First, after seeing what appears to be the umpteen thousandth attempt at a Hunger Games crossover that is doomed to failure, I need to present this thought:

Sparkler/Amethyst Star as Katniss.

Boom, you got a story idea. Dinky Doo gets to be the sweet little saccharine sister, Derpy gets the motherly role that she's good at, and Sparkler gets to be a badass hero with a lot of room to work with. Seriously, Sparkler doesn't have Rarity's boyfriend issues (why would Trenderhoof, Fancy Pants, or Blueblood be in District 12/Ponyville?) she's a background pony and thus a blank canvas to write about. Plus the story ends up being about the rest of the characters mostly anyway. Heck, work it into the Season 5 Finale and have Starlight Glimmer be the analog for President Coin. At least it isn't Twilight Sparkle volunteering for Fluttershy and ending up in a love triangle with Flash Sentry.

The other idea that I'm going to dump today is based on the premise that a picture is worth a thousand words. Plus tomorrow is Valentine's Day, so...

Another one...

It's not particularly new... there have been stories about a "Stallion Six" before, but halfway through Season Six, there may just be enough stallions to actually go somewhere with it.

Thunderlane
Cheese Sandwich
Trenderhoof
Big McIntosh
Zephyr Breeze
Shining Armor

I'm sure it sounds pretty boring and "been there, done that" at first glance... but what if Shining Armor hatched Ember as his dragon companion? And what if Shining was the esteemed student of the good Lord Scorpan, whose brother Tirek was imprisoned in Tartarus for 1,000 years by the power of the Rainbow? I don't recall seeing a "Tirek redemption" story... like... ever. Plus what would Equestria be like under the leadership of Scorpan and a good Tirek?

Yep, intentionally getting a lot more patriarchal with this AU than your average pony story. With a little bit of artistic license (that is... age adjustment), you could even have Rumble, Apple Bloom, and Twilight Sparkle be your Cutie Mark Crusaders...

Instead of a sonic rainboom, perhaps a Cheese Sandwich epic party inspired their cutie marks.

One good thing about this? With the possible exception of Thunderlane, all of the stallions have some established character, and what makes it better is that they're NOT carbon copies of their siblings. Mac doesn't have to be the Element of Honesty... he's quiet and shy enough to be Kindness, and pretty darn Loyal as well when it involves his family. Zephyr acted a lot more like Rainbow Dash than Fluttershy, in spite of Dash being repulsed by him to a large degree. Shining Armor certainly shares some of Twilight's dorkiness, but his dream is to join the Royal Guard.

I just think that this could be a fun idea to explore again... and so I'm dumping into the dumping grounds.

Another one...

Folks were quick to start writing stories about the Unicorn Six because... six Elements, six ponies, easy peasy. Heck, we all love our Alternative Elements stories...

So today I dump on you this randomness that comes from playing too many 90's RPG games:

The Pie Family: Guardians of Equestria.

Limestone Pie - Honesty. Blunt, sometimes brutal honesty.
Pinkie Pie - Laughter. Some things don't change.
Maud Pie - Loyalty. Work may take her away, but she always comes home.
Cloudy Quartz Pie - Generosity. A mother's love is bountiful.

That leaves Magic and Kindness, and can take a couple of routes. The easy path to take would give Marble Kindness and Igneous Magic, but it's predictable and a bit chauvanistic from a certain point of view... Therefore:

Igneous Rock Pie - Kindness. Iggy may be stern, but he is fair and compassionate.

Marble Pie - Magic. She is quiet, socially awkward, and has a ton of untapped potential as a character. She has a lot to learn about friendship, family, and the magic that exists within both.

Speaking of playing too many 90's RPG games...

The top one is Wizardry 7: Crusaders of the Dark Savant. I have another saved game that features the Pie Family as the six playable characters.

The bottom one is Eye of the Beholder 2: The Legend of Darkmoon.