It happened again. Bubble Muffin, AKA Derpy Hooves, has been fired from yet another job, and this time it has dealt a serious mental blow. At her wit's end and wishing for her life to be over, Rainbow Dash arrives to check on her. Can she help Muffin in her most desperate hour?

Content Warnings: Attempted suicide, self-harm, depression, self-hatred, verbal abuse, bullying, ableist slurs

Twilight Sparkle isn't known for randomness. Pinkie Is. But Twilight isn't being normal, so Pinkie has to be abnormal to her usual normal! To... solve the mystery... and stuff.

There was also something about a backrub?

Your wife, the now-retired Celestia, has been acting strange lately. Tonight, she has something she needs to say, and the look on her face is all you need to know that it is important.

So important, in fact, that the trajectory of your lives hinges on your response.

This story is a sequel to With Every Story

Epilogue to the "Royal-Tea" series, though knowledge of the series is not necessary.

It feels like just yesterday that Celestia became your wife. In actuality, that happened not long after she abdicated the Equestrian throne, which was many years ago. Life has certainly been interesting.

And you've loved every minute.

Applejack is out in the rain...

...but Rarity lets her inside.

Princess Twilight Sparkle has been trying to get comfortable in her new castle in Ponyville. It has all of the amenities she could ever want, including a massive library for her to indulge in, but it's still a big adjustment for a mare like her. On top of this, she is less than enthused when you point out that this massive library inside of a castle could inherently be considered a book fort.

Though it sounds to you like that's exactly what she needs right now.

Requested by Ladon.

Scootaloo might be no good at sums, but she knows Scootaloo plus scooter equals the fastest, awesomest, most attention-grabbing-est thing on the ground.

She also knows Applejack minus anyone actually fun to be with equals one really lame time.

And yet, spending a day with the Apple farmer and her broader Apple family seems strangely attractive to her. They might not be the most exciting of ponies, (and when it comes to cool, they're certainly the most clueless), but they have something Scootaloo really, really wants. Deep down. Something she keeps coming back for.

Not that she's going to admit it. Cos that would be seriously lame.

Rainbow Dash just bought a camera, and wants to show it off. She and Applejack rope Fluttershy into a silly improv session. The shy pegasus gets an idea, and runs with it...

Based on the award-winning film Potion Seller by esteemed director and playwright Justin Kuritzkes.

In other words: a very silly idea.

Thanks to Compass the Pegasus for encouragement and proofreading.

Now featuring a reading by Mystery Pony Fiction! (aka The Mystery Fluttershy Fan)

Apple Bloom never thought of herself as a "s'phisticated" pony. She lives on a farm, she eats what's put in front of her, she follows the advice of her kin without question or doubt. That's all there is to it.

Rarity, on the other hoof, is so "s'phisticated" she can actually spell it. Probably too "s'phisticated" for her own good. The life of an artist - even one who actually makes money - is never a simple one.

But truth, like life, is like the gleam off a sun-caught apple. Turn it around, and though it was once dull and uninteresting, the flash of light may well catch your eye in a way that sparks something new and exciting. As if you'd found your cutie mark all over again. A life-changing moment of pure inspiration.

Maybe these two socially sensitive ponies have more in common than they'd ever thought possible...

Spike learned years ago that he came from an egg. However, he was never told where foals come from.

To find out, he asked the pony that hatched him, Twilight Sparkle, the question of how foals are born.

Long story short: Rarity had to get involved. Not because she wanted to.

Last but far from least, special thanks to TheBrokenBrony for proofreading this story.

EDIT: featured through 3/11/21-3/13/21!!