For centuries, the pegasi of Zephyr Heights could not fly. That didn’t stop some from trying.

CONTENT WARNING: This is a work of fiction. I do not condone suicide. If you are suicidal, or have serious concerns about your mental health, I advise you not to read this story.

Help is available. USA Suicide Prevention Helpline: 800-273-8255. Website.

Twilight Sparkle is the master of her own mind. She is the Princess of Friendship. She is the fourth piece of the Alicorn Tetrarchy. She has incredible power, and she has always asserted it in a necessary and compassionate way. She has a charmed life—a wonderful set of friends, a beautiful castle in a lovely little town, and is constantly busy with her life, stretching her wings upward and outward to new horizons as often as possible.

There can be nothing wrong with her.

Pre-read by Majin Syeekoh.

When you're down on your luck, it feels like the entire world is ignoring you. Things could be better for Derpy, if only somepony would spare her a wayward glance...

Written for the Quills and Sofa's "Black Sunday" contest, where the prompt was "Alone Amongst the Crowds". Cover art by the wonderful Shaslan!

Once upon a time, Princess Celestia meant the world to her young protégée, Sunset Shimmer. In many ways, she was the world to the unicorn filly.

Now, the relationship between mentor and student has become deeply strained. Some weeks ago, the two suffered a major spat. As the rift between them grows and emotions churn inside Sunset, she begins to wonder exactly who she is in the eyes of the age-old alicorn who controls the sun.

And as Celestia prepares to leave for a diplomatic errand, she finds herself confronted by her volatile pupil -- and, put on the spot, must find a way to bridge the gap before it's too late.

Ignores the depiction of events in the comic The Fall of Sunset Shimmer. While the story works as a standalone prequel to canon G4 animated media, it is also canon with my ongoing longform story Together from Canterlot to Canterlot, as well as, separately, my alternate universe setting established by What My Destiny is Telling Me. (Despite the name, it is not directly related to my story Late-Night Conversations.)

Cover art by daOtterGuy, who pre-read the story along with The Sleepless Beholder. Special thanks to TCC56 (First Hoof Account) and Sledge115 (Sogno di Volare) for inspiring me to dabble in this period of Sunset's life.

Featured on 11/8/22-11/10/22! Re-edited 1/14/23. Now featured on Equestria Daily!

Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle have a few drinks together... Okay, maybe more than a few. This is followed by a desire to do some science. This simultaneously goes much better and much worse than the girls would have expected.

Thanks to Novel Idea for the story prompt inspired by this great comic by Crydius.

[An AU where Sunset Shimmer never went through the mirror. The mirror portal didn't exist, and neither did the humans.]

When Sunset woke up to find herself in some part of Equestria she's never been before, she had originally planned to drive all the ponies apart in this place and gain more power to show Celestia that she's strong enough to be an Alicorn. But she didn't need to; all the ponies were already fighting with one another.

EDIT: Sequel is up now!

Every three years, Ponyville holds a festival celebrating beer and wine, which means this particular townwide party is going to be Spike and Twilight's first. As such, the mayor would truly appreciate it if they took an active claw and hoof in the proceedings.

Because when you're having an alcohol festival in a town populated by magically-capable individuals with dubious judgment skills, there's no possible way anything could go wrong.

...well, more wrong than usual. Or perhaps even wrong by design...

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

Now with author Patreon and Ko-Fi pages.

Cover art by Harwick.

Crossing Guard works in Equestria's Immigration Department: among other things, he serves as the final check on whether a non-pony can take up residence in Canterlot. It's not a simple job, especially given the follow-ups when a new resident or citizen-in-waiting inevitably gets into trouble. But Gerald Gristle is an exceptionally calm applicant, Crossing's tired from a long day, and so he allows the griffon to begin the five-year process, with the announced food supply business set to open two weeks in.

Which is when Crossing finds out just what kind of food the griffon is supplying.

After all, carnivores and omnivores have to eat too...

(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.

This story is a sequel to Good For Nearly All Princess Labor, Public And Private

Part of getting Equestria used to having the full Diarchy in place is making Luna's presence into a normal aspect of everyday life. And since few things are more everyday than commerce, that means it's finally time to get her visage back onto the nation's currency. All the palace has to do is commission one of the realm's greatest (and most disconnected) artists, and then...

...actually, that was the first mistake.

((Part of the Triptych Continuum, which has its own TVTropes page and FIMFiction group: new members and trope edits welcome. This story can be read on its own: it just happens to take place after the events of the linked piece. No reading or knowledge of that earlier story is required.)

Now with author Patreon and Ko-Fi pages.

Looking after the royal family is no easy task, but then again, it's never a dull one, either. My name is Zoom Zephyrwing—

And, um, hello! My name is Thunder.

—and these are our recorded experiences as two of Her Majesty's most noble guard ponies.

A community fic for all of our G5 writers!

Would you like to write about cute pegasi in helmets? Full details in this blog!

Explore a typical (or not-so-typical) day in the life of being a guard pegasus tasked with looking after the Zephyr Heights royal family, from the perspective of our noble protagonists. Every chapter will be by a different author, with its own standalone plot.

Cover art by RRDartist