A joyous ruckus spread its waving circle around Twilight’s crystal castle, cast in the moist night like a spotlight of music, dance and shouting, the air sloshing with sound. It was the kind of party about which the neighbors would have complained dearly, even to a princess, were it not for the soundproof spell bubble that contained the noise to a reasonable diameter. Outside the invisible ring, the only clue about what was going on were the rays of multi-colored light beaming from most of

Being reformed had been a major step forward for the changeling species, all things considered, yet in some ways it had also been a retrograde shift. Though they no longer needed to feed on the love of others to sustain themselves, everybug had to eat something, but unfortunately quite many otherwise able predators had forgotten some of their more ancient ways of feeding during the spur of cross-species friendship. That’s why the Reformed Changeling Institute had been established, to help

Everypony has routines, and in case of nopony is that more true as with supervillains, their habits of excess cultivated across all aspects of life. By now Sombra’s day-to-day schedule was so determined that a deductive mind could read it by the imprints left on the carpets of his castle. They always started and ended in the bedroom chambers, parked in the dining hall after a brief visit to the torture chambers (mostly out of routine as he hadn’t had any prisoners rotting there in ye

Agret and the Tourist Season





The Sparkling Sea hadn’t earned its name for nothing. The calm waterbed was like liquid mountain crystal in its cerulean of a thousand shades, scattered across the limpid vastness by the painter nature’s whim. Islets of pearl-white sands littered the seascape, their roots of coral transcending the color spectrum in cascading structures of submerged, fantastical rainbows of ge

Three Friends’ Cake
For Neutrality
This is how it goes…
Start with a saffron stem, the rightful medow’s diadem
let powdered grain, cinnamon reign
a couple peppermint clots, nutmeg just a shot, and don’t forget
to add sugar a –
“Lots of spooks!”
Zecora’s spine curved like a cat had just ran its claws over a chalkboard next to her ear, the table set with two dozen carefully arranged bottles rattling ominously as the sound wave shook the whole cabin

Cruel Cruising
For Rathalos
By Stanku
Canterlot University had its spring break about to end, which meant the campus was once again populated by freshpony students coming from all over Equestria and even beyond. As a rule they moved in groups or pairs, with the exception of some individuals whose narrative paths yet remained untied to any life-lasting link that would be forged in these walkways and lecture chambers over the coming years. That’s what CU’s motto non scholae, sed vitae

Warding Sigil stood on a balcony, leaning against the oaken rail and looking up and down the view that spread out from the middle-level apartment. The night was turning late, and most of Hollow Shades was heading to sleep. Though the dense canopy of giant trees shaded the town well even during high noon, the majority of the citizens preferred the circadian rhythm natural to their species. There were exceptions though. The modern batponies, as they liked to call themselves, preferred to adapt to

Brisk autumn wind flapped Rarity’s scarf over her eyes for the dozenth time today, almost making her trip on the wet pavement. The overlong design was unquestionably in season, though the fashionista hoped it would not be for too long, all things practical considered. Still, displaying oneself as culturally updated was essential for a mare of the times upon visiting Manehattan, even at the risk of a twisted angle.
“Hurry up, Dashie darling!” she sang out helpfully to the pegasu

There was a cat who lived on a farm by hunting mice and other rodents, earning a saucer of milk every now and then for her efforts. One day, after another successful hunt which she was about to end in a satisfying dinner, she was surprised to find the little brown mouse trapped in her paws to squak a protest: “Stop!”
“And why should I stop from eating you, little mouse,” spoke the bemused cat.
“Because I have something important to tell you,” he piped. “

The city slept as cities often do, which is to say with one eye open and lights left on to repel the dark that fell over the tiled, irregular roofs. No moon watched over the affairs conducted in the alleys and streets devoid of daily traffic, ranging from drug smuggling in the harbor to B-class whoring in the red light district. It was from the direction of that region that Violet’s sharp ears fancied catching the start of a scream, muffled shortly and decisively. Were it a different night

It had to be the fourth time this month, reckoned Twilight as she turned the envelope over in her hooves by the candle of her bedroom. The letters of congratulation had been streaming steadily into the treehouse ever since she’d recently become an alicorn, something she shouldn't continue to be surprised by really even if the idea of being worshipped did still have a strange taste to it. However, the cause of wonder on this instance was more specific, for ardent though her addressors tende

