The problem with being an explorer in this day and age is that unexplored lands are few and far between. Almost everything's been charted, catalogued, analyzed, and what have you. But that's an almost; there are still those rare, blank spots in the maps, inexplicable, untouched by hooves, unsurveyed. One of those corners is Needle Vale in the far north. Supposedly cursed, yet everyone who's gone in has come back out. It has more stories about it than Celestia herself, yet every single adventuring group that's gone in has found nothing. Thanks to a nonstop snowstorm that's been blowing for centuries, no one's even been able to map it out.

Daring Do thinks there are too many stories about it to be a coincidence. Something is inside there. The source of the legends and of the snowstorm. And no one has a will quite as strong as Daring's (or so she tells herself). With a small team at her back, Daring makes a decision: she will go into Needle Vale, she will withstand the storm, and she will discover what’s going on in there.

But, as Daring is about to find out, there's a reason no one’s been able to pin down what's going on in that valley. Not everything that lies in the dark corners of the earth should be studied.

Loosely inspired by Annihilation. Has a dramatic reading done by Quinch.

A mailmare. A treasure hunter. A botanist. A historian. A rambler. A retired guard.

Six travelers in a frozen forest in the middle of nowhere. None of them knows any of the others. These six people find themselves driven together into the only lodge for miles when a freak storm descends upon the land. But all they have to do is wait out the blizzard, and they can be on their way. Simple, right?

If only. As the storm rages with no sign of stopping, they gradually get to know each other more and more. They don't always like what they learn. And when your world has been reduced to a small common room, the tiniest of annoyances can simmer, fester, and boil over...

This story is a sequel to The Deep

Down there in the darkness, centuries of evil
And his arms will take you deeper and deeper
God lives underwater, we all seek his kingdom
And you feel his embrace, sweeter and sweeter

For more than a month now, Rarity has been bedridden, stuck in a seemingly endless nightmare-filled sleep. Despite warnings from both Celestia, Luna and Discord, she conspires to travel to the Saddle Arabian mountains in search of answers and, hopefully, a cure.

But what she doesn't know is that these answers could lead her to a horror beyond her wildest imagination.

Sequel to my first ever horror fic, The Deep. Prior reading recommended, but not required.

Inspired by the Candlemass song of the same name and, of course, the works of H.P Lovecraft.

Have you ever wondered what horrors could lurk far from the habitable corners of modern cities and quiet towns? Even after a millennium since the arrival of the three tribes in Equestria, there are places virtually unknown to the ponykind. And it is there, among the wonders and mysteries of bygone times, that the spawns of darkness are waiting for their prey.

Originally written in Russian as Голодные тени by SMT5015.
The author doesn't know English well and gave his explicit permission to translate and post the story. The translation is an independent work of fiction, and does not constitute theft, self-appropriation of authorship, or disrespect for the work of the original writer.
Edited and preread by Typoglyphic, Nethlarion, ChudoJogurt, Spectre-srs, discranola, Listener.

Oh, ye great mysterious - Thousand leagues of blue
No one knows which mysteries are hidden
Beneath your surface

Your awful stirrings seem to speak of some
hidden soul beneath

- Ahab: The Pacific

The ocean holds many secrets, hidden away in the deepest expansion, far away from prying pony eyes. With Rarity becoming a reluctant explorer, whisked away in a magical bubble that plunges her beneath the waves, not even in her wildest nightmares could she imagine what awaits her all the way down there...

Inspired by the works of H.P Lovecraft and the Funeral Doom Metal album: "Call of the Wretched Sea" by Ahab.

Now with an audio reading by Illya Leonov: https://youtu.be/-ZkgeyAmsn0

Twilight Sparkle believes that she understands the world around her.
But what if one of the most common, everyday things, was actually completely beyond her comprehension?

A short, experimental piece based on working with a very limited word count. Written in first person, in a sort of journal-like style.

When Ponyville's pegasi suddenly bolt from the skies, Fluttershy endeavors to uncover the reason why.

This story was written for the Barcast's Halloween in April story contest.