This story is a sequel to Steel Solstice

Sunset Shimmer's plan to escape the Steel Tower failed—but she is still returning home. Instead of a victorious pony, come back to gloat to her previous teacher about the secrets she had uncovered, she is an adviser to one of the most dangerous men alive: Tesla.

But it isn't a simple invasion; Equestria is under attack by demonic forces, and the Steel Tower has been invited to help. But there's another faction of humans in Equestria, one that is still at war, and one who Sunset suspects are plotting terrible things...

She isn't alone. One of her human friends, now trapped as a cybernetic bat pony, is sent on a covert mission of her own. Equestria may depend on them in ways they never could've realized.

Updates Thursdays.

This story is meant as a companion to Harmony Defended, and to take the place of the long-anticipated revision. I decided it would be better to write something new than to overhaul something that was so long in itself. This story will probably spoil various elements of that one, though the reverse will largely not be true. If all of this seems confusing, you should probably start with my first story in this series, My Little Apprentice. As that story was written in Season 4, this one will not necessarily incorporate the canon of future seasons of Friendship is Magic.

The Sunset Campaign was sponsored by Two Bit on my Patreon, who is generously sponsoring me to clean up my tangled web of previous stories. Sparktail and Two Bit did the editing, and Zutcha did the cover.

This story is a sequel to Message in a Bottle

For numberless eons, Equus hosted primitive civilizations, ignorant of the proud achievements of their ancient race. In their simple lives, ponies and other creatures could grow without fear of alerting any of the terrible forces that grew in the galaxy beyond. All civilization had been extinguished by forces beyond comprehension. If they made too much noise, Equestria would be next.

Then came James Irwin, with the truth the Harmony superintelligence that maintained the vast Niven Ring had already known: the galaxy was safe again, and probably had been for many centuries.

Once the truth was revealed, Equestria again longed for the stars. Surely they could not be the only survivors of that galactic Red Tide that had swallowed all intelligent life. Their searching bore fruit: radio signals from a nearby system.

Felicity was the Alicorn chosen to captain that mission of discovery. She would bring the pony gift of friendship to a fellow survivor somewhere out there. That was the plan, anyway.

Unfortunately for Equestria, intelligence does not imply friendliness.

A tale of understanding and discovery set in the world of Message in a Bottle. Reading that story first is highly recommended.

This story was written as a Patreon commission for Lithl over the course of over two years now. It comes to fimfiction now that it is nearly finished.

Editing by Two Bit, cover by Zutcha.

Updates Weekly on Wednesdays.

This story is a sequel to MLA: Perihelion

It's been a handful of years since Twilight came into her own as a Princess of Equestria, a few years spent in peace and harmony without so much as an angry spirit or clandestine invasion to take away from the tranquility of Equestrian life. Unprecedented developments in the technological and thaumaturgical sciences seem to be preparation for something, though nopony realizes what that something might be.

Nopony except the Princesses, who have not failed to see the signs of impending disaster that began with the mass kidnappings just following the Summer Sun Celebration. When all their preparations are turned upside down, can an alliance with the mysterious Precursors turn the tides of the most devastating war in Equestrian history, while there is still anything left to save? Enemies and allies appear in the most unlikely of places, and friendship with a dying elder race can be more dangerous than an invasion of Dragons and Changelings. What is a pony willing to give in defense of harmony? What are they willing to sacrifice?

This story now has a companion piece, The Sunset Campaign! This story is designed to bring Harmony Defended more into line with the three-story version of My Little Apprentice. If you read Apogee and Perihelion, you may want to read that as well!

This story was written prior to season five, and as such any events which transpire therein may or may not be treated as canonical. All events up to and including "Twilight's Kingdom" are treated as having occurred, however.

A huge thanks to my Alpha Readers! Thanks to these wonderful people, new chapters aren't nearly so riddled with mistakes and errors as they used to be. Thanks to Sparktail, TwoBit, Withered Pyre, and Zutcha. Zutcha of course deserves double the love, since he's also the artist of the cover and any other fantastic art that finds its way into the story.

For nearly a thousand years the ancient prophecies of Clover the Clever sat unread in Canterlot's forbidden archives. Until the day that Celestia took on an apprentice, and everything changed.

Sunset Shimmer is smart, resourceful, and determined. No matter how many new lessons Sunset learns, she just isn't satisfied. Equestria is in danger, and Celestia refuses to give her the power it would take to help defend the kingdom.

Another pony might've given up and trusted her princess to handle things. Sunset Shimmer isn't like most ponies. If Celestia won't deal with looming threats, Sunset will take matters into her own hooves. She'll find allies for Equestria even if she has to leave the universe to do it.

A prequel set in the continuity of My Little Apprentice. This story is not required to understand that one, or vice-versa.

This story was written at the behest of Two_Bit, who is sponsoring it on my Patreon. As usual, cover by Zutcha.

This story is a sequel to My Little Apprentice: Apogee

A year has passed since Second Chance arrived in Equestria. She has a loving adoptive family, one of the best teachers of magic in Equestria, and some fantastic new friends. Compared to a world destroyed by war, her new life seems like a paradise.

Unfortunately for her, Equestria isn't as safe as it sometimes looks. It has its own dangers; powerful evils that won't spare her just because she came from Earth. Between human dangers and natural ones, Equestria's ponies may not survive.

As usual, editing by Two Bit and Sparktail, with art by the talented Zutcha (who's got a Patreon now, if you're feeling generous!)

