"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.

Equestria has witnessed centuries of rapid technological advancement during Twilight's rule. Innovations in the production and integration of magic has led to countless improvements in the quality and efficiency of life in Equestria, and enabling ponies to finally touch the stars and new worlds. However, with the rise of more and more energy-heavy processes and a stagnation in development regarding the extraction of energy, Twilight turns to the biggest and final step in energy extraction: a dyson sphere: a massive device that would surround the sun and allow virtually all the energy released through nuclear fusion to be harnessed by Equestria.

Two former princesses have some concerns.

Written as an entry for the Science Fiction Contest III.

Everyone always asked Tank where he was going.

He never knew how to answer them. How could one say that when time eroded everything else away, there became less and less meaning in a purpose.

All he knew is that the time passed him by, the more he always seemed to be leaving.

That's when Philomena showed up.

Written for the third Quills and Sofas Expanding Universe contest. A sequel to Novelle Tale's Growing Together .

Art by Shaslan!

Princess Celestia gets legit deaded by everyone's favorite bacon head.

This story takes place after Mwah Mwah Mwah! and its prequels, but knowledge of them is not necessary to enjoy this one.

While buying groceries with your wife, Pinkie Pie, something catches both her eye and her heart. She really, really wants one.

You have to remind her that you have plenty at home already.

Rainbow Dash is uncertain how she'll balance her life as the newly promoted Captain of the Wonderbolts. The former captain has a few words to say.

Written as an entry into the 2024 Wonderbolts Site Contest.

The Grand Galloping Gala. A night of wonder and fun for all its attendees. Well, almost all of them. Gallus is more than happy to just stand in his corner and pretend the world doesn't exist. That way he won't have to confess his feelings and more than likely deal with getting turned down by the girl of his dreams, Silverstream.

However, maybe there is a chance of success if only he could figure out the right way to go about talking to her on the 'mushy romance' level. Asking someone else with more experience for help isn't the worst idea, right?

Edited by: Soaring and Jack of a Few Trades
Preread by: Ice Star

Coverart by: darksly

Yona and Sandbar are happily married, but nasty talk around town about their size difference have Sandbar a bit on edge. How can he be the stallion she deserves if he doesn't fit into the traditional role of being the bigger and stronger one?

Luckily, he runs into a stallion who went through something similar and gets a few pointers on what masculinity and love truly mean.

Edited and Pre-read by: Jack of a Few Trades and Soaring

Art by faitheverlasting

A young boy in the city dreams of seeing the stars through the smog. Far away, somepony hears his dreams.

Speedwrite on a whim after having a fleeting thought upon sending a friend a picture of the night sky I took while on vacation once. Well, if you can call about three, four, hours a speedwrite.

The spell was lifted, her friends had been sent home, and her student had learned her lesson. 

In theory, everything should be fine. At least, that’s what Twilight kept telling herself. The Fiducia Compelus episode was nothing more than a mistake, and once apologies were handed out tomorrow, everypony would be able to put it behind them. Everything was absolutely fine. 

Why, then, were there sobs coming from Starlight’s room?

Featured: 04/26/2024 - 04/29/2024
Behind-the-page: Relapse
Proofread and edited by: JinxJTL