Drakmire's For Those We Left Behind

This is a tight little piece - an economy of words, with all the fat stripped away. It does a wonderful, terrible job of capturing that sense of bewildering loss you find yourself in when someone very close to you passes away.

[Tragedy] • 5,500 words
When her mother passes away unexpectedly, Twilight Sparkle reflects on a parent she neglected in pursuit of her own dreams. With only a little time left before the funeral, she returns home to piece together what she can of a life she barely remembers, hoping to make peace with the memories of a pony she took for granted.

Hit the break for a talk with Drakmire, and links to For Those We Left Behind online. As always, you can grab a copy in your favorite ebook format at the Downloads page.

Cudpug's Hospice

This is slightly different fare than our usual ponyfic. It's a little harsher, a little darker, a little more adult - not in the cloppy sense, mind you, just more... seasoned than most of the fiction in this fandom. As one of the people who recommended it to me said, it will stay with you for a few days after reading it.

[Tragedy] • 64,700 words
Have you ever loved someone? I think that love is a universal theme that defines us all, and is really the ultimate satisfaction in life above all else. Hospice details the relationship between Rarity and an unnamed narrator, and how their relationship rises and falls in the wake of choices that they both make and forces outside of their control. The intention of the story was always to engage with the theme of relationship breakdown; view the story as distinctly metaphorical as these two tortured lovers do everything in their power to remain together.

Hit the break for an interview with Cudpug, and links to Hospice out on the ponynet. You can get ebook copies hot off the presses over at the Downloads page, of course!

AugieDog's Half the Day is Night

Heading into the weekend with an oldie but a goodie, originally posted at EqD almost exactly one year ago. Another unique take on how well the recently-freed Luna reintegrates with Equestrian society... but also looks at how society handles having her back.

[Adventure] • 60,700 words
Romance, palace intrigue, and swashbuckling adventure await our six heroines when Princess Luna summons the Elements of Harmony to Canterlot.

Hit the break for an equally well-written interview from AugieDog, as well as links to Half the Day is Night around the 'net. Don't forget to check out the Downloads page if you want your very own ebook copy!

CoffeeGrunt's Allegrezza

This week we have one of the best-known Octavia/Vinyl Scratch shipfics in the fandom, only recently completed. The title is Italian for 'joy', which should give you an idea of how this melodious story goes; impressively, the story's pages on EqD and FIMFic are the first Google results for the word!

[Shipping] • 47,500 words
Octavia is a high-class pony. Fine alcohol is her wont, and uncouthness her intense chagrin. Such is her surprise to find herself lumbered with an insufferable oaf of a DJ pony. However, sometimes these situations work themselves into a satisfactory ultimatum all the same.

Hit the break for an interview with CoffeeGrunt, and links to Allegrezza online - and don't forget to grab an ebook copy from the Downloads page!

Geography Lesson

I thought it might be interesting to see a visual representation of where the authors featured in the Vault hail from! You may have noticed a new tab in the menu above; this will get updated with each new author. Obviously there's a strong bias toward English-speaking countries, as I speak (and therefore read) English, but I'm impressed by the composition ability of some of our authors, for whom English can't be a first or possibly even second language.

That's all for now; check back at the end of the week for CoffeeGrunt's Allegrezza.

EsperDerek's Out in the Cold

Today's entry is another Classic, a story that completely redefined Twilight and Trixie's relationship, and inspired several other excellent stories - be sure to check out the rest of the stories in this particular fanon continuity.

[Shipping] • 23,600 words
Feeling the weight of the world and haunted by memories of her past, The Great and Powerful Trixie returns to the scene of her greatest defeat. Will she find a new purpose, or will the events that transpired make such a thing an impossibility?

Hit the break for an interview with EsperDerek, and links to Out in the Cold online. If you're into ebooks, the Downloads page awaits!