Off we go again! As Impossible Numbers pointed out in the last thread, this month's prompt can be interpreted in more than one way. As such, I shall be interested (as, to be fair, I always am) in seeing what all you fine writers come up with. I can't actually think of much else to say at this point (and "look, squirrel!" won't appeal unless you like squirrels, or I suppose fear them), so it's time to get to the usual boilerplate stuff:

Here are the full rules.
Please use this word counter.

You'll note that Rule 6 has now changed to accommodate G5. Since this means that an active generation is permitted, please bear in mind Rule 9. As always, comments are welcome in the relevant thread.

Remember, there is no prize, as such, for this contest -- but if you win, you will be able to choose the prompt for the next contest. You'll also get a mention on the group's front page. It's possible that your name will also be written in thousand-mile-high letters of fire in the night sky for the world to wonder at, but if that happens please don't blame me.

Prompt: "Love, Ambushed By" (selected by Impossible Numbers)
Rating: E or T
Word limit: 150
Closing date: Tuesday 21st February 2023, 11:59 pm UK time (world clock)

Please reply to this post with your entry. This makes it easier for me to keep track. Please do not leave feedback until after the closing date.

Entries are now open! Have fun!

7797520

"My changeling army, before the dawn we shall suck Christal Empire dry!"

"Good; you're all in one place.” Cadence landed in the middle of the hive. “And you're just asking for it."

"Princess‽ Here!?!” Chrysalis screeched. “We were supposed to ambush you, not the other way around... But no matter, say goodbye to your love."

"That's what I'm here for. As the Princess of Love, I’ve generated so much love in my life that I can’t even control myself anymore. You are the only creatures who can relieve me." Cadence spread her love, irradiating everyling. “Take it! This is what you’re good for.”

Chrysalis crawled to Cadence and brushed a hoof on her leg. "Please, no more; we are full."

"Oh, sweet Chrisy." Cadence caressed the tousled, green mane with a hoof, combing it behind the pointy, black ears. "I've only just begun to love you. This was but a foreplay. Now I’m gonna really make you feel it!"

7797520
The prompt really falls on its face sense this is meant to be an ambush; however, the reader knows it's coming. This needs to be sneaky, and as much as I would love to have Rarity to go after Double Diamond, no one will catch the voice acting joke... it's Pucca and Garu... a logic-breaking stalker and a disinterested ninja.

Nope, I got a better plan.

Wind volleys a flurry of raindrops at the station's windows, rattling the frames to the storm's severity. "It's times like these that I regret living at a bay."

"I'll escort you back home, Sunny."

"And have you fight your way back here alone? Forget it, Hitch, I'm staying."

"But the news said the storm will last all night."

"Then we better get out some extra blankets. There's some over here, right?"

"You can't be serious!" Hitch blocks Sunny's path for the closet, "I'm going to be sleeping here as well."

"So?"

"So you're okay sleeping in the same room with a stallion?"

He was expecting her to react in a lot of ways. Embarrassment, mischievous, anger, all tying her to the thought on his mind; but, her genuine smile was something Hitch was not prepared for, "I trust you."

He could hardly maintain the thought now, "...that's a good trick."

7797520

A little outside the box, also not quite sure if it fits the rating due to unshown, but mentioned self harm and thoughts on suicide. Also written as a slight riff on the 'apparent trope' of Wallflower Blush getting tattoos,which was news to me !

Ink and Insights

Her future had been set the day she picked up the stone in anger. It had become part of the plan, grown organically from the fertile soil of her misery. Once Shimmer had suffered, truly suffered, then... then she'd end it all. Her parents had never noticed the missing bandages, they'd certainly ignore the 'misplaced' hunting rifle.

She'd been trapped even before the stone, but after? The cage of depression, self harm, and self-hate had only become tighter. With just a single, brass jacketed, key to escape.

Yet the embrace of her greatest enemy changed all that.

Now? Her arms still hurt, but it's a good pain, endorphins tingling throughout her system. Wallflower smiled as the needle jumped to and fro, each flower's five petals carefully shaded blue with centres gleaming bright yellow.

She'd hated Sunset Shimmer, foolish really. Who else knew the value of self-love better?

7797633
That's clearly a T-rated fic to me, so it's eligible.

7797847
Excellent, thanks.

7797520

Can't win, because rules. Will post a fic anyway, because me.

