"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.

Princess Celestia gets legit deaded by everyone's favorite bacon head.

Luna is a strange mare. Cadance is only now just starting to see how strange she is when Luna mentions the unthinkable. Maybe she'll learn something new in the process.

Part of this story appeared as a chapter in Missing Pages & Scrawled Footnotes on May 31st, 2017. It has since been revised and expanded. Contribute to the TVTropes page!

To escape from Tartarus is nearly impossible, even for one of great magical power. When you've lost your powers and are little more than a withered old centaur, it's even harder. But Tirek has a plan, one that will draw in a creature from a world where life is cheap, hats are plentiful, and gravel is king. Will the Spy take the opportunity to enjoy a well-earned vacation in this new world, or will he see the population of friendly, innocent ponies as just a fresh selection of backs to stab? It could be both!

(Takes place before the beginning of Season 9.)

You've been the only human in Equestria for some time now. However, it wasn't until this morning that your good friend Twilight suggested you take a peek through the Crystal Mirror. Supposedly, there is another world on the other side of that mirror populated by humans just like you.

She conveniently left out the fact that she herself turns into a human when she passes through it.

In hindsight, you probably should have seen this coming.

This story is a sequel to Twilight Sparkle, You're Being Ridiculous!

Featured December 2-3, 2021.

(Now with a trope page)

After being betrayed by everypony around her, Twilight Sparkle plans to become a warlord in the desert wastelands!

Will she rise above her disgrace to become the most powerful and evil warlord ever?

Spoiler alert: no. But it will be fun to watch her try.

An AU of A Canterlot Wedding, where Chrysalis didn't banish Twilight to the caves.

Paul Zagranski is the best negotiator on Earth. He has ended wars and brokered deals between nations. But now, as humans and ponies prepare to seal the greatest trade pact ever between their dimensions, all of humanity is relying on him. We are willing to offer all our technology, our weapons, our science, every book ever written, every song ever sung and every movie ever screened, all of it in order to have what only the ponies can give.

Ear scritches. Also mane brushing and braiding. And nose boops.

God speed, Paul. All of Earth is counting on you.

In some ways, every Bearer is a partial reflection of every other. Fluttershy can lecture, Pinkie is prone to overwork, Applejack has wound up lost in research, and Twilight's been known to hide under the occasional couch. But when it comes to Rarity and Rainbow... that's where the connection seems to be the most tenuous. They're each part of the same sextet and to outside observers, that's about it.

That little detour through the kite flying area means Rainbow isn't going anywhere for a few hours. Rarity refuses to abandon her relaxation site. And with the two mares stuck with each other, they're going to talk about how they have absolutely no commonalities whatsoever.

They're nothing alike, except for the one way in which they're exactly the same.

(Part of the Triptych Continuum, which has its own TVTropes page and FIMFiction group: new members and trope edits welcome. While this story does reference previous events, it can generally be treated as a stand-alone: no other reading is required.)

Now with author Patreon and Ko-Fi pages.

Cover art taken from an image by White Quartz, cropped by Dawnbreez.

Twilight is showing Celestia her new invention – an advanced lie detector. Without her knowledge, Luna and James asked her friends to join the presentation. But that shouldn't be a problem. After all, the mane six has nothing to hide! … right?

Meta:

Cover based on the images from: https://derpibooru.org/images/1517277 and https://www.deviantart.com/estories/art/Background-Twilight-s-Castle-Library-2-781634544
Proofread by Ginger and Grammarly
Now with YT reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBl1VIyvcS4 (all thanks goes to StraightToThePointStudio for his awesome work)

Another one to get into the feature box. Thank you, dear readers, I hope you enjoyed it

Dr. Tenderheart has done this job long enough to know what death means. But nobody noticed, and nobody cared. So she pressed on.

Quills and Sofas Panic Fiction entry for a Rob Panic. The prompt was 'naked on the beach.' 2nd place winner. Like what you see? Come join us! Content warning: death.