Stupid shipping story submitted for the approval of Jake the Army Guy's Horse Words Extravaganza, the theme being Obscure Shipping.

Limestone Pie is an expert in making things work. Taking charge of the sprawling family business? She'll take the job. Completely useless, airheaded sisters not helping out? She'll work around them. Lazy, incompetent workers? She'll beat them into shape. The only one concerned with keeping the line of Pies going? Not a problem.

So when the Choosing Stone picks a prospective husband...well, she's got her work cut out for her and she's not backing out.

You are a human in Equestria, forced to work as a for-hire 'stress management consultant' (ie, cuddler) in order to make ends meet in this strange world while others search for a way for you to get home.
However, you've just been assigned to your biggest job yet- 'managing the stress' of none other than Princess Celestia herself. How will you go about your job?
In this Choose-Your-Own-Adventure story, you make the decisions, you are responsible for the consequences, and many possible storylines await!

Featured 5/24/17! Thank you all so much!

Fluttershy has seen and learned about many different types of animals. At the same time, there were many she didn't know. Now she would discover one of those creatures she's never seen.

Actually, it was probably a creature nopony's ever seen. It looked like a pony, but to Fluttershy, behaved like an animal. After all, she felt the same joy around it that she felt with all her critters. But what was it?

And most importantly, why was Rainbow Dash that creature?

Warning: Will contain animal-like Pet-Play and Tatzl-swallowings.

Vector by 'arifproject'.

Chapter 24: In progress.

I’ve been in Equestria for over 1500 years, and the memory of what I did to Luna and Celestia is still there, like a dull ache that will never go away. As an immortal, I’m going to have the next few thousand years to get used to it. Despite that, only thirty years have passed back on Earth. I wonder what’s become of Luna since we traded places. Is she alive? Dead? Married with kids?

My name’s Catherine, and you’re probably wondering what I’m babbling on about. If you’ll bear with me, I’ll start where it all began.

Tags (character and otherwise) will be updated as necessary. Rated teen for strong themes.

Character Sheet. (Work in progress.)

Cover art by Silfoe
High-resolution
Textless version

Edited and Proofread by:
Journeyman
thesaviour711
Greenback
Jay the Stormtrooper
Requiem17
Samaru163
Flammenwerfer
This list will be added to as people help. This includes single chapters and mutual favours.

Creative discussion and constructive criticism are welcome.

All OCs belong to me unless otherwise specified. Any likeness towards other characters and names is purely coincidental.

Update Features (D/M)
2017: 24/05, 24/06, 15/11, 19/12
2018: 21/02, 15/03, 9/04, 17/5, 4/6, 23/7, 29/08, 18/9, 26/10, 14/12
2019: 9/03
2020: 9/03
2022: 26/01

In the magical land of Equestria, two alicorn sisters raise the Sun and the Moon every day to give the world a night and day cycle, basic for the survival of life. There are also two alicorns who rule over two very core aspects of life and harmony itself. Those are Love and Friendship. While not as ancient as the two sisters, all princesses are essential to the world's balance.
This balance is also sustained by the hard-working ponies, who make the seasons change and manage the weather to fit their needs, so everypony has enough food and water, and every animal is also attended to assure that any of them are caught in the changes of seasons.

But what about the planet itself? What about Mother Nature?
This is the question that Gaia asks when she arrives to this foreign world. After so much work her son persuaded her to take a long vacation in Equestria, saying that she needed one and assuring her that he would be in charge now, and she must take a break. But what can a several billion-year old alicorn possibly do to pass her time in this land?

(SimEarth/MLP Crossover)
(Timelife of Gaia's life 'till the start of the story)

Failing once in her attempt to take Canterlot and failing again in her attempt to take down Twilight, one would think Chrysalis would have cut her losses and let things be, but the queen has once again appeared, this time in broad daylight with no disguise and no army. Her weapon of choice? Diplomacy.

