Inspired by Parting Words, by RHJunior

Princess Celestia is the paragon of Harmony. She is kind to her subjects and generous to those in need. She is loyal to her ideals and never compromised. She has a good, if mostly unknown, sense of humor. Above all else, she is always honest. Right?

Twilight Sparkle trusts Princess Celestia implicitly and in all things. The Princess has never steered her wrong, not once. When Twilight thought that her concerns for Nightmare Moon were being ignored, Celestia had her back, even if she was withholding information.

Wait a minute.

Shortly before Celestia leaves for Canterlot with the redeemed Luna, Twilight has a conversation with her mentor that will change her perspective on the Princess forever. She will receive something new, beautiful, and damning all the same.

Cynicism.

Six Little Words or: The Question That Twilight Didn’t Ask in Canon.

Violence Tag: Implied torture.

Comments are back open. Please try to keep it cordial.

Not all villains are evil. Some are just misguided. There are some creatures who just need a helping hoof to have the opportunity to—

—bwa ha ha, no, the Queen of the Changelings would never be into that. So what's with this sudden change of heart? And what's with these sassy letters?

A not very serious fic with some isekai implications.

In the human world, Applejack’s parents are alive.

She has to meet them.

Written for the A Most Delightful Ponidox contest.

Alicornhood is a dream that most ponies never consider past their tenth birthday, when they finally understand reality. For Twilight Sparkle, that reality was just turned on its head. The day after her ascension, after the excitement and happiness has worn off slightly, the facts of the situation finally set in. During a breakfast conversation about the responsibility she will soon bear, Spike asks a simple question: "Do you really want to be a princess, Twilight?"

Each of the Bearers of Harmony came to that first Grand Galloping Gala with a dream in her heart and dreadfully few relevant facts in her mind. Rarity dreamt of finding her Prince Charming. She knew his name, appearance, and not much else.

But in this timeline, one of her friends has her back.

When Twilight needs a pardon, Celestia is there to provide. When Twilight doesn’t need one, Celestia still provides.

There are many words that can describe the equine force of nature that is Pinkie Pie: loud, fast, bouncy, hyperactive, wild, frenzied, fun...

These are, Rarity would freely admit, normally absolutely wonderful qualities for her friend to have. However, there are circumstances where even the most universally positive qualities are... not ideal. And, she would politely insist, there is at least one place in Ponyville that Pinkie's irrepressible exuberance should never intrude upon: the spa. Rarity would consider this a reasonable arrangement.

And yet, thanks to an ill-timed conversation and the dread spectre of social politeness, these two worlds of hers will soon collide when she is forced to invite Pinkie to spend some time with her in her haven of relaxation.

Will the Ponyville Spa survive? And even if it does, will Rarity's reputation there come out unscathed? Or will, by some miracle, Pinkie bring herself down to the realm of mortals and show Rarity more about herself than she ever could have guessed.

Note: the cover picture is entirely unrelated to the story, except in as much as it involved Pinkie and Rarity at the spa and it amused me.

Edited by raven618

Featured on 3rd March 2020 - Thank you guys so much!

It had been hard enough, being one of the first. With the walls dropped, leaving her nation, her herd, traveling to Japan and trying to exist among so many strangers... every day had been a challenge. But she'd tried. Day by day, hoofstep by hoofstep, she'd felt she was finding her place in the human world.

But now there are no humans. No other demis or liminals. Nothing to anchor her. She exists among tiny horses and the scent of their fear, or at least what little of it drifts into her cell.

For nopony can look at a centaur and see anything but a monster.

(Now with author Patreon and Ko-Fi pages -- and the TVTropes page just went live.)

Cover art by Harwick. Please contact him for commission rates & prints.

Trigger warning: character interpretation.

Equestria's history is like a swan on a lake, seemingly graceful motion hiding the furious effort beneath the surface. Whose effort? Twilight is about to find out.

An expanded version of an entry in the June 2015 Writeoff Competition. Prompt: A Matter of Perspective
Rated Teen for death, undeath, and mutation without consent.

There's nothing quite like a bad idea whose time has come. With ponies, all it can take is one charismatic idiot with an audience: for cattle, the 'charisma' part is optional. The young bulls among Applejack's tenants have gotten ahold of a truly bad idea, and all she wants to do is stop it before anyone really gets hurt.

Which means she's taking on the power of hormonal idiocy.

...it's probably time to bring in a friend.

(Now with author Patreon and Ko-Fi pages.)