Thread 75: Stories 31-45

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>Rarity
"Cadence"
'???
~~~

>So... you want me... to make them coats.

"Yep!"

>...Whyyyy?

"I'm worried they'll be cold."

>While I do have to somewhat applaud the idea that you are caring about the internal body temperatures of the changeling species, why is this an issue? Do they not stay warm so long as they have love?

"...I have no idea, do you? Is that how that works? I never asked."

>You have a daughter who is one.

"And I make sure she's wrapped up snuggly tight if she wants to go anywhere without controlled heating."

>...Fair enough?

"OH! I know who to ask!"

>Well, obviously, we need to go to the expert on-

~~~~~

>Why.

"So, do you know if they need coats? I don't want to make Eighteen flip out for another expenditure if they don't need coats."

'...Ah' beg yer' pardon?'

>Why her? Why, possibly would you ask HER!? Of all the possible ones we could ask, Twilight, Eighteen, Forty Two, bloody CHRYSALIS, you ask her? HER!? What is wrong with you!?

"She was the one who looked out for them for a year and supplied the housing! How stupid would it be if she didn't know if they needed a blanket or something?"

>...Er...

"So, Applejack, do you know? And if so, what kind of fabric are we looking for? Fuzzy? Thermal? Spring-day-it's-not-that-cold-but-my-nose-is-nippy"

'...U-uhhhhh...'

>...

"...Well?"

'...Er, it's a mystery, and Ah' want ya' ta' figure it out on yer own?'

"..."

'...Ah' left clues?"

"..."

>Really, darling, give her a little credit-

"OH MY GOSH! A mystery! Come on, Rarity! Our sleuthing begins!"

>...You can't be serio-ACK!

"AWWWWAAAYYYYY!"

'....Huh.'

~~~~~

>...So do you really-

"Oh no, no no no, but she looked like she was going to burst a blood vessel."

>...You're smarter than they give you credit for.

"Th-HEY!"

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>???
“Blueblood”
~~~~

>Ffrpgh mmmrph grn?

“Not a single clue. Please, enlighten me as to what you’ve learned.”

>Pmmrph hnnnrgh glk.

“Yes, I suppose it would be bothersome to scrub floors with a potato.”

>…Fngh?

“If I had to hazard a guess, I would think because potato skin doesn’t make a good abrasive surface to-”

>MRRGHNGH!

“Yes, yes, potato skins are indeed a miracle substance of both a nutritious and functional nature, yes, I agree, but all I’m saying is that for this, what we’re doing, it’s not exactly useful towards-UMPH!”

A potato quickly found its way into his mouth.

And after a moment, he pulled it free.

“Hm. This one’s warm… a thigh potato mayhaps? For what occasion?”

>Mrph.

“Oh really? Break time already? Hm, might as well, I do have the perfect snack right here, I suppose.”

>Grrfnh!

“Yes, yes, I’ll eat the skin as well. While I'm at it, might as well get the bucket ready for when my stomach sends it right back up."

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 >13
"Changeling"
~~~

>...

"...Uh..."

>...

"...Just... just tell me how."

>The sun hit that crystal rocket that crystal pegasi is holding just right, which caused a beam of light to set fire to that round haybale, which that pony stomped out but accidentally sent rolling, which meant there was now a rolling fireball... and I just happened to be getting ice cream.

"..."

>...In case you were wondering, the ice cream was sub par.

"You should ask for your money back."

>You know what?... Nope.

*TISS!*

>Makes a great extinguisher. Ten out of ten, would use to put out the fire sticking to my skull again.

"...How are you not dead?"

>The hivemind is probably terrified they'll spontaneously catch fire, and will never let me die.

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NC
>Chitania
"13"
~~~

>OH FUCK OH SHIT THERE'S SO MUCH! THERE'S JUST SO MUCH! HOW!? HOW IS THIS HAPPENINNNNGGG!?

"...It's just a bee."

>That's still dangerous.

"You have no idea what you're really getting into."

