A month of one-shots filled with spooky chills and nonsensical thrills, all in the spirit of this ghastly holiday! Looking for serious character development and worldbuilding? We have none! Just good times for all the naughty boils and ghouls looking to get their fill on seasonal hijinks! Expect OOC ponies, murders, candy, and fun!

Week 1: The CMC are getting ready for Nightmare Night when disaster strikes!
Week 2: Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash deal with a Poe-sitively grave mistake!
Week 3: Rarity's birthday present to Sweetie Belle has a few surprising features!
Week 4: The new boy in class has a secret, and he wants to share it with Sweetie Belle... whether she wants him to or not!

Excellent cover art by Magello!

All the ingredients are there to make a cupcake. There's the friendly visit. There's the crazy friend. There's the demented torture. But add to that a psychological perspective, a look into the true rationale of insanity, and a little twist of lemon, and you have something rather special indeed.

This is cupcakes. Re-imagined. Re-formed. Re-baked.

Important Note:
This story was written for The More Most Dangerous Game with a re-imagining of Cupcakes as the prompt. Yes. That cupcakes. Now, before you all get turned off, please note that the gore is kept to an absolute minimum, with very little blood and no guts whatsoever. This is Cupcakes using my own recipe, and my recipe calls for something a little different. So please enjoy, and remember to come back for seconds.

This story is rated Teen for non-explicit bodily harm. There is -no- gore outside of slight injury and suggestive scenes. The 'alternate universe' tag is to tell you that this absolutely does not happen in any of your personal canons, so don't worry. =3 Tee hee hee.

For years, Sweetie Belle has secretly been turning to video games for relief from her insecurities. Now a talented member of an elite team of gamers from around the world, she has come to rely on her new friends for companionship and support as she bears the rising pressures of her coming-of-age.

But when a sudden gaming cutie mark reveals her secret to everyone she knows, she's forced to contend with her uncertainties over what it means for her future, along with a fresh wave of bullying at school, jealousy from her childhood friends, and mounting expectations from her family.

As she takes her first unsteady steps into adulthood, she may learn she's not the only one hiding a secret, and that her journey to self-discovery isn't one she walks alone.

A story about how kids raised in the age of the Internet have come to rely on online communities to escape from society's expectations for them and achieve the best, most authentic versions of themselves.

When Sombra, ex-ruler of the Crystal Empire, is discovered alive and well, Twilight has her hooves full keeping the tyrannical king in check. Instead of the original plan of throwing him in a dungeon or banishing him to Tartarus, Celestia decides to go with the plan that worked out well enough for Discord.

To reform Sombra.

Pinkie takes the job, and gets right to work in helping Sombra become a better pony. Will Sombra finally change from his old, wicked ways and reform? Or will he instead strangle the annoying, pink menace known as Pinkie Pie?

Thanks to the awesomely talented Mickeymonster for letting me use his art! Check him out for even more spectacular artwork!

In another world, Answer Jim was just Jim: the janitor for a school in Salt Lake City's suburbs. In the current one, he ekes out a living collecting scrap and food, barely holding back the gray that eats the world and everything in it. Even souls.

But he finds a precious treasure in a box. A brown box in a world of gray. Inside that box is color, and life, and a warm summer breeze. Inside, is a filly who calls herself Celestia.

She's more than she seems.

Cover Art by the talented Silfoe - used with permission.

Edited by Minds Eye
Prereading by: Carapace, ThatOneWriter

MMDG Finalist

The wilderness is a chaotic mess, dangerous and hostile, that can only be tamed with music. A colt and his family need to travel, but not everpony will arrive at the end of the journey.

Story written for The More Most Dangerous Game contest.

Featured on Equestria Daily.

Cover image by Razya

On a fateful night in a world far away from her, Princess Celestia mourns the idea that her two most beloved students are fighting. One battles for her friends and home while the other opposes, seeking her own selfish desires. When only one of them returns home, Celestia knows the worst has come to pass.

Still, hope lingers in the darkness. Sunset did return—but not as anyone remembers her.

Can Celestia, given a second chance to do things right, give Sunset the chance she never had?

Submission for the More Most Dangerous Game contest under the prompt of Past Sins.

Massive thanks to Cerulean Voice, vren55 and The Albinocorn for editing and prereading! Without them, this story may not have happened.

(Rated T for language use)
The Most Dangerous Contest Entry

Orphaned as a filly, a young pegasus named Kaviyayu is raised by an adoptive Earth pony family in a secluded, peaceful village. When a strange unicorn drops by the village, Kaviyayu and the other foals are captivated by her tales of the world, as well as her various spells and illusions for their amusement. But there's something about the way she doesn't speak of her own family... how she never removes her traveller's cloak... how she seems to take a very strong interest in Kaviyayu...

Who is this mysterious mare, what does she seek, and just what is so special about that pendant she wears?

This is the tale of how a seemingly ordinary filly rose to become both a princess and a beacon of love to ponies all over Equestria. Based on the back-story of Princess Cadance, as given by G. M. Berrow's pony novella, Twilight Sparkle and the Crystal Heart Spell. Also loosely inspired by symphonic metal band Nightwish's sixth studio album, Dark Passion Play.

Cover art by the lovely Ayemel.

Now with its own musical accompaniment courtesy of The L-Train!

Pre-reading by Noble Thought, Prak, The Albinocorn, ThatOneWriter, JustAnotherTimeLord, vren55, Majin Syeekoh, Foals Errand, Comet Burst, and Chris. Edited by ChromeMyriad, Titanium Dragon, Noble Thought, Prak, NightWolf289, PresentPerfect, and Chris.

Now featured by:
Fimfiction.net (Feature Box, 01/01/15)
Equestria Daily (01/19/15)
The Royal Canterlot Library (Off-site) (07/13/18) (Onsite) (07/20/18)

Approved by Tag-a-long's Book Club!
Approved by Nonpareil Fiction!
Highly Recommended by PresentPerfect!
Recommended by the Pleasant Commentator and Review Group!

The last time the Cutie Mark Crusaders worked on the school newspaper, they used gossip, rumors and innuendo to drive circulation through the roof. Their brief rise and rapid fall taught them a valuable lesson about truth and honesty in reporting. Apologies were made, hugs were exchanged, and everypony lived happily ever after.

For about three weeks, anyway. Now the Crusaders are back in the newspaper business, and it won't be lies that set the town on fire.

A short story about the triumph of enthusiasm over ability.

Written for the December Writeoff Event, Behind Closed Doors.