On the longest day of the thousandth year, only Twilight Sparkle really knew what she was getting into. That didn't stop five mares she'd met less than a day before from insisting on tagging along. They'd all go on to be heroes, but it's not like they knew that at the time. What went through their minds on that dark summer morning?

When the Bearers go forth on missions, somepony has to cover for their day jobs. In Twilight's case, this means the palace assigns a temporary to the tree, and that pony keeps the library running to government standards. The usual problems come in when Twilight gets back and finds the results aren't up to hers.

The disaster starts when she learns the latest hire has Standards of her own.

There's nothing a compulsive reorganizer hates so much as being compulsively reorganized.

(A stand-alone, no-prior-reading necessary part of the Triptych Continuum, which has its own TVTropes page and FIMFiction group. New members and trope edits welcome.)

Now with author Patreon and Ko-Fi pages.

One moment leads to another. There's a box sitting outside a house at night. It brings thoughts about the contents during the small hours and in time, there's a new kind of box. Something small, something which leads to little meetings in the dark.

The smallest things can change a life.

(A stand-alone, no-prior-reading-necessary part of the Triptych Continuum, which has its own TVTropes page and FIMFiction group. New members and trope edits welcome.)

Now with author Patreon and Ko-Fi pages.

This story is a sequel to Three Hoofwidths To The Left

There's nothing like a surprise library inspection for discovering code violations, especially when the pony conducting that examination is determined to find something. But Twilight keeps the tree running to her own standards, and that means true offenses are hard to come by. Really, there's just one little potential issue.

'Little' as in 'the crests come up slightly short of your spine. Oh, and it breathes fire.'

For some strange reason, the local trotting incarnation of bureaucracy has a problem with this.

(A stand-alone, no-prior-reading necessary part of the Triptych Continuum, which has its own TVTropes page and FIMFiction group. New members and trope edits welcome. While this story takes place after the linked piece, no knowledge of those events is required.)

Now with author Patreon and Ko-Fi pages.

Realistically, they have options. For example, they could flee to another country, except that the Princesses could track them down and besides, one of those borders just effectively closed. There's probably some caves around which nopony's ever fully explored. A life spent reeking of fur dye might be possible. Or they can just stay in the hallway outside the throne room, waiting to be called in so they can explain how their good intentions turned that last mission into the biggest fiasco in Bearer history.

...so where were those caves again?

(Now with author Patreon and Ko-Fi pages.)

Cover art taken from an image created by ExitMothership. Commission information can be found here.

This story is a sequel to The Waiting Doom

It was just a bad cold. But the Cakes are first-time parents, they panicked, and... well, the twins fully recovered in the Canterlot hospital. Pinkie just didn’t know about any of it until now, because she was on a mission. So to make up for her absence, she’s sending the Cakes home. Pinkie can bring the foals home after they’re discharged. Which should be any minute now.

...or hour...

Well, it’s a big hospital. Maybe she can find something to do.

(While this story is tagged as a sequel, the only thing it shares with the previous one is theme. It can be read as a stand-alone, and no reader knowledge of previous events is required.)

Now with author Patreon and Ko-Fi pages.

This story is a sequel to A Duet For Land And Sky

There are certain requirements for herbivores, particularly when it comes to kitchen appliances. A few items wind up being used just about every day and in this case, the ancient piece was used until it broke. All Applejack has to do is find a suitable replacement for the old salad spinner. Something just about anypony should be able to manage with virtually no trouble at all.

Of course, the Bearers aren't just anypony...

(Part of the Triptych Continuum, which has its own TVTropes page and FIMFiction group: new members and trope edits welcome. This story is only tagged as a sequel to show its rough place in the timeline.)

Now with author Patreon and Ko-Fi pages.

Realistically, those whose parties wake a Princess from her slumber should expect consequences. But Celestia simply wants to get some sleep, and so her chosen solution is a simple one: deal with it through not dealing with it. It's quick, easy, and sends the problem down the road.

On an equally realistic note, a Princess who decides to make consequences into somepony else's problem should probably expect a few of her own.

Return To Sender. Address Extremely Known.

(Part of the Triptych Continuum, which has its own TVTropes page and FIMFiction group: new members and trope edits welcome. Takes place after Triptych itself.)

Now with author Patreon and Ko-Fi pages.

The newest and hottest game on the market is Sword Art Online, or SAO. A VRMMORPG, Virtual Reality Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game, Sword Art Online takes the player into a virtual reality world of swords and shields. Only 10,000 copies were sold online or in stores. But quickly, things go wrong and the fight goes from fun, to survival.

To escape the game of death, the game must be cleared. All 100 floors of the floating iron castle, known as Aincrad, must be conquered. If you die in game, you die in real life. The NerveGear will fry your brain. The same goes if the NerveGear is removed while you are in the game, you die.

Sword Art Online is a game of swords and shields with no magic. The game isn't designed to handle their Equestrian Magic. Sunset Shimmer must make sure that her friends and guildmates escape the game, or at least survive long enough until the game is defeated.

This story is a Serial Novel Society story: Updates will be at least on a weekly, Tuesday, basis.

*Pre-knowledge of Sword Art Online is not required. The Pilot Episode covers all you need to know.
**First Featured Tuesday, November 12, 2019. Also on 12/3/19, 12/10/19, 01/14/20, 2/11/20, 2/18/20, 2/25/20, 3/3/20, 3/10/20, 3/17/20, 3/24/20, 3/31/20, 4/14/20, 4/21/20, 4/28/20, 5/5/20, 5/19/20, 5/26/20, 6/2/20, 6/9/20, 6/23/2020, 6/30/2020, 7/28/20, 8/4/20, 8/18/20, 8/25/20, 8/27/20, 9/1/20, 9/8/20, 9/15/20, 9/22/20, 9/29/20, 10/20/20, 10/27/20, 11/3/2020, 11/10/20, 11/17/20, 12/1/20, 12/8/20, 12/15/20, 12/22/20, 12/29/20, 1/5/21, 1/19/21, 2/2/21, ICE, 2/23/21, 3/2/21, 3/9/21, 3/16/21, 3/23/21, & 3/30/21.

Want to know what is happening outside the SAO in the real world? There is a story for them! Link to the Asides.

A big thank you to my editor, Void Runner.
A special thanks to SuperSonicHeroes and Wildfiretiremile. Each helped a lot with Beta Reading!
Also, a special Thanks to Badwolf231. He helped me as this project got started.

- Sword Art Online is owned and created by Reki Kawahara.
* Cover Art created with art elements from Orin331, Frye-Medi, and flutterdashrarijack.

Equestria is in general a really kind, wholesome place. You've been around the block a few times, and seen your fair share of hardship. But honestly? Some of the slang that these ponies seem to be worrying about is just... out of line. Don't seven year old's say worse things on Xbox Live?

This Story Contains: Nothing to Worry About. Trust Me.

Don't you Trust Me?

Reading by Straight To The Point Studios