M.A. Larson's "Luna Eclipsed"

We're continuing our commemoration of the Vault with another special guest!

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I'm going to go into this in a little more depth in the next post, but this is my favorite episode to date. The fabulous M.A. Larson was kind enough to indulge me in talking about it.

So how could I resist this #LasPegAssist auction?

[Slice of Life] • 22 mins
It's Nightmare Night in Ponyville, and Princess Luna decides to pay a visit, determined to change her public image for the better.

Hit the break to spend a little time with Mr. Larson himself, and links to "Luna Eclipsed" – as if you haven't seen it already!

Amy Keating Rogers' "The Best Night Ever"

The Vault is closing. To celebrate, we have some very special guests this week!

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The end of the beginning. Season one of Friendship is Magic had a nice little story arc, starting in "Ticket Master," that involved the Mane 6 (and Spike) gearing up to go to the Grand Galloping Gala, and we got to see every painful minute of their time there in the season finale. We also got one of the fandom's favorite ensemble songs, and further proof that Princess Celestia is just a big prankster at heart.

[Adventure][Comedy] • 22 mins
Expectations are high for the Grand Galloping Gala, but when the ponies arrive they find that their individual interests in the Gala are not all they had hoped for.

Hit the break for a chat with the lovely Ms. Rogers herself, and links to "The Best Night Ever" wherever fine pony shows may be found!

Pen Stroke's Past Sins

This might be the biggest fanfic in the fandom. It's a close race between it and Fallout: Equestria, but Fo:E might lose a little traction due to its explicit content, whereas Past Sins is more family friendly. But countless spinoff fics, fan art, and fan music – and a professional print run – shows that Nyx's story really resonated with all branches of the fandom.

[Dark][Sad] • 203,000 words
On a dark night filled with even darker magics, an insane cult attempts to give Nightmare Moon a body and life of her own, utterly separate from Princess Luna. But, when the spell is interrupted by Celestia, something unexpected is created.

Now, a little black alicorn filly named Nyx finds herself living under the care of Twilight Sparkle, only to be haunted by memories and emotions from her past. Is she Nightmare Moon reborn or is she simply a doppelganger with a soul and mind of her own? Can Twilight Sparkle protect Nyx from those who refuse to see past her dragon eyes and black coat?

Or, will Nyx be forced to inherit the sins that may not even be hers and become the greatest evil Equestria has ever known?

Hit the break for a chat with Pen Stroke and his assistant in crime Batty Gloom, and links to Past Sins online. (Check out the Equestria Daily link for links to other fan works based on the story.) As always, you can get your own ebook copies at the Downloads page, and as a special gift for Vault readers, Pen Stroke got the Equestria Publications team to generate an exclusive PDF of Past Sins, including the illustrations created for the print run – get it here!

Benman's Happily Ever After

What makes you you? If you wake up at a happier time, in a happier place, could you wake up as a happier pony?

[Shipping][Tragedy] • 2,700 words
Shining Armor will do anything to save his marriage. Anything.

Hit the break for a chat with Benman (and some big news) and links to Happily Ever After out on the ponynet. Don't forget to grab yourself an ebook copy over at the Downloads page!

peppermint owl's To Lead Them Home

Some jobs are necessary, no matter how unwanted they may be.

[Dark][Adventure] • 11,000 words
A young stallion is recruited into the Reapers, an organization dedicated to the safe crossing-over of spirits. Now he must help oversee death in Equestria while coming to terms with what his new role means.

Hit the break for a chat with peppermint owl and a link to To Lead Them Home out on the ponynet. Don't forget to grab your own ebook copy over at the Downloads page!

Corejo's Reading Rainbow

Hasbro/DHX really missed the boat – how cool would it have been if season 2, episode 16 was named "Reading Rainbow" and the doctor was voiced by Levar Burton?

[Slice-of-Life] • 7,300 words
When a freak reading accident causes Twilight to be admitted to the Ponyville hospital, Rainbow Dash is right by her side. Compelled by a sense of duty and repayment, she takes it upon herself to cheer up her friend.

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

Dromicosuchus' Mendacity

Did you know that Lyra showed up in "A Canterlot Wedding" because Chrysalis kidnapped her to keep Bon Bon in line? I didn't. I really enjoyed finding out, though!