In a house of clouds, a cyan pegasus twitched and turned in her sleep. The blanket lay bundled at her feet, exposing a lean, young body in all its unconscious cuteness. The prismatic tail was tucked between the hind legs, mostly covering the parts many vied to explore most in that sleek, gorgeous figure. Listening to her steady breathing, its rhythm, anyone with a pulse would’ve been hard-pressed not to give that rump a pat.
Rainbow Dash woke up with a start and a chilling feeling that som

They called it “The Stable”. A rather uninventive name compared to the action that went on there at nights. Manehattan lived on audacious gossip however, so few were the people who actually took the rumours seriously, for the bulk of it was difficult to believe even in big city standards. Secret sex slave auctions at the heart of downtown? Rape lines made of kidnapped high class mares? Cooking ponies alive for privileged, exotic menus? It was all too rich for serious ponies like Coco

A unicorn mare of pinkish fur peered hard at the picture on her hoof, then even harder at the stone tablet on the wall in front of her, then at the paper again. “Sorry,” sighed Starlight Glimmer. “I just don’t see it.”
Beside her, a hopeful face fell. “You sure you’re holding it the right way around?” said Twilight.
“Hah hah, not funny. Not anymore at least. Are you certain you got the translation right?”
“Yes!” cried Twilig

The evening smelled of cinnamon, beeswax candles, sprigs and goodwill so thick the window panes steamed. Fluttershy hummed a silly, monotonic tune to herself while hanging yet another shiny bubble into the small spruce they had planted in a jar by the corner. “Good for one more?” she mused, the glogg mulling in the mare’s veins making casual conversation with a tree a perfectly sensible proposition. “It's your big night, we have to ensure you’re properly dressed up&

The room was vast, too vast; especially after the markedly unvast cells where Mocha had spent the last fortnight. His crime: still unknown and probably irrelevant. He’d been rounded up along with six or seven other ponies “for loitering”, which he’d consider somewhat vague. The guards had been decent enough in the processing though; if anything they had seemed even more afraid than him – a typical trend in the Equestrian population.
Not only was the room they’

As far as conformism went, dragons were natural at it, with biology to fault for the most part. Being the top predator in pretty much any food chain alleviated a lot of the pressure to adapt, after all. Even griffons, despite their inborn arrogance, had learned to build nests and develop other similar marks of culture of late, yet for dragons a cave seemed to be the pinnacle of real estate market. The bigger the better for hoarding all the loot and bones, the only decorations imaginable.
To asse

Once upon a time in a land far away there lived a king fair and wise, blessed with three daughters from three different wives he had been married to during his long life. All over the prosperous kingdom he was loved, as were his kin, though they were rarely seen in public. For the king was highly protective of his precious gems, one of which would ultimately succeed him on the throne. However, as the girls grew to the age of adulthood, they became all the more anxious about their caged lives, no

A moonless night prowled the streets of an average Equestrian town, looking for something interesting to pass the small hours. A pair of inebriated socialites it ignored without a second glance; a curious fox it scared off with a bump. But a sliver of warm light, like a wound in the otherwise dull and monotonous nocturnal texture, caught its attention in full. Darkness accumulated before the draped shop window over which hang an oversized candy cane, pressing its ear against the cool glass.
Had

As natural predators griffons weren’t inclined towards religion, it was generally thought, since hope for salvation generally was the resort of prey species. However, to think that was to get the causation backwards. Prey didn’t believe because the faith was laden with doctrines of atonement, other-wordly justice and strength in forgiveness. The faith was such because it was what the prey believed in. And there were so, so many other things to believe in than that, as Comus had come

Equestria – a land of magic. A land where morning promises everything. A land where a completely ordinary notice in a common newspaper of a rather regular town can lead to extraordinary events in a span no briefer than an afternoon…
This time the extraordinary started with a perfectly timed double knock.
That must be about the add, thought Fluttershy, and wasn’t in error.
“Good morning, Miss Fluttershy,” said the pegasus stallion standing on the doorstep. “I&

À la carte of the dress
In Rarity’s professional vocabulary there was no such thing as a “difficult” customer. At least, not in her official vocabulary, where the preferred the term was “challenging”, or possibly “demanding”. At times, though, the only word that would spring to her mind to describe a certain type of client was “plain impossible”.
“I say, it does go well with your eyes, don’t you think?” she said. It w

