Twilight Sparkle was only a filly when Equestria detected the enigmatic Signal. A series of increasingly complex mathematical proofs, the Signal transformed from an intriguing curiosity to reliable evidence of extraequestrian life.

And as it happened, Equestria's exploration of their own solar system was nearly complete. With colonies orbiting every planet and large body, and an asteroid belt filled with miners and prospectors, Twilight's civilization was just about ready to turn its focus outward. The signal was less than ten light-years away, within reach of a daring, experimental voyage. A voyage Twilight Sparkle would lead.

Along with a small crew of the most skilled scientists and engineers Equestria could offer, Twilight is determined to uncover the mystery of the Signal, and brave the final frontier for future generations of Equestrian explorers.

A comment-driven, CYoA story. Please use the links provided in the author's notes of each chapter to vote, rather than the comments.

This story is a creative experiment of mine, one meant to explore the general idea that creativity is often most fostered by restrictions. As a result, I've imposed a number of restrictions on the writing of this story, which I'm stating explicitly here so I can be called out if I break any of them.

1. Brevity is the soul of wit
No chapter may be more than 1000 words long. This wordcount only includes prose, and not the questions/rolls.

2. Every choice matters
When a choice is offered in a chapter, at least one sub-optimal choice must be present, with no indication about which is which other than the prose itself. Every chapter should end with a CYoA-style decision tree when possible.

3. Fate is cruel and the universe is heartless
The decision of the vote must be respected. This means any character could be killed, or the entire story could end in failure, if that's what the votes decide. Where numbers, stats, and randomization appear in the text, these elements are not verisimilitude, but are decided by public diecrolls in my discord server.

Note: Because of the unusual production of this story, its chapters won't be edited in the same way as my usual fare. Feel free to point out any mistakes you encounter.

Awesome cover by Zutcha as you can probably tell. Editing stuff by Two Bit and Sparktail, where applicable.

Vermilion didn’t join the Guard to be a hero. He just wanted to escape the farm and his old, boring life.

But now it seems he may have no choice – his unit is being sent to Hollow Shades, a tiny hamlet hidden in the depths of an endless forest, to fight monsters on behalf of Luna and Celestia. When the mission turns into a disaster and the town is lost, Vermilion finds himself at the forefront of an unexpected war, with all of Equestria at stake.

A new dark age has begun. Heroes must be found to guard the flickering lights of civilization. And Vermilion and his friends will discover that monsters are the least of their worries.

Set in the years before Nightmare Moon’s banishment, The World is Filled with Monsters follows a young hero and his friends as they struggle to protect a newfound nation – and discover the cost of greatness.

Art gallery:

Fight!

Vermilion

Cloud Fire

Zephyr

Quicklime

Rose Quartz

Canopy

Luna

Tartarus

Derecho

The gang

Marvelous Needle (Zephyr's spear)

The Nightmare

Mary had made the most of her strange new world: a house, a job, and friends to share a meal with. When she find a young griffon stripped of all this and more, she begins to see the one things she hasn't found yet.

Editing by: ErsMiller, and my favorite German, m1nf4n

Cover art by: Exelzior

In the midst of doing a favor for Ember in the dragon lands, Spike tells Rarity about his not-so-secret feelings. Rarity responds with a secret of her own, one that she's guarded for most of her life. They picked the wrong day, and the wrong kingdom, for a quiet heart-to-heart.

Winner of Steadfast Hoof's sparity contest
Featured on Equestria Daily
Pre-read by mrk
Cover art drawn by Pia-sama and designed by Novel Idea

A dragon prince, awakened...
A Princess, in love...
A plot to overthrow the Equestrian diarchy and break the very foundations of equine society...
And an embittered Sorcerer willing to go to any lengths to realize his vision for the future...

Ranma Saotome doesn't care about ANY of that. He's on the wrong world, in the wrong body, and fate seems as determined as ever to drive the world's mightiest martial artist to an early grave. As schemes come unraveled and dark magic tears Equestria apart, all he really wants is to figure out what happened to Japan and keep himself fed.
But, alas, he always seems to be in the wrong place at the right time...

(Ranma 0.5/MLP crossover; not an Age of Iron Story)
(Cover art by EZTP)

All Chrysalis ever wanted was a big, brave stallion who would sweep her off her hooves and love her forever. That's not too much to ask, is it?

On her first trip into Equestria, she meets the perfect pony for her, the pony she knows she's destined to be with forever. In one world, she goes back home and returns years later to take him by force. But what if she decided to go after her knight in shining armor another way?

And what happens when everything goes wrong, and she ends up stuck serving a pink pony princess instead of working alongside the stallion she's interested in?

Credit goes out to King of Beggars and his story Twilight Sparkle of the Royal Guard, and all the awful pitches we throw at each other for knockoffs and parodies.

There are a lot of relics, artifacts, and other ancient items of power strewn throughout the world. I should know; I've found safe homes for a lot of them, and even destroyed a few. A good rule of hoof is that the older it is, the more powerful it is. Not because it's old, but because it's survived that long, either because of its own toughness or the defenses its creators put around it.

The Weapon of the Ancients predates written language. Ahuizotl wants it for himself. I can't let that happen.

(Fourth place entry in the April 2015 Writeoff Competition. Prompt: Great Expectations.)

~Completely Re-edited as of 06/13/2021~

I was once a woman in her twilight, my children both old and fresh.

Now I am the child.

I was once a mother and a wife, my family held importance above even my own well-being in my heart.

Now I am orphaned.

I was once a respected human being, a woman to treat as an equal.

Now I am simply an assistant.

I was once happy.

Now...

... Now I am Barbara The Dragoness.

Barbara the assistant.

Barbara the child.

Barbara the widow.

Barbara...

The Lost Soul.

This is the story of my second childhood, and how I found the strength to keep moving forward.

Friends who play together, stay together. That was the philosophy Rarity had in mind when she suggested she and Pinkie play a game of chess every week. Unfortunately for Rarity, however, Pinkie has a habit of changing the rules.

Co-authored with the extremely humorous Midnight Blaze!

The Changeling Horde—perhaps the greatest known threat to Equestrian security. One of the most terrifying things about a changeling is that it could be anyone, anywhere. The recent invasion of Canterlot just proves that every changeling, no matter the circumstance, should be feared.

Or at least they would be, if they weren’t also the laziest little exoskeletal bastards on the face of the planet. When given a chance to earn a lot without working hard, however, a changeling can show a surprising amount of initiative.

Now two lowly changeling workers from the bottom of the hive find themselves presented with the opportunity of a lifetime. They mean to see it through, and neither jealous superiors nor Equestrian agents have even a chance of stopping them.

Thanks to Magello for the rad cover art, and to King of Beggars and Magello for being patient pre-readers.