Two passengers on a train ride toward an uncertain future. One is a pony. The other only pretends to be.

Sex is tame and non-explicit. Don't be afraid to read.

Written expressly for Equestria Daily's Outside Insight Summer Fanfiction Contest.

Now with a dramatic reading by Illya Leonov!

Russian translation courtesy of Arsus.
Chinese translation courtesy of viczhn.
French translation courtesy of BroNie.

Inspired by the artwork of RubleGun and Raddjuret. Musical accompaniment by Patrick Poe.

Featured at Equestria Daily and the Royal Canterlot Library.

Reader Testimonials

"Vinyl + Octavia is one of the fandom's most cliché and mismatched pairs, and yet this is a real romance with genuine depth and emotion." - horizon
"Holy shit this is impressive. Like... Holy shit, man." - Skeeter The Lurker
"You have crafted something wonderful here, a true gem. You should be proud." - Illya Leonov
"Note that I hate this ship when I say this is far and away the best ScratchTavia I've ever read." - PresentPerfect
"Fuuuuck it's so good!" - Luminary

Golden Harvest is not jealous. Sure, her neighbor Applejack has a life of adventure and glamor, friends who are national heroes and princesses, an appallingly lucrative share in the local fruit market, and firm, toned flanks. And sure, by contrast, Golden Harvest has been stuck with her snout in the same old muddy patch of carrots pretty much every day since she earned her cutie mark, her best friend is a dentist, and her idea for a 'Carrot Juice Season' never really gained much ground for some reason. But Golden Harvest is not jealous.

Not jealous at all.

She just wishes Applejack would stop being so distracting.

*

Pre-read by Midnight Herald and Communist Bob (no link).

Surrounded by the Everfree Forest, filled with delinquents, devoid of morals and any real sources of magic, Ponyville is the worst place to live in all of Equestria. But it also has the cheapest rent and Twilight's life just collapsed to the point where she can't afford to live anywhere else.

Perhaps the only thing Twilight has going for her now is that Rarity, the most powerful pony in town, has taken a liking to her. Rarity is eloquent, but the leader of a gang. She's beautiful and intriguing, but the most irreverent and delinquent pony Twilight has ever met. Rumors swirl around her. Some ponies even say she and her entire gang are all vampires.

But Twilight is smart enough to not give in to temptations. Or join a gang. Or become a vampire.

A refined mare fresh out of high school and a dropout following her dreams find themselves forced to spend a lot of time together.

With the help of a meddling psychology tutor and their new classmates, can they find what they've been looking for?

French Translation!

Fan Stuff!

Outpost 13...often considered the most unlucky posting to be given when you’re a Royal Guard. It holds no real tactical value, and was built long ago before the Unification Period of the Three Pony Tribes. It’s now more of a historical site, being the last-standing remnant of a bygone era. It’s useless, it’s remote, and it’s boring.

And it’s the perfect dumping ground for when you want to get rid of three of the Royal Guard’s worst soldiers ever.

Private Samwise Tater (the Thinker), Corporal Plucky Guess (the Cynic), and Private Prism Rain (the Sleeper) --- the three of them have been at Outpost 13 for one year now, all on their own. Once you’ve been there that long, you begin to develop a routine: wake up at 0600, eat, then stave off boredom for the next 18 hours before it’s time to go to bed. Usually by talking or planning ways to take over the world, or if nothing else, how to raid Princess Celestia’s cake stash without getting caught.

Today’s their one year anniversary, and they’re at their breaking point.

(Heavily inspired by Rooster Teeth’s Red Vs. Blue web-series.)

Featured: 2021/08/18 - 2021/08/23
*200 Likes! Thanks everyone!*

SPECIAL THANKS: Cover art by Hunternif (Sketch 41: “Early Morning”)

Tracy Maxwell is in a desperate situation: find somewhere to live, or lose the internship he needs to survive. After exhausting every property in the city, one last option appears the day before his deadline. Sure the agent selling the place is a little weird, and more than a little overeager to get the property signed off. At the worst, maybe there's a little mold in the bathroom somewhere, and he has to make do until the lease is up.

But then he steps inside and discovers things can be much worse. The property is in another universe, and while he's there he'll have to play by its rules. He's free to continue working his dream job, so long as he keeps to the contract. Even worse, he's got a roommate who has no intention of leaving him alone.

If he ever wants to escape, he'll have to read the Fine Print.

This story now has a hardcover! If you'd like one of your own, you can grab it here: https://starscribe.net/

This story is a commission by _Kenzu_!

This story is a sequel to A Stitch in Time

Having discovered the message left for her by Star Swirl the Bearded in the distant past, Twilight once again finds herself caught up in the middle of a struggle against forces far greater than herself. In order to even stand a chance she'll need to travel further and wider than she ever has, and forge some unlikely alliances with old enemies. All to bring down the powers that have manipulated and shaped her entire life, and retake control of her own future.

The conclusion of the Time Loop Trilogy, which began with Hard Reset
Available in Spanish thanks to dgs1993
Series TV Tropes page

This story is a sequel to Hard Reset

After the events of Hard Reset Twilight's life and mental well being are slowly returning to normal. Her recovery is cut short, though, when a letter arrives informing her that the time loop spell she cast is causing severe damage to space and time itself. In over her head, Twilight tries to summon anypony who will know how to fix it. The pony she gets is the last one she ever thought she would meet... and nothing like she expected him to be.

Available in Spanish thanks to dgs1993
Series TV Tropes page

Twilight isn't having a very good day. An experimental spell blew up in her face, an army of changelings is attacking Canterlot, and she just died. Yet somehow, it looks like it's going to keep going downhill from here.

Given the chance to correct what's gone wrong, Twilight swears she's going to fix all this even if it kills her. Which it will. Frequently.

Cover art by Pixel Prism
Spanish Translation
Series TV Tropes page

The world ended.

That, at least, is what it sounded like. Screaming, howling, and then deathly silence.

A month later, Cheerilee and Scootaloo emerge from their shelter in search of food. As they search among the dead bodies of their friends, only one question comes to mind:

Where are the unicorns?

--------

Written for the Quills and Sofas Cheerilee contest.

Featured on May 18th, 2021!