In search of gems to complete her ornate Nightmare Night costume, Rarity accidentally finds herself transported to a world where a holiday not unlike Nightmare Night is less an event than a way of life - and her friends soon follow in hopes of rescuing her. Or, to put things more lyrically....

It was some time ago, but not too long, you see?
In a place that perhaps you have seen on TV.

For this story spans places far from pedestrian,
Crossing spooky and dark with bright and Equestrian.

Now, you may be asking how that crossing was done.
If you are not, I'd say it's time you begun!

(An excellent talking-book version of this story can be found here.)

Stranded on a hostile, alien world, Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash must depend on one another and a fellow alien castaway if they want to return home to Equestria.(originally published on FFN)

Having returned to Canterlot for official purposes, Twilight and Spike grow increasingly ready to go back home to Ponyville. Yet, when Twilight recognizes signs of distress in the Sister Sovereigns, the princesses Celestia and Luna, her curiosity gets the better of her.

What she finds shows her more about her teacher than she could have dreamed...yet places her in tremendous danger...

How did Fluttershy acquire her "Freaky knowledge ah' sewin'!" as Applejack called it? The answer is simple, Rarity taught her! Yet a winter full of struggle takes its toll on the two and brings their friendship to the breaking point.

Spike has finally saved up his allowance, and on a beautiful winter's day he buys his first material possession, a sled!

When a technical difficulty causes him to doubt his purchase Twilight quietly uses her magic to solve the problem. But what awaits the dragon whelp as her magic turns an average sled into the Super Amazing Rocket Sled of Awesome?

"They take da' pain out, make it somethin' good, somethin' good. Wear yer' blues well, colt, you gonna earn every drop of em'. Yer' gonna be tangled up in blues," the old stallion told Blues, presenting him with the saxophone.

Blues himself tells us of his life after that day and as he explores what it means to be "painted blue"; to hope, to fear, to love, to lose. He tells us as he learns what really makes a stallion a stallion, what it's like to leave something you love behind, and what risks one must face in life or risk becoming nothing at all.

All of this, Blues tells us, takes place against the background of critical moments in his life and as he travels the scope of Equestria from Manehattan to Ponyville and Appleoosa. All the while the songs he learns from his pain mingle with the one his mentor, Moody Blues, revealed within him...something unbelievable the old pony did to bring it forth.

====Originally Written June 2011=====EQD Link====
There is a shadow to all of existence, a place that all worlds are shielded from by a thin veil. A Dark Place, where a single presence plots and struggles to consume all creation with its darkness. The author Alan Wake is one who has defeated this Dark Presence, but to save his wife and his world Alan had to remain trapped in the darkness.

Now, through his struggles to return to his wife, Alan has unintentionally released the Darkness and an old villain upon Equestria. To fix the mistake, Alan starts a new story with Twilight Sparkle as the protagonist. Can the unicorn find the strength to face the darkness, or is all of Equestria doomed to be the victim in the dreadful horror story?

Note: Story assumes no preceding knowledge of the game Alan Wake. Written for any MLP:FiM fan to enjoy.

Cheerilee is becoming frazzled after a long semester. But when a friend recommends a new dance club in Ponyville, she feels she's too old to partake in today's current hip scene... or is she?

==Originally written spring 2011== Equestria Daily Post==
GLaDOS is free of Chell, free to continue testing, when she discovers a portal gun Wheatley tried to repair with duct tape. When the portal gun catastrophically fails, the enrichment center, GLaDOS, and Chell are literally dropped in the middle of Equestria. The mute test subject soon finds the world of ponies far more welcoming than the human world. But GLaDOS sees possibilities. Let the testing begin... for science.

In the magical land of Equestria, the night has lasted for a thousand years. But now, with the anniversary of Queen Luna's victory over her rebellious sister approaching, the Queen's most faithful student learns about a disturbing old prophecy. Can she, along with a hastily gathered group of allies, save the Land of Eternal Night from the dawn that Hellion Queen is trying to bring?

----

This is an alternate-universe - or, to be absolutely precise, a reverse-universe fan-fic for MLP:FiM.
The cover image is a bit of fan art from DotRook over on dA: Dark Equestria: Rarity

Second (and final) chapter will be coming soon, once I polish it a bit.