Rainbow Dash just wants a bottle of Dr. Pony from the vending machine. Is that too much to ask?

An alarm sounds. There's a planet nearby. I wonder if anyone can hear me.

"It's called 'Shh'," said Fluttershy. "It's a game about who can be quiet the longest. Sound fun? I'm the world champion."

Fluttershy is not a pony who makes things up. She really is the world champion of "Shh," or The Quiet Game. And now it's time for her to defend her crown, with Twilight Sparkle and Rarity along for the ride.

Something is eating at Rainbow Dash. Ever since the Royal Wedding in Canterlot, she's been quiet, aloof, and distracted. After a long day's work of shaping the rainclouds over Ponyville, she can no longer keep the truth bottled in. The only problem is, as a picnic with her close friends looms over the horizon, she's at a loss to find a pony she can comfortably share her thoughts with.

Let me tell you a story about the bad place.

Special thanks to Vimbert and Noble Jury.

"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

This was written for a contest and authors had to stay anonymous. Now that it's over I can post my contribution. I haven't gone back to change anything. This is as it was for the contest, with ONE fix. I screwed up an italic tag in the original and the bottom half was ALL italicized. I corrected that here. Otherwise, this is as I entered it.

The prompt to follow was One-Way Ticket. So, uh, there's your description.

May eventually revisit and flesh out, but definitely not any time soon.

Scootaloo has always idolized Rainbow Dash. When Dash agreed to teach her, she was positively thrilled. Unfortunately, accidents happen. Rainbow Dash isn't good at dealing with the consequences of her actions.

A horrible Cataclysm has turned all of Equestria into a Wasteland of barren ash and twilight desolation. The Sun and the Moon have been destroyed. Everypony has died--including Princesses Luna and Celestia. But one pony miraculously survives; she is a lone wanderer, the last of her kind, surrounded by menacing creatures that hate her. She navigates the Wastes in an airship and scavenges off the blighted landscape to keep herself alive.

Then one day she meets an old companion who grants her a gift, the chance to go back in time to the warm and sunny days of Ponyville, where her dead friends live in happiness. How far will the last pony venture into this joyous age of Equestria, even if she fully knows that there is no way to change the horrible fate of everypony she loves?

2013 Edition: Smaller Chapters, Better Grammar, and a Few New Scenes

(A shout-out to Vimbert, pre-reader and gentlecolt)

This is an official End of Ponies side story, written with permission from Short Skirts and Explosions.

Red is a Diamond Dog that survived the cataclysm that brought about the end of Equestria. He lives in the Wasteland, operating a mechanic shop and airstrip. His life is simple; he spends his days working on airships and serving his pack. As a stormfront blows overhead, Red remembers a chance encounter with the Last Pony, and sets out on an adventure, determined to hunt down the last equine in the world.

It is not necessary to have read End of Ponies to understand Red Wings.