After the Storm King's army was disbanded Tempest decides to stay in Ponyville for a few weeks to prove she can be a valued citizen of Equestria.

She expects to be bored. She expects civilian life to be hard to adjust to.

She doesn't expect Rainbow Dash to approach her, asking for combat training. And she certainly doesn't expect to start to like the cocky Pegasus.

But opening your heart to friendship means opening it to some other things as well.

Soarin joins Octavia on her way to the Whitetail Woods. Initially focused on a project and therefore cool to his accompaniment, Octavia witnesses a custom aerial display by the pegasus that invites her to warm up to him.

Cover art by me.

Apple Bloom wants to grow up. She's sure she does. Surrounded by the family that founded a town, shaped it, and made it what it is today, she finds herself all the more invested in becoming a part of this legacy.

Yet as Apple Bloom's interest in the legacy grows, so does her interest in a pony who never had one.

After all, sometimes there's a good reason to step outside. To fly on your own. To look beyond the herd.

Gallus hates pining after someone whose so obviously pining for someone else. One day, taking a minute to sulk, he is interrupted by the Royal Advisor, Spike.

After the return of the Pillars of Equestria, A. K. Yearling gets a letter from Twilight: former villain Stygian is interested in writing. Not one to turn down a request from a princess and interested in learning from somepony who lived a millennium ago, Yearling sets up a meeting with him at a Canterlot donut shop. And so the two commence on Stygian's education of modern fiction.

Takes place not long after "Shadow Play". Written for the May 2020 Pairing Contest.

Equestria is a land of love and friendship, where anypony or anybug can find love. Or at least that's the theory.

With Thorax feeling down, the girls take it upon themselves to get him a date. It quickly becomes obvious why none of the Mane 6 are actually dating anypony themselves. Can Fluttershy heal Thorax's longing heart? Can Rarity finish her embroidery? Will Spike get to do anything important?

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Written as a commission for an anonymous donor.

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Applejack's life leaves her little time for romance. All the time that isn't spent working the farm is either given to her family, or given to sleep. So, she's largely given up on love, seeing it as just a far off dream.

What she doesn't know is that another pony can see that dream.

Cheerilee has, by and large, been detached from the events at the School of Friendship. She heard the rumors about a total meltdown at the school, and even worse ones about a diplomatic incident that followed, but by and large, she's simply wished Twilight well and went about her business of helping all the young ponies of Ponyville grow.

Then, one day, not too long after the School of Friendship reopened, a new young mind flies into her life.

Special thanks to Cynewulf and Skeeter for giving this story a once over and assuring my stress addled brain that it wasn't total garbage, and to Jack of a Few Trades, for whom the story was written, and whose own work served as an inspiration.

Written for Jinglemas 2018.

It's the deliberately coldest autumn day in recorded Ponyville history and Rainbow Dash, who's setting up the last of the weather conditions, has the town pretty much to herself as every other pony huddles indoors, hiding from the chill. This would normally mean a morning where nopony takes a single glance at her and decides she's a talking map with nothing better to do than personally guide them wherever they need to go, no matter how many hours it takes. And in fact, nopony does.

Just one familiar, arrogant jerk of a teenage dragon who wants to know how he can get to a certain cave -- and believes Rainbow has nothing better to do than take him there...

(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.

Rainbow Dash is a mare of many talents, among them incredible passive observation skills. Once she no longer worried about getting her chance to ride the most amazing roller coaster that ever was like any proper Wonderbolt, she could take the time to process everything her brain noticed while she was busy.

That's when the family resemblance hit her.

Then some other things.

This is going to be awkward.

Rated Teen for frank discussion of the production of Trixie.