Something has gone terribly, terribly wrong with the Equestrian economy.

And it's all Discord's fault.

Celestia hopes to convince the parliament to ban duels, but it's an unpopular proposal. The last thing she needs is Luna stirring up trouble at the gala, so of course that's what happens.

^{Thanks to Daedalus Aegle for feedback on this story.}

The first time we danced, she broke my jaw in three places.

The life of a disposable minion in the service to the Dread Ahuizotl is filled with acts of senseless violence and hardship, normally ending in a hospital or unmarked grave, but for Disposable Minion #3, the job just got more interesting.

He fell in love.

And love hurts.

Credits to the amazing Luvlessi for the cover art
Background music: The Masochism Tango by Tom Lehrer
With a wonderful reading by Luvlessi
And a second reading by Crafty Reads
Featured on Equestria Daily

Starlight is good with magic, but she’s no scholar—not like Sunburst. One of her best friends and arguably the smartest, cleverest, most prepared pony she knows. Who grew up with books in the same way she grew up with magic running in her veins.

The world is enjoying a new era of peace, but there’s still so much to do—new things to learn and try. Starlight thinks that there’s no harm in reading some of Sunburst’s books—to learn about the world in other ways instead of simply living in it.

Reading the books he recommends turns into an interest for poetry, for she can’t help but feel moved by the ancient Equestrian sonnets. Her unexpected interest in the genre makes her try her hoof in writing some. And no, they’re not very good, but they are sincere if nothing else.

And she would never, ever show Sunburst her poetry. Not when most of them are about him.

_{Now with a review from mushroompone from the Fillydelphia Oracle!}

Missions come with risks. They usually don't think about that. They have many ways of not thinking about it and given how many missions they've been on, some of them have not been thinking about it for a very long time.

They were just waiting for a new mission to start. Then somepony came along and asked them to write down every medical circumstance under which, by their own legally recorded desire, they would prefer to die.

And now the thoughts won't stop.

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

This story is a sequel to Timescales

Blurb

Boulder's journey into the cosmological future of Equestria, and what he took with him.

Author's Note

Sorry, had to get this out of my head.

Blog Post

Blurb

A tragic cutting short of a budding romance. A confession of time travel and incurable disease. What was left behind. An instant, a lifetime, millions of years. Three timescales. Two timelines. One love story.

Tags

• Death: The main theme of the entire story, I'd say.
• Boulder

Author's Note

Disclaimer: Any errors in neurochemistry, neuropsychology, the study of prions, geology, linguistics, evolutionary biology, and paleontology are due to the author not being in any of these fields. My deepest apologies to the readers who are, and must cringe at my misunderstandings.

Princess Celestia tries to raise the moon on three nights across eras. Each night, that which haunts her grows in power — and it is a power she dares not name.

A power she cannot name.

Proofreading and editing help by Chris the Cynic and Cynewulf. Cover art by Nadnerb. Buy this story! Contribute to the TVTropes page!

The holidays are over on both sides of the mirror. Sunset Shimmer travels to Equestria with one more present… and something to say.

This was written for TheBandBrony as a part of Jinglemas 2020! For more information about Jinglemas, checkout our group!

December twenty-third: perfect timing. Sunset can deliver gifts to her friends then get out of their way as they celebrate with their families. No car and no home, but Applejack is nice enough to help out for just a few hours before moving on.

Applejack has something else in mind.

This was written for Sane Marbles as a part of Jinglemas 2020! For more information about Jinglemas, checkout our group!