Hard lives breed hard ponies, whether by choice or by need. A chance meeting, a kindness rebuffed, and a direction of travel shared all lead to a journey of self-discovery on two fronts.

Cover is a composite of images from the talented artists Murphylaw4me and Dufy.

Zecora, the zebra shamaness has lived in the Everfree Forest for some time, but has never gone beyond except for the sake of finding roots and herbs for her potions that her woods cannot supply. But upon making friends with young Apple Bloom and later Twilight and her companions, she has taken it upon herself to travel beyond for a time. Stopping at Sweet Apple Acres for a minute to speak with Applejack, she catches the eye of Macintosh. The stallion falls for Zecora at first sight and then does something very poorly thought out to prove himself to her...

The Ponies travel to Appleoosa to cheer on Big Mac in a competition of strength. His efforts are both awesome and inspiring, earning him high honors and regards. But when disaster strikes is his strength the answer? A story of knowing your limits, and when to listen to the voice of reason, even if it's very quiet.

Featuring fan art by: Starfirenova (Her dev art page) and fia94

This story has not been fully edited yet, i apologize for anything sloppy.

Big Mac needs to talk about some things.

This does not come easily to him.

On a cloudy day, four friends find refuge at Rarity's Boutique over a barrel of cider. But when Twilight Sparkle flies home from Canterlot to see her friends early, can she understand what's really going on?

Macintosh feels abandoned. Applejack has taken off to Manehattan to find herself and left him alone on the farm. On a rainy night, he stumbles upon someone who can help him find a little joy again.

It was only a few days ago when I lost my voice and Fluttershy had to sing in my place with the Ponytones. Then, just the other mornin', Rarity's asked me out to a big fancy dinner in downtown Ponyville. What could this mean? Have I done somethin' wrong? Is she finally kickin' me out of the quartet? Or, even worse, could an elegant unicorn like that actually be interested in a stallion like me?

I ain't no good at reading ponies, and I'm even worse at speakin' my thoughts out loud. Rarity is a nice, elegant lady, and I'd be a plum fool to hurt her feelings. Still, the truth's gotta come out somehow. There's only one mare in this-here town who strikes my fancy, and it ain't her.

Based on an idea given to me by Propmaster.

Young Cheerilee is happy to have finally settled down with her family in a nice town like Ponyville, and she's not about to let her nervousness about her first day of school stop her from making new friends. Most of her classmates seem nice, but...

There's one young colt who'll barely say two words to her. And she's determined to find out why.

SPOILERS IN THE COMMENTS!

It's been a crazy Hearts and Hooves Day for Cheerilee and Big Macintosh thanks to the antics of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. It's been a while since the two have had a chance to catch up, so they use their picnic at the gazebo to talk. Turns out there is a good deal to talk about.

Twilight discovers a book about the history of the Apple family, but it's missing some information. While it tells all about Granny Smith's life, there's no mention of a husband or any children. Twilight goes to Sweet Apple Acres to fill in the gaps and gets a lesson about what it means to be a family.