From the stone age to the modern world, Celestia guides her little ponies into the future. And she needs to keep playing. Just one more turn.

Always one more turn.

Done as a speed-writing exercise in about three hours. Totally unedited. Enjoy!

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J̷̛̱̯͎̯̙͔̞͉̯̉̏̑͑̄̋̎̒͂͒͘ ̸̧͈͓̯̦̩̟̪̞̠̦̍͌̉̓͂͋̉͛̋͒͂̃̎͜͠Û̵̯̪̪͎̹̝͙͎̻͕̭̘̂̔͒́͜ ̴̯̠͕̩͖̘̲̗̟̣̬̞̅́̐͜S̵̡͓̮͎͕̰̟̺̭̤̀̉̀͜ ̷̨̨̨̹̠̘͎͕̙̼̌͌̑̏̌̎͑́̑T̷̠̝͓̟̤̔ ̷̨̺͖̳͓̙͖͍͓̺̝̲̹̼̏͋̔̎̋̂̊ ̷̛̺̜̳͎̬̭̠͙̤͓̫̎̅̾͊̊͊͛̌ͅC̴̡̭̤̯͓͍̱͓̬̗̱͚̈́͆͒̅͒́̅́͛̇̄̈́̎̒ ̸͖͖̖̥̞͐̿͂̅̌́̒͒͌̏͂͝Ơ̶͖̻͉̣̏̑́͋̏̾̀ ̷̛̭̙̊͛͂̈́̅͑̒̕̚͠Z̵̢̮̞̦̙̈́͆̄̀͗͆̌́̈̒͠ ̶̧̛̜̹̪̲̪͖͈̊͂̄̅̾̌̕ͅͅY̴̧̘̔́

(This is a work of fiction and is not directed at any real person, living or dead. This story is not suitable for children or those who are easily disturbed.)

This year, more than 450,000 ponies and other creatures will undergo cutie mark cosmetic surgery. The Manehattan Times investigates, in this exclusive report.

(This story is written in the first person POV of a pony journalist. Takes place roughly 20 years after Twilight’s coronation.)

(Cover image sources: 1; 2; 3; 4)

1/15/21: Reached #1 on the feature box! Thanks y'all!

Theodor Pichler knew joining the Barrow Observatory's winter crew would be a difficult position. He thought he knew the danger--freezing temperatures, gale-force winds, and terribly spotty broadband coverage. What he didn't expect was for an experimental new telescope array to interact with an unusual storm and send him screaming helplessly into the sky.

Instead of falling to his death, Theo landed in an alien world, populated by colorful horses he can't understand. What's worse: the body he landed in isn't his own, and he's not sure anything is where it should be. Having wings might be cool if he didn't have to be naked all the time...

With limited supplies and no help from the Observatory, Theo has to somehow navigate this new land, making new friends and encountering terrible dangers along the way. It will take all his cleverness, and a healthy dose of luck, if he's ever to be human again.

This book has a Hardcover! If you want to pick it up, you can grab it here: https://starscribe.net/

This story was a commission for Lucky Ray on my Patreon. Feel free to PM me if you'd like one of your own. It was edited by Two Bit and Sparktail. Coverart by FoxHatArt. Where chapters have art, it was done by Jasper.

Zutcha was here too.

It should have been a simple raid on the ponies’ livestock, but there was an ambush. There had to be some reason he had been spared, and whatever that reason was, he would probably need all his strength to face it.

"This is a really masterful piece, and what makes it stand out from the others in this contest is that nothing is explained. Far too often, writing an alien perspective involves a lot of “what is that? why are they doing that? I am doing this, and it is different from what they do”, but not here. Osvald, the griffon, just goes about his business as he normally would, and the ponies’ reactions are what tell us that it is unexpected. On top of that, this gives us a couple stories’ worth of redemption and a thrilling mystery, plus the perspective of a people with long memories in conflict with short ones. This is plain great."
—PresentPerfect, Equestria Daily pre-reader and Royal Canterlot Library curator.

Reading by AShadowOfCygnus.
Entry for Equestria Daily's Outside Insight Competition.
Cover image by Abcron
A massive thank you to wYvern for his editing help and all-round butt-kicking.
Additional thanks to Abcron for significant feedback as time ran out.

Smolder didn't used to like Hearthswarming. Until she realized she could win.

A Jinglemas story for Axxuy.

Minuette has an imaginary friend. At least, that's what everypony else thinks.

When ten-year-old magic student Minuette comes into possession of an antique vanity mirror, she is surprised to discover there is a creature living inside: A bug pony with big fangs and glowing eyes. Most little foals would probably be scared of such a creature, but not Minuette. Armed with a cheerful smile, she decides to befriend the bug in her mirror and uncover the mystery behind his bewildering predicament.

It's just such a shame that nopony else can see him.

First Act Edited by Mister Hypothetical

Second act and on edited by Xanni & Brony2005

This story is part of 'The Bugs in Strange Places' series, whose other entries include The Bug in The Herd, The Bug in The Basement, and The Bug in The Cave. You do not need to read any of these previous stories to enjoy this one, as they are not directly connected.

Inspiration for this story comes directly from this fine individual right here.

Twilight Sparkle is a gifted student and scholar. When she attempts to harness her creative side by writing a science-themed sensual romance novel, however, things rapidly get out of hoof. Can her friends stage an intervention before she humiliates herself (and them) at a prestigious literature recital?

No. No, they cannot.

For a thousand years, there was just Celestia. Then Cadance appeared, Luna returned -- and now Twilight has ascended. There are ponies who are very curious about just what happened, why -- and how. Especially the how. Twilight herself is on that list, a freshly-minted princess with far more questions than answers, about to face a brand new one: what truly makes an alicorn?

And what happens if it goes wrong?

(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.

Cover art by Harwick.

Discord's the only creature in Equestria who can recognize the human for what he is -- not the long-lost Seventh Element that never actually existed and couldn't have existed before the human arrived, but a meta-reality warper, an entity far more powerful than Discord with the power to warp the minds of all around him and the very rules of magic to make sure that he's always the Big Hero. And the role the human's assigned to Discord is the Villain to beat down or kill.

Pre-reform Discord's fine with being the villain. But on his own terms. Not dancing on some alien interloper's puppet strings.

Without friendship, or even allies, Discord's going to have to find a way to defeat a creature who can alter fate itself and who can even mind-control him. Or he may just end up worse than dead.

Art by Tenchi-Outsuno. Progress Bar at my writing journal.

Trigger warnings: Mind control (magically induced love, magically induced friendship, magically induced stupidity, Discord being Discord), noncon/dubcon (magically induced love, other forms of highly dubious consent), rape (female on male), violence/gore (mostly against Discord), literally everything in chapters 19-21, humans not being presented as unilaterally wonderful and superior to ponies and/or draconequui.