> Six Word Stories > by Dustin Lange > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Twilight (Dustin Lange) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Twilight It was a dark, overcast morning in Ponyville when Twilight woke. Perfect for the way she was feeling. She was laying in her bed remembering all the good times she had with her friends, wishing things could go back to the way they were. She could think and wish all she wanted, but nothing could change the past, something she knew all too well. She almost called out for Spike to start brewing her morning tea, but stopped herself; Spike wasn't there. Drawing in a long breath and holding it in for a second, she had to reassure herself she wasn't going to cry... not again, anyway. Once she got a hold of herself and knew she could hold it together, she got up and made her way to her bathroom. She wanted to look presentable, after all. She turned on the shower and got in. The water was ice cold but she didn't even flinch, her body was already numb from the pain she had experienced. As the water slowly warmed, so too did her body. Her muscles relaxed with the warm water running through her coat and mane. The stress visibly washed off of her body and mind, allowing her to think a little more clearly. With her mind clear, all of the memories came flooding back to her in an instant and she collapsed, unable to handle what she was remembering. Without so much as moving her face out of the relentless pounding of the water, or holding her head where a bruise was already forming, she began to cry. She cried from all of the pain the memories brought. She cried from the pain of not being able to make any more memories with those she cared for the most. She just laid there, unmoving, and not caring about anything else for almost a full hour. Once the water lost its warmth, she decided to get out and continue her day as best as she could. After drying off, brushing her mane and teeth, and covering the bruise on her head with a little bit of makeup, she made her way down the stairs and into the kitchen. She decided on something simple for breakfast; pancakes and her usual morning tea. She took the pancakes and tea to the dining area and sat at the end of the table. For almost a full minuet, Twilight stared into nothing, not even thinking. She came out of her stupor with a small shake of her head. Stabbing her fork into the top pancake and drinking all of her tea in one breath, she stood up and walked to the kitchen door. Twilight looked around the room from the kitchen doorway and spotted a few books lying around. Spike was supposed to clean up before it happened, but he never got the chance. After placing the books back on the shelves, she sat down on the couch in front of the fire place and stared into the fire. She sat there all day, waiting for someone - anyone - to come through the library door. Someone she could talk to... someone who was a friend. Once the fire was nothing more but ash and embers, Twilight got up from her spot. She didn't go anywhere; she just stood there for a while, not knowing what to do. She thought about Celestia for a moment, and got an idea. She should write a friendship report. Walking over to her study, she found parchment, an ink well and a quill, and started a hoof-written letter. Dear Princess Celestia Today, I learned about what it is like to not have friends, and how hard it is. Without friends, your life is boring and meaningless. There is no laughter to brighten your day up, no one to show how loyal and honest you can be, and no one to be kind and generous to. You have no one there to help you through the hard times, and no one to share the few good times you might have with. Today, magic is dead. Goodbye, my friends... > Twist (Noble Thought) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Twist was in her element. Excitement bubbled through her mind and the smell of candy and mint filled the air along with the quiet background noise of the town square bustling just the other side of the counter and candy salesroom. Everywhere within her kitchen lay the half-started pieces of candy that had struck her on a whim to create. Small striped drops, large striped lollipops on candy string necklaces and more lay in various stages of completion all about. In the midst of the chaos, juggling twisting loops of peppermint, spearmint and evermint, Twist danced about with yet more strands of the soft taffy-like Ever Pepper Spearmint hung bundled together around a high neck-guard. An incautious visitor was like to lose an eye while Twist was creating her signature candies. She glided through her kitchen, tossing the loops around her neck high and catching them between cloth booted hooves to spin and fling them again up again with a toss of her head to start again with the next strand before any one of them could cool too much. Over and over, she repeated this process, building up what would become a giant candy cane for Hearth's Warming Eve. She could already see it in her mind's eye. Though the hot strands of candy were still flexible and tacky and lacked their shape, already the green and red and gold bands were appearing, distinct and brightly festive, as she stretched and thinned it, then looped it together and twisted it about again. This one would be especially intricate, with five or six bands of alternating colors running the entire length of the cane. A visitor did come by, but didn't stop her in her creation process. She didn't recognize the young colt, but she laughed as he stared at her with his mouth agape while she danced about her kitchen. She was almost done. She winked at her young visitor and sped up the pace of her dance, putting the last flourishes at the top of the cane, inspired in the moment by the appearance of the colt. But one piece, she left unworked at what would be the bottom. This