smiled at a recruit whilst they were in her office, it was unheard of.

It was when she’d sat Rainbow down and poured her a whiskey that she’d started to suspect something, and if that wasn’t enough, then the question came.

“Why do you think you should be a Wonderbolt?”

Even now, as she whispered the revered question, she couldn’t help but shiver in anticipation.

But even then…

She hadn’t answered until she’d thought things through, and even the answer she’d given was a simple one.

‘It’s my dream.’

That was when Spitfire had smiled widely at her, and passed her an envelope.
An envelope with a lightning bolt seal on the back.

She was graduating with full honours and a position within the Wonderbolts.

And if that wasn’t enough, she’d told her marefriend, Twilight Sparkle about it, and she’d smiled wider than Spitfire had done, and hugged Rainbow tightly.

All she'd told Rainbow between the happy cuddles, was this.

“I’m happy for you.”

New Prompt: Sleep

Doesn't seem like anyone's taking this. So CLAIMED.
Should be up in about 3-4 hours.

757033
Huzzah! The thread lives!

Sleep

Not many ponies thought much about sleep, it was simply a part of daily life, or a routine. Lay down in the evening, and rise in the morning with the sun. You could say that there was no such thing as a sleep expert. Twilight said the closest thing was Princess Luna, who helped facilitate sweet dreams for all of Equestria. Too bad it wasn't true.

Rainbow Dash hated sleeping. If she wasn't training, or hanging out with her friends, then she was asleep. So much time was wasted, lost while she lay blissfully unaware. It was a curse really.

Having been born with a form of narcolepsy, she couldn't help it. Suffering from minor EDS, or Excessive Daytime Sleepiness, she'd quickly learned that fighting her body's urges was not a good idea. Looking like a zombie, and falling asleep at the most inopportune times were not good for her life expectancy. So thus she was forced to take daily naps. Sometimes on a cloud, other times in a tree; much to Applejack's annoyance.

The worst part was that her stubborn pride kept her from telling everypony about her condition. If she was going to make it into the 'Bolts, then she had to be perfect. No weaknesses, nothing that the other competitors could use to get a wing up on her.

But Rainbow Dash was reaching the end of the line. She couldn't do this anymore, it wasn't fair to her, her friends or anypony else. It was especially unfair to Twilight.

So that's how she found herself sitting in the library, explaining her condition. Twilight took it well, mentioning she'd had her suspicions. Rainbow was thankful for that. So they worked out a plan, she was welcome to come to the library and get the sleep she needed.

That's what she was doing right now, curled up in Twilight's embrace. Her marefriend's lavender hooves wrapped around Rainbow's midsection, breath tickling her nape. The warmth she felt coming off the unicorn was simply amazing. As she lay there, slowly drifting asleep, one thought remained.

For once in her life, Rainbow really didn't mind her condition. If it meant Twilight was with her, then maybe it wasn't such a bad thing after all...

Well here you go, one sleep related entry. Funny enough, I learned about narcolepsy because of this. Enjoy the next prompt.

Prompt: Swimming

Oh gawd why I am I doing this...

CLAIMED!!

I have about 30mins to write this before i end up falling asleep, so excuse bad punctuation and/or grammar (doing this on a mobile as well- gives me a 1000 character limit :/ )

Prompt- Swimming

From the centre of the lake, Rainbow Dash looked over towards the bank, admiring the actions of a rather attractive purple mare who was nervously pacing around the waters edge, placing a tentative hoof on the surface, only to pull it away with a small, cute yelp.

"...come on Twi! Its not that hard you know. Its just like walking! Only on water!"

"But like ive kept saying, Rainbow," Twilight spoke over the waters surface, "I've never learned to swim properly before" She gazed downwards, a slight blush appearing on her cheeks.

"Well," Rainbow responded, "Youre not taking the easy way, so the hard way it is!" As she said it, she launched herself off of the surface, and flew directly towards Twilight, who failed to react in time before a multicoloured blur swept her off her feet, and towards the body of water.