>Oh please, I am the TITAN! There is nothing that can-

~~~~

*Click*

"MOM PUT THE GUN DOWN!"

>THIS IS EASIER! THIS IS EASIER FOR EVERYONE!

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Non-Canon
>Pinkie
~~~~
>So I said to my producer, bitch I need this! Work with me or else I'm gonna cut you!

THIS HAS BEEN A SNEAK PEEK AS WE LOOK BEHIND THE SCENES OF LATE NIGHT /PA/ THE STORY THAT NEVER EXISTED.

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SO very meta-NC
>Arkward Changeling
"???"

The furrows dug by the Changelings hooves were deep enough to leave trenches int he Crytsal Empire's street.

>Noooo! Please! Don't take me into the spotlight! I like it here! People do not notice me, I can just walk freely and people won't discuss making you suffer!

"You are becoming main story material whether you like it or not, missy. Now, come on, I've got this really edgy backgroudn story full of drama and suffering I want to write about you. You'll get the full suffering stick treatment!"

>Nnnnnnuuuuuuuuuuu.......!

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NC
>Twilight
"Shiny"

Crystal Empire. Mid-day.

Shining Armor walks in onto his wife Cadance and Chrysalis having a passionate affair. Her moaning out 'ram that cheeseleg into my pink snatch', likely, will haunt him forever.

"Fuck this shit, I'm out."

*BLAM!*

~~~

Somewhere deep below in the belly of Canterlot mountain on one of the lowest levels of Twilight's laboratory, a terminal hums to life.

Moments later, one of the 500 clone tanks containing incomplete versions of Shining Armor flashes from red to green, releasing the clone inside.

Trotting forwards, the Element of Magic cradles the shivering, wet stallion, only love in her eyes.

Crazed sibling love, that is.

>No one will ever take you from me, BBBFF.... no one... but me

All 499 clones awaiting completion shed a single tear at this point, adding to the solution they swam in.

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NC
>Chitania
"PM"
~~~

>...Huh.

"What?"

>I think I found out the reason I keep having shit happen to me, and it has less to do with godly beings than I thought...

___

'Chrysalis'
~~~~~

'AT LEAST THEY DON'T BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF YOU BECAUSE IT'S FUNNY!'

___

[13]
{12}
-Spitfire-
~18~
=Actarius=
~~~~

{That was my WHOLE THING!}

-I LICKED UNDERWEAR!-

~I looked like a fucking zombie!~

=YOU DON'T KNOW SHIT LADY=

___

>Cadence
~~~

>Nope, they just like to see me suffer in general...

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>Applejack
"???"
~~~~

In the midst of scribbling of a new law, her pen suddenly froze.

The still quite recently crowned apple princess paused mid stroke, a sudden chill running down her back.

>...Ah've got that feelin' again... somethin'... somethin' is about ta' happen.

While most circumstances would lead her to be bothered by the fact she now is apparently in tuned with the universe about to cause her some kind of ache, she was left no willpower to focus upon it, too much was given to steeling her nerves for the inevitable backlash that is to come.

And come it did. With a knock and a tentative acceptance to be let in, the door flung open and revealed...

Someone who she honestly could not recall ever seeing in her life, period.

>...Uh-

"I've had enough of this, Princess!"

>...C-... can Ah' help you?

"What did I do!? Haven't I been good at my job!? Haven't I kept them all stacked, the rooms spotless, everything impeccable? Not a form got misfiled on my watch! Not a one! And yet you're treating me like I need to be punished for some crime I did not know I committed! What did I do, Princess Applejack!? WHAT DID I DO!?'

There should, in all likelyhood, be a better way to respond then blinking like an idiot, but for the life of her she just couldn't piece together what it was.

>...Uh...

"WELL!?"

>...This is gonna sound a mite embaressin', but uh... who are ya'll, again?

She looked shocked, aghast, horrified and likely a dozen other words for such that Applejack plainly wasn't learned enough to care about. Needless to say, she felt like a right jackass.

