Twilight Sparkle grew up believing in a world that was sound, stable, and scientific. There was no place for a silly corporate Hearth's Warming mascot like Holly Jolly in that equation, no matter how many kids around her believed.

Sunset Shimmer grew up in a world where Hearth's Warming meant something entirely different, where magic was only special in terms of power levels, and holiday frivolity was little more than a distraction from her pursuits.

So when the two of them, a few years post-high school and now a couple, chanced upon some Holly Jollys at a local mall, neither of them put much stock in it at first. But then Twilight said something that got Sunset thinking.

And then she asked Pinkie for a red suit.

Written for BlueMoonHarlot for Jinglemas 2024!

Pre-read by Avery Day, Dewdrops on the Grass, and The Sleepless Beholder. Featured on 25-26 December 2024.

Most people would tell you that crawling down a sewer grate to retrieve a stolen bouquet of roses from an oversized rat is simply not worth the trouble. Especially when said trouble includes all kinds of risk of injury and disease. Most would simply tell you to go buy another bouquet or find some other gift.

Ragamuffin is not most people.

Ragamuffin isn't about to let filthy little buggers like that dictate his life. He's out for what's his. And he's going to win. Or die trying.

Most people would probably bet on the latter.

An entry into the Dumb as Doornails Contest and the Fourth M/M Shipping Contest. Pre-read by The Sleepless Beholder and Dewdrops on the Grass. Cover image self-edited.

If you don't recall who the characters in this story are, Ragamuffin is the cruise staff member in Spring Breakdown with a butchered Cockney-ish accent and pseudo-DiCaprio looks, while Dirk Thistleweed is a musician character in the Starswirled Festival short "Accountibilibuddies" who Applejack is a fan of. Reportedly, EqG staff described them during production as "Male Applejack" and "Male Rarity", respectively.

Featured (somehow) on 30 September 2024.

On this night, Twilight Sparkle's life will change forever. And so will Sunset Shimmer's.

Before that can happen, though, both must grapple with what has already occurred that day. As Sunset wrestles with guilt over driving Twilight away -- and losing a critical chance to get back her friends' magic in the process -- Twilight herself struggles over the harm she knows she's caused, and if she can possibly hope to fix it.

Fortunately for Sunset Shimmer, she has a close friend to help her work through it.

Unfortunately for Twilight Sparkle, she has Principal Cinch.

The consequences of each will reverberate through the entire night -- and once it's over, Sunset and Twilight will be left to figure out what comes next.

The second chapter of this story was written for the 2024 Iron Author contest at Everfree Northwest. It has been edited and slightly expanded to better synchronize with the rest of the story.

Pre-read by Avery Day, Dewdrops on the Grass, and The Sleepless Beholder. Cover image self-edited.

Featured on 19-21 September 2024.

For some time now, magic from another dimension has been leaking into the world of humans. And for all that time, no one outside Canterlot City seems to have paid it much mind.

University student Starlight Glimmer thinks that's a problem. And she thinks she knows how to deal with it. However, none of her professors seemed to take her thesis very seriously.

Unfortunately for them, she knows how she can deal with that, too.

An entry into the Horror category for the A Thousand Words Contest III. Pre-read by The Sleepless Beholder and Dewdrops on the Grass.

Featured on 9 July 2024.

Once upon a time, a fateful visit from Canterlot High students changed Camp Everfree -- and its owners -- forever. Or, at least, Gloriosa assumed that it would. Briefly becoming a megalomaniacal plant monster, and subsequently regaining ownership of the camp that had been her home all her life, surely would've marked a turning point in her life, right?

Several years later, Gloriosa stands on the dock by the lake, hoping her faraway brother will pick up her call. She's had a bad day. Again.

An entry in the Drama and Slice of Life categories for A Thousand Words Contest III. Winner of the Drama Pewter Medal. Pre-read by Dewdrops on the Grass and The Sleepless Beholder.

Featured on 3-5 July 2024!

So what does one do upon finding out that their best friend (and lately a bit more than that) has been hiding something from them? Namely, the fact that, once a month, they transform into the body of a destructive dark angel and spend the night hiding in their room?

Well, if you're Sunset Shimmer, you ask Twilight a magiphysiological question.

An entry into the Dialogue-Only Contest and the Sunset X Villain "Monster-shipping" Contest (2nd place winner!). Pre-read by Dewdrops on the Grass and The Sleepless Beholder.

Featured on 1-4 June 2024! Also featured on Equestria Daily!

Some months have passed since the destruction of the Memory Stone. Wallflower Blush has entered a new school year, her last at CHS, and so far, things have been looking up. Talking to people is getting easier, and she even has a few friends to her name.

But dealing with social repercussions is still a thing that Wallflower has struggled with all her life. Making a few connections is all well and good, but what about deeper connections? What about one-on-one bonding? What about dating? With the shield of the Memory Stone gone, how can Wallflower find a safe way to experience consequences?

Luckily, her first date with Moondancer is certain to give her some much-needed education on the subject. Even if it takes a few more first dates than normal.

Winner of the Best Story By New Author award in Science Fiction Contest III (other entries here). Also winner of Shaslan’s Judge Prize in the May Pairings 2024 contest (other entries here). Pre-read by Dewdrops on the Grass and The Sleepless Beholder. Sex tag applied for crude references only.

Featured 13-15 May 2024!

The day had finally come. Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle stand before each other in wedding gowns, prepared for the happiest moment of their lives. And as those two pivotal words draw near, they reflect on just what it means that they've made it to this point, together, and how they got there.

Winner of the Sunset x Villain "Tying the knot" contest. (Yes, Sci-Twi counts.) Pre-read by Dewdrops on the Grass and The Sleepless Beholder.

Featured on March 2-4, 2024.

In the many months since Twilight Sparkle transferred to Canterlot High, Sunset Shimmer's been to her house a good number of times, enough for it to feel reasonably familiar. So when she notices something she's never seen before -- a large, blue-tinted plush shark she calls her blåhaj -- on Twilight's bed, she can't help but ask about it. She's a little surprised to find Twilight looking a bit embarrassed about her stuffed animal -- but when Sunset realizes it might be emblematic of a sore spot in Twilight's life, she realizes it's up to her to restore the magic of the blåhaj.

Can be read as either platonic or shipping.

What's a blåhaj? Here's a summary. And remember the accent on "blahaj"!

Pre-read by Dewdrops on the Grass and The Sleepless Beholder. Featured 30 January-2 February 2024.

Sunset Shimmer doesn't live in Equestria. She hasn't for a long time. But she's been visiting, more and more, having found herself drawn closer and closer to the alicorn princess who once saved her from herself, and having also found her affections were reciprocated.

Now, Sunset's been invited to spend Hearth's Warming in Ponyville, together with Twilight in her castle. There's no doubt that Sunset's happy to do so, and every moment Twilight's there makes that clear. But as she looks out upon the snow-capped small town decorated in its bright lights, she finds herself still at a perpetual distance from the world she once belonged to, both in spirit and in body.

It's not a sentiment she'd expect Twilight to relate to. But there might be more in common there than she thinks.

Written for AFanaticRabbit for Jinglemas 2023!

Pre-read by Avery Day, Dewdrops on the Grass, and The Sleepless Beholder. Featured on 12/25/23.