Thoughtletts
Brevity is the Soul of Twit—
On the Writers Group question on how to handle red and black alicorns
https://www.fimfiction.net/group/50/the-writers-group/thread/339146/question-on-black-and-red-alicorns
Mucha Luchador meets Equestria! I would imagine red and black is a popular color combo there.
"Ladies and gentlecolts!" bellowed the announcer's voice from the huge speakers all around the ring. "Announcing for one night only! The most feared wrestler in the entire league, banned in seven countries and here only with an exception signed by the Princesses themselves. The one! The only! Crimsoooooonnn Tiiiiiied!"
The spotlights that had been flashing around pivoted up into the rafters of the arena where.... something lurked in the shadows, bathing in the frenzied applause from the audience and the chants that spontaneously started and grew.
"Tied! Tied! Tied!"
Just when it seemed as if the arena was about to erupt into a riot, the hidden pony in the rafters took a step forward into the spotlights and looked down at his masked opponent in the opposite corner of the ring. Applejack's voice caught in her throat and she jabbed an elbow into Rainbow Dash at the cost of getting a face full of feathers. "That red feller up there in the rafters with all the black stripes and such. Don't he look familiar?"
"Are you kidding!" screamed Rainbow Dash back. "That's the Alicorn of Agony, the Prince of Pain, King of Destruction! Every fight he's had, he's won by knockout, even the ones where they put two or three ponies against him!"
Applejack mentally compared the fairly meek pegasus stallion who animal-sat for Fluttershy when she was on Element business against the massive collection of muscles flexing in the light of the spotlights. He did look a little like Bulk Biceps, although he was wearing a massive padded horn protector and heavy covers over his wings, secured by what appeared to be log chains and a dozen padlocks, and topped off with enough red to his coat and mane that he almost looked like he was on fire. She did not get very long to observe the massive alicorn, if he was one, because Crimson Tide jumped from the rafters to the screams of the audience, and landed with a massive crash on his corner, buckling the mat and making his opponent bounce by recoil right out of the ring.
"Did you see that landing?" screamed Rainbow Dash right in Applejack's ear. "That's murder on the knees."
On the story Why Do We Have Guards by All Art Is Useless
https://www.fimfiction.net/story/389339/why-do-we-have-guards
Celestia: Look, Luna. I hate to admit it, but... You play Ogres and Oblates, right?
Luna: Well... Yes. The small dragon introduced me to the game. It is quite invigorating.
Celestia: Oh, good. Well, the Royal Guards have been... built on a point system for years.
Luna: Well, that makes... no sense at all. They're dumb as posts.
Celestia: Int is a dump stat.
Luna: They have no common sense at all.
Celestia: So is Wisdom.
Luna: They're incompetent at combat--
Celestia: No dots in weapon skills at all.
Luna: --and furthermore, they could not spot an assassin if he or she were to wear a shirt proclaiming such.
Celestia: (shakes her head) Terrible spot rolls. No points--
Luna: Spent in that either. Yes, I know. So what do they have points invested in?
Celestia: (long silence)
Luna: Celly. You didn't? (looks at the sheets of paper that she's passed) Oh. You did. Well. That's... different. Ahem. (flips through the sheets and passes one of them back. ) I will be taking a walk in the gardens this evening. See to it that this one is available.
Posh’s blogpost on Season 7, Episode 24, Uncommon Bond where Starlight Glimmer gets her waifu rustled
https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/768561/s7e24
"That was a lot of fun, Starlight." Sunburst could not keep from smiling, and had no reason to. "Seven games of Dragon Pit with you and your friends. I've never felt younger."
Starlight held open the door to his room in the castle and returned his smile with interest. "Good! I'm glad you had fun. I've just got one more game I want to play before bedtime."
"Another game?" asked Sunburst. "Isn't it a little late?"
"Nonsense," scoffed Starlight. "After all, it's been years since we've been together. Just one more game? Please?"
"Well..." Sunburst looked into Starlight's eager eyes and felt his willpower crumble. "It depends. What game did you want to play."
