T'was the night before Hearth's Warming
throughout all of Equestria.
Cold wind whipped the windows,
yet inside all kept cozy.
Every mare, every stallion, every colt and each filly,
was sleeping quiet soundly 'neath star-studded skies.
Their souls full of cheer, their dreams full of presents,
no one could imagine a more peaceful scene.
But far off from the land ruled by Princesses two,
someone was awake; with dark schemes for the evening.
Will Hearth's Warming be saved by an unlikely hero?
Or will a spiraling narrative ruin it forevermore?

Written for PastCat for Jinglemas 2021

Special thanks to Level Dasher and ScarletRibbon for prereading and helping to tighten up my prose considerably.

After receiving endorsements from both Fancypants and Hoity Toity, Rarity’s business has taken off. It isn’t fair to Applejack, because there’s no such thing as a famous apple critic. Who else could endorse the Apple family business? Who is beloved by all, and could put Sweet Apple Acres on the map?

Why, Princess Celestia, of course! There’s just one, tiny, little problem…

Celestia… um… dislikes apples.

Edited by: Level Dasher
Cover Art by: Norm

An inspired linguist. An ancient stone tablet. And the story of how a new species, made in love and forged in fire, came to be.

1st Place in the Everfree Northwest Iron Author Competition 2022. Many thanks to the judges -- Aquaman, Grand Moff Pony, and Xepher -- for their kind comments, and to my fellow winners: FanOfMostEverything, Mica, Scampy, Steady Gaze, and Admiral Biscuit.

Editing by LevelDasher (who is now on a much-deserved editing sabbatical).

Cover Art by CadetRedShirt [DeviantArt] [Twitter]
(I commissioned this one. Give Cadet monies and she will make art and/or sing for you!)

Story notes in this week's MT File.

Featured on EQD, 10/23/22.

My life was simple. I used to be a cellist, of Canterlot's pride and nobility, and a very happy pony with where I was. I should say I landed myself here; it was nopony's fault I agreed with Vinyl on this ludicrous idea. I will, however, blame Vinyl for the guards outside. And for my doctor. And for Princess Luna.

That's all on her.

So, in the off chance that we don't get out of this room in (literally) one piece, my name is Octavia, beginning log: one.

[Log Note: Click on the "initializing" for the formatted GDocs version, which is highly suggested.]

Princess Flurry's dates are not up to Imperial standards.

With thanks to various Discords for brainstorming and Samey90 and RDT for pre-reading.

It's a tale that's been told hundreds of times, isn't it? The average Joe lives a boring, mundane life, wishing for something greater. Then, one day, something happens that sends him to a foreign world, giving him a fresh start and a new perspective on life.

You've always wished that would happen to you. There's a show with talking ponies you like quite a bit that would be just perfect for it, too.

Be careful what you wish for.

In your old world, magic only existed in fiction. However, once you wound up in Equestria, everything you knew was suddenly called into question, and magic became just another daily occurrence. As such, it should have come as no surprise when you were more enamored by the stage magic of "The Great and Powerful" Trixie than most. Over time, the two of you grew close, and you quickly went from a fan, to a friend, to a confidant.

And just days ago, she asked you out to dinner, thus making the two of you official.

Since then, you've been as happy as can be. However, you're quickly realizing that life with Trixie can be a bit more... demanding than you were expecting.

Just how much are you willing to put up with in the name of love?

Starlight Glimmer has been tinkering with some new spells as of late. She was convinced that she made some kind of connection to... something coming from light-years away. As much as you love that mare, you found that hard to believe, even if you are technically an alien.

As such, it came as a happy surprise when Starlight actually managed to secure that connection, revealing a massive network of information right at the tips of her hooves. Your shared glee is short-lived, however, as you come to the startling realization that you recognize this network.

After all, once you put something on the internet, it's there forever.

It's an extremely hot summer day. What better way to spend it than at a water park with your retired alicorn wife, Celestia? You've already gotten all of the thrills from the park's attractions that Celestia could ever want, and now it's time to relax for a while on the lazy river. But when the two of you find yourselves in a strange, almost liminal space, Celestia has more than a few concerns.

You, however, couldn't really care less.

Princess Twilight Sparkle has been the ruler of Equestria for many years. She is really growing into her role well (both mentally and physically), and thanks to the support of those around her, she's doing a pretty good job to boot. As her husband, you have the monumental task of being there for her when the stresses of princesshood start to get to her.

Today, she is tired.