Cup Cake knows what the pegasus mare is doing. She can see the way the filly is swaying her flawless body around Sugar Cube Corner. She can hear the flirty tones in the perfect voice as the mare sings her siren song to Carrot...

Each night I’m trapped in the dark, immobilized. I hear whispers as they operate on me: they say I shouldn’t be alive. Twilight refuses to tell me about the operation. Sometimes she can’t look me in the eye. What did they do to me?

Nothing used to scare me: I kicked a dragon in the nose, defeated gods of chaos and hatred, and control the weather. Now I feel broken. My memories have shattered, I feel wrong, and I’m afraid to tell anypony how scared I am.

I can’t even do the rainboom anymore. Who am I? I’m no longer the best flyer in Equestria, yet everypony assures me I am. Why won’t they tell me the truth?
↓↓ Credits

Special Thanks:
Dreampaw the artist. Best cover art.
Editors:
ArgonMatrix - Fixed 128 errors in chapter one alone.
Animus - who is awesome and for hire.
BronyWriter - The only author to punch Celestia in the face, and live.
Jaestring - Artist, Editor, and Female all in one.
Abcron - European editor, which means his time zone and my actual sleep schedule are aligned perfectly!
The Parasprite. Need I say more?
Selbi - If your editor isn't German, you aren't trying hard enough.
OctaviaHarmony - His avatar is as sexy as his editing.
RenegadeTimelord - Doctor who?
Akumokagetsu - Awesomesauce.
(Wow, a lot of editors came and went.)

On a cloudy day, four friends find refuge at Rarity's Boutique over a barrel of cider. But when Twilight Sparkle flies home from Canterlot to see her friends early, can she understand what's really going on?

"Gather round, I got a bit of a story to tell. It don't got much to do with princesses, dragons and the like- not even much of a happily ever after. But things worked themselves out all the same."

"This is the tale of a little filly, no older than the ones you see scurrying about town- futures as bright as their smiles."

"The Kid ain't have it so lucky."

"Her classmates, even some of her friends would poke fun at her. Some even called her a chicken.

Children can be cruel like that.

One day, Kid got some news, started believing all that hogwash. Broke her little heart something fierce. But between you and me, Kid had more guts than any chicken I seen."

"I should know, because I was there..."

(Narrated in the voice of Ruck from Bastion.)

Twilight Sparkle finds a book in the library.

Twilight Sparkle reads aforementioned book.

Twilight Sparkle's life is thrown upside down, her view of her teacher shattered, and her friends pitted against each other.

Everything will return to normal.

One of these statements is false.

Celestia frees Discord from his statue prison, convinced that he is somehow behind Twilight Sparkle's grayed personality. Discord takes advantage of the situation to make the princess hate him, for reasons he hopes he'll never need to say.

(First ever attempt at writing a story other than class assignments. Let's see how it goes?)

Cover art by Anima-dos (formerly spiritto)
http://spiritto.deviantart.com/art/Shelter-325153956

Twilight and Rainbow Dash, together? Must be that 'opposites attract' thing. Then again, maybe they have more in common than they're letting on...

An ongoing series of slice-of-life snapshots. RD, I said to keep the Library clop-free, not... oh, forget it!

All chapters originally written as separate entries for flash-fic blog Thirty Minute Pony Stories (TMP). I highly recommend a visit to TMP if you're looking for some of the best 1000-word gems in pony fiction. Many thanks to TMP for inspiring me to write!

Epilogue - The next Daring Do book isn't out yet, so Twilight convinces Rainbow to read a romance novel instead. That never works - does it?

Second - Twilight reads everything she can get her hooves on. Sometimes she finds things she'd rather not know, or in this case, that Dash would rather not know.

Becoming Daring - The latest Daring Do novel isn't quite what Dash expected, and her reaction isn't what a friend of hers expected, either.

Firelight - Not every schedule has to be full and not every list has to be checked off.

Lift, Weight, Thrust, and Drag - Dash's friends can't save her from an anniversary date with Twilight, at which she will show Twilight a secret skill she's kept from everypony. Twilight's definitely not complaining!

The Wait - Agony is knowing the one you love is standing hoof to hoof with danger and knowing there's absolutely nothing you can do to help.

Hoofing It - One day, Twilight will learn that reading Daring Do alone won't get Dash to do everything. That day is not today.

Variations on a Theme - How many combinations of Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash can there be? Plenty!

Reluctantly Yours - There's something Rainbow Dash doesn't want to lose, and Twilight refuses to let it go. Will this be the end of the awesomeness that is Dash?

Closer to Home - Giving up one dream to keep another isn't always a bad trade.

Wings, Wonderbolts, and You - Always read the fine print. And the rest of it, too.

Pinfeathers - Dash was all she ever wanted and all she'll never have. Twilight hasn't lost Rainbow Dash, but someone has.

Daring Do and the Chapel Perilous - Something's wrong with the Daring Do fanfic Dash and Twi are reading, and it's not funny.

Pew! Pew! Pew! - Rainbow Dash finds new and unexpected uses for the Elements of Harmony.

Less of Me - Twilight decides to help Dash's career along, but she might be getting ahead of herself.

The Ink Wasn't Even Dry Yet - Dash and Twi go head to head in a battle for the ages! And oh, the stakes...

Audience - Twilight Sparkle doesn't dance. We hope. Dear heavens, please let her not dance.

The Trip and the Destination - Dash took on one storm too many and Twilight's had enough of it.

A kind chap by the name of munngojerrie graciously offered to do a dramatic reading of Egghead and Featherbrain. It's done, and it's an hour of audiobook shipping goodness your ears will thank you for! Take a listen to part 1 HERE and part 2 HERE and part 3 HERE.

NOTE: Not related to the Luna's Librarian / Rustic & Romantic / If the Flight Suit Fits continuity.

Twilight is summoned by Celestia to discuss both their futures. Will she be able to make a decision that will not only change her life, but possibly affect the fate of all of Equestria? And will she be able to handle the truth when she discovers the true cost of Celestia's and Luna's existence, and how they tie in with the elements of harmony?

A little side story I've had on my mind for quite a while, I hope those who read it find it entertaining. It's not to dark or sad, but enough that I felt the tags were necessary.

Fed up with Equestra's anti-drug laws, a group of hippy activists hatch an ambitious plan to douse Celestia with LSD. Hilarity ensues.

Spike loses a bet to Snips and Snails. The consequence? Ask Scootaloo out on a date. But what starts off as a frivolous punishment for the baby dragon ends up becoming much more rewarding than he ever expected.