(NOTE- My mobile has a stupidly low character limit (WHYYY??), part 2 will be up in about 10-15 mins :/ )

"Rainbow! Agh, put me ugh-" The lake cut Twilight's pleas sort, as the light blue form above her released its grip from around her waist. Water rushed over her head and into her nose, causing her it instinctively panic. She kicked out with her hooves, trying to run away, and... It worked. Her head broke through to air, sending a cascade of dropplets around her.

"how did I... What the...?" Twilight asked incohirently as she scanned the area for Rainbow. She looked across the water and towards the bank, even up into the sky; but she didnt look down.

Rainbow was a few feet under the surface, her chest facing up, and her body away from Twi's, so her head lurked just under the others.

She pushed her forehooves towards a rather suprised Twilight, her hooves wrapping around her neck, and pulled the mares head under to meet her own. She brought the mare into a passionate embrace, causing Twilight to instantly relax as Rainbow's tounge pushed past Twi's lips.
She could get used to swimming, Twilight thought.

Note- dont know what the word count was for that, but it was around 2000 characters. (fun fact- that was actually my first ever fic ^^)

Next Prompt- MUNCHIES!!

760399
Claimed, I guess; let's get this thread moving again!

This is dedicated to Twilight's Birdfeeder.

Prompt: Munchies

Rustle rustle rustle...

Crunch crunch crunch...

Twilight lay shaking in her bed, eyes closed tight, pretending that the ominous noises coming from downstairs weren't there. She'd awoken about an hour ago to the sound of muffled thumps around where she judged the kitchen to be, and had grown steadily more concerned as the sounds persisted through the minutes. The noises were soft and light, but careless and disrespectful—like somepony who didn't want to be heard, but didn't particularly care what they broke, either.

Rustle rustle rustle...

Crunch crunch crunch...

At first, Twilight had thought that Spike had simply gotten hungry in the middle of the night, and had decided to go downstairs for a little snack, but soon remembered that Spike was spending the night at Rarity's after he'd helped her search for sapphires earlier. It couldn't be Owowliscious—her pet was almost certainly still out hunting for is breakfast. The noises were most certainly not of Twilight's making, so that left only one option: A...a... Twilight gulped and pulled the sheets over her head, still very much shaking. A break-in!

Rustle rustle rustle...

Crunch crunch crunch...

Twilight had read about break-ins. Heck, she'd studied Equestrian Law under the very mare who'd written it! She knew the reasons that they happened—poor ponies often needed money or food to simply survive—and that, statistically speaking, one in four houses in Equestria would be burgled per year, but she'd never expected that such a thing would happen to her!

Rustle rustle rustle...

Crunch crunch crunch...

Twilight bit her lip and blinked back a few nervous tears. Stay calm, Twilight! she reassured herself. Just stay calm and let them take what they want! Criminals generally don't turn violent unless they're put into situations where they feel threatened. Just stay where you are, and stay calm! A shadow darted across her room, and she nearly screamed before she realized that it was just coming from the bough of an outside tree in the moonlight.

Rustle rustle rustle...

Crunch crunch crunch...

The noises died down for a moment before the sound of something smashing the floor echoed up the stairs. "Aw, shoot!" came a voice that was definitely not Twilight's.

Thump, thump, thump...

Twilight's heart stopped as she realized that the rustling had died down, only to be replaced by the sounds of hoofsteps coming up the stairs! Suppressing a squeal of sheer terror, Twilight tunneled herself deeper into her bed and wished that her brother were there to help her. Shining Armor would certainly have never allowed somepony to scare his sister and ransack her house!

Thump, thump, thump...

The hoofsteps drew ever closer, and soon, Twilight could hear them just outside her door. They stopped just outside and, for a moment, everything went deathly quiet. Twilight bit her lip and hoped that the intruder would continue on down the hallway and raid her storage room instead.

Then, the door knob clicked.

Slowly, the door opened. A figure stepped inside her room, dragging a long cylinder behind it.

The burglar was a bit short, Twilight realized, and rather small looking, but way too wide to be anything that she could recognize. Certainly, if she had to, she could defend herself against such a criminal, but hopefully it wouldn't come to that.