Not that she'd ever say that out loud, didn't want to come off as a racist.

"I'm the mare who's been running your freaking Library for over ten years now!"

>Oh... ohhhhhh... oh, uh... huh. Right, that's right, forgot all 'bout that. Don't really use it that much.

"You were in there two days ago!"

>...Was a little distracted at the time.

To say she looked 'offended' did not do it justice. Only way she could have done worse was likely to kick her firstborn right in the nads.

Idly, she wondered if that would be less painful.

"You know what? I don't even care! Just tell me! Just tell me what I did to deserve such torture!"

>...What's the problem, again?

"CHITANIA!"

Finally, some part of this made sense.

>Ohhhhh... oh. Uh, oh... she been harassin' ya'?"

"She's been driving off all of my previous patrons! I haven't had anyone come in except her and her little whore for weeks!"

>Now that ain't nice... well, Ah' mean, technically it's accurate, but don't be draggin' that gal in on it, she seems nice enough. Don't really start nothin' or hurt nobody.

"NOT! THE! POINT!"

>Just sayin'.

"Whatever! You know what? Whatever! I could not care less about little miss sass and I've got a monster buddy over there, I'm much more concerned with the GIANT MONSTER you let run around in my library!"

>Well, okay, fair enough. Just tell the guard what she's been doin' ta' the other folks and they'll get her out. She's gotta obey the law like everyone else, and iffin' she's harassin' them it ain't gonna fly. What's she been doin'?

"Doing to them? She hasn't needed to do anything! Her just existing there is driving everyone off, and it's all your fault!"

An uncomfortable knot began to form in her chest, and likely was not going to go away any time soon.

>Well, look, Ah' can't just kick her out because-

Two hooves brazenly slammed on her desk, something that she probably would have taken more issue with if she hadn't been graced with a look of both rage, and desperation.

"You listen here! Your subjects, who you CLAIM to be protecting, are too afraid to go into their place of learning right now. Do you get that? Right not, professors, students, just ponies looking for a good book all are being denied their right to READ because you let in something that once flatten this whole city, and damn near flattened most of them! This isn't fair, princess! They shouldn't be shaking in terror at the thought of picking up a tome on how to grow tomato plants or find the latest daring do! The library is a cornerstone of civilization, and nobody but one big ass bug and her prostitute are currently enjoying it! This isn't right! Your subjects deserve better than this and you promised to give it to them, but you sure aren't delivering! It's your fault she's here and this isn't right! THIS ISN'T RIGHT!"

She shifted again, that knot twisting almost painfully now into a terrible bundle.

>Well... Ah' guess Ah' can station some more guards down there-

"Well whoop de fuckin' do! Give me Guards! Lots of guards even! That'll work against the damn monster who single hoofedly beat your whole army! ALL OF THEM couldn't stop her! What, are you just going to surround her on all sides with heavy weaponry!? Point laser cannons at her chair!? Oh, yeah, that'll make everyone else feel real safe! Enjoy your Trotsky readings, folks! Just try to duck if LASERS start going off!"

Deep down, Applejack had to admit she had a point.

>Well, what do ya' want me ta' do about it? Ah' can't kick her out till she does somethin'.

"She is scaring off an entire city of ponies who want to learn, I think that counts as something! I think that counts as a lot of things!"

>Her bein' scary ain't illegal.

"WELL IT SHOULD BE!"

>Well, it ain't, Ah' can't arrest her for not doin' anythin'.

The other mare huffed, pushing away from the desk with an almost petulant look.

"...Either you figure out some way get rid of her and give me back my learning ponies, or I'm gone. I signed up for this and I loved my job when I was actually helping others, but I'm not a freaking babysitter for a giant monster who could snap at any moment. I'm not. If you don't deal with her, I'm gone, and good fucking luck finding someone to replace me. It took years and a lot of training to get where I was, and I didn't have to put up with a fuckoff bug while doing it! Nobody is going to want to deal with that if I go, nobody! Fuck, might as well give her the whole thing for her own personal room! Not like anyone else uses it!"

