Necromancy gets a bad rep.

Oh, sure, some ponies like the whole cliche of the evil zombie master, pulling his puppet strings to make corpses dance and kill for their amusement. And yeah, you kinda do have to work with dead bodies a lot, and most ponies find that a bit creepy. Oh, and you learn a lot of spells to kill things and gain power from it.

But, come on, that doesn't mean all necromancers are bad... right?

Feature on Equestria Daily

Spike's got three whole days to himself while Twilight is away at the Crystal Empire. Three whole days to be independent and free to do whatever he wants.

Or he would have, if a female dragon hadn't mistaken him for an abandoned hatchling. Now he's been snatched up and taken to her home to be "properly cared for."

Stuck in a cave with an overly-protective dragon intent on mothering him...maybe he should have just gone with Twilight.

Thanks to QueenCold for letting me use this picture of theirs as cover art!

This story is a sequel to The Most Annoying Infestation

Rainbow Dash's plan was just to relax and read Daring Do books all night long. Too bad it was interupted by a certain bat pony colt, begging "Blue Mommy" to have a sleepover with him.

This is a contest entry for ocalhoun's Big 250k Contest.

Review by MixMassBasher

Awesome Reading by Winged T. Spears

Melody Swiftsong is a unicorn filly living peacefully in Manehattan with her brother. She had everything she could have asked for in her life: a loving brother, a comfortable life, a house to live in and education. Despite having some strange hobbies and tastes, Melody believes she's the most fortunate of ponies.

Over the course of a single day, life teaches her that fate can be cruel. Her entire life is turned upside down, and she loses everything she loved and cherished before. Now she has to deal with feeling like a stranger in a world that does not seem to want her, yet she still persists to be a part of it.

(Disclaimer: Although I don't believe it warrants the sad tag, this story is undoubtedly riddled with sad moments at various points of the story.)

Special thanks to Benny for editing this story so far! Be sure to check him out! [This stopped as of Chapter 3 or 4 since my hiatus caused us to lose contact. Check him out nonetheless, he's pretty nice!]

Somewhere within the vast reaches of the Crystal Mountains, a changeling scout stumbles across a dying mare. Confused, upset, and unsure what else to do, he decides to carry her back to his queen…

Artwork by the Inimitable Plainoasis

Dinky has always known her mother was a little different from a lot of ponies she met. Her eyes went in different directions, but this never bothered the filly until class bully Diamond Tiara began to mock her mother, setting Dinky into a rage. Because of a misunderstanding both mother and daughter believe the other doesn't like them anymore, and they try to make amends towards each other. In doing so Derpy reveals her regrets from the past where a cruel stallion broke her heart and left her alone and pregnant.

Will Derpy be able to overcome the past to find happiness in the present?

Coverart taken from a comic by doubleWbrothers. http://doublewbrothers.deviantart.com/art/Normal-371395121

Rumble has a special gift for Scootaloo's birthday. Now he just has to tell her about it.

Edited by Noble Thought

Cover art: Child's Love by IslaMilenaria

Octavia's performance at the wedding of Princess Cadence was cancelled, and her ensemble was replaced by a mysterious DJ! When she goes to investigate, she discovers a world of music she never imagined from the turntables of Vinyl Scratch. She takes a chance and follows the DJ back to her home in Ponyville, and begins a journey full of music, love, laughs, some tears (maybe?), and... an evil plot!? What?

Let's read along, shall we? But brace yourself... it's gonna take a while.

Each chapter comes with a one-panel comic in the author's notes, drawn by yours truly!

One minute you have a changeling enter your boutique,
and the next minute you're getting a lecture of how offensive it is to think changelings are bugs.

Maybe Rarity should've thought twice before hitting a changeling with a flyswatter.

~Another fanfic I now regret writing...way to go Atlas~

The portal between Earth and Equestria has been open for five years and cultural exchanges have started taking place in earnest. One of these exchanges is sending ponies to human institutions for higher learning.

Stormy Skies, a pegasus living in Canterlot, has just been accepted into one such school. But he only applied out of curiosity. How will he deal with being a spokespony, representing Equestria when he isn't even sure what he's supposed to do? And what will happen when he finds out exactly how far in over his head he is?

This is a slice of life story meant to counterbalance my other works. This will update as I finish chapters with a release of Tuesdays. This is more of fun work and a chance to play around with cultural ideas. In that line of thought, speak up if you think of something good.

And sorry bout the cover, needed a stand in until I can get art with the proper cutie mark. But the basic idea of the image is exactly how strange the cultures may seem to each other. Bonus points if you can tell me what he's poking. And if you can't guess it he is here to stay, I rather like it.