When King Sombra returned for the second time, Princess Cadence wound up discovering the true origins of her birth, throwing her whole world out of whack and causing her to question her own identity. In order to solve this dilemma, she journeys to Canterlot to visit the ponies she's known her whole life as "Mom and Dad" in order to hear the truth from their mouths.

*Part of my head-canon universe

Takes place between When Darkness Falls and The Return of the King

I would suggest reading When Darkness Falls first as this contains spoilers

An extra-special thanks to Viper Pit for the concept!

Autumn Blaze, on vacation, decides to come to Ponyville over the holidays. Taking up a previous offer she stays at Sweet Apple Acres for the duration of her stay. Things get a little heated with a stressed out Applejack

Written for Discomboulated Soul For Jinglemas 2022

Crystal Prep Academy has to up its game to compete against the rising Canterlot High School, so they take to a more rigorous method to choose the top twelve students. So they pair them up with each-other, to see who is more competitive.

Minuette and Sugarcoat have an odd sort of conflict in the middle of it.

Written for the May Pairing Contest

After a busy week, Rarity forgets about plans she had with her sister. In haste, Rarity does her best to make it up to her. Will Sweetie Belle take her older sister's actions as genuine?

In "A Canterlot Wedding", Twilight just wanted to protect her brother from the Cadance imposter who was Queen Chrysalis. However, he didn't believe her and was subsequently barred from the wedding; this left a heartbroken mare in his wake. Enter BLANK, a Changeling who seems to mean both good and bad.

BLANK manipulates Twilight into reaching a bargain: if she helps him get his revenge on Princess Celestia, he will help her get her revenge on Queen Chrysalis. Twilight agrees, unaware of the madness behind the mask of a charming Changeling, who seems to develop an interest in the young mare as well.

On a Wednesday night shift at the bowling alley, Sunset and Starlight gossip to past the time.

A story set one year before Fire on the Mountain.

Baldric's Day — One of the biggest national celebrations in the Gryphon Confederacy. There are few like it, but this day is special in every gryph's eyes.

But this year, in the little hamlet of Talon's Reach, the celebrations go awry as a terrible crime befalls the town: The death of their beloved mayor, Tala Whitetalon. At first, the murder is seen as happenstance, committed by a crazy gryphon with no love for his mother. However, as the investigation goes deeper, terrible truths expose themselves, leading to a sinister explanation.

A simple drawing contemplates its existence and the pony that created it, but wonders if there is more to life.

What does it mean to have everything you want?

This story was written for the 2023 'A Thousand Words' contest in the 'Drama' and 'Experimental' categories. If you enjoy this story and would like to receive one of your own, see here for more details.

Twilight Sparkle has retired from her role as ruler of Equestria after a two hundred year reign. Expecting to enter a peaceful retirement, she is instead confronted by the return of King Sombra, who once again seeks to enslave the ponies of Equestria and bring darkness to the land. Her friends having grown old and passed away long ago, Twilight must face Sombra alone.

Art by Adreamera, http://derpibooru.org/images/2600332