My name is Ironclaw Strongbeak, though the yellow bird pony calls me 'Elizabeak', and I am a chicken. No, not in the cowardly sense, in the literal one. I have been imprisoned by the bird pony for my entire life, but I have always yearned to be free from her and that nasty controlling stare.

Amongst our kind, there has always been a rumor that there were lands outside the dangerous forest, a land ruled over by a mystical leader called 'The Great Colonel'. Such a chicken would surely free us if he was made aware of our plight. So, imagine my delight when the opportunity to find this mystical land arises...

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Featured on Equestria Daily 3/30/13

When Applejack goes with Rainbow Dash on a trip to Fillydelphia, she learns that life doesn't always go according to plan... and that can lead to something better. Written because I wanted to do my take on a shipfic, minus what always annoyed me.

Princess Celestia tires of constantly being surrounded by decorum, deference, and formality, and decides to take a day off from being Princess. But visiting Ponyville incognito is harder than she expects. Will she be able to fit in and make friends without blowing her cover?

The Shaper is a smith of unparalleled skill, her creations the most sought after in the fallen world. When a pony named Lyra comes to her with a unique commission she has to put all her skill to the test to craft a weapon of great power. For Lyra's goal is not an easy one, and it is not just any weapon that can kill a Dragon.

A story inspired by this and this image, as well as this challenge by CDRW (whose fic A Still More Glorious Dawn Awaits is quite good).

For so long I've been living life like a marionette on its last string. Only one thing kept me from falling into emptiness. That one thing that kept me going. It gave me a reason to pretend that life still mattered.

Only one pony in the world ever showed me a speck of kindness when I never deserved it. And now she's gone.

I'm falling, and the only thing that scares me is what I'll find when I hit the ground.

(Comments contain spoilers.)

A big thank you to PresentPerfect for his tireless help in editing this fic.

Princess Luna reflects on what it's like to come back from one thousand years of exile, and all the things she's missed in the time she's been gone. These are a few of her favorite things.

Written as an homage / response to Skywriter's "Heretical Fictions" and "A Short Story by Twilight Sparkle". Cover art by secret-pony.

Pinkie Pie purchased five of the best balloons in Equestria and tied them to her tail. She had a very special purpose in mind for her balloons, but sometimes life has better plans in store.

Featured story of the Hearth's Warming Care Package, a 26-story anthology written explicitly for Kiki Havivy this holiday season.

Review by Present Perfect

Sometimes, fiction matters.

Now with a Spanish translation by Spaniard Kiwi!

Equestria has fallen, and life for the ponies and those who they had protected becomes one of hardship as the land loses its magic.

Yet, there are rumors of a vicious pirate, the Purple Mare, and all she is doing to liberate the land. Outside the city of Port-au-Prance that mare, Twilight, waits as a familiar ship approaches...

Inspired by an image by KNA.

*Resubmitted following revisions.*

Finally pardoned after ages spent languishing in the Canterlot dungeons (though in fine company, to be fair), Futa Chrysalis enjoys a pleasant day out with Twilight Sparkle.

But the little unicorn has something planned, and she won't say what it is...