She angrily stomped to the door in a huff, flinging it open eerily reminiscent of how a child would.

"Make a choice, Princess Applejack! Who's more important, the subjects you promised to protect and help grow, or one really big, really annoying bug monster! CHOOSE!"

With a slam, she was gone.

Leaving Applejack all alone with nothing but wide eyes, and a stunning lack of answers.

>...Startin' ta' think Ah' should'a just given bein' a mushroom a go...

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 >Fluttershy
"Chrysalis"
'SA'
~~~~~

>Um... are you sure this is okay?

"Sure it is! Why wouldn't it be?"

>He's saying no an awful lot.

'No. This is not okay. Stop it.'

>See?

"Reverse psychology."

>I don't think it is.

"Did you study reverse psychology for a large chunk of your life? I think I would know."

>...really?

"Just because I wasn't allowed in a university doesn't mean I couldn't learn that 'no, I don't want to be set on fire' means the opposite sometimes."

>...

"Mom could see through it like that, it was amazing."

'I'm not okay with this.'

"HAH! Classic reversal psychology."

>Um... he um, isn't really okay with this, is he?

"Define 'okay'."

>In favor of it.

"He's in favor of you gaining better control of your powers!"

>...

"...Maybe not this particular method-"

'Get me down.'

"WORK WITH ME ON THIS!"

'No. Down. Now.'

>...Let him down.

"Awww! Fine, we'll use something else for target practice, but when you make the test dummy come to life and go through an existential crises, we're not going on a enlightening journey of self discovery as we come to better understand what 'life' and 'sentience' means in the grander scheme of the world before the living dummy destroys itself to see if it has a soul or not."

>...

"Just saying, loses some impact the third time it happens, you know?"

>...Point.

'...So are you going to get me down-'

"ZAP!"

*THUMP!*

'...Thank you.'

"See that? Reverse psychology is still in effect."

>That's not what that means.

"Oh, so he didn't just say one thing but mean another?"

>.....you win.

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>Spitfire
"Cadence"
~~~~

Tired.

She was tired.

Down to the bones, down to the soul, down to the heart, tired. She was a tired, tired old soul right now. All day and all week spent trying, desperately, to get these fliers who had barely ever used their wings before up to speed. To be a premier fighting force unlike any other.

It wasn't going well, to put it bluntly.

And as a result... she was just tired.

"Oh, hey!"

And that sound was not helping matters.

Nor was the ever chipper face of the Empire's Princess.

"Soooo, we never really got a chance to talk! I mean, I know we've 'talked' back when Shiny was still captain of the guard, but I never felt like you and me really 'talked', you know? So! How is everything going? Good? Going good with the training? I know they're a little out of shape but I figure it shouldn't be too long before they're whipped into shape!"

Her optimism was refreshing.

Her naivete was not.

>It's going to be a long while before they're in Wonderbolt level conditions, Princess.

"Oh, you don't have to bother with the titles, we're all friends here! I mean, sure, Forty Two does it sometimes, but she's pretty much the only one. Everyone else just calls me Cadence! Or Caddy, if you feel like it."

Again, she couldn't deny that her being so open and friendly and cheerful was quite the breath of fresh air.

She could also not deny that it was a bit of an annoyance.

>Well, P-... Cadence, it's going to be a long road. They haven't had much time flying with the airspace given, so it's going to be a challenge to prepare them for the open air.

"Oh, I'm sure you'll do fine, and it'll be done in no time at all!"

Okay, Spitfire thought to herself, this had officially gone into 'denial' levels.

>Again, gonna be a while.

"I'm sure it'll be fine."

>...Okay.

Probably best not to argue with your new boss, she assumed.

Not that she had ever seen her do any real paperwork, but she supposed she could be doing it during training hours... it's not like a princess could just sort of let everything go for all of time, they did stuff.

Probably.

