Friday, May 31, 2013

Softy8088's On the Importance of Spelling

One of the problems with being a fan of a cartoon for little girls about magical horses is, the characters have unusual names, and so they often have unusual spellings, too. We spend hours debating what is 'correct', but what if even the ponies are unsure?

[Comedy][Shipping] • 4,100 words
After a busy day celebrating princess Mi Amore Cadenza's birthday, Shining Armor and his wife take time to wind down, relax, and talk. The topic of their conversation soon moves in an unexpected direction, and the couple finds that their marriage still has surprises in store for them both.

Hit the break for a chat with Softy8088 and a link to On the Importance of Spelling out on the ponynet. Don't forget to grab your own ebook copy over at the Downloads page!

Friday, May 24, 2013

Cynewulf's This is a Story You Will Never Read

As we've all learned, friendship is magic. But even if you have many close, treasured friendships, sometimes you still feel lonely.

[Slice-of-Life] • 3,800 words
Twilight Sparkle is used to being lonely. Sure, she's got friends now, but sometimes they're busy and you're left to your own devices. When these times come, she takes refuge in a particular place and partakes in a very particular activity: writing. Specifically, silly throwaway writings. Why? Well, they're safe.

Hit the break for a chat with Cynewulf and a link to This is a Story You Will Never Read out on the ponynet. Don't forget to grab yourself an ebook copy over at the Downloads page!

Friday, May 17, 2013

horizon's Fugue State

By any sane standard, musicals are a terrifying nightmare world. How does everyone know the words to a song that's being written on the fly? Mass hysteria? Hypnosis? Some sort of horrible hivemind? Then again, maybe it's just... magic.

[Shipping] • 7,000 words
Ponyville has a problem: Twilight's friends all switched Cutie Marks, and the musical numbers are flying thick and fast.

Lyra has a problem: She can't handle the way musical numbers get into your head and take you over.

Bon Bon has a problem with that.

Hit the break for a chat with horizon and links to Fugue State out on the ponynet. Don't forget to grab your own ebook copy over at the Downloads page!

Friday, May 10, 2013

OtterMatt's Somepony Else's Story

Sometimes as I'm driving, I look around at the cars surrounding me, and meditate (briefly) on the strange concept that nothing about me matters to any of the drivers I'm surrounded by, all of us speeding off to do something that matters very much to each of us and not at all to everyone else. We are all of us background characters in everyone else's lives.

[Slice-of-Life] • 2,800 words
Vinyl Scratch walks into a bar. There is no punchline.

Hit the break for a chat with OtterMatt and links to Somepony Else's Story out on the ponynet. Don't forget to grab your ebook copies over at the Downloads page!

Friday, May 3, 2013

Arcainum's Five Should Be Enough

So here's the thing. I've discovered that I apparently really enjoy time loop stories. This is the third one to join the Vault. What up with that? Maybe it's because it's a fascinating plot device, a interesting way to explore characters and situations.

You've got Capn Chryssalid's Best Night Ever, in which Prince Blueblood what's really important in life.

You've got Eakin's Hard Reset, in which Twilight Sparkle kicks some serious flank and we all enjoy the ride.

And then you've got this story. This story, in which Applejack learns to make a sacrifice those of us with family have surely considered before. It's not heartwarming like Best Night Ever. It's not fun like Hard Reset. It's like Applejack - it makes its point and gets the job done.

[Tragedy] • 8,100 words
When a tragic event befalls Applejack, she takes drastic measures in an effort to prevent it. But can a simple farm pony make a difference in the face of an inevitable end?

A story about the sacrifices we aren't willing to make, and those that we are.

Hit the break for a chat with Arcainum and links to Five Should Be Enough out on the ponynet. Don't forget to grab an ebook copy over at the Downloads page.