For more than a millennium, it was believed that the princesses were immortal. But as time marched ever forward, it become clear that even the alicorns won't live forever.

Princess Celestia is at the end of her life.

While Equestria must find a way to cope with this new reality, those that are truly suffering are those closest to her. None are struggling as much as her sister, Princess Luna. Not only is she forced to handle the duties of ruling Equestria and taking care of the transition, she must also cope with the imminent death of her beloved sister.

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Warning: comments may contain spoilers.

Twilight Sparkle has been living a lie. Everypony told her what a beautiful and accomplished mare she was. Everypony thought she was a responsible adult. They were wrong. She was still just a filly trying to stumble her way through life.

After a tragic accident claims the lives of Fluttershy and Big Macintosh, Twilight Sparkle begins to grow distant from her remaining friends. She locks herself in her castle and spends her life working on a cure for aging in the hopes her remaining friends can be saved.

Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie comes up with an idea for the best surprise ever. For three years she works in secret on a surprise for Twilight Sparkle. But Twilight's gift won't be revealed until the last of her friends has passed away.

What kind of surprise could possibly make up for the loss of your best friends?

Twilight always thought that being able to send the Princess her letters instantaneously through Spike's fire breath was the best thing in the world. Instant correspondence with her mentor and secret crush could never be a bad thing, right? Unfortunately, Twilight has a habit of writing her secrets down on flammable materials. Now her secret's out, so what's a panicky unicorn to do? Panic, obviously!

A relatively normal day is disrupted when Luna learns that Orcus, the Demon Prince of Undeath, has escaped from Tartarus and is making his bid for conquest, starting with Ponyville. More horrifying though... is that fact that only she seems to care. Time is of the essence, and no one, Celestia included, seems worried about the impending disaster. Will Luna be able to rally the army, shake the citizens of Canterlot from their strange apathy, and save the day?

No. No she will not.

Everypony in this town is crazy.

(Special thanks to my Prereaders, many of whom do not have accounts, for convincing me this fic didn't suck. Also, thanks to Danmakuman for the cover art!)

Lyra Heartstrings is a up-and-coming musician living in the quiet town of Ponyville. Her marefriend Bon Bon owns and operates Canter Candies, the town's specialty sweets shop. They've been together for years, and everypony around knows what a happy couple they are. But any relationship has its ups and downs, and it's hard to ignore every awkward moment.

Like when Lyra's ex arrives in town.
Because she thinks Lyra still has a thing for her.
Because someone's been impersonating her for the past few years.

...Bon Bon might be in trouble here.

Thanks to Einhander for pre-reading and Exuno for editing!

Now with a reading by Goombasa!

Our six heroes decide to settle down for the night with a few bottles of their choice beverage and a few hands of poker.

The night was going so well until Rarity decided to wager her virginity.

Now she's desperate to get it back.

(Formerly known as Rarity Loses Her Virginity in a Poker Game. The author's artistic integrity was long gone by the time of writing this.)

Special thanks to Blue_Paladin42.

The Princesses' birthday celebration is here again, and Mayor Mare needs a scapegoat—er, trusted citizen—to handle Ponyville's gift. Certainly, deciding what to get for an ancient ruler who's seen everything will be a piece of cake. Hm, cake. Maybe that's not such a bad idea.

Third-place winner in The Write-Off Association's contest "Lonely Happiness."

Featured on Equestria Daily!

Blank Slate is the greatest thief of his generation. He has robbed countless nigh-impossible marks, and his talents as a master of disguise are beyond par - truly, nopony knows who he is.

And now he's preparing the greatest heist in mortal memory: the treasure vaults of the Princesses themselves.

But you have to get up pretty early in the morning to get one past the pony who defines when ‘early in the morning’ is…

Spoilers in the comments! Beware! Beware...

Audio Reading available - thank you ABagOVicodin
Czech Translation available - Thank you Keranis

To Twilight Sparkle and Princess Celestia, it is a simple surprise visit to Canterlot. To the ponies of the Equestrian Civil Service, it is twenty-four hours of chaos, politics, weaponized dessert, politics, underhooved manipulation of media, politics, and things batrachian and tentacular. Who said bureaucracy isn't exciting?