After a recent with fight with Twilight, Spike meets a strange creature on the road.

After learning how to drink, you do a bit too much of it, for you mostly do it alone.

Pain built from guilt is reduced by punishment.

There are many ways to deal with the pain from the punishment that comes from a drink. One can squeeze their eyes and clench their claws and shake through the shudders of alcoholic intensity. Or one exhales the punishment as it comes up, concentrating it out.

And that trick applies to more than just drinking.

Spike and Rarity are the break-up, make-up, break-up to only make up couple. Something pushes them apart and another force pulls them together. Their friends tell them to keep apart.

What will be different about this break-up?

To them

A dance in the snow.

[Cover by GrayGrayBlue]

Spike and Twilight talk.

Spike turns to writing to avoid lying, but insomnia meshes fiction with reality. A mysterious caller knows of his darkest secret.

It's Spike's 17th birthday and everyone is invited!

Upon blowing the candles, Spike receives a gift that speaks only to him. He decides to ignore it, however, until he starts doing things he would never do before.

The girls notice Spike's odd behavior, and confront him.

Shout out to Vexy & Monsieur Connoisseur for helping edit this.

Ponies have lived underground for countless years. Their ceiling of confinement is broken by six mares, each an embodiment of harmony, further fighting to allow freedom to those who dare to rise to the surface.

Then, abruptly through their rebellion, the six mares die, sacrificing themselves for a cowardice of a dragon.

The remaining resistance rebel again the Black Beast, knowing they cannot win now, unless...

Things happen, and that's okay. Things are supposed to happen; they are what make things happen. But something feels so hollow about some things happening over other things not happening. We don't get to decide what happens, only to do our best to make the things we want to happen, happen, and to accept the other stuff.

A new coffee shop opens up in Ponyville.

For the past few months, Spike and Rarity have met for tea, but this will be the last time they do so for quite a while.