Brief stories about Equestria as it might have been—or, you may suspect in darker hours, already is.

25. Necessary Evil: Lord Tirek will return to wreak havoc on Equestria... but not before he's needed.

24. Queen of Foals (Fausticorn):
I met a traveller from an antique land,
Who said—"Four vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk a shattered visage lies alone..."

23. The Mechanical Donkey (Cranky Doodle alt-universe): A colt working for the school paper uncovers an old donkey's secret.

22. The Element of Audacity (Twilight, Dash, Cthulhu): It would take a very brave, very stupid pony to defy the Eater.

21. The Gentle People (dark): The gryphon tribe that tried to follow a pony goddess.

20. It's a Trap! And Twilight knows it. But her opponent knows that she knows it. But she knows that Twilight knows that she knows that Twilight knows it...

19. Fraud!: Trixie is accused of cheating at cards.

18. Celerity: Rarity wonders what Celestia sees in her.

17. Worth It: Fluttershy teaches Twilight about the cost of love.

16. Self Image (Twilight, Rarity): Is beauty really only skin deep?

15. The Quiet One (Luna): Some ponies express emotions differently.

14. Special: Discord teaches Pound Cake an important lesson.

13. Twenty-one! (Pinkie Pie, Twilight; comedy, horror?): Twilight discovers the danger of asking Pinkie "why?"

12. Changeling Dream: You may think the cost of living on emotions is too high. But we know the cost.

11. Loyalty (Rainbow, Applejack): The job of an Element of Harmony is simple, and sometimes impossible.

10. [revoked]

9. Sombra's Curse (comedy): The terrible curse Sombra unleashed that made him king, and stole his soul!

8. Game of Immortals (Celestia, Discord; dark comedy): Celestia likes to win—no matter which side she plays.

7. The Pony Side (comedy): Darth Vader has more important things to share with Luke than who his father is.

6. No Regrets (sad): Looking back on her life, Twilight remembers how she treated Derpy, and faces some unpleasant truths about herself.

5. Shipping Costs (comedy): If you knew you were about to meet Celestia in the next life, you might ask yourself: Did you leave the world a better place? Did your friends know you loved them? Should you have written thirty-nine chapters of Celestia clop-fiction?

4. The Green Hills of Equestria (tragedy): Vincent's big-game hunting trip was a success ... almost.

3. Mare of the Rings (Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash; comedy, LotR): The greatest could not be trusted with the Ring. So Gandalf sought out the humblest. Maybe too humble....

2. Happy Thoughts (horror): Her sun, happy to be in its place in the sky, wrapped the land in its warm embrace, and flowers bloomed in her hoofprints. Celestia smiled. It was going to be another perfect day in Equestria. And all she had to do was think happy thoughts. Again.

1. The Pony: Once upon a midnight dreary, while I clicked weak and weary,
Thru many a vile and bilious image on slash-b of yore...

Original cover art by ModeratelyDeviant@DeviantArt

Princess Celestia writes a report to her teacher on what she has learned about mortality.

On EQD Sept. 7, 2012.
Hungarian translation by Shidotoku
Spanish translation by SPANIARD KIWI

After a mishap with a falling star, Princess Luna crashes into Ponyville, only to be saved by Big Macintosh. Overly grateful, Luna calls upon an ancient contract which binds her to the draft pony as his personal servant. Can Big Macintosh co-exist with an overzealous moon goddess, her creepy assistant, and an army of evil looking guards long enough for Twilight to find a loophole to get him out of the pact?

Featured on 9/5/2012

Gummy has heard the primal call of the Ponyville River. He scurries to answer the call, but between Gummy and his goal is a town full of friendly, helpful ponies. How can a tiny alligator find his way across Ponyville and achieve his heart's desire?

When the Elements of Harmony defeated Discord, they did their job too well, and completely undid all of the things Discord directly did...

... Like send a subcontinent from earth into a pocket dimension so he could focus properly on his toys. And now Equestria has appeared on Earth.

Yet, neither side was completely ignorant of the other. On Earth, there was the show "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" and in Equestria there was the ever popular movie serial "The Dark World: Technology is Courage" which was a favorite of colts everywhere as well as the "Pumans".

And now both sides learn through an event that the other is real. Come join us as we watch as both sides learn to work and live together. And as they find out that events on their respective fiction was not as nice as it seemed as we widen the lenses of the view points...

A Round Robin created on SpaceBattles of which I am a participant and am posting with all their permission.

The reign of Morgoth in Arda is over. He has been defeated by the Host of Valinor and the Valar have bound him once more in the chain Angainor and cast him through Doors of Night into the Void. There he has drifted for many long ages, pondering his deeds and his defeats until Ilúvatar comes and offers him a chance at redemption. Softened by ages in the endless Void, Morgoth accepts this chance at freedom. He is given a new body and sent to a new world with the task of learning the values he has shunned for so long. In this new world, under the watchful eyes of Equestria's Valar, the Dark Lord will come to realize that there are yet things greater than the power of darkness.

Also yes, I understand that there's no "e" in Silmarillion, it's a pony pun. Sil-mare-illion. Geddit? GEDDIT?

There really is no excuse for forgetting something as important as a hoof-written law. But Celestia forgot. And now, a thousand years after she wrote it, a law comes into play mandating that Celestia take a two-month sabbatical from her duties as Princess of Equestria.

So what happens when she has to step down for a couple months and leave Luna by herself in the bloody gladiator ring that is Equestrian politics? What happens when Celestia has to disguise herself and mingle with the populace of Ponyville without them knowing?

The short answer to that would be "a string of hilarious chance encounters, sisterly banter, romantic mishaps, and a political coup that was decades in the making."

The long answer, of course, is this story.

=-=-=

Rated Teen for swearing and sexual humor.

Cover image is by enma-darei

Trouble is brewing in the Unicorn kingdom as the royal castle is suddenly cut off from the outside world. Mysterious disappearances continue until an entire town is found deserted, and an attempted investigation is cut short by nightmarish monsters. Not about to let themselves be cornered, the unicorns prepare for battle. An apprentice wizard, Star Swirl, and his friends are among those called upon to defend the crown, but nopony is truly prepared for what they are about to face.

Twilight Sparkle flagrantly abuses her Come-To-Life spell, and learns a little bit about love in the process. Also, puns.

Now with actual cover art, thanks to the generous SuddenlyFerrets!

Now with a Spanish translation by Spaniard Kiwi!

Twilight reads a book about literature and, analysing her world, decides that everything she does is planned by someone other than her.

She does not take it very well.

Rated Everyone for adult humour.

now with a reading