There's a lot of things about Cadance and Shining Armor that never quite made sense: their sudden appearance before the Royal Wedding; their suspiciously convenient suitability as rulers of the Crystal Empire; their oddly abbreviated pregnancy; and even their quick change of heart after Spike asked them to forgive Thorax.

Twilight Sparkle knows exactly how deep that conspiracy goes — she was there in the beginning, when her hive's queen created Shining. And she wasn't happy about it.

Finalist in the "Things Left Unsaid" December 2015 Writeoff! Rewritten and greatly expanded to fill in more backstory and to account for Season 6 canon.

Rated 'Worth Reading' by Titanium Dragon! "If [you like] the idea of a story which hints at a greater conspiracy behind the scenes which explains some of the plot holes we see in the series, you’ll likely enjoy this."
Reviewed by Matthewl419!

Cover art by Lo-23, using Twilight from "Deception is Magic" by Heilos.

Lyra and Bon Bon love each other, but they have a ... somewhat unusual relationship. One of them is a secret agent. One of them is a changeling.

And the third one is a perfectly normal pony, about to have her life turned upside down.

This may result in some questionable relationship decisions.

Third-place winner of FamousLastWords' "A Two-Faced Charade" competition!
"This story [is] a ride … chaotic, crazy, wild, an emotional rollercoaster." –FamousLastWords

Reviewed by Hopeling! "Now this is an odd, interesting and touching one. ... Go read it, you won’t regret it."

Thanks to Titanium Dragon and BlazzingInferno for prereading suggestions. Cover art by mostlyponyart (whose blog seems to have vanished).

Every year, on Hearthswarming, Berry Punch makes a drink for Fluttershy. One perfect drink.

A gift for Shakespearicles.

In the wake of another hedonistic sleepover, the Cutie Mark Crusaders wile away the last of their weekend lounging about the clubhouse, reading comics, listening to music and stuffing their faces with junk food. However, their after party revelries come to a screeching halt when an unscheduled rainstorm rolls into Ponyville that turns creatures into twisted nightmares. There is much they don't know about the situation but one thing is clear: never touch the rain. Now stranded without adults by a storm seemingly without end, the three must try to survive in a leaky shelter on nothing but the leftovers of their sleepover aftermath. As the waters continue to rise, the status of Ponyville or even the Apple family, just yards away, remains unknown.

A comfy horror story based on childhood memories of rain, floods, parties and classic kids' games spawned from overactive imaginations.

Spike finally lays down for a well-earned nap. His friends say 'good night'.

It was supposed to be a simple spell. How did I make it? Just to test a theory. Just to see what was out there, beyond reality. It shouldn't be possible It wasn't able to affect anything. Why did I do this?

My submission to the Thousand Words Contest, Experimental category.

A contest? I was created for a contest?

Note; some formatting doesn't work on mobile. It's not much, but you only get the full intended effect on PC.

What effect? Why are you doing this to me?

Ancient Greece: A land of gods, heroes, monsters... and very few roles for women beyond wife and housekeeper.

In other words, it's a pretty terrible place and time for a renegade student of Princess Celestia to find herself. But Sunset Shimmer is nothing if not determined and resourceful. She will bend this world to her will.

That's the plan, anyway. Given how the heliocentric model is still a few millennia away from wide acceptance, maybe she can settle for finding happiness.

Winner of the Sunset x Villain Period Piece contest.

Scootaloo is just like any other filly. She goes to school, she plays with her friends. Sometimes she feels a bit insecure about her wings, but that's okay.

And then she has to go home.

Dee stays loyal to Mum, which means obeying all her Rules. Hide when company is over. Keep your sweater tight over your wings. Never speak the name "Rainbow Dash."

The problem with Rules is sometimes they don't help. Like when a scary purple unicorn shows up to ask Mum some dangerous questions.

Dangerous questions about Dee.

This is an entry in the Snippet Series, an anthology of old oneshots that I (and my good buddy Str8aura) wrote based around interesting pics I found. New ones will be posted every Thursday for the foreseeable future.

A lawyer doesn't always want to know what really happened. It's a tightrope walk. Whether or not the lawyer believes in his client's innocence is not the issue. It's his duty to defend his client - no more and no less.
— Ferdinand von Schirach

Proofreading done by Dancing Mop, Sevenofeleven, Setokaiva and N4.
Credit for many images goes to N4.

Now also featured on TvTropes.org!

Nearly one year has passed since Australian pilots discovered Equestria in the middle of the Indian Ocean.

Now the world watches in awe as, with the Princesses' blessings, one of the most ferocious and dangerous tyrants of the equine world - none other than Chrysalis, the Queen of all Changelings - is marched before one of the highest courts of law of the human world - the International Criminal Court in The Hague, the Netherlands.

But the Queen is wrathful and determined, still one of the planet's single most powerful creatures.
How can mere humans, who know next to nothing of her mystical home, achieve justice for the Equestrians?

Alexander Estermann is a conceited defence attorney who will have to wade through a quagmire of vengeance, racism, manipulation, lies, hearsay and self-deception to get to the core of the affair.
Seemingly the whole world is working against him - up and including the Queen herself.

Rated teen for liberal swearing and gore for minor gory descriptions and pictures.

Disclaimer: This is not a story that is meant to reflect reality. Several things about international law have been changed to accomodate the scenario and make it, well, readable. If that should offend you for any reason, I wish to apologise in advance.