Fluttershy is dead. But that's okay, Twilight can fix it. She can fix anything.

Written for Science Fiction Contest 3

"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.

So, Twily, seems you've just been visited. By a bunch of murderous alien monstrosities that call a moon-sized biomechanical sphere home. Who've abducted you and want to do some truly horrific things to you. But don't worry! This inappropriately upbeat, inexplicably specific, admittedly somewhat lemony guide is here to guide you through every nightmarish, horror-laden step of the way!

Just a quick note before we get into the story; if you’re gonna downvote this, I’d appreciate a comment explaining why you did so, preferably something a little more constructive than just “this story sucks” with no further elaboration. Thank you.

This story is a sequel to The Start of a Royal Addiction

Luna has heard hushed whispers of the newest addition to Ponyville visiting her sister quite often.

Ponies talk about something called "scritches and pats." Luna isn't exactly sure what it is. But her sister and her dear friend Twilight have started acting weird. She intends to get to the bottom of this, and one way or another put an end to this apparent speading "addiction." Or perhaps be yet another victim of it?

(Cover art is credited now)

Featured 2 hours after posting. Huzzah!

There's an old book that's falling apart. Twilight wants to copy it down to preserve it. But it needs to be as accurate and precise as possible, to preserve the state of the original. That shouldn't be too hard. After all, it's not like the text will change whenever she looks away.

Right?

Equestria is a husk of what it was before.

Friendship never existed, the windigos took over the world completely.

All that remains are insane alicorns, gods, and monsters.

As the remaining ponies cower in fear and hide away from the constant battles, two alicorns clash once more only to experience something new.

Now, Midnight Sparkle and Nightmare Moon must work together to uncover what could have been. They start with the other alicorns.

C̷̨̦͖͙̭̤͙͕͊̾̅͗̅̄̓̔ͅe̸̤͉͉͔̲̟͕̒̇́͜ͅl̷̢̪͇̟̙͈͕͙̆͊̕e̵͖̝̲͈̒͐̕̚s̸̹̽t̷̢͍̖̭̙̄̆̂̆̓̚͝ỉ̴͉̎̈͑̚͝͠͝å̴̢̡̨̛͙̫̱̤͋͋̊̿̕͘Daybreaker. M̸̡̜̲̮̳̣͑̂̀͘í̸̢͈̙͆̑̓ ̶̛̳̣͓͂̀̈́́̚͠͝A̷̩̮̰͐̃̈́̔̇̓̈́̃͆͝ͅṃ̶̩̲̟̰̣͎̬͐̆̿ō̵͍̳̝̣̪͛̅r̶̡̖͈͕̜͇̤͙̠̾͋̄̑̆̅͗͘ȅ̶̝̜̘̙ ̷͙̠͂̔̔̏̂̒̑̍̀Ĉ̷̛̛̘̼͉̅̓̒͐̓̈͝a̷͈̟̦͑̄̇͐̔̎͋d̸̥̳͓̖̠͍͔̗͑e̶̻̬͈̳̺͈̳̖̣̣̓͋͑n̸̢̩̹̳̲̖̦̲͂̓́̉̑͜͝ͅz̶̢̤͈͔͙̪͚̜͐̑̏̊̚a̵̝͓̱̖̞͕̰̓̓͆͠Heartbreaker.

It wouldn't be easy. They didn't care.

An experimental AU. Set to be less than 20k words, and uploads will be as I write the chapters.

Romance will come in later chapters. You have been warned.

Opaline Arcana has sowed dissent and anger across Equestria. With the nation divided, Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends are struggling to contain the ambitious alicorn. If something isn't done soon, Twilight will have no choice but to store Equestria's magic into the Unity Crystals, putting all of ponykind at risk.

Before that, though, Twilight has an idea. There's a prisoner locked away in Tartarus that was forgotten by history. He might be just what they need to stop Opaline. However, letting him loose could spell disaster for Equestria.

It's a risk she has to take.

Twenty years. Twenty years spent sitting on a stone plinth, with birds getting absolutely everywhere. That kind of experience can change a pony, or a changeling. As long as she stays ahead of the newspapers and mail service, that story might even hold up.

A story about grudges, love, and the power of unremitting hatred.

No particular reason for the T rating, just covering my bases with how much Chrysalis teases ponies.

Special thanks to everyone who reads my works, follows me, or just happens to look at this -- you deserve to be happy too buddy, just like all our little buggy friends and even Chrysalis herself.

Written as my entry in FanOfMostEverything's Imposing Sovereigns II contest.

Sweetie Bot learns to play chess. Rarity gets checkmated by her electric bill.

Brainstorming and prereading by SockPuppet. Sweetie Bot Vector by java--jive.

Oh, Marble, Sweetie. How long can you be like this? If you can't help yourself, I'll have to do it for you, but you may not like who you become.

Art by Violarules