There’s no end to the monsters that lurk in the dark.

Ghosts, werewolves, mad scientists, cultists, mutants, zombies, vampires, aliens and more lie in wait in the dark corners of Equestria, terrorizing the night. But the most infamous and dangerous of them all is the legendary witch Twilight Sparkle, with a five hundred million bit bounty on her head.

Seeking fame and fortune, Rainbow Dash sets out to defeat the legendary witch and collect the massive reward. The one thing she wasn't counting on was Twilight being less evil than she expected.

More stories set in this AU can be found here.

Cover art is a work in progress by Abode_WTF

Twilight Sparkle was only a filly when Equestria detected the enigmatic Signal. A series of increasingly complex mathematical proofs, the Signal transformed from an intriguing curiosity to reliable evidence of extraequestrian life.

And as it happened, Equestria's exploration of their own solar system was nearly complete. With colonies orbiting every planet and large body, and an asteroid belt filled with miners and prospectors, Twilight's civilization was just about ready to turn its focus outward. The signal was less than ten light-years away, within reach of a daring, experimental voyage. A voyage Twilight Sparkle would lead.

Along with a small crew of the most skilled scientists and engineers Equestria could offer, Twilight is determined to uncover the mystery of the Signal, and brave the final frontier for future generations of Equestrian explorers.

A comment-driven, CYoA story. Please use the links provided in the author's notes of each chapter to vote, rather than the comments.

This story is a creative experiment of mine, one meant to explore the general idea that creativity is often most fostered by restrictions. As a result, I've imposed a number of restrictions on the writing of this story, which I'm stating explicitly here so I can be called out if I break any of them.

1. Brevity is the soul of wit
No chapter may be more than 1000 words long. This wordcount only includes prose, and not the questions/rolls.

2. Every choice matters
When a choice is offered in a chapter, at least one sub-optimal choice must be present, with no indication about which is which other than the prose itself. Every chapter should end with a CYoA-style decision tree when possible.

3. Fate is cruel and the universe is heartless
The decision of the vote must be respected. This means any character could be killed, or the entire story could end in failure, if that's what the votes decide. Where numbers, stats, and randomization appear in the text, these elements are not verisimilitude, but are decided by public diecrolls in my discord server.

Note: Because of the unusual production of this story, its chapters won't be edited in the same way as my usual fare. Feel free to point out any mistakes you encounter.

Awesome cover by Zutcha as you can probably tell. Editing stuff by Two Bit and Sparktail, where applicable.

Starlight used to be a horrible pony. Enslaving an entire town as its dictator? Preventing the Sonic Rainboom from ever happening? Nearly destroying Equestria as we know it? Very few things come close. But there's one thing Starlight is certain of: she's still the same magically-gifted, intelligent pony, and she hasn't lost sight of herself in that regard.

So then why does Twilight believe that Starlight was acting irrationally up until the point of the latter's redemption? You may agree with that assessment, but not Starlight, she even takes offence to this kind of allegation. She wasn't somehow "less rational" when she was a villain. Right?

Prickle didn't ask to become so strong, but it just happened. Now, as a growing foal, she's mightier than many grown stallions. What's an earth-filly to do? She tries her best to move forward and not draw attention to her supernatural strength.

Day in and day out, he always faced the two of them; but one was nothing more than a distraction from the other. In order to avoid facing the nightmare he anticipated every single time he saw her, he would always direct his attention back towards the other; the distraction.

And when he reveled in that distraction one time too many, he lost something that he could never recover.

Special thanks to Petrichord, Pascoite, The Elusive Badgerpony, and Comet Burst for input, pre-reading, and proofreading.

Applejack and Matte Palette were best friends when they were younger. Like her, the poor colt doesn’t seem to have much in common with kids his own gender, so they formed an unlikely duo. The two were inseparable, right up until Applejack moved to live with the Orange side of her family, and the childhood friends fail to keep in touch.

But time passes, and Applejack returns to Ponyville. Her biggest hope is to pick up where she left off, and that includes her friendship with Matte Palette. Something seems different about him, though.

Written as a birthday present for Dessert, who also did the cover art. More of their art can be found here

When I first met Princess Twilight, she was confused, lost. Adrift in an alien world. I thought of her as a rich eccentric, certainly a foreigner. I humored her as much as I believed her, really. Even when she dragged me to the very ends of the world in her mad quest for a mythic well, I really did it all for her. I figured it would help her find some closure, and we could go home.

I was right, in a way.

Based roughly on the game 80 Days.

After falling victim to unfortunate circumstances, Pinkie Pie receives a visit from her sisters Maud, Limestone, and Marble.

Written as a fic commission for Kihutaja
Special Thanks to Hap for editing the cover art.

It was 1825, and it's been a year since Ludwig van Beethoven had premiered his Ninth Symphony. One evening as he did his daily walks in the Austrian countryside, a surprise storm forced the composer back into his cheap, rented room. Where a mysterious shadow whisked him away to Equestria, taking everything, including his music along with him.

