Everyone knows that the bad guy is always cooler than the good guy. In fact, most would agree that, should a bad guy suddenly take up the roll of hero, they would surpass that of their old arch enemy in both deed and glory achieved.

Though, of course, every rule has it's exception. Especially should someone merely get the powers without years of experience wielding them, or even knowing what their full extent even is.

This story is a sequel to Maid Up

It's said that turnabout is fair play - still Chrysalis would never have expected her arch-nemesis to flip the tables on her. She'd thought that she was finally done playing her little game with Celestia, but she'd been wrong - so very, very wrong...

Artwork by Alumx (Twitter @Alumx_mlp)

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Twilight has discovered a new spell to use in tandem with the Elements of Harmony. Its intent is to reveal more of the mysteries behind the artifacts. Yet once the spell is cast will the mane six be able to deal with the consequences? What will they learn when they come face to face with the very virtues they claim to embody? The Mane six will have to face their greatest challenge yet. The Elements of Harmony themselves.

(Cover art done by CSIMadmax)

(Featured on 1/6/2014)

(Also big thanks to Coppercore for help editing my ramblings!)

This story is a sequel to Left Behind

After defeating the Broken Pony, Nightmare Moon is finally free to begin her plans to retake Equestria and restore it to its former glory. However, she is haunted by the ill portents she had been given and searches for signs of her sisters' fragments or the coming of any new alicorns.

On top of this, the king impedes the alicorn's work at every turn and tries to be rid of her just as frequently. So many things happening all at once and spiraling towards the doom the 'leftover tool' warned her about, but Nightmare Moon is determined. No creature will stop her goal, not even the dregs of Equestria's destroyers from so long ago.

Sequel: Left Behind: Sunny Disposition
Apparently it was scouted and is on EqD too

Nightmare Moon was meant to be released after a thousand years. A momentous occasion for her but terrifying for all the ponies on her day of freedom. She would get revenge on her sister and cover the world in darkness and shape everything to fit it.

That was the plan, at least. Instead, something went awry with the spell and she wasn't released when she was supposed to be. The mare-in-the-moon is brought into a world with stagnated technology, giant cities, and no sign of her sister or any of the other immortals. In fact, ponies don't seem terrified of her at all, and the stay within the core of her powers infused and changed the alicorn's body drastically.

The alicorn had no obstacles left! But...she was also a relic of the past. A past everyone seemed to have forgotten. A past she could no longer look upon.

Artwork by ElkaArt. Link in source.
Big thanks to Kryostase for helping spot errors I've missed.

Everyone is dead. She doesn't know who is responsible, just that somepony activated the ultimate weapon. Only four ponies survived and now try to find meaning in the great wasteland. Celestia will just be happy if she can find a way to heal Twilight.

Jason has been in Equestria for quite some time and has lived countless lives. Some have been short, others have been rather long. No matter the length, they all share one thing in common. They all end in fire and flames.

He has spent centuries wandering the countryside, gravitating towards events. When whispered words of Nightmare Moon's return reach his ears, his feet take him to Canterlot, where what he encounters leaves himself and many others more than intrigued.

An idea that sparked a story. Immortality is an often used plot device with a Human In Equestria story, and I wanted something different, something new, something... fresh. Thus, the concept of mimicking the phoenix came to life, and from it, this story.

XCOM Record: Operation: Rising Star
11:52 am, 18th Febuary, 2016
Northwestern Territories, Canada.

Summary: Witness reports contact with extra-terrestrial creature. X-ray is unconcious and unresponsive. X-ray does not match description of previously observed species.

Response: Strike-One dispatched on high alert, orders are to recover X-ray alive. Alien Containment prepared for the new arrival.

***

The war ended. They were beaten back, their mothership destroyed, their command structure in ruins. Lost ships and soldiers continued in vain, but thanks to XCOM, humanity won, and the world was saved. The Volunteer saw to that - everything changed because of one man.

And then suddenly, everything changed again. Only this time, it's not a man's doing - it's a mare's.

Proofreading by the aweome Setokaiva, entirely without me asking!
Tagged Dark and rated Teen: Gore, because there is going to be some blood shed by the end of this.

Between the events of The Return of Harmony and Keep Calm and Flutter On, the daughter of a once-famous Equestrian Alchemist is discovered in the basement of her father's home, still alive and still young. Twilight must unravel the mystery as to what her father was up to, and why he imprisoned his only daughter.

Discord is brought to Ponyville to be reformed. As a safety precaution, he is deprived of his magic before his release. Naturally, he is upset by this, but...
No one thought that the powerless spirit of chaos would actually run away! Twilight Sparkle won't let him get a way with it!

A word of warning: If you read for the Twilight x Discord, be aware that the buildup to actual romance in this story is extremely long. You will have to read for a long time before receiving gratification romance-wise. However, once it is established, the romance will be ongoing from then on.