Pen Stroke's Past Sins

This might be the biggest fanfic in the fandom. It's a close race between it and Fallout: Equestria, but Fo:E might lose a little traction due to its explicit content, whereas Past Sins is more family friendly. But countless spinoff fics, fan art, and fan music – and a professional print run – shows that Nyx's story really resonated with all branches of the fandom.

[Dark][Sad] • 203,000 words
On a dark night filled with even darker magics, an insane cult attempts to give Nightmare Moon a body and life of her own, utterly separate from Princess Luna. But, when the spell is interrupted by Celestia, something unexpected is created.

Now, a little black alicorn filly named Nyx finds herself living under the care of Twilight Sparkle, only to be haunted by memories and emotions from her past. Is she Nightmare Moon reborn or is she simply a doppelganger with a soul and mind of her own? Can Twilight Sparkle protect Nyx from those who refuse to see past her dragon eyes and black coat?

Or, will Nyx be forced to inherit the sins that may not even be hers and become the greatest evil Equestria has ever known?

Hit the break for a chat with Pen Stroke and his assistant in crime Batty Gloom, and links to Past Sins online. (Check out the Equestria Daily link for links to other fan works based on the story.) As always, you can get your own ebook copies at the Downloads page, and as a special gift for Vault readers, Pen Stroke got the Equestria Publications team to generate an exclusive PDF of Past Sins, including the illustrations created for the print run – get it here!

Sgt. Sprinkles' Cupcakes

I can't come up with any other fanfic that has inspired so much – rage, love, and everything in between – in so many people, in so many different disciplines of the fandom. It's fairly common for fanfic to inspire fan art, less common to inspire fan music – but how many fanfics have inspired fully-animated musical numbers and cosplay at cons? And on an interesting note, something you younger members of the fandom might not realize: this fic predates the Pinkamena we met in "Party of One".

[Dark] • 3,900 words
When Pinkie invites Rainbow over to Sugarcube Corner, the pegasus discovers a side of her friend she'll regret ever knowing... but not for long.

Hit the break for a brief chat with the Sarge, and links to Cupcakes (if you dare) out on the ponynet. As always, grab your own ebook copy over at the Downloads page!

Kkat's Fallout: Equestria

This is arguably the biggest fanfic in the fandom. It's spawned over 250 side stories, translations into multiple languages, and countless pieces of fan art and fan music, and was considered notable enough to be mentioned in Fallout's Wikipedia entry. You can check out all the fan content at the Fallout: Equestria Resource. Marshmallow ponies and post-apocalyptic wasteland... who'd have thought?

[Adventure][Dark][Crossover] • 607,200 words
Fallout. With ponies! Set in an alternate future, one pony must learn to survive in a blasted, poisoned land... and possibly, with the aid of friends made along the way, bring new light into the darkness of post-apocalyptic Equestria.

Hit the break for an interview with Kkat (of which there have been quite a few), and links to Fo:E out on the ponynet. And of course you can grab ebooks suitable for your terminal or PipBuck over on the Downloads page!

ROBCakeran53's My Little Dashie

Today's Vault entry struck a chord with many bronies, helped perhaps by its more serious take on the human crossover genre.

[Human Crossover][Tragedy] • 12,400 words
When your life is as dull a gray as the world that surrounds you, the mundanities can make it all seem meaningless. Sometimes all we need is a little color - or six - to reintroduce us to what truly makes life worth living.

Hit the break for an interview with Rob, a.k.a. Cakeran, a.k.a. LoCarb, and links to My Little Dashie on your favorite pony sites... as if you haven't cried manly tears over it already. Don't forget that eBook copies are available on the Downloads page!

Blaze's The Conversion Bureau

Today's Vault entry is special in a number of ways. To begin with, it is currently incomplete, and most likely will never be finished (in general, only completed works will be added to the Vault). But more importantly, it can be thought of as the Helen of Troy of Friendship is Magic fanfiction - the fic that launched a thousand spinoffs, many of which are better-known, better-read, and arguably better-written than the original. However, this is the story that started it all, and it is therefore the first Classic included in the Vault.

[Adventure][Human Crossover] • 20,300 words
The ponies and the humans have lived together in harmony for centuries. Equestria is an island inhabited entirely by ponies, and some have branched off to live with humans. However, the humans, seeing their bleak world and accepting that they have made too many mistakes in their world to fix, have decided to open facilities to convert humans into ponies and live in peaceful Equestria.

Hit the break for an interview with Blaze - whose opinion of his own work may surprise you - and links to read it on your favorite pony sites. As always, there are eBook copies in various formats available on the Downloads page.

If you need more Conversion Bureau goodness, Midnight Shadow (a Vault alum and prereader for EqD) maintains a guide to the Conversion Bureau's various continuities, and a directory of all Conversion Bureau stories.