Short, more or less unrelated stories written in approximately thirty minutes with a variety of tones and themes
This is the meager collection of stories I wrote a long time ago for the unfortunately now defunct Thirty Minute Ponies, but never uploaded here.
My Most Faithful Student: Celestia worries Winter Care: Fluttershy rescues Angel [mild description of injury that occurs offscreen] Pleasant Rain: Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash's first kiss Winning and Giving in Los Pegasus: Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle play the slots Confusion and Concern: Is Nightmare Moon back?
I might use the extensive list of prompts to continue to grow this collection, but each entry is, of course, complete and self-contained.
She never says no to me, she never even tries to challenge or question me. Twilight Sparkle always obeys me, the Princess of the Sun. Her teacher. She and her friends have the power to defeat any and all enemies of Equestria. So I have them use that power, there's nothing inherently wrong with that fact. Yet it still bothers me.
As a princess herself, Twilight should be willing to work for Equestria. And she is, of course, she always agrees to go. I know that it's not fair to think of it that way, to try to make it seem like she has a choice. She has always respected and obeyed me; I was her princess long before she was crowned, after all. Furthermore, I have never made it seem like she had a choice. Perhaps because she didn't.
She does wield the Elements of Harmony with her friends, the greatest force that exists in all of Equestria, and the greatest of forces is needed to deal with those who would threaten my little ponies. Yet I fear that I ask too much of her. Even the strongest ponies can suffer when put on the path to danger. I have seen her suffer, I have seen her injured and scared, but she always puts on a brave face and heads off to challenge whatever foe has risen to menace us.
Nightmare Moon, dragons, Discord, changelings, King Sombra... how many more until I send her to face a threat she is unable to handle? Everypony has a limit, even her. Yet she pretends that she does not. Perhaps I pushed her to hard, perhaps my expectations were too much too soon. She would deny that, of course. She would argue that she has always been able to succeed with the help of her friends, which is true.
I ask too much of here friends as well. Even if Twilight is never harmed on one of her missions, then one of them will be, one day. They are not alicorns, they are simply very brave and extraordinary ponies. But in my lifetime I have seen a great number of brave and extraordinary ponies go off to their deaths with a brave smile on their faces. They always think that they can handle the danger, that they have to. I told them to, after all.
One day, I will hurt her or one of her friends. And they will never blame me. They will remain dedicated to the mission, they will say that it was the only way, which will probably be true. But that what change the fact that I will have hurt one of them, my Twilight or one of her friends. The sad truth is, I have turned her into me.
I tell her to go on these missions, and her friends go because she tells them they have to save Equestria. Which they do, I can't lose sight of that. Her friends go for her, they are willing to destroy themselves for her because they love her even as I tell her to destroy herself for me. And she listens because she loves me with the devotion that fills their love for her.
Discord was a close call, he did break them all, even though I was able to save Twilight by sending back her letters and she was able to save them. But it was too close. She should have said something, she should have been angry that I did not assist her directly. Instead, she was too loyal to see my folly.
I always want to help her, to shield her from danger even as I send her toward it. Yet one day I will not be there, this is the simple truth. Everything dies. I fear that she will die for me because I was too afraid to help her. I am still a powerful pony, even though I no longer wield the Elements. But I want her to be a strong and capable leader, so I stand back and let her break herself for me. I simply pray that I will be long gone before the day comes when she meets that which she cannot defeat. I hope that I will have passed on in her example, breaking myself for my loyalty. I hope that I will die serving Equestria, but I hope that my eyes will be open to the reality that she cannot yet see. More than anything, I hope, wish, and pray that I will not be responsible for the death of my most faithful student and that she will see a better way than mine when it is her time to guide the ponies of Equestria. Because no one should need to destroy themselves for love.
