An art critic reviews the art of Canterlot Castle.

He has... opinions. One of them is more concerning to Princess Celestia than the others.

Written for the A Thousand Words Contest II, where it took an Honorable Mention in the Comedy category!

Featured 6/15/2023 - 6/19/2023!

Appearing on Equestria Daily on 6/18/2023, as well as in their 25 of the Best Fanfics for Celestia Day on 6/20/2023!

Reviewed by Loganberry in the blog Louder Yay!, earning a three out of five stars rating!

Reviewed by PresentPerfect to earn a rating of Highly Recommended!

Now with an audio reading by StraightToThePointStudio!

And another one by Pony & Wolf Productions!

There are certain issues involved with having Philomena as a pet. Giving the entire palace staff permission to take a swat at the bird if it tries anything? Has solved none of them. The phoenix is still trolling everypony, happily setting off pony tempers (and the occasional fire alarm) without a care in the world. The swats just aren't working.

Maybe a few murders will do the trick.

...or, given that it's Philomena, Celestia might have to go just a little further.

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

Rated C for Crackfic.

Being a rock farmer is simple. You just have to move and break rocks. Couldn't be any more complicated than that. Someday Limestone Pie is going to be as good at it as Papa! Absolutely nothing can threaten this.

Nothing, that is, except Great Uncle Holder Cobblestone and his stupid boulder.

A cutie mark story for everyone's favorite grouchy pony.

Slightly AU because I altered the history of the Pie Farm a bit, but I was convinced by one of my pre-readers that the AU tag wasn't warranted. We shall see!

All my thanks go to NumberFifth and Serketry for their pre-reading, editing, and plot suggestions. Seriously, it helped a lot.

Cover art belongs to Aureai. Tried to get permission but received no reply. Will change it if they ever ask.

Something can be a secret even if everybody knows.

Written for WandererD for Jinglemas 2022

Based on the prompt: I'd like a feel-good story featuring Silverstream and Ocellus.

An alternate take on events that begins in the middle of Chapter 2, Episode 6 ("The Traditional Unicorn Sleep-Over") of Make Your Mark. This story assumes reader knowledge of the show up to that point.

Zipp had a lot of suspicions about Misty, the strange unicorn that Izzy had met in town earlier that day and invited to an impromptu sleepover party at the Brighthouse. But while she'd been exercising her detective skills on their guest all night as the oddities surrounding her piled up, she hadn't meant to drive Misty away. So when, after Misty flees from the party in a panic, Zipp notices that she's still out in the Brighthouse's garden, pacing frantically, Zipp decides to see if she can talk to her, and figure out just what is going on with this curious new pony.

And what she learns may well give Zipp room for pause -- and a need to exercise some comfort skills.

Please note that while this fic is rated E, there is some mild discussion of parental/familial abuse.

A reading from StraightToThePoint Studio is now available! Also featured on Equestria Daily!

Cover art by emera33; used with permission. Pre-read by TCC56 and Goldenwing.

Featured 10/9/22-10/12/22!

An inspired linguist. An ancient stone tablet. And the story of how a new species, made in love and forged in fire, came to be.

1st Place in the Everfree Northwest Iron Author Competition 2022. Many thanks to the judges -- Aquaman, Grand Moff Pony, and Xepher -- for their kind comments, and to my fellow winners: FanOfMostEverything, Mica, Scampy, Steady Gaze, and Admiral Biscuit.

Editing by LevelDasher (who is now on a much-deserved editing sabbatical).

Cover Art by CadetRedShirt [DeviantArt] [Twitter]
(I commissioned this one. Give Cadet monies and she will make art and/or sing for you!)

Story notes in this week's MT File.

Featured on EQD, 10/23/22.

A few days after the restoration of magic, Sunny Starscout accepts an invitation to spend the night at La Villa Izzy following a visit to the newly livened Bridlewood. But while Sunny came prepared to spend the night on the floor, Izzy won't have it. Her bed is big, and she's never shared it with anyone before, and if there's room enough for both, then why should Sunny have to sleep anywhere else?

Unfortunately for Sunny, Izzy's not the soundest sleeper. Fortunately for Izzy, Sunny's there.

Now with a reading from StraightToThePoint Studio!

Written for Omegathyst's Hot Pony Summer Contest, where it placed 2nd!. See the other entries here! Cover art by Pastacrylic; used with permission. Pre-read by The Sleepless Beholder and FanOfMostEverything.

Featured on 8/31/22-9/2/22!

This story is a sequel to Braiding

A meeting with Nurse Tenderheart and a chance encounter with a filly motivate Sam to invite Rose over for dinner, as well as to push Sam just a little further into full integration with pony society.

This story is a sequel to A Sleeping Rose

It's been a week since Sam spent the night at Rose's house, and the two have grown closer. Rose helped plant flowerbeds all around the house, but a surprise visit to check on the flowers on laundry day puts a slight strain on their budding friendship. Now Sam's forced to make some choices she's not quite ready for.

It didn't take a genius to figure out that that perfume wasn't my own, nor did it take any real effort to locate the source of both of my issues: there was a pony asleep on my arm.

I assume she was asleep, anyway. She was breathing slowly and shallowly, which was quite easy to ascertain, as my right arm was draped across her.