longdesc

It was supposed to be an easy way back home. Jump into the quicksand pit, go through the portal to Equestria beneath it, sneak through Ponyville, get to Twilight's Castle's Basement, go through the Magic Mirror, and before she knew it, Sunset and all of her friends and everyone they rescued from that sinking cruise ship would find themselves on the manicured green lawns of Canterlot High.

Instead, they wake up scattered around the quicksand pit, still on the desert tropical island they were trying to escape. Only there isn't a portal to Equestria anymore. And none of them can get a cell phone signal.

And then Bon Bon's phone lights up.

ATTN AGENT SWEETIE DROPS: BRILLIG BLACK EVENT CONFIRMED. FOUNDATION CONTINUITY SCENARIO OMEGA-OMEGA-OMEGA. FINAL DIRECTIVE: ENSURE LONG-TERM SURVIVAL OF HUMANITY BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY.

content warnings

Spoil at your own risk! This list may change depending on how later chapters go but is current for the story currently planned out:

Overall: Gore, death, gory death, limb dismemberment, guns, being shot by guns, being killed by guns, suicide by gun, suicidal ideation but it's only one time, questions about the nature of humanity, existential horror, body horror, existential horror arising from body horror, relationships in all sorts of combinations even including cis-hetero, one of those is Rarity x Ragamuffin, pregnancy so sexhaving is implied to have happened but is not depicted, one of those is Rarity x Ragamuffin, almost everyone in the world dying but it's not depicted and all offscreen so it's okay, gaslighting, gatekeeping, girlbossing

Chapter-by-chapter:
Chapter 1: Surprise death and gore. "Spring Breakdown" plot inconsistency lampshading.
Chapter 2: Death and gore, possibly of a child. Rainbow Dash no longer having a leg.
Chapter 3: Suicidal ideation. Implied offscreen apocalypse where everyone died.
Chapter 4: Discussion of corpse disposal. Discussion of cannibalism. Discussion of how many calories a human body has.
Chapter 5: Implied but not depicted gore. Funerals. Grieving being something we all do in different ways.
Chapter 6: TBA
Chapter 7: TBA
Chapter 8: TBA
Chapter 9: TBA
Chapter 10: TBA
Chapter 11: TBA
Chapter 12: TBA
Chapter 13: TBA

info

an entry into the May Pairings Contest (Sunset Shimmer x Bon Bon), the Tropical Post-Apocalyptic Story Contest, and the Sunset X Villain “Monster-Shipping” Competition

thank you to Crack-Fic Kai, Shrink Laureate, and Drider for prereading Chapters 1-6!

A space beyond spaces. A land of the lost and the damned. A pegasus from a magical land of ponies does not belong in this bleak purgatory. Rainbow Dash got herself into this. She's the only one who can get her out. She's lost, she's afraid, but at least she has coconut water.

Sunset just wanted to give her friends an Equestrian experience without any magical mishaps, threats to life and limb, or tears in reality.

In hindsight, she really should have known better.

An exquisite corpse from many of the same folks who brought you Cheerilee's Normal Day, with each author only seeing the two chapters prior to theirs. Featuring the work of Jarvy Jared, PseudoBob Delightus, Dashie04, Silver Needle, EileenSaysHi, AltruistArtist, The Red Parade, Fillyfoolish, Bicyclette, The Sleepless Beholder, Rego, and yours truly.

Rated Teen for a precision F-bomb. (Hey, if it works for PG-13 movies...) Cover by PseudoBob.

Yesterday, a letter arrived in Twilight's mailbox. It was a letter from her parents, asking her to go to their old country house and get some important things before the house was sold. No one had visited the building in years, so it had obviously taken on an unpleasant appearance.

Well, the list of things to pick up is pretty short, so I don't think I'll be here too long.

A detective with the help of a newly-turned werepony fights demons on Earth and a demonic realm.

It is the first time that two creatures will be approaching the catastrophic planet. Never before has anything made by the inhabitants of Weil come close to it. What better creatures for this than two ponies?
Indeed, the mark on its surface, a crater, is one of the most recognized symbols in all of pony folklore. It's a symbol of peace, of joy, of fear and evil. Legends give it miraculous properties, as well as terrible corrupting powers.
Is there a link between this crater and pony folklore? Even if the planet is so far from Weil that it can't even be seen with the naked eye, it wasn't always the case. Millenia ago, it would have been visible in the night sky, barely smaller than the moon. Only for a brief period of time.

What will those two ponies find here? Are the legends true? And if they are, which ones? The good? Or the bad ones?

Warning: While there is no gore or physical violence so to speak, there are some disturbing things and implied pain. That's why the fic is rated "Teen". I don't think it needs the "Violence" tag, but I'm ready to add it if people deem it necessary. I'm also really bad with tags in general so I've put Horror and Dark because I think they do fit. Or, at least, the fic is intended that way.

Story written for the Science Fiction Contest III. I was planning on participating in the Wonderbolt Contest with another fic, but I couldn't do both in time, and this one was way more inspiring for me. So I did this one.
Art by Taïga Blackfield.
Music used: Ketsui to Kakugo (Toaru Kagaku no Railgun S)
Sweet Dreams (by RisenFromTheDust, from the album Beyond and Below of Neighsayer/Furtherproof & Feathers)
Light of the Seven (Game of Thrones)
We Die in Here All the Time (Borderlands 3)

Dear Twilight, my most faithful student. DO NOT READ THIS LETTER.
For the betterment of everypony you love and care about do not read or take anything in this letter seriously.

To: Twilight Sparkle
From: Twilight Sparkle

This story is interactive, in order to read everything and get both sides of the story you need to turn on or turn off dark mode on the site its self, also be warned secret text is really small so sorry you need to work for your sweet sweet LORE.

Or you could be a complete jerk and just highlight it with your curser and ruin all the work I did.

WARNING: The interactive part of this story may not work if you are reading on mobile sorry.

First read with dark mode on then after you are done reading, turn off dark mode and read it again.

(This was made for the dialogue only contest.)

I like my act in this, but really I am way more than my creator makes me out to be.

Starlight was practicing a new spell when she accidentally ends up transporting a group of Napoleonic soldiers to Equestria. Shenanigans ensue.

Also, did I mention there was a zombie plague?

Sweetie Bot goes through life on a series of commands and prompts, and all is well. She has plans with her fellow Crusaders today. Surely nothing can go wrong.

An experimental piece, and an entry into Science Fiction Contest III.

It takes enormous will to stand up to centuries in exile, and great mental strength to hold one’s self together.

This story is part of Nightmare Night in April.