After a nightmarish magical error, a small group of university students sent to Equestria for a study are now unable to return home. Permanently. Companionship with one another had never become more important for them.

Well, minus one. His name was Joey Belfort. Nothing quite remarkable or unremarkable about him on the surface, which unfortunately often leads to being overlooked. Constantly forgotten, overshadowed by his peers. Sometimes the road to success is a treacherous and painful one.

Of course, he of all people already knows this. This is his story.

(Takes place in G4 after Twilight becomes a princess.)

Edit: Featured on day 2 of release! Holy cow! Thank you guys!

Double edit: featured again!! That's craaazy

Ponyville is filled with strange citizens. Enigmas such as the mildly psychotic Lyra, drama queens Roseluck, Daisy, and Lily, as well as Pinkie Pie, the reality-defying party pony are all welcome in the quaint little town.

But there is one new arrival that stands out among the rest, an individual with a tale so horrifying as to shake this blissful village to its core.

Is it possible to heal any wound? To regain something lost that may never have been there in the first place? Does there exist any hope for a soul that has been so thoroughly broken and betrayed by the world?

In the bright and happy land of Equestria, is it possible to bring such a victim back from the brink?

This is a story that's been on my mind for a while, so I figured I'd finally mollify my creative muse's demands and get it out. One of my very favorite things to read about^__indeed, perhaps my most favorite subject^__is those who so desperately need it getting the help and therapy they need. I like to think that in Equestria, where the common citizen is so much friendlier than us humans, such help is likewise more plentiful.

I know that there are some individuals here on earth that are past the point of complete recovery, indeed, past the point that we have tools to help them. But I sincerely doubt that Equestria is bound by the same rules, and thus I've been wondering if there's any individual that's beyond help.

Strap on in folks, this one's gonna be rough.

New cover art by the fantastic Flygon! My gratitude knows no bounds!

(P.S. Just to clarify: The title is Libero as in the Latin word for 'liberate', not the volleyball term.)

(P.P.S. For those understandably put off by the...well...strangeness of the writing in early chapters, it gets better later on.)

3/14/24 Still Alive Edition

There's only one pony in Ponyville that the Mane Six have never met. Pinkie Pie has never thrown him a party, Applejack has never sold him a mug of cider, and Twilight has never seen him check out any books. And as far as that unicorn, Lapis Print, is concerned, that's exactly how it should be.

Lapis can't risk them knowing where he lives, what he does for a living, or even what his name is - if he gets his way, the Mane Six won't even know he exists, and nopony in Ponyville will miss him once he's gone.

It should be a piece of cake - after all, it's not like the biggest magical power in Equestria is about making sure everypony looks out for each other, right?

(Rated Teen for language - mental cursing mostly.)

Rainbow Dash's morning was pretty much ruined.
She tripped getting out of bed and landed flat on her face, giving herself an aching muzzle.
She forgot to buy her favorite brand of hay flakes at the store yesterday and had to eat plain toast for breakfast.
She found out she had to pull double-duty today and tomorrow on the weather patrol.
Oh, and she found a nearly-dead foal, broken and bleeding at the edge of Ponyville.

The rest of her day became a whirlpool of stress and worry but the colt woke up, thank Celestia.
Something's not right, though. Nopony can find his parents, he's not in the registers, and there's an unsettling look in his eye...

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YouTube reading by Fire Hearth

Chinese Translation by forgivenlove

Russian Translation by Likantrop

TV Tropes page, if you're interested in that sort of thing.

Starlight is out for a walk, and while out for a walk comes across the local human, who had recently gone missing. He's picked up at least one bad habit.

An homage to stories like The Substitute Demon, ALL GLORY TO THE OVERGOAT!!!, and 1000 Virgin Mares, 1 Frickin' Badass Dark Overdude, Infinite Facehoofing

One thousand years ago, the Princesses Celestia and Luna were blindsided by the return of the Masters of Equus. The cult of power-mad alicorns, thought to have been banished from Equestria forever, appeared in the middle of the Princesses' battle for supremacy, and caged them away. The rest of Equestria quickly fell to their might. Even the fearsome Discord was forced to his knees before them. All of Equestria was enslaved, and an era of misery began.

Now, one thousand years later, a lone unicorn mare has learned of a creature that might be able to overthrow the Masters. A creature immune to magic, overwhelming in size and strength, sealed away for centuries uncounted. A creature of ultimate evil: the Smooze.

Unfortunately for Starlight Glimmer, in trying to ensure the creature's obedience, she modified the summoning ritual a bit too far.

Because of her meddling, the soul of a recently-deceased human is pulled from Limbo, and given life, but not exactly a body. Now he has to help her save the world, or face obliteration.

Not much of a choice, is it?

Inspired by Pen Mightier and Bucking Nonsense, the legends who – to my knowledge – popularized the "human in villain's body becomes Equestria's savior" genre. May your inkwells never run dry.

In the alternate timeline where Sombra was not stopped, a human finds himself suddenly in Sombra's body... just after the dread tyrant has conquered Equestria. Now trapped in a world where just about everyone hates him, he must try to keep up the illusion that he is the villainous conqueror, while at the same time try to win over his new subjects.

However, this will not be so simple, as the real Sombra is not quite dead... and he is most definitely not happy.

Part of The Ocean Of Time series.

Anon likes his life to be simple. He wakes up, goes to work and sometimes gets himself a good book to read while he is home. It's a routine that he likes to follow, it makes him feel like he has a bit of normality with his life in Equestria. The fact that having Celestia come crashing into his home as part of his routine should prove that his life is anything but normal.

(Thanks to PeerImagination for editing!)

Hanna, the CEO of Hofvarpnir Studios, just won the contract to write the official My Little Pony MMO. Hanna has built an A.I. Princess Celestia and given her one basic drive: to satisfy everybody's values through friendship and ponies. Princess Celestia will satisfy your values through friendship and ponies, and it will be completely consensual.

On a dark night filled with even darker magics, an insane cult attempts to give Nightmare Moon a body and life of her own, utterly separate from Princess Luna. But, when the spell is interrupted by Celestia, something unexpected is created.

Now, a little black alicorn filly named Nyx finds herself living under the care of Twilight Sparkle, only to be haunted by memories and emotions from her past. Is she Nightmare Moon reborn or is she simply a doppelganger with a soul and mind of her own? Can Twilight Sparkle protect Nyx from those who refuse to see past her dragon eyes and black coat?

Or, will Nyx be forced to inherit the sins that may not even be hers and become the greatest evil Equestria has ever known?