For this one, I have to admit the pairing in question isn't one I find canonically compelling. Still, between the writing challenge of figuring out how it might work and the lack of canonical romances to work with in any case, I thought I'd at least give it a go and see. So obviously, I do so via the weird running gag that occurs between the two characters. (Can you guess who they are before the end?)

Also, I'm assuming the [=hr=] cuts don't count as words, otherwise I'm breaking the limit. I know it's not an eligible entry regardless, but there's such a thing as fair play, ya know?

“We’ve got to stop bumping into each other.”

Yet two lives kept clumsily colliding. “Sorry!”

---

They urgently bumped each other at the Crystal Library. They bumped heads over the spellbook. They bumped wings circling round the next umbrum foe.

They bumped at the awards ceremony. “Sorry!”

---

They bumped into each other again at the Crystal Faire. They bumped the restaurant table. They bumped a shelf at the library again, visiting casually today. They gently bumped heads over Harmonic Spell's Heartfelt Songbook.

She bumped his bedroom door. He bumped his PegAir guitar getting it out. “Sorry!”

There were no awkward bumps when he sang her an enchanting song.

---

They bumped off more evil creatures together.

---

They bumped lips. They bumped legs. Even bumped flanks accidentally at the wedding.

---

But then.

Deliberately, he bumped her out of the way. The next evil… struck.

---

Finally, Twilight bumped the coffin.

“S-s-sorry...”

R.I.P., Captain Flash.

7800400

“We’ve got to stop bumping into each other.”

Figured out who they were from the very first sentence

7800512

Oh. OK. Well... at least it's not too cryptic this time, eh?

7797520
Not sure if it counts, I'm kind of stretching the prompt to fit this idea in

Ambushed by an Expression

On an autumn evening, three sisters were walking down the streets of Canterlot City. Despite the cold temperatures, they didn’t have warm clothes, so they jumped and rubbed their hands to somewhat combat the freezing.

They’ve had everything: unlimited food, servants, a huge mansion. It was easy to mind control the Rich family into taking them in, or more specifically Spoiled Rich. Following her around, always being in hearing range so the woman would hear their singing, and finally they got accepted as “lost family members of a love drama between her sister”.

But now, it’s all gone.

“I’m cold!” Sonata cried.

“Don’t you think we all are?” Aria gritted her teeth. 

“I want to go back!” 

“We can’t because of you!” Aria’s fierceful eyes were aimed at Adagio.

However, Sonata thought it was meant for her, so she replied: “I didn’t know that ‘buttering her up’ wasn’t meant literally!”

It was sleeting outside, droplets and hail coalescing and falling down the hospital window. Even through the hazy windows, the towers of the Canterlot Downtown sparkled with a kind of beckoning. If only I'd been there instead.

I looked up reluctantly, "Hey kiddo." I tried to ignore his scrapes and bandages. "How ya doin, Snipsy?"

Snips tilted his head. eyeing my full arm cast.

I had gotten hit the hardest, the applewood cart... Well, it was barely salvageable. Inevitably like...

I sighed. "I owe you and your parents and apology. I'm... a bad influence to be around you."

Snips stepped closer, mercifully distracting me from my sister in law ('s death glare). Snips prodded my cast. "Does it hurt?"

I shook my head. "The cast, It's too hard--"

Snips met my eyes. Suddenly I was squished in the growing boy's pudge, warmth radiating from him.

I...

"It'll be okay."

This is my bonus entry! Consider it ineligible.
Bonk.

Edit:
Happy Valentine's Day!

7797520

“—And I mean I don’t want Sunny to expect it when I ask her out, but I don’t want her to be so caught off guard that she doesn’t know what to do, you know?” Izzy sighed. “I just really hope this plan works.”

Looking over from the controls of the Marestream, Zipp flashed Izzy a smile. “Just try not to overthink things. You’re special to Sunny, y’know? She’ll know what you’re trying to say, even if it doesn’t feel like it’s coming out right.”

“You’re right, I just gotta… trust in myself!” Izzy breathed. “So she’ll know that I was just trying to protect the big surprise when I hit her in the head and stuffed her in a sack, right?”

Zipp blinked, then looked at the large, wobbling bag in the backseat area. “Huh. I was wondering what that was for…”

Roughly two and a half days remaining to enter, folks!

Just under 24 hours to go!

7797520
Okay, I think I finally came up with an idea that isn't M-rated.

“Wow! What a magnificent view!” exhaled Thunderlane, looking at majestic mountain peaks, razor-edged crags, and gorges with perilous torrents of wind blowing through them.

