"Zecora? As the Mayor of Ponyville, I owe you an apology."

A double entry in the May 2024 Pairings Contest and the Dialogue-Only Contest.

Shortly before extracting the Pillars of Equestria and the Pony of Shadows from Limbo, the Bearers of Harmony faced off against a stallion trying to erase all records of an ancient evil, lest that knowledge fall into the wrong hooves.

Nopony ever considered that the two incidents might have been related. Not until Stygian's first novel hit store shelves.

An entry in the 2024 May Pairings Contest for the Original Pairings group. Last minute best minute.
Rated Teen for implied concepts a bit more grim than what the show could get away with.

Cover from the Friendship is Magic mainline comics, Issue #53

Warning: spoilers!

Tempest Shadow aka Fizzlepop Berrytwist has committed quite a few crimes during her time as the Storm King's lieutenant: high treason, slavery, kidnapping, use of forbidden magic conspiracy to overthrow the government, etc.

Now, after her trial, Tempest is locked away in the castle, waiting for the Princesses and the Council to deliver their verdict...

Coverart by puddingskinmcgee

Special thanks to Georg for proofreading and editing!

“Please look after my children.”

Pear Butter’s last words were spoken to the stranger who found their crash: the cruel, otherworldly siren named Adagio Dazzle, who sees in her death a golden opportunity.

What starts as a plan to raise willing minions for sustenance and protection goes… a little differently than Adagio had in mind.

Cover art by Uz Naimat!

Everypony knows the Hearth’s Warming Eve tale of tribal unity and the shared rule which followed. Everypony also knows that alicorns - singular or dual - have sat on Equestria’s throne for well over a thousand years.

Very few have really looked in to what actually happened between those points.

Even Twilight Sparkle, until a chance encounter leads her to an alarming discovery: Neither she, nor any other alicorn, has actually held any legal right to Equestria’s throne. They are technically usurpers, autocrats - even tyrants.

Still struggling with her own personal rule, having the fundamental basis for her authority swept from beneath her leaves Twilight with one simple, yet impossible question: 

Now what?

Many thanks to Commawriter and Kirtai for pre-reading!

Cover image was edited by Vinylshadow. They deserve all credit for it!

A lot of things have changed in Sunny Flare's life between her sophomore and junior years. Her mother, Abacus Cinch, retired; she got her first summer job; and she's started treating her associates like actual friends instead of warm bodies to hide from the conniving masses behind.

It's now the day before Ghouloween (the Pedestrian equivalent to Nightmare Night, for the ponies in the audience), and Sunny's got her first report card of the new Principal Cadance's tenure. After two years of perfect grades... this one's... not perfect.

Unbeknownst to Sunny while she tries to figure out how to explain this to her mother, the former Principal of Crystal Prep already knows why this happened. Sunny Flare might never see the bombs drop, but this reveal will leave a smoking crater in her soul just like the real deal.

Rated Teen for teenagers swearing about as much as teenagers think is cool and stoner Lemon Zest.

(Contains some S5 finale spoilers, just in case)

With their battles across time itself drawing to a close, Twilight finally seems to be getting through to her nemesis, Starlight Glimmer. But is it possible to reason with a pony so deeply convinced of their own philosophy that they cannot see true friendship? And if not, what must she do to make sure that such a danger never threatens Equestria again?

So, that season finale eh? I'll be honest, it probably would have worked better if the pace in part 2 hadn't been rushed so hard it went full blitzkrieg. This is just my own short idea of what could have gone down, while also tying it in to the events of the Quickverse. Hope you don't mind it!

Update: And then it had two stints in the popular stories? Wow, I've no idea what I did right but I'm glad you all generally like it. Thank you!
Rated Teen for psychotic pony murder attempts.

As Celestia can attest, nothing is ever simple. A stallion may walk through a portal in a huff and everycreature may cheer his departure, but that doesn't make him any less of an important functionary in the greater scheme of things. And so, while the Princess of Friendship can handle the straightforward task of averting world war, Celestia must shoulder a heavier burden.

She has to convince a bureaucrat that he made a mistake.

There is only one game left. One game to remain undefeated, to be remembered as a chess legend in Canterlot High School. However, my opponent is Twilight Sparkle.

Huge thanks to The Sleepless Beholder and RunicTreetops for proofreading this fic!

Opaline had stolen the cutie marks from half of Equestria and was rapidly conquering the rest. Even the fake alicorn Sunny Starscout and her minions were faltering before her. One more push would bring Opaline to her final victory.

Then she surrendered.

And even Opaline doesn’t know why.