Sparkler Doo has just started her first summer in Ponyville and already has plans with her family. Why should she have friends?

Minuette and I have got to be the absolute best friends in all of Equestria. Or at least we thought so... before running into Lyra and Bon Bon.

A server waits on six ponies in a restaurant. The diners have drinking contests and discuss social responsibility. The clock ticks ever on and on.

Few things bring as much joy to Berry Punch as riding trains. Because of this, she was overjoyed to find a misprinted timetable that listed a new train travelling to Canterlot in the dead of night- -and even more pleased to discover that rumors of a new, experimental type of engine were true.

Except that this train does not run quite on time. And not many ponies seem to be willing to ride it, despite how many cars there seem to be. And how everything is oh so silent. Or, as Berry Punch begins to discover, something she would rather not know about the last train car...

This story is a sequel to Guiding Light

By her mere existence, Princess "Derpy" De Raptura ushers in a new era in Equestria's history. The first commoner to ascend the throne, the first new monarch of Equestria for more than two thousand years, Derpy faces the unenviable task of bending a fractious and ambitious political establishment to her will when her experience amounts to little more than planning the best delivery route each day.

Yet it seems that Derpy must face the true price her new-found power demands. To raise the sun she must love the whole world, but to give that love she must endure a burden far greater than she could possibly imagine.

Discord never betrayed Equestria for Tirek, aiding in returning the magic to all the drained unicorns. As a result, Celestia deems him ready of a "small" gift: The Archduchy of the Everfree, technically making him the highest noble under the princesses.

Naturally, this shocks everypony, including Discord himself. Now of course his lands will some have some chaotic magic and strange laws in effect, but that doesn't mean he doesn't take the noble thing a little seriously. Why is anypony's guess, but it'll be entertaining to watch.

Book one of the De Raptura Chronicles

Ditzy "Derpy" Doo, once a humble mail mare, was elevated to godhood in a last, desperate act by Celestia moments before she and the entire royal family disappeared. Now the newly crowned Princess De Raptura must contend with the machinations of a court completely alien to her, reconcile with her daughter, make peace with Twilight Sparkle and learn how to control the sun.

And she's fairly sure she still has a package to deliver.

The story continues in To See The Light

Also available on Google Docs!

"This story differentiates itself from other 'bad things happen to Equestria' stories with its smart character work and realistic, powerful emotion. We need more stories like this." -Pre-reader who likes sky pirates

Short description borrowed stolen from FanOfMostEverything.

On the surface, Derpy Hooves is doing well. She has a comfortable home, a happy daughter, and a steady job.

Below the surface, things aren't adding up. The house needs fixing, Dinky needs sitters, and Derpy's hours are being cut back.

When the one pony who can really get under Derpy's skin pushes her toward a decision she can't make, everything threatens to come crashing to a halt.

Proofread by the redoubtable OnionPie.

Cover art stitched together from here and here and here using Inkscape.

This is my entry for the Outside contest.

Equestria hasn’t seen a shooting star in over a thousand years. Derpy Hooves thinks it’s time to give her daughters a Hearth’s Warming gift they’ll never forget.

Written for the 2017 Obselescence Memorial Jinglemas Twinglemas Secret Santa Sendoff, as a present for the fantastic FanOfMostEverything. Thanks to Posh for editing help, and for being the most lovable hugmuffin around.
Cover art by myself and Amber Spark, with a little bit of help from the Scientific Notebook Company.

Trick or treating is over, and Noi, Berry Pinch, and Dinky have sorted through their candy. What's left but to cuddle up under a blanket together and tell scary stories?

Audio reading by AShadowOfCygnus