The Grand Galloping Gala! An event that six mares had looked forward to for a long time, only to be met with disappointment when their dreams failed to come true. But what if they had gotten everything they had wanted?

Well, that would leave poor Spike all alone for the rest of the night, with only bad vibes and Pony Joe to keep him company. That is, until a certain Princess makes her royal return....

Sometimes the best stories come from the most unlikeliest of encounters.

In 'Rich in Flowers, Unlucky in Love', one of the flower girls struggles with her growing feelings for a customer, suffering as she watches him stumble into romantic disaster after disaster.

In 'Perspective', Pony Joe shares with one of his customers a tried-and-tested method for resolving a Code Sparkle(otherwise known as a pre-test meltdown).

In 'Late to Class', Lemon Hearts is quite excited to be filling in for an injured professor... until an unexpected student appears in her roster.

And in 'Historical Inaccuracy' Sunny and Zipp go on a scavenger hunt through history to answer a pressing question: is it even possible for one of Sunny's ancient heroes to have had an extramarital affair?

These four stories were written as part of the Quills and Sofas 'May Pairings' contest, where prompts were given matching ponies that didn't have much of a chance to interact onscreen. It was quite fun and challenging. Pre-reading help provided by the Quills and Sofas participants, as well as horsetorian and Celestilune.

(Tags are for brief mentions of alcohol consumption and discussion of an extramarital affair)

Hearth's Warming eve is two days away, and Donut Joe is preparing something special. But when things take an unexpected turn, he realizes his hooves aren't going to be enough on their own.

Luckily, an unwitting volunteer stumbles into Joe's life.

Much to his frustration.

A gift inspired by, and created for, TartarusFire.

Artwork created by the awesome Verbose Mode!

When Discord drops by the donut shop one morning, Joe is understandably nervous. When the draconequus keeps coming back, the baker soon realizes his life is better with Discord in it.

Discord comes to the same conclusion.

One of them just needs to admit it to the other.

Thanks to Mykola for the pre-read, Punished Bean for talking through a few sections, and to CrazyDiamond and everyone else for listening to me ramble on about this one.

Art combined by me from two sources.

Featured 5-27-21 to 5-28-21, peaking in the #2 spot. Thanks, everypony!

“In only just a few moments, four bakers will enter a fight for cupcake supremacy! And one by they’ll be eliminated as they’re judged on taste, presentation, and in the final round the last two bakers standing would give all to bring it all together in a fantasy cupcake display.

The winner would have the honor to cater at the VIP room at the world famous Cloudsdale Festival, and would walk home with ten thousand bits!! Hello, I am Pinkie Pie and this is… CUPCAKE WARS!!”

This story is a sequel to Donut Nights 2: A Heartfelt Hearthswarming

Over ten months ago, Luna and Donut Joe confessed their feelings to each other on Hearthswarming Eve and embarked upon a beautiful courtship. Now it's Nightmare Night, and Luna and Joe are one of the most admired couples in all of Equestria. Indeed, their emotions have blossomed completely from a simple crush all the way to...a confession each of them is prepared to make tonight. Still though, they worry about where the future will lead and if they will be able to manage all of the challenges it can hold.

Fortunately, Joe and Luna's relationship-building skills are always fresh thanks to the amount of effort they have to put in on Discord and Celestia who are still just friends despite how ridiculously close they've gotten (). Clearly they need some advice from a seasoned couple (and perhaps Celestia and Discord can help teach Luna and Joe something along the way).

It's an evening of absolute relationship madness, so come one, come all, to the First Annual Nightmare Night Ball!

Sequel:
Donut Nights 4: Hearts and Hooves Day Redux

Pony Joe returns to Sweet Apple Acres. This time, he's attending a wedding.

An experiment in a different writing style that I threw together in just a few hours. Written purely for the sake of trying things out. Constructive criticism welcome.

Inspired by a contest prompt I ended up not being able to utilize in time for said contest and a song I'd forgotten about until recently.

Other stories inspired by music:
Escape
Ordinary World
Bulletproof Heart
Drops of Jupiter
How to Save a Life
Forgive Me, Friend
Time for Tea

Cover art by SpainFischer.

Twenty years later, Celestia has for the second time taken on a new private student. Twilight can no longer be the Faithful Student, but feels she has failed to become anything else. She must find out what and who she now is—and the difference between these things.

(Non-Twilicorn universe. On EQD March 17, 2013.)

Dinky Hooves goes out with a flawless plan for Derpy’s Hearth’s Warming gift. She has only to make the perfect pastry present a reality. And along the way, she’ll find an even better one.

My entry for the Secret Santa Jingle-Off.

Cover art by Novel-Idea.

Featured on Equestria Daily!

And now there's a reading on Neighrator Pony's YouTube channel!

There's no place like Donut Joe's diner to unwind after a long, hard day. Good company, great coffee, and the best dang cucumber omelette in Equestria. After the week Celestia's had, she could really, really use a place to get away from it all.

Here, the regulars all know her as Sunny Skies, the unassuming workaholic mare who hasn't taken a day off in... ever. Well, today's her lucky day. Sunny's about to have one apocalyptically long holiday.

Luna's become delirious with a fever, Discord's fled the castle in terror, there's a living moon locked in Celestia's dining room, and something is very, very wrong with Equestria's sugar.

Put on a pot of coffee, folks. We've got an all-nighter on our hooves.

Holy horseapples, Sugarfree has AMAZING FANART NOW! Cover art by the wonderful StyxLady.
Crazy huge thanks to Luminary, Brawny and Eakin for pre-reading and editing this horrid thing.