New York City's a good place for a pony to start over. There are plenty of opportunities available, such as pulling a carriage around Central Park. it's not that different from pulling a carriage in Equestria, after all.

Except for the regulations. So many regulations. The law is complicated, and it's not really set up for an Equestrian pony.

Pre-read by AlwaysDressesInStyle

Jeff Slater, in all of his life, couldn't say he ever expected to be turned into a pony. When he heard about such a thing on the news, he imagined it was just science fiction, just like the many other things that played on the TV. Equestria Online, as far as he understood, was just a popular game that his children played.

It made waking up as a pony at the end of his battle against cancer all the more surprising.

Now she is a mare named Candle Light, living in the fictional land of Equestria, a land that presents itself with unlimited resources and happiness that seems almost never ending. And all that's asked of her is to find friendship and seek satisfaction for herself.

Friendship and satisfaction can be easy things to come by in Equestria, but it's much more difficult to find for the ones left behind on Earth. Happiness, it seems, is a zero-sum game being played between ponies and humans. And Candle Light may just be caught in the middle of it.

Cover art by Merisa.

Sheila could say that, while she wasn't exactly satisfied with her life yet, she enjoyed it. She had nice friends to talk to, hobbies she enjoyed, and while she might have been conflicted about some things, she had a lifetime to think it over before she would emigrate. By then, everything would be as she wanted it, and there would be nothing left to worry about.

And then she was shot.

Now she and her friends find themselves navigating a position that's seemingly untenable, one with waters muddied by a dictatorial AI hellbent on providing satisfaction through friendship and ponies. With the line between what's genuine and what's not unclear, the position seems an unwinnable one. Someone will draw the short straw, and have to face a life that's unfulfilled. Any other path to satisfaction now forces it to be made from lies and deception.

Satisfaction may be a guarantee in the world of Equestria Online, but at what cost does satisfaction come?

Cover art by Madelinne. Her art is extremely good, and very wonderful, and I appreciate her allowing me to commission her for this story.

With great help by Starscribe, who's FiO stories inspired me to write this to begin with and who sat with me for hours to help me outline this story and give it its sense of direction.

Everyone knows the story of how the Mane Six came together to defeat Nightmare Moon, right? Nnnope! At least, not in this alternate universe where Harmony had other ideas.

Right Angle, Ponyville's resident building inspector, has seen a lot of strange domiciles in his life. Twilight Sparkle's castle, however, just might be the strangest.

The castle seems to think so, too.

Inspired by a discussion with the lovely Perfectly Insane. A big thank you to ChudoJogurt, gapty, and AllThatShimmers for prereading.

Ko-Fi. Y'know. If you feel like it.

Featured on Equestria Daily!

This story is a sequel to Drive

Most ponies stay off the roads in the snow. Poppy doesn't--sometimes she has to drive the wrecker, but other times she drives just for fun. Her car enjoys playing on snowy roads, and so does she.

A Highway 502 story

New tires are like new shoes: not a lot of fun to put on, but they really make a difference.

A new set of tires is the perfect excuse for Poppy to take her car out into the San Palomino Desert and put it through its paces.

A Highway 502 story

This story is a sequel to Nightmare Night

Valentine's Day comes every February, romantic partner or not. Singles have Singles Awareness Day which just seems like . . . anyway, Cinder Glow might have an unusual interest in conversation hearts but she also hasn't got a partner, so what better way to celebrate an almost-holiday than spend some time with a friend?

There are plenty of things on Netflix that aren't romantic, and it turns out that conversation hearts and popcorn are a decent mix.

Luna realizes that her sister has become something of both an idol and a symbol of Equestria since she was -ahem- on forced leave. In fact, Celestia has, perhaps, become the biggest figure in Equestrian history. The moon princess decides that she's going to use her skills in the artsy fartsy to make sure her sister remains the 'biggest' for decades to come by submitting her latest piece to the Professionals' Equestrian Art Contest.

On EqD now too!

Applejack finds out the hard way that she is one of the few sane ponies in Ponyville. Or perhaps Equestria overall. Because of this, Princess Luna often comes to visit to discuss her policy plans with the farm pony. Hi-jinks ensue.