20-year-old Ryan Burbank is living with his girlfriend in their woodland home when he is struck by a mysterious infection seemingly out of nowhere. To everyone's horror, his sickness spreads quickly throughout his body, shutting him down one piece at a time. The doctors are at a loss of what to do about this new form of bacteria. Ryan and his loved ones choose to keep fighting until either a cure can be discovered...or the pain becomes too much.
At the height of his suffering, he discovers a happy little show while watching television in his hospital room. The bright colors and happy attitudes of the cartoon equines provide him with a much-needed escape from the daily pain of being killed from the inside.
Eventually, the pain becomes too much and he decides it would be better to go out surrounded by his family, in the embrace of those who kept him company throughout his short life. Just as he starts to fade, his eyes wander to the screen of the hospital room television and the cartoon ponies who adorn it. Something strange begins to occur...almost like the screen is pulling him in. Tunnel vision, maybe?
No, that can't be it...why can he hear his name being called by a very familiar voice? And why is she...crying? Who is this crying, familiar voice and why does she seem to know him?

[img]https://orig10.deviantart.net/bf87/f/2014/010/3/0/recup_pinkie_sphear_1_2__by_xdrawdex-d71pigr.gif[/img]

SPOILERS IN THE COMMENTS

Rated "Teen" for language and the "Sex" tag is for all of the sexual humor and suggestive situations. If I decide to up the suggestive stuff in the future, I'll change the tags and rating to fit that change.

Cover by enamis.

Equestria is a land of magic and harmony, a peaceful realm ruled by immortal and benevolent monarchs. At what cost is this possible?

Following the discovery of a strange and powerful device, Twilight Sparkle is whisked away to the edges of a land she thought she knew so well. Here, surrounded by ponies whose very existences have been kept secret, she must contend with vicious enemies, hostile allies, and the truth.

Chapters 1-16 edited by KiltedKey

Paladin Commander John Maxon unexpectedly arrives in orbit above Equestria. Following a 90 year interstellar journey to Proxima Centauri in Cryostasis, John must learn to survive and inspire in a strange new world.

For well over a thousand years, now, they had been cast out, forced into a depressing life of solitude among only one another... which, given everything, did not make circumstances any more bearable, for them, most times.

No. No, they weren't cast out. Banished! They were imprisoned! Sealed away by that accursed Wizard and his lackies of five doing his bidding, as always! Their symphony had been perfect, a melody so harmonic and soothing it made only sense to keep listening. Their triumphant crescendo was upon Equestria, the final act in their grand serenade.

But that finale never came. Their final act... it was not to be. Or, so they thought.

Mortals were a curious bunch, in the end. Useless, petty and pathetic as one may call them, but they got a lot done in what little time they had for themselves. A new world, as it were, far different from the one the three of them had last seen, before the light of day was taken away from them in exchange for a dark prison so deep beneath the waves.

But one thing they all knew, to varying degrees: mortals were curious. And curiosity, be it as it were, would be the only thing they needed for their curtain call. The setting of the stage for a new, second act.

The Abyss calls.

This Story takes place in the Alternate Universe of Equestria at War. EaW uses a custom world map including 3 separate continents, and a 'modern' world setting equal to World War 2 (in most places). Consider trying out the mod for Hearts of Iron IV yourself, or check out the Fimfiction group and check out more stories about it.

For the purpose of this story, it's noteworthy that the Sirens were NOT banished to the EQG universe when Starswirl banished them, but were instead sealed away deep under the ocean.

October 26th, 2023 update: This story's going back in the oven. There's some changes I want to make. Details here.

Sunset Shimmer lived a perfect life: an aspiring career as Princess Celestia’s star pupil, a budding romance, and the perfect best friend to discover the wonders of the world that made life worth living.  But under the guise of a new friend Sunset met in her dreams, Nightmare Moon sought to upend everything in the name of vengeance, and the powers that be demanded their pound of flesh.

Years later, long after the dust had settled, Sunset found her home beyond the portal. Life was good, if a little strange.  But when Princess Luna comes seeking to quell the nightmares of a past that still haunt her, those nightmares rapidly spiral out of control, and Sunset is faced with the impossible decision of allying herself with the very individual who had destroyed her life.

