Spike sets out on a heroic quest, taking him far away from home to brave the dangers of... the Manehattan Comic-Con! He's got a lot of high hopes for his convention experience, but when things don't all go according to plan, it might take a few new friends to remind him of just why he liked superheroes to begin with.

References the Friends Forever #14 comic (Luna and Spike), but it's not necessary to have read it.

Finalist in the April Writeoff, "Great Expectations".

Vector art by nero-narmaril.

A party for Rainbow Dash with plenty of strong cider? Count Gilda in! Except Dash is probably the only pony who wants her there.

She shouldn't have come.

A combination of two minifics, "A Trick of Memory," which placed 10th of 27 in the /fic/ write-off "For Old Times' Sake," and "Gilda Has the Floor," which placed 14th of 101 in the /fic/ write-off "The Best Medicine."

Featured on Equestria Daily!

Flim and Flam find themselves down and out in the Fire Swamp after another failed attempt at entrepreneurship. Turns out the inhabitants there aren't their typical kind of customers either...

A short, silly story written for the January Writeoff - The Best Medicine

Sirens? Check. Villain songs? Check. Pinkie Pie? ...Uh-oh.

Musical mayhem threatens Equestria so often you can set your watch by it. That's where the Versebreakers come in. They're often mistrusted and always misunderstood, but these brave souls won't rest until everypony's safe from the threat of out-of-control musical numbers.

In this anthology, eight authors offer ten stories on ponies whose job is to halt songs. Each chapter is a stand-alone, unrelated story with its own unique take on the core Versebreaker concept. An anthology overview, and a brief introduction to each of the included stories, can be found here.

CONTRIBUTORS: AugieDog • BlazzingInferno • Caliaponia • FanOfMostEverything • Flink • horizon • Orbiting Kettle • Sharp Spark
Cover art: alittleofsomething

Stories reviewed by Louder Yay! "Some interesting twists ... it's more than worth reading all 25,000 words if you find the concept catches your imagination enough."

Anthology reviewed by PresentPerfect! "This anthology features some excellent authors doing excellent work ... So if you like the idea of comedy, read Manehattan Takes Rarity and 4th District Court, Canterlot, 11:35 A.M.. If you want to try the darker side, read Song and Seal. Everyone should read Heart of Silence, which is a ponification of Heart of Darkness and absolutely spectacular."

A phoenix seeking out a good nesting place finds an unexpected connection with the ponies living nearby. Unexpected for her, at least—they've been looking for just this phoenix.

Expanded version of a minific that won 3rd place in the /fic/ write-off "All In."

Featured on Equestria Daily!

Thanks to Chris for letting me bounce a few ideas off him.

Reading by Neighrator Pony.

As everypony knows, Pinkie Pie can do impossible things. She can hover in midair without wings, play ten instruments at once, and even go days without breathing! Clearly some kind of magic is at work, but what could it be?

Pinkie decides it's finally time to tell her friends the whole, unvarnished truth.

Written for The Writeoff Association's "The Best Medicine" contest.

An unexpectedly warm day ruins Bon Bon's afternoon. Luckily, a certain mint-green unicorn is there for her, no matter the weather.

Finalist Entry in the March 2015 Writeoff Event, "The Best Medicine."

Can you engineer an eclipse to order? You can if you know the right princess and ask nicely.

This story is a sequel to Deep Cover

Butter Up isn't Fluttershy -- but she does play her on TV.

Crime was easy before Princess Twilight and the First Five ushered in a golden age of Harmony. Back then, any idiot could plan a robbery, just like any rat could sneak through the cracks in wooden granary walls. But now that everything is cloudstone and clearsteel, with magical countermeasures over the few remaining holes, it takes a different breed of rat to survive.

"Slippery" Jimmy the Grey is one of the rare few ponies who can still slip through the cracks — even with the legendary Rainbow Corps on his tail. Now he's got a billion-bit heist planned in the gleaming skyscrapers of Cloudsdale. If only he hadn't made the mistake of stealing from a dragon …

Now with a reading by Illya Leonov and Scribbler!

* * *

This is a crossover with Harry Harrison's Stainless Steel Rat novels, but it assumes no knowledge of the series.

Winner of February's Writeoff Association competition! * Featured by Equestria Daily! * Featured by Seattle's Angels!

REVIEWS: "Highly Recommended" by Titanium Dragon; "Recommended" by Present Perfect; rated "Why Haven't You Read This Yet?" by PaulAsaran

WORD OF MOUTH:
"The Iridescent Iron Rat was not only my favorite story from the most recent writeoff... it's my favorite story of anything I've read in months." —Sharp Spark

"What a ride it is. This story is made of awesome moments." —Casca, Seattle's Angels

"[A]stounding on so many levels. … If there’s one story from this round you have to pick, make it this one." —Corejo, Seattle's Angels

"Absolutely beautifully done. It fits the style and feel of the books to a perfect T." —Themaskedferret