Holding Ludwig captive against his will, the shadow tells him that if he ever hopes to see all he knows and loves in Vienna, he would have to give him something in exchange. Something priceless that only he could give. The shadow demands that he'll give Beethoven one year to compose his Tenth Symphony, or give up all hope that he will ever return home.

Please keep in mind, this story is partly edited. Only between chapters, 54 to 61 is edited by Circut Breaker.

Music for this fic are, in chronological order:
- Piano Sonata No. 14 (Moonlight Sonata) 3rd Movement.
- Bagatelle in F minor.
- Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor Op. 13 "Pathetique" 2nd Movement.
- Für Elise.
- Rondò alla ungherese, quasi un capriccio Op. 129 "Rage Over a Lost Penny".
- "Music to My Ears" by DJ PON-3.
- Concert Etude #4 for solo cello by Bukinik.
- Cello Sonata in A Op.69: Allegro, ma non tanto, 1st Movement.
- "The Old Grey Mare" Variations in the style of Beethoven. Improvised by Richard Grayson.
- Salve Regina (Cello solo, arranged from the Gregorian Chant by Tomoyan).
- Symphony No. 1, 1st Movement.
- Symphony No. 1, 4th Movement.
- Symphony No. 2, 1st Movement.
- Symphony No. 2, 2nd Movement.
- Symphony No. 2, 4th Movement.
- Piano Sonata No. 17 "Tempest," 3rd Movement.
- Symphony No. 3, 1st Movement.
- Symphony No. 3, 2nd Movement.
- Symphony No. 3, 3rd Movement.
- Symphony No. 3, 4th Movement.
- Piano Sonata No. 14 (Moonlight Sonata) 1st Movement.
- String Quartet op. 135 (Lento assai, cantante e tranquillo).
- Nocturne No. 20 in C# minor by Chopin.
- Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major, Op. 58.
- Symphony No. 4, 1st Movement.
- Symphony No. 4, 2nd Movement.
- Symphony No. 4, 4th Movement.
- String Quartet No. 13 in B-Flat Major, Op. 130: II. Presto
- Beethoven - Rondo a Capriccio REMIX by TPRMX
- String Quartet No. 14 in C# minor, Op131. Allegro (7th Movement)
- Piano Sonata No. 29 "Hammerklavier," Op. 106: 5th Movement
- The Spectacle (Razzle Dazzle) from season 5, episode 24.
- Symphony No. 5 in C minor.
- Piano Sonata No. 1, Ops 2. 2nd Movement (Adagio)
- String Quartet no. 15 op. 132. 3rd Movement: Molto Adagio.
- Nocturne in Eb Major. Op. 9 No. 2 by Chopin
- String Quartet in B-flat major, Op. 130. 5th Movement: Cavatina
- "The Swan," for violin and piano by Saint-Saens.
- Symphony No. 6, 1st Movement
- Symphony No. 6, 2nd Movement.
- Symphony No. 6, 3/4/5 Movements.
- Turkish March, from "The Ruins of Athens," arranged for solo piano.
- Violin Sonata No. 9 (Kreutzer), 1st Movement.
- "Mark Yonder Pomp of Costly Fashion," arranged by Beethoven.
- Violin Concerto In A Minor, 1st Movement by Vivaldi.
- Native American Music & Chants by Phil Thornton.
- "Oyate Miye" (War Song) by The Native Tribes United.
- "Lakota Lullaby" by Robert "Tree" Cody.
- Auld Lang Syne by Beethoven.
- Cello Sonata in D Major No. 5, Adagio.
- Piano Trio No. 3 in C minor Op. 1 No. 3: IV. Finale (Prestissimo).
- Violin Romance No 1, Op. 40.
- Egmont Overture.
- Symphony No. 7: 1st Movement
- Symphony No. 7: 2nd Movement.
- String Quartet: Große Fuge, op. 133
- Missa Solemnis: Kyrie (excerpt).
- Missa Solemnis: Gloria in excelsis Deo
- Missa Solemnis: Gloria; In gloria Dei Patris
- Missa Solemnis: Credo; Et incarnatus est
- Missa Solemnis: Credo; et vitam venturi sæculi
- Missa Solemnis: Sanctus; Benedictus
- Piano Concerto No.6 in B flat, K.238. 2nd Movement: Andante un poco adagio by Mozart.
- Choral Fantasy for Piano, Orchestra and Choir.
- Coriolan Overture
- Symphony No. 8: 1st Movement.
- Symphony No. 8: 2nd Movement.
- Symphony No. 8: 4th Movement.
- In fourore iustissimae irae, RV 626. By Vivaldi.
- Symphony No. 9: 1st Movement.
- Symphony No. 9: 2nd Movement.
- Symphony No. 9: 3rd Movement.
- Symphony No. 9: 4th Movement (Ode to Joy).
- Piano Concerto No. 1, 2nd Movement: Largo, Romance by Chopin.
- Piano Concerto No. 5, "The Emperor"
- Bagatelle No. 3. Op. 126.
- Reconstructed Largo from Oboe Concerto in F Major (Hess 12)
- Symphony No. 10, Unfinished (Reconstructed by Barry Cooper)
- Beethoven's Last Thoughts (reconstruction from the sketches of Ludwig van Beethoven)