Rainbow Dash was beautiful, the most beautiful pony to be born in a century — and so her fate was sealed. Beauty must be sacrificed, and so Rainbow Dash must die.

Winner of the 2023 EFNW Iron Author Contest. I think I beat out about 40 other writers, and it was hugely exciting to win. Hope you enjoy the read!

Prompts were: vibrant vestigial, vexing volcano, verdant vegetable. Pretty insane for prompts, but Xepher had to pronounce all the Aztec words in my story so I think we're even.

Diamond Tiara knows all about work delegation: if you want something done, have other ponies do it for you. In the name of that goal, Silver Spoon studies for both and Diamond copies her friend's efforts. It works every time. Except that Cheerilee just forced Diamond to switch desks. And with finals a week away and no personal knowledge for most of the subjects, the only ponies she can now hope to copy from are Snips and Snails. Something which may get her sent all the way back to preschool. And there's no way Diamond is going to lower herself to doing her own work.

Which means the colts are going to be learning on her behalf.

No matter what she has to do to make that happen.

It's for the best cause ever, after all.

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

Now with author Patreon and Ko-Fi pages.

Cover art by GroaningGreyAgony

There's a certain risk in sending this particular class of students on field trips, and Ponyville's school board is tired of seeing all of the disaster odds come through. So if the kids want to visit the Autarky Magic Center, then they're going to provide the security deposit. And that money can only come from one source: the classic school fundraiser. The corporate adults providing the 'chocolate' even promised a personal reward for selling lots of the stuff!

Cheerilee is putting Diamond in charge of the sales brigade.

The adults are going to regret that.

Now with author Patreon and Ko-Fi pages.

5 contributions to the Ponyville Ciderfest 2023 Storytelling Adventure App AKA 5 tales from the Book of All Stories.

For those who don't know: The Ponyville Ciderfest Storytelling Adventure was an interactive story that ran throughout the 3-day convention in 2023. An "Alternate Reality Game" that involved actors, events, quests, and an interactive app that contained dozens upon dozens of bite-sized stories. These stories were unlocked using code words hidden around the convention, and each one offered multiple endings that would contribute pages from the Book of All Stories to one of three factions.

It was an honor to participate in the event, even though I could not attend the convention myself. The five stories below are my contributions, with their code words and all possible endings. Each story will have a brief description at the top, and the endings will be separated into separate chapters for a true CYOA experience.

I hope you enjoy these few scattered pages.

This story is a sequel to Mi Amore Influenza

Over the course of a week in the City-State of Cloudsdale, a frustrated Mi Amore Cadenza makes a series of bad choices that kind of make her into a monster.

Also, she becomes a dragon at some point.

(A continuation of the Cadance of Cloudsdale cycle.)

When yet another unsuccessful attempt at getting Cutie Marks results in Apple Bloom having too much time on her hooves, she turns to books in the hope of hatching a plan that definitely cannot possibly fail. However, one book in particular—an inconspicuous little thing concerning old history and something called a "golem"—catches her attention and becomes the object for her boundless energy, much to her sister's concern.

Meanwhile, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo have their own problems to deal with, consisting of a fussy, overbearing older sister and an undeniably awesome yet slightly oblivious role model. On top of that, they soon have to contend with their best friend's zealous conviction that the answer to their troubles lies well beyond the safety of home.

Cherry Jubilee’s lived in Dodge Junction her whole life. She knows the ropes—she’s tied them twenty times over.

Somepony comes into the shop with pretty makeup running all down her face. It's no hard decision of what to do next.

Written for the New Blood Contest, where it tied for third place. Uses the bonus "an unusual matchup."

Review by Loganberry. Review by PaulAsaran.

The worst part of a betrayal is often not the act itself, but everything that lingers after. Trying to piece together the motivations of someone you once trusted, sifting through memories for some sign you might have missed.

Wondering if, somehow, they had a good reason behind it all.

Seeking closure, Twilight tries to find answers in Cozy Glow's abandoned possessions, but the truth she discovers is one that will make her question everything.

Written for the 3rd Annual Cozy Glow Short Story Contest.

Prompts used:
-Twilight Sparkle gathers Cozy’s belongings for disposal. One object surprises her.
-Cozy’s got a secret!

The Fire of Friendship has all but faded. One thousand years ago, Equestria fractured... those who disagreed with Celestia's rule left under the leadership of Princess Luna to found their own nation, their own way of life. Seventy years later, Celestia and Luna both disappeared during the first war, leaving the battered nations leaderless in their absence.

Over the last nine hundred years wars have frequently waged between Equestria and Lunaria, each seeking to unite ponykind under their own ideals. Equestria's mastery of magic often gave it the edge in battle, but never enough for a decisive victory. Peace reigns for now, but recent developments in Lunaria signal a shift in the balance between the two divided nations...

With the help of The Apparatus, Queen Twilight Sparkle had gained knowledge from innumerable divergent worlds. Using this newfound mystical power, she had conquered her world, united its varied peoples, and brought peace and prosperity to all through her own benignly neglectful rule.

Then Cadence, Princess of Love and the last of Twilight's family and friends, destroyed the Crystal Palace.

Along with everyone inside.

Why?

(Content Note: While the red tags are technically accurate, this is first and foremost a work of speculative fiction. It is not a gore fest.)

(Chronology Note: The crux of this tale takes place outside of continuity, in several of infinite possible futures. Its driftwood may touch upon any number of dimensional shores.)

A Queen of Light and Darkness story.

This tale was strongly inspired by Larry Niven’s All the Myraid Ways. Though I only read it once many years ago, it left a powerful impression on me, and you can definitely see that in this story.

Special thanks also to B_Munro, for recognizing the stories’ similarities and telling me who wrote that splendid story I’d read as a child, and what the name of it was.

Due to the nature of the discussion which follows this tale, there are comments - including mine - which may contain spoilers to varying degrees (depending on what you consider an actual spoiler). The more serious spoilers are behind the usual black boxes, of course.