[Adventure][Shipping] • 74,700 words
Bon Bon's voice is funny, and that's about all that anypony who meets her notices, as her marefriend Lyra soon steals the spotlight with her explosive personality, strange obsessions, and curious beliefs. And why not? Bon Bon is, after all, a perfectly ordinary, boring pony in every way but two: her voice, and the carefully kept secret that she isn't really a pony.

Hit the break for a chat with Dromo... Dromico... the author, and links to Mendacity out on the ponynet. Don't forget to grab your own ebook copy over at the Downloads page!

PoweredByTea's Never So Far Away

Simple, meditative, a breath of fresh air. The polar opposite of last week, really. The sort of story that should be enjoyed with a cup of tea or a summer's breeze.

[Slice-of-Life] • 3,500 words
Twilight takes a walk in the woods near Canterlot to clear her mind, when a mischievous little phoenix starts dropping chestnut shells on her head. Quite a familiar mischievous little phoenix.

Hit the break for quite a few words from PoweredByTea and a link to Never So Far Away out on the ponynet. Don't forget to grab yourself an ebook copy over at the Downloads page!

Sgt. Sprinkles' Cupcakes

I can't come up with any other fanfic that has inspired so much – rage, love, and everything in between – in so many people, in so many different disciplines of the fandom. It's fairly common for fanfic to inspire fan art, less common to inspire fan music – but how many fanfics have inspired fully-animated musical numbers and cosplay at cons? And on an interesting note, something you younger members of the fandom might not realize: this fic predates the Pinkamena we met in "Party of One".

[Dark] • 3,900 words
When Pinkie invites Rainbow over to Sugarcube Corner, the pegasus discovers a side of her friend she'll regret ever knowing... but not for long.

Hit the break for a brief chat with the Sarge, and links to Cupcakes (if you dare) out on the ponynet. As always, grab your own ebook copy over at the Downloads page!

Sharaloth's The Archer and the Smith

In an Equestria where darkness has fallen, there is still a place for friendship.

[Adventure] • 11,900 words
The Shaper is a smith of unparalleled skill, her creations the most sought after in the fallen world. When a pony named Lyra comes to her with a unique commission she has to put all her skill to the test to craft a weapon of great power. For Lyra's goal is not an easy one, and it is not just any weapon that can kill a Dragon.

Hit the break for a few words from Sharaloth, and links to The Archer and the Smith out on the ponynet. Don't forget to grab your own lovingly forged ebook copy over at the Downloads page!

darf's A Single Step

You never really know what little events in your past, maybe even ones you've forgotten, have shaped you into the person you are today.

[Slice of Life] • 5,800 words
Twilight accidentally steps on a snail. This makes her sad. As the years go on, several other things happen.

Hit the break for a chat with darf and a link to A Single Step out on the ponynet. Don't forget to grab your own ebook copy over at the Downloads page!

Iceman's Friendship is Optimal

Science fiction often serves as a warning of things to come. In 1949, George Orwell wrote 1984, about omnipresent government surveillance and control, something we've all come to terms with in real life over the last decade or two. Today's Vault entry is another possible harbinger of things to come, silly though that may seem.

[Human Crossover] • 38,600 words
Hanna, the CEO of Hofvarpnir Studios, just won the contract to write the official My Little Pony MMO. Hanna has built an A.I. Princess Celestia and given her one basic drive: to satisfy everybody's values through friendship and ponies. Princess Celestia will satisfy your values through friendship and ponies, and it will be completely consensual.

Hit the break for a thoughtful discussion with Iceman, and a link to Friendship is Optimal out on the ponynet. Don't forget to grab your own copy over at the Downloads page!

Vargras' What Must Be Done

The batponies -- sorry, opliptera -- are a fascinating piece of Equestrian lore (unless you subscribe to the notion that they were just Nightmare Night costumes... but what's more fun, spooky mutant ponies or dressed-up pegasi?) that make the perfect Night Guard. But where did they come from? What secrets hide with them in the shadows?

[Tragedy] • 5,600 words
The Night Guard are as efficient as they are enigmatic, but it takes the curiosity of a recruit to discover that some things are simply best left unsaid.

Hit the break for a chat with Vargras and links to What Must Be Done out on the ponynet. Don't forget to grab your own ebook copy over at the Downloads page!

shortskirtsandexplosions' Gift

Generosity can be a double-edged sword.

