Rainbow Dash can’t wait for her first date with Applejack; they always have an awesome time hanging out, and a relationship just means there are even more physical activities they can try together. So when the dumb zap apple harvest postpones their date, she decides it’s the zap apples that are going to have to change their plans. Equestria should know by now that wild, ancient magic is no match for Rainbow Dash, especially when she might get laid.

Everything is going according to plan, until she crashes. Or, rather, until she wakes up after crashing and fifteen years have gone by. Fifteen years during which she seems to have been a very busy pony.

Now Rainbow Dash has to adjust to a life she never thought she wanted, and figure out if she’ll ever get to live the life that brought her here.

Update: Proofreading and formatting by RBDash47

Written for the AppleDash Group Contest prompts "Family" and "An Important or Memorable Date."
Cover art by SketchyJackie

My name is Sunburst, and I live my life alone, because I prefer it that way.

Not everypony does.

For some ponies, in fact, that's more like a long slow death sentence.

I've received orders to a posting as a royal guard. My duty as a member of the guard is to protect the princess. Traditionally, that's taken to mean against physical threats. Less traditionally, I'm coming to a realization that it may mean assisting in other ways - maybe even in ways she's not aware that she needs. Normally I would say it's not our place to intervene in personal matters. But when you see as plain as the hoof in front of your face that something is wrong, sometimes it finally brings you to the point at which standing by and doing nothing is simply no longer an option.

Day by day, I'm getting closer to that point.

I may have to make a hard decision. I don't know if this is right or wrong. All I know is that watching my princess suffer is impossible to bear when I'm supposed to be protecting her.

Approved by Twilight's Library on July 26, 2014!
Featured on Equestria Daily on February 5, 2015!

Left only with a promise to keep in touch, Rainbow Dash struggles to convey her feelings, and to figure out what the words were that she couldn't say on that last snowy night at the train station before Twilight left. As everyone slowly drifts apart, Dash will have to put in the effort if she wants to keep her friends together.

What brought Rarity and Applejack together, nopony knows, but you can bet your last barrel of cider that nothing this side of Discord could separate them.

An ongoing series of slice-of-life snapshots. This barn here'll be clop-free, y'all got it?

These stories are in continuity with Luna's Librarian and If the Flight Suit Fits.

All chapters originally written as separate entries for flash-fic blog Thirty Minute Ponies (TMP). Many thanks to TMP for inspiring me to write!

Lift Carefully - Applejack and Rarity hatch a plan to 'help' Twilight by stealing her journal. What they discover is more than they bargained for.

Among the Hills a Winding Way - Confused about her feelings for Rarity, Applejack seeks comfort from her apple trees, who are eager to listen.

Torn - Rarity finds a philosophical Applejack irresistible and finally makes her move. Will an old hat be the only thing torn by night's end?

Drama-Induced Audience Apathy - Rarity thinks angsty drama will spice up their love life. Applejack is a bit more practical.

Ejection - Twilight and friends are determined to see Applejack and Rarity separated. How will the lovers cope?

Not Again - Applejack isn't feeling like herself. Can her marefriend Rarity help straighten her out?

The Honorable Thing - One more disappointment for Applejack might be one too many.

The Best and the Worst - Rarity's having problems with her work and her magic - nothing that an attentive and perceptive marefriend can't help with.

Crossed in the Mail - Letters bearing bad news can make a mare say things she might regret. Sometimes it's hard to remember that we don't have to endure life's troubles alone.

Tickets - With Mac gone to Appleloosa and Granny needing ever more care, the pressure mounts as AJ is left to fend for herself. A certain dressmaker's attention to detail may come handy.

Calendar - Some dates are more worth remembering than others.

Suddenly There Came A Tapping - The Cutie Mark Crusaders are on the run, forced to flee, and about to learn something that hopefully won't earn them cutie marks.

A Meditation Upon the Day's Toils, or, 'Bark' - Who's a good little dog? You're a good dog, Winona! Yes you are!