"Doctor!" declared Starlight, closing the door behind them.
From comments on The Sweet Spot, where Tempest gets her cutie mark in soda pop
https://www.fimfiction.net/story/388815/the-sweet-spot
The Cutie Mark Crusaders sat on the front stoop of the boutique, looking out over Ponyville as the sun slowly descended. It was a thoughtful moment, worthy of deep consideration, which was promptly ruined by Scootaloo speaking up.
"So... All of those bottles from Twilight's lab were supposed to be empty, right Sweetie Belle?"
"Yeah." Sweetie Belle heaved a deep sigh. "I know, I should have checked the bottoms first."
"It's not your fault," said Apple Bloom with the practiced cadence of somepony who was used to saying those words a lot. "Anypony could have missed the precip.. prepec..."
"Precipitate," said Sweetie. "It's what's left at the bottom when a potion is mixed."
"Ah knew that," said Apple Bloom. "I just couldn't remember the word." She lifted her head to look around the quiet town, then heaved a matching sigh. "Obviously, this is Twilight's fault for leaving unlabeled bottles around."
"Not ours," said Scootaloo. "Most certainly not our fault. Again."
"It was a pretty impressive result, though." Apple Bloom looked at the Ponyville paths with oranges scattered on them, the restaurant with oranges sitting on the seats, and the marketplace, which was practically covered in oranges, all with slight color differences that matched the ponies they had been before. "You don't think they'll all be mad at us when Twilight comes up with a counterspell, do you? Since it's really her fault."
As a response to Applejack’s New Security System in which she buys a hippo, which is a sequel (Yes, really) of Rarity and the Rhinoceros. Yes, you have to read them.
Dear Princess Celestia,
I can see the Giant Roc perching on your tower from here.
Please tell Luna this won't end well.
Your fellow princess,
Twilight Sparkle
Dear Twilight Sparkle,
Birdzilla is mine.
I purchased him to keep the population of Giant Squid in Canterlot under control.
Luna never has been very practical about pets. I told her writing to the address on the back of her cereal box was a bad idea.
Sincerely,
Princess Celestia
P.S. Come on up to the castle sometime and we'll have breakfast. We have enough scrambled eggs for all of your friends, too.
Present Perfect’s blog about Scootaloo living with her aunts
https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/767248/so-if-scootaloo-lives-with-her-aunts
Twilight Sparkle stood on the top of her castle with Rainbow Dash to one side, both staring off into the night sky in different directions.
"You think it was the right decision?" asked Rainbow Dash. "I mean I know Scootaloo wanted to be with her parents, but splitting those three up..."
"It's part of growing up," said Twilight in a firm voice with a little quiver at the bottom that indicated she was not as determined as she wanted to be. "Sweetie Belle needs to develop her magic in Celestia's academy, and Scootaloo needs to spend time with other pegasi her age."
"Other pegasi her age are mean, self-centered brats," said Rainbow Dash bluntly. "I should know. Besides, you could have taught Sweetie Belle everything about magic she needed to know, and I could teach Scoots how to be more awesome than any stupid-old school."
"Maybe," admitted Twilight. "It probably would have been less expensive."
No more words were exchanged for a long time, as the two friends stood side-by-side on the castle roof, looking into the distance and watching Canterlot and Cloudsdale burn.
Now, I thought that was pretty good, until FanOfMostEverything promptly topped me with the logical zinger.
Eventually, Rainbow Dash pointed at a much closer fire. "So how do you explain that?"
"I'm pretty sure Apple Bloom just didn't want to feel left out." Twilight squinted as she examined the blaze. "Also, I'm pretty sure Applejack wanted to tear down that barn anyway."
From Present Perfect’s blog on Uncommonly Boned (about the movie)
https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/766725/uncommonly-boned-episode-spoilers
Now after criticizing you for mis-reading the first line of one of my stories, I go and read this title as "Uncommonly Bond (Episode Spoilers) and think, "Wow, that's an interesting crossover."
