Applejack, while surveying the border between Sweet Apple Acres and the Everfree forest, stumbles across a perfectly ordinary, garden-variety talking snake. In an apple tree. The mane six, of course, decide to be neighborly.

What's the worst that could happen?

A story with religious themes, funny and thoughtful in equal turns, and without any super-depressing grim-dark or blatant preaching. It was conceived, written and edited in just three days, and won first place in the "Deal with the Devil" Writeoff competition. You can find the original (unedited) version, along with plenty of other great entries, right here. It's been awhile, but be sure to check them out if you haven't already!

This story is a sequel to Borderline

Reading the first one is not absolutely necessary, but strongly recommended.

I don’t know how, but Pinkie managed to escape from the Canterlot Prison for the Mentally Unbalanced, adding insult to injury to a nation which has already been shaken by her murders. Sugarcube Corner has been abandoned ever since her spree, but now something is stirring in there again.

I can’t help but shudder as Mully tells me to check on the disturbance. A part of me hopes that this will be just another case of a desperate teenager first dealing with misconduct. The other part dreads what I might find amidst the decrepit walls of what Pinkie once turned into a slaughterhouse.

A collaboration between Owlor, Lucefudu and jmj.
Edited by MikhailWilson.

[Cover art by Darkenshore and xArakayx; edited by MuzzledElk and MikhailWilson.]

No pony is the same after witnessing a work-related death, no matter who they are. The victim was young, eager, fresh-faced, and recently hired. In his last breaths, he let out a scream so heart-rending that the employees who heard it had difficulty sleeping that night. And Rainbow Dash was no exception.

But she's not losing sleep over that. What disturbs her is something far worse—something she said afterwards.

To Holmes, she is always the mare. In his eyes she eclipses the whole of her sex, and fills him with admiration and loathing. Whether she in fact stole the Starry Night was ultimately beside the point. What mattered to Holmes was that he had been matched at his own game, by a mare; that it had not been altogether unpleasant; and that she had caused him, however briefly, to turn his keen and unflinching gaze upon himself.

On EQD July 31, 2012.

Dimitri Danikovski is am older brony and a member of a criminal organization. A situation arises that causes Dimitri to meet a fellow brony in extenuating circumstances. Unfortunately, crime is thicker than friendship and Dimitri makes a decision he quickly regrets.

Downtrodden, Dimitri returns to his apartment and discovers a strange visitor. He is put on trial by Discord and has to defend himself against all his previous crimes. Celestia agrees to be the prosecution and Luna, in turn, is Dimitri's defense. What will happen to this most unusual of bronys?

~ ~ ~

Surprisingly, the best part of this story, IMO, doesn't take place in the courtroom. I think you'll see what I mean when you get to it. This one got away from me. I originally wanted this to be a one on one Q & A with the Mane Six, and Discord comparing Dimitri to each one of them, offering evidence that Dimitri was loyal and honest (in a twisted way to his criminal family) and that he was generous, kind, and even shared laughter (helping out his friends and donating to and volunteering with orphanages and the like.) But I opted for this, and I'm happy with how it turned out. I hope you enjoyed reading it because it was fun to write.

I also intend to make a short (4K words or less) entitled Twelve Angry Ponies that covers what happens when the jury leaves for deliberations. Check back later!

Passions.

They can foster beauty. They can drive us insane.

Crossfade lives a dual life: one filled with passion, and one constructed out of necessity. They were two tracks that were supposed to form a harmony, but now, they're falling into a chaotic struggle of two beats.

Never enter the woods alone, for there are monsters there. They can look like anything, even another pony. And if you waver in Gaea's love, you will become one.

Winner of Ponychan /fic/'s April 2012 Write-Off!

What possessed an upwardly mobile tailor to forsake her one chance of a comfortable high-class life and take up living as an outlaw? With the help of her loyal crew, she takes to the sky in her specially-designed airship as the first and most prominent sky pirate in Equestria. Making herself a personal enemy of Queen Celestia, she is hunted by Her Majesty’s special Task Force. But the sky is full of secrets, more so than what anypony actually realizes...

“With the tribes of the pegasi and the unicorns having died out, the sky remained unconquered... until now. While corruption has its roots deep within the Equestrian society, I have aimed for the impossible. I've aimed for freedom.”
~ Quote from Captain Rarity, self proclaimed 'Sky Matron' and 'Liberator of Equestria'. Excerpt taken from ‘Equestria's Most Wanted Criminals’

Written/edited by: capt'n Owlor and Lucefudu, the coxswain
Edited by: MikhailInspired
Idea by: Lucefudu

A letter from Celestia interrupts one of Pinkie's parties with disturbing news. Now friendships will be pushed to the limit as Twilight struggles to uncover which of her friends is not who, or even what, she appears to be.

(While not a romance, this does contain a shipped pair)

in Russian

On a dark night filled with even darker magics, an insane cult attempts to give Nightmare Moon a body and life of her own, utterly separate from Princess Luna. But, when the spell is interrupted by Celestia, something unexpected is created.

Now, a little black alicorn filly named Nyx finds herself living under the care of Twilight Sparkle, only to be haunted by memories and emotions from her past. Is she Nightmare Moon reborn or is she simply a doppelganger with a soul and mind of her own? Can Twilight Sparkle protect Nyx from those who refuse to see past her dragon eyes and black coat?

Or, will Nyx be forced to inherit the sins that may not even be hers and become the greatest evil Equestria has ever known?