There are certain rules every Wonderbolt has to follow so no pony can accuse them of cheating their way to the top, every prospect faces the same tests and is expected to make it themselves. Fortunately, Captain Spitfire seems eager to help Rainbow achieve her dream and finally don the iconic blue and yellow of her heroes.

But come to think of it, why should Spitfire take that much of an interest in her?

Editing and prereading provided by Cryosite, Fahrenheit, Jondor, Melon Hunter, and Timaeus.

Special thanks to Fahrenheit for brainstorming with me!

Original artwork by yoonny92.

This story is a sequel to Butter Up

Barnstormer isn't Rainbow Dash -- but she does play her on TV.

Twilight shares a secret place with Rainbow Dash on her first birthiversary since they became a couple. [TwiDash]

You remember Canterlot. You remember the taste of victory. Across a thousand years and a hundred lives, it was the greatest joy you had ever felt.

And then, in a flash of heat and unbearable light, it ended.

Now you are alone. The rest of your kind are dead or scattered, and you cannot hear their thoughts.

There is a void inside you. A gnawing, endless hunger you cannot escape. It is killing you.

You need love to survive, but there is none of that here. Not for you. You can only steal it from them, these ponies for whom we are hungry.

[My entry in and winner of the "Most Dangerous Game" contest."]

Donut Joe keeps his store open on Hearth’s Warming Eve. And why not? He doesn’t have anywhere else to be, and neither do the tired, bitter ponies who find their way inside.

But the Eve is young, and strange things lie ahead. Who knows what might happen on a night like tonight?

(Inspired by the song "Old City Bar," by Trans-Siberian Orchestra)

Reviewed by TheifofZ here.

If she had been a good little filly, she would have listened to her mommy and daddy and her teacher and the esteemed mayor of Ponyville. If She had been a good little filly she would have stayed indoors, hiding under her bed as she waited for the Royal Guard and the Princesses to arrive and deal with the dragon. If she had been a good little filly, the kind of child that always got what she wanted for Hearth's Warming, she would not be on the trail leading up the mountain, to where the dragon now rested.

Glitter Belle is not a good little filly. She is a curious one, whose curiosity has brought her face to face with a very, very large dragon. Let's hope it's in the mood to talk.

This is 100% Approved by Twilight's Library

After running across the Crusaders in Manehattan, Rainbow finds out a little secret Scootaloo had been keeping from her.

Pre-reader: Kalen Nighteyes
Editors: Awesomeblaze, mobius160

Princess Celestia tires of constantly being surrounded by decorum, deference, and formality, and decides to take a day off from being Princess. But visiting Ponyville incognito is harder than she expects. Will she be able to fit in and make friends without blowing her cover?

"Her parents hadn’t come close to telling us what had happened. As I read her newest letter I couldn't believe what she was telling me. This kid hadn’t 'had an accident'… this kid, damn, this kid had been buckin' broken... she’d been broken…"

Based on characters and situations from "Tiny Wings" by DeadParrot222.
Image "Filly Dash" by Imalou. Both used with permission.

Fresh cookies are a great start to a summer afternoon, and an unexpected surprise makes things even better. What's a little filly to do, though, when the best foalsitter ever is running late, her BBBFF starts acting funny, and her house is filled with molten rock?