[Tragedy] • 17,600 word
Over the course of several years, Rarity has achieved a fabulous career, contributing to both Equestrian fashion and the Ponyville community. She is admired by her clients, envied by her peers, and cherished by her dear friends, proving that she's a dependable shoulder to lean on.

Then one day, a mysterious pony visits from out of town. She wishes to meet Rarity, but not to thank her.

Hit the break for a chat with SS&E and a link to Gift out on the ponynet. Don't forget to grab your own ebook copy over at the Downloads page!

Horse Voice's The Writing on the Wall

The term "tragedy" as a genre gets thrown around a lot, and is often used as a synonym for "sad". So when a true tragedy comes along, a subtle masterpiece of horror and sorrow, a dark tag is necessary to convey the depths of despair the tale will plumb.

[Dark][Adventure] • 6,200 words

Daring Do can't believe her luck when she is asked to help explore the most ancient tomb known to ponykind. But terrible danger awaits her, for beneath the earth rests something beyond equine understanding.

Hit the break for an interview more suited to a master of comedy, and links to The Writing on the Wall out on the ponynet. Don't forget to grab your own ebook copy over at the Downloads page!

Chengar Qordath's Through Death and Life

This week, like last week, we explore themes of mortality through the lens of Celestia's immortality. What must it be like to watch all one's friends pass on?

[Tragedy] • 4,600 words
I am eternal, and death is my steadfast companion. The passing of each generation of my little ponies weighs on me; every one of them is a fleeting, irreplaceable treasure, a snowflake dancing 'round a fire. I want to save all of them; I have the ability to save a few. I have saved none.

Hit the break for a chat with Chengar, and links to Through Death and Life out on the ponynet. Don't forget to grab an ebook copy over at the Downloads page!

Bad Horse's Mortality Report

Something that Friendship is Magic doesn't let the casual watcher in on: it's friendship reports all the way down.

[Tragedy] • 4,300 words
Princess Celestia writes a report to her teacher on what she has learned about mortality.

Hit the break for a nice long chat with Bad Horse and links to Mortality Report out on the ponynet. As always, you can grab an ebook copy over at the Downloads page!

Jake The Army Guy's Under a Luminous Sky

Even the magical land of Equestria isn't always safe from darkness and deceit. Luckily, certain special ponies are ready to fight for their way of life.

[Dark] • 99,700 words
Ponyville, the humble village known for its peaceful tranquility, is shaken to its core when a body is discovered in the Everfree Forest. As the townsponies grieve, the strange, pale Special Agent Bentgrass, from Their Majesties' Royal Investigative Service, arrives at the Books and Branches library and drags Twilight into a world she's only read about: lies, corruption, suspicion, and murder.

Faced with an indifferent police force and Agent Bentgrass's infuriating methods, Twilight must put the pieces together and catch the killer. But as blood continues to spill and questions pile up, one thing is terrifyingly clear: in the dark of the Everfree, much more is at play than mere murder.

Hit the break for a talk with Jake (and check out the video interview he recently did with PiquoPie!) and links to Under a Luminous Sky out on the ponynet. Don't forget to grab your own ebook copy over at the Downloads page!

Hoopy McGee's The Keepers of Discord

Discord is a fascinating character, as ponyfic has explored before. But just how does chaos incarnate stand being sealed in immovable stone for all eternity? (Assuming, of course, there's no Fluttershy around to bring him around.)

[Slice-of-Life] • 10,600 words
You'd think that being trapped in stone would mean that, if nothing else, I could get some peace and quiet. Unfortunately, it seems that Celestia has other ideas.

She has appointed these ponies... these 'Keepers', as she calls them, to keep me entertained during my incarceration.

Honestly? I'd prefer the boredom.

Hit the break for a few words from Hoopy McGee, and links to The Keepers of Discord out on the ponynet. Don't forget to grab your own ebook copy over at the Downloads page!

Chris's The Purloined Pony

What's it like to live in Ponyville, in and around the Mane 6 as they go through their adventures? Maybe you sleep through the whole thing, maybe you're the hero of the week; either way, it's up to you to decide.

[Adventure] • 30,300 words
When a young foal goes missing, it's up to Carrot Top to step in and save the day.

Hit the break for a chat with Chris and links to The Purloined Pony online. Don't forget to grab your own ebook copy over at the Downloads page!