The princesses want to share a rare honor with Twilight and her friends. They will all journey to an ancient monastery where they can get in touch with new powers gifted to them by the Tree of Harmony. Unfortunately, to attend the monastery, Twilight and her friends must shave their manes and tails. Rarity cannot perform such an dreadful act without spending an evening saying her final farewells.

Inspired By: Meditation

Fluttershy loves her son, but it's been rough raising him. There are those who have always seen him as a threat. Who mock and make fun of him. They see him as nothing but an abomination.

It hurts her to know that there are ponies out there who do this to her son. It hurts even worse when one of those ponies was one of her friends.

***Warning: Spoilers in comments***

Adjustments made in the story due to some criticism that I've received. Hopefully it will help it a bit more :)

Pre-Read by: TwilightUCrazy and Bakmah Genesis

Edited by: "mysterious beautiful stranger" and InsanityCorps

The Cutie Mark Crusaders always enjoy their special time with their favorite Ponyville princess as they learn so many cool and interesting things, even if Scootaloo isn't too fond of the whole "studying" part. Sweetie Belle is especially excited as she tries to grasp the second basic spell of unicorn magic, illumination. After a mixing mishap causes an early close to Twilight Time, the little unicorn is left in the library without a teacher to help her practice until a certain sun-raiser pops in for a surprise visit to her former student.

Join Sweetie Belle as she learns that magic isn't always about simply casting spells, but how it can be a gift to bring joy to everypony.

Edited by jeray2000
Cover Art by postcrusade

My unicorn parents called me a worthless mud pony. They pushed me every day to overcome my lowly status. When I woke up one morning with my cutie mark, I thought they would love me. I couldn’t have been farther from the truth.

It was not destiny or enjoyment that led me to discover the cello and composing. My parents made that decision, deciding before I was born I would continue their family legacy of famous musicians.

They did not realize what that decision would cost them.

Special Thanks and Links:

Cover Art: Dreampaw. The inspiration for the story.
Dramatic reading of Act I-III by Malao567. June 2013
Reading with music by ObabScribbler. June 2014
Song: Hooks and Strings by Reverb Brony. May 2014

Style inspired by H.P. Lovecraft
TypeWriterError: Editor & Rating Board
Gage of Grandiloquence: Editor
The11thWonder: Pre-reader
Nharctic: Pre-reader
Breath of Plagues: My Pinch Editor.
ArgonMatrix: Bad Grammar Exterminator
Daemon of Decay: Advice, also inspired me to write fan fiction. Blame him!

In the weeks following the coronation of Equestria's new princess, Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash are both troubled by regret. In the face of changes they can never reverse and actions they can never take back, they search for solace in solitude, but instead find each other in the small hours of the morning.

Inspired by Little Wonders by Rob Thomas.

Editing by Formerly Committed and Shellsh0cker.

Winner of the TwiDash Showdown by a single vote.

This story is a sequel to Twilight Holmes: Sabotage After Sunset

While Apple Bloom is away in Manehattan, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle struggle to find something to do aside from crusading. In their search for activity, they realize that they don't know what Snails' cutie mark represents. Curiosity regarding what happens when you introduce a garden snail to table salt gets the better of them. There's no case too big, no case too small. Not for Scoots and Belle: rescue rangers bandit busters.

Part of the Twilight Holmes continuity, following It's Elementary, My Dear Rainbow and TH: Sabotage After Sunset. Reading the previous stories is unnecessary to enjoy Salting Snails.

Editing by Formerly Committed, Shellsh0cker, and Warlord487.

Written for the Variety is the Spice of Life challenge. Each prompt features a different Mane 6 x Mane 6 ship.

Teen Sex tag applies only to certain chapters (noted in the titles) for edgier content, but nothing explicit.

Chapters are presented in the order of the tags given in the original challenge, not in the order written.

(10 of 15 ships done, new chapters will be posted as the rest are written.)

Cutie marks in cover image and chapter banners came from here.

It is the year 2038, and the Earth is slowly being consumed by a space-borne monstrosity dubbed the Black Tide, which is using nanotechnology to remake the planet into something hideously alien.

Erin Olsen works for Project Harmonics, humanity's last-ditch effort to find a new world before the Tide can wipe them out. But when that world is found, and it turns out to be occupied, Erin will need to find the courage to face the unknown in order to save the inhabitants of both worlds.

(Many thanks to Easteu for the fantastic cover image for this story!)

Now with its own TV Tropes page

There is now a follow-up to this story: Sunflower - Side Projects
Sequel: Project Sunflower: Harmony

(One of my submissions for Nanopowrimo).
After a tragic event has befallen Ponyville, every pony decides to come together for the event, to engage in a day of recollection over the past and what could happen in the future. None of the remaining five wanted this to happen, and no one else in Ponyville wished that it had. Will any of the citizens be able to move on? Will her friends move on? Or will there never be another smile in the city?

Luna's disposition worsens after Twilight Sparkle once again outdoes the Princess by fighting back another evil foe. Princess Luna wishes to speak with somepony, and finds that a therapist is her only possible choice.

Cover photo by Leyanor.
Featured on Equestria Daily (somehow) on 12/19/2012.