Canterlot... For centuries, Canterlot was the shining gem of Equestria, the pinnacle of pony society. Now, it’s a reminder, a bleak and monolithic warning to the world. 

Changed by the chemical and technological poisons that plague the mountain, an abomination of nature, I wander the greatest disaster Equestria has ever seen. 

... I will escape eventually, and when I do, I hope my friends still see me as Twilight Sparkle, and not the monster that hides among the ruins. 

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.

Apple Bloom isn't crazy. Sweetie Belle knows she isn't, because Apple Bloom keeps telling her so.

And so when Bloom insists that the Cutie Mark Crusaders sneak out of a sleepover to investigate the strange lights she's seen out of her window at night, the ones that Applejack says don't exist, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo begrudgingly agree to help.

This, as it turns out, is a mistake.

Twilight Sparkle wakes to a wasteland. Equestria as she knows it has been destroyed. Her friends have scattered to the winds.

Twilight must find out what happened, where the Princesses have gone and what has happened to her friends. To do that, she must fight through a toxic gas that has changed ponies into something unrecognizable. Have her friends survived at all?

There's a dark secret behind all of this, and in a journey that heralds only pain and turmoil, does Twilight really want to know the truth? Or are some things best kept close to a pony's chest?

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?

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Written for the Quills and Sofas Cheerilee contest.

Featured on May 18th, 2021!

Beneath the blistering blizzard and the freezing frost that swallowed the world, a group of ponies cling desperately to existence. They are the last of ponykind, and the future of their species, if one even remains, rests solely on their shoulders. Hidden in a crater from the worst of the wind, Rarity and the other ponies who managed to find shelter struggle to eke out an existence in a life governed by one rule, and one rule only:

The City Must Survive.

Cover art by Ruirik.
Editing by Solidfire.
Inspired by the wonderful game of Frostpunk.

When rumors start circulating that Princess Celestia has become pregnant, Twilight is quick to dismiss the rumors as impossible. However, when Celestia confirms the rumors to be true, it becomes quite clear to the Princess of Friendship that something is terribly wrong.

EDIT 7/8/2016: This got featured?! Wow, I am really happy about that!

Luna has a secret.

A secret that she's kept close to her heart ever since her return from the moon, a secret she's hidden for so long that she's no longer even sure if it's real. At least until it returns to haunt her, and she has no choice but to confide in Celestia and hope her sister trusts that she hasn't gone mad.

It's time to tell Celestia about the circles.

Based on a story idea someone suggested

Queen Novo banishes Twilight and her friends to the deepest reaches of the ocean. In this dark and desolate place of water and silence, giving in to one's animal instincts seems like the obvious course of action.

Thus Spike awakens, trapped and alone in an unfamiliar place. But as he quickly learns, it's a lot worse than that.

On an expedition to explore the deeper depths of the Castle of the Two Sisters, Twilight finds something far older.

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In the quiet, she will be tested. It may prove her undoing.

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She will not return the same.

Artwork credit to GroaningGreyAgony.