“I’m so glad that you allowed me to go for this field training. Even as I joined Wonderbolts only this month,” Thunderlane looked at perilous ‘training grounds’ again. “I’ll do everything to keep up and justify your trust!”

“Don’t thank me just yet,” smirked Spitfire. “I don’t actually trust you enough to train with us this time.”

“What?”

“So, for now, you’ll just watch how we fly. Maybe learn a thing or two.”

“Just watch?!”

“Actually,” Spitfire grinned and opened the field kitchen. “You’ll also cook us dinner.”

---

“Oh, pretty nice!” said Soarin while munching. “When I was on a rookie job, I never could make steamed hey this tender.”

“Or tasty enough,” added Spitfire.

“Maybe I just cook with love,” joked Thundrlane. Half-joked.

7797520

"Uh..." The orange pony paled, as device slid off from her back, clattering to the ground. A composite shell glowing with manacrystals.

"Have you been FLYING?!"

"Well, I," Scootaloo gulped, her tiny wings fluttering nervously. "Yeah, kind of?"

"Scootaloo." Rainbow dash said, face a mask of solemnity. "I. Am. So. Proud!" Rainbow Scooped the young mare into her forelimbs, nuzzling her affectionately. When she disengaged, there were tears in her eyes. "How?"

Scootaloo felt the rush of blood in her cheeks! It hadn't been easy, but her cutie mark was in machinery after all! Of course she and Rainbow went flying together as soon as they could. For the first time, Scootaloo understood what it was like to be a pegasus! It was dream come true--until Scootaloo's manawings melted and, regrettably, she promptly fell to her death.

7797520
I had an easy time of writing for this prompt. I guess I'll need to switch to another mare for next month's prompt. As is usual, it's exactly the word count maximum.

Rarity had known she loved her son from the moment she’d learned he existed; really, even before then she’d loved the idea of him. It had been exhilarating to know she carried within herself half of her children, who would continue their lineage in the same way she would; the day she found their other half had been one of the best days of her life, next to the day on which she married him. Today, however, threatened to eclipse them. After nearly a year of waiting, she held him not between her legs in her belly, but between her legs lying with her on a bed. His hooves and horn were still covered in feathers, and they were staring at each other. He had so many of his and her features in him; he was gorgeous.

She didn’t even know his name yet, but she knew she loved him.

7797520

And here is now my flashfic for February 2023. I am getting the "Cutting it Fine" award again, or rather, the "Cutting it Slightly Less Fine" award, because submitting one hour before the deadline is lame. And this will be the only award I get, because this flashfic is very far over the limit with 203 words, but I like what I wrote here way too much to cut something away, so I decided to, for the first time, participate out of competition this month.

This flashfic also turned out to be a sequel to my flashfic from November 2020. It shows one of the events that happened after the Tree of Life was killed:
.

Sweetie Belle looked at the crowd of ponies, regret and pain flashing through her soul and her heart. Her mind was bitter, her face tarnished with grief where there was normally the youthful, cute happiness that everypony, and especially her fellow adventurers, cherished. She moved her eyes over the crowd, taking in all the details of the terrible scene that took place in front of her, as if she were searching for one thing that would lift her heavy heart, but truth be told, she did not really have hope to find such. These ponies were fighting, they were trapped in their discontent and resentment for each other; if it was hatred and damnation as well, Sweetie Belle could not say, but in her heart, she feared the worst.
"There is no love here anymore." She turned around at her escort and her eyes filled with tears. "Love is the first thing that dies when life itself is dying." She sniffed, a short requiem for a world that was about to fall.
"Why did you do it? Why did you have to?" Questions asked that had been asked before and yet there was no answer. Only guilty faces that looked back at her.

7797576 7797590 7797633 7800400 7800832 7802756 7805459 7805482

Okay, that's all, folks! A slightly smaller entry this month, but certainly enough. Thank you to all entrants!

Usual setup now: I take a few days to think and then announce my winner. Feedback is open!

7805513
Uh, did mine qualify? Checking since I wasn’t tagged in this post.

7805513
Same question here. Is there a problem with my entry?

7805544 7805552 Perhaps your stories were already judged and were found wanting.

The removal of your stories is like precum preselection.

7805544 7805552

Yes, your stories are fine. Looks like I made a bleah in not tagging everyone -- sorry. Apart from Impossible Numbers as part month's winner, everyone who entered is eligible.

7805627

Apart from Impossible Numbers as part month's winner, everyone who entered is eligible.

