Sombra's takeover took everyone in the Crystal Empire by surprise. No one saw it coming, none were prepared for it, and almost no one got away. Almost.

A few hooffuls of daring souls managed to break out of the city and flee southwards, towards Equestria. Some ran to beg the Princesses for aid, others - just to save themselves and their families from the mad tyrant.

But as the refugees are about to learn, it's the dead of winter outside the Empire's shield, and the crystal ponies are far too used to their warm life in the city. One filly that gets separated from her parents while trying to get away learns that fact all too painfully...

Cover art by Marbo, Allfather of the Snowponies.

Additional tag:snowpony

Celestia, the Lightbringer.
Luna, Mistress of the Night.
Twilight Sparkle, Master of Magic.
Cadance, Princess of Love.

Of the Four Princesses, Cadance is the one that ponies think they understand the most. After all, what could be so hard about being Princess of Love?

A lot of things, actually.

The first story in the Four Princesses, Four Demons series. Sequels are Celestia the Indomitable, Twilight the Triumphant, and Luna the Faithful.

Featured from 1-26-21 to 1-29-21, all thanks to the kind folks of this site, who even pushed it to the #2 spot.

So little is remembered about the days of Ancient Equestria. Now, with the magic of friendship restored, the curiosity of Sunny Starscout sets her eyes upon a strange old journal among her late father's belongings.

"The Daylight Horror" by Twilight Sparkle. Between those pages, Sunny discovers a harrowing tale, suggesting that the late Princess Twilight was quite the versatile horror writer.

After all, it is just a creepy story... isn't it?

Content Warnings: Disease, Implied Violence, moderate domestic abuse

Inspired by (but not a direct crossover with) Hollow Knight.

Edit: Made the feature box! 25/10/2021
Edit 2: Now with an audio reading!

She goes for long trots through the forest, as part of the duty. She observes the world around her, does her best to listen, and learns what she can from knowledge gained in solitude.

There are ways in which Fluttershy knows more about the world than anypony, and one of the first lessons was that the world is not what we make of it.

Ultimately, the world doesn't care.

(Now with author Patreon, SubscribeStar, and Ko-Fi pages. Due to minimal length, this story was a Patreon freebie.)

Starlight is shocked to see that she has a meeting with a student already scheduled the very first day the School of Friendship opens up again for the summer. Ocellus had learned something about herself over the summer, something that she absolutely hates.

Cover art made using vectors.

Lyra Heartstrings has noticed an eerie strangeness in Equestria. Contemplating whether it's her or the world, she challenges the fabric of reality as she knows it.

Edited by the dobermans

Now with a reading by ObabScribbler! Go check it out!

What was the most important Friendship Lesson I ever learned? Well, it happened one night many, many years ago...

During a check-in visit to Sweet Apple Acres, Twilight finds a much too old Applejack overworking herself. The farm is lonely, the orchard is diminished, and Twilight is worried. A talk about the past reveals Applejack’s current struggles with the farm, her family, and herself.

Originally written for the Quills and Sofas Unremarkable contest. A few minor edits were made here and there, but it’s almost entirely unchanged. Thanks to Posh, Decaf, MushroomPone, RedParade, and NoponyPones for pre-reading and giving feedback during the contest ^^

Timber wolves, creatures of the Everfree forest. They're made of sticks and dark magic, but who made them? It was centuries ago, before the three ponies tribes were even dealing with the Windigoes...

There are many who dislike Sunset Shimmer. Recent happenings have brought that to a head which has resulted in her death. But that's hardly the end for her.

____________

Inspired by reading WAY too many Isekai LN's and Manga.

This started as an experiment to try shorter chapters. I gave up on that later on.

Maud tries to escape the pain and loneliness of loss. Nothing seems to help her. She looks to her friend Starlight for help.

Thanks to RDT for his help editing and creating the cover. Thanks also to Symphonic Sync for further suggestions. And of course all my friends at Bean’s Writing Group the happening group to write with.