Discord's the only creature in Equestria who can recognize the human for what he is -- not the long-lost Seventh Element that never actually existed and couldn't have existed before the human arrived, but a meta-reality warper, an entity far more powerful than Discord with the power to warp the minds of all around him and the very rules of magic to make sure that he's always the Big Hero. And the role the human's assigned to Discord is the Villain to beat down or kill.

Pre-reform Discord's fine with being the villain. But on his own terms. Not dancing on some alien interloper's puppet strings.

Without friendship, or even allies, Discord's going to have to find a way to defeat a creature who can alter fate itself and who can even mind-control him. Or he may just end up worse than dead.

Art by Tenchi-Outsuno. Progress Bar at my writing journal.

Trigger warnings: Mind control (magically induced love, magically induced friendship, magically induced stupidity, Discord being Discord), noncon/dubcon (magically induced love, other forms of highly dubious consent), rape (female on male), violence/gore (mostly against Discord), literally everything in chapters 19-21, humans not being presented as unilaterally wonderful and superior to ponies and/or draconequui.

Starlight Glimmer is repentant, on the path to reformation after she saw what her plan could have caused. She was thankfully talked down, all the possible futures she made prevented, all the changes to the past no longer existing.

At least... that's what everyone thinks. But magic isn't something to be abused.

There are always consequences.

When Celestia went on sabbatical into the west, she promised Twilight it would be only a couple of months. A year and a half later, the sun resists control, the country is in ruins, and her teacher is lost in the wilds. Twilight has become the apostate, her faith in her teacher and her teachings waning. In the wake of tragedy, her resentment blossoms into fury and she vows that something must be done. Shadows gather around Canterlot, and old things that should not have been awakened are on the move. The Student goes west, her hope restored by friendship and righteous fury.

The night, at long last, is passing.

[Complete! With TVTropes apparently!]
Also, apparently, an animated trailer.

In a world of brass and steam, Twilight Sparkle had thought she had made a life-changing discovery with the invention of the telescope. For better or worse, she was correct.

Now her discovery has not only changed her life, but the lives of those she seeks out in her desperate attempt to contact the only other creature as lonely as Twilight herself.

It all would have been much simpler, but it had to be the one Twilight could only call The Mare on the Moon.

Decidedly not within walking distance, then.

[Featured on EQD before story was meant to be submitted. 4/03/2015]

[Editing team: Southpaw, Wolfvenom, Maskedferret, SwanSong and BluePaladin42, without whom this story would be a fraction of its current state.]
[Special thanks to Novel-Idea for the updated cover]

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.

All Chrysalis ever wanted was a big, brave stallion who would sweep her off her hooves and love her forever. That's not too much to ask, is it?

On her first trip into Equestria, she meets the perfect pony for her, the pony she knows she's destined to be with forever. In one world, she goes back home and returns years later to take him by force. But what if she decided to go after her knight in shining armor another way?

And what happens when everything goes wrong, and she ends up stuck serving a pink pony princess instead of working alongside the stallion she's interested in?

Credit goes out to King of Beggars and his story Twilight Sparkle of the Royal Guard, and all the awful pitches we throw at each other for knockoffs and parodies.

The few.

The proud.

The only ones who were available at the time.

When the royal budget is blown, Luna needs to show that the disasters that have so drained Equestria's resources aren't going to continue. Reforming the Lunar Guard on a tight purse means that she doesn't necessarily get the ponies that she would have chosen, but how bad could it possibly be?

They're reckless, dangerous, they weren't even supposed to be here today, and they might well be Equestria's last hope.

(Featured and flattered!)

This story is a sequel to The Mare of the Night

It's been six months since Starlight Nightflier, batpony prostitute, was hired to be the conversation partner of UN ambassador Daniel Habbuck. Since then, she's gained a new job, a new home, and a new future for her beloved son.

But that's not enough for Starlight. She wants to be more than just a friend to Daniel. Much more. But something's holding her back. Something from her past that refuses to die...

A collaboration between moi and Comrade_Pony

Special thanks to AidenHeaven, HolyStreak, KG472, zxzxzxzxzx24, and NarlepoaxIII for proofreading and editing!

Cover image source: Link

While trying to make her family tree, Rainbow Dash finds her mother's family totally missing from public records. Maybe with Twilight's help, she'll learn something about her ancestry.

SPOILERS IN COMMENTS:
DO NOT READ THE COMMENTS UNTILL AFTER YOU READ THE STORY.

Editing and creative help from BionicBrony

Celestia is not invincible. Strong, yes. Ageless, assuredly. Magical, undoubtedly. But not invincible.

The Princess of the Day has been attacked, and she did not escape unscathed.

While Luna fights against the mortal fear gripping her subjects in the wake of the assassination attempt, the enemy runs free. Twilight Sparkle must assemble a team to bring the pony to justice. Few ponies can be trusted, and fewer still can be expected to succeed.

But the kingdom has heroes: The Knights of Harmony. Ponies who have stood against evil and won, who fight to make Equestria a safer place. Each is an expert in their particular field, masters of their trades, but they have yet to work together.

An adventurer past her prime.

A tinkerer with too much time on his hooves.

A spy whose primary instinct is to lie.

A dishonored soldier with an axe to grind.

As they delve into the origins of the assassin, they find that Equestrian history still has secrets long buried. Can the knights come together as a team before she finds her next mark?