"Fluttershy has tail extensions!" And thus was revealed a secret that Fluttershy hoped would never come out.

There's nothing wrong with having a short tail. Looks aren't everything. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Fluttershy knows every cliché, every truth, every comfort statement; it doesn't help what she sees in the mirror when the extensions are removed.

So how to deal with the fact that ugliness – however cruel its judgement – is also in the eye of the beholder? An eye, more to the point, that has difficulty looking away, no matter what the beholder wants or needs to see?

Perhaps, in the end, it needs another set of eyes to do the beholding…

Granny Smith founded a humble farming village; it was her son, Bright Mac, and his best friend, Burnt Oak, who seized their chance and turned it into a thriving town. Now Burnt Oak tells the three Apple siblings the truth about their father's legacy.

Written as part of National Pony Writing Month 2018.

After his journey through Equestria, the one realm in the Big World where the ponies live, Seabreeze has become a figure of awe and respect among the other Breezies. Much to his annoyance: he just wants to spend some quality time with his family, and he has no desire whatsoever to get roped into so-called adventures. Or so he tells himself.

Once the next Forage begins, he naturally chooses to stay behind and so return to a normal life, free from excitement and terror and dangerous creatures. However, when an intruder rushes into the little village – and is, to everyone's surprise, successfully captured by the Breezies – poor Seabreeze is thrown into the midst of a mysterious and ancient conflict that just screams "ADVENTURE". Things only get worse from there...

Cover Design courtesy of Novel-Idea.

Written as part of National Pony Writing Month 2016.

Economic Fact of Life #1: A pony in Equestria should always check their own name before applying for a job.

Economic Fact of Life #2: You will successfully not die if you refrain from mentioning Ooh La La in Filthy Rich's face.

Economic Fact of Life #3: Movies are the opium of the working class.

Economic Fact of Life #4: You cannot solve all your financial problems with carrot cake.

Economic Fact of Life #5: Finding a good job is haaarrrd. But...

Economic Fact of Life #6: ...sometimes you get one by pure, blind luck.

As if dying of embarrassment in the middle of a Crystal Empire celebratory dinner wasn’t bad enough, now Shining Armor has to entertain the worst guest imaginable. No, not Lemon Hearts. The one with the inexplicable agricultural tool. No, not Crazy Lace Agate. The one with the ominous powers and the unstoppable determination to – No, not Cadence. Look, Death, all right? It’s Death. Death’s the worst guest imaginable.

And when the spectre at the feast wants you dead and can’t die in turn, not even love and friendship are strong enough to stand in the way of grim destiny.

Not that this will stop them. Love and friendship are funny like that.

An entry in Imposing Sovereigns IV, using the prompt "Princess Cadence and Shining Armor/Harmony".

After being freed from Starlight's control, Double Diamond and Sugar Belle struggle to shake off her influence. Then they start to wonder: are there other villages in the desert – and other ponies – who need their help too?

Proofreading provided by Pascoite.
Entry for Writeoff FiM Short Story Round, Event 87. Prompt: The Other Side.

Sea Swirl loves Sassaflash.

Sassaflash loves Caramel. Caramel loves Sassaflash.

It'd be so much easier if Caramel was a jerk. It'd be so much easier if Sassaflash really loved Sea Swirl all along. It'd be so, so, so very much easier if Sea Swirl didn't have a mind as wide and vacant as a deserted seabed.

The trouble is: love is like life, and both are like the sea. As simple as they look on the surface, they're so mind-bogglingly strange and complicated underneath that it's easy to get lost without a guide.

Life, love, and the endless sea: Sea Swirl herself can only manage one of those three. But she's always trying her best. And sadly, her best might not be good enough, not when it comes to the one thing that matters most:

A happily ever after.

So once again the day is saved. Literally. In this case, by that new unicorn who came into Ponyville and fought Nightmare Moon, the nightmare that would never end (until it did).

They say this unicorn is strange. They say she's a princess and a witch, who lurks in dark libraries and tames mighty dragons.

Well, Dinky knows that's bunkum, but who cares? She's never turned down a quest, not with her Sisterhooves Sisters in tow.

What a team they are too: Odd Job, carrot-farming sister and cosmic punching bag; Apple Bloom, who's got the heart of an apple (and the imagination to match); Alula, the pegasus who couldn't be more pegasus if she tried (harder); and Piña Colada, who's what you get as a sort of add-on if you seek out Berry Punch's beverages.

Together, they will bravely and nobly discuss over drinks what to do about this new hero in their midst, and see if they can fit her into their usual playtime. After all, it wouldn't be much of a quest if it wasn't dangerous. Twilight will just have to take her chances.

Wonderbolts have a duty to Equestria. In the case of Spitfire, however, duty does not stop there.

Ex-Wonderbolt Wind Rider, now dishonourably discharged, is living out his days on the seedier side of Manehattan. Under her own secret obligations, and certainly not because she wants to, Spitfire seeks him out and spends a few hours with him, giving him some company.

If both of them can agree on one thing, it's that this constitutes several hours too many.

Nightmare Night, the perfect time to cut loose and go wild! Or so Rainbow Dash thinks; Fluttershy, not so much. So when Rainbow pays her a tame, friendly visit, she stumbles upon a Discord tea party and - amid all the usual draconequus nonsense - wonders how he'd take to the holiday of horror.

Originally designed as a contestant for FlutterDash Contest #4: Nightmare Night, What a Fright!

Partially written for National Pony Writing Month 2017.