They are the Hoardsmiths. And they are completely insane.

Now with a Spanish translation by Spaniard Kiwi!

Brief stories about Equestria as it might have been—or, you may suspect in darker hours, already is.

25. Necessary Evil: Lord Tirek will return to wreak havoc on Equestria... but not before he's needed.

24. Queen of Foals (Fausticorn):
I met a traveller from an antique land,
Who said—"Four vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk a shattered visage lies alone..."

23. The Mechanical Donkey (Cranky Doodle alt-universe): A colt working for the school paper uncovers an old donkey's secret.

22. The Element of Audacity (Twilight, Dash, Cthulhu): It would take a very brave, very stupid pony to defy the Eater.

21. The Gentle People (dark): The gryphon tribe that tried to follow a pony goddess.

20. It's a Trap! And Twilight knows it. But her opponent knows that she knows it. But she knows that Twilight knows that she knows that Twilight knows it...

19. Fraud!: Trixie is accused of cheating at cards.

18. Celerity: Rarity wonders what Celestia sees in her.

17. Worth It: Fluttershy teaches Twilight about the cost of love.

16. Self Image (Twilight, Rarity): Is beauty really only skin deep?

15. The Quiet One (Luna): Some ponies express emotions differently.

14. Special: Discord teaches Pound Cake an important lesson.

13. Twenty-one! (Pinkie Pie, Twilight; comedy, horror?): Twilight discovers the danger of asking Pinkie "why?"

12. Changeling Dream: You may think the cost of living on emotions is too high. But we know the cost.

11. Loyalty (Rainbow, Applejack): The job of an Element of Harmony is simple, and sometimes impossible.

10. [revoked]

9. Sombra's Curse (comedy): The terrible curse Sombra unleashed that made him king, and stole his soul!

8. Game of Immortals (Celestia, Discord; dark comedy): Celestia likes to win—no matter which side she plays.

7. The Pony Side (comedy): Darth Vader has more important things to share with Luke than who his father is.

6. No Regrets (sad): Looking back on her life, Twilight remembers how she treated Derpy, and faces some unpleasant truths about herself.

5. Shipping Costs (comedy): If you knew you were about to meet Celestia in the next life, you might ask yourself: Did you leave the world a better place? Did your friends know you loved them? Should you have written thirty-nine chapters of Celestia clop-fiction?

4. The Green Hills of Equestria (tragedy): Vincent's big-game hunting trip was a success ... almost.

3. Mare of the Rings (Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash; comedy, LotR): The greatest could not be trusted with the Ring. So Gandalf sought out the humblest. Maybe too humble....

2. Happy Thoughts (horror): Her sun, happy to be in its place in the sky, wrapped the land in its warm embrace, and flowers bloomed in her hoofprints. Celestia smiled. It was going to be another perfect day in Equestria. And all she had to do was think happy thoughts. Again.

1. The Pony: Once upon a midnight dreary, while I clicked weak and weary,
Thru many a vile and bilious image on slash-b of yore...

Original cover art by ModeratelyDeviant@DeviantArt

She noticed the pony for the first time when she was young, not long after she'd received her cutie mark. He became her oldest friend.

Note: comments contain spoilers; please don't read them first!

Cover art by DaisyAzuras • Featured in the Royal Canterlot Library

Reading by Neighrator Pony • Spanish translation by Spaniard Kiwi

As Hearth's Warming nears, Applejack celebrates in her own private way.

Cover art by PyrisiaMiracles

Reading by Scribbler • Spanish translation by Spaniard Kiwi

The discovery of a tiny extraterrestrial object within our own solar system makes a strangely equine alien race aware that the Earth is inhabited by an intelligent species, and they're on their way to come visit.

But since space is a really, really, really big place, they aren't going to get here for about a thousand years. They do have FTL communication, though, so while we wait maybe we'd like to be pen pals...

You could win a free one shot commission! Check the associated blog post for details.

Twilight sends Spike to the Crystal Empire for a few days so she can concentrate on some official business. When Spike arrives, Cadence is too busy to really spend any quality time with the dragon. The only pony that seems to have the time for him is Shining Armor.

To keep Spike occupied, Shining spends the day with him, walking, talking, and just hanging out with him. Even when he does have to work, he takes Spike with him and makes him an honorary Royal Guard for the day.

Let's just hope that Spike won't let it go to his head...

Thanks to Vexy and Bad Seed for their help editing this story, as well as Mr101 and Skeeter for throwing their support on it.

Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, humans were suddenly all over the freakin' place.

Legends said nothing but horrible things about them, and that the only way to deal with a human was to make them no longer be a human. First contact showed otherwise, and cooler heads prevailed. The newly-organized Transmogrification department was gutted, with most of the agents sent to work elsewhere. Many government employees were organized to help the humans settle in; the best and brightest got to work at the extremely challenging job of calculating multiversal exchange rates so that human cash could be traded in for bits.

Now, for the first time ever, you can see what it's like to work at the Conversion Bureau.
(Don't forget to upvote if you fave!)

This is by far my most popular story, so... thanks, everyone!

This is a lipogrammatic story. That is, a story in which I did not lay hands on that most common symbol, “E”. You shall not find a solitary copy of that symbol at any point in this story, including in this summary (barring that singular anomaly, naturally). I did this odd thing as a trial to my ability as an author—it's a workout, if you will.

Lyra and Bethany hoped their friendship would last forever. But children rarely consider the full impact of their promises. Tomorrow never comes, after all.

Fourth-place finisher in the /fic/ write-off "Good Intentions."

Featured on Equestria Daily!

The business of government never stops, and paperwork never rests, even on Hearthwarming. But this particular Hearthwarming, Cabinet Secretary and tea enthusiast Dotted Line plans to do his level best to see it, at least, take a break. His ponies need to go home to their families, and he, well, he has plans this Hearthwarming.