The barren branches of the trees seemed like talons clawing at the steely sky above them as the wind blew through them. That same wind caused a yellow pegasus mare to shiver as it ruffled her feathers and fur as she trudged across the white landscape, snow crunching under her hooves. Fluttershy stopped walking for a moment as her eyes caught something in the snow. It was a streak of crimson, looking very much like a small splotch of paint on an otherwise blank canvas. Intrigued, she moved towards it, head bowed under the wind.
It did not take her long at all to reach the only piece of color on the snowy ground. A shudder ran through her body that had nothing to do with the wind or temperature when she saw what it was. It was a white rabbit, visible from afar due only to a gash in his side. He was breathing raggedly and shivering like a leaf in the wind, but his eyes locked onto her with a fierce intensity.
Fluttershy cooed softly and reached towards him. She let out a small yelp of pain when his teeth met her hoof. She withdrew and said softly, “Don't be afraid, I only want to help.” She considered her options for a moment before moving quickly. She grabbed the rabbit and secured him in such a way that he could not turn to bite her while also applying pressure to his wound and whispered softly as she flew towards her home at a furious pace. His struggles were of no concern to her, despite their fierce intensity; she was used to injured and scared animals.
By the time she reached her cottage, the rabbit had stopped struggling against her, having realized that he could no more physically overpower her than she could a full grown dragon. He still glared at her as she set him down on her couch. He stared with the same intensity at the few animals in view. Many of Fluttershy's animal friends were hibernating for the winter or had migrated, but some had remained observed Fluttershy and the newcomer calmly and with compassionate eyes; most of them had been taken care of by her after an injury of their own and had seen her tend to other wounded creatures.
Fluttershy flew into her kitchen after depositing the injured rabbit on her green couch in order to retrieve her medical supplies. She flew toward the white box with a red cross on it quickly and grabbed it in her hooves before turning around and returning to her living room in a flash. She landed next to the rabbit and smiled down at him. “I'm going to make you feel better. Please just relax and trust me,” she said in a soft yet strong voice.
The rabbit continued to glare, but made no attempts to bite her as she opened the box and reached toward him. He gave a start and jerked his head toward her, mouth open, when she applied an antiseptic to his wound, but stopped as she murmured soothingly. He allowed her to finish his work without further complaint, but continued to glare at her during the duration of her treatment and pulled away the moment she finished.
Fluttershy flew back into her kitchen after she finished cleaning and bandaging the rabbit's injury to find some food for him. She open a cabinet and took out a ceramic bowl with a floral pattern and filled it with the greens and carrots that she kept for the numerous animals that lived in and visited her cottage. She flew back at a slower pace this time, as she had dealt with her most immediate concern. She placed the bowl in front of the rabbit, who responded with one of his characteristic glares.
He relented, however, and began to eat. He nibbled on some of the carrots, but largely ignored the rest of the food available to him. When he finished, he pushed the bowl away from him and toward the edge of the couch, where it was caught by Fluttershy before it broke against the floor. Upon doing so, he curled up and continued to glare at her until his eyes closed and he fell into a peaceful slumber.
Fluttershy smiled at him with infinite tenderness, like a mother watching her foal, as he slept. He might not like her now, but that was not important to her. She knew that one day he would be grateful for her help, not that that mattered. The only thing that was important was that she help him and show him the kindness of an angel.
Outside, it was raining under a light grey sky. The rain was the pleasant sort; the kind that gives ponies a welcome excuse to stay indoors without being part of a storm that would make one worry about property damage. Two pegasi were currently taking full advantage of this, and huddled together on a couch inside of a cottage. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash sat in a pleasant silence together, listening to the rain beat against the roof. The relaxed atmosphere was not limited to the ponies, however. Fluttershy's animal friends were also more or less silent, save for the occasional sound of one eating from the food bowls lain out throughout the house.
It was a reflective calm, and Rainbow Dash's mind wandered back to when the two were foals in Cloudsdale. “You know,” she said, breaking the silence, “I'm really glad that I met you.”