Twilight covered her mouth with her hooves as the trespasser's eyes fell upon her bed. Gradually, the shadow neared her, breathing heavily.

As it got closer, the figure reached out to her lantern and flicked the flint fire-starter, flooding the room with light, and revealing the one face that Twilight had never expected to see on the pony who'd made her experience such terror.

"Heya, Twilight!" Rainbow Dash said cheerfully, a few sandy-colored seeds dropped from her muzzle to the floor. "Your snack-tube was empty, so I thought I'd fill it up for you, but, uh..." She held up Twilight's prized bird-feeder, now smashed beyond repair, and blushed. "By the way," she said, rubbing the back of her neck. "You're outta that awesome seed..."

Twilight grit her teeth and fought the urge to scream out every indignity in the Equestrian language—and several known only to griffons—at Rainbow Dash's infuriating antics. Then, she noticed something. Uh, oh...

Dash's wings twitched. "So, uh, you lonely in that bed or what?" she asked, tossing the now-useless bird-feeder to the side and giving Twilight a wink.

Next prompt: Potion

762096 And claimed.

762121 Prompt: Potion

The sweet vapors twisted their way through my mind, it smelled like Ponyville after rain and fresh parchment. A clever ruse if I do say so myself. This potion is a tricky brew, making itself appealing to anyone exposed to the smell, giving of an aroma that the mind perceives to be the most pleasant, when in actuality it smells like a simple flower. The entire process was mesmerizing, and highly illegal.

Long ago, the brewing of love potions was outlawed, I can see why. Administer a love potion to anyone and you’ll have them wrapped around your hoof, one could easily topple a nation, overthrow a government, or make away with the most valuable items in pony history.

But of course that’s not what I’m intending to do. I’m trying to not just stimulate obsession, I want to create love from nothing, true love. Well not really nothing, there is already an established friendship, I just need to make it more.

I’m still surprised that I was able to take rejection in stride, that I kept a level head and showed no disappointment. Now that I think about it, I don’t believe I showed any emotions. It was really pitiful, everything I felt for her, and none of the feeling was returned. But that matters little.

Rainbow Dash, you will be mine.

