Si fulcrum mihi dedis, ferre mundum possum
(Literally, "If you give me a fulcrum, I can carry the world.")
-Archimedes of Syracuse

Time rolls on, the years and seasons cycling along as things go along. Ponies and the planet age along with that passage. And the Black Knight-Errant Bad Apple is not immune to this movement. Perhaps in all the world, he feels it most keenly of all. The grand timekeeper's watch ticks off "like horrible hammer-blows" (in the words of Wilde.) It is either the end, or the beginning of something great.

Even in a happy land like Equestria, there are a few small matters that must be handled. And of course, stuff needs to be said or sold. Whether it be talking of marginalized groups or selling cider, these are the spots between television programs.

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon get such a bad rap. Almost every story I see shows them as abject villains. Or convenient "guilt-free" victims. In the last three stories I read about them before I lost my regular internet connection, all of them involved savage beatings, one had both of them beaten to death, one had Silver Spoon beaten to death by Diamond Tiara and the other was Silver ruthlessly beaten, and sexually assaulted.

These are foals folks. Foals. Really.

So here's something that I have intended to do for a long while. Stories about Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon (Though mostly slanted to Silver Spoon) that gives them at least some vindication. Please, enjoy. and try to cut them a little slack. They're FILLIES for Luna's sake.

Trixie Lulamoon is a Roa, and increasingly less shy about expressing that fact. The loyalists of Princess Luna long ago, who never ceased to be loyal to her vacant throne during her banishment, suffered under fear and derision for a thousand years. But they never wavered, even if loyalty became only culture.

Now comes a moment, a gesure, a recompense for the pain. So long in coming, so small in scope, and yet... it may be the most vital thing in the world.

There is a rumor of a legend of a story in Equestria. Of a creature, older than can be told, that can bridge the most painful gap. The gap between two hearts that long to know oneness. To clear away the barriers that stop love from fully blossoming.

Big Macintosh knows the pain of love that cannot be, without subjecting his lover to suffering and eventual existential torment that would consume her. So he undertakes the journey, to walk the path of the hero. He need not wait for the middle of the journey of his life. He will strive for his happiness. And Smarty-Pants' happiness as well.

(Yes, this is VERY much inspired by Dante's "Inferno" and "Purgatorio." As it goes on, you'll see the connections between broad elements and know why I didn't need to add "Paradiso.")

In the new Appleoosa, after the farcical and laughingly-remembered War of the Pies, love is not JUST a thing between the same kind. The barrier was broken with the lawful matrimony of Little Strongheart to Braeburn Apple. But even with the official blockade down, change comes slowly in a dusty land far from cosmopolitan quickness and changing minds.

These are tales of the changed Appleoosa, showing how it is, in a land of new love and old ways.

Vanilla Torte lives an unassuming life outside of Canterlot, never thinking much about the huge city above.

Then something lands with a thunderous crash in his garden.

Where is this stranger named Iron Will from? How is it that only Fluttershy knows what a Minotaur is? What sad secret hides behind the bulging muscles and powerful voice?

(Another semi-experimental series. I'm trying to keep this cut to the minimum. No extraneous actions or scenes, no needless asides, just a pure story, done in one quick sitting, however long that makes it.)

Why the Spanish in the title? Why not? I've seen some pretentious stories use gratuitous Latin. At least this is an homage to Voltaire's hispanic heritage. And I mean Voltaire as in Aurelio Voltaire Hernandez, Cuban-American Gypsy-Gothic Rock singer.

Inspired by a fic that made very, very poor use of a Voltaire song, I thought his lyrics deserved some justice. So, I've gome up with this little series. Some good songs, accompanied by vingettes revelvant to the lyrics. It will run the gamaut from wonderfully sappy to dark and scary. That's Voltaire's magic, baby.

Some OC content, all from previous stories.

The Great and Powerful Trixie, homeless, bitless, friendless, has been spirited away from her situation to the undecorated aerie of Gilda. The two are complete strangers to one another, knowing only that they are a match for each other. Now, inside the ramshackle redoubt of the arrogant griffin, both will see just how different they can be, and how much of a match it makes them.

(A challenge to myself, I sat down and wrote a fic all at once. It's short, and kind of quick. But it hits a lot of the elements I've always wanted to get to, especially Trixie being (what I named) Roani, inspired by the fic "Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves." Incidentally, the Romani is as accurate as I can make it, with modifications for use in Equestria, and yes, Gilda's name DOES contain Latin/Greek primary elements with Gaelic conventions; think of the Griffin Kingdom as akin to Roman England, though more England than Roman.)