Fluttershy turned her head to look into Rainbow Dash's eyes and smiled warmly. “So am I,” she replied softly.
Rainbow Dash shook her head and rubbed the back of her neck with one hoof. “No, no, it's more than that. It's not just that we became friends, which I'm really glad about. It's something more than that, y'know? It was just about the best thing that happened to me.”
Fluttershy tilted her head slightly and remained silent, prompting Rainbow Dash to continue.
“Before that, all I really wanted was to become a Wonderbolt, which I still want, of course. But that would be sort of lonely if that's all I had. So I'm really, really glad that we met. Because it gave me somepony to care about. If those bullies hadn't been picking on you, than I might have missed out on meeting the most amazing pony in my life. And that would have been super uncool,” Rainbow Dash finished, her rose colored eyes locking onto Fluttershy's turquoise ones.
Fluttershy smiled even more broadly and replied, “I know what you mean, Rainbow. Without you, I would never have even discovered how much I love all of my little animal friends. And on top of that, you always protected me. I know that when you push me, you do it because you want me to be able to stand up for myself. But that's not all it is. There's so much more to it than that.”
Both ponies fell silent again and began to listen to the rain once more. Rainbow Dash wrapped one wing around Fluttershy's body and pulled her closer, as the yellow pegasus rested her head on the shoulder of her friend. They remained like that for a good while, neither wanting the moment to end. However, all things must come to pass, and the rain began to fall more softly and with less frequency. Sunlight began to filter through the windows and fall upon the two ponies as they sat together as the last of the rain cleared up.
Rainbow Dash sighed and gave Fluttershy a small squeeze before withdrawing her wing. She turned to look into Fluttershy's eyes once again. “I guess what I really mean is that it's not just friendship that we share, as awesome as that is.” A smile flitted across her face as she thought about all the truly awesome things that she had seen the magic of friendship accomplish. “It's something else, too. You're the most important pony I know, Fluttershy.” She grinned. “Although maybe not the most awesome. I think that I have that covered.” The grin was replaced with a broad smile as Rainbow Dash finished, “What I guess I'm trying to say is that I love you.”
Fluttershy's face reflected Rainbow Dash's own: sparkly and honest eyes above a smile that stretched across her entire face. “I love you, too,” she said in a voice barely above a whisper.
Rainbow Dash again scratched the back of her neck with a hoof. “Um, I'm really not too great at this stuff. I think that Rarity would know exactly what to do. Although, I do think that I have a small idea about what ponies might do in this sort of situation.”
“And what might that be?” Fluttershy asked with pretend ignorance.
The birds outside began to sing since the rain had passed and the warmth from the newly revealed sun filled the room as Rainbow Dash leaned towards the other pegasus. The two shared their first of many kisses, and both ponies felt that it could not have been at a more perfect moment.
The garish colors and bright lights of the casino assaulted Twilight Sparkle's eyes while loud and rather unpleasant music launched a simultaneous attack on her ears. The alicorn stood disoriented and tried to take in her surroundings. Based on the architectural style, she surmised that it was supposed to be a representation of the pre-classical era. If so, then the large statue of a grim and fairly comical looking unicorn in the center of the room was presumably supposed to be Starswirl the Bearded. However, they had managed to get his beard completely wrong. It was far too long, even for somepony with the title “the Bearded”, as it snaked around the legs of the statue and off the pedestal on which it rested.
Not that it came as a surprise that accuracy was not a top concern. The employees wore uniforms that looked far more like modern Equestrian armor than anything that existed in Starswirl's time. Twilight sighed and shook her head. She would really need to give a lecture to whoever was in charge. And perhaps suggest a better name than “Unicorniluckia” for the casino. Despite the obvious flaws, it seemed to do well enough. The casino floor was packed with ponies standing at game tables and slot machines.
