War is brutal. It asks you questions with no right answers. It leaves scars on your body and mind.

War is a game in which you will always lose.

And Rainbow Dash might've just lost everything.

Wheatland farms: the greatest source of food in Equestria. The ponies of Fillydelphia rely on it for bread, bakery products, and hay.

When a freak wildfire takes out an entire season's worth of crops, things are dire. The ponies of Fillydelphia are facing starvation.

Applejack hatches a daring plan. Accelerate the weather around her orchard, rushing through Winter, Spring, Summer, and Autumn, and reap another harvest in time before Fillydelphia's stocks run out. There's just one problem: all she has is a week.

For this to work, she needs a pegasus. Specifically, she needs a pegasus as nuts as her...

Contains AppleDash. Credit for editing/proofreading goes to Apple Cinnamon. Awesome art done for the story by arcanelexicon here. Written for the 3rd (?) AppleDash Contest about the themes of Family, and A Place Outside Ponyville.

There should be fireworks, at least, when a dream dies.
~Kirby Larson

Ty-Day used to be my favorite day of the year. I planned the Canterlot fireworks performance, timed to go off when the Wonderbolt's race ended. Every year, my Dashie would win that race, and I got to see her smiling face as she came back with a medal, proud to be alive.

But where did she go... was it something I said? Will she ever come back?

I have to find her. But how...? All I have is some dumb paper.

Credit to Yalcahoon on DA for this wonderful picture!
Looked over by Commissar Derpy Hooves (With positive feedback!), but this story does not have a formal proofreader (If anyone wants to take a stab! )

Rainbow Dash's life as a soldier during the Crystal War is much like the lives of everypony else around her, full of hardships and struggles. However, there are a few positive moments that keep hope alive. But achieving victory and ensuring a brighter future may be significantly tougher than she expects despite the support from her friends.

Unfortunately, the beginning of her journey is defined by the moment she lost her wing.

Maud did not love Rainbow Dash.

Maud did not understand love.

Maud understood war. Maud understood battle. Maud understood loss.

Those are the things Maud understood.

[Maud/RD - Season 5 finale AU]

In the war against King Sombra and The Crystal Empire, there have been a great many ponies who have earned the title of hero. Some have shown toughness and a relentless spirit. One such hero is Rainbow Dash. Not even the loss of her wing or her best friend could stop her from fighting for Celestia and Equestria.

But how far is she willing to go? How much is one pony willing to sacrifice if it means an end to the war?

(Based on the Crystal Empire war universe of Cutie Re-Mark. Also shows one possibility of what may have happened to Twilight Sparkle in this universe.)

The Crystal War. A battle so long and brutal that it has shaped an entire era of righteous bloodshed. Ponies don't have slumber parties, or read bedtime stories to their foals, or even so much as smile. And when they do smile, it's the kind of smile that would keep ponies of a more peaceful era awake for days.

The madness of Sombra and his slave army claims lives every day. Soldiers in service to Celestia fight tirelessly to hold onto even a shred of what Equestria used to be. Its citizens do everything they can to feed the bloody machine, from canning food to holding funerals.

And at the heart of it all, there stand three mighty warriors. They have lost a great deal to this war, though none of them know just how much. What they do know is that they made promises back home, and they are not in the habit of breaking promises. No matter the cost.

This is the story of Iron Wing and the Demolition Crew.

This story is a sequel to More Than Dreams

Months have passed since Twilight Sparkle brought Rainbow Dash to visit her parents in Canterlot, and now it's time for her to return the favor. This time, however, neither of them is carrying a secret to reveal.

Rather than relaxation, she soon learns more about Rainbow's life than she ever bothered to ask about. Twilight tries to understand the past, what foundation for a happy life might exist beyond what she knows, and what new challenges their life together might face.

Edited by Noble Thought.

Cover art by zvn.

This story is a sequel to I Chose You

Trust is a funny thing.

Why hadn't she trusted her parents? Her brother? Her sister-in-law?

Why was she so afraid to tell them the truth?

Why couldn't she just tell them that she loved mares? Loved Rainbow Dash?

Fear is a funny thing.

Edited by the incomparable Noble Thought.

Cover art: Entwined by NyuuChanDianePie.

One hundred percent approved by Twilight's Library.

It's been ten years since the deaths of the Elements of Harmony. All but one.

Twilight Sparkle does her best to continue her duties as princess of Equestria, but guilt has eaten away at her soul. Can she weather the storm of her own spirit?

( One-shot, miiiight lead into a nice slice-of-life fic. :3 )