This group is dedicated towards gathering stories that start off the premise of a protagonist being at odds with the ponies for one reason or another, with the clause that said stories break away from relying on the Broken Telephone Effect.
The general layout is as following. We start off the premise of an initial gap, whether it be due to miscommunication, difference in world views, inopportune circumstances or some other reason. After that, the protag will either defend his good name and/or position, leave and find his place somewhere else, or he will actively retaliate in a manner that makes sense for their character.
What won't happen:
-"It wasn't me, it was the one armed man!" A new 'Big Bad Evil Guy/Girl' is revealed out of the blue to have been the 'mastermind' that manipulated events ALL ALONG, thus freeing the main cast and princesses from any and all guilt for their actions. Either because of favoritism towards the main cast, or because the writer mistook a cop-out with a plot twist. While this doesn't technically count as using the Broken Telephone Effect, it is still the same both in terms of its abuse of the story's intrigue, as well as of its disappointing the reader's trust;
-Artificial conflict. Protag does not defend his case, either due to a lack of absolutely any kind of reasonable character interaction, or due to various contrivances (being physically unable to communicate, refusing to do it "just 'cause" or some other form of unexplained irrationality, simply not trying anything to solve his own problems, or some other bs copout diabolus ex machina) despite the fact that his silence is detrimental to his own well-being. The reason why this happens is because:
-There is nothing else. The story is kept going entirely by cheap, empty conflict that could be solved via less than five minutes of ponies sustaining conversation in a reasonable, rational manner. There is nothing else keeping the reader vested other than the desire to see the problem resolved, but that will never happen, because the author wants you to stay interested. What's that? You can keep your readers invested without stringing them along like a bunch of morons? Don't be absurd! Conflicts don't need resolutions!
What the premise of the story will be built upon instead:
-The behind-the-scenes BBEG is properly established. He/she either controls the flow of information or is directly manipulating events, within reason. Whether it's a Pony-Illuminati organisation or a single mastermind whispering in Celestia's ear, there needs to be a limit to how much they can get away with. The villains require a showcase of their cunning and influence. Literal gods or entities manipulating either minds or fate are also subjected to the same standards and should be limited in what they can do. Either their machinations risk detection or people ask questions, the point is that they don't get free rein;
-Proper character interaction. Someone does wrong by another, the other reacts accordingly. Someone is put through hell, he doesn't just forget about it "because they didn't mean it", or because the protag is just a "nice guy", or because the author can't be bothered to write reasonable character depth and interactions (amazingly, this bears explaining). Added note, while the story's plot and intrigue can be influenced either by acts of kindness or by love interests, the amount of stories on this site, where the protagonist is put through ridiculous amounts of abuse then simply does not offer a normal response to any of it, is far more pressing;
-Protagonist has agency. He doesn't even need to want to do the right thing, he doesn't even need to want to do anything. As long as he pursues what he wants (whether it's protecting his friends and loved ones, retiring, conquering the world or just to be left alone) and the reader is told why he is the way that he is;
-People ask questions. "Sir, I asked witnesses the way I was instructed and it turns out the weird ape thing wasn't actually trying to eat that filly, but tackling her out of the way of a mind-numbingly convenient out of control cart. Do we still put the price on its head?" "Tia, are thou sure that attacking that strange creature as soon as we see it is a good idea? Also I will go along with your every baseless supposition like a complete idiot." "Hey Captain, did Celestia seem off to you during today's royal hearing? Also don't you think she should be wiser considering how old she-no? Okay then." That sort of thing.
Bonus points if the premise is of a protagonist going up against the world, getting stronger along the way and making friends that actually give a damn about him. You know, like a normal person would try to do after getting driven away by the ones running the social system.
TL;DR
Protag and ponies disagree for one reason or another. They play off each other and grow as characters. Avoid bullshit 'misunderstandings' whenever possible. It was never a fun gimmick. It never made for a funny joke setup and as for a conflict setup it's overused, lazy and annoying. Resolve conflicts properly and use actual funny jokes.
