Rarity is overworked. Saving the day on a regular basis doesn't do her schedule any favors; on the contrary, it brings in several customers. She appreciates that, both for the additional income and ever-increasing opportunities to live her passion. But the emergencies keep piling up as well and any moment Rarity has to herself is spent cornered against her backlog.

She will not rush or botch any order though. That was simply, irrevocably out of the question. Her customers will get the marvels they asked for and deserve. She'd just have to soldier on, like so many times in the past.

She's swiftly reminded that even heroes need rest, along with one fateful, foreboding proverb: desperate times call for desperate measures...

You can't buy happiness, but, thankfully, you can buy a wife. Legally, it's an arranged marriage, but everypony knows what's really going on. Unfortunately for Apple Bloom and Diamond Tiara, duty calls them to make the ultimate sacrifice and marry to keep their families out of the gnashing maws of loan sharks and auditors.

It might even work, if either family had two bits to rub together.

This is a story I've had on the back burner for a long time. I started it as a fragment years ago and got around to finishing it now. I must have started around season 4, since Starlight hadn't been introduced yet, so that tells you how long I had it sitting as a fragment on my hard drive!

Anyway, rated T for alcohol use, fade-to-black sex, and gambling.

Thanks to all my readers and supporters. I love you all in a totally platonic way. Does anyone else think Plato would be disappointed his name was synonymous with the friendzone? Anyway, enjoy!

Following the Cutie Map, Applejack and Rainbow Dash head off to Whinnypeg to find a friendship problem somewhere in the convention center. A con is poised to start when they arrive and they check-in as attendees, ready to search high and low among the staff and the con-goers for whoever needed their help. The only real problem is that the con is a couples retreat, everypony is flashing Applejack and Rainbow Dash knowing looks, and the two of them aren’t together like that.

At least, they haven’t been together like that since they were teenagers …

A novella told in three parts.

Editing by JetstreamGW and bookplayer. Cover art by mousse.

Written as for Bean's Writing Group, as prompt no. 32 "Dancing with Myself."
Thanks to LysanderasD and RDT for editing and other help!

I definitely broke the word limit (two times over and change), but I couldn't help myself.

Let me know what you think about the story!

Flash Magnus and Flash Sentry find themselves in a competition to win Twilight Sparkle’s affections. As the competition escalates, Flash Magnus begins to realize that it might not be Twilight Sparkle he wants to win the affection of.

Story and Concept inspired by Shilic with assistance from Sir Fiddler
Preread by SockPuppet and Graymane Shadow
Editted by LuckyChaosHooves

T and Sex Tags is due to very suggestive themes especially in Chapter 4. Nothing explicit.

There are LGBT themes in this story.

Entry for the Pillars Shipping Contest.

First Place Winner of the Pillars Shipping Contest.

The real reason Twilight and Moondancer had a sudden falling out.

Written for Telly Vision for Jinglemas 2021

It now has an audio reading!

'R' and 'E' are right next to one another on keyboards, so I dismissed 'Mareiott' as a typo and booked my hotel room online. It was only after I found a pony waiting for me at the airport that I realized it was, instead, a horrible pun. Now I'm stuck in a horsey hotel for a week while attending a major trade fair on behalf of my employer.

Additional character tags: Snowcatcher, Flitterheart, Sunny Rays, Feathermay, Honeybuzz

Written for Admiral Biscuit's challenge/request for more slice of life fics featuring ponies working on Earth:

https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/869870/story-notes-labor-day-plus-a-challenge-to-readers

This story is a sequel to Smoothing the Knots

Princesses Celestia and Luna take tea under less than ideal circumstances: house arrest for psychiatric care following Luna's revelation about the her use of the Tantabus to torture herself.

Ever the thoughtful sister, Celestia tries to help Luna open up about her addiction to guilt and suffering in order to understand why Luna isn't happy now that the pain has finally left her. But Luna has a very different topic she wishes to discuss.

Zebras. None of Twilight's friends had even known they existed before seeing Zecora. But zebras exist, and are sorely absent in Equestrian society. Seeing a gap to bridge, Twilight decides to head to Zebrabwe, the zebra homeland, as an ambassador and open diplomatic relations. New friends are new friends, no matter where they are.

But things aren't all as they seem; Equestria isn't the only country interested in Zebrabwe, and definitely not the closest. Zebrabwe has neighbors of its own, and there's a reason zebras in Equestria are harder to find than needles in haystacks.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: "Zebrabwe" was originally "Gondwana" before I decided that the country needed a horse-pun name. Early comments mention Gondwana rather than Zebrabwe.

Obiter dicta -- things said in passing.

A collection of short stories, vignettes, and delete scenes, mostly based in the Civil Serviceverse and tending to be either slice of life or comedy. Also contains contest entries including FanOfMostEverything's Imposing Sovereigns.

Currently contains:

1. An Afternoon For Dotted Line [slice of life] [comedy]
2. The Game The Princesses Play [comedy]
3. On the Inaccuracy of Proverbs [slice of life] [comedy][sad]
4. The Nature of War [history]
5. On Forensic Accounting & Choral Singing [comedy]
6. Hoofprints [human][sad]
7. Dr. Spinning Top—Specimen Annotated Daily Schedule [slice of life]
8. Love and Other Acquired Tastes [comedy][sad]
9. Any Other Business? [comedy]
10. Songs Like Snow [romance]
11. Civics [comedy]
12. The Other Princess [slice of life] [comedy]