Twilight Sparkle was nervous, something nopony knowing her would find newsworthy, although this time the cause of her anxiety would have made some splashing headlines if it ever were to become public. Equestria did love its princesses, after all, loved them and their privacy to bits. Awareness of that formed a distinct layer in the tissue of Twilight’s nervousness, yet not its fundamental core.
The core in question had been seeded in her soul a fortnight ago during a visit to her friend Ra

The day could not have been made more perfect for shooting film even if Rough Montage had himself been in charge of the weather team, the scene selection team, the make-up ··team and any other team one cared to name. In fact that was a metaphor, he being the director of the film under making and thus in charge of virtually everything, which was why virtually everything was set perfectly. The skies shined spotless, the shadows on the mountain pass crossed like in a painting, the cam

The thing about achieving everything you want in life is that it can leave you with nothing else to do than sit on your laurels from one week to the next. As a result, all the ambition required to have pushed you were you are ends up spoiling inside you, made obsolete by its own success. It’s like indigestion after a royal meal.
Sombra, the Dark King, put down the inked feather and let out an idiosyncratic sigh, then a mildly acidic burp containing a couple long pony tail hairs of indistin

The universe is a strange, confounding place. A place many a philosopher has dedicated their whole lives to unravel, only to find their efforts toppled by a breeze born of reality turning its other side in its infinite slumber.
For one, everything important in existence appears to happen in threes. Take a little unicorn recently settled in her new home in a small town library who, on her third night, woke up for the third time to the same persistent sound carrying from downstairs. Now Twilight,

Life like a Box of Chocolate
By Stanku
For Gorat
A cheery metallic ring echoed through the dim room and seeped into the darkness of the kitchen at the back, briefly dancing around a figure seemingly built of condensed house dust. Then a bright green eye opened in the shady face, a flicker of uncertainty entrenched deep in the void of reality. A lot could have been read of that glimmer, had there been even a ghost to read it.
“Syrup and meringue, wonder and bewitch,” he called by rote

Due to its vast and echo-friendly architecture, even the most mundane of noises gained an air of grandeur when they appeared in the crystal castle. One could only admire the way how distant, nebulous murmur gradually grew louder and clearer, intensifying with distinct and sometimes contrived curses before finally peaking in a scream and a mechanical crash. It was really like listening to a concerto around here sometimes, thought Spike while skipping towards the voice.
“Blasted, bloody buck

Crime and Nourishment
By Stanku
For Cainiam
By the powers vested onto us by the eternal moon, you are hereby condemned to death for the crimes committed against Equestria, its citizenry and laws.
Skyheart jerked onto her other flank in her slumber. A drowsy chain of groans spilled out of her lips to form a pool of muddled curses on the cold cell floor.
However, due to the exceptional severeness of your countless offenses, we find even the ultimate infliction much too gentle a punishment for your

“It was so nice of you to invite me here, Twilight,” said Starlight Glimmer, at a point during the evening she felt some prying into her ulterior motives would not be too uncalled for. “Makes me wonder what’s the special occasion for…”
Twilight raised an eyebrow and the corner of her mouth playfully. “You’re saying you don’t remember? Really?”
“Uhh, you know I suck at remembering people’s birthday’s… But I&rsqu

5
The Great and Powerful Trixie woke up
gagging and in pain, and although this was not for her the first
occasion such a thing had happened, it was no less of a shock.
Instinctively she tried to spit the rag in her mouth out, but a tight
strap around her muzzle kept it firmly in place. The same was true of
all her limbs; she was tied from head to heel, left lying on the cool
grass under the spotless moonlight.
The last thing she could remember was
the after party they had had in celebration of t

13
A laughter like silken lace weaved
itself around the restaurant’s atmosphere made of candlelight, the
scent of fresh vegetables, and gentle murmur of conversation. It was
a laugh many a socialite practiced in secret, but which Rarity
managed without trying. She hoped her escort could appreciate the
fact.
“Your laugh is a blessing to my
ears,” said the stallion across the tiny round table. A coy little
smile peaked on the slim, snow-white cheeks. “A shame I can’t can
it for preserva

11
It was an exquisite sight indeed. Two
pegasus mares – one blue as the sky with a rainbow crown as a mane,
the other the tone of rich butter and shy pink – hanging upside
down by their hind legs. Tied, gagged, and blindfolded, they could
not manage more than the occasional wriggle, which sent them swaying
uncontrollably by the strong ropes, occasionally bumping into each
other amusingly. Had hunger not forced his will, Grau might’ve
admired the play for quite some while.
For change he ha