wouldn't go into the finished product, she decided. Instead, she would would make it for him. Just a little taste of Hearth’s Warming eve ahead of the holiday; a little bit of extra happiness in these cold winter days. She whipped the long strand into the air and caught the end before it could crash into the ceiling. With a deft twist and a flourish, she rolled up the very tip into a neat ball and snapped it off before catching the strand and looping it around her neck again. She stopped her dance, and posed for him, one hoof holding up the small lump of candy cane. She laughed again and clicked her hind hooves together when he stomped his hoof approvingly. “Thank you! Thank you!” She bowed with a flourish of the ball of candy. Only then did he ask he ask her, "What are you making, Twist?" She held the still gooey ball of Ever Pepper Spearmint out to him. "Twists, candy and happiness. Want some?" > Rainbow Dash (Dustin Lange) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rainbow Dash Now that Rainbow thought about it, she led a fulfilling life. She joined the Wonderbolts and traveled around the world performing for ponies, griffins, zebras, and minotaurs alike. She slowly moved her way up through the ranks of the Wonderbolts until she was captain, and she stayed there for fifteen years. Spitfire only made it twelve years as captain. Rainbow was very proud to be able to say she out lasted The Great Spitfire. After every show, she would go out and meet her fans and sign autographs for them. At the time, she thought they were all her friends, something that might have been true at one time, but not anymore. Once she retired, she stopped getting fan mail and the paparazzi slowly stopped chasing her, (Not like they could keep up with her anyways.) Eventually, her name was lost to other, younger Wonderbolts. Scootaloo, for example. After all that time in the spotlight, she thought it would be nice to be able to have some time to herself for a change. She could finial do the really important things, like taking naps at two in the afternoon, or pranking ponies with Pinkie Pie again. But all of those things were in the past now, and would never return. Everypony needs to settle down at some point in their lives, it just took longer for Rainbow than most. And now that she was lying in a hospital bed, she was regretting ever settling down. She was going to miss Pinkie's little snort she gave after pranking somepony. The one thing she was going to miss the most from Pinkie though, was her parties. Pinkie can throw one hell of a party. She was going to miss her best cheering section she ever had, that section being Fluttershy. After all of the competitions she had with Applejack, there was still no winner. No matter what they did, they would always tie. She would miss that as well. Even though she hated standing still and dresses both with a burning passion, she would still miss the time spent with Rarity modeling for a new dress she was making. Those were relaxing times though, and relaxing was one thing Rainbow loved to do no matter what time of the day - or night it was. Rainbow was even going to miss studying with Twilight. All of that studying helped her in her career as a Wonderbolt, and for that, she could never pay Twilight back what she felt she owed her. Once here friends were in the room, she really started to realize how much she loved all of them, and how much she was going to miss them. There was not a single dry eye in the room when Rainbow left them. But they all knew that she died the way she wanted to. The last words Rainbow spoke before slipping into her eternal rest were, "Loyal friends stay to the end." > Apple Bloom (Dustin Lange) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Apple Bloom To say Apple Bloom was upset would be like saying the ocean is damp, or that Pinkie Pie makes sense. She was angry that Applejack was treating her like a foal. "Why does Applejack have to be so protective over me? Ah'm sick of it!" she said to nopony in particular as she paced her bedroom floor in front of her bed. "All she ever does is tell me not to do somethin'!" she kicked a ball sitting on her floor. It sailed right into her nightstand, knocking it over with a loud BANG! Anticipating what was to come, she cringed. "What was that? Are y'all all right up there...? Apple Bloom?" Applejack yelled up the steps. "Ugh! Ah'm fine, Applejack!" she responded as she set the nightstand back up. She continued her fuming and pacing of the floor, creating a small canal in her wake. "Apple Bloom don't do this! Apple Bloom don't do that! Apple bloom are you okay? I told you not to do that Apple Bloom!" she said in a mock Applejack voice, doing a decent job at sounding like her. "Did you say somthin'?" came another concerned shout from the bottom of the stairs. "No, ah didn't say a thing, Applejack!" she responded in a snide tone. "Oh, well, if'n y'all need anythin', just give a holler, all right?" "Ah know, no need to worry about me!" by this time, she was about to explode from how angry she was. Her hooves were pounding on her wooden floor, her nostrils flared, face red and her teeth clenched. For a while, she said nothing and just walked in front of her bed, deep in thought. She wondered if it was the same for Sweetie Belle and Rarity, but concluded that they got along to well for this type of thing to happen between them. "Lucky Sweetie Bell!" she yelled and kicked a leg of her bed, immediately regretting doing so. "Mother of Celestia!" she yelled, hopping up and down on her three good legs. While she was writhing in pain, she failed notice the hoof steps making their way up the stairs and to her door. Applejack slammed open her bedroom door. A large, crazy looking smile plastered on her face. "Ya hollered?" Apple Bloom decided to go to bed early that night. "Go away, Ah'm tryin' to sleep."