> Fluttercheer's "Everypony is important." Flashfic Anthology
>  by Fluttercheer
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> January 2020: Lily Longsocks nearly missed it (Prompt: A Near Miss)
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Lily Longsocks' vision was blurry as she opened her eyes. She had trouble making out details in her room and her head still felt cloudy from the sleep. Then, a searing hot realization came over her: She had fallen asleep while reading the last pages of her newest book, at 8 PM in the evening!
Shock on her face, Lily jumped up from her chair and knocked it down in the process. Her eyes brushed over the clock ever so slightly while she moved, it was five minutes before midnight! The new year was almost here and her friends waited outside with the fireworks!
In a rush, Lily put on her winter coat, a scarf and boots. She grabbed a firecracker from next to the door and bolted outside. Panting, she arrived on town plaza, where Dinky Hooves and her other friends waited.
“You nearly missed it!” Dinky frowned.
> February 2020: Not Superior (Prompt: Departures)
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White hooves pounding on asphalt at a breathtaking speed. A blonde mane flying in the wind, the result of her own tempo. Blue eyes that were focused on the grey building in the distance and on the smoke that rose up behind it. Blonde mane and blue eyes, Aryanne never gave anything about this shit. It didn't make her a superior being, she was just born that way, why did they think it made her better than others? Maybe she looked like them, but they weren't her people, not everypony who looked like that had a god complex.
And now they captured her friend. She hid him for so long, why did it matter to them that his coat was brown and his mane black?! They were the same, inside.
He was in the train, his departure near. All she could do anymore was saying goodbye. Aryanne sobbed, tears flowing.
> March 2020: Coronet's Virus (Prompt: Face Your Fears)
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Coronet chuckled. “You look so scared..... amusing. Even though it's so small that you can't even see it, your pupils constrict, your breath goes faster..... and is that a puddle between your hindlegs? Hahaha.” She shook the little glass tube in front of the face of the other filly, the filly she had cornered in the tiny room a minute ago.
“Do you know its name? I call it 'Corona'. I made it just for you, Cozy. Well, for you, and maybe a few more enemies that decide to get into my way down the line..... if any other pony is foolish enough, that is.”
The young, villainous mastermind pulled a mask over her face, then opened the tube. “You were a good rival, Cozy. But Equestria is only mine.”
Coronet poured the transparent liquid over Cozy Glow's face. Five seconds later, Cozy's nose started bleeding. Coronet shut the door.
> April 2020: Let it fall, let it fall. (Prompt: So Long and Goodnight)
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The yellow filly, sitting on the roof of her house, looked at the sky. It wasn't the real sky, but that didn't matter. The stars and the sun weren't real, either, just glowing machines constructed by Sombra Corporation. Which also didn't matter. Nothing mattered anymore. Because the stars, the sun and the sky, they all came falling down on them.
And maybe that was for the best. They were poor, starving throughout the year and freezing in Winter. There was no perspective, nor hope. She did not mourn her fate.
“Let it fall, let it fall, we are small, so let it fall,” the filly sang quietly.
And in the last few seconds, as the plate was close to end the pain, she looked at the crying ponies below her. Their faces were so different than hers.
Her heart stung only for a moment. “So Long and Goodnight, Sector 7.”
> May 2020: The New Future (Prompt: I'm Flying Without Wings)
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It was madness. Utter madness. Pure. Unfiltered. Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth in a nervous fashion, as she glanced around from her position at one of the tables of Clover Café. Something was requesting her attention in a few meters distance and she unwillingly directed her eyes at it. Scootaloo was flying there, waving her hoof fervently to be noticed by her big sister and mentor. “Hey, Rainbow Dash, look how high up I am!” She was flying upside down, face pointing at the ground.
Rainbow Dash frowned. “Yeah. That's great.” Her face was a distorted mess of frustration and unhappiness.
Around Scootaloo's tail was a metallic ring, which she constantly flung around with it. Giggling, a few other pegasus fillies with the same contraptions flew past Rainbow Dash.
