Following the aftermath of Queen Chrysalis' evil plot to take over Equestria, and the transformation of the Changeling Kingdom, Princess Celestia has insisted that Twilight Sparkle be guarded 24/7 by a trained royal guard. Having refused the offer to be guarded before, Twilight is not too keen on being watched over every moment of every day.
Although she is doubtful at first, Twilight comes to believe that she and her friends have many challenges yet to face.
As this new development unfolds, a creature of unknown origins comes to Equestria with a dark purpose. Light becomes cast over the shadows of Equestria’s ancient past, and a well known truth may come to save this peaceful land.
Friendship is Magic.

One cold morning, a small grey filly crested the low hill at the edge of her family's farm, sneering down at the smoky swamp below as she sucked furiously on a squeaky yellow pacifier.

She was just old enough to understand that the arrival of her little sister Maud made her the "big girl" now... and she didn't like that one bit. Even worse, she'd heard mommy and daddy whisper that another was on the way.

But down there, in the swamp, was the means to end this madness. All she needed was to grit her teeth, toddle forward, and take it.

A cute and silly drabble inspired by the cover art, and proofread by hawthornbunny!
Featured on FimFiction 8Dec.2016-9Dec.2016
Also featured by Seattle’s Angels

Anon shaves his head. The ponies think he has cancer. What could possibly happen?

Edited/Proofread by Enigmatic Otaku and Vylon

Narrated by Straight To The Point Studio

Anon's dead, apparently, and Death has come to claim his soul. There's just one problem: he doesn't want to go. And there's nothing Death can do to make him.

Twilight Sparkle finds a small sapling, the offspring of the tree that had formed her original home in Ponyville.

She plants it, in hopes of eventually seeing it grown to adulthood.

"Shining? You think Mom and Dad might've been kidnapped by ninjas?" Twilight Sparkle nervously asked her brother.

"Looks like it," Shining told his sister openly. "Why else would they be so late?"

Thus began the night of a thousand fibs.

Starlight returns from the marketplace to come across two sworn foes calmly sharing tea, much to her confusion.

Much to her confusion.

Pinkie Pie sits alone in a room with an unopened box. What's in the box, you ask?

Only everything.

Rainbow Dash was the Iron Wing. She was a war hero, the Slayer of Shadows, the Liberator of the Crystal Empire, the Wrath of Celestia. And depending on who you ask, she still is.

But the war is over. There's little need for a pony like her in peacetime. So she keeps telling herself that she needs to adjust, that she needs to find a new role to fill in the world that she saved. But Equestria seems content to let her remain what she has become, even though they have no need of a warrior.

"This isn't how it's supposed to be", is something she keeps telling herself. But every time she says it, the only thing she can reply is, "so what should it be?"

One whole year after the close of the war, and Rainbow Dash still doesn't have the answer.

Art by NCMares.

Fluttershy has been called away on an adventure. An adventure without Rainbow Dash.

My entry into The 3rd Flutterdash Writing Contest.
Thanks to alt-tap for editing and feedback.

“When writing gurus talk about ‘show, don’t tell,’ this is the sort of thing they mean.”

“This felt like the literary equivalent of a well-painted landscape ... Its biggest strength is in the way it chooses tones and contrasts to create depth. But all of the characters are also individually great, especially Spike, and their concerns are so real and wide-ranging that this piece is bursting with life.”

— Royal Canterlot Library