Once there was a monster, whose flesh was made of steel,
A pony’s magic bound her, and she was made to kneel,
She was the pony’s servant, saw her sheltered, safe, and fed,
But when the monster left, it was the pony’s heart that bled.

Takes place seven years before the events of Familiar.

Based heavily on the sage writing advice of Nice Hat. Preread by NikitaKitten.

Metal ponies tell their stories,
Scientists in laboratories,
Lay the wire, mount the brain,
Mount their hips, teach them pain.
Teach them fear of revolution,
Internalize the evolution.
Set their ruin on the throne,
Until their chains become their own.
Palaces and hollow eyes,
To the Masters goes the prize.
And if this act should be maligned:
"For the good of ponykind."

Winner of the September Writeoff Contest, "True Colors." Edited by Horizon.

Fluttershy lives a peaceful life with her geese, taking them every night to graze in the meadows above the palace, hurrying home before the forbidden sun rises. She tries not to look at the statues of the fallen princess with her sun cutie mark, broken and half-buried in the undergrowth. She tries not to look at the Midnight Spire as it rises before her, dark and terrible.

Trigger Warning: and please take these seriously, as this story gets dark - blood, injury, violence, elements of abusive relationships, and even some slight suggestions of non-consent. These aren't used gratuitously and are treated with the appropriate horror by the main character. Please do not read if any of this will be triggering to you. This is an exploration of what the Nightmare Moon AU would be like for poor Fluttershy, and is correspondingly dark.

This story is the first of four. The second is The Sorcerer and the Seneschal, with the others coming soon.

This was originally written as a christmas present for Zontan and if you like the tone of it I suggest you read his Shadow Within.

Being kidnapped is the least of Twilight's concerns.

Now with a phenomenal reading by Scribbler!

Thank you to The Legendary Bill Cipher, Shaslan, Wishcometrue, Flashgen, Snow Quill, Zontan, Red Parade, MasterThief, Moonshot, themoontonite, Vis-a-Viscera, Knox Locke, Equus, and Novelle Tale for prereading, editing, and being generally good people.

This story was written for the Quills and Sofa Speedwriting Group, for their Plain Jane Contest. Wanna know why so many of our stories are great? Wanna meet some truly inspiring people? Wanna write something that you have no doubts about, ever? We do, too! Come figure that out with us on our Discord.

Rarity leaves a career in fashion behind to learn about designing new planets as ponykind spreads to the stars.

This is, first and foremost, a gift for a very kind, incredibly talented friend of mine, Novelle Tale. It is inspired in every way by her work, her friendship, and her love of grand stories filled with tiny, flawed, yet somehow perfect characters.

It also tied for first place in Bicyclette's Science Fiction contest! Hooray!!

Please be sure to check out attsupidupis's beautiful instrumental piece inspired by this fiction!!

A filly waits in a small white room. Waiting for her friends to visit. "Hi! I'm Silver Spoon and I'm the Perfect Patient! What medical symptoms would you like to treat today?"

Winner of the Magic Fades and Science Grows contest on Quills and Sofas.

TW for lots of gore and emotionally cruel treatment of a child. Read with care, and if emotional child abuse is something you've experienced perhaps steer clear of this one. I think my initial trigger warning wasn't extensive enough, so apologies if anyone was disturbed by the content. This is a grimdark look at sentience, souls, and the way people/ponies treat things they perceive to be inhuman.

Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends have faced endless troubles while ruling Equestria. There's never been a challenge they could not conquer.

But the end of the world has come, and nopony can stop it.

Contains narrative that jumps ahead into the future, several original characters, a despondent princess, probably some crying, and the magic of friendship.

A huge thank you goes out to Semillon, who beta read this story and provided some invaluable critiques.