Trixie had a simple plan with few steps: buy the magical artifact, use it to get revenge on the town that destroyed her home and the entirety of her worldly possessions, profit. Of course, Trixie hadn't actually thought this through beyond the 'sweet revenge' part, but she was sure that the details would fall into line easily enough once she got the ball rolling.

And then she got the artifact, and decided... differently.

This is the story of how a single pony set fire to the bad writing of an entire region, purely by being one big spanner in the works.

All Blue Quill wants is a job. The trouble is finding one.

Emily enjoys many things: the feel of a fresh canvas, applying paints to a surface, taking in a wonderful afternoon, but nothing compares to her daily ritual of enjoying the sunset with Big Mac. But he's been acting a little cagey recently, skipping their quiet and contemplative sessions, and she can't help but wonder why...

Matthias Síðasta Von has always wished to visit the magical land of Equestria, see the wonderful colors, talk to the ponies that live there. Perhaps even, should he be so lucky, live there permanently. Help Fluttershy with the animals, listen to Twilight talk about her most recent lesson or experiment, lift baskets of apples with Applejack, tell Lyra about humans.

One day, a connection is made, an offer: step through the gate. It was warned that the cost might be hefty, that the journey might be hard, but anything was better than this drab, grey life. So he stepped through.

But, this is not the Equestria he knew. Buildings aged and decrepit, roads cracked and eroded, the Everfree slowly reclaiming the Apple's farm and the last barn finally given out under the strain with nopony to raise it anew. What happened? Where did they go?

The colors bleached, the ponies gone, the Harmony and love that once sustained the land dried up and blown away like so much dust.

Except...

Celestia was overjoyed to get her sister back after a thousand years of separation, but the caveat of having the government- and the entire country, for that matter- doomed to complete and utter collapse is a bit much to handle at this current moment for either of them.

Nightmare Moon is needed back. Desperately.

A certain pony, drifting in despair a year after losing her anchor, grieves for her mistakes. Of course, she is not the only one that grieves, and the other is willing to share the weight, even if only for a night.

Cover comes from here, and is the property and work of one Cizu.