"Thank you for arriving so quickly, sir," said Twilight Sparkle, looking just a little nervous at the concept of a human being walking through the Castle of Friendship, and in particular, in her own library. "When I asked Princess Celestia for help with this friendship problem, I had no idea she would... um... pass on my request to other royalty."
"For Queen and country. Can I get you anything, Miss Sparkle?" The man continued to pour and measure in the minibar that Twilight had never realized was a part of her library. Why would a crystal castle even have a minibar in the library, anyway? This place really needed an owners manual. Or maybe it had one, and Spike already ate it.
"No, thank you. Well, maybe a mineral water. And an olive, with a twist of lime. Thank you, Mister...?" Twilight paused as the man swept a full glass onto the table (with coaster too, how considerate) in front of her and made himself comfortable on the cushion to her other side.
"Bond," he said. "James Bond."
From Matthewl419’s review of Bubble Blossoms
https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/763203/review-115-bubble-blossoms
First comment: And in the distance, the Ponyville Golden Oak library sits in the moonlight, lamenting the loss of her long and fruitful life while enjoying the tread of scholars along her floors and the joy of an alicorn princess among her branches.
Mocha Star: Oh.
My.
Gosh...
Did someone just tell me to write a story?!
Me again: You may consider that, yes. Somebody prodded me to write it, and I'm about two years behind on existing projects, so I'll pass the poke along.
In the center of Ponyville, under the light of the moon and stars, a tree dreamed of times long past. Of storms and summers, of patrons walking quietly among her shelf-lined walls and the loud cries of the young. Of books, lined and straight, filled with the knowledge of ponies long dead and awaiting a chance to live again in the hooves of an interested reader. Of rain and sunshine and wind, the droning of bees in her leaves, and the touch of the snow upon her crown. She was the queen of all she surveyed, ruler and guiding hoof, a refuge for weary souls battered by the world and a beacon of learning for the hungry masses. But once, long ago, before she had bark and leaves to surround her precious treasure, she was something else.
Something smaller, and more frail.
Libris dreamed of when she was a pony.
Cheerimee by Posh
https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/757756/cheerimee
It makes Cheerilee only look better when you realize the comics have her as the valedictorian of Canterlot's high school, and she decided to go into elementary education in a small town rather than molecular biology in Manehattan or something.
The Road Not Taken.
While the rest of her students stampeded onto the next stop on the museum tour, Cheerilee took a moment to stretch out her hocks and enjoy the moment of peace and quiet. Her eyes were drawn to the mirror behind the flimsy velvet rope, and the haunting words their tour guide had said. The Road Not Taken.
Taking a quick glance around to make sure she was not being observed, Cheerilee reached out a hoof. After all, it could not hurt to see—
She looked into the mirror at a matching Cheerilee, only this one was wearing a snappy business suit with small neck ruff and designer shoes, caught in exactly the same pose. The two mares looked at each other, school teacher to highly-paid professional, before Cheerilee mouthed the words, "Was it worth it?"
Her rich counterpart hesitated, checking over her shoulder at the empty room before looking back at Cheerilee with tired eyes, bloodshot from long hours spent at her job. She shook her head slowly, then mouthed back the same words.
"Miss Cheerilee!" Diamond Tiara bounded into the doorway of the exhibit room and pointed frantically at where the rest of the students had gone. "Scootaloo is headed for the aeronautics section with that look in her eyes again. Her friends are delaying her, but I think she wants to see if the gliders work. Hurry up!"
Cheerilee smiled and nodded at the wealthy pony in the mirror. "Yes!" she mouthed. "Consider a career change." Turning back to Diamond Tiara, Cheerilee started to sprint into the rest of the museum. This was the road she had taken, and she had no regrets.
Daedalus Aegle Blog on the Triple Threat episode
https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/756458/second-thoughts-triple-threat
The entire group of friends stared at the crystal map for a very, very long time before any of them dared to speak. Of course, it was Starlight Glimmer.
