Once upon a time, everypony spoke the same language.

Then came Discord, and everything changed. Was it a malicious prank? Boredom? An attempt to teach everypony a lesson? We can't ask him, because he's gone, and who knows when he'll be back.

If language is the glue that holds society together, what happens when it turns to sand?

Winner of the October Writeoff competition, "Illusion of Choice."

Celestia: a filly of twelve. A cynical, hungry pauper, with a young sister to protect and feed.

But the food has run out. Winter has gripped the land for too long, and now the pair face starvation.

The cynic in Celestia knows she can't move the sun. But the child in her wonders... and so she tries.

(Inspired by the Donovan song of the same name.)

(Now with a dramatic reading here, by Crafty Arts, and here, by KeyframeProductions.)

(Now with a Spanish translation here.)

Celestia sends Twilight her last, greatest assignment. The lost masterpiece of Star Swirl the Bearded!

The spell that the greatest mage of all time couldn't figure out.

The spell given to her by the mare who thought releasing Discord was a good idea.

The spell that, upon closer inspection, seems about as stable as Rarity's emotional state and as safe as Rainbow Dash's usual workout.

... Maybe Twilight should double check with the princess first.

Winner of the Rage Reviews F*CK THIS PROMPT 6 contest. Prompt: "Equestria is getting a new Alicorn Princess."

Twilight's first Winter Wrap Up in Ponyville had a rocky start. Things took a turn for the better when she assumed control over the planning and organization, but after a stressful morning and with an all-nighter in front of her, she was afraid it might all be for naught. Luckily Applejack was there and knew Twilight needed a chance to take a break and recharge.

She needed a visit to the Thinkin' Spot.

Editing by Formerly Committed and JetstreamGW.

Strange dreams are haunting the night in Ponyville.

The dreams are lucid and clear, indistinguishable from reality. And sometimes, when ponies wake up, the dreams don't go away.

Hallucinations stalk the waking world. Reality is bending in ways that Twilight Sparkle doesn't understand. But she intends to get to the bottom of this mystery and save Equestria from whatever is hiding in the dark.

Twilight Sparkle wonders, sometimes, if the pony in her dreams is the real her. If that is her soul laid bare.

She's about to find out.

Written for the Distant Shores Writeoff. Cover art by CosmicUnicorn, used with permission.

"...The test ends when you open that door."

Princess Luna has begun searching for her own personal student, and her test has hit a small snag: Not a single unicorn, out of the dozens of applicants, has passed. In fact, every last candidate has failed the test in seconds.

But just what is the purpose of this test? And how can somepony pass it?

A young earth pony named Morning Glory is going to find out.

When Twilight Sparkle was just a kid, her best friend was a girl named Sunset Shimmer. Though their friendship had a bit of a rocky start, they quickly became inseparable, no matter how much everyone thought of them as ‘weird’. They were there for each other.

Were.

Years after the tragic accident that tore them apart, Twilight is determined to move on from her loss, and she sets off on an independent research project to investigate the strange happenings at Canterlot High. Little does she know that she will soon come face to face with what appears to be a literal ghost from her past.

Coverart by Kare-Valgon. Chapter illustrations by Zorbitas.

Edited and Pre-read by Dubs Rewatcher, r5h, and Kalan.

Takes place after Rainbow Rocks, but was written before Friendship Games and does not take it into account.

Chinese translation

Print copies now available.

On a dark and stormy night, centuries in the past, Celestia and Luna walked into a bar.

They came looking for knowledge. They found a little more than that.

Written for Round 1 of the Four hooves and a pen writing group. Cover art from the gallery of Lopoddity.

There's another friendship crisis in another far away place, this time the land of the llamas, and Twilight's magical map once again calls on a heroic pony to solve it. But this time the map doesn't call Twilight or any of her friends, this time it calls somepony else entirely.

But Trixie's true reasons for accepting the map's call may not be wholly altruistic, and it turns out she's not nearly as over being upstaged by Twilight during their past encounters as she lets on.

May the gods have mercy on those poor llamas.

In the 19th century of Princess Celestia's rule, Equestria experienced an acceleration of its progress and prosperity as the first westward expansion began. Yet there were some ponies who took this call to progress as a warrant for ever more radical reform. In 1858, 148 ponies left Equestria to realize that radical dream. This is their story.

Written for a Writeoff Association contest (based off the prompt "Distant Shores"), but more broadly intended as an homage to Nathaniel Hawthorne, inspired by and deeply indebted to his great short story, Earth's Holocaust.