Slow and Steady - Big Mac notices a whole lot more than he lets on.

Tailoring the Conversation - Oh, what wisdom from the mouths of fillies! Especially the ones who've been peeking in the barn at really inconvenient times.

The Quiet Revelations - Applejack has a nice quiet sit on the front porch to think a few things over. Maybe a little too quiet - or maybe it's just right after all.

Answers Above - Rarity has something to ask; for other ponies this would be a formality, but for her, it will be out of this world.

Happily Ever After, Checklist Never Ending, Part 1 and Part 2 - With Twilight Sparkle as your wedding planner, you're in good hooves. Right?

Winter by the Pond - There's something Applejack hasn't been able to ask, and isn't sure if any living pony can make it easier for her.

Diminished Distance - Headed for their honeymoon, Rarity and Applejack find there are still things to learn about each other - things they'll wish they could forget.

Facing Worlds - Rarity said some things she shouldn't have at the latest Apple family reunion.

Subtle Like a Hurricane - A lady never begs, especially when public displays of affection are at stake.

Every rising star must eventually fall. Rainbow Dash is locked in a struggle against her own past, and with the help of Twilight is about to make a discovery that will change the way she flies forever. But what will she lose in the process?

Massive thanks to Furor1 and Nyuuchandiannepie for the ridiculously awesome artwork, you should really check them out on DeviantArt if you've not already.

Dedicated to Donald Campbell and his Bluebird, for chasing his horizons for no other reason than the fact that they were there. Also to Steve Hogarth and Marillion for writing Out Of This World, the song that inspired this story.

While at a slumber party telling spooky stories, Twilight learns of one story that is supposedly true, and just has to investigate...

(Featured on EqD.)

(Audio version by Thornquill.)

Complete!

Scootaloo has a job as a flight instructor in Cloudsdale and a cloud house of her own. She doesn't have a special somepony, but she's cool with that. Just a normal life for a normal young pegasus, until a streak of rainbow turns her life upside-down.

After all, could she really resist the chance to train for the Best Young Flyers competition with a Wonderbolt? Could she turn down an offer of no-strings-attached passion with the most awesome pegasus in Equestria? Is there any way she could not fall in love with the shining idol of her foalhood?

Could Scootaloo ever say no to Rainbow Dash?

(Obviously aged-up Scoot. Rated T for some sexual situations, but nothing graphic.)

A big thank you to dbzordie for his awesome proofreading services.

Hearth's Warming Eve is a night of magic throughout Equestria. From young fillies to weathered ponies, every soul finds their own magic in the blissful night. But while some receive their blessings in ways they had wished and hoped for, others come across the magic in ways they never prepared for.

Based on the short story "The Gift of the Magi"
Cover art by My-little-Brony
Edited now by Shadowsreached!

After an argument with Rainbow Dash about the romance plot in the latest Daring Do issue, Twilight Sparkle constructs a machine that allows two ponies to enter a novel, in order to learn more about Rainbow's obsession with pairing Daring Do with her bookish sidekick Rosetta.

Soon, the two find themselves in a Daring Do adventure, with Rainbow taking the name part and Twilight playing Rosetta. As they deal with ancient jungle ruins, mythical artifacts and old adversaries, Twilight is starting to see the appeal of the pairing.

But after all, it is all just fiction, and what happens in a novel has little to do with the real world, right?

Written for the TwiDash Group's Abandoned Fic Challenge.

Rated Teen for some violence, some very tame makeouts, and a slightly inebriated pony.

At the cusp of a mistake, and at the edge of temper, Applejack and Rarity find themselves stranded in a place between home and Dodge. But perhaps fate had kept them apart for a reason; for when the truth finally emerges, it's soon clear which pony loves who... and which pony doesn't.

But when they finally understand the intricate webs upon which they stand, it will take something a little bit more than love in order to save them from the fallout.

Edited by the traitorous AppleDasher, TheShadow, and HerpyDerpy.