For a thousand years, there was just Celestia. Then Cadance appeared, Luna returned -- and now Twilight has ascended. There are ponies who are very curious about just what happened, why -- and how. Especially the how. Twilight herself is on that list, a freshly-minted princess with far more questions than answers, about to face a brand new one: what truly makes an alicorn?

And what happens if it goes wrong?

(Part of the Triptych Continuum, which has its own TVTropes page and FIMFiction group. New members and trope edits welcome.)

Now with author Patreon and Ko-Fi pages.

Cover art by Harwick.

Isolated from her friends and taken prisoner in the middle of a war, Twilight must deal with the very real dangers of being percieved as an enemy as well as the nightmares of her arrival on 'Earth'. Can she overcome her own fears and the fears of her captors? Will the wayward unicorn's assistance be a boon or a curse to the 'humans?' Most importantly, will she ever find her way home?

"In short, it's a story of friendship and plasma rifles, with the emphasis on the friendship. The characters are well written, the XCOM setting is fleshed out very well, and the story is compelling. If you love XCOM, you'll love the story, but even if you've never heard of it, it's more than worth giving the first 3 chapters a read.

There's excellent action later on, but the real strength lies in the collision between the friendly and naive world of Twilight Sparkle and the desperate world of humans fighting a losing war for survival and willing to do anything to turn the tide."

--Arzoo

(XCOM/FiM crossover)
(Cover art commissioned by a friend and created by the magnificent FoxInShadow!)
(Original cover art by the amazing Carnelian can be viewed here!)
(Gore tag for blood and some violence)
(Many thanks to the studius OminousTen, Arzoo, xXFluttershyForeverXx and finally Setokaiva for giving my rambles a once-over)
(Now with it's own TV Tropes page! Get to tropin' folks!)

It started with a letter from Spike.

"Twilight in trouble. Send help!"

Everything has gone wrong. Sombra should never have been so powerful, he was only a shadow of his former self—it was the perfect test for Twilight! Luna had questioned her judgement but she’d been so sure, and now everything has gone horribly, horribly wrong.

AU ending to the Crystal Empire Part 2.

When the Cutie Mark Crusaders dig up an ancient magical artifact, they unleash a spell on the town that allows everypony to see a "lie meter" floating above each other's heads. While attempting to solve the mystery, Twilight Sparkle has to analyze the tenuous balance between friendship and honesty. She doesn't like what she finds.

Based on a story idea conceived by theworstwriter
Written and posted with his permission

Twilight has something she needs to tell Princess Celestia--something that means a chance at getting everything she's ever wanted, or of losing everything she's ever had.

Something so terrifying that the only way she could say it was in a letter...and so wonderful that she had the courage to send it.

(Thanks to Cenit V for the cover!)

This story is a sequel to A Pony's Sympathy

Following Discord's last escape from stone [as seen in A Pony's Sympathy], Twilight Sparkle sought to understand his role in the keeping of Balance in Equestria

Her want to understand sparked an alliance of sorts, a kind of understanding between them. Although having one pony in his corner has done little to convince the rest.

His lack of empathy and understanding of a pony's sensibility has been tolerated by Celestia.

But while both the princesses and the bearers of the Elements of Harmony struggle with even more dire problems, Discord is forced into a lesson of his own, and it could not have come at a more inopportune time.

Continuing the story of A Pony's Sympathy, the fledgling friendship between the Spirit of Chaos and the Element of Magic may determine the fate of the ponies, and the way both sides of harmony regard one another.

[Written/published between Nov. 2012 and Nov. 2013, based loosely on Star Trek: The Next Generation episode 3x13 'Deja Q']

Silence. The golden rule is silence. Silence, and obediance.

For years, you have trained as a royal guard. Now, thanks to the fortuitous return of Shining Armour, your old-time friend and Captain, you are promoted to guarding Celestia personally. What follows, though, is the discovery of a personal side to the Sun Princess that you could never have imagined, not even in your most vivid dreams.

You'd think that being trapped in stone would mean that, if nothing else, I could get some peace and quiet. Unfortunately, it seems that Celestia has other ideas.

She has appointed these ponies... these 'Keepers', as she calls them, to keep me entertained during my incarceration.

Honestly? I'd prefer the boredom.

Cover art by matrosha123
Spanish Translation by SPANIARD KIWI found here

What if the villains were allowed to win without a fight? Would all of their plans bear them the fruits they so desired?
Probably not, especially when their royal adviser is Twilight Sparkle.

A collection of (continuous) One-shots in which our heroes don't have any epic fights with villains, and simply allow the power of logic to crush all of the hopes and wishes of the would-be rulers of Equestria.

Currently up: Nightmare Moon, Discord, Chrysalis, Sombra (bonus chapter - the fight is so not-epic it happens off screen).

It seems as if Twilight Sparkle knows all there is about the night sky. During a fateful astronomy exam, however, she learns that sometimes the most amazing things to learn come from her teachers, and not from a star chart.

This is a little tribute to 3 of my favorite Ponies and to all the team of MLP:FIM, those guys totally rule.

Original DA post featured on EQD.