The first story in The Journey of Graves.

Ponyville is getting ready for the arrival of Princess Celestia's marshals, elite of royal guard and travelling heroes of the people. But in all the hustle and bustle of party preparations, a lone traveler slips into town, a young man with business concerning Twilight Sparkle. What that business is remains to be seen, but you can be sure Ponyville won't make it easy for him.
After all, where would be the fun in that?

Vinyl Scratch had been mute all her life. She's long since accepted that. It doesn't get in her way as much as one might think.

But, when it comes to telling Octavia how she feels, there could be no greater obstacle.

It's just another normal week of Vinyl Scratch attending school with the most beautiful creature on the the face of the earth.

It's a rare thing when you find somepony special who brings light into your life—a light you didn't know you were missing. When you find that pony, isn't it only fitting to return the favour?

A short story written for Monochromatic's Interwoven Colours contest.

Preread by Carabutt.

Cover art by Rossby Waves.

Amethyst Star used to be Ponyville's top organizer. Everything from balancing the Mayor's schedule, Nightmare Night, and even Winter Wrap-Up were dropped on her desk. When the mess ups and the mistakes started to pile up, however, she was only too happy to pass the torch to the new resident librarian.

But, with Cranky and Matilda's wedding under her belt, she can't help but wonder if she threw in the towel a little too early . . .

Good thing there's a pair of friends, dancing around their feelings for one another, that could use a little matchmaking. Amethyst just might be the perfect mare for the job.

Cover art by the illustrious Rossby Waves.
Edited by Jondor and Melon Hunter.
Preread by auramane, Crystal Wishes, and Carabutt.
By special request, pre-preread by Tchernobog

Sunset Shimmer is having the worst day of her life. She used to be important. She was the personal student of Princess Celestia. She was a future leader of Equestria. She was the kind of mare that everypony envied.

Today, it's all crashing down around her.

Alternate Universe: What if Sunset Shimmer hadn't gone through the mirror?

This story is a sequel to Aunthood Issues

Pop-cultural investigative reporter Coranto has heard some pretty out-there excuses for rumors. Some were even true. But when castle gossip says Luna has had a baby, and she claims she's created an entity to patrol dreams called the Tantabus, Coranto knows she's smelling a load of hogwash. The idea is absurd. Patently. Never one to let the truth hide, Coranto decides she will get to the bottom of these rumors, and nothing will dissuade her. Not anything Luna says. Not even the Tantabus itself taking an interest in her crusade.

...Wait...

This story is a sequel to Tantabus, Mk. II

The new and improved Tantabus has behaved itself thus far, but Luna has delayed telling Celestia about it. Until one night when it jumps into Celestia's dreams to say hi and inadvertently reveals itself. Luna must now introduce Celestia to her little bundle of self-aware psychic dream energy sooner than she imagined.

Trying to patrol the dreams of every pony in Equestria can be stressful. To ease her burden, Luna retools the Tantabus to turn nightmares into good dreams instead of vice versa. Aware of her mistakes from last time, she tests it out thoroughly, making sure there are no unexpected behaviors. And as far as she can tell, there are none.

Except that it's started calling her "Mom".

Faced with the prospect of possibly creating life, Luna seeks out Twilight's advice and assistance. With a little luck, they can get this all sorted out before the sun rises.

Failing once in her attempt to take Canterlot and failing again in her attempt to take down Twilight, one would think Chrysalis would have cut her losses and let things be, but the queen has once again appeared, this time in broad daylight with no disguise and no army. Her weapon of choice? Diplomacy.

Now Twilight is having to deal with the changeling queen, but surely putting up with her antics will be worth the knowledge she's willing to provide about her mysterious race and the potential undiscovered agents still within their midst...right?

Takes place before Magical Mystery Cure and diverges from there.

With thanks to MisterGunpowder for proofreading and editing.

Revision History:

05/09/2015: Chapter 1 updated with millions of little corrections.
05/20/2015: Chapter 2 revised and edited with another million small and large corrections.
06/12/2015: Chapter 3 given a thorough editing and revision.
06/23/2015: Chapter 4 taken to the gutter and edited twice to be sure.
07/14/2015: Chapter 5 thoroughly brutalized with the editing stick.
08/03/2016: Chapter 6 finally edited. Yes, I'm still alive, dammit.
09/29/2016: Chapter 7 fell out of the editing tree and hit every editing branch on the way down.
10/26/2016: Chapter 8 has emerged from the editing emergency room.
11/17/2016: Chapter 9 found and edited. No casualties reported.
11/30/2016: Chapter 10 treated for whiplash after lightning fast editing.
12/22/2016: Chapter 11 edited. Chrysalis shot first.
01/17/2017: Epilogue edited. Time to hit the cider.