Baking cakes, selling cakes, baking more cakes—it's all in a normal day's work for Pinkie Pie when the Cakes take the day off and leave her in charge of Sugarcube Corner. All she wants now is to prove that she's capable of handling anything life throws her way.

Just so long as life doesn't ask her to go upstairs.

Thanks to TGM, Rainedash, Kamikakushi, and Dubs Rewatcher for delving into the dark to preread this for me.

Princess Cadance is nearly ready to deliver Princess Flurry Heart into the world, and Shining should be the happiest stallion in the world. After all, he's about to become a father—what stallion wouldn't rejoice at this fact?

And yet... something's eating away at him. Keeping him up nights. Driving him to speak with anypony who'll listen. An anxiety. A fear. A doubt.

An inadequacy.

My submission to Scribblefest 2016. Rated teen for some mild descriptions of birth.

Pre-read and edited by the lovely Plumander. If you like my work, consider donating to my Ko-Fi.

Things can happen very quickly when one lets magic into places it shouldn't go.

Sunset Shimmer spots something in a video of her battle with Midnight Sparkle. Her solution will draw in both Crystal Prep acquaintances and Canterlot High friends in her quest to save some lives by making a better magic-trapper.

Written for EFNW's Scribblefest 2016 Contest.

Spike’s having a great time with his new hobby, pyromancy.

Twilight has a few concerns. Mainly, that one mishap could cause all of Ponyville to burn down. So, of course, she takes a few precautionary measures.

Just a few.

No longer grounded, Button Mash goes outside to find that all of Ponyville thinks he's dead. No matter what he does, he can't seem to get anypony's attention.

Stranger things have happened, right?

The most recent Friendship Games have just finished, with Crystal Prep's star academic Twilight Sparkle nearly ending the world. Abacus Cinch doesn't care about that; she merely wants Canterlot High School to forfeit the Games, claiming that the use of magic is cheating. Before anything else can be said, a new arrival appears, and Abacus Cinch gets a rude awakening.

Princess Celestia finds herself trapped in the depths of Tartarus itself. Nightmarish visions haunt her through the blackened streets of Canterlot. Something lurks in the shadows, stalking her every step of the way. A frail voice rises from the ashes.

It is said that the only way to escape Hell is to have hope. But how does one find it in there?

(Now with a reading by TheDizzyDan, click here to check it out: link)

(Submission for the Everfree Northwest Scribblefest 2016)
(Many thanks to JLB for pre-reading and editing)

(Author commentary: link)

Time after time, through chaos and through wars, Princess Celestia prevailed.

Of all the terrible forces she could have fallen to, Flim Flam Industry was the last one anypony had expected.

With thanks to gardrek for editing (3-6) and PinkieDP, Ice Star, and Odd_Sarge for prereading help.

Applejack finds something hidden under Apple Bloom’s mattress. Now, it’s time for big sister and little sister to have a talk about what is and isn’t right for an Apple to do.

Written for the Writeoff Association's January 2016 contest, Look, I Can Explain....

During her time-twisting battle with Starlight Glimmer, Twilight finds herself in an Equestria ruled by a tyrant alicorn that calls herself the Queen of Equestria. In this world, Twilight's friends are gone and beyond her aid, and Equestria's citizens live in fear of their ruler's wrath should they anger her.

But no one has ever seen the pony who suffers the most in this world.

Pre-read by MythrilMoth and RT Stephens. Cover art vector by kindkristy99