Some ponies are called to destiny. Some ponies rise to new challenges. Then, there's me, who turned into a background pegasus and started flying around on a cross-country trip. Life really is picaresque sometimes.

Set in PonyEarthverse and uses elements from the Winningverse.

I highly recommend checking out both groups as they inspired this mad endeavor.

Sunny is just a normal pony. He has a pretty normal life and a pretty normal job, but when ponies start turning into zombies and the streets run red, his definition of normal morphs. He and a group of ponies, thrown together by chance, must now brave whatever lies ahead. This is their struggle for survival.

This is their story.

[Author's note]: This was my first story, and the beginning chapters are sort of a rough grind. I'm working to better them, but until then they're not as good as I'd like them to be.

Orriginal cover art

PS: Comments contain spoilers! You have been warned.

Rumble loves listening to Thunderlane's bed-time tales every night. Tales of adventure, oftentimes centered on the fictional knight 'Rumble the Valiant.' What Rumble doesn't know, however, is that Thunderlane tells him these stories in order to protect his innocence. But what happens when the lines between reality and fantasy start to blur; when real life starts to impact the nightly stories, and the stories start to impact real life?

Cover Image by skipsypony

Help Editing/Pre-Reading from Twi-Guy, BubblepipeWrangler, and Garbo802

Idea Somewhat Sparked From the Synopsis of this Fic: The Dragon in Twilight

I awoke in the Canterlot dungeon, stripped of my identity. I have no specific memory but have general knowledge of pony life. I can't remember my name. I have no cutie mark and no clues to who I am at all.

[EQD Featured - 10/04/12] Derpy Hooves loses her job and home to personal failures and finds that her life of passivity and reckless indulgence have left her with nothing but an empty void in her heart. When she cries out for help, she receives two answers—one from a concerned Twilight Sparkle who tries to set her life back on track, and the other from a phantom mare who lashes her spirit to that of Silver Cross, traveling warrior and refugee of a destroyed nation.

The clumsy but well-intentioned optimism of the Elements of Harmony and the unshakable death wish of her new "soulmate" are challenging enough, but Derpy will have to contend with overzealous agents of the crown, romantic entanglements, wielders of impossible magic, an outrageously evil despot, and even the dreaded contents of Spike's Secret Stash before all's said and done. Little does Derpy understand that her pursuit of a way to fill the holes in her heart and mind will only draw her ever closer to the forbidden truths of Equestria's Lost History . . .

Cover Art by the talented McLarenF1LM22

The following is supplemental material. Do not read before finishing Episode 03.

APPENDIX

Character Ages
Ponies keep track of their age by seasons, not years. Birthdays are still celebrated annually, but measuring age in years is an unreasonable choice for creatures with a lifespan of roughly 25-30 - there just isn't enough room for demarcations that any reader could relate to. For clarity, the character's ages as of the time of this story are given in three categories below.

MLPL2 Character Age Chart [GDocs Format]

For reference, please note that MLPL2 begins about three years after the Nightmare Moon incident.
More characters will be added as they receive significant roles in the story.

Deleted Scenes

Episode 01, Scene 1 (Draft 4)
Episode 01 [ver. 1]

Royal Jester Perry O'te is asked to take a break from his job, much to his displeasure. He loves to be at the castle and treasures his time working and making people laugh, but that isn't really why he was forced to leave. What is the real reason Celestia asked him to vacation at the quiet town of Ponyville, and why does he wear that mask of his? What happens when trouble starts to brew in town, and the true reason for his stay is revealed. Will the Mane 6 continue to accept his company or are there some people no longer deserving of the magic of friendship?

(This story takes place before the end of season 3, and contained humanized ponies.)

Cover artwork done by my great friend Katgurl5. Check out her other work at her deviantart page. Just search her and your good to go (link taken out due to recent NSFW purge, and deviant art can have quite a bit of that). Some of it is NSFW, so you have been thoroughly warned.

When the only other alicorn in Equestria is its ruler, a lot of questions don't have answers. There will be times of trial and error, there will be times when nothing makes sense, and there will be times when it's lonely. Was the crown given to you or forced on your head? It's heavy either way.

Edited by GoldenVision and NightChronicle

This story is a sequel to Lines and Webs

For four long years, Celestia's apprentice Twilight Sparkle, once a model pony and a hero among heroes, has waged a bitter and secret struggle with her onetime mentor. Though she works from the shadows, directing her forces from the Old Capitol in the Everfree Forest, Twilight Sparkle is unable to gain any advantage,

Likewise, Princess Celestia finds her once-faithful student far more cunning and elusive than she had anticipated, and even now searches for a way to bring Twilight Sparkle's rebellion to its knees.

It is a game of greys, of knives in the dark and of poisoned wine, where pawns are moved and traded and exchanged for greater advantage, all the while drawing both sides nearer to the conflict which shall tear Equestria in two.

At the center of this conflict is a new pawn, one who only wished to see the truth for herself. Drawn into a deadly game whose rules she does not understand, Sweetie Belle must learn to survive in a world where all is darkened, and nopony can be completely trusted.

Because when gods play chess, all pieces are expendable.

A nation will crumble, old enemies shall return in the most unexpected ways, and regardless of who is victorious, only one thing can be certain.

Nothing shall ever be the same.

Followed by Stormsinger.

Ponyville faced an ordinary day, but then night came, and with it a massive gateway into another world. It closes before any action can be taken, but now the Mane Six and Canterlot nobility are tasked with finding out what they can about the gateway. Who created it? Where did it lead to?

And most importantly, did anything come through?

Takes place after Season 2
Now 20% cooler with a TVTropes page!

Luna's disposition worsens after Twilight Sparkle once again outdoes the Princess by fighting back another evil foe. Princess Luna wishes to speak with somepony, and finds that a therapist is her only possible choice.

Cover photo by Leyanor.
Featured on Equestria Daily (somehow) on 12/19/2012.