Pinkie's been an apprentice baker ever since she moved in with the Cakes, and part of that is because she hasn't completed her master piece: the dish which will prove she's worthy of the unamended title. For her, that's a soufflé. Something she's never been able to successfully bake.

With the Cakes out of town and the bakery closed for a day, Pinkie has a chance to spend her time in trying to take that final step. And perhaps somewhere before the end of her failures, she'll learn something about why doing so was important --

-- or if it was ever really important at all.

(This story takes place one week before the start of Triptych.)

Part of the Triptych Continuum, which has its own TVTropes page and FIMFiction group. New members and trope edits welcome.

Has a reading by KwirkyJ. Listen as desired.

Now with author Patreon and Ko-Fi pages.

Cadance isn't Sombra. But Sombra's leadership is all the crystal ponies remember, a ruler they had to love at all costs, with the final payment being their own lives. And as they gradually come to see their new Princess as leader instead of savior, too much of that residual fear is being transferred to her. They praise her, adore her, refuse to correct her no matter what she does -- because they live in terror of the consequences for doing anything else. They have yet to find their own voices, and may go on repeating hers until Celestia and Luna switch shifts. So how can she make them tell her when she's wrong, see that there's nothing to be afraid of, and take the next step in coming back to themselves once and for all?

Forbidding them to do anything other than criticize her should do the trick, right?

...right?

(Part of the Triptych Continuum, which has its own TVTropes page and FIMFiction group -- but can be read as a stand-alone, and no knowledge of the other stories is required. New members and trope edits are welcome.)

Now with author Patreon and Ko-Fi pages.

Pinkie knows that being a baker means taking a lot of responsibility for your product. The bread has to rise with Celestia. Nopony needs to go through Round Two on the Baked Bads. And if at all possible, you should absolutely avoid serving the kind of 'donuts' which summon an eldritch horror from beyond space and time to destroy the world.

The Cakes keep slipping up on that last part. Not deliberately, at least in that they don't know they're doing it -- but somepony still has to clean up the tentacled mess, and do it by the time Sun is raised. Which is going to be Pinkie. Again.

Break out the caffeine. It's going to be a long night.

(Now with author Patreon and Ko-Fi pages.)

Rated C for Cthulhu Crackfic.

A look at the life of an average pony, and the exceptional love he had for others.

Beneath the blistering blizzard and the freezing frost that swallowed the world, a group of ponies cling desperately to existence. They are the last of ponykind, and the future of their species, if one even remains, rests solely on their shoulders. Hidden in a crater from the worst of the wind, Rarity and the other ponies who managed to find shelter struggle to eke out an existence in a life governed by one rule, and one rule only:

The City Must Survive.

Cover art by Ruirik.
Editing by Solidfire.
Inspired by the wonderful game of Frostpunk.

Spike is the perfect assistant. He's been programmed that way, after all.

Unfortunately, he and Rarity and Twilight were programmed by Master Simon to help out around Mistress Olive's apartment before Mistress Olive kicked Master Simon out. And Mistress Olive doesn't like her assistants to have faces and names and personalities, especially when they come from some eighty-year-old cartoon show she's never heard of...

The original version of this story had no Pony content whatsoever and came in 2nd in the 247th Writeoff contest, "The Hurricane's Eye Blinked." It's been extensively rewritten since then and was now an entry in the 2023 Science Fiction contest where it didn't make the Top 12.

This story is a sequel to Secondhand Laughter

Maud Pie has never dealt with change well, not that life ever seemed to take her comfort into consideration. With the ending of the school year on the horizon and her doctorate close at hand, there are many changes coming Maud's way—changes she is in no way ready for. And so, on this last winter break, she decides to head back home.

Home means consistency. It means stability. It is predictable.

But few things are set in stone and Maud is finding that family may not be one of them.

A story set in the Who We Become series.

Proofreading/Editing by Krickis.

Lamb Chop has come a long way to find her place, and even now, she feels like she doesn't quite fit. Her Griffonstone accent baffles Equestrian ponies from the first word, to say nothing of her name, or her nonchalance toward carnivores and their dietary requirements. She's been a herd of one since the call of her mark sent her here, and she's not sure when, if ever, that will change.

But that's okay, because until she has land and a flock of her own, there's no end to farmponies who need a sheep guardian. And for Lamb Chop, finally being in a country with charges able to speak back when she talks to them is a dream come true.

Unfortunately, sapience also comes with drawbacks. Being placed into a role of matchmaker for a smitten ewe had not been in the job description, but even if her role here in Ponyville is temporary, Lamb Chop will do anything to help her charges.

Alicorns have mercy on her.

A standalone entry in the Eventide Verse.
Also check out author Patreon, Ko-Fi and commissions.

It shouldn't have been a big deal. Celestia was kidnapped or knocked out or just generally made to seem powerless by whatever idiot with ill intent decided to show up on a nearly weekly basis. As the mighty and immortal Sun Princess, she could escape at any time, but she was happy to play these little games. The daring rescues and bloodless battles gave her ponies such a sense of confidence and purpose!
But this one didn't go as planned. One small, stupid mistake got her thrown to the twisted reaches of the world-prison, Tartarus. Now alone, unarmed, and barely more than mortal, Celestia wakes in a living landscape where everything has every reason to hate her.
And, far worse, she has accidentally picked up a passenger.

Sidenote: This a repost (I tried to go through official channels, I promise!) of a story I wrote long, long ago on an account I foolishly deleted. Back in those days, Tartarus hadn't shown up in an actual episode yet. It's not exactly an alternate universe situation, but it has nothing to do with the canon portrayal of the place.

Super amazing cover art by Cold In Gardez.

A relationship is not always so easy to define, especially when the ponies involved are drawn in different directions. Yet it turns out that sometimes the answer to your problems really do lie in books. Even if you have to write them yourself.

Faced with the implications and changes brought about by Twilight's coronation, Rarity must contend with what it might mean for their relationship. A relationship, you see, that lives and dies by the dozens of books quietly stashed away in the back of her closet. 

One day, she hopes, she'll be able to give them back. 

(Takes place before/during/after the Season 9 finale.)

Cover art by the wonderful lilfunkman/idrawraritwi, and a huge thanks to Swan Song, Cursori, and Carabas for editing.

This story is part of the First and Only Raritwi Bomb! A week's worth of stories and art all centered around Rarity and Twilight. If you liked it, the previous story posted is Rise and Shine by Vasar Huineo and you can find a master list of all Raritwi Bomb content here.