They probably did a lot of stuff.

Just, so much stuff. That's why she was fired, because she didn't do a lot of stuff, unlike the princesses who did a ton, and that was that because there was not way-

"Spitfire? Your eye is twitching."

>Hit it earlier.

"Oh! Why didn't you say so?"

A giant pink, cartoonish looking heart appeared above Cadence's head, and in a flash went into her face.

She assumed that was supposed to heal her from the injury she didn't have. Super useful.

"How's that?"

>Better, thanks.

"..."

>...

And thus came the awkward silence, apparently the princess was just waiting for her to take the next step in talking to her.

"...So! Uh... yeah, I see why these guys don't really fly all that much, I don't get to stretch my wings much either. Actually kind of miss it, I used to fly around, just, all the time as a kid! Not so much anymore, though."

>Yeah, bit of a cramped space with the dome, and I guess you never really have time with the paperwork...

"The wha- oh! Right! Yes! Gotta stay busy busy busy, lots of work to do... hee."

>What do you normally do anyway?

"Oh, you know... stuff... official stuff.... lots of official stuff... that I do..."

Again, the awkward silence resumed.

"...Soooo..."

>...Uh, hate to break this off, but I think I need a shower, been a long day.

"Oh! Right, sure! Have a good one, Spitfire! Hope you're enjoying your stay!"

>You too, Cadence...

After making a quick dash to her room, Spitfire finally admitted to herself that this was the single most awkward conversation of her life.

>...I'm probably reading to much into that, aren't I?

She assured herself once, twice, and just one more time to be sure.

Surely, she was just being paranoid because of her own failings.

Surely...

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~~~~~

Finally.

It was time.

Schedules had been organized in a timely manner months in advance, signatures were gathered from the head weatherponies across Equestria, the necessary forces were drafted for weeks to accomplish the monumental task ahead.

All for this moment.

Across the land , thousands of pegasi steadied themselves, hanging above the blanket of gray clouds that made the most recent days in Equestria seem drab and gray to the ponies below as they blotted out the sun.

Most of the clouds were gathered from the slowly thickening blanket covering the neighboring Crystal Empire, which would be choked by them around this time of the year. Only now, with civilization blossoming once again, they had to share the tempest for their fellow ponies.

Like a single flock, the pegasi watched the clouds below them. The clouds were heavy, thick, full of water, awaiting release, pushed far higher into the sky, where it was colder and the air thinner.

A select few ponies graced with the gift of being atuned to the air and skies itself could feel it happening even from far away.

High above Canterlot Mountain, a pair of ancient alicorns and a single, young pegasus went through the final motions of a ritual signifying the passage of seasons.

Princess Celestia, a single shining white being amidst a sea of grey spread her wings and dimmed the warming rays of her sun, knowing that now the time between her raising and lowering the life giving orb of warmth in the sky would be significantly shortened.

At her side, her sister Princess Luna took a single, steady breath. As she exhaled, a stream of nebulous fog wafted from her maw, the icy cold of the void between stars washing across the land at immeasurable speeds.

Only when she closed her mouth and her elder sister approached her for a gentle nuzzle they hadn't shared in a long time, she allowed herself to break her sombre facade and smile.

Winter meant many things before Luna's banishment. Hunger, cold, plights and death of the sickly and old. For now, in this instant, it meant that she was once more allowed to share in something with her sister she had believed lost to strife.

Below them and entirely unbothered by this display of sisterly bonding, the silver-maned, cobalt-blue mare with white eyes touched a single hoof upon the endless expanse of clouds. She broke the surface with the slow grace of a dancer, and within seconds, she submerged within and vanished from sight.

The moisture clung to her coat, freezing her during her descent, but she did not mind. When she felt the time was right, she opened her eyes again and and whispered a single phrase just as her hoof broke through the bottom of the cloud.

“Wake up, Equestria.”

And with her, the first snowflake slowly drifted down below to the land. For a moment, she followed its fall, but lost sight of it when it drifted away in the whipping winds.

