Rainbow Dash and Applejack have cherished the years gone by at one another’s side, but beneath the wear of time, the fuel that is love can turn to ash and smother the flames they hold dear.

Beyond the smoke rising from the cinders, they face an uncertain future. Now, they must come to terms with the harsh truth that, sometimes, love alone isn't enough to keep a marriage burning bright.

Historian’s Note:
Spectrum of Gray occurs about fifteen years after Princess Twilight Sparkle’s ascension.

Cast: Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle & Granny Smith

Entry into the AppleDash "Second Chances" Contest.

Cover Design by Novel Idea
Sweet Apple Acres Background by bronyb34r
Sweet Apple Acres Barn by Jeatz-Axl
Small Cloudiminium: Customized from Screenshot by Novel Idea

Header Designs
Twilight Sparkle Cutie Mark by Intbrony 
Applejack Cutie Mark by BlackGryph0n
Rainbow Dash Cutie Mark by BlackGryph0n
Granny Smith Cutie Mark by The Smiling Pony

Beta Reader & Editor Credits
Ebon Quill: Audio Director & Quest Designer on The Manehattan Project
Little Tinker: Master of Systems at Poniverse & Scripting Engineer on The Manehattan Project
Beltorn: Commenter-at-Large on FimFiction
Cursori: Reader of Many a Pony Word

Special Guest Beta Readers & Editors
Monochromatic - Patron Saint of RariTwi
Oroboro - Expert in Emotional Devastation
Crystal Wishes - One Who Understood
Swan Song - Specialist of Sass and Snark
Corejo - Synopsis Nitpicker Brainstormer

Word Count: 18,000 words
Version: 2.3

It's the oldest chocolate shop in Equestria, the very first -- and on this night, it's also out of business. The final treats have been sold, the vultures have already begun to circle the equipment, and the proprietor polishes the remains out of pure habit while wondering what to do with her life. But that question will have to wait, as she has one more customer to take care of.

The very first.

(A stand-alone, no-prior-reading necessary part of the Triptych Continuum, which has its own TVTropes page and FIMFiction group. New members and trope edits welcome.)

Now with author Patreon and Ko-Fi pages.
Cover art by Pikamander2.

Octavia's and Vinyl's life together. You think it's simple, and I'm going to prove you're wrong.

So, heads or tails?

Proofread by MrNumbers.

Reading by ObabScribbler

Reading by Voiceguy.

Featured on Equestria Daily.

Rainbow Dash knows one thing for sure, she is definitely not a barbarous, uncivilized dolt who doesn't know polite conversation from a hippopotamus's rear end. And also that she's definitely not the one who's wrong. Rarity is wrong. Rainbow Dash is absolutely, totally, a hundred percent sure of it.

But then why did Rainbow just buy a wagon load of apology bouquets?

Nobles have long held sway over Equestrian culture. They are the trendsetters, the heads of the pack. Simply the way they speak can influence language. When they create compliments, similarly-phrased praise spreads throughout the nation. When they implement insults, ponies create situations for those insults to be used. One insult, in particular, has gone down in history as especially infamous.

I'm talking about butts and the photocopying thereof. This is still Equestrian nobility, after all. It's complicated. And stupid. Mostly stupid.

Has a dramatic reading done by Skijarama.

When a freak reading accident causes Twilight to be admitted to the Ponyville hospital, Rainbow Dash is right by her side. Compelled by a sense of duty and repayment, she takes it upon herself to cheer up her friend.

Rainbow Dash has rather a poor reputation when it comes to her workload. Everypony always thinks of her as the pony who takes three naps during daylight hours, and four on weekends, and always seems to be looking for something to do to pass the time. All of this is true, of course. But ponies seem to think this means that she must not ever get very much work done.

Can the weather captain for all of Ponyville really be as lazy as she seems? Is that the only explanation for Rainbow Dash's free time and constant napping?

The weather is a full-time job. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. And the worst weather happens at night.

So weather ponies have strange sleeping habits.

Set before the events of the show.

Spanish translation by Spaniard Kiwi on DeviantArt.
Audiobook reading by My name is R on Youtube.

It's an ordinary day in Ponyville, until Applejack says Twilight is purple. She should have known better.

Prereader: CoffeeBean

Para español: Aquí

There comes a turning point in every civilization where the future is dictated by the smallest decision.  Be it the will of a king or the cascade of changes by a commoner, it rarely matters the source, only the outcome.  So it was that, shortly after banishing Nightmare Moon, Celestia envisioned a world that could have accepted, loved, and embraced her now lost sister; an Equestria that had to cast off the simplicity of agrarianism and stanch traditionalism.

Instead of relying on the old ways as a bedrock for the six tenets of harmony, Celestia pursued this vision by lauding the advancement of magic and technology.  Over the centuries, cities of marble and stone were replaced by steel and glass. Family farms commercialized, business and trade expanded the world over, and the streets brimmed with cars.  The nobility long since traded away the power backed by titles for influence via companies. Megacorporations now dominate the skylines of every Equestrian city, yet Celestia still holds fast to the reins of true power.  Her word is law.

Even centuries after Nightmare Moon’s banishment, harmony is still in the bedrock of Equestrian society, yet one must dig to find it under so much soil and refuse.   There have always been those that chafe against the law and give lip service to harmony. Be they the rich and powerful figureheads of industry, or the scum of the underworld, there are always things these ponies in power need done discreetly, or at least deniably.  Sensitive matters such as these are often handed over to a class of professional criminals as diverse in their skills as they are in their ideologies. The Shadowrunners.

Note: As with my Beyond Equestria story, I am taking a lot of elements from the Shadowrunner series, but it will be written so that anyone unfamiliar with Shadowrunner can understand what's going on and enjoy the fic.

This story is a sequel to No Nose Knows

It is recommended you read No Nose Knows first but it's not absolutely required.

Baked Bean was just a regular citizen of Equestria until one fateful day when he accidentally booped Princess Celestia's nose with his own and then found he was forced to marry her to fulfil the terms of an ancient law. Miraculously, Love has blossomed between the princess and the pauper, and the new Prince of Equestria is now looking forward to taking his place at the side of the Princess of the Sun.

But Baked Bean is still very much a novice in the realms of government and nobility, and he's in for quite the crash course between old foes, snobby ministers, and his own shortcomings...

But at least Luna tolerates him now.

~*~
As seen on Equestria Daily!

Proofread and Preread once again by Georg, Moon Fire, Zen and Ponies, and Sipioc!

And with much thanks to You-Know-Who for the cover art!