It's been uncounted millenia since the last of Twilight's first friends passed away. Even their names have passed into legend and myth, forgotten by the slow march of time. Now on a far away planet, she finds her musing upon all of her friends over the long years interrupted by her latest faithful student, Calming Waltz.

Now if she can only get that silly pony off to her wedding, and maybe teach her something about why her romance and wedding to come is so special and wonderous... Or at least something for Twilight to get a laugh out of, anyway.

Though the distance between Pinkie Pie and her five closest friends has grown in the half-century since they claimed their Elements, she does what she can to prevent the others from drifting away. It’s small things, mostly: tea with Rarity, a drink with Rainbow Dash, a few words with each of the others. The friendship still makes each day together magic, and she works as hard as ever to bring cheer to all of her friends. When the smiles come less frequently, that just makes each one that much more precious.

Love doesn't always last forever. And sometimes it can crumble so spectacularly that you never want to see or speak to the other person again.

Celestia was perfectly content with that. But when Twilight Sparkle suddenly appears at the palace in Canterlot, after a century of silence, she has no choice but to talk to her.

Politely, of course. Always politely.

*Credit and many thanks go to littlerobotbird for the concept and editing of the cover art. As near as I can tell, the original picture is Jykinturah's work, but the source post seems to be gone.*

Everything has fallen apart for Scootaloo.

Her Cutie Mark will never come. The doctor said so. Her blood is just wrong.

As she stays in the Cutie Mark Crusader's Clubhouse, her friends show up. Now she has to explain that her crusade is over, and that there's even worse news.

Life as she knows it is over.

A/N: Kind of a sad story, with an upbeat ending. Listed as Slice-of-Life because it contains headcanon that makes some modicum of sense. Pretty light (Scoot's not even an orphan in this), and may have been done before, but this idea's been bothering me for too long, so here it is. Bonus points if you know what the title means. Avoid comments for massive spoilers, even if you do know what the title implies.

And yes, I do have some background in genetics, but I'm skimming it a bit for show feel.

Edit 28/7: Made the whole thing a little longer, and I think better in general. Hope you enjoy!

Watch out for the sequel, being worked on now.

Everypony has secrets, and Applejack is no different. Apple Bloom's looking for answers only her older sister can give, but Applejack doesn't want to talk. If her secrets came to light, she fears they could crush the filly who looks up to her with nothing short of admiration.

Cover image by latecustomer. Story inspired by image.

Featured on Equestria Daily on Nov. 11, 2012.

See also this song, which was featured on Equestria Daily on June 27 and inspired by this story.

Scootaloo has always been a filly with big dreams, but can they all come true?
At the very least, she can always follow in the hoofsteps of her hero, right?

(For an amazing follow-up/side-story, please read Shine by The Descendant.)
( Muffinz has written an awesome instrumental track here: EQBeats Page. Check it out!)
(Another great song here written by Fifths89 over on Youtube: Tiny Wings. Give it a listen!)

In the final days of her life, an exceptionally faithful student muses on the subject of her perfect and immortal mentor Applejack.

Now with Spanish translation by Spaniard Kiwi!

Nopony ever said the friendship between Fluttershy and Discord would be an easy one. The difference in their life expectancies doesn’t help, but that’s a problem Discord can fix with a snap of the talons—that is, until Fluttershy finds out. Discord isn’t one to give up easily, though. He’ll do anything to keep his one and only friend. Anything.

Inspired by the image by C-Puff.

There is now a video review! And still another video review! And Russian and French translations! And there are dramatic readings from Joehighlord and Dr. Wolf! But wait! There's more: Dr. Wolf has collaborated with Meb90 and a team of other talented artists to produce something amazing.

A Cutie Mark is meant to represent the personality and special talent of each pony that has one. Cheerilee's flowers symbolize her desire to help her students bloom, and the smiles represent the cheer that she hopes to bring to their lives.

At least...that's what she tells everypony who asks.

[SEMI-SAD]

On a dark night filled with even darker magics, an insane cult attempts to give Nightmare Moon a body and life of her own, utterly separate from Princess Luna. But, when the spell is interrupted by Celestia, something unexpected is created.

Now, a little black alicorn filly named Nyx finds herself living under the care of Twilight Sparkle, only to be haunted by memories and emotions from her past. Is she Nightmare Moon reborn or is she simply a doppelganger with a soul and mind of her own? Can Twilight Sparkle protect Nyx from those who refuse to see past her dragon eyes and black coat?

Or, will Nyx be forced to inherit the sins that may not even be hers and become the greatest evil Equestria has ever known?