Thirty Minute Pony Stories

The forest was filled with the deafening howls of Timberwolves, and while so many ponies would run screaming from the Everfree Forest at such a sound, this one stayed. In front of this sole pony was a tiny pile of seeds, and even as the wolves closed in, her eyes never left the little seeds.

As the wolves leaped upon her, the mare gave a great shout that would have been mistaken as a cannon blast, and all at once lightning poured upon the seeds every cloud in the sky. All but one disintegrated under the strikes of electricity, but one managed to survive as evident by the blue sparks that rolled off it.

The mare smiled and quickly planted the seed as the Timberwolves slowly picked themselves up off the ground. With another great shout the shadows of the night surrounded the Princess of the Night and she was swept away with the wind.

The next day she appeared again, smiling down at where the seed had been resting since the lightning entered it. With a mighty stomping of her hooves, the ground began to shake and rumble, accompanied by the roars of wolves that lived within the forest. And as the rumbling grew, her smile widened to an astonishing width. Lightning erupted from the ground and with a cry of joy erupting from the lunar mare, a tree appeared.

Luna left again in a swirl of shadows, her joyous laughter still resounding in the forest.

She appeared again the next day, carrying a burst of wind and a thick layer of dark clouds. All the trees swayed and shook under the strong winds, but only one crackled and sparked with power. Luna’s face showed the most eager expression as the leaves sprouted, but the smile soon faded into a frown as she found no fruit was born with the leaves. She hung her head and sighed, promising to come back the next day.

Her next visit was heralded by the caws of an immense murder of crows, they flew over the lone tree as the winds and clouds converged overhead. The leaves shook this time, the same blue sparks of lightning surrounding the tree and all at once little electric blue flowers sprouted all over the tree. The determined stare on her face gave way to an infectious grin, and Luna’s cries and whoops of joy frightened off the crows.

The next evening she came, this time bringing something more powerful than mere wind and cloud. More powerful than the lightning that had first sprouted the seed. The night sky was alight with falling stars, and she danced in the sky as the flowers wilted and turned into dull gray apples. With dismay she flew down to the tree and sorrowfully gazed upon the gray, bland apple. With a weary sigh she tried to pick the tree to at least try the fruits of her labor.

She was surprised when the apple refused to budge even the slightest amount, she pulled with all her might and still the tree would not give in. It bent under her strength before straighting with a whip-like crack, leaving the disheveled Princess as nothing more than a heap on the floor.

She laughed as she rolled onto her front, her eyes dancing with delight. Her voice echoed across the forest again as she vowed to return tomorrow. And with a barking laugh, she disappeared into the night.

The final day she brought a furious storm, the lightning rolled, the wind howled, the thunder cracked and still nothing happened. She kept it up for the better part of a day before sending the clouds on their way, diving towards the tree that bore gray, impossible to pick, fruit.

The only saving grace of the day was the rainbow that began to form as the clouds dissipated. The smallest of smiles graced Luna’s face, though she still gazed upon the lone tree with disappointment.

But before her eyes a final change happened. One apple was slowly covered itself in the colors of the rainbow, the blue lightning sparking wildly about the branches and leaves of the tree. The single colored apple began to shake and glow before a beam of color burst forth and colored another apple, and then another, and another, until the entire tree was littered in the seven colors of the rainbow.

She immediately dived upon the tree and plucked a luscious fruit. With the widest of smiles she took a bite, and all at once her voice burst forth a final time as she threw her forehooves to the air, the sky booming with lightning once again.

-TIME-

“OH MOST WONDERFUL OF NIGHTS!” She called out, not caring who could possibly hear. “MY LABOR HAS BORNE BOTH THE FRUIT OF VICTORY AND THESE DELICIOUS APPLES AS WELL! MY SISTER SHALL BE DELIGHTED WITH THIS YEARS GIFT!”

She took the sky after collecting a small pile of the prismatic fruit. “THIS SHALL CERTAINLY MAKE UP FOR THE BLUE FLOWERS OF JEST FROM LAST YEAR!”

Norse Pony’s comments: Hah, the time before zap apples is a good way to take the prompt. I like the idea that Luna created the zap apples, as well as creating poison joke. That’s quite clever. You illustrated the steps well. I like how she stumbled upon each step accidentally, the same steps that Granny Smith would later reverse-engineer. Also, two stories today, very nice.