This story is a sequel to My Little Apprentice

The summer sun celebration brought the filly Second Chance into contact with one of the most powerful beings in Equestria, Discord. Thanks to him, she's got all her memories back, and has access to the powerful Jebr Stone. Will that be enough to save her dying species without sacrificing Equestria in the process? Nor is she the first traveler from her world to reach Equestria, or the only one with plans for it.

Will Chance's newfound friendships be enough to keep her sane and preserve Equestria through the dark times ahead?

Continued in MLA: Perihelion!

As usual, a huge thanks to Zutcha for the excellent cover, this time with shading!

This story is a sequel to Steel Solstice

Continued in: My Little Apprentice: Apogee

Twilight Sparkle learns that the trust and goodwill of the Princess isn't always a good thing as she's given the trust of an important assignment. When that assignment turns out to be long-term, how will she handle taking care of a filly of her own? How will she handle this strange new filly, who proves to be much more than she appears. As a matter of fact, she seems to be from an entirely separate universe.

Meanwhile, Second Chance has kept only enough of her memories to know that she isn't what she should be. The wonderful world of Equestria has its own dangers, and she seems to have a knack for attracting trouble. The more of her memories return, the more she wishes she could just forget. But you can't forget when all of Equestria depends on you remembering.

Only one thing's for sure: The longer Twilight keeps this strange filly in her care, the stranger her own life will become, and things she thought she knew about Equestria will unravel before her eyes. Strange ancient devices, an eccentric mint unicorn and her so-called "Equestrian Precursor Society" are only the beginning for Twilight Sparkle as she begins a journey of her own. She too may wish she could simply forget. Unfortunately, it's too late for either of them.

Bon Bon's voice is funny, and that's about all that anypony who meets her notices, as her marefriend Lyra soon steals the spotlight with her explosive personality, strange obsessions, and curious beliefs. And why not? Bon Bon is, after all, a perfectly ordinary, boring pony in every way but two: her voice, and the carefully kept secret that she isn't really a pony.

(Edit:) Now with an annotated version, courtesy of the incomparable Shoggoth Lord!

When Nightmare Moon’s rebellion tore across Equestria, leaving a trail of blood and horror in its wake, Princess Celestia knew that merely banishing her sister wouldn’t be enough. Her army was too powerful, and too bloodthirsty, to be left behind without a leader. When she finally turned the Elements of Harmony against her, she didn’t just banish Nightmare Moon. She banished thousands.

Now they’re in a race against time, to find a way to survive in an environment so alien that every aspect of it is trying to kill them. They face suffocation, freezing, boiling, starvation, radiation, meteorite impacts, low gravity… the list goes on.

Nightmare Moon thought she should be the ruler of all Equestria. Now, in a world nopony was ever meant to survive, her abilities will be put to the ultimate test.

This story now has a hardcover! If you'd like one of your own, you can grab it here: https://starscribe.net/

Editing by the indulgent and patient Two Bit and Sparktail. Coverart by Zutcha.

Note: I intend this story to be as faithful to our current scientific understanding of the moon, and I’ve consulted for help with the aspects outside my technical purview. That said, I fully expect to make decisions that some may see as mistakes, based on their own independent interpretations.

I am a storyteller first, and I realize it’s likely I’ll eventually make a mistake, or an arbitrary decision to simplify the storytelling over accuracy. I’m doing my best here, but this isn’t a NASA white paper. Set your expectations accordingly.

This story was commissioned by Canary in the Coal Mine on my Patreon, feel free to contact me if you’d like one of your own!

Twilight Sparkle was only a filly when Equestria detected the enigmatic Signal. A series of increasingly complex mathematical proofs, the Signal transformed from an intriguing curiosity to reliable evidence of extraequestrian life.

And as it happened, Equestria's exploration of their own solar system was nearly complete. With colonies orbiting every planet and large body, and an asteroid belt filled with miners and prospectors, Twilight's civilization was just about ready to turn its focus outward. The signal was less than ten light-years away, within reach of a daring, experimental voyage. A voyage Twilight Sparkle would lead.

Along with a small crew of the most skilled scientists and engineers Equestria could offer, Twilight is determined to uncover the mystery of the Signal, and brave the final frontier for future generations of Equestrian explorers.

A comment-driven, CYoA story. Please use the links provided in the author's notes of each chapter to vote, rather than the comments.

This story is a creative experiment of mine, one meant to explore the general idea that creativity is often most fostered by restrictions. As a result, I've imposed a number of restrictions on the writing of this story, which I'm stating explicitly here so I can be called out if I break any of them.

1. Brevity is the soul of wit
No chapter may be more than 1000 words long. This wordcount only includes prose, and not the questions/rolls.

2. Every choice matters
When a choice is offered in a chapter, at least one sub-optimal choice must be present, with no indication about which is which other than the prose itself. Every chapter should end with a CYoA-style decision tree when possible.

3. Fate is cruel and the universe is heartless
The decision of the vote must be respected. This means any character could be killed, or the entire story could end in failure, if that's what the votes decide. Where numbers, stats, and randomization appear in the text, these elements are not verisimilitude, but are decided by public diecrolls in my discord server.

Note: Because of the unusual production of this story, its chapters won't be edited in the same way as my usual fare. Feel free to point out any mistakes you encounter.

Awesome cover by Zutcha as you can probably tell. Editing stuff by Two Bit and Sparktail, where applicable.