Twilight Sparkle wakes up one morning to a harsh dose of unreality. She is stranded, without her friends, on an island which matches no known locale on Equestria. Surrounded and harried on all sides by the alien and the dangerous, she will find her mettle sorely tested, and find perhaps that the best friends you will ever have in your life are the ones you make when your back is to the wall...

Thanks to CedricBale and noobie56xx for tracking down the name of the artist so I could give them credit.

After the changelings' failed invasion of Canterlot, Twilight tries to soothe some of Ponyville's rampant paranoia by casting a spell to prove there are no imposters hiding in the town. But her spell leaves her in an alien body, facing a mob of angry ponies who just don't believe her when she says she is Twilight Sparkle.

Or, at least, she was Twilight Sparkle, anyway...

Featured on Equestria Daily, 2/17/13
Cover art is by the awesome and amazing Conicer

Twilight's cutie mark is fading, and Celestia sends her a series of lessons to rekindle her passion for magic- and for friendship. Twilight must study the magics her friends possess, as well as casting a serious eye on her own gifts.

This is technically a sequel to "Fixing Up Miss Smartypants", so I totally recommend that you read that first. It's set five years later.

Big Macintosh had a perfectly good reason for taking Twilight's doll; he wanted to use it to finally start a conversation with her. But Applejack's having none of it, Rarity's getting the wrong idea about everything, and the Cutie Mark Crusader Matchmakers are about to really throw a spanner in the works! A comedy of errors launching a full fleet of ships.

Cheer up, Twilight. It's not every day somepony changes species. In fact, no pony has ever changed species. It's something new and you like discovering new things. Granted, Equestrians don't like new things, especially things that fundamentally alter their government. So maybe there is reason not to be happy after all.

After traveling Equestria and finding no place she belongs Trixie returns to the one place that felt different; Ponyville. She has chosen to swallow a little (just a little) bit of her pride in order to ask the only pony to ever have impressed her for help. She wants Twilight Sparkle to become her teacher in magic...and in the ways of friendship. She hopes to improve herself, but she keeps having these second thoughts...

This story is told while alternating viewpoints between Trixie and Twilight Sparkle. The ~~~~ symbolizes a perspective change.

This story was originally inspired by the song Second Chances by Aviators. This musician is amazing, I highly recommend checking him out at http://www.youtube.com/user/SoundOfTheAviators
The cover image was drawn by the talented Crenair. Be sure to check out his gallery!
The OC Silver Lining belongs to Player 3, a big thank you for his use.

Also big news! The Mike is adapting this story into a visual novel! The beta can be found at http://www.mediafire.com/?5ntkcdtsn1m33ot or at his deviantart http://thebiancoangelo.deviantart.com/#/d5dql86

This has not been forgotten. Update coming soon!

It occurred one peaceful night. Half of Equestria awoke to the sound like a double-shot thunderclap. A percussion heard in the skies and rattling windows from Apploosa, to Canterlot, to Ponyville. Nopony knew what it was or what it heralded for the world as it drew a line across the nation.

For Twilight Sparkle, this isolated incident might have faded from memory after a time, if not for the strange rumors of a creature sitting on the hill on the outskirts of town.

These are her thoughts given written form. These are Sparkle's Notes.

Report EVERYTHING to the Princess.

To Twilight Sparkle and Princess Celestia, it is a simple surprise visit to Canterlot. To the ponies of the Equestrian Civil Service, it is twenty-four hours of chaos, politics, weaponized dessert, politics, underhooved manipulation of media, politics, and things batrachian and tentacular. Who said bureaucracy isn't exciting?

The Cutie Mark Crusaders have always lived in the now, getting what they think needs to be done as a soon as possible, executing their plans just so they can move on to the next one right away, not thinking about the consequences till they’re right there in their faces. But when an attempt to earn their cutie marks goes too far, Sweetie Belle and her friends must face a horrible reality that sends their world into darkness and fear. How will the truth be uncovered and what will be sacrificed to undo this nightmare?

...The Continuum feels this species may be a real threat to the Q. However, they also show a unique ability to contain their power. They do not appear to use their abilities for power, greed, or war. We need to see if the species as a people are a threat to the Continuum and not just their abilities.”

“And locking me away in a statue, to rot away in a garden, doesn’t show that?” The face on the statue squirmed and struggled to free the rest of its body.

“No. It doesn’t,” said Q. “But it would seem an opportunity has presented itself. The Enterprise is heading for this region of space. Perhaps you could utilize their presence to…provoke…a situation?”

Both Q started grinning together. “Oh you know me too well, Q. I always enjoy seeing my favorite starship captain.”

The blond Q reanimated the rest of the statue. Discord stepped off the pedestal onto the soft grass. “This is going to be so much fun,” said Discord as his shape began to contort and transform. Within moments a familiar figure in a Starfleet uniform was standing where Discord had been a moment before. As the pair started walking away the blond Q said, “Just remember, Q. This isn’t just some random species to be toyed with. Any species RELATED to the Q, can KILL the Q!”...

(Season 2 Discord)

Never Seen Star Trek: The Next Generation? Here's a brief introduction to Q: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBwoEXlTph0

Credit to Suddenly-Steinberg for the cover art:
http://suddenly-steinberg.deviantart.com/art/Discord-x-Q-312694442
MLP Season 2