New Prompt: Cinnamon

Claimed

Prompt: Cinnamon

Rainbow Dash landed in front of Sugarcube Corner wiping the sweat from her brow. She was grimy and dirty, having just gotten back from a week long flight, but she smiled nonetheless as she walked into the store.
“Hello and welcome to Sugarcube Corner!” Pinkie began, crouching behind the counter looking for something. Having found what she was looking for, she raised her head gasped in surprise when she saw who it was. “Dashie!” She cried leaping over the counter and tackling the pegasus in a bone-crushing hug. “You’re back!” She paused for a second to sniff. “And you smell!”
“Pinkie,” Rainbow Dash choked. “I can’t breath.”
“Well of course you can’t when you smell that bad! You should really take a shower.” Pinkie let go of Dash who took a big lungful of air and began to cough.
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll go take a shower in a minute. First off, will you do me a huge favor?”
Pinkie’s eyes widened at this, and she began to jump up and down in joy. “Ooo! What flavor? Vanilla? Chocolate? Sherbert? Strawberry? Blueberry? Cotton Candy? Hay bacon? Bubble Gum? Orange? App-”
“Favor, not flavor Pinkie.”
“Ohh! I see! So what can I do ya for, Dashie?” She said with a wiggle of her eyebrows. Dash groaned and facehoofed, but reached for her saddlebags and very carefully pulled out a small tin. She placed it on the counter and removed the lid, causing Pinkie to gasp.
“I-is that what I think it is?!” Pinkie whispered, her voice trembling.
“You bet it is!” Rainbow smirked, striking a cocky pose. Dash frowned when Pinkie was so transfixed with the contents of the tin that she’d missed the pegasus’ pose. Luckily she saw what was about to happen. Pinkie dived towards the tin, trying desperately to get to the insides, but Dash was faster. With a flick of her wings, she was in front of the pink pony and blocked her way.
“No Pinkie! It isn’t for you.”
“Awww, but Dashie--” Pinkie pleaded, her eyes starting to water.
“No, I’m not falling for it. This is really important. I need you to do something for me.” Leaning forward, she whispered something in Pinkie’s ear, making the earth pony’s jaw drop.
“No. Way.” She said when she’d picked her jaw up from the floor. Rainbow just smirked and nodded. Pinkie’s face became very serious. “What do you need me to do.”
Rainbow muttered some instructions to Pinkie, gave her the tin, and proceeded up the stairs to take a shower.
Half an hour later (Rainbow Dash really, really, likes her showers), Rainbow descended the stairs, wings wide spread to air dry. “Pinkie!” She called towards the kitchen. “You done yet?”
The doors swung open and out came the pink mare carrying a small package. She passed it off to Dash and wished her good luck. With a quick goodbye, Dash went on her way and Pinkie watched longing as she left.
Dash could barely contain her excitement as she made her way to the library where a certain unicorn awaited her. She stood outside the door for a moment, steadying her nerves, and knocked.
“Coming!” Came a familiar voice from inside the tree, accompanied by the sound of a book closing. Moments later the door opened to Twilight Sparkle.
“Hey Sparkle, I’m back!” said Dash with a grin, getting swept into her second hug of the day, though this one was much more enjoyable.
“Welcome home Rainbow! How was your trip?” Twilight asked, walking inside with Dash.
“It was fine, I missed you though.” Dash nuzzled her marefriend. “I got you something too!”
“Oh Dash,” Twilight said with a blush. “You didn’t have to.”
“Well I know how much you love foreign foods, so I got Pinkie to make some with a recipe I got.” Dash took out the package and opened it revealing a cake. “It’s called coffee cake, and it’s delicious. You have it with tea, so you should boil up two cups so we can have a slice together.”
The two mares quickly made the tea, cut the cake, and sat down on the couch next to each other. With a smile, Twilight levitated her fork, got a little piece of the cake, and tried it.
“Mmmm! That’s delicious.” She said, swallowing and quickly getting another bite. “What’s in it?”
“It’s a cake with some nuts, sugar, a bit of coffee, and the special ingredient, Caymare Island cinnamon!” At that, Twilight spat the cake out of her mouth and threw her plate away, quickly draining her tea. Coughing and wincing from the heat, she grimaced.
“What’s wrong?” Dash cried in shock.
“Rainbow Dash you idiot! I’m horribly allergic to cinnamon!”

New Prompt:Bits

763440
Claimed

Bits

It was a house in the country. Far from the cities and the lights and the noise.

The house belonged to two ponies, they’d bought it when they were young and lived there since. Within the house the timeline was laid out in odds and ends, bits and bobs.

Upon the mantle in the main room, just above the fireplace, there rested a picture of the two of them, many years ago and some before that, the day of their wedding.

As if that wasn’t enough happy memories for them, the rest of the shelf was crammed with pictures, all framed and kept smudge-free, all enchanted to repel dust.

From left to right, there was the earliest, a picture of six mares, all smiling and laughing and having fun together, then four of the ponies disappeared from the rest. A picture, taken on the seaside by a passer-by, another on the highest peak of Canterlot Spires, one more of one, then the other.

Their travels were scattered within the house, an antique pot from Eastern Equestria, a thank you present from the Zebras, but none of those could match the memorabilia, and they were dwarfed by the books, yet both were nothing against the albums and even they could never match the memories.

The kitchen, the scorch mark where one of them had set the pan on fire, the bigger mark where the other had tried to put it out.
The study, a writing desk of neat piles and ordered pots, with a quill of sky blue.
The library where they had both unwound and the bedroom where they’d both been loved.

Now finally the garden, their lasting possession,

New Prompt: Distance

763838

Claimed. It's your turn for the collab, by the way.

763838 This wrenches my heart the same way Gurren Lagann's final scene did… Happy tears. Humany wumany.

763838

Going to rescind my claim for now; I've got too much to write, right now.

