On any given day in Equestria and the lands beyond, millions of stories are unfolding. Some are happy, others not so much, but they all have one thing in common: they are seldom told. Many of the most iconic stories are known—largely surrounding the lives of Twilight Sparkle and her friends—but sometimes it pays to look away for a moment to catch a glimpse of something new and unexpected.
Not every story will be told, but we can certainly try.
For context, I am in the process of rewatching the series in search of inspiration. This will be a collection of short stories that pop into my head as I do. Not every episode will have an associated story, some may have multiple, and some stories may not tie into any episode or movie at all. It's entirely sporadic, and mostly just a way for me to exercise my writing muscles.
Enjoy!
That's certainly one answer for where these two were during Luna's return. Though if Cadence has her two best foalhood friends with her, who's the other one?
Oh, that would've gone very interestingly. Though even Starlight at her worst would be hard-pressed to justify disabling the mare responsible for moving the heavens. Equality among all ponies is one thing, but we know that the threat of global extinction is enough to at least make her think twice.
This looks like it's going to be a tremendously fun collection of vignettes. Looking forward to more.
I have to say, this IS a really wonderful beginning to this series of short stories. Absolutely adored this spin on where Shining Armor and Cadance were during the events of the first two episodes. Absolutely adored the characterizations and sweetness.
On to the next chapter.
Again, this is an excellent job on the characterizations in this story. Excellent foreshadowing concerning Starlight. And, yeah, I could see where Celestia might be able to spot the zealotry in the message and consider it prudent to at least have somebody go there to check it out (even if it will take more than a year to get around to it and, even then, it was the Tree of Harmony rather than Celestia herself that sent the scouting team).
And I could see Shining Armor talking to Celestia about how, with all the celebrities, nobles and general rich ponies under one roof in addition to Celestia herself, it might be advisable to take the security for the Grand Galloping Gala a lot more seriously (after all, that sort of thing could VERY easily attract villains trying to make quick names for themselves, in addition to the canon shenanigans). That could make for a logical one-shot too.
But, at any rate, definitely looking forward to more of this.
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The grass. Good old grass, always there for her.
I second FoME, keep up the captivating work.
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She's actually there with two foalhood friends in addition to Shining Armor. They do have identities, but it wouldn't make sense to talk much about them in this vignette. It all ties back into my personal headcanon for Cadance's upbringing, which I should really get around to writing at some point.
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I'm glad you enjoyed it! I've always speculated where they were during the Nightmare Moon fiasco, and I'm satisfied with this answer.
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I dunno if Starlight was thinking that far ahead. Or maybe she felt powerful enough to move the celestial bodies herself if it came down to it. Probably good that she never had to deal with it.
I hope you continue to enjoy them! Going through the old episodes is definitely reigniting my creative drive. Can't wait to post more!
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To be fair, Celestia had a lot of other things going on at the time, so it's possible she just forgot to check in on Starlight entirely. Like you said though, at least the Tree of Harmony had her back.
And that's certainly an interesting idea for a one-shot, too. I might have to toy around with it. Thanks for the input!
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Thank you kindly! These minifics are always a good time. Hope you continue to enjoy them!
Fantastic work in voicing Maud. Having geology references on hand is practically a requirement when working with her. I'd never considered having her examine the dormant Elements, but the concept works fantastically. I can only imagine what she would've thought if she had gone into that cavern and seen the Tree of Harmony.
Plus, between this and pointing Starlight to the Cutie Vault, there's something of a running theme with Maud secretly being involved with most of the major developments in Equestria. The rock-based ones, anyway.
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Glad you enjoyed my interpretation of her! This was my first time writing Maud (and my geology-term-rich search history proves it), and it came a lot more naturally than I expected. I did also consider having her visit the Tree of Harmony, but it felt like the story would have been a bit overlong at that point, so I left it here.
Now that you mention it, a surprising amount of major events in Equestria are rock-based in one way or another. There's the Elements and the Cutie Vault, of course, but also Discord's statue, the Crystal Empire, the Tree of Harmony, Queen Chrysalis's throne, Ponehenge, and the Staff of Sacanas (that one's admittedly tenuous). The trend crosses dimensions into Equestria Girls too, what with the sirens' necklaces, the geodes, and the memory stone.
Food for thought, I suppose.
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Would those be the eponymous "rainbow rocks"?
Again, VERY logical short story. Maud studying the dormant Elements of Harmony makes a lot more sense than it should. Excellent catch on that.
All in all, wonderful characterization.
Other possible ones for the series:
1. Shining Armor planning to propose to Cadance at the Grand Galloping Gala.
2. Pinkie reflecting on how she knows so much about Parasprites while she is hunting for instruments.
3. Discord's statue after the Gala but before that fateful field trip reflecting on how much delicious chaos that Gala was and how it would only take one more incident of concentrated chaos to give him the strength to escape.
4. Your choice of one of the Crusaders silently making the realization that Spike's birthday is ALSO the anniversary of the day the Mane Six all got their Cutie Marks.
5. Luna reflecting on the idea of setting up a support group for reformed villains (at a point in time where there would DEFINITELY be enough reformed villains TO form their own support group; so probably some time in late Season Six).
6. the Rainbooms' graduation from Canterlot High (which would probably be around the same time as the LAST Summer Sun Celebration/FIRST "Festival of the Two Sisters").
7. Twilight visiting Celestia and Luna at Silver Shoals during Hearth's Warming.
8. Pinkie Pie and Cheese Sandwich's wedding day
The Rarity in me expected some grandiose, wondrous description of this "gorgeous, windswept field" where Cadance and her loved ones lay, maybe along with the night sky... but that would have been missing the point entirely.
Yes, Cadance is on a sabbatical near her hometown. But if there's one poster child for "home is where the heart is" in the show, it's probably Cadance—she wasn't depicted as 'the princess of family' in the movie's original intro instead of her usual title for nothing, I reckon—and what's important to her is that she's with three of the most important people in her life.
Four, in a way, seeing her opinion on the sunrise. And while I'm at it, from the way the first paragraph is written, it was crystal clear to me that Shining Armor was there in addition to "her two best foalhood friends."
Maybe Next Year and Metamorphic Harmony didn't interest me, but I like this first chapter. Including the foreboding title, which may beg for a following 'come to an end,' but also highlights that Cadance is, indeed, surrounded by all good things in her life at the moment.
Well, give or take the sun actually rising on time.
I liked these lines;
And finally...
One day. One day, there'll be an AU that lets you rewrite the stars and no one will stop you from deciding that Sunset's your destiny.
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That's always been my favourite interpretation of her. Something about calling her the Princess of Love feels so shallow to me because it largely implies romantic love, whereas I think familial love is a much bigger aspect of her character. For that reason, "family" is definitely the theme I try to channel the most when writing Cadance. Glad it came through in this little snippet.
The severe lack of SunDance stories is truly one of the great tragedies of our time. I'm happy to see The Student and The Princess being updated regularly again, at least. Even if the writing isn't the greatest in the world, it still helps fill the void.
Thanks as always for the insightful comment!