A vast expanse, often covered in snow, freezing for most of the year, and what little life there is often hides away from the weather where it can. How did Thorax survive that? A changeling, battered and weak, with the closest source of sapient love far, far away, is usually a dead changeling, and the tundra is very unforgiving.

Note: The prologue is filled with scientific jargon. It should be readable to most, though it might not be the easiest to go through, so I have a summary in the author's note at the bottom just in case. Later parts have narration more befitting Thorax.

Cover image is a crop of a screenshot in the wiki's gallery for The Crystal Empire Part 1.

Turns out Trixie Lulamoon isn't as great and powerful as she says. After the loss of her only friend, Starlight Glimmer, Trixie returns to her caravan. She recalls the death of her mother, and loss of everypony she has cared about. Perhaps her life is a lost cause?

With Equestria at peace and harmony reaching across all the realm, for Twilight, it was only natural she'd want to expand further. Whether it was her curiosity or her hubris, Twilight soon finds herself hanging between here and eternity.

I really gotta get better at writing descriptions. But uh, yeah. Enjoy my attempt at nihilism! That's probably never been said before, holy hecc.

Berry Punch has taken to the hobby of pulling out the old lawn chair and watching Ponyville explode. It seemed a little too common at this point to be honest. How many times could a town explode before it got old?

Everything was going the way it usually did. Her on a lawn chair, bottle of wine in hoof, and a catastrophic event playing out in front of her that would no doubt be written in the history books. A usual afternoon in Ponyville.

Then a certain dragonequus shows up, drained of his magic, down on his luck, and in need of some mortal wisdom.

The fate of Equestria rests in her hooves, and Berry Punch doesn't even know it.

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-Inspired by that one lawn chair meme.

In the distant future, a probe arrives in the skies above Equestria after a journey of five thousand years.

Once discovered, a mare's voice tells of a lost colony on the galaxy's edge, and begs for rescue before speaking these mysterious last words: "I am sorry... I hope this was enough..."

Submitted for the Science Fiction Contest #3, 2024.

Cover by OutterBozak.

Equestria has witnessed centuries of rapid technological advancement during Twilight's rule. Innovations in the production and integration of magic has led to countless improvements in the quality and efficiency of life in Equestria, and enabling ponies to finally touch the stars and new worlds. However, with the rise of more and more energy-heavy processes and a stagnation in development regarding the extraction of energy, Twilight turns to the biggest and final step in energy extraction: a dyson sphere: a massive device that would surround the sun and allow virtually all the energy released through nuclear fusion to be harnessed by Equestria.

Two former princesses have some concerns.

Written as an entry for the Science Fiction Contest III.

To help Applejack relax and be away from her farm life and her grief, Rarity takes the farm mare and both their little sisters, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom to the soft and sunny beaches of Puerto Caballo with their pets.

That was, however, when an unknown disaster stuck Equestria, causing a change of plans. This led to the four fillies, cat, and dog stranded on a desert island with no way to get home, if said home is still there.

Flash Sentry was done trying to ask Sunset out. Between any number of magical threats she, and she alone, could handle, and her already busy school plate, she didn't have time to be asked out, let alone go on a date.

And throughout all his attempts, Derpy Hooves was there, ready to give him a pat on the back and a word of encouragement. But, during a conversation, Derpy lets it slip that there is another reason she was trying to help, and Flash figures it out.

This is an entry into the May Pairings Contest, being hosted by Wander D. I haven't seen any other fics with this particular ship, so I'd count it as rare enough.

“Once upon a different time, in the Land of Equestria, Princess Twilight Sparkle had a dream. And in that dream, she met some humans
[PRIORITY INTERRUPT PRIORITY INTERRUPT]
THE UNSV HARMONY HAS CRASH-LANDED AT THE NEW CIRCE COLONY SITE. ALL CREW AND THEIR FAMILIES ARE DECEASED DUE TO BIOLOGICAL CONTAMINANT RECEIVED UPON FIRST CONTACT WITH LIKELY HOSTILE SENTIENT NONHUMAN LIFE. TWILIGHT SPARKLE (PRESCHOOLER CARETAKER DROID/QUADRUPED/CHARACTER) IS ONLY OPERATIONAL SYNTHETIC INTELLIGENT DROID REMAINING.

DIRECTIVES:
1. ESCAPE USNV HARMONY.
2. EVADE HOSTILE SENTIENTS.
3. ASCEND MOUNTAIN IDENTIFIED DURING CRASH LANDING.
4. TRANSMIT DATA TO APPROACHING [CLASSIFIED].
FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION.

An entry for the 2024 SciFi Contest III. Cover Art by CadetRedShirt.

Starlight Glimmer has been a Programmer in The Equestria for her entire life, working with the vast computer cores that maintain and operate the ship.
As Celestia, one of those cores, takes an interest in her happiness, Starlight finds herself seeking unorthodox methods to analyze her own personality and needs.

This is an entry into the Science Fiction Contest III by Bicyclette.

Cover artwork is being used with permission of the artist, Marenlicious.