Will claim in a bit if no one else does.

763838 I will try to claim this now. (Claimed)

Distance

Twilight slipped into the booth and picked up the phone. She took a deep breath and whispered out very gently: “Hey Dashie...”

A pause. “H—Hey Twi.”

The voice was scratchy and unclear, but it was definitely the voice of her marefriend. She smiled ever so slightly at the sound of the familiar voice. “How are you doing? Are you getting enough rest?”

“I’m doing fine, Twi. Really. Plenty of fluids and rest. You don’t have to worry about me.”

Her brow furrowed as the she picked up the distinctive sound of coughing at the other end of the line. “Are you sure you’re okay? That coughing doesn’t sound very good at all.”

“Don’t worry, Twi. A little cough isn’t going to keep me down. I need to get going now. I’ll talk to you next week okay?”

She started to protest. “But, we just started talking...”

“I know, but I can’t stay up any longer. I love you, Twi. Take good care of yourself.”

“I will. I love you Dashie.”

She sighed and hung the phone up. She pressed her hooves against the glass of the booth as the tears welled in her eyes. “Damn it... I miss you so much.” She looked at her reflection and wiped the tears from her eyes. I promised to be strong. We’ll make it through this. After one last glance at the glass with a smile, she pulled herself out of the well-worn chair and headed home.

The next week, she returned promptly at the same time and entered the glass booth once more. She ran her hoof over the familiar phone and picked it up. As expected, Rainbow was waiting for her.

“Hey Twi. I thought I’d wait for you this time.”

Twilight giggled and smiled at her reflection in the glass. “That’s sweet of you Dashie. I brought the latest copy of Daring Doo. I don’t know if you can get books, but at least I can read it for you.”

“Wow... That’s, that’s awesome. I’d love to have you read it to me. Just let me get comfortable.”

“Okay. Let me know when you’re ready.” Twilight opened the book and laid it out on the table in front of her. She closed her eyes serenely and waited. Her eyes shot open in a panic as she heard a loud crash over the phone. “Dashie? Dashie! Are you okay?”

No answer.

“Dashie! Answer me!” She pounded frantically against the booth to vent her simultaneous fear and frustration.

“T...Twi...” The weak voice barely registered in Twilight’s mind. “I’m going to need a raincheck on Daring Doo.” Rainbow’s shallow breaths interrupted every word and was accompanied by violent bouts of coughing. “Twi... I love you...”

“Dashie!” She slammed her hoof into the table helplessly as tears streamed down her cheeks. “I love you! Don’t—” Before Twilight could finish, she was pulled out of the booth by the attendants. She flailed wildly in protest for a few minutes before finally giving in.

A few days later, a letter arrived for Twilight. She ripped it open and read it frantically. After the first few sentences, she dropped the letter and galloped out the door. She was gone before the letter touched the ground.

She barged into the room with the glass booth and kicked open the door to the left. The loud protests of the attendants fell on deaf ears. She closed the distance between Rainbow and herself and sealed their lips in a deep kiss. The tears streamed down her cheeks as she held her marefriend tightly in her hooves.

After a tense few minutes she pulled away and looked at Rainbow blearily. “Don’t... ever scare me like that again. I love you so much.”

“I love you too, Twi.”

That afternoon, Rainbow Dash checked out of Ponyville Hospital after a full recovery.
--
That was fun. Distance usually means a great distance. However, I realized that there is more than just physical distance, so this was a play on that.
Next Prompt: Blanket

Doesn't seem like anyone's taking this, so Claimed!

Prompt:Blanket

Shining Armor searched the house in a frantic panic. Twilight had started to cry... and with their parents away on business and Cadence unavailable, the task of taking care of the young Sparkle fell to him.

Nothing seemed to satisfy the rambunctious filly. Not her favorite books, not any food. Not even her prized doll, Mr. Smartypants could calm her down. Rummaging through the closet once more Shining spied something in the corner of a shelf.

