Life at the Equestra Retirement Community seems to mostly consist of waiting for it to end. It's the next-to-last stop, and all of the residents know it. They put you in Equestra when the next place they were planning on putting you is a grave, and despite the presence of swimming pools and sporting fields, the newest arrival in Bungalow 4G has no illusions about how he's going to be spending the very last of his time.

The appointment book left behind by the previous occupant has other ideas.

Now with author Patreon and Ko-Fi pages.

This story is a sequel to The Last Dreams of Pony Island

If somehow you're reading this without having read The Last Dreams Of Pony Island, stop now and read that first. Otherwise, this will make no sense and thoroughly spoil that story!

The Last Dreams Of Pony Island told a tale of an Equestrian colony's last days and a hated merchant's disappearance by the docks. Back in 2015 I held a contest for entrants to piece together Myinnkyun's mysteries and provide the best explanation for what happened to Peridot (and the town). These are the collected submissions; I'm publishing it now because unpublished stories are no longer accessible.

Each chapter is a separate entry by a different author, narrating one proposed epilogue for Pony Island from the point of view of the individual who they decided was the one peering into the other residents' dreams. They were originally presented here anonymously and in a random order, for purposes of contest judging; after the competition was over I added each author's username to their chapter title.

A list of entrants, and more details, can be found at this blogpost here. The contest is long since over, though; this post has the winners.

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.

When Twilight and Celestia have an argument about the existence of leap years, there’s only one possible way to settle their differences: a race around the world!

With the full benefit of hindsight, there may have been other ways.

An 80 Days crossover, written as part of Horizon's writing challenge. Edited by Ether Echoes, Soge, Giant Hat, and Tormented Dragon, who are all amazing.

Once upon a time, Silver Spoon's life made sense. She had the right friends, the right house, and the right school for a young lady coming up in the world. Once upon a time, Silver Spoon lived amongst proud towers in a vibrant, bustling city that never slept.

Now she lives in Ponyville. Not so terrible once one gets used to it. Silver's learned to appreciate some ponies, harbor grudges for others, and tolerate the rest. But sometimes, she wonders if one pony in particular is as popular as she thought.

Preread and edited by Autumn Wind, Cthuluigi, and SaddlesoapOpera

Chinese translation by hehelover

On an unassuming carnival midway in central Equestria sits the key to your dreams: A machine that lets you, for a short time, live a life in which your greatest regret never occurred.

These are the stories of what happens after those fantasies are over.

Each chapter is a complete, self-contained vignette (though their order of presentation is deliberate).

Reviews and other word-of-mouth:
• Highly Recommended by Titanium Dragon! "Each of the four stories is good in their own way."
• Featured by Seattle's Angels! "If the introspection or feels aren’t quite up your alley, the comedic punchline just might be, thus this fic has a little something for everyone."
• Also reviewed by PaulAsaran, Present Perfect, City of Doors, and Chris! Recommended by The Brony Bookclub!
• "'The Lotus Eaters' was the story that made me realize horizon wasn't just good, he was really good." —Bad Horse

CONTINUITY NOTE:
This is set in the same continuity as my previous story No Regrets. Reading that first will enhance your enjoyment of both stories, but is not required to appreciate this.

After you're done with TLE, here are the author's notes (contain mild spoilers).

A story about two alicorn sisters who love each other, and the worst decision they never made.

Now with FIMFic-exclusive bonus material!

* * *

(Featured in the Everfree NW 2012 conbook • Featured on EqD • ★★★★ rating from One Man's Pony Ramblings)

Maud did not love Rainbow Dash.

Maud did not understand love.

Maud understood war. Maud understood battle. Maud understood loss.

Those are the things Maud understood.

[Maud/RD - Season 5 finale AU]

Strange dreams are haunting the night in Ponyville.

The dreams are lucid and clear, indistinguishable from reality. And sometimes, when ponies wake up, the dreams don't go away.

Hallucinations stalk the waking world. Reality is bending in ways that Twilight Sparkle doesn't understand. But she intends to get to the bottom of this mystery and save Equestria from whatever is hiding in the dark.

Twilight Sparkle wonders, sometimes, if the pony in her dreams is the real her. If that is her soul laid bare.

She's about to find out.

Written for the Distant Shores Writeoff. Cover art by CosmicUnicorn, used with permission.

The colony of Myinnkyun had enough problems without Peridot vanishing — trade ships were disappearing, and the island's native minotaurs had launched an attack on the city walls.

But now there's talk that she was murdered, and the city is about to tear itself apart before its enemies have the chance.

One part Spoon River Anthology and one part Rashomon, this story invites you to piece together the story of Myinnkyun's last days — and Peridot's final night — from the dreams of its inhabitants. "Dreams cannot lie," the Nightmares say, but everybody has a different understanding of the truth ...

Now with an official epilogue, thanks to the contest!

* Audiobook Version by Dubs Rewatcher *

Highly Recommended by Present Perfect! "Once again, horizon attempts something ambitious and in doing so effortlessly shows us how to write a story."

Rated ★★★★★ by Louder Yay! "If you're in the market for something truly original and are willing to work for your reward, drop everything and read this."

Praised by Cold in Gardez: "Dreams is the best story I've read in a long time. It deserved to win the last Writeoff, and if it had been a prose story instead of a poem, it probably would have ... but it wouldn't have been the work of art that it is."

Recommended by Titanium Dragon: "Really, you don’t need to be a connoisseur of poetry to appreciate this – the form of the poetry didn’t matter so much as the mystique it lent the piece."

Praised by Skywriter: "This story is destroying me right now. I mean, I'm just sitting here at my desk crying because of it. I don't know what else to do."

Rated Why Haven’t You Read These Yet? by PaulAsaran: "Poetry isn't my medium … [yet that] does nothing to dissuade my satisfaction with an ambitious concept and a fascinating delivery."

Reviewed by Chris: "The more you put into it, the more you're going to get out ... if you're looking for something opaque, surprising, and even poignant—and especially if you enjoy piecing together stories for yourself—consider this highly recommended."

Featured on Equestria Daily! Winner of the "Most Controversial" award in the August 2015 "Distant Shores" Writeoff!

(Also, first place in my own list of my top stories! "Everything that people appreciate about my writing is at a full-throated howl here.")