This story is a sequel to p-value

Shortdesc

Destabilized by Equestrian magic, Wallflower’s world is dying. For its sake, Sunset had to leave forever. All Wallflower can do is hold on to the last connection they still have: the journal Sunset left behind.

Review

Long-Distance is a wrenching story and more than one of our judges said that, though they won’t ever be able to bring themselves to re-read it, it will stay with us for a long time. Everything is ending, it may or may not be anyone’s fault, and there is nothing anyone can do about it. The time it will take to reach that final tragedy doesn’t make it any less remote. Sunset and Wallflower are separated across worlds, and have only Sunset’s journal to link them. One of them will die and the other will live on. They’re left to learn how to cope with and share and grieve the time they have left.

Long-Distance is superbly written, with just enough detail about the nature of the tragedy to make it feel realized without overwhelming readers with exposition. There’s a novel’s worth of story in this short story, but none of it feels compressed. Sunset and Wallflower’s tightly written, wrenching, and affecting, and the last chapter left us breathless.

--Judges of Scampy's SunFlower Shipping Contest

The result was an emotional tale of making the best out of a bad situation through inevitability and – if you’ll pardon the title drop – long distance. Bicyclette’s work is a delightful story that exemplifies how to Show a hard-hitting story through meaningful dialogue, contextual narrative clues, vivid scene setting, and a firm grasp of the characters and their struggles.

--PaulAsaran, Paul's Thursday Reviews CCCXLVII

Contest

Literal last-minute entry to Scampy's SunFlower Shipping Contest, and now unexpectedly the fourth-place winner. Go read the other entries please, there's a lot of good stuff in there!

I originally pulled this story for revisions after the contest results came out. I regret this, and I am sorry.

Credits

Thanks to Sledge115 for emotional support!

With no warning, Equestria finds itself in the middle of a crisis the likes of which it has never seen. Overnight, all four princesses have disappeared! That's real messed up!

Shining Armor has gone through these sorts of emergencies before, though. But with his wife and sister missing, he's not willing to sit on the sidelines and let Twilight's friends save the day without him. As circumstances begin piling up, Shining Armor finds himself in the middle of a plot that can only be solved by a few very talented secondary characters.

Unfortunately, Blueblood is one of them.

Starlight Glimmer's attempts to stop the Rainboom pulled Twilight Sparkle into many possible timestreams.

In one, Rarity and Rainbow Dash survived Nightmare Moon's victory over the forces of light, eventually attaining positions of prominence and comfort in the Nightmare's service. But when the unexpected visit of an Alicorn and Dragon sheds light on a growing conspiracy against the wicked mistress of the night, Rarity and Rainbow Dash may yet be inspired to risk what they have gained to join the fight for a better world.

Yet darkness lingers even in the hearts of some who would oppose the Nightmare, and not all agree on what a better world would look like...

This story would not have been possible without the indescribably vast help and unwavering support of Moosetasm, the pre-reading assistance of I-A-M and Waxworks, as well as the editing prowess of OnionPie and Pascoite! Cover by Novel Idea, using Rarity by miracle32 and background by Drakizora! Featured on Equestria Daily 17Jul.2016! Featured on FimFiction 2Feb.2017 and many times thereafter!

Once upon a time, Silver Spoon's life made sense. She had the right friends, the right house, and the right school for a young lady coming up in the world. Once upon a time, Silver Spoon lived amongst proud towers in a vibrant, bustling city that never slept.

Now she lives in Ponyville. Not so terrible once one gets used to it. Silver's learned to appreciate some ponies, harbor grudges for others, and tolerate the rest. But sometimes, she wonders if one pony in particular is as popular as she thought.

Preread and edited by Autumn Wind, Cthuluigi, and SaddlesoapOpera

Chinese translation by hehelover

Everyone knows Fluttershy is the kindest, most gentle, loving pony in all of Equesteria. What they don't know is that she's also a killer. To protect Equestria from the true monsters, Fluttershy has learned how to kill, to be ruthless, all in the name of protecting her friends from harm.

This is the story of Fluttershy, and how she learned to be cruel.

All Princess Celestia wanted was to open a window. A simple window into another world, for no reason other than to prove their existence. She never wanted it to become a door. And she certainly never wanted anything to come through. But, as is proven so often, we don't always get what we want.

It's not all bad. What comes through is a perfectly ordinary pony. So ordinary that its very presence risks the destruction of magic itself.

Ordinary, after all, is highly relative.

Twilight has given you a new book to read. Well, she didn't exactly give it to you, you actually just found it in the back of the library. Behind a shelf. On the ground. It looks very old, downright ancient, and it smells like moss and rot. The binding is a little cracked, and there's no title on it. You can't help but wonder what might be inside, and the only way to find out is to keep reading.

Just turn the page.

You can do that much, can't you?

Please?

WARNING: This story contains brief depictions of blood, mild violence, and death, and has ARG aspects to it. It plays with formatting, and includes images. Some "pages" are long, some are only a few words. It is written in first person, to you, the reader, and is a slow mellow horror. You've been warned.

This story relies on unusual formatting for some parts, and thus may not be as enjoyable on a tablet or phone, or if you have specialized custom Fimfic settings.

If you post spoilers, hints, or answers in the comments, please be sure to spoiler them out or warn others. You don't want to ruin the fun, right?

Audio reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28TqbHFchLg

This story is a sequel to Diminishing Returns

In the months following the school election, Diamond Tiara has made good on her word to become a better pony. She's behaved herself in and out of class. She's kept her grades up. She's attended family therapy without complaint.
Diamond has done everything that was asked of her.

And now, it's time for Spoiled Rich to hold up her end of the contract. As part of their joint effort to grow closer, come together as a family, and ease Filthy's mind, Diamond can choose a pet. Any pet she wants*.

*Terms and conditions may apply.

In continuity with The Silver Standard and Diminishing Returns. Familiarity is recommended, but not required.

Twinkie Pie. Appledash. Rareshy. You know these pairings and may have favorites of your own. But what if every member of the Mane Six were paired with every other member in the same fanfic?! That's what the Combinatorics Project is--an epic treasury of fifteen ships spread across five parallel universes increasingly full of plot and whimsy. Can you guess which couple is which?
* The angster and her secret admirer
* The burlesque showmares
* The celebrity marriage
* The commune farmers
* The curse victim and caretaker
* The dessert caterers
* The hopeless homebodies
* The industrial mavens
* The mad scientists
* The masquerade hosts
* The model train overlords
* The multiversal adventurers
* The orchard grafters
* The rivals in love
* The weather aficionados
Plus: Twilight blows up like a balloon and goes out to 'have a spicy time'! Applejack and Rainbow Dash are competitive about everything! Rarity dresses like a butterfly--and later in five outfits at once! Pinkiezilla crushes a miniature town and argues with Octavia about her instrument! Fluttershy dances with an angel and keeps a weather diary! Derpy tells a six-word joke! Not everypony ends up happy, but most do! A little suspense is a good thing. Bitter sorrow! Transcendent joy! Probability cupcakes are cupcakes that cupcakes!
Note: This story was written during Season Two, so a few small things are out of date.

Equestria stands on the brink of ruin. A necromancer has raised an army of the dead and is poised to plunge the world into darkness. Monsters and brigands roam freely across the land, preying upon the innocent.

Only one hope remains. Armed with swords, spells, snacks, and a bag of dice, five heroes band together to defeat the forces of evil… if their rolls are good enough.

Welcome to gaming night in Ponyville.

Dramatic reading by Goombasa.

Cover image by Elosande used with permission.