It was a blanket, one of many colors, all arranged in the pattern of a rainbow. With no idea how it got there, or where it was from, he quickly decided to try the blanket. Shining plucked it down from the high shelf with a wobbly wave of his horn, only to have the blanket fall on him. His magic had manifested, but the future royal guard still had a long ways to go before he had a firm grasp on his abilities.

He blinked from underneath the covering, and quickly pulled it off and folded it once more. Hiding it he made his way back over to his sister. Twilight was still waiting, thankfully no longer crying as loudly. Instead her face held a look of curiosity at her brother's approach.

Shining slowly made his way closer, but quickly sped up as he noticed the distinctive curl of a crying fit coming on. When Twilight cried, she always seemed to curl her mouth in peculiar way. "I've got something for you..." he cooed, pulling the blanket off his back.

Her head tilted, curiosity etched on her features. What was the colorful object Shining held? With a barely audible rustle, the blanket was spread and slowly cascaded over the young purple filly. Twilight immediately rustled underneath the blanket, her mane disheveled from the small amount of static.
With utmost care, Shining spread out the blanket properly on the little filly. The young Twilight Sparkle was entranced with the large covering, so many colors. There were blues, and reds and purples. Her favorite though, was a bright cyan. She curled up, feeling completely safe underneath her rainbow covering. The softness was comparable to the downy feathers of a pegasus' wing.

"Goodnight Twiley." murmured Shining. Already the little filly was asleep, looking as content as a bookworm in a library.

Little did either of them know that this wouldn't be the last time a rainbow comforted Twilight in her life...

In case I wasn't clear enough in my writing, this is a young Twilight, even before her magic had manifested. I quite enjoyed writing this, and not I have the image of a foal Twilight clutching a rainbow blanket in my head. Anyways, enjoy!

Next Prompt: Birthday

771501
Claimed

Almost fell asleep while doing this... need to sleep more.

The celebrations lasted most of the day, Pinkie Pie’s trademark exuberance in full flow as the party continued… and continued… and continued further into the night until the library was littered with discarded rubbish and a rather large number of bottles, the banner was still miraculously intact, albeit slightly worse for wear, and still sported the proclamation

And now the only ponies remaining in the front room were Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Twilight, Pinkie Pie having left some time ago to track down a missing peanut.

The state of the remaining friends was another matter though, Applejack was slouched back against the sofa, snoozing quietly while Rarity had abandoned all ladylike behaviour and had crashed on the floor, asleep to the world.

Fluttershy was slightly better, she was awake at the very least, but her gaze was far from steady, the normally-quiet pegasus having tried one or two of the bottles littering the floor.

That left Rainbow and Twilight, sitting behind the sofa, away from the unfocused gaze of the tipsy Fluttershy behind them.

“So, what did you think of the party?” Rainbow asked, glancing towards Twilight, sat next to her with her head leant on Rainbow’s shoulder.
“Hmm?” asked the groggy Birthday Mare, turning her head to look up at Rainbow, “I think so, yeah.” She replied, smiling up at her companion.

“You still haven’t gotten my gift yet you know?” Rainbow said, smiling down at Twilight.
“I literally can’t wait.” Twilight replied in a flat voice before breaking down into giggles a moment later, “What is it?” she asked when she regained control of her voice.

Surprisingly, Rainbow stood up from beneath Twilight, “Come on.” She said, “I want to show you something.” And with that, she stooped to help bring Twilight to her hooves, then led the way to the nearest doorway and the cool night beyond.

They stood beneath the starry sky, cleared as a special occasion for today, the moon hanging perfectly above them under the midnight skies. Twilight glanced to her guide with puzzlement, to which Rainbow simply smiled and replied, “You’ll see.”

Once they were a bit away to the library, Rainbow turned, and said, “Hop on.”
“Wait… you want me to hop on… you?” Twilight asked, somewhat mollified.
Rainbow snorted, “No, I want you to hop on Pinkie obviously, come on, or do I have to carry you?” she asked, her smile belying her sarcastic tone.

