Daring Do cannot believe her luck when she is asked to help explore the most ancient tomb known to ponykind. But terrible danger awaits her, for beneath the earth rests something beyond equine understanding.

Warning: comments contain ending spoilers.

TVTropes page.
Alternate ending by Duplex Fields.
Archived in the Pony Fiction Vault.
Reviews:
One Man's Pony Ramblings
Louder Yay
PresentPerfect
The Royal Guard
Cleverpun's Critique Corner
The Goodfic Bin

In the grim darkness of the far future, there are only ponies! Equestria is assailed by countless foes from without, but only the shadowy Friendquisition can protect it from the enemies within. Can one Inquisipony and his team uncover a plot that threatens to destroy everything they hold dear? Or will sinister forces prevail in an MLP future that has become like the Warhammer 40k universe, the original grimdark franchise?

As seen at Equestria Daily. Note that the most recent version of the story, including edits and new chapters, will be available there first, and changes will eventually trickle over here. Please feel encouraged to leave comments here, there or at this thread on Ponychan. I would very much like to hear from you.

The Princess Protects

Vector by Prince Bluelolz on Ponychan

Blythe Hyacinth Pie, Blinks to her family, makes her annual pilgrimage to Tartarus to see her grandparents and hopes for their redemption.

Pinkamina battles Death incarnate, trying to prevent the deaths of others using the cryptic powers of the Pinkie Sense. Meanwhile the Royal Sisters frown upon her messing with the fabrics of fate, and her stallion Lickity Split has been eyeing the wedding bells lately. Who is under Death's hood?

A ten page short:
What if all the magic we see in the show is exactly what it appears to be? Does that concept scare you? It should.
After a shocking discovery changes his life, a young griffon follows in the hoofprints of his childhood hero, and mounts an expedition deep into the frozen west.

Both 'The Brightest Shine' and 'Piracy' redirect here, and with good reason; read on and it will make sense.

Set Fifty years after the events of Fallout Equestria, the Wasteland is slowly beginning to heal. Communities and settlements are growing and as ponies strive to do better, to be better, vice and sin is always there to hinder them. Sandy Tops, a unicorn prostitute on the isle of Sunny Days knows this better than most ponies. She has seen ponies come to the island seeking fortune and adventure only to be chewed up and spat out into the ghetto shores where poverty and disease reigns. Sandy expected her life to end where it began on the island servicing paying clients until she's too old and broken to be of much use. That is until a tragedy propels her to flee the island and seek a haven in the mainland that is the Equestrian Wasteland. However, her past is never too far behind . . .

Many thanks to Kkat for creating such a brilliant world. Also, thanks to Fantasia Archsage for proofreading.

If you came to hear a story, I’m sorry to disappoint. I suspect this’ll just end up as one big confession, really. When you’re the first Teutscher to set hoof into Equestria, I suppose that’s to be expected. And when you’re the universe’s favorite chew toy, doubly so. Still, with enough wit, some Prussian ingenuity, a droll sense of humor, and wanton murder, I might just survive this. Then again, when you’re going up against an unending list of things like government conspiracies, that guardian angel who keeps telling you to kill ponies, psycho Equestrian girls with allophilia, a lunatic princess, the legions of the Inferno, the Equestrian culture itself, swashbuckling sword fights, and laissez-faire economists, you begin to realize why there’s a big “if” in the middle of your life.

Your thoughts/critiques/deathreats are welcome in the comments. Spoilers are also encouraged. If you don’t have anything to complain about, do please tell me what you liked so I know what worked.

Now on TV Tropes. Posted on the Equestria Daily 5/28/13. Now in ePub format for your convenience.

Professor Dusty Tomes, Equestria's greatest scholar and Twilight Sparkle's childhood hero, arrives in Ponyville on a mission from Princess Celestia. He must study a unique phenomenon: a being whose inexplicable powers may have the potential to benefit Equestria—or even to destroy it. The object of his research? The cheerful, exuberant pony known as Pinkie Pie.

"Our life is a journey
through winter and night
we search for our way
in a sky without light..."

The old stories tell of the Mask of Lies, that entraps its wearer as certainly as it entraps everything around it. The worst lies of all are the ones we tell ourselves.

Spanish Translation: https://www.deviantart.com/spaniard-kiwi/art/Tan-facil-como-mentir-999963762

Celestia wants Twilight and her friends to loosen up a little bit around her. Luna just wants to try the hard cider. During a surprise visit to Sweet Apple Acres at the tail end of cider season, Princess Luna has just a bit too much to drink, and when she makes a rather inappropriate joke, Twilight comes to the very uncomfortable realization that she has never seen Celestia excuse herself to use the restroom.