For a fee, you can rent a pony.

You can be a pony.

But you can never stay a pony.

An entry for the Science Fiction Contest III organised by Bicyclette.

Thousands of years into the future, the Empire of Equestria is in shambles, its ponies left to waste away in space colonies or dying terraformed planets without a strong leader to guide them.

With the Empire fragmented mercenaries like Grogar have risen to power and attacked it head-on with only one goal in mind: to get their hooves on the Stone of Harmony, the last vestige of the old magic left in the universe.

In a desperate ploy to protect the stone, Starlight Glimmer embarks on a journey to safeguard it in the last place her adversaries would anticipate—the lost planet of Equus...if she finds it first.

Her old friend Sunburst might have some answers, but in a galaxy where everyone only looks after themselves, Starlight's misplaced trust might not only cost her her life but the future of the Empire as a whole.

_{Written for the Science Fiction Contest III
Rated T for sci-fi violence, some swearing, minor character death, and a dash of awkward romance, but nothing too severe.}

The planet Equus will be inhospitable in just a few short years. All the creatures on it are preparing to leave for greener pastures. All, that is, except Spitfire.

This fiction is canon compliant. It takes place several years after "The Last Problem".

An entry into Science Fiction Contest III.

Fluorescence's mom helps run the pony side of the portal between Equestria and Earth. Taylor's mom does a similar job on the human side. So Fluor has known Taylor for, like, ever, and they share a fascination with the portal and how it works. This fascination only occasionally leads to interdimensional disasters.

A magical universe and a science-based universe may sit uneasily side by side, but friendship knows no boundaries.

This is an entry in the Science Fiction Contest III.

"The first time I came back, I thought it was a miracle. By the fifth or sixth time, I knew it was a curse."

Death is a reasonable fear, but it is also a constant reassurance. A promise that no matter how bad things get, they will one day end.

That promise was broken, leaving Rainbow Dash to pay the cost.

A very last minute entry for the 2024 SciFi Contest III.

Special thanks to ScreamQueen and Rb for prereading and valuable feedback.

General content warning: Some depictions of blood, death, and debilitating injuries, but no graphic descriptions. Some existential horror.

Life at Crystal Prep is tough, but so is Sunset. The school demands the best from the best, and she’s happy to prove she’s the cream of the crop. Having an amazing girlfriend doesn’t hurt either.

Even if thinking too hard about that girlfriend does.

An entry in the Sunset x Villains Crystal Prep contest, Sci-Fi Contest III, and RockstarRaccoon’s final Crackfic Storm. Mostly to see if I could. Rated Teen for brief mentions of assorted work-safe bodily fluids.

Through scientific invention, Twilight shielded her eyes from witnessing the inevitable deaths of her friends. 

And her wife.

It worked. 

For a while.

In the latent space, Twilight searches for an image of Rarity she can still see.

By the year 2238, two-thirds of humanity have become "ponies', living in an online virtual reality paradise where everything they could ask for is theirs to have at a moment's notice. It is a world of freedom, where all biological needs are eliminated and you can live forever doing whatever it is that pleases you.

But for some, Equestria can seem less a paradise and more a prison, an artificial and manufactured place where nothing is real and everything is a simulated lie to make you feel comfortable. Perhaps, even the feelings of the mare sitting next to you holding your hoof. How could you ever be sure even your own feelings are truly yours if you're just a program stored on a server?

Does living in Equestria mean Twilight Sparkle has to choose between her heart and her soul?

Entry for 2021 "Friendship is Optimal" contest. Pre-read by TheAlbinocorn, RTStephens, and FanOfMostEverything

After travelling alone for so long, she's finally coming home.

An entry in Bicyclette's Science Fiction Contest III.

Thanks to Rego for editing, and particularly help with names.

In the wake of the events of "Infernal Machines" and the Nightmare's most pathetic assault on Ponyville yet, Applejack is thrown into an existential crisis, despite her not knowing what the word "existential" means. So when a stranger named Stranger arrives in town, teaching a new way of coupling talent to power using complex machinery, she is quickly suckered in, along with everypony else. Now, it falls to the Most Dependable of Ponies to bring the resulting ruckus down to earth, but can even Applejack's legendary pragmatism stand up to the brain-fizzing horror that is... CONTRAPTIONOLOGY?

Now with a Spanish translation by Spaniard Kiwi!