With little choice, they strike a tentative partnership, and as past and present converge to threaten all that Sunset holds dear, she is left standing at the precarious ledge of a question that may very well have no answer:

Is there a limit to forgiveness?

[Non-con] tag for story elements, not on-page events.
Edited by RBDash47.
Cover art by Ventious.
Chapter header art by Smeows_isgood.

When Fluttershy went to bed, she was a normal mare. When she woke up, she could see numbers floating over everypony's heads. They were timers, each one counting down to some unknown event. Most ponies had timers that wouldn't end for years, some for many decades. But everypony had different numbers.

So why does Rainbow Dash's timer end in three hours?

Editing provided by TheMaskedFerret and SolidFire.
Cover art by HopefulSparks!
Spanish translation by SPANIARD KIWI!

One hundred and thirteen people find themselves standing in a dark, round room. They are neither living, nor dead. They will be offered a single choice, and they will be asked only once.

This is a story set in Iceman's Friendship Is Optimal universe, but knowledge of that work is not needed to understand this tale.

Have you ever seen a pony that just seemed out of place? Perhaps some mannerism, some behaviour that just struck you as odd? Some piece of clothing that didn't seem quite right? perhaps a coat or mane whose colour just seemed flat-out weird. A strange build, a strange voice, or maybe they were perfectly normal, except that you swear you just saw the exact same pony not five seconds ago somewhere completely different?

Of course you have. Everypony has encountered an Outsider at some point. But never up close, it's always at a distance, and they're always gone before you have the chance to challenge them.

But sometimes the rules get broken. Sometimes fate gets distracted for a moment, and a lone unicorn mare gets to see something that she was never meant to see.

Twilight Sparkle's day is about to get very weird.

FAQ and Supplemental Materials (Potential Spoilers for new readers)

Featured! Twice!
...I really don't know what to say!

Special Thanks go to Horizon for initial proof-reading, editing, and signal-boosting, provided as a prize for spotting an Easter egg in his story Hard Reset II. Seriously, it's an awesome, brain-warping story and you should go read it right now.

Thanks also go to my editors for putting up with my atrocious grammar and spelling errors - Ganelon, Ephraim Blue, BronyWhooves, Commonancestry, Princess Autumn Forest, and Morning Sun

Cover art credit goes to EMedina13 and tamalesyatole. I am looking for more appropriate art, so If you think you can do better, let me know.

At the end of the world, a programmer struggles with his need to be something other than Pony. Can he spar with an intelligence that goes beyond the sum total of Humankind, for the sake of fulfilling a weird quirk of self-identity?

Some rules within a machine are more like guidelines. And others are based on the definitions of words. Can semantics be a weapon big enough to give a Human mind a chance at one small request from a goddess?

Set in the Optimalverse - I recommend reading Iceman's awesome original first if you haven't - More because it is a really excellent story than because it is strictly necessary for context. I have endeavoured to make this story stand well enough without context as well. But that being said? You'll probably enjoy it more if you know the context better.

Cannon-compatible with the Optimalverse to the best of my knowledge and abilities.

Cover-art generated with an image generative A.I., appropriately enough, graciously generated and composited (it takes skill to get something this spot-on!) by Keystone Gray.

Similarly you'll find many AI-generated illustrations throughout, again graciously generated in collaboration with Keystone Gray, then a little final photoshopping and other processing from us both.

This story is a sequel to Getting Shy

Rosa was training to be an 'Assistant Pony' - a coveted position within the mixed pony and human society on Earth - when an unusual job turns her life upside down. She will get to see the other aspects of life, meet new, fascinating people, and even embark on an adventure to find a missing friend.

Through her journey, she will discover a lot about why things are as they are, why her people are second class citizens, and what had happened to their mythical home, Equestria.

This is a sequel to 'Getting Shy', but in the loosest of terms, so reading that one is not really required to start this story. At best it's happening in the same universe.

Tagged 'Sex' and rated 'Teen' because there are some vague descriptions of "off camera" lewd acts, and some potentially racy (but non-explicit) situations.