Have you ever seen a pony that just seemed out of place? Perhaps some mannerism, some behaviour that just struck you as odd? Some piece of clothing that didn't seem quite right? perhaps a coat or mane whose colour just seemed flat-out weird. A strange build, a strange voice, or maybe they were perfectly normal, except that you swear you just saw the exact same pony not five seconds ago somewhere completely different?

Of course you have. Everypony has encountered an Outsider at some point. But never up close, it's always at a distance, and they're always gone before you have the chance to challenge them.

But sometimes the rules get broken. Sometimes fate gets distracted for a moment, and a lone unicorn mare gets to see something that she was never meant to see.

Twilight Sparkle's day is about to get very weird.

FAQ and Supplemental Materials (Potential Spoilers for new readers)

Featured! Twice!
...I really don't know what to say!

Special Thanks go to Horizon for initial proof-reading, editing, and signal-boosting, provided as a prize for spotting an Easter egg in his story Hard Reset II. Seriously, it's an awesome, brain-warping story and you should go read it right now.

Thanks also go to my editors for putting up with my atrocious grammar and spelling errors - Ganelon, Ephraim Blue, BronyWhooves, Commonancestry, Princess Autumn Forest, and Morning Sun

Cover art credit goes to EMedina13 and tamalesyatole. I am looking for more appropriate art, so If you think you can do better, let me know.

This story is a sequel to Trials of Blood and Kindness

Mistress Flutterbat has been living with her family in Cloudsdale, where her parents did their best to lead the local clan of thestrals in peace for centuries. However, after a terrible tragedy that changed her life forever, the young thestral was forced to flee Cloudsdale and seek a new home in Ponyville.

Now known as Fluttershy, and with Rainbow Dash by her side, she is trying to heal old wounds in her heart and find a meaning to her empty life.

Will a vampony with a good heart and kind nature survive in a world that sees her as a threat?

Will she be able to keep a low profile, away from the silver arrows of monster hunters?

And most importantly, will her friends help her during these hard times, or will they ultimately turn against her?

This story takes place years before Nightmare Moon’s return.

List of editors, thanks for your help, you did a great job:
ShipIsLove ShipIsLife
Soge
Alticron
Word Worthy

Thanks for assisting with Zecora’s sentences, it really improved her talking style: Discord_Lexia

Thanks for pre-reading and assisting with the funeral scene:
Rated Ponystar

In the wake of the events of "Infernal Machines" and the Nightmare's most pathetic assault on Ponyville yet, Applejack is thrown into an existential crisis, despite her not knowing what the word "existential" means. So when a stranger named Stranger arrives in town, teaching a new way of coupling talent to power using complex machinery, she is quickly suckered in, along with everypony else. Now, it falls to the Most Dependable of Ponies to bring the resulting ruckus down to earth, but can even Applejack's legendary pragmatism stand up to the brain-fizzing horror that is... CONTRAPTIONOLOGY?

Now with a Spanish translation by Spaniard Kiwi!

Every pony in Equestria knows the names Octavia Philharmonica and Vinyl Scratch. Every musician in Equestria knows and reveres their talent and most semi-jokingly complain that Octavia and Vinyl's relationship should count as a monopoly on musical talent. Very few know their early story, years ago when Octavia had only just left Canterlot Conservatory and Vinyl was... well, being Vinyl.

I woke up in the hospital. I don’t recall how I got here. I don’t recognize the mare who says she’s family. I don’t even remember my own name.

So what kind of pony will I become?

Young Nictis had one dream: to serve his hive by becoming an Infiltrator, the most vital and vaunted role a changeling could aspire to. To hide in plain sight among the other species, blending in, while gathering the vital emotional energies that fueled his people. Few were deemed worthy of the dangerous job. He was one of the few nymphs selected for training, in the hopes that one of them would develop the skills needed to be entrusted with such a treacherous task.

But when a training expedition ends in tragedy, Nictis finds himself thrust into the role not to serve his hive and people, but to preserve his own life. Separated from the hive, alone, he must put what little training he has to the test. He must blend in with the hive's greatest source of food, and its most dangerous enemy: the ponies of Equestria.

(This story takes place in the same continuity as Fragments, but stands on its own. Reading that story isn't necessary for this one.)

TV Tropes page

Book cover art by viwrastupr

The tyrannical Shadow Stallion oppresses Equestria, coating the land in a thick layer of clouds, tightly controlling the population. Three children, the unicorns Celestia and Luna, along with a Draconequus, Discord, must live up to their fate. They must find the Elements of Harmony and take up their rightful place as Equestrias new gods and saviors.

Adventure and Friendshipping mix, intended to be a possible prequel to the show. Featured on EqD since January 09, 2012. Six Stars.

After Big Macintosh helps the Mane Six out of a jam, he finds his ordinary life of
peaceful routine thoroughly disrupted by the various misadventures those crazy
ponies always seem to get themselves into.

Artwork provided by the talented Zemious

Princess Twilight Sparkle discovers a centuries-old mystery hidden in the Royal Archives. Her investigation leads through layer after layer of deception and misdirection, setting her hooves on a path that seems to be leading to a mysterious secret. Along the way, she learns that some friendships can be very, very strange.

Book 1 of the Alicorn Adventure series.

AUDIOBOOK by VisualPony
Featured at the Royal Canterlot Library
TV Tropes Page (Courtesy of Sandtalon)
Goodreads Page (Courtesy of Facedeer)
Equestria Daily Page

WARNING: Major spoilers in the comments. Takes place several months after the end of season four. (Not a Da Vinci Code crossover, BTW!)

Do you see a dark tag? No, you don't. Not dark. Well, okay, there are a couple of dark-ish bits, but that's all. Not enough to warrant a tag. Speaking of tags, there really ought to be "Badass Twilight" and "Friendshipping" ones.

Sequels and side-stories (and more) can be found here Offprint and AO3, and a hardbound two-volume set of all that can be ordered from The Ministry of Image.

My editor for the first edition of this story was Gogito, and I can't thank him enough for all the hard work he did. My editor for the revised version was PresentPerfect, and he did a terrific job of getting the story into excellent shape.