This story did not explode! What a relief and/or letdown.

Part of OPERATION CRACKFIC STORM 2024 ( group | stories ).

Thanks to Silk Rose for coming up with the idea, writing chapters 22 and 9, and developing the code; thanks also to Meadowsys for general code help.

Thanks to IrradiatedPirateBooty ( tumblr ) for the awesome character art.

And thanks to everyone in the comments who stuck around for the final countdown!

A vicious thunderstorm wracks a desert in Equestria. Torch is flying in said storm and is struck, holding a precious gem that mattered the most. Meanwhile Thunderhooves and his wife are dealing with a pregnancy while the world around them is storming. This is how they meet, in a show of strength where none was thought to be found.

A strength that Little Strongheart knew all too well, a strength that bore fruit from something so fragile and so small, yet it was the strongest one of them all.

Written as a Gift for TCC56

Prereader: Soaring

Editor: Dreams of Ponies

Art credit: https://www.deviantart.com/huussii

Nurse Redheart's life may seem like a challenging one to most. But to her, it's never been about the difficulty.

All she wants to be is a good nurse.

(Art by dattebayo681)

A world with no alicorns is a world with no hope. But after years of searching, Sunburst might finally have found a little patch of sunlight.

Written for the QnS genre swap contest, second place winner.

TW: Some mild gore.

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The fabric of reality is currently undergoing maintenance, leaving Anon, Anon, and... a lot of other Anons trapped in a white void. With no other ways to kill time, their only means of entertainment while they wait to be returned to their worlds is each other.

What do Anons even do in their spare time?

This story is a sequel to Canon Perpetuus, Canon Perpetuus, Canon Perpetuus

Twilight Sparkle, shocked with missing thinking
Sees a thing which did, just now, efface
Itself from all memory and meaning
But just how long has she been in this place?

Twilight Sparkle, shocked with missing thinking
Sees a thing which did, just now, efface
Itself from all memory and meaning
But just how long has she been in this place?

Twilight Sparkle, shocked with missing thinking
Sees a thing which did, just now, efface
Itself from all memory and meaning
But just how long has she been in this place?

Pseudo-experimental literary faffery; a vaguely Gödel, Escher, Bach influenced E-rated horror story in the round.

_{Created for the Thousand Words II contest in the "Horror" category.}

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have been watching over Equestria for many centuries. They've seen cities rise and fall, empires grow and collapse. They've guided their subjects through the ages better than anypony could hope for.

So why, then, do they feel so alone at the end of time?

^{Written for the A Thousand Words Contest II, in the 'Drama' category.}

When the leaves turn golden and crisp,

fried by the Summer Sun to a tender perfection,

the salmon come home to die.

Weird experimental piece that took second place in the Quills and Sofas pegasus contest. The prompts were "broken wings" / "hostile skies". It was originally written in 75 minutes. This version has only received minor grammatical edits.

Read the sequel!

Tirek has come to Canterlot, the princesses have fled, chaos runs amok, Moondancer makes a decision.

Entry to the Thousand Words Story Contest II. Drama category.

It's the inescapable question, no matter what type of interview. Ponies just can't help themselves.

No harm done, though. Sapphire knows her answer will always be the same.