Twilight quirked her head slightly, taking a step back, “Now Rainbow…” she began, but even as she said so, she saw Dash’s grin as she replied,
“Too late.” Dash lunged at Twilight enveloping her into a powerful embrace and shooting up into the sky, trailing the unicorn’s screams behind her.

Eventually, Rainbow stopped, hovering and holding the shaking Twilight in her hooves, “We’re here.” She replied smugly, “You might want to put on that cloud walking spell.” Rainbow called down to Twilight as she drew level with a sparse cloud bank.

Twilight’s horn flashed once before becoming inert once more, Rainbow took that as her cue to drop Twilight gently onto the cloud and alight next to her, carefully ignoring the withering glare Twilight was sending her way.

“So, what do you think of the view?” she asked nonchalantly, watching Twilight’s expression out the corner of her eyes.
Twilight sighed and lifted her eyes from Dash, looking around at their scenery.

Silence.

“Wow.”

New Prompt: Miss

I guess I'll claim this.

Prompt: Miss

Rainbow Dash stepped out of the shower, shaking most of the water from her fur, and drying the rest off with a towel from the stack of clean towels that had been provided. With a careless flick of her hoof, she threw the wet towel into the hamper.

One of the event coordinators poked his head in, “Miss Dash, the press conference begins in five minutes, if you could please hurry.”

“Yeah, yeah,” she said, unable to hide the slight growl of annoyance that crept into her voice. This was more than enough to send the stallion scurrying with his figurative tail between his legs.

Yanking the door of her locker open with slightly more force than was necessary, she grunted when it rebounded and smacked her in the face. Biting back a curse, she gently grabbed the solitary fixture of the locker, a thin silver chain looped through a simple gold ring, in her teeth and with a deft flick of her head slipped it around her neck.

Trotting out of the locker room, she made it to her place at the press conference with plenty of time—a full 6 seconds—to spare. “Glad to see you could make it,” the captain said dryly.

“Hey, since when have I let you down?”

He grinned, “Well, there was that one ti—” She shot a glare at him. This only had the effect of widening his grin.

“Anyway, we probably ought to go in,” he said, indicating the frantically motioning coordinator.

---

The press conference proceeded normally, with the captain fielding all the questions. Captain Slipstream had attained his position around the same time that Rainbow Dash had joined the Wonderbolts. While most ponies had assumed that Soarin’ would be next in line for captaincy, he had decided to follow Spitfire into retirement.

Overall, she reflected, that was probably better...unlike Spitfire, I don’t really hold any hero-worship for him.
“...and now, the pony that you’ve all been waiting to talk to. My new lieutenant, Rainbow Dash!” he exclaimed with a flourish.

“Miss Dash! What does it feel like to now be a lieutenant?”

“Uh, well, it’s pretty coo–” she started, with a slight tone of annoyance.

“Miss Dash! How long did y–” started one reporter before being cut off by another.

“Miss Dash! Is it true what they said in the Foal Free Press? That you aren’t actually a daredevil!”
“How did you even get your hands on that? It’s been at least 5 years since that article cam–”

The cavalcade of questions continued for at least five minutes before the pegasus finally reached her breaking point.

“Miss Dash!”

“That’s enough!” Rainbow Dash yelled, slamming her hooves onto the table. The din of the reporters was immediately silenced.

“It’s Mrs. Dash,” she stated positively icy tone, “Or can you not recognize a wedding band when you see it? Now if you do not have any more questions...” she stated in a tone that indicated that whether or not they wanted to ask more questions, they would not be allowed to do so.

Luckily for the reporters, they decided that discretion was the better part of valor and withdrew.
She threw a disgusted look at her superior, who was currently rolling around on the floor in paroxysms of laughter.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone scare them so much,” he managed through the chuckles.

“Har-de-har-har.” she said, rolling her eyes. “Absolutely hilarious.”

“Speaking of your wife, where is Twilight?” he asked, concern coloring his voice, “I would’ve thought she would be at your first performance after being promoted...”

“She had an interview for a grant she was trying to get,” she waved a hoof dismissively, “she said that she would cancel the interview to come watch, but I told her she didn’t need to. Besides,” she added with a somewhat less than innocent smile, “a private celebration for my promotion is much more fun.”

