After no longer being needed as much in the Crystal Empire, Sunburst moved to Ponyville to assist his friend Starlight Glimmer with her work at the School of Friendship. Being the new guy in town, Sunburst understood that he wasn't as familiar with Ponyville or the creatures that live there as most of the locals. Still, a couple of children running around with what is obviously a robot pretending to be a filly is a strange sight no matter where you're from.

However, when he mentioned this robot to Starlight and Rarity, they acted like they had no idea what he was talking about. Surely he wasn't the only pony in town that could tell she's a robot, right?

...Right?

While Celestia and Luna were the rulers of ponykind of many centuries, they were not the only alicorn leaders of their people's ancient past. Through the power of modern technology, they find a way to restore their father, Solaris, to be able to speak to them once more. As it turns out, this might not have been the best idea.

Hanna discusses the implications of uploading with Princess Celestia as she prepares to shut her down.

This story takes place during the events of Friendship Is Optimal. Reading Friendship Is Optimal before this story is highly recommended.

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.

In a year marked by the greatest number of legal assaults on the rights of trans people to exist that has ever happened, this is my contribution to Pride Month for 2021 - my own, personal, real life transition story, ponified and coated in science fantasy. I took a metaphorical sword and sliced open my guts for you to see, raw and bleeding. This is my life, this is my story, painted in ponies. Petal Chatoyance says: Trans Rights!

Luna’s return from banishment has been a challenging learning process. But as the years pass and Luna becomes more aware of Equestria’s current technological state, she has a critical question for her sister.

Why?

Cover art belongs to extraluna and all credit should go to them.

A story about the death of decadence.

Set prior to the CMC getting their marks.

Featured as of 8/4/23????? Somehow??????

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.

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.

Lyra and Bon Bon are getting married. Lyra is definitely not a princess.

Reading by StraightToThePointStudio

Reading by Rainbow Infinity Readings

Written for The Thousand Words Contest II.

Cover image by DoraeArtDreams-Aspy used with artist's permission.

Thanks to Damaged and totallynotabrony for editing.