The stars are right, and Orion's Belt is about to sag. That can only mean one thing.

Discord's mom is coming to visit him and lecture him about his life choices, delivering a millennium worth of grief over breakfast tea.

But not to worry: Fluttershy will there for him, for moral support, specifically by pretending to be the girlfriend his mother has wanted him to get since time immemorial. Of course, such a ruse requires giving her phenomenal fey powers, as well as a little bit of preparation in Ponyville.

This can only end well.

Inspired by Dasha's and The Living Tombstone's song of the same name.

A wondrous day rises for Ponyville.

But two ponies do not share the joy. Trapped as they are in their own circumstances, they try to hold to the only thing they have left, each other.

Most people wouldn't think that a pet rock could have many adventures.

Most people would be wrong.

FIMfiction says that the sad tag contradicts with comedy. I disagree.

Satellite story to Limits of the Horizon

Picture by Awalex

SF (canon species only; no humans) Ponies were magically and genetically engineered to be the perfect servitor race. They are powerful, adaptable, intelligent and completely under the control of their creators. A laboratory accident frees one such pony from her mental chains, but how can one mare save herself and the rest of her kind if she doesn't even know she's a slave?
This is not the Equestria you know and these are not your little ponies... not yet, anyway.

Tags: Adventure, Diamond Dogs, Gryphons, NO HUMANS (did I mention that already?)
Other tags: historical, mind control, Clarke's 3rd Law, excessive use of high energy physics, before they were famous.
Detailed review by PaulAsaran.
Cover art by endrome , used with permission.
Russian translation (partial -- 'unofficially' completed in the comments)
A Soot-Covered World, book 1.

At a sleepover at Twilight's castle on Nightmare Night, Twilight suggests an antiquated game for them all to play.

The evil and corrupt Queen Chrysalis has been defeated. The good and kind King Thorax has been coronated (without a crown). The Changeling Kingdom is being reconstructed by the now-good changelings under King Thorax. Finally free from a selfish ruler, the changelings are going to be happy for a long time.

And then they wonder about what they're going to do.

What is there to talk about when much of their lives was about planning evil plans and finding sources of love (and food)? What is there to do in a kingdom being rebuilt in the middle of wasteland? The only thing that the changelings were sure of was their job in rebuilding the Kingdom. In their free time, there was not much else.

Good thing Thorax was a good king since he let the changelings have free time and free days.

So, some changelings journeyed out of the Changeling Kingdom to travel Equestria.

A long time ago, when she was very young, Twilight learned about her star marking her path of destiny in the sky. For nearly all her life, she has looked to the heavens for hope and purpose.

And now that star is gone.

It's up to Rarity and the rest of Twilight's friends to try to help her as her world crumbles around her.

Mystery and adventure, now with books!
Twilight Sparkle's weekly book shipment arrives one book too big. Among the others, there's a handbook about pony genetics. Curiosity leads her to an interesting discovery.

Sequel here

Years have passed since Radiant Hope last saw Sombra, their parting words something she'd never forget.

Since then, Hope dedicates much of her life to piecing together the puzzle of why Sombra turned out the way he did in between the secret experiments she conducts with her new and mysterious friend, Nickel. And after countless trials and tests, she finally has an experiment which may reveal some answers.

However, when Nickel learns about the experiments Hope performed behind the scenes, he has a few questions to ask her. And Hope uncovers something much more shocking outside of her experiments.

Based on "Fiendship is Magic #1" of the official comics. Originally written for the Writeoff under the pseudonym "Flying Fish."

This story is a sequel to The Cloudsdale Report

  Twilight’s got her nose stuck in a book. Sunset wants to go see the rest of their friends.

  Things snowball from there.

Highlighted in FimFiction's Feature Box from December 19 to December 22, 2016!
Featured on Equestria Daily on Christmas Eve of 2016!

Historian’s Note: Set in the Wavelengths Timeline where the Sonic Rainboom never happened, Tactics of Snowbound Unicorns is a stand-alone tale that occurs about six weeks after the events in the Applications Trilogy.

Cast: Sunset Shimmer, Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia, Moon Dancer, Minuette, Cheerilee, Coco Pommel & Coloratura
Co-Starring: Raven & Philomena

Stories set in the Wavelengths Timeline in chronological order:

Origins Arc
The Alchemy of Chemistry
Bards of the Badlands
Grading on a Bell Curve
Habits of the Equestrian Phoenix
How Not To Use Your Royal Prerogative

Applications Arc
The Application of Unified Harmony Magics
Princess Celestia: A Brief History
The Cloudsdale Report

Dreamers Arc
Tactics of Snowbound Unicorns
A Study in Chaos Theory
Teahouses of Saddle Arabia
As the Raven Flies

Cover Design by Amber Spark
Dark Snow Background by Grim-S-Morrison
Christmas Sunset Shimmer by MoHawgo
Double Diamond Cutie Mark by Pixelkitties
Sunset Shimmer Cutie Mark By Millennial Dan
Text, coloring, snowballs and snowball magic aura effects by Amber Spark

Beta Reader & Editor Credits
Ebon Quill - Quest Designer & Worldbuilding Writer on The Manehattan Project
Little Tinker - Master of Systems at Poniverse & Scripting Engineer on The Manehattan Project
Beltorn - Commenter-at-Large on FimFiction
Painted Heart

Special Thanks:
Quill Scratch & Beltorn - For a last-minute tweaks to the synopsis!

Word Count: 3,800 words
Version: 3.5