This story is a sequel to Urban Wilds

Amanita. Quiet. Awkwardly self-conscious. Necromancer. Reformed. Newly hired by the Royal Guard and the apple of its eye. How could she not be? She’s a peerless expert when it comes to necromancy. But only because she’s the only pony with any knowledge of necromancy beyond the basics, she tells herself. She needs to be more than just a static source of knowledge; she also needs to apply that knowledge, to expand her mind. She can’t live her whole life in a lab. She needs experience out in the field.

Which is how she finds herself assigned to a ley purification team. There’s something wrong with a ley line. It’s not immediately dangerous, but if left alone, it could corrupt the land, killing crops and creating monsters. Amanita is part of a small crew that will head to the line’s source, the small mining town of Tratonmane, to identify and correct the problem. Fortunately, ley purification is a well-known science. It’ll be easy.

At least, that’s the idea. Far to the north, swathed in frost and snow, walled in by vertiginous mountains, Tratonmane is as isolated as can be. Miners and subsistence farmers eke out a living in what little land they have. Ravenous wolves stalk the forest at its border. Whispers abound at the team’s arrival. Tratonmane has existed outside the Crown’s influence for centuries and many of the townsfolk don’t appreciate it sticking its nose in now. Especially since no town lasts for that long without getting a few skeletons in its closets. Amanita and her team will have to navigate hostile environments — personal and terrestrial alike — if they want to get to the bottom of this.

For if they don’t, heads will roll. Perhaps literally.

Nothing a necromancer can’t fix.

Updates TuThS. Reading earlier stories will provide some context for this, but isn't required. Other entries in this series:

• Hinterlands
• Urban Wilds
• Death Valley

A distress call issues from a mansion in the snow-capped peaks of the Crystal Mountains. One of the six young residents is reporting evidence of a changeling among them. The Royal Guard rallies to their remote location with all haste, but they are days away—they have charged Detective Pesco and his apprentice Bluebird with investigating the scene in advance.

There's nowhere to run, and nowhere to hide. Identity is a delicate thing, and the changeling's isn't the only one on the brink of unraveling.

A novel-length mystery (social deduction, closed room, limited suspect pool) with an emphasis on character drama. Entirely original cast split among canonical and semicanonical MLP species: ponies, griffons, reindeer, zebra—and among them, the changeling.

Assumed to take place prior/alternative to the changeling reformation in season 6.

Cover art (one and two) by Rocket Lawnchair.

Many thanks for the catches and suggestions from my beta readers, including: wonderkid125, Miller Minus, mikemeiers, Secret Moon, Majora.

Everything got so much worse for batponies after Nightmare Moon was banished. Even those with no involvement in the war, Equestria turned hostile. Instead of a loving home, Mira grew up as an orphan, cowering in terror from the advance of Princess Celestia's Golden Army.

In the shadowy caverns of Understory, the ancient arts were still taught: Dreamwalking, and all the 'dark' practices that were once fundamental to the bats' reverence of Princess Luna.

After the death of somepony close to her, Mira finally resolved to do something. She didn't have the power to fight against Equestria, but maybe she could do something else.

With the forbidden knowledge of the sleeping world, she could rescue Nightmare Moon, and save batponies everywhere from extinction. That, or die trying.

Updates Wednesdays.

Originally written as a Patreon reward for TyrannisUmbra on my Patreon.
Editing by Two Bit and Sparktail. Cover by Skydreams.

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.

This story is a sequel to Nightmare Night

Valentine's Day comes every February, romantic partner or not. Singles have Singles Awareness Day which just seems like . . . anyway, Cinder Glow might have an unusual interest in conversation hearts but she also hasn't got a partner, so what better way to celebrate an almost-holiday than spend some time with a friend?

There are plenty of things on Netflix that aren't romantic, and it turns out that conversation hearts and popcorn are a decent mix.

It wasn't Eric's fault he hit the alien with his truck. How was he supposed to see a dog-sized horse walking down the highway in the pouring rain? His life would've been simpler if he just left the animal like any other roadkill. But in his injured delirium, the horse spoke.

This accident soon ends with an intimate personal knowledge of just how dangerous magic can be. An ancient rises, tied to a mysterious tome the pegasus was protecting on the night of the accident. A malevolent force grows within those pages, whispering louder and louder about the cleansing flame. But without the spells inside that cursed tome, Eric's humanity will be gone forever.

He has no choice but to master the words of power contained within, before his life is turned to ashes around him

A commission for Muziki. Edited by Two Bit and Sparktail. Cover by Zutcha.

The various artistic works created for this story are credited to their artists within the chapter they appear.

Shady Fortune is an ambitious stallion. The old manor outside of town is an ancient eyesore. Where most ponies would see a tear-down job long-gone undone, Shady instead sees potential and beauty in the decrepit old house.

But he's not the only thing living in Buckwheat Manor, and Shady will soon learn that not all spirits remain at rest.

This story has a dramatic reading by Skijarama, which you can listen to here. Thanks!

Long ago, a village in Equestria was struck with a terrible plague. The ponies fell deathly ill in mere days, coughing phlegm and blood as their muscles shriveled; crops withered and died as a poisonous odor permeated the air. And if that weren't enough, strange bellowings and roars could be heard from the distant woods.

A plea for help summoned two of the Pillars of Equestria: the Mage Meadowbrook, the Mystical Mask who could cure any sickness, and the mighty Rockhoof, mover of mountains and tamer of monsters.

When they respond, the two heroes quickly determine that this is no ordinary disease. Following the trail, they find the true source of the plague, and soon must battle for not just the villagers' lives, but their own...

A forklift license is only the beginning. There are skid steers and backhoes and if she does a good job and doesn't knock down any more fences, she might work her way up to a Komatsu wheel loader.

Or maybe she won't, Corduroy Road has a backhoe and she's content in her backhoe.

Coverart by SIGAWESOME

Trains are the fastest way to move something across Equestria, no matter how big. A heavy stone sarcophagus, for instance, one brimming with dark magic. The Royal Guard just launched a raid to retrieve it from the hooves of sinister cultists.

Now, the survivors of that raid are stuffed in a train crossing the wilderness. Just them, the skeleton crew, and the sarcophagus. Guarding it until they can get reinforcements at the next station ought to be easy. After all, there’s nothing else alive for miles. Right?

Wrong. There’s something on board with them. Something after the sarcophagus. Something that doesn’t care what stands in its way.