The long trial was over, and Twilight - no, Dusk Shine's finally out from under that terrible shadow. Poor little Skyla and her auntie could move on with their life. Skyla's murderous grandfather was behind bars, and Dashville was simply beautiful in the fall!

And all Dusk Shine needed to do was stay out of the public eye, and never catch the eye of 'King' Sombra's secretive confederates. And make sure that she stayed in the local deputy marshals' good graces.

How much trouble could a slightly witchy woman and her orphaned niece get up to in a quiet Applelachian town like Dashville, anyways? Even if they were hiding in witness protection from their incarcerated drug-cult kingpin of a patriarch.

Chrysalis' scheme has borne fruit. United by bribes and promises, the leaders of each nation have come with her to deliver an ultimatum: surrender Equestria, or face hopeless war with their combined armies.

So why does Celestia look to Chrysalis with a gentle, mourning gaze? And why is Chrysalis afraid?

It was supposed to be a simple spell. How did I make it? Just to test a theory. Just to see what was out there, beyond reality. It shouldn't be possible It wasn't able to affect anything. Why did I do this?

My submission to the Thousand Words Contest, Experimental category.

A contest? I was created for a contest?

Note; some formatting doesn't work on mobile. It's not much, but you only get the full intended effect on PC.

What effect? Why are you doing this to me?

Life for the Great and Powerful Trixie may not be the wealthiest or most dignified one, but it's the lifestyle she chose, and everypony seems to love her for it.

Well, almost everypony. High up in the white marbled walls of Canterlot, a storm of intrigue and political upheaval is stirring with the recent return of Princess Luna, and the boastful and flashy magician is about to be paid a disapproving visit by the one antagonist who can and will threaten to sever all links and ties to her life and place in Manehattan, and just may be the Elements of Harmony's most powerful adversary yet.

Her mother.

Story set in the Manehattanverse

The Best Young Fliers competition is coming up, a contest for the best of the best pegasi around to strut their stuff. Hundreds of ponies, even-non pegasi, come just to watch the awe inspiring feats of aerial acrobatics in the Cloudsdale arena.
Only the top pegasi with unparalleled skill dare to throw their horseshoe into the ring, so one would never expect average confidence, average flier, and somewhat absentminded junior weather cadet Blossomforth from Manehattan to be in the running. But after an unexpected meeting with an old schoolmate, and a wrong turn while engrossed with catching up, the flower loving pegasus now finds herself as number 13 in what is perhaps the biggest airshow next to a Wonderbolts derby.

Can she and her partner muddle through this without either of them going to pieces? Or will stage fright and humiliation claim another victim for a front page scandal in the Cloudsdale Quarterly?

Story set in the Manehattanverse
Cover art by punzil504

Trixie has never been one to shy away from boasting and ego stroking. It certainly helps when you've suddenly become one of the most important ponies in the world in the span of a single night. But Twilight starts to think things are getting out of hoof for the showmare when she starts hoofing out autographs and getting news columns for things as simple as stopping a runaway baby carriage or fixing a broken carriage wheel.

So she decides to show Trixie what a real hero is like with a little help from her friends. Unfortunately for them, everything will go too according to plan. When a simple scheme to teach a mare about swallowing your pride turns into a race to save a reputation, a friendship, and perhaps an entire city, there's only going to be one question on everypony's mind at the end of the day:

What truly defines a hero?

Story set in the Manehattanverse.
Cover art by punzil504

Orange Sherbet has received an invite to attend the annual Apple family reunion, being hosted in Ponyville this year.
She would love nothing more than to see all her relatives again, but uncertainty grips her heart. The last time she ever attended the Apple Clan's gathering was when she was still a filly on a farm. Much has changed for her since then, she fell in love with an Orange, moved away from her sister and mother, and hasn't even seen a live apple tree aside from the one in the Neigh York Botanical Gardens in over 20 years. She doesn't even have her old name anymore. Can the business savvy city socialite find a way to fit in with her dirt loving farm raised cousins?

Story set in the Manehattanverse.
Cover art by punzil504

Twilight Sparkle, becoming anxious at the upcoming Summer Sun Celebration, which she believes marks the return of Nightmare Moon, beseeches Princess Celestia to do something about it.

Celestia, however, has another, more important task for her; making sure that the Summer Sun Celebration goes off without a hitch. Every year, a different town is chosen to receive the honor of hosting the grand festival.

And the lucky city chosen this year, for this fateful holiday, is none other than the city of Manehattan...

Cover image by Conner Cogwork.

In her dreams, it was always the same. A world of mirrors.

A gift for Snow Quill
CW: Some violence, themes of mental illness, blood

Twilight takes a walk in the woods near Canterlot to clear her mind, when a mischievous little phoenix starts dropping chestnut shells on her head. Quite a familiar mischievous little phoenix.

Somewhat inspired by the song "Evermore" by Alison Krauss, a story to perhaps make its reader smile.

Thanks go to Skywriter, GhostOfHeraclitus, and "Nettle" for pre-reading; and Ziom05 of deviantART for permission to use "Sun Springs" as the cover art.