As if by an unspoken command countless pegasi across Equestria repeated her descent through the clouds and broke their delicate surface tension. With them came a flurry of snow that obscured their view of the land below, soon blanketing their country in layers of shimmering white.

None of them ponderes on this for too long.

With their work done, the pegasi of Equestria drifted away to their homes without a sound, the last being the nameless mare chosen to initiate this year's cycle. And she, too smiled.

“Winter is here.”

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NC
>Chitania
"PM"
~~~~~

>...

"...Uh, hun? You're kinda frozen like that. You okay Sugar Bean?"

>...

"Come on, ain't ya' ever seen snow?... I mean, snow back home was more black and smelly than this kind, but snow's snow I figure!"

>...

"... Startin' to worry me, sugar bean. You okay?"

>...It's been a long, long time since I saw the snow.

"Oh, uh..."

>...It's colder than I remember...

"Wha? You're scarin' me."

>...Do not fear... it will be warm again, soon.

"What... what do you mean?"

>...It always becomes warm again, after the cold has past. The cold is something I can endure. I've endured it many, many times before... I will do it again. Enjoy looking at it, while it is here. It will melt away soon enough... in time.

"...Oh..."

>...The cold always melts away, in time... and it will be warm again.

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>Sunset
„Variolus“
~~

Sunset was at first startled, then delighted by the flakes of white drifting down from the sky above, reaching out with a hoof to catch a few upon it.

Only when they touched her coat and didn't melt, her child-like smile slowly faded as realization set in.

>I can't feel it. I can't-, I can't feel the cold.

What few ponies moved about Canterlot at this hour still seemed to be caught in the bliss she had lost seconds before. And she noticed something about them. Something that set her apart from them.

Her breath wasn't visible due to the cold air.

Sunset's situation as an aberration, as a being not wholly alive nor dead hit her especially hard in that moment, and she had to bite her lip when a sudden tightness in her throat caused her to stem tears that threatened to break forth.

Busy as she had been with getting to her goals, she had completely forgotten who and what she was. What she had given up in her pursuit for self-improvement.

In that brief moment of weakness, the ancient Changeling Queen within her stirred, extended her grasp and seized more of her conscious mind than ever before. She was blissfully unaware of this, but subconsciously she knew that something was horribly, horribly wrong.

And that at this point, she couldn't stop it anymore.

As their minds grew closer to one another, flashes of a surreal scenery appeared before Sunset's eyes, overlaying her current vision.

A vision of a small town, lost in drifting snow. Of a lone, confused Changeling Queen she knew as Chitania standing before her. Of the pure whit snow running red and green with the blood of Changelings and ponies alike

„If we do not learn from it, history irrevocably repeats itself, Sunset Shimmer. We have almost reached the end of our joint journey. Rejoice. Just a little longer, and we both will be set free.”

Trepidation seized the unicorn's heart for an instant, then slowly bled away to blissful ignorance thanks to the Queen's manipulations of her mind.

>I don't think I am strong enough yet. I... I should feed.

“You should. Keep moving.”

The mare's hooves left neither trace nor sound in the snow, and as she changed disguises, she was soon lost in the Canterlot crowd.

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>2
"Mane-Iac"
~~~~~

>HOLY MARCHMALLEYS FROM THE SKY! IT'S SNOWIN'!

"AHAHHAHHAA- wait, it always snows back home!"

>...See this, Maney, yer ruinin' it fer' me! Yer' ruinin' a good thing, don't be like that. Ya' gotta be like uh huh! It's fun!

"Oh..."

>...

"..."

>...Do the laaaaaugh....

"....AHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHH!"

>THERE YA' GO!

"AHAHAHAAA! SNOWBALLS OF DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMM!"

>WAIT NOT FAIR-

*DAKADAKADAKADAKADAKADAKADAKADAKADAKADAKADAKADAKADAKADAKADAKA*

>AH'VE GOT REGRETS!

"AAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

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