Be it ancient menace or new threat, diplomatic snafu or domestic concern, monster attack or friendship problem, Twilight Sparkle and her friends have always risen to the challenge.

That's a bit of an issue this time around, when the challenge is a marked absence of Twilight Sparkle.

Sun comes down, Moon goes up. Moon is lowered, Sun is raised. Ever since Discord was originally defeated, that has been the pattern, the heart of stability for life in Equestria, a celestial sign that ponies retain the helm.

But Luna remembers what life was like before, and the shards of beauty which could be found in chaos.

With the second anniversary of the Return approaching along with the associated holiday, Celestia wants to know if there's anything Luna would like to do in marking the occasion. And all Luna wants -- is an eclipse.

Other than Celestia and Luna, nopony has seen an eclipse in more than a thousand years.

This could be a problem.

(This story takes place along the general Triptych timeline, several moons before Luna's Lottery Lunacy.)

Part of the Triptych Continuum, which has its own TVTropes page and FIMFiction group. New members and trope edits welcome.

Now with author Patreon and Ko-Fi pages.

When her divorce finalizes, Rarity finds comfort in a familiar friend. Shortly thereafter, she makes the biggest mistake of her life.

Takes place after The Last Problem.

Second place winner of HapHazred's Change Of Pace contest.

Written to, and inspired by, this song and that one.

When Shining Armor was in high school, he was given an assignment to take care of a bag of flour decorated like an infant filly. By the end of the week, "Floury Armor" was a prize-winning batch of muffins and the yearbook committee had unanimously voted him "Most Likely to Appear in a Future Villain's Tragic Backstory." This really should have been a red flag, but for some reason the Queen Bee of the school still married him anyway.

When Shining Armor found out that his wife was pregnant, he was quick to introduce the Crystal Empire to the idea of a gender reveal party. Luckily, that quarter of the city had been due for extensive renovation anyway and his explosion-proof wife appreciated the sentiment.

Now, when his daughter is turning into a pony he no longer recognizes (and he can't even blame the changelings this time), it's up to him and his self-proclaimed stellar parenting skills to save her from herself.

My entry for the Shining Armor is a terrible dad competition.

Proofreading and pre-reading very helpfully contributed by Light Striker, GreyTheGriffon, RB, Pneu, and Scream Queen

Sometimes the best stories come from the most unlikeliest of encounters.

In 'Rich in Flowers, Unlucky in Love', one of the flower girls struggles with her growing feelings for a customer, suffering as she watches him stumble into romantic disaster after disaster.

In 'Perspective', Pony Joe shares with one of his customers a tried-and-tested method for resolving a Code Sparkle(otherwise known as a pre-test meltdown).

In 'Late to Class', Lemon Hearts is quite excited to be filling in for an injured professor... until an unexpected student appears in her roster.

And in 'Historical Inaccuracy' Sunny and Zipp go on a scavenger hunt through history to answer a pressing question: is it even possible for one of Sunny's ancient heroes to have had an extramarital affair?

These four stories were written as part of the Quills and Sofas 'May Pairings' contest, where prompts were given matching ponies that didn't have much of a chance to interact onscreen. It was quite fun and challenging. Pre-reading help provided by the Quills and Sofas participants, as well as horsetorian and Celestilune.

(Tags are for brief mentions of alcohol consumption and discussion of an extramarital affair)

Twilight reconnects with an old flame.

Written for the September Slice of Life Incest Contest.
Inspired by Shakespearicles.
Edited by Regidar.
Big thanks to Redruin for the cover art.

Some bonds take longer to form than others. Some require quite a bit of pressure. Some happen whether you like it or not.

Some need only a spark.

Part of the Jinglemas 2022 collaboration.
Written for kalash93, who requested a story about Trixie and Sunburst, and maybe Starlight.
Preread by Alex_.
Edited by GaPJaxie.
Big thanks to Redruin for the cover art.

Having received her teaching degree, Sunset Shimmer is back at CHS to help guide along a new generation with the lessons she's had to learn about magic and friendship.

Under the boughs of their new tree, Pinkie has something she would like to tell Twilight.

Written for WillIllo for the Enchanted Library Secret Santa 2023.

Cover art by Stinkehund, and can be found here.

Technically a sequel to Hypothesis: Smooch, but intended as a standalone.

Spitfire is visiting for Hearth's Warming, and her newfound love has wisdom to share.

Part of the Jinglemas 2023 collaboration.
Written for Short-tale, who requested a story about Applejack and Spitfire.
Edited by ROBCakeran53.
Big thanks to Redruin for the cover art.