Twilight Sparkle wore a deep blue robe to hide her wings, as this was just supposed to be a nice vacation to celebrate her coronation. Her friends had suggested it, well really Rainbow Dash had been the driving force and the others had simply gone along. She had been assured that it would be different from anywhere else she had been. That promise, at least, was working out.
The cloak, however, did not seem to work. Perhaps it was because Rainbow Dash, a very visually distinct pony, was standing next to her. Even the most oblivious populace could only be unaware of the looks of a national hero for so long, after all. So, Twilight Sparkle angled her vision towards the ground to avoid the numerous ponies that stopped to gawk at the pair.
Rainbow Dash, on the other hoof, drank in the attention with enthusiasm. She shot smiles and winks at the crowd around them. She even signed a few autographs. She turned to Twilight and grinned. “C'mon, have some fun. That's what we're here for, after all!” she exclaimed.
“Yes,” Twilight replied in exasperation. “We are here to have fun. But my idea of fun does not involve being swarmed by ponies.”
Rainbow Dash shrugged and turned completely away from the crowd. “We're in a casino. Let's play something.”
“Rainbow Dash, the chances of actually winning anything are incredibly low. Casinos don't make money by offering fair chances,” Twilight stated flatly.
Rainbow Dash waved a hoof. “I know, I know. But you don't have to gamble much. Just one bit will get you three chances to win six bits at the most at the slots. Besides, what else are you going to do?”
It was a fair question. Twilight and Rainbow Dash weren't supposed to return to the hotel to meet up with their other friends for a few more hours. “Fine,” Twilight sighed. “But I'm only going to gamble one bit.”
“Suit yourself,” Rainbow Dash replied with a shrug. “I'm going to put all my money into it.”
“Rainbow Dash!”
“I was only joking!” she responded quickly. “I know that the odds aren't fair. I'll only put in one bit, just like you.”
The two friends pushed their way through the crowd toward the slot machines and took two adjacent machines. Rainbow Dash pushed a bit into the slot and pulled the lever.
A bit.
A bale of hay.
An apple.
She snorted and pulled the lever again.
A bit.
A bit.
An orange.
Rainbow Dash pulled the lever for her final chance.
A bale of hay.
A bale of hay.
A bale of hay.
She took off from the ground, jabbed a hoof in the air, and let out a small shout. She shot back down to the floor and waited as the machine presented her winnings. Four bits fell out of the machine and into her outstretched hoof. It wasn't the grand prize, but it was good enough. She turned to Twilight. “Did you get anything?”
“No,” the alicorn answered. “Not that I was expecting to. I'm surprised that you got even the secondary prize, frankly. I heard that the average casino in Los Pegasus pays out rewards to one pony every thirteen hours. I'm not sure if the data is exactly accurate, but it's probably close enough to the truth.”
“So now you're one bit poorer,” Rainbow Dash said slowly, looking at the four bits in her hoof. The quiet seemed to stretch on to Rainbow Dash. “Here,” she said suddenly, holding out two bits. “Since you only gambled because of me.”
“It's fine,” Twilight responded, shaking her head. “It was only one bit.”
“This way we each win a bit,” Rainbow Dash insisted. She grinned. “And if you really have concerns, just buy me something with yours. I hear that this casino has a great historical gift shop. Cheap, too.”
“Sure it does,” Twilight responded sarcastically. “I'm sure that they hired the best historians in Equestria to design the souvenirs. I can't promise anything, but come on.”
The two friends laughed and walked together to the very authentic representations of pre-classical era life present in the gift shop.
Twilight Sparkle ran through the darkness, her breath fogging in the cold air before her. The snow crunched under her hooves as she moved. The wind whipped through her mane, and she chanced a glance behind her. A shiver ran through her body and she redoubled her efforts. She was still being chased by the timberwolves. Their green eyes bobbed in the darkness behind her like wisps waiting to lead an unwitting pony to their doom. Their howls and growls cut through the air, the sounds of a hunt.
It was not her day.
