The summer after their first year of college, Sunset and Twilight are living a happy life together. Twilight has moved in to Sunset's surprisingly spacious apartment, and, for the first time in her life, is sharing a bed with another human being (well, unicorn-turned-human, but close enough). And despite some initial misgivings, life with her longtime friend-turned-girlfriend has proven to be a rather easy adjustment.

But both Sunset and Twilight, with quite a few stressful memories apiece, are prone to some bad nights of sleep. And when Twilight finds herself suddenly awake in the wee hours of the morning, her bedmate clearly distressed and in the grip of a nightmare, she knows what she has to do, what she and Sunset have so often done for each other:

Cuddle.

Cover art by TheRainbowMaiden. Used with permission. Author's Notes art created for this story by The Sleepless Beholder. Pre-read by Avery Day and Axolotl222. Chapter 2 written for the Bean's Writing Group prompt "A Shared Meal".

T-rating for sexual references.

Featured 12/13/22-12/15/22!

Anon decides, despite every bit of logical sense, to boop an angelic pony after exploiting her for chores. This could only end well.

After all, boredom is overrated, and the temptation to boop a cute angel pony is too great! Who cares if you could potentially be smited by pony-God, right?

Now if only you weren't literally being sized up by God himself... And said angel is trying to convince him why you should marry.

What.

Art stolen by Badumsquish. Give their adorable art some love~
Also obviously the angel pony is theirs, lmao, hope they enjoy the story

Oh hey, in featured on release day again!

Here's me quietly shilling my Ko-fi, shhh.

Twilight Sparkle isn't very normal, but she already knows this. It's just one of those things she deals with on the day to day. Of course, comments from the peanut gallery don't really help, and neither do surprise parties. But thankfully her therapist is there to help her through her days and can help her thoughts get sorted out.

And the peanut gallery, too, of course. Sometimes they help, as annoying as they can be.

There was only one explanation. For all of it. All of the strange, erratic behavior. Her irrational fear of the sun. Her nocturnal habits of locking herself in in the dark and closing all the blinds. Wearing her sunglasses everywhere, even inside! It was time to invest in some silver, garlic, and a wooden stake.

After storming into Princess Celestia's personal study unannounced, Twilight Sparkle soon learns her yearly battles against the forces of evil are a little more scripted than she'd thought.

And this year, Princess Celestia might've just outdone herself.

Now with a youtube reading! 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 Sparkle. Magical prodigy. Personal student of Princess Celestia. Bearer of the Element of Magic. Princess of Friendship. Hers is easily one of the greatest destinies in Equestria.

Yes. Definitely. All predetermined. It certainly had nothing to do with any incidents she had early in her personal lessons from Celestia, nor any potent magic the Princess of the Sun kept hidden in plain sight. That would be ridiculous.

An entry in MrNumbers's Prompts and Positivity challenge.

Rated Teen for Lunar language and explicit alcohol consumption.

In the aftermath of Nightmare Moon's banishment, Celestia was left with grief. She lost Luna to the Nightmare's corruption, the Castle of the Two Sisters lay in ruin, and the Everfree was scarred by the battle. Despite everything, ponies call on her to lower the moon. So, the Princess is left with the Moon and her grief.

Featured November 17-18, 2022!
Companion piece to Interstellar
Part I in the Royal Pains AU

It was a week before Nightmare Night, when Rarity decided to take a trip to Canterlot.

And while there, she meets a sweet, classy mare with a prismatic mane, and a habit of saying "Darling". But there's something about her that she finds just too familiar.

And as she'll learn, maybe there's more to this familiarity than meets the eye.

Update (4/8/2023): Now with a Dramatic Reading by Obab Scribbler

Author's Note (11/14):

Sweet Celestia.

Less than 24 hours live and this story has set three milestones for me. This is the first time I've had a story of mine be top of the Featured list, the first time I've had a story of mine get over 100 Likes, and the first time that a story of mine has reached over 1,000 views.

Thank you all so much. I am amazed.

This story is a sequel to The Moon Glows Gently

When you're the immortal ruler of an entire kingdom, the most important quality to possess is self-control. No princess can rule her nation if her emotions rule her. Celestia knows this better than anypony, and mastered them long ago.

So long ago, she may have forgotten that a little bit of passion can come in handy now and again.