Jack Pot has dementia. He can no longer remember new conversations and events, but at least he still recognizes his son.

That would be great news... if Trixie were still her father's son.

This story is part of the Pride and Positivity event, which encourages readers to donate to any of the following charities:

• Transgender Law Center
• Palestine Children's Relief Fund
• Sewa International (Indian charity collecting funds for COVID relief)

Trixie is Starlight Glimmer's wife, and Maud is one of Starlight's closest friends. Whenever Trixie is around Maud, she acts very nervous and refers to herself in the third pony, almost as though she's performing on stage.

Starlight wants to know why. Could it have something to do with Trixie and Maud both being transgender?

This story is part of the Pride and Positivity event, which encourages readers to donate to any of the following charities:

• Transgender Law Center
• Palestine Children's Relief Fund
• Sewa International (Indian charity collecting funds for COVID relief)

Scootaloo's parameters are incompatible with every other player in CelestAI's domain, so he's the only user in his fictional world. This unique situation provides CelestAI with quintillions of tuning parameters, all to meet the friendship needs of a single individual.

You'd probably think that would be easy to optimize.

Friendship can take a lot out of you, and for a middle-aged mare with her condition, there's only so much Applejack to go around.

Fortunately, this particular country mare has an ace in the hole.

(Dedicated to those who need more spoons.)

The name's Diane, Private Eye. I'm the stickiest gumshoe in all of Manehattan, with an addiction to danger (and chocolate). Hot on the trail of a missing foal, a feeling deep in my twitchy-tail tells me I'm about to crack the case wide open. Unfortunately, I may need the help of my weirdo "friends" to do it... but who knows, maybe I'll change my mind about friendship after an epic character arc.

Oops. Sorry for breaking the fourth wall there, but you can blame Mom for that one. After all, I'm just a half-bit mimeo of the #horsefamous Bearer of Laughter.

I mean, it's not like I have a soul, or anything.

Inspired by "The Heart of Saturday Night", a minific written by No Raisin for the June 2018 Writeoff.

When Babs Seed and Diamond Tiara end up trapped in a hole filling with water, survival is foremost on their minds. When that fails, the former bullies try to come to terms with the lives they've lived.

Sometimes you have to get the weight off of your withers before you can tread water.

Written for the 2019 Jinglemas compilation as a gift for The Bricklayer.

Rumble receives a rare offer of eternal life from Princess Celestia. There's just one catch: he can never grow up. It's a tempting proposition, and though Celestia has never explained why she does it, only one foal in history has ever refused her gift.

As Rumble tries to make up his mind, he's plagued by the only question nopony can answer to his satisfaction:

Why is this happening to me?

Written for a specific Writeoff prompted by a drawing by GroaningGreyAgony. Out of respect for those involved, I will not link to the image or event. Nonetheless, I remain deeply grateful.

Most of the time, Pinkie Pie is the happiest, most cheerful of ponies, but she often has a hard time coping with loss.

Today we see just how hard, as Pinkie says goodbye to a special friend.

Written for the "Keep Pretending" Writeoff.

"I Love to See You Smile" (cover art), by Zaid Val'Roa, was part of the art competition and served as the specific inspiration for this story.

During a class trip to Manehattan, a teenage Cheerilee has the most embarrassing experience of her life. Fortunately, fellow student and friend Vinyl Scratch is there to help her through the pain—and in the process, teach her something important about who she is.

Written for Trotcon 2019's Speedfics-R-Us panel, with minor revisions after. The prompt: write a story involving Cheerilee, Vinyl Scratch (a.k.a. DJ P0N-3), and Manehattan.

Princess Luna has returned to Equestria from her millennium of exile, but much has been lost to her: centuries of time, the respect and admiration of a nation, and perhaps worst of all, the beautiful stars in her mane.

Fortunately, she hasn't lost the love of her sister.

Entrant to the first Quills and Sofas Speedwriting competition for the prompt "The Stars are Gone".