So this is the first thing I "publish" on this site. Not sure I can say I'm completely happy with it, but [sic] fuck it.

Next Prompt: Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis (Okay, if nobody has claimed this by tomorrow after work, I'll come up with a better word).

777118

...yeah, don't do that. While it's not strictly against the rules of the game to provide purposely obtuse words, it is a good way to halt the game in its tracks for several hours and annoy people.

As OP, I'm invoking authority of assigning a new prompt word. As "Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis" is a tongue-in-cheek complicated word, the new prompt is:

Facetious

777331>>777118
I Claim one of those two words.

Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis Complicated

Twilight watched at Rainbow twisted and spun in the air, performing complex knots, spirals and rolls, the likes of which made Twilight’s stomach turn, even from down here. How Rainbow could even keep her lunch inside her, let alone know which way was up by the end of her routine, was beyond Twilight.

Yet, there was a certain simplicity to her flight, everything was clean and smooth, not one unnecessary flap was taken and everything was upon her own wings. If Twilight was honest, she was slightly envious of Dash, able to soar without a care in the world in the simple sky.

Maybe she’d work on that wing spell again, the one that she’d used on Rarity so long ago. She’d have to modify it extensively, the wings would need strengthening, they’d need substantiality, maybe she’d even change the wings themselves, to pegasi wings perhaps…

Twilight wore a small smile as she thought through the spell, it would be complicated, maybe, but it would eventually allow her the simplicity of the sky.

New Prompt: Salt

777331

Yeah, I figured, but I was far too tired to come up with anything better at the time.

New Prompt: Salt

Looks like I revive the game once more!
CLAIMED!

Prompt: Salt

Gentle waves lapped upon a beach, Celestia's sun shining with it's usual radiance as ponies pranced and played on the beach. Sand castles were built and demolished, and fillies were buried, only their smiling heads poking out.

While a bit older than most of the ponies around her, Twilight Sparkle found herself in very much the same situation. That is to say buried up to her neck in sand. Rainbow Dash stood nearby, shovel clutched in her mouth, admiring her handiwork. Twilight had a silly grin on her face, turns out taking a vacation wasn't such a bad thing after all. Spending time with Rainbow made it all the better.

With a pop she teleported out of her sandy prison, still covered in sand. She shook herself, trying in vain to dislodge all the annoying gritty particles that stuck stubbornly to her coat. Rainbow cracked up more, dropping the shovel into the sand. "You'll never get rid of them all that way, come on in, the water is great!" She beckoned, flying up and then cannon balling into the ocean water with a mighty splash.

Getting a running start, Twilight chased after her marefriend. Her progress slowed as she met resistance from the waves coming in. Rainbow lazily paddled, watching her marefriend come closer and closer. A particularly large wave came in, upending Rainbow Dash, much to Twilight's amusement. The unicorn burst into her own laughter at the pegasus' misfortune, only to befall the same fate.

Rainbow sputtered, trying to get the foul tasting water out of her mouth. Twilight noticing this asked, concern her most prominent tone, "What's wrong Rainbow!? Are you alright?"

"Y-yeah. I'm fine Twi." replied the pegasus, wincing. She'd crashed earlier, slightly scraping herself. The shallow cuts now stung, annoying the pegasus to no end. A look from Twilight caused her to reconsider, "Well, the scrapes from the earlier... mishap are kinda acting up."

"This is salt water, that's why they're stinging." The unicorn explained, picking up her cyan companion in her magic. With a flash they found themselves on the beach, still dripping wet. Reaching out with her magic she picked up their towels, wrapping her own cyan one around herself and the lavender one Rainbow used found itself on the pegasus' shoulders as well.

"Come on back to the hotel, take a shower and wash away all the saltiness..." The unicorn beckoned. Leaning close she whispered right into Rainbow's ear, "And then nurse Twilight will kiss all the pain away."

Rainbow's grin at that moment would make even Pinkie jealous...

Turned out much better than I thought it would. Enjoy.

New prompt: Tour