It took many long years and far more defeats than he'd care to admit, but at last—at long last—victory was finally within the great Ahuizotl's reach. Absolutely nothing, not even that meddlesome Daring Do, would be able to stand in his way any longer. Yet even with his arch nemesis facing her inevitable demise and the ultimate power literally in his grasp, he can't shake the feeling that he's forgotten about something.

One tiny, crucial detail. Something very important. As in, 'could easily ruin his plans if not attended to' important.

...

Eh, maybe he just left the oven on again.

Look, I heard you the first time! Yeesh, I wish you'd stop staring at me, as if you're reading my thoughts. 'Cuz if you could, then you'd know that while this is the first thing I'd want to do, it's also the last! I mean, horseapples, things would be a heck of a lot easier if I'd known ahead of time that Twilight and the rest of the girls had only packed three sleeping bags instead of six for this mountain hike! For realsies, if you had any friggin' clue how many restless nights I've spent thinking about you, fantasizing situations like this, then you'd know... you would freaking know how impossible it is for me to actually... sh-share a sleeping bag with my totally not-sexy-in-any-way best friend... (*ULP*) ... overnight... s-so that we could keep our bodies warm in the cold, cold forest. Grnnnng! Alright... alright! I'll do it! Of c-course I'll do it! I'm awesome! I'm not afraid of anything! Okay... I can do this... I can totally do this... I can... I can... I-I...

Caramel has never been a brave pony. He's constantly second-guessing himself and since foalhood has found it difficult to see himself for who he is. Having only lived in Ponyville for a few months he doesn't know much about his object of affection, Big Macintosh, but in a surprising burst of courage he may just be on his way to the happiest times of his life.

Cover art by: Clepony

thanks Storm Butt for the title

Scootaloo discovers an empty cardboard box behind the post office.

This is where her day begins.

Rainbow Dash likes it a lot more than she thought she would.

Finding herself unable to sleep, Princess Celestia occupies her mind by penning a letter to Twilight Sparkle. But for a weary princess, the mind has a tendency to wander...

Written for Equestria Daily's Writer's Training Grounds #7.

Dramatic readings available courtesy of Goombasa and PhantomBrony.

Cover art by unknown artist; modified version by Goombasa.

Octavia Melody's love of music has revolved around a single influential and prestigious work of art, the song May Our Sun Shine Forever. Since she was a filly, what has been the Equestrian national anthem for generations has continually inspired Octavia to perform, shaping her into the promising cellist she is today. Though the completed original was lost to the passage of time, the remnants of the final masterpiece composed by the Grand Maestro Glissando has been the cornerstone of not only Octavia's career, but modern music theory in Equestria.

When the tattered remains of an ancient songbook possibly containing the original song in its entirety is found, the Equestrian Society for the Performing Arts and Princess Luna begin planning a concert series to celebrate the work's eventual restoration. However, their meeting screeches to a halt once Princess Celestia vehemently forbids anypony from playing the original in the concert and demands its restoration to cease immediately. Octavia Melody finds herself at a loss, wondering why the princess of the sun would silence such a beautiful song meant to bring light to the world.

Proofread and Edited by TheAncientPolitzanian and various others over the years of trying to fix this thing.
Cover Art Depressing Melody by TertonDA
Updated 02/27/24

Silver Spoon spins the bottle and becomes rather distraught when it lands on Button Mash instead of — well — anypony else...

Twilight goes with Rainbow to watch her race in Cloudsdale only to suddenly find herself being 'wooed' by Thunderlane.

Saw the cover art and decided to make a story around it with permission from Ravenpuff

9/6/14 Featured!
I don't really know the meaning of this. I was going for a minimum length little thing because I saw the cover pic. Then it gets featured. Maybe it means I can die peacefully now. Except people want me to write more. Dunno what to do with my life anymore.

Many suggestions later. *Dramatic sigh* I suppose I'll switch this to incomplete. :)

YouTube reading by Captain Bron3y!

New chapters edited by the fantastic AnonponyDASHIE

As with every living creature, once every year, Princess Celestia has a day that commemorates the anniversary of her birth. Given that she is blessed with many wonderful friends and family members, she receives many gifts on her birthday. Some she likes more than others, while some are rather odd.

On this one thousand seven hundred and nineteenth birthday of hers, she receives a large stuffed squid plushie.

She is perplexed.