Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns is famous across Equestria as a center of academic excellence. Only the best and brightest unicorns are offered places, selected by their academic merit, magical ability and passion for study. To make the admissions process as fair and reliable as possible, all candidates are given three exams by different teams of examiners, who then meet in private to decide which students are most deserving of a place.

Winner of the December 2014 Writeoff competition: Behind Closed Doors.

Look, I heard you the first time! Yeesh, I wish you'd stop staring at me, as if you're reading my thoughts. 'Cuz if you could, then you'd know that while this is the first thing I'd want to do, it's also the last! I mean, horseapples, things would be a heck of a lot easier if I'd known ahead of time that Twilight and the rest of the girls had only packed three sleeping bags instead of six for this mountain hike! For realsies, if you had any friggin' clue how many restless nights I've spent thinking about you, fantasizing situations like this, then you'd know... you would freaking know how impossible it is for me to actually... sh-share a sleeping bag with my totally not-sexy-in-any-way best friend... (*ULP*) ... overnight... s-so that we could keep our bodies warm in the cold, cold forest. Grnnnng! Alright... alright! I'll do it! Of c-course I'll do it! I'm awesome! I'm not afraid of anything! Okay... I can do this... I can totally do this... I can... I can... I-I...

As Applejack manipulates Rainbow Dash into participating in four challenges devised by their friends to test them in new and unusual ways, Rainbow finds the path to winning is tougher than she expected.

The stakes only get higher as Applejack reveals her hidden attraction to Rainbow Dash.

Contains Appledash, for the third AppleDash competition. Again.

There is a reason why Twilight used the phrase ‘works every time’ to describe the want it, need it spell. Her data says it has an approximately 99% success rate, but it used to be 100%.

Previous Episode: Twin Twilights
Current Episode: Season Zero — Episode Three
Next Episode: Episode Four: Twilight Frankenstein

My attempt at a more serious 'Luna meets Neil Armstrong' storyline. What would really happen, both on the moon and on Earth? Inspired by 'The Eagle has Landed' by CyanBlackStone.

Princess Luna has found herself on a very different moon after some strange force interfered with her banishment. She doesn't know what the metal objects that keep orbiting and sometimes landing there are, but she wants to find out. Meanwhile, Neil Armstrong believes that being the first man on the moon will be the crowning achievement of his life. Hoo boy, is he ever in for a surprise.

For those who are interested, the most excellent Zanec has provided this link to an interactive Apollo 11 site.

Cadance isn't Sombra. But Sombra's leadership is all the crystal ponies remember, a ruler they had to love at all costs, with the final payment being their own lives. And as they gradually come to see their new Princess as leader instead of savior, too much of that residual fear is being transferred to her. They praise her, adore her, refuse to correct her no matter what she does -- because they live in terror of the consequences for doing anything else. They have yet to find their own voices, and may go on repeating hers until Celestia and Luna switch shifts. So how can she make them tell her when she's wrong, see that there's nothing to be afraid of, and take the next step in coming back to themselves once and for all?

Forbidding them to do anything other than criticize her should do the trick, right?

...right?

(Part of the Triptych Continuum, which has its own TVTropes page and FIMFiction group -- but can be read as a stand-alone, and no knowledge of the other stories is required. New members and trope edits are welcome.)

Now with author Patreon and Ko-Fi pages.

Their mission is of unparalleled importance. Failure is not an option. This metal box in the kitchen will reveal its secrets to our heroines. For the greater good of pony kind, Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie will conduct the most important experiment of their lives...

"So, is it a good idea to microwave this?"

Ding ding.

Despite being her unofficial sister, Rainbow Dash has yet to meet Scootaloo's parents. This changes when the young pegasus has something to show them and Rainbow tags along for the ride.

Shining Armour has always had a secret he wishes nopony would ever find out. Only two ponies know about his secret, however a third will soon discover it, and Faust only knows the outcome of the embarrassing and hilarious events that will soon occur. Shining armour is in for one hell of a ride!

-Co-written with Appledash5

We will try to update this story every week, but if we're late, don't freak out okay.