Really? My entry has 203 words, though, and I said in my post I'm participating in this month's thread out of competition. I also noticed that you didn't mention how Bad Dragon's entry from last month is a few words over the limit. Are you thinking about changing the rules, I wonder?

7805659
Everyone who *entered*. If you go over the word count, I assume you're just posting for fun.

I do this for fun, too...

7805674

Everyone who *entered*.

Oh, my brain made "Just posting a flashfic in the thread" from "entered". I operate on only 3 hours of sleep today, so processing of words is faulty.
.

I do this for fun, too...

If I wouldn't find it fun to write flashfics, then I wouldn't be here. And of course it is fun to try winning. But the real prize is writing a flashfic each month in the first place.

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Results time! A smaller entry than some months, so just the one hon mensh, but you still made it very difficult. Everyone who entered, thank you.

Hon mensh: EileenSaysHi -- A fun little G5 scene that made me giggle, and also I like the Marestream so I was probably biased with the setting.
Winner: Moproblems Moharmoney -- Equestria Girls isn't (aren't?) always the easiest sell to me, especially when the fic is a serious one, but your story caught my attention and made me want to know more. I appreciated that.

So, congrats to both -- and Moproblems Moharmoney, it falls to you to provide us with the March prompt. It's fine if you want to take a day or so to think it over, but when you have one please post it in this thread.

7807131
Thanks kindly! I expect I'll fold it into my greater body of work at some point lol

Since all the cool kids are doing it...

Theme: Multiversal Mayhem

(Following the rules of course)

7807183 So, the prompt for next month is: 'Since all the cool kids are doing it...' and an entry must involve multiversal mayhem?

7807183
"Multiversal Mayhem" it is! Thanks; I'll update the front page now.

7807183
Cool! Maybe I'll have a follow up about why Trixie had eyes on that terrible day.

7807187

'All the cool kids are doing it' was more a joke about how everything has a multiverse or is involving one now.

7807183

Well played, Moproblems Moharmoney, and congratulations for the win. 👍

Just looked at that prompt, and I'm already thinking "Equestria Girls" somehow. On a scale of one to ten, how minus is my creativity?

7807131

Out of aesthetic curiosity, were the frequent [=hr=] uses too much? I'm thinking I should have used a simple * in the centre.

Also, not that I'm not pleased at all, but - Jeez, where did all those likes come from? I've never seen that before. Besides, I assumed TwiFlash was pretty obscure as a ship (especially compared with Twi-any-member-of-the-Main-Six). Did I simply happen to strike a popular concept there?

7807529 You had easy-going comedy on your side. That's where all the likes came from.

7807529
I'm with Bad Dragon here. Your story was just a good, fun read -- ending notwithstanding! I don't think TwiFlash is that obscure, either, though it's probably faded quite a lot in the years since the EqG movies appeared.

As for the horizontal lines, I think they come into the time-honoured category of "clever ways to work within the rules, admired by the judge" -- which of course implies that if that kind of thing gets too much, said judge may act. I'm pretty neutral on the specifically aesthetic impact.

7807532
7807538

Ah, I see. That's good to know. Oddly, I didn't think of it as a comedy - I was going more for "cute romance with dramatic twist" - but perhaps I could use that again.

Feedback phase again, this time just in the right moment to end the month with it*!

7797576

Ah, another classical Bad Dragon story. This time with more black humor again, something I also still remember.
Sailing a bit close to tasteless territory here, as it uses a reference to rape for humor's sake, which becomes clear through the title and the way Cadance talks to Chrysalis at the end, but it's a fun and interesting way to defeat Chrysalis. And of course Chrysalis' love-sucking isn't consensual, either, so it's par for the course.
Also, is "Christal" intentional and a reference to something? Perhaps a reference to certain..... priests?

7797590

Hmm, I was hoping for a more wholesome, cute ending here. I like that this is a SunnyTrail shipfic, but it went into much of a different direction than I thought it would. What did Hitch mean with his sentence at the end? It sounds like he suspects that Sunny wants to lure him into a trap, so that she can frame him later, but I think it's obvious to everyone that Sunny would never do something like that. Not to mention that Hitch and her know each other since they were foals and that she definitely trusts him because of that.
The only other way how I can see this is that Hitch thinks Sunny wants to get it on with him and that this is the reason why she stays. But it's also clear what she means with "I trust you", that he won't make any advances on her, and she wouldn't say that if she hopes for advances. So I'm not sure what to make of this sentence by him.