"I'm afraid I don't recognize the cutie mark that's floating around Twilight's castle next to her cutie mark there on the map."
"That's—" Spike cut off at Twilight’s fierce glare.
"—None of your business," finished Twilight Sparkle. "The map is obviously broken. I'll work on it this afternoon." She glared at her own cutie mark, which was strobing quietly.
"You've been working for weeks without a break," said Starlight, casting a quick look at the rest of Twilight's friends, who universally were keeping their mouths shut for some reason. "You're stressed out to the point of losing it, and if there's anything that—" She pointed to the map, then paused. "I should know that mark," she mused quietly. "Why don't you let me look over the map while you take a break, Twilight. Go make some tea, take a nap or something. I've never seen another pony so much in need of getting laid before in my life."
"Princess Twilight!" Flash Sentry's voice echoed through the castle, along with the rapid clatter of his hooves somewhere out in the main hallway. "This is an emergency! My cutie mark started flashing, and Cadence sent me here to find out what was wrong. Oh, and she sent along a bottle of wine and a box of chocolates. Do you know what's going on?"
From my blog (hey, that counts) on the 2017 eclipse
https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/756206/eclipse-day-oh-wait
"Behold the stellar glory of a solar eclipse, that rare occasion when the moon passes in front of the sun... at the breakfast table." Celestia peered over her sister, who was closely examining the jars of jam in the cabinet, which of course she had to lean over Celestia's chair in order to see. "Luna, it really doesn't matter what kind of jelly you pick for your pancakes if you let them get cold." Getting no immediate response, she rolled her eyes and muttered, "I'm being mooned. At breakfast."
When the sun goes out in Equestria, it isn't always something disastrous. Sometimes, it's just a bulb.
A good day also to plug Estee's A Total Eclipse of the Fun and Pinta's The Art of Eclipse Engineering
From Posh’s blog on Teach Me Goodness (an excellent story)
https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/756124/teach-me-self-reflective-blog-posts
Free the Fruits! Let the vines breathe without the weight of oppressive harvesting! Down with cruel farming methods that steal the children of these innocent plants and sacrifice them to the ravenous hunger of the hippopatriarchy! Errr.... Hippomatriarchy!
Applejack lined up for the first kick of the morning harvest, feeling the crisp air in every hair of her coat and the damp grass underhoof. This was what it meant to be a farmer, and there was nothing in Equestria she liked doing better.
That feeling lasted only until her hooves slammed into the tree trunk, the same way she had bucked trees for years, only this time, the tree screamed.
It was a piercing cry of agony, followed by dozens of pipping little voices from every apple buckets where the fruit of the tree had fallen. It was hard to pick out the individuals from the overwhelming crying and weeping, but she could swear each of the plump red apples was calling out, "Mama! Mama!" while the tree sobbed in the background.
From Admiral Biscuit’s blog posting on Science II and a comment made by FOME
https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/752823/science-ii
>>4623550 ... or even a story about the possible supernatural properties of alicorn stool.
"Twilight." Spike nudged his roommate/adopted mother/sister/hatch-er with one shoulder until she looked up from the book she was reading. "I was thinking. We've been living in this library tree for over a year now, right?"
"One year, three weeks, and a day," said Twilight, placing a wing over her book so she would not lose her place. "Since it's been just over three weeks since Pinkie Pie threw us that anniversary party. Why do you ask?"
"It's just something Applejack mentioned to me while we were at the party." Spike bit his bottom lip and put his comic book to one side. "She said every other house and business in Ponyville is attached to the town septic system except for the library."
"Oh, really?" Twilight thought about it for a moment. "The sinks, toilets, and bathtub must drain into the library root system, keeping it watered and fertilized in exchange for the tree providing storage and shelter for the library. It would seem like a very advantageous system for a tree."
"Uh-huh. And that means for the last year, the tree has been getting fertilized with dragon poop, and now with alicorn poop too, right?"
"Spike, don't use the word poop." Twilight frowned. "But yes, the tree would have been using our... waste for that amount of time. Why are you bringing that up now?"
