In the land of Siderea, there are the modern science of magecraft and the ancient art of the old magic. Summoning falls under the latter. Anyone can perform the ritual to call forth a nature spirit, but the trick lies in the offering used to draw their attention. Arcane scholars agree it should be something incredibly rare and/or valuable. Gold, jewels, exotic spices and unguents...

Applejack has a jug of cider, and she hopes figures any djinni with working taste buds will be more than happy with it.

Humanized Equestria AU. An entry in Choices: A Species Change Contest. Thanks to EileenSaysHi, Krack-Fic Kai, Mishkiel, and Mockingbirb for prereading. Rated Teen for some of the reasons behind the Romance tag.

Shining Armor is... mostly aware of what his little sister's been up to since the Friendship Games. Cadence keeps him in the loop, but she refuses to talk about some topics, insisting that it isn't her place to discuss them. When his phone rang a few moments ago, he thought Twilight had finally decided the time was right.

He's not entirely wrong, but he'll soon wish he had been.

An honorable mention in the Shining Armor is a Terrible Dad Competition.

She tries to provide a living example. Demonstrating how much better things could be when you're just happy and willing to get close. Of course, there are those who say that Izzy gets a little too close. But when she's in a new place every day, the disorientation is almost constant and she just needs to center on something sort of familiar... then at least there's other ponies. Frequently at a proximity of roughly seven tail strands.

Maretime Bay isn't fully comfortable with that. Which may be why the bulk of it just took out a restraining order. Trying to get Izzy to back off, just a little, until she learns to respect personal space.

Or maybe they're just trying to make an example out of her.

Cover art from a vector capture by Lavender-Bases.

(Now with author Patreon and Ko-Fi pages.)

Gallus is really bad at buckball. Like, really bad. Which wouldn't be an issue if it weren't for the fact that the other team also has a male griffon on it. Which is making this 'friendly game' feel more like a life-and-death competition.

Maybe Ocellus can help him figure out what's going on.

Preread by the wonderful TheManFromAnotherTime!

Opaline had stolen the cutie marks from half of Equestria and was rapidly conquering the rest. Even the fake alicorn Sunny Starscout and her minions were faltering before her. One more push would bring Opaline to her final victory.

Then she surrendered.

And even Opaline doesn’t know why.

In every world, era, and species, adolescents think they're the first to invent or discover whatever they come across. It's not hard to see why. In the flower of youth, every experience is new and fresh and exciting, especially the ones previous generations won't discuss. Not in polite company, anyway. Certainly not with their children.

Well, "exciting" isn't always the best word to describe those discoveries. Sometimes it's "horrifying." Especially when it involves certain alicorn princesses.

Rated Teen for discussion of topics that would be rated Mature. Also rated C for Crackfic. Graciously preread by Comma Typer.

Ocellus isn't feeling so great. After she and her friends harnessed the magic of Harmony to save the world yet again, she’s still got essays and final exams and graduation prep to do. And now she’s being betrayed by her own body. Changelings are masters of disguise, but Ocellus knows you can’t always hide from your problems. Sometimes they require hard work. And a little help from her friends.

Rated Teen for references to sex. Also includes some fairly graphic descriptions of the poor bug getting sick.

An Honorable Mention in the The Discovery - A Young Six Writing Contest!

There are six pony virtues. Six. And fortunately for the pickup artists, confidence stallions, and desperate of the world, there's also a lot of sapients who can't count that high. Princess Luna's Return produced a few side effects, and one of the more consistently annoying is a never-ending parade of those who claim to be the hitherto-unknown virtue of This Is Worth Some Free Drinks. Others take it further.

Division Seven is an international, multispecies effort, created in an attempt to find and discipline those charlatans. And ideally, to do so before something... happens.

The planet has strange ways of reacting to the presence of true Bearers.

Imagine how it might deal with some of the fakes...

(Now with author Patreon and Ko-Fi pages.)

Cover art created by RamblingWriter.

This story is a sequel to A Taste of Stardom

A new normal brings new problems. Chrysalis has a job - a good, well-paying job she actually enjoys - and one of the conditions for keeping that job is the mandatory yearly physical. Well, that should be no problem for the Queen of the Changelings... right?

(Reading 'Taste of Stardom' first is highly recommended.)

Bright lights! Busy streets! The hustle and bustle of city life! All of this means absolutely nothing to Queen Chrysalis, who is currently huddled in the darkest depths of the Everfree, talking to her pet log. But changelings - true changelings - are always hungry, and Chrissy hasn't fed in a long time. Attacking ponies and stealing their love is a risky proposition, though, so her options are limited. Necessity reminds her of a target she can feed upon safely... even if it means travelling to the heart of Manehattan itself.

(Now broken into smaller, easier-to-consume chapters. Takes place before Season 9)