If there's a holiday, then somepony's probably overdecorated for it. The Greening has seen entire homes blend into the local grass, while Lambvent shrouds neighborhoods in wool and Hearth's Warming traditionally welcomes guests into homes through making it impossible to see where the front door is. But if Ponyville's going to get dressed up anyway, then Town Hall might as well have a little contest built around it. The mayor signed off on that.

Which meant there was a period of at least two seconds in which Marigold Mare completely forgot her town hosts the Bearers -- and that she'd just given them a reason to compete against each other.

Shall we count down to the inevitable one home visit at a time? In six, five, four, three...

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Rated C for they don't celebrate Christmas Crackfic.

It really isn't Twilight's fault. She certainly didn't intend those exact results and given everything else which was happening at the time, there was no chance to fix it! Besides, it was just reasonable to expect that Ponyville's natural tendencies would solve things on their own. Probably without even noticing, and most likely with a squish.

But that clearly didn't happen. Because when it comes to that particular experiment's aftermath, the worst-case scenario just came through.

Fluttershy knows about the frog.

(Now with author Patreon and Ko-Fi pages. Cover art render created by Clawed-Nyasu.)

Rated C for vitamins Crackfic.

What does a mayor do? On a good day, you get to nose over an award. It helps if you can make sure the weather schedule comes off on time. But more than anything else, it's about leadership. Taking responsibility for the safety and comfort of all those who live within your domain. That's how it's supposed to work. The mayor is the one who makes sure everything is under control.

This is Ponyville. Marigold is fully aware that on a typical day, approximately nothing will be under control. But when it comes to protecting those who live there, she still has to do whatever she can.

If there's anything left which she can do at all.

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

Cover art from a vector rendering by DaAfroMan.

Every day, more people upload themselves into Equestria Online, to live forever as ponies. Even in their final minutes before uploading, they struggle with the pains and joys of being human, and remember the world they leave behind.

Oh yeah, this story DOES have something to do with Friendship Is Optimal, the Optimalverse, and the April 2021 Friendship is Optimal Writing Contest.

Thanks For My Prereaders

I've been writing drafts of different story ideas for the April 2021 FiO story contest. Bananachips and Bicyclette have both been very helpful prereaders! They might not have expected that my reaction to their feedback would be to write THIS ALMOST COMPLETELY DIFFERENT STORY, though.

Luna's still settling back into her full duties, and finding out she's somehow responsible for overseeing Equestria's annual freedom festival came as something of a shock. All she really knows about the holiday is that ponies like to celebrate it with explosions. Fireworks, cannonfire... somehow, her citizens have linked 'freedom' with 'stuff blowing up.' So if there's a citizen willing to blow herself up as part of the festivities -- well, what could possibly be more appropriate?

...it seemed like a good idea at the time.

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This story is a sequel to Friendship is Optimal

Prisha took a gamble on the future, expecting that she'd be unfrozen in a more advanced world—or not unfrozen at all. (But she'd be dead anyway, so why worry about it?)

What she got instead was friendship and ponies.

When William decides to take an internet-free cruise to get away from the artificial intelligence CelestAI, things don't go quite as planned. A Friendship is Optimal story.

A speed writing exercise, done in about two hours and unedited.

Princess of Harmony.
Princess of the Night.
Princess of Love.
Princess of Magic.

Twilight always assumed these roles were natural and unchanging - titles that merely reflected the inherent power of the bearers.

Now, she can't help wondering if that assumption was incorrect.

Featured from 8/5-8/8/2021, peaking at the #1 spot. Thanks, everypony!

This story is a sequel to Triptych

Her first prison was underground, and it took a lifetime before she recognized its nature. The newest cell has hallways and windows. Her mentor takes her outside, but she always comes back to marble floors and ponies who don't know how to look at her for more than a few minutes. She's too slow when responding to her own name, she can barely reconcile having one, and...

A prison with a lock. A prison with a door.

She's trying to figure out what the difference is. Or whether there's any difference at all.

(Part of the Triptych Continuum, which has its own TVTropes page and FIMFiction group. New members and trope edits welcome.)

Now with author Patreon and Ko-Fi pages.

This story is a direct sequel to Triptych. Do not read it unless you've finished the original.

Why can't everyone be an alicorn?