Now Twilight is having to deal with the changeling queen, but surely putting up with her antics will be worth the knowledge she's willing to provide about her mysterious race and the potential undiscovered agents still within their midst...right?

Takes place before Magical Mystery Cure and diverges from there.

With thanks to MisterGunpowder for proofreading and editing.

Revision History:

05/09/2015: Chapter 1 updated with millions of little corrections.
05/20/2015: Chapter 2 revised and edited with another million small and large corrections.
06/12/2015: Chapter 3 given a thorough editing and revision.
06/23/2015: Chapter 4 taken to the gutter and edited twice to be sure.
07/14/2015: Chapter 5 thoroughly brutalized with the editing stick.
08/03/2016: Chapter 6 finally edited. Yes, I'm still alive, dammit.
09/29/2016: Chapter 7 fell out of the editing tree and hit every editing branch on the way down.
10/26/2016: Chapter 8 has emerged from the editing emergency room.
11/17/2016: Chapter 9 found and edited. No casualties reported.
11/30/2016: Chapter 10 treated for whiplash after lightning fast editing.
12/22/2016: Chapter 11 edited. Chrysalis shot first.
01/17/2017: Epilogue edited. Time to hit the cider.

On a whim, Rarity runs off to see Zecora about a certain variety of tea. En route she happens across Aengus Meagher, a Pokémon trainer with questionable morals who has hit his wall, unable to defeat Bruno of the Indigo League's Elite Four. Aengus is on a journey, traveling far from his home region on a quest to find something, anything that could help him overcome this stumbling block. Somehow he slips into Equestria for a few minutes, and out in the Everfree happens across a certain white unicorn, and, well...

Rarity gets caught.

These are their adventures.

So...the new tag thing complicates how I’m gonna put this out there. The story doesn’t start needing a Dark tag, but it will grow Dark as it goes on. There are at least two other “tags” that will spoil major plot points later on, and thus are left off.

Not your typical Pony-Pokémon crossover, although you will get exactly what it says on the tin. Some chapters are more about the comedy, others about the drama, though most will have some of each. Sex tag for innuendo.

Now with suggested music for a given section; look for the itty-bitty hyperlinked text. Most of these tracks are from the Pokémon series and side games, appropriate to where they are (but not all of them...sometimes I was looking for a certain vibe I couldn't find in the OSTs); it's just what I thought would fit best in a given area.

Names chosen were based off of common given and family names of selected nationalities in combinations where I know no one personally with either. Any likeness to any person, real or in a different fictional story, is purely coincidental (hooray, C.Y.A. disclaimers).

It has been thirty years after the founding of Equestria. The three tribes constantly bicker and fight, the wild frontier is filled with dangerous beasts, and the cities are filled with crazed revolutionaries and saboteurs.

Thieves and assassins roam the shadows, and powerful nobles from the old world all have their money on when this "precious little utopia" fails. One in particular, Baron Jet, has decided to destroy this hopeful land of light with his own two hooves.

And all the while, one stallion just wants a shot at a normal life under the clear, blue sky.

**Now rewritten**

Lazy Pines is a small town in the high country of Colorado, easily overshadowed by the bigger sights to see along Colorado State 9. When influenza strikes the town hard, it is little more than a statistical blip in a typical flu season. No one thinks any more of it as the initial wave of infection passes ... until the other symptoms begin to manifest.

Meanwhile, during what should have been a routine trip to Canterlot, Twilight Sparkle stumbles upon a strange anomaly which turns into an all-consuming mystery. As she discovers the complex web of magic stubbornly maintaining this mystery's secrets, she grows worried what it could mean for herself and her family.

And as the residents of Lazy Pines struggle to understand -- or even believe -- what is happening to them, two worlds have irrevocably been set on a direct collision course.

Updates every other weekend.

Cover art by Mix-up. Please check out more artwork by this talented artist.

Now has its own TV Tropes page thanks to redandready45.