“Pegasi flying without wings..... If that's the new future, I don't want to be a part of it,” Rainbow Dash muttered.
> June 2020: Monster (Prompt: Dream a Little Dream)
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The beast's eyes glistened, filled with desperation and fervent hunger. They called it “monster”, she called it a life who needs to eat. Scootaloo didn't mind being the prey herself now.
The beast stuck out its split tongue, hissing, then brought the last inches between it and the filly behind. Scootaloo dove to the left and the fangs bit air. She let the stud of the sword she was holding with her wing come down on the beast's head and hit it right next to its horn, before its purple snake tail could wrap itself around her, and the slit-shaped pupils became covered by eyelids.
Scootaloo looked at the unconscious lamia filly. “Everypony else wants to kill you, but I'm not like them. Now dream your little dreams while I get out of this forest.” Scootaloo placed a chunk of raw meat from her satchel on the ground and left.
> July 2020: Irreplaceable (Prompt: After the Storm)
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After the storm, sunshine came. Sunshine between the trees, sunshine between the houses, sunshine on the lake. But not sunshine in her heart. The filly she lost was irreplaceable. Not irreplaceable for herself, but for those who loved her most. What would she tell her parents?
Cloudkicker sobbed, looking down at the mangled form in front of her. Only a small part of the originally purple-hued coat was still visible, the rest was crimson red. The teenage pegasus sobbed stronger, eyes trying to spot the filly's head in vain. No foal deserved to die like this. It wasn't her fault, the Storm King's sudden attack. But she had failed to protect her protégé.
Cloudkicker reached out to remove the debris from the filly's head, hooves and wings shaking.
“Cloudkicker!”
The foalsitter stopped in her movement and a purple-colored filly flung herself into her arms. “I'm so glad I found you!”
> August 2020: The Early Pegasus (Prompt: Early Bird)
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Wrapped in green magic, cardboard birds aimed for a gummy worm that rested unsuspectingly on wooden planks. They couldn't reach it, though, an orange and red blur zipping in front of them. Scootaloo flew onto the stage, her real wings tucked into the wings of the red bird costume Rarity had made. Pecking, she snatched the worm and it disappeared inside the costume's beak, gobbled up by the pegasus like a true bird would.
Scootaloo looked into the audience, awesomeness shining from her eyes. She grinned and stroke a pose. “The early bird catches the worm!”
Quiet, mildly impressed clapping occurred.
Behind the curtain, Apple Bloom looked at the scene with doubt. “Was it a good idea that Scootaloo got herself a flight potion?”
“I'm not worried,” Sweetie Belle replied, calm-faced and smiling. “Zecora said it will only turn her into a real bird if she drinks it non-stop.”
> September 2020: The Heart of the Storm (Prompt: Atmosphere)
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Torrents of rain soaked the ground behind her just a second after she fled under the protective roof. Tornado Bolt loved when it rained, she was a pegasus born for the storm and the rain. But even a pegasus like her needed to take care of her health. The remains of a cold were not in her favor. No dancing in the rain this time.
As the grey filly sat down on the bench, lighting made it day again for a moment, then thunder ripped the sky above her apart. An explosion in backwards order. The most intimidating elements of nature gave their all to sow fear and anguish in the hearts of ponies, but she loved it.
Tornado Bolt flashed a smile up to the clouds as the next lighting heralded its impulsive partner. Her body was on the ground, but her soul took part in the atmospheric spectacle.
> October 2020: A Rising Star - A Sinking Life (Prompt: Rising Star)
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Starlet Radiance was destined to rise like a star, her parents were sure of that. The acting talent of their daughter was impeccable. She was acting like a bridleway veteran and singing like a canary in the Spring's sunlight, ponies used to say about her. A flawless performance in a stage play of Manehattan Elementary got Starlet her first contract as a movie actress in an upcoming film by Manehattan's most acclaimed director. The movie was a smashing success and many more followed. Starlet Radiance became a star filly.
