This story is a sequel to The Freeport Venture

Kukri Doo has a good life in Freeport. She's almost twelve, her parents are warm and loving, she has a big sister to look up to, and Sunset Shimmer--the very same magus the young changeling met on the Venture--might be taking her on as an apprentice soon.

But then her big sister comes home with word that one of her jobs has gone wrong, and now the entire family is in danger. And now something ancient and evil has started stalking Kukri in the night...

Hi, my name is Ditzy Doo. Many of you know me as the author of the 'Wasteland Survival Guide'. For 200 years I wandered the Equestrian Wasteland, and through those experiences I gained the knowledge that I shared with everypony through the Guide. Now, it's time to tell my side of the story.

Lemon Dreams is a happy pony with a perfect life in Ponyville. There's only one problem - she thinks she's a lemon.

Is she really a pony-shaped citrus fruit, or is she just crazy? Does it even matter? When Lemon Dreams finds herself at odds with the ponies of Ponyville and pursued by a strangely familiar ghost, she realises she must discover the answers to those questions before it's too late.

Some might think that a pony without much to say doesn't have a lot going on in their minds. Those ponies would be wrong. In fact, it's usually the quiet ones that think the most.

Marble Pie thinks a lot. Most of the time, she thinks about rocks, and how scary everything else is.

Big MacIntosh thinks a lot. Most of the time, he thinks about apples, and how complicated everything else is.

Now, throughout the good times and the bad times of Hearth's Warming, they think about each other.

Ever since visiting the Pie farm, Big Macintosh has had rocks on his mind.

The latest episode just kind of demanded that I write this.

Thanks to Jordanis for the swift and grammatical editing!

After the events of the first Apple/Pie Hearth's Warming celebration, two ponies wish to spend a little time getting to know each other better.

Hello, Twilight Sparkle. This is the six million, four hundred and twenty-three thousand and third time you’ve failed to save the world.

Finalist of the October Write-off 'The Illusion of Choice'

With thanks to Lord of Dorkness for their help pre-reading.

A few hours after saving the Friendship Games, Sunset Shimmer and her good friend Twilight Sparkle are relaxing on the CHS lawn. The two are so close that Sunset finally feels like she can ask a question that's been on her mind for a while.

"Can I go home?"

To save her sister and her faithful student, Celestia herself must travel into the ancient tunnels beneath the ruined castle in the Everfree Forest. She, and the guards who accompany her, must face the dark, twisting corridors. Still, what was Luna and Twilight's purpose at the old castle? Why were they unable to return of their own accord?

And what watches Celestia from beyond the light's edge?

Feeling a little down and deciding to go on a walk around Canterlot, Adagio Dazzle reflects on the past months since the Dazzlings' defeat at the Battle of the Bands. It's not really so bad, except for the fact that everyone in town still holds a grudge for what she and her fellow sirens did at CHS those months ago.

Everyone except for the Rainbooms, of course, but Adagio isn't exactly keen on having them teach the magic of friendship quite yet.

It's only when she runs into Sunset Shimmer later in the evening that Adagio realizes that the start of a true friendship is exactly what she needs to brighten her mood.