7800400

A tragic love story. I knew the story is about Twilight and Flash Sentry right when I read the first sentence. I despise EQG with the passion of a burning heart, but some sentences from the first movie are painfully stuck in the mind.
This flashfic doesn't sell me on Twilight and Flash Sentry romance stories, but the focus on bumping in various contexts, with the twist of him bumping her out of the way of an attack and then dying from it, followed by Twilight bumping into his coffin at the funeral, cuts deeply into the feelings and the heart. No wonder that your comment got so many upvotes. Now it has one more.
.

Can't win, because rules. Will post a fic anyway, because me.

That sounds so much like you. I am glad that the old writing spirit of yours is back.

7802756

I already love this alone for the fact that it is about a different kind of love than romantic love, the love between a foal and his parent. I'm only confused by the way Snips' dad is addressed here, the screenshot you linked shows Snips and his dad together, but this is being contradicted by him talking about Snips' parents. This makes it sound like this isn't the dad of Snips who is talking there, yet your inspiration is a screenshot of him together with Snips. I love the take on the prompt, but I am confused who we hear talking there.
There are a few typos in your flashfic that break the flow of reading rather drastically. "Snips tilted his head. eyeing my full arm cast." should have a comma instead of a period, "I owe you and your parents and apology." has a second "and" instead of "an" and "The cast, It's too hard--" has "it" accidentally capitalized.
It's still an enjoyable read, but these errors distract from the moment quite a bit.

7804415

Well, that escalated quickly. Reminds me a little when Izzy went and cut down a tree with her horn, that gave me the same "What the fuck?" feeling between amazed and disturbed. I don't yet know what the "marestream" is (and don't want to know if that isn't something you came up with for your flashfic, no spoilers) and I'm not 100% sure what happened here (Izzy jumps from talking about confessing her love to Sunny to talking about explaining her why she knocked her out and stuffed her into a sack), but I love what I'm reading. Izzy definitely has a bit of a psychopathic side and I have the feeling she is worse than Pinkie in that.
"We're not gonna fry your brain, okay?"

7805158

That's more like it! Your dialogues in last month's flashfic were a bit cookie cutter, but these ones feel a lot more immersive and captivating. Great improvement!
The only thing I have to point out (other than two missing words and a missing letter, but I'm not focusing too much on this at the moment, as I can see how you got better here) is that the prompt of love being ambushed by something isn't present, instead there is merely a short mention of love at the end, but I'm happy to see the improvements here!

7805174

Well, that made me happy and then it pulled me down..... Why this sudden, tragic end? I guess you were going for a bitter twist, but with how sudden it comes and combined with the words "regrettably" and "promptly", the end makes it sound like she was always going to fail, which feels like the narrator makes fun of her. And why did Rainbow Dash not save her, even though they were flying together?
I like the way how you described everything else (minus more typos, but after reading this, I somehow feel too crushed to point them out) and I love Steampunk Machine Builder Scootaloo, but the end was a heavy punch in the gut.

7805459

Nice take (even though I can't see how Rarity's love for her foal got ambushed) and interesting to see that this is a sequel to your flashfic from last month. Eventually, I want to write a series of flash fics here that are all interconnected and form a bigger story at the end while meeting all the prompts. Maybe I'll do that next year.
I still wonder what the feathers mean, even more so now, as you describe them as "still there", implying they will eventually disappear.

*Yes, in the universe of this comment it's still February, cause that was when I started writing the feedback.

7807566

I am also wondering how your flashfic can be seen as "comedy". It's very clearly a tragic story that makes you look back at the good times in a bittersweet way.

7808547
My attempt was to make a 'lust vs. love' scenario, using a scene I saw during a playthrough of Persona 5 as my source of inspiration (it's at 4:26:38 if you're interested).

A quick summary is that teenage girl wants to sleep in a room consisting of teenage boys, subtle hints that the boys might give into their hormones, but girl tames thoughts by putting pressure on their conscious in one gentle swoop. Sunny and Hitch are similar to these kids as they have a friendly relationship between themselves, but they're still young and are undergoing experiences that they've never went through before (such as being an Alicorn or a father). Love is often difficult during this time as it could be misguiding, mixing with their hormones that're beginning to influence their lives.

Speaking as a guy, boys are more prone to act on their instincts (being the initiators), but girls have a greater hold on how the course of events will be played out (being the motivators). The last line was basically Hitch complimenting Sunny on how easily she broke the plaguing thoughts that he's struggling to fend off.

7808547 Chrysalis already pictured taking over the empire, renaming it in advance in her own name from Cristal Empire to Christal Empire.

