Inspired by the fanart Close Encounters of the Snake Kind
By artist Robsa990

Of all the worst possible things, Rarity has run out of ideas for her next fashion line. Seeking help. she has come to Fluttershy to seek some fashion advice.

Many many years after graduation, Rarity found herself at the top of the fashion industry, but not without costs. Several of her friends have lost contact, till one day she stumbled upon one of them...literally.

A tale of penance and self-realization.

Note: This story requires a few read throughs and intense thinking, as all the answers lay within the story. Now would you be ever so kind to please stop commenting things that I intend to keep a mystery. If you absolutely can't figure it out, there should be a message from me down in the comments with a spoiler, that holds the answers.

Twilight's brother neglected to tell her he's getting married... to one of her best friends! Not only that, her friend is acting oddly suspicious and the rest of the Mane 6 don't seem to notice. But Twilight is determined to unravel the mystery in an alternate telling of A Canterlot Wedding with a different pony as the bride.

The day the Princesses vanished was the last day of peace. Nopony was the same when the sun and the moon continued their way across the sky without the Princesses' magic. With that apparent lie exposed, Equestria was in shambles for weeks, months even.

Everything slowly took a turn for the worse, starting with the betrayal of the Element of Honesty. Nopony really knows what happened that day, except for the other Elements of Harmony. Equestria is shattered.

Five uneven pieces.

Equestria is divided. And it has been so for fifteen years.

We're just the many insignificant ones. This is our lives, stuck in Tartarus.

(The setting belongs to PoorYorickDA, who created this awesome thing that is Equestria Divided)

(This is a one-shot so far, done purely to promote what I believe is a well thought-out grimdark Equestria, but it might evolve into a bigger story someday)

Celestia has told me that a dragon's average lifespan is two thousand years. That is a long time be alone. It gives you a long time to reflect on the friends you lost, something I'm not ready to do. However, the years have aged me mentally, and I have learned the difference of my friends mortality compared to my own.

While my friends withered away, one remained, one that is near and dear to my heart. I know I will lose her eventually too. The chances are, I'll lose her really soon. But until that faithful day, I'll enjoy every moment with her.

She's all I have left. I'd be lost without her.

Artwork provided by the fantastic Kill Joy

Thanks Flint Sparks for making this fic a little more legible.

A pony and a changeling. Which is which?

A short tale in which awful things happen to nice ponies. Written for EqD's Nightmare Night 2012 FanFiction Contest. Cover image courtesy of InternationalTCK.

When Big McIntosh comes by Carousel Boutique acting strangely, Rarity doesn't understand why he's acting even shyer than usual. But when he asks her to fix an old, ragged doll for him, it becomes clear that there's more going on than Mac will admit. Even if he were more talkative than usual.

Big Mac has always been hard to read. But it'll be even worse when he puts effort into it and makes sure no one finds out about his little stuffed friend—or the real reasons why he feels the need to hide her.

Artwork by SpainFischer/SophieCabra on DeviantArt.

Capper has been carrying a torch for Rarity ever since the Storm King's defeat. Now, at the behest of a friend, he vows to deliver her a Hearth's Warming surprise. Too bad he's never experienced winter before.

Written as an exchange story gift for my friend Nailah, with the premise: "Romance, preferred. Any pairing is fine, but I'm a big fan of Rarity and Capper."

A thank you to The Red Parade for proofreading before publishing.

Down in Klugetown, they don't celebrate Hearth's Warming Eve like Equestria does. The residents of Klugetown don't do anything like the ponies do. And if you were someone who would call yourself a friend of ponies, you'd have a tough time making it in Klugetown, a place where a friend is a liability to one's health and fortune. Living in Klugetown required one to be smart, and it's not smart to have friends. Only stupid creatures have friends in Klugetown, which is when they start hoping they're lucky, because they have an uphill battle to stay afloat.

Whoever said it was better to be lucky than smart might have been on to something. Because a pony like her, you only meet that kind when you're lucky and stupid. And if you're smart, you'll realize it'll never happen and you should stop thinking about it.

But you didn't meet her and fall in love because you were smart.

Jinglemas 2019 story for Nailah

Sequel

Departure

Long Description

It was an ordinary bit. Like all the others, bearing the face of the new Sovereign. No longer the naïve young alicorn Capper once knew. Older. Wiser. Aware now, of just what kind of a place Klugetown was. Aware of what Capper almost did.

A fitting thing for Capper to contemplate while ruminating over his past. While wondering what is to come. He would find out soon enough.

Continuity

Based on a couple of lines in and set in the past of Companion, though it is not a direct prequel.

Author's Note

I mean, I'm not the only viewer of the MLP movie to think that the implications of its depiction of Klugetown are kinda messed up, right?

Based off a prompt from Bean's Writing Group Discord server, "Arrival". Thanks to Bean, Short-tale, Gay For Gadot, Thesmokingguy, and Mykola for their feedback.