Her most popular role that neither the world, nor her parents, ever forgot was played by Starlet inside a diner: Choking to death after eating her fries with peanut sauce. It was a most convincing act, Starlet even managed to roll her eyes until they were white.
Her parents later wished they had known about their daughter's food allergy to peanuts.
> November 2020: The Tree of Life (Prompt: A Song I Remember)
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Sweetie Belle stared at the massive, menacing tree in the distance, from tear-filled eyes. "D-Does it still sing?" She turned around at her companion. "I-It used to sing, didn't it?" Sweetie Belle choked.
He looked at her from empty, shocked eyes. "Yes. Before it died." He turned away, unable to look at her any longer.
Sweetie Belle gasped. The tears began to flow down her face. "But..... But..... I-It's the song I remember. The only thing that's left..... Will I never hear it again?"
As no answer came from her companion, she turned back at the tree, frantic and in agony. Her eyes sought a sign of hope, but there was none. Only dead, brown leaves rustling in the wind.
"Y-You weren't supposed to kill it..... I-It was the Tree of Life. Now everything will fall apart....."
A sob left her throat. The wind carried it to the fallen warden.
> December 2020: Discord, the Trickster, and Aura, the Apprentice (Prompt: Pranked!)
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'Twas the night of Hearth's Warming Eve. Aura, known in Ponyville as the chaos filly, stood in front of the bright, sparkling tree in the friendship school lobby. Her eyes sparkled just like the tree did. But from mischief, not festive warmth.
Bits of a conversation repeated themselves in Aura's head.
"Pleased to meet you, Aura. You seem like a filly who is very lovely to have around," the voice of Discord resounded.
Among the usual decorations, there were apples and bananas on the tree, the latter a request by foreign kirin students. A grin grew on Aura's face and she clapped her forehooves together. The fruits gleamed purple, before taking on natural colors again.
Aura turned and skipped out of the lobby. Seconds later, a kirin came out of a room and peeled off a banana.
"Hey, why does this taste like apples?" she shouted after taking a bite.
> January 2023: The Second Arrow (Prompt: Second Chances)
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The first arrow had missed its mark. The second arrow was in the quiver. And it was the last arrow.
Looming in front of Archer Bodkin was the fleshy abomination she was fighting against, a cave troll of the wildest, wickedest and most ruthless sort. In his clawed hands was the filly she cared about the most, little Noi, wearing a pink princess dress. Why did that beast have to attack on Nightmare Night? Archer was glad that she chose real arrows for her costume, not the fake plastic arrows from the toy store. But of concern was that she had taken only two with her. There wouldn't be a fight happening tonight, she had said.
With clenched teeth, eyes focused on the target, Archer put the last arrow on the string. And aimed for the head. This one had to strike home. For her.
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> February 2023: The Death of Love (Prompt: Love, Ambushed By)
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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.
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> March 2023: Future's Crossroads (Prompt: Multiversal Mayhem)
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Derpy stopped mid-movement, the brickstone she held staying in the tight grip of her raised hoof instead of smashing the window she was aiming at. She stared at the strange animal abomination that had suddenly appeared right next to her.
"Oh my, what are you trying to do with that, little filly?" it mocked her in a sardonic voice.
The answer she gave was not satisfactory, so Discord snapped his claws. And in front of her, inside the shop window, herself manifested, multiple times. Each appearance accompanied by a short remark from the abomination.


"A smelly ghoul, eww!"


"An aristocratic mare who is unhappy with her dark secrets."


"An aggressive monster that beats up ponies when she doesn't get the muffin she wanted."


Derpy just stared, disbelief re-assembling her face, her hoof now lowered.
"Multiple, possible futures, but which is it going to be?" the abomination prompted for an answer.
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> April 2023: Two Cars (Prompt: And Nothing Was The Same)
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Two sentences and nothing was the same. That's where the downfall began, the misfortune, the tragedy. The breaking of a friendship short in the making, but long in the fixing. Maybe too long.