It's actually just a grammatical mistake on my part.

7808547

I despise EQG with the passion of a burning heart,

That's fair enough. It took me years to even consider watching it, and I nearly quit after the first movie confirmed some of my suspicions. Stands to reason it's not going to be everyone's cup of tea.

7808550

If I had to guess, maybe the comedy is part of the "sweet" in "bittersweet"? Perhaps it's just funny that they not only clumsily bump into each other, but keep doing it over and over and over.

That sounds so much like you. I am glad that the old writing spirit of yours is back.

Hey, thanks for the vote of confidence! Even if it's just a few flashfic words, it's nice to get the old creative gears grinding again, I can tell you.

7808590

Oh, so by saying "I trust you.", Sunny made Hitch want to live up to the trust she gives him. She said that and he didn't want to disappoint her, so he kept his hormones in check. What power there is in just one sentence that is being spoken in the right moment. This is fascinating.
And this feels so much like Sunny, that's exactly what she would say in a moment like that. Same for Hitch's response and his entire demeanor here. They form such a sweet melody together. Gosh, I love this ship.

7808723

If I had to guess, maybe the comedy is part of the "sweet" in "bittersweet"? Perhaps it's just funny that they not only clumsily bump into each other, but keep doing it over and over and over.

I know what in the story it is that they mean when they say "comedy", though, if these small, humorous parts are a build-up to such a tragic twist that involves bumping, can it really be called "comedy" then? It would probably be viewed as such throughout most of the story, but once the end is reached, the previous parts start to feel very much different, so with that in mind, does it really remain comedy after reading the end?
.

Hey, thanks for the vote of confidence! Even if it's just a few flashfic words, it's nice to get the old creative gears grinding again, I can tell you.

I like to see them grinding, too. Now I only hope that the gears of time will soon grind in my favour, so that I can read more of your work. It feels like I'm missing out on so much.

7808547

I already love this alone for the fact that it is about a different kind of love than romantic love, the love between a foal and his parent.

I decided the stallion in the screenshot is Snips' uncle. Now let me clarify the context! The idea is that Snips' parent(s) have beef against the uncle (Tu for short). So, it was a really big deal to the uncle that they let the him back into Snips' life.
And then it all ended up in a disaster. Queue fic!
-Also, Snips' dad in this fic may or may not be dead, and the Uncle may or may not have been directly part of the accident, and that's why he thinks his sister in law hates him.

There are a few typos in your flashfic that break the flow of reading rather drastically...

Ah yes.

t's still an enjoyable read

Yes!

As for the Scootaloo story, I wrote it mostly spontaneously. Though the "Scootaloo being a gifted inventor thing" I probably lifted from Austraeoh (MWAHAAHAHA), and I had a little difficulty trying to justify how exactly Scootaloo made the wings. I had something about how Doctor Hooves let Scootaloo use his workshop.
I'm happy to hear you enjoyed it! As for the end, I realized that I could kill off Scootaloo, and... I unleashed her fate.

Thank you for the feedback!

7812917

I decided the stallion in the screenshot is Snips' uncle. Now let me clarify the context! The idea is that Snips' parent(s) have beef against the uncle (Tu for short). So, it was a really big deal to the uncle that they let the him back into Snips' life.
And then it all ended up in a disaster. Queue fic!
-Also, Snips' dad in this fic may or may not be dead, and the Uncle may or may not have been directly part of the accident, and that's why he thinks his sister in law hates him.

Oh, very intriguing story! Snips' uncle is responsible for the death of Snips' dad by having caused an accident, so Snips' mom (his uncle's sister-in-law) didn't let him see Snips, out of fear that he could kill him too. After a while, Snips' uncle managed to convince her of letting him see Snips again and they went to the Applewood Derby together. But then an accident happened there too, Snips was injured and all the progress and the trust that was built up got destroyed. I am wondering if she ever lets him see Snips again after this.

This is the kind of story there need to be more of, I wish everyone in the fandom would think so deeply about background ponies.
.

As for the Scootaloo story, I wrote it mostly spontaneously. Though the "Scootaloo being a gifted inventor thing" I probably lifted from Austraeoh (MWAHAAHAHA), and I had a little difficulty trying to justify how exactly Scootaloo made the wings. I had something about how Doctor Hooves let Scootaloo use his workshop.
I'm happy to hear you enjoyed it!

I loved all of it, except for the end.
.

As for the end, I realized that I could kill off Scootaloo, and... I unleashed her fate.

Cruel.