The royal court of Canterlot welcomes its newest member with open forelegs: the human philosopher Voltaire, from Earth.

On Earth, Voltaire is known as the greatest enemy of tyranny in the history of literature, and a legend in his own mind.

On Equestria, the court betting pool is giving him a week before the Princess banishes him to the Moon.

Note: This story doesn't have sequels per se, but there are a couple of short follow-ups set in the present day ("Parade Coverage" and "Secret Histories"), and a prequel of sorts in "At the Inn of the Prancing Pony".

TV Tropes page.

“My daughter Celestia, look at me. I love you, and I wish the best for you in the eons of labor you have yet to endure. So heed my words. When we planted light upon the fields of Creation, Celestia, it was a divine thing. But there will come a time when our brilliance won't be enough. It will take a great, unknowable darkness to test the luminescence that we have bequeathed life. That is an abyss that we can never, ever follow our children down, no matter how much we love them.”

A Silver Medalist of the Ponychan /Fic/ Write-Off: "Cutting Ties"

Twilight Sparkle writes an important letter about how she became friends with Lyra the unicorn, a mistake she made, its terrible consequence, and one of friendship’s hardest lessons.

(Thanks to _Medicshy for giving me his feedback on this. Anything about the characters in the story that seems off is probably an instance of me not taking his advice.)

Hopes. Dreams. Aspirations. They're what everyone survives, and even thrives, on. What happens, then, when hopes and dreams are dashed? When something so monumentally destructive and life-changing occurs, and dreams, hopes, even ponies' lives are thrown into turmoil, where can solace be found? When somepony's entire world comes crumbling around them, who can they turn to for support? What can they do when everything they once had is shattered?

After an afternoon of trying to fit a dress onto Rainbow Dash, Rarity finds that her friend has a secret, so Rarity takes it upon herself to discover what that secret is.

Trixie returns to Ponyville to retrieve what's left of her wagon and slip away without being seen. On the way out of town she meets up with somepony she didn't think would be happy to see her again.

One shot.

Rainbow Dash flies east.

Rainbow Dash has a secret. A secret she has kept since she was a little filly. If it gets out, it could be the end of her reputation, the end of her carrier, and even the end of her friendships.

And what's worse, is that a resent shortage threatens to expose her.

(Inspired by Don Ko and the image to my left.)

(It should also be noted that this story is non-canon both in relation to the actual show and in relation to my personal Head-canon, which is what I usually like to write about.)

"Would you tell anypony if you knew the world was going to end, Twilight Sparkle?"

Fluttershy is given a rather odd request from somepony she thought she'd never see again: Iron Will. The minotaur seeks her out, asking her to teach him how to be as calm as she is. But when she agrees to being his tutor, will Iron Will take the lessons a little too close to heart?

(Cover picture belongs to John Joseco and I take no credit for it. Warning, some of his work is NSFW.)