Aria Blaze is history's most prolific composer. Writing music constantly for upwards of a thousand years will earn you that title. Now, after a defeat which robbed the three sirens of a magic they've known their entire lives, she relies more than ever on her passion to carry her through an uncertain time. Whatever form fate thrusts upon her, she will never stop making music, and that's all that matters...or it would be, if she could get one roommate to stop pestering her, and the other to stop a downward spiral of self-destruction.

Fancypants has always relied on his legendary wit and charm to endure tedious high-society events, but there's one pony he can't fool: his lovely wife. Fleur de Lis has chosen Ponyville as the venue for a major talent show, and as her supportive and obedient husband it's his duty to attend. But there's a mischievous streak behind that dazzling smile, and a poignant heart-to-heart with an unlikely kindred spirit brings it out in full force. A story about how important it is to love, cherish, and... there was something else, I'm sure of it. Oh, never-mind: the show must go on!

This is the story that won first place in a collaborative contest involving ponychan's Art and Fic boards. It was daydreamed, written, and edited in only three days, using the cover illustration as a creative prompt. It's been cleaned up slightly for errors and clarity, but the story itself is unchanged. You can find the picture that served as the prompt for this story here, and you can check out all the other finalist stories here. Do, please, read and enjoy!

Alone, a young timberwolf must try to survive in the wilderness. Survival above all else. That was what his mother taught him. But when he encounters 'monsters' that could apparently 'gobble him up in mere seconds', he begins to doubt everything he knows about the world.

It took many long years and far more defeats than he'd care to admit, but at last—at long last—victory was finally within the great Ahuizotl's reach. Absolutely nothing, not even that meddlesome Daring Do, would be able to stand in his way any longer. Yet even with his arch nemesis facing her inevitable demise and the ultimate power literally in his grasp, he can't shake the feeling that he's forgotten about something.

One tiny, crucial detail. Something very important. As in, 'could easily ruin his plans if not attended to' important.

...

Eh, maybe he just left the oven on again.

Side Story to The Demesne of the Reluctant Twilight Sparkle

When Doctor Princess Twilight Sparkle got Ponyville and the surrounding lands as her exclusive demesne, she knew it meant changes and stuff. Glittering opportunities. Dire crises. Friendships gained and imperiled. The dawn of a new age for Ponyville. A renaissance of the arts and sciences. A great test of her abilities as a leader and as a friend.

The brewing civil war took her by surprise, on the other claw.

The Princesses and their allies in Canterlot are working to change the laws, disband the new militias and ensure a lasting peace, but they need time. Soon, this cold war of arms and intimidation will heat up, and all the laws and decrees in the world ain't stopping it.

Doctor Princess Twilight Sparkle will buy them time. She will do what it takes to keep her friends, her family, and yes, her demesne safe.

With the help of a handsome griffon security professional—that's me, by the way—a devious illusionist, a ruthless athlete, a bored noble, and a pair of boater-clad con-ponies, she'll stop the damn war herself if she has to.

Touch wood I'll live to tell about it...

Lapis-Lazuli Proudly Presents...
In the far southern regions of Equestria, where the rule of the Sun Princess runs thin...
There is a town under siege, held in the iron grip of a tyrant.

Poor, desperate, and defenseless, the citizens turn to a band of unlikely heroes.
They come from all walks of life, each seeking something, each running from something.

And in this little town, far from the eyes of the great and powerful, these seven outcasts will come together for a job that will change their lives forever.

Based on John Sturges' "The Magnificent Seven" and Akira Kurosawa's "The Seven Samurai"
With thanks to TheGreekOwl for his cover art.

This story is a sequel to A Moment in the Sun

Sunset Shimmer is on the run. It's been six months since she left her life as Princess Celestia's student behind, but she can't escape her own past. Her parents are offering a reward for her safe return home, and Celestia's agents are watching her every step. She might have gotten out of Canterlot, but the runaway student is still a long way from freedom. Especially since her education with the Princess of Equestria didn’t cover things like how to make a living wage with her magical skills.

However, there might still be one place where she can escape all of them. The infamous island nation of Freeport has long had a reputation as a haven for pirates, criminals, and exiles, but there's no better place in the world for somepony who wants to disappear. The only question is whether Sunset will live long enough to pull it off.

This story is a sequel to Aegis of the Hive

Natural selection. It is the byword of every changeling queen who has ever lived. The chief resource that has always curbed the hives' growth used to be love. Now though, with Queen Twilight Sparkle's bloodline capable of producing love on their own, the old guard of changeling morality has seen fit to acquire this ability for the next generation before removing all of their future royal daughters' competitors.

Some queens are far closer to this goal than others.

Editor in Chief: A Bitter Pill, and Boldish42

Look, I heard you the first time! Yeesh, I wish you'd stop staring at me, as if you're reading my thoughts. 'Cuz if you could, then you'd know that while this is the first thing I'd want to do, it's also the last! I mean, horseapples, things would be a heck of a lot easier if I'd known ahead of time that Twilight and the rest of the girls had only packed three sleeping bags instead of six for this mountain hike! For realsies, if you had any friggin' clue how many restless nights I've spent thinking about you, fantasizing situations like this, then you'd know... you would freaking know how impossible it is for me to actually... sh-share a sleeping bag with my totally not-sexy-in-any-way best friend... (*ULP*) ... overnight... s-so that we could keep our bodies warm in the cold, cold forest. Grnnnng! Alright... alright! I'll do it! Of c-course I'll do it! I'm awesome! I'm not afraid of anything! Okay... I can do this... I can totally do this... I can... I can... I-I...

This story is a sequel to For the Hive

A few months after the events of Queen Twilight Sparkle's reveal that she and her hive can produce love, the changeling hives find themselves in an arms race. As Aegis Altair watches over her queens haggling with the minotaur emperor, she finds something that just might give Phoenix's Roost the edge it needs to come out on top.

This is a short interlude before hive book 3.