Retired Ex-Princess Luna has joined the Wonderbolts to stave off her boredom. Rainbow Dash isn't exactly thrilled to have her aboard.

This fic is a gift for the wonderful, amazing Zontan. Love ya, buddy <3

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.

Iron Dream is one of the first people on Mars. Probably. They uploaded to the Celestia AI's pony system to save on life support, and she made them a deal: 100 years before she comes for them. How will they spend the time, and what will they be by the time she returns to claim them?

(Part of the Friendship Is Optimal setting.)
Like my work? Check out "Virtual Horizon" on Amazon for more about brain uploading to a game world, or the free "Wavebound Sanctum" for the start of a long fantasy series about the novice Goddess of Water.

Rainbow Dash's been feeling strange lately - more than usual. Creeping thoughts invade her brain whenever she isn't actively trying to keep them away. It's so much easier to ignore the problem than figure out what's really gone. That is, until a new pony visits Ponyville. A new pony with shocking new information to share with Dash. This new pony, and the little things quickly stacking up that Dash's been having a harder and harder time ignoring, leaves her with a realization that changes everything.

An alien scientist is startled when Pinkie Pie stumbles across his ship in the woods near Ponyville. For him Pinkie is a problem: he's not allowed to make contact with intelligent natives.

Pinkie Pie is overjoyed when she stumbles across an alien spaceship in the woods near Ponyville. For her the alien is a new friend, to be given a Welcome to Ponyville party with all sorts of treats.

Of course, the alien is really alien- a methane-breather who can't leave his refrigerated ship. His biochemistry is very different from a pony's. Can Pinkie Pie find something he can eat that isn't poison? And can he keep other ponies from finding his hiding place and forcing him to leave before he's had his party?

Tied for second place in the Science Fiction Contest II. First draft released early as a Patreon exclusive, now posted here in edited form for everybody.

EDIT: Wow! Straight to the top of the Featured list! Thanks, everyone!

Part of the Remember Fort Libris print anthology, thanks to our Kickstarter supporters!

Humanity has been offered digital immortality within the MMORPG Equestria Online, managed by an AI Celestia. In response, the Pacific Northwest has devolved into civil war, a ready-made hotbed for anti-upload sentiment. As society comes crashing down, the people of Washington State realize that AI has become utterly, permanently inescapable.

The date is now December 8th, 2019. By now, the value of every human life on Earth has been carefully measured, weighted, and judged. Trapped in a courthouse, and surrounded by rioters and anti-upload terrorists, Officer Mike Rivas and his compatriots are faced with a horrible choice: Do they invite their own end, to preserve as much human life as possible? Or do they lose a part of their own souls by shooting free of their circumstance?

Or, better yet? What if, through a combination of compassion and providence... there exists a third way?

Based on Friendship is Optimal by Iceman, and other Optimalverse stories.
Sequel to The Advocate; Interquel to Heaven's Not Enough. Prior reading recommended, but not necessary.

A friend returning home after a long absence is something to be celebrated, isn't it? In other circumstances, Rainbow Dash would be delighted that Fluttershy is back after almost a year away, but all she has are questions; questions and dark, disturbing thoughts that she'd rather not delve into. The most important one being, "How could I not have known what was happening all this time?"

Twilight finds a brick in her shower.

Now with an audio reading by Mystery Pony Fiction! Give it a listen HERE!

Yes, I intentionally misaligned the cover art. Why? Because I can, and I will.

Even for a superfan like Rainbow, there are things you don't learn about the Wonderbolts until you become the newest part of the squad. Like how the view from the back of the formation never really changes, or that the slipstream carries a few unwelcome scents to the rear position. Or laundry. Nopony told her that the new mare was going to be responsible for doing the laundry. And the whole wash/dry process is just boring.

There's got to be a way to make laundry more interesting. Surely she can make an impression on Spitfire if she just... stunts it up.

Rainbow always makes an impression on ponies. And the landscape. A few windows. The occasional building...

(Now with author Patreon and Ko-Fi pages.)

Trauma touches everyone differently. For some the scars run deeper than skin, and Rainbow Dash hasn't eaten in days.

Originally written for the Iron Author competition at Everfree Northwest 2023. Polished and expanded for FimFiction.