It had started out unusually, but not badly. She had woken to find that she had not returned from a party at Sugarcube Corner, and her friends had also stayed. What had shocked her was to realize that it was still dark at a time when sunlight should have been illuminating all of Equestria. Twilight had woken her friends and gathered the Elements of Harmony. She was extraordinarily glad that Princess Celestia had decided to entrust them to her after the changeling invasion in case something happened again. Fearing that Nightmare Moon had returned, the six ponies had boarded the train to Canterlot. They were only able to make half the trip before it had broken down, leaving them stranded in the wilderness.
They had set out on hoof, only to be chased by a hungry pack of timberwolves. And the luminous eyes of the timberwolves were getting larger.
Twilight gulped and glanced around her, ensuring that her friends were with her. She noticed a dark object on Applejack's back. Checking to make sure that her friend's hat was on her head, Twilight looked more closely. The second object was round. Twilight called in confusion, “Applejack, what do you have on your back?”
“I brought my cider,” the orange pony responded. “There was no sense wastin' it, and I reckoned we might get thirsty and cold.”
An idea started to form in Twilight's head. It was strange that she hadn't noticed one of her friends carrying a barrel until now, but she put it down to stress and confusion. “Fluttershy, what do you know about timberwolves?” she shouted.
The pegasus called back, her voice barely audible above the wind, “Um, they hunt in packs and are at the top of the food chain, they're made of wood so they have an innate fear of fire-”
“That's it!” Twilight shouted triumphantly. “Applejack, your cider is going to save us!”
“How's that, sugarcube?” Applejack asked.
“It's highly flammable!” Twilight focused on the barrel and lifted it with her telekinesis. She probed it with magic until she found the tap. She pushed it open and drenched the snowy ground behind her. Then, with a spark of energy, she ignited it.
A smile crossed her face when she looked back. She could see the timberwolves pulling away from the dancing flames. They howled, but no move to come closer. It had been an obvious solution, really. “We have to keep moving!” she called. “Canterlot is still a few miles away.”
“I really do hope that this does not continue. It would be a rather dreadful pattern if Nightmare Moon keeps coming back,” Rarity sighed.
“But we need to save the day by bringing it back!” Pinkie Pie shouted. “And then we can make sure to show Luna how much we all care about her and make her smile to keep away that shadowy meany!”
The other ponies made noises of agreement and moved on. Rainbow Dash streaked ahead, her colorful contrail lighting the way in the darkness. They could see Canterlot up ahead. It was only a short distance away now.
Twilight felt her body begin to slow. A sharp pain stabbed her side and her muscles ached. Her breathing was harsh, but she refused to give up. They were too close now. If it was Nightmare Moon, then it would be easy to deal with. They had the Elements of Harmony, after all. The weight on her head reassured and comforted her of the simple solution to that problem. And if Nightmare Moon had not returned, then she would find out what was going on from Princess Celestia. Everything would be just fine.
Twilight and her friends ran the remaining distance and entered the city. The unicorn blinked in confusion when she saw ponies walking around like nothing was wrong. She shook her head. Their behavior was irrelevant. She needed to find out was going on.
They through the city and past magnificent buildings toward the castle, its towers and spires visible even from the lowest level of the city. The ponies they passed stopped and stared, whispering amongst themselves. The distance to the castle was a short one compared to the journey that they had just undertaken, and they arrived at it in no time.
Twilight threw open the doors to the throne room and felt a rush of relief when she saw her mentor. “Princess Celestia, what in Equestria is going on? The sun should have been up by now! Did Nightmare Moon return?” The unicorn waited for an answer, chest heaving as she gasped for air.
“Did you run all of the way here?” Celestia asked.
Twilight simply nodded.
“Are you aware of what day it is?” Celestia inquired calmly.
Twilight turned to look at her friends. Blank stares greeted her questioning gaze. She turned back to the princess and shook her head.
