Rainbow Dash doesn't care for love. Applejack doesn't have time.

So when a simple game goes wrong, then Dash's favourite fictional heroine's latest tale takes a turn for the romantic, why does she suddenly find herself with a rose between her teeth?

A/N: I wanted to try something entirely safe for work again, and here we are. Not completely happy with how it turned out, so sorry about that. A (hilariously belated) birthday gift for the amazing RatOfDrawn, who draws cute ponies and has a bit of an AppleDash fetish.

Something landed on the surface of Mars on August Sixth, 2012. At the time, Twilight Sparkle happened to be staring up into the sky, and a metallic glint caught her eye.

What choice did she have but to visit it? Perhaps taking her friends along for the ride was a bad idea, though. Letting Dash near the salt certainly was.

Authors Note: I have absolutely no idea what came over me. I am so sorry. This was a monumental event and this is the best I can come up with to commemorate it?

Because sometimes waiting for something can be the hardest thing in the world. Sweetie Belle looks around her and sees ponies better at her in so many things, and she wants something special too. Is there anybody out there who can teach her magic, though?

So I got an idea in my head and it refused to leave. Just one of those times where, even though I should be working on other things I've promised and that god knows how many people are waiting for, I decided to do /this/ instead. So sue me. I'm really, really bad at this kind of thing, I think, I'm not at all happy with how this turned out. Then again, I never am, so what do I know?

Because sometimes, a finale isn't the end. Sometimes, pure evil just means you have more to lose.

A changeling's body is the plaything of her mind - but can a changeling ever really change her stripes?

Also because I've wanted to try something approximating an adventure story for a while. If there's any demand for it, I'll continue it properly, otherwise I'll just wrap it up quickly.

Because sometimes just because you put effort into something, doesn't mean it'll turn out well. Sometimes just because you like something doesn't mean others will, and when you hate something others might not. Because sometimes, the majority opinion drives you mad, and yet there's nothing you can do about it.

And yes, I realise the irony of writing indefensibly meta bullshit about indefensibly meta bullshit. This is a joke, not serious, so please nobody be offended--I just wanted to try my hand at writing it to see where the appeal was for people.

Also, I'm so, so sorry I won't do this again

I'll be good

Because sometimes the choices we make in life have repercussions we could never have foreseen. Sometimes they're done at the behest of others, and sometimes what is done for the greater good can still hurt those we love.

In other words, an exploration of who Cadence is and the part she played in Twilight's life.

An entry for the MLPGeneral's Friend-Off event based on FacelessJr's spectacular image.

Because sometimes, just because you're immortal doesn't make you invulnerable. Sometimes, the one you're more proud of than anything else is the one that respects you the most, and sometimes respect goes deeper than either of you had ever realised.

Additionally, because sometimes an author wants to try and write something that doesn't end in horse sex, but instead adorable hugging and stuff. If this doesn't work out I'll probably go on and add some horse sex later, because people always like to see that, but I hope people enjoy it. My first foray into a full sized shipping fic, so please tell me what I screwed up.

EDIT: Updated with grammar improvements/education courtesy of the incredibly helpful kits.