It's time for the Cultivation Convention in Trotlanta. Applejack's usual partner has dropped out, and her other friends aren't interested. As it turns out, though, she won't have her hotel room to herself.

(A little one-shot I wrote for Crack Ships Inc's prompt contest!)

"Her thorns dragged holes deeper into her soul. She was irreparable. They would never know of her pain. They would never understand her depression. Her life was a void of solitude and imperfections. She was alone, except for her thorns."

Depression is an internal struggle Roseluck is forced to experience, but her misery is reflected in the one thing that makes her life meaningful. Now, all that is left of her is emptiness and despair, and she cannot force herself to live like that.

-"The story was phenomenal. I loved it." -Ectopulse
-"This story was like a rose: beautiful yet sharp... The story is simple, but the theme carries throughout everything said without getting overstated. Bravo." -Garbo802

Cover art by: InuHoshi-to-darkpen

[img]http://tinyurl.com/llaz5ct[/img]

Most ponies assume that something is wrong with Ditzy Do's eyes. Theories range from a head injury to a genetic disorder to muscle damage behind her eye. The crueler folk suggest she's just retarded. Nicer ponies say it's just a party trick she never got tired of.

They're all wrong. They're all very, very wrong.

I discovered the truth one day in conversation with her. One eye would always look at me, and the other would wander. At least, I thought it was wandering. So while we were talking, I followed it. Goddess in heaven I wish I had not. Never follow the other eye. Ever. Because Ditzy Do's eyes work fine.

She's just watching something. That... thing that's always in the corner of our eyes. And if she looks at you with both eyes?

Goddess save you.

----

Preread by BrastaAAura17, Chase Cosmicwing and dreamingnoctis. Cover art also by dreamingnoctis. Guy's a bro.

Princess Celestia tires of constantly being surrounded by decorum, deference, and formality, and decides to take a day off from being Princess. But visiting Ponyville incognito is harder than she expects. Will she be able to fit in and make friends without blowing her cover?

"My name is Lyra Heartstrings, and you will not remember me. You won't even remember this conversation. Just like with everypony else I've ever met, everything I do or say will be forgotten. Every letter I've written will appear blank; every piece of evidence I've left behind will end up missing. I'm stuck here in Ponyville because of the same curse that has made me so forgettable. Still, that doesn't stop me from doing the one thing that I love: making music. If my melodies find their way into your heart, then there is still hope for me. If I can't prove that I exist, I can at least prove that my love for each and every one of you exists. Please, listen to my story, my symphony, for it is me."

Cover pic by Spotlight: askspotlight.tumblr.com