The sentences had been spoken, two terrible sentences, and everything had begun to change. Slowly, but more followed after the sentences; accusations, judgement, blame. Disinterest. The wreckage of a friendship that crashed into a wall because the brakes didn't work.
Perhaps it was time to get into a new car. Or cars. "Two cars might be needed now," – Archer Bodkin thought to herself – "two cars to continue the journey alone."
Or perhaps there was one more chance for repair and to continue the journey in the same car, together. Archer sat at her computer and thoughtfully typed on the keyboard. She felt weary of driving. But there was one last chance.
> May 2023: Ponyville's First Witches' Night (Prompt: carousel)
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Rarity looked at the little fillies who had gathered in front of her, slightly aghast. She had hoped for a success of her new offering, but by long and far, never would she have reckoned with a large attendance as this. Half of all the fillies in Ponyville must have come tonight, she felt.
There they stood, grouped together inside Carousel Boutique, and all of them wore the black witch dresses, including a magnifique witch's hat, that Rarity had tailored for them. The make-up would come later, but some of them already practiced themselves in flashing wicked, vile witch smiles, with a hint of deception. Hopefully, this wouldn't mean she gets cooked tonight, Rarity found herself with a weird thought, but one that came completely naturally, for a moment.
Witches' Night was new in Equestria, a holiday invented to satisfy the increasing demand for another spooky tradition to pass the time until Nightmare Night, and Rarity had used the chance to hop onto the new trend. She hadn't been exactly sure if it would catch on..... but this sight was proof she had made the right decision. And the dresses were perfection, Rarity praised herself while looking them over. Long enough to be accurate to the depictions in the old witch books, but short enough not to become a hazard once the fillies would dance around the bonfire. Some of the more daring ones among them, like Tornado Bolt, in whose eyes she could already read the dangerous intent, would even jump over the fire.
Her witch dresses were beautiful, practical and safe. They would do their part in Ponyville's first Witches' Night. Rarity felt a sense of pride.
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> June 2023: Daybreaker's Legacy (Prompt: A Unique Experiment)
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She saw the defeat of Daybreaker. She witnessed the loss of her mentor. And now she gazed upon Daybreaker's legacy. Withered grass. Burning forests. Desertification. Dry rivers. Melting glaciers. The demon went out, but it left Equestria a gift. Something to always remember it by. The temperatures increased, for how long they would do that, she did not know. But living was already getting difficult and Twilight feared the worst.
It wasn't over yet. The moon was still there. If they could move it in front of the sun..... But Luna was dead, she had weakened the demon before the final blow. Only a unique experiment was left. There was a 50:50 chance of success. If it worked, there would be eternal night. If it did not..... then eternal winter would come over Equestria, a frost just as deadly as this heat. Twilight pressed a button and prayed.
> July 2023: Evil Matchmaker (Prompt: Pure Evil)
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Snickering in giddy delight, Cozy Glow picked up another pebble and tossed it at Flurry Heart's forehead. The princess, distracted from her reading, shot her head up and glared at the obnoxious filly. With a mere glimpse during this movement, her eyes brushed over a crystal stallion who was sitting on another blanket some way across the grass, and a blush that was just as fleeting appeared above Flurry's nose. But Flurry Heart's attention was all on the pegasus pest next to her now.
"Cut this out or you'll be a decoration in the garden outside my bedroom."
Predictably, Cozy didn't listen and another pebble followed. "But how would I make you look at him then?"
Flurry frowned and the blush returned. "You're pure evil."
Cozy shrugged. "Eh, just doing my best. I'm here to become reformed, after all." Grinning unapologetically cheeky, she picked up another pebble and tossed.
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> August 2023: Second-Rate Villain (Prompt: Underrated)
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"Second-rate villain, they called me! Can you imagine?" Discord stomped one of his clawed limbs onto the ground. "Me! The Master of Chaos!"
Twilight furrowed her brow, more from annoyance than concern over the draconequus' woes. "I agree that their judgement has been harsh. You have brought them together, after all." Twilight looked around in her library, her frown deepening. "But is this a reason to turn all of my books inside-out?"