"Well, for the last few months, I've been finding evidence that somepony else has been reading my comic books." Spike picked up a dry oak leaf out of his comic and held it up. "Or sometree."
From Black Hole Sun (And Wash Away the Rain) by SPark (and influenced by More Precious Than Silver or Gold, my Cadence of Cloudsdale guest author piece.
https://www.fimfiction.net/story/380618/black-hole-sun
There is a... point, I suppose is the word, that I intend on writing sometime to go with Skywriter's excellent Cadence of Cloudsdale story, at the point in time where Mi Amore Cadenza is brought into Canterlot from the Abbey of the Sisters of Song, and wakes up the next day to an entire new world, so different than the last centuries she has been living in isolation. The 'pearl' analogy is something that struck me as being a parallel between the two characters.
I look at the majestic creature who stands over me, all feathers and floating mane with the love and adoration of a whole world at her back and the sun overhead. Where I am Love just barely pushed into the world to stand on wobbly hooves, she is the immortal Sky who has been here forever, the life and warmth to all ponies under her rule. And yet, there is something missing, a hardness that shields her from the world, projecting a glossy image that does not match the pony inside. Much like an oyster will conceal a pain deep inside it, something has hurt her long, long ago, and she has remained alone in this castle ever since, wrapping that pain in layers of will until nopony can see anything but the beautiful pearl she displays to the world.
From Pineta’s blog on Dark Matter
https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/750221/the-many-ways-to-search-for-dark-matter-with-a-picture-of-luna
You know, I read that as The Particle Physics Gardening Blog
Twilight Sparkle looked around the empty section of rock farm and considered it against her knowledge (admittedly small) of farming. "So, Pinkie. Is this section of ground held fallow for some reason, or did it just get harvested?"
"Oh, no. This is our Sub garden." Pinkie bounced from place to place in the featureless expanse of dark soil, each time landing with only one hoof on the ground. "Don't flap your wings, Twilight, or you'll blow the crop all around. We have Fermitons in this section, and all kinds of Quarks over here, but— No, Twilight! Don't walk there!"
Twilight Sparkle stopped abruptly about a half-heartbeat before she tried to stop, then tried to turn before she turned, and eventually looked over at her pink friend in complete perplexion. "?no gniog s'tahW !eikniP"
"The whole Chronoton harvest," she moaned. "Don't worry, Twilight! I'll go get an endochronic rake out of the shed and clear you a path out. Um... !thgiliwT ,kcab thgir eb ll'I !evom t'noD"
From AlicornPriest’s Writer’s Workshop on Chess
https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/750195/writers-workshop-chesscourt
"Ha!" Hench regarded the chess board with no small amount of glee, seeing a light at the end of the long, dark tunnel. He may have been an incompetent minion and an inadequate gunner (as the heroes who escaped on the airship would be willing to testify), but he did know how to play chess. Lord Slaughter had just moved his queen into an attack against the defenses Hench had spent a half-hour putting together, and although it was fairly obvious what he was planning to do, Hench had planned ahead of the Dark Master by about three moves. Fourteen pieces were going to get captured in this exchange, and then it was checkmate for the black king. He reached out for his white knight with a growing smile, then stopped.
"Um. Master? One question."
"Yes, minion?" The Dark Lord lifted his eyes from the report he was reading, then stamped it with the 'Find them and kill them' stamp before passing it off to another minion of the paperwork variety.
"You said we were going to play for my life, which I kinda-sorta presumed meant I needed to win in order to survive, but you never said so in that many words. What happens if I..." His voice trailed off despite Minion's best efforts when the Dark Lord gave a low chuckle.
"Return to your station, minion," he rumbled. "You will practice with the Death Ray before we meet those inconsiderate pests again, will you not?"
"Every available minute, Your Horribleness." Hench bowed and scrambled back to his chair, thankful that the Dark Lord had not only assigned The Rules of an Evil Overlord as required reading, but had read it himself.