Private Night Light of the EUP Royal Guard (Canterlot City Patrol) is working his way through accounting school by polishing armor and making sure nobody steals any buildings. And then a hyper-confident, fearless unicorn about his age shows up at his barracks, talking about a conspiracy to steal an artifact from the Canterlot Museum of Antiquities.

What follows is a series of high places, tight spaces, double-crosses, and discussions of the vital role of accounting in public life.... all taking place over twenty years before six particular ponies began saving the world on a regular basis.

Honorable Mention in the Ancestral Tribute contest.

EDIT: Five days on the Featured list (10-17-22 through 10-21-22)! Thanks, everyone!

Part of the Remember Fort Libris print anthology, thanks to our Kickstarter supporters!

The worst part of a betrayal is often not the act itself, but everything that lingers after. Trying to piece together the motivations of someone you once trusted, sifting through memories for some sign you might have missed.

Wondering if, somehow, they had a good reason behind it all.

Seeking closure, Twilight tries to find answers in Cozy Glow's abandoned possessions, but the truth she discovers is one that will make her question everything.

Written for the 3rd Annual Cozy Glow Short Story Contest.

Prompts used:
-Twilight Sparkle gathers Cozy’s belongings for disposal. One object surprises her.
-Cozy’s got a secret!

A priceless painting has been stolen from the royal palace, and it'll take Canterlot's finest to retrieve it and bring the thief to justice.

Unfortunately, Prince Blueblood's on the case.

Cover art from the gallery of 90Sigma. Proofread by Infernus Noctis and MrNumbers.

Spanish translation, by SPANIARD-KIWI.

Twilight Sparkle is good at finding books even in unexpected places.
She's also a very helpful and proactive young filly.

You'd think these would be good traits, and yet still she manages to nearly ruin Hearth's Warming with an interstellar war.

Written as a gift for Zontan, as part of an anthology. Art by rice.

As part of Princess Luna's retirement, she needs to hand off her duties in the dream realm to another pony.

She has chosen Rarity to succeed her - but for a reason that Rarity is less than happy about.

Rarity has tried to forget the Nightmare, after all.

Featured 08/28/2022 - 08/31/2022!

Reviewed by PaulAsaran, with a rating of Pretty Good!.

Reviewed in Ghost Mike's Monday Musings with a rating of Really Good!

On her first day of classes at Celestia's School, Twilight learns that even a thoroughly conscientious student sometimes needs the space to just be herself. And that her closest of friends might just be able to help her find it.

Luna's return and Twilight's ascension to rulership of Equestria helped usher in an age of scientific and magical innovation. She and her slow-aging and long-lived friends lived through tumultous times of discovery and progress, and now Equestria is beginning its first true forays into deep space.

But someone has to be out there, representing Twilight and speaking on her behalf. She can't go herself--FTL travel is still primitive and time consuming. She needs someone out there trekking the stars, keeping up with the growing network of colonies. Someone with diplomatic chops, a vivid imagination, impeccable manners, and a lot of charisma. Rarity is eager to help her wife out in a once in a lifetime opportunity to see the worlds, literally.

For most people, BitHub is just a version-control service, used to share and track changes in code.

For this and many other reasons, Twilight Sparkle is not most people.

A highly experimental entry and second place co-winner in Bicyclette's Twilight Files contest. Rated Teen for implications that would not get past Discovery Family S&P.

It's a sunny afternoon, and all of the girls have managed to gather for a picnic on a hill.

Each has drifted in their own way; life has called them somewhere else.

Twilight Sparkle struggles to bring them back together: to make those giddy times return.

You have to learn how to say goodbye in life. Goodbye to friends and farewell to family.

But, sometimes, there's the odd few that will always be with you.

Years ago, Princess Twilight Sparkle of Equestria helped show a group of humans the magic of friendship, and they've never forgotten how much it meant to them. Since then, Twilight has continued to return to visit her friends in their world, and even as her coronation looms large on the horizon, they'd been confident things would work out.

But when a serious malfunction renders the device keeping the portal open useless and seemingly irreparable, Princess Twilight is left struggling to come up with a solution, or even answers. As the possibility that they might never see their old friend in person again grows, the Rainbooms decide to send a series of letters to the Princess, expressing their personal gratitude for the influence she's had in their lives, well-wishes for her rule in Equestria and cautious optimism for the future.

Cover art by D+CON! Used with permission.

Written for Bicyclette's The Twilight Files contest. See the other entries here! Pre-read by The Sleepless Beholder. The chapter "Letter 1: Rarity" ties in with the Bean's Writing Group prompt "An Artistic Touch", while "Letter 7: Fluttershy" ties in with "Someone is Missing".

Featured on 7/19/22 to 7/23/22!

Note this story only considers animated media as canon, and deviates from the depiction of events seen in literary or comic media like The Fall of Sunset Shimmer and Twilight's Sparkly Sleepover Surprise.