"Yes!" Discord shouted, a dark thundercloud spreading out from above his head.
"And to have the books talk and spoil the ending to everypony?"
"YES!" the same response came, louder this time. Lightning left the cloud and set a table on fire.
Twilight sighed. "Listen, Discord. I don't think you're underrated. But there's something even you sometimes need."
"And what is that, Princess of Friendship?" he mocked her.
The answer was mundane to his chaos ears. "A psychiatrist."
> September 2023: The Border (Prompt: The Prophecy)
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The white crosses called something and it was her name. Wind Sprint turned, heart pounding. The graves speak and they tell stories, she had been informed, but she thought it was a metaphor and didn't expect it would happen for real.
"But is this real?" she whispered.
The wind ripped at the white crosses. Why was she here at this time? The mud under her hooves felt slimy and cold, she smelled the wet grass that grew between "Best Bunny Ever" and "Goodbye, my Friend". But she knew it was a nightmare.
Moonlight fell onto the bloody, torn-up shape of a dog. "Stay away from the border! It was not built to be broken and I'm not worth it!"
"B-Bucky?"
Faint roaring came from the trees and grew deafening until she woke up.
All just a nightmare. But the mud and the pine needles under her blanket said something else.
> October 2023: The Necromancer's Apprentice (Prompt: They're Revolting!)
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"I doubt this was a good idea....." Berry Pinch cast a furtive glance at the zombie army in the peripherals of her vision. She didn't dare do more than that.
Next to her stood Noi, swinging a wand and clad in the traditional attire of a necromancer apprentice. The wand was a lathy, gnarly piece of wood, twisted in its shape and having fallen from a tree a long, long time ago. Runes were carved into its bark, still emitting a faint, red glow that became weaker by the second.
"I told you it will work!" Noi countered the other filly. "See? I am ready for it!"
Berry Pinch's fearful expression put the lie to the claim. "W-What's happening?!" She pointed at the zombies, hoof shaking.
Noi turned at her army and saw them march without command. She gulped and bit her lower lip, pupils shrinking. "I think they're revolting!"
> November 2023: Alone (Prompt: Just the Two of Us)
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"Vinyl?" Sweetie Belle looked at her fellow musician, guitar held low on her lap. It almost fell to the floor the way she was holding it, but she would never let that happen.
"Yeah?" the former DJ asked. Her voice sounded morose and dry. Vinyl looked at the floor, forehooves hanging between her thighs as she sat hunched over on the bed.
"We are the only ones now, isn't it? What happened to Octavia?" Sweetie Belle's eyes pleaded for an answer.
"She....." Vinyl began, then stopped, then sighed. "Guess that thing got her....."
Sweetie Belle's eyes widened, not from shock, but from grief setting in.
"One of those Clicker bastards..... It followed right on our tails. And I couldn't stop it." Vinyl pressed her forehooves together and they shook.
Sweetie Belle lowered her eyes and began staring at the floor, too. "We are alone now," she whispered.
> March 2024: Muffin Discrimination (Prompt: The Most Devastating Insult) – DERPY DAY CELEBRATION!
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"What?!" Derpy spoke with a start. Her eyes shot at the computer, where her youngest daughter stood propped up on the desk, hooves on the keyboard. "Are you really sure?"
"Yep," Dinky answered with much of her usual cheer, but a shocking discovery marred it. "Not a single one. They have a cupcake emote, but not a muffin emote. They have a bagel. And pancakes. A doughnut and a cookie. Even a rice cracker!" Dinky talked herself into rage. "Ice cream and even moon cake! But Twitter has no muffin emote....."
"Let me see!" Derpy demanded, rushing over. She believed her daughter, but felt the need to see the atrocity with her own eyes. Derpy's face fell apart after scrolling through the food emote list. "That's an insult, a cupcake emote, but not a muffin emote," she spoke, short on breath. "That's muffin discrimination."
At her side, Dinky nodded solemnly.