Progress: (verb); to proceed closer to one's destination or goal.
It's usually intuitive for us to judge how close we are to something, how much further we have to go. But for others, data and numbers are a comforting reminder that progress is being made. But what if the numbers say something different? What if you're not growing closer to your goal, but straying farther from it?

Prior to Season 3
Story one in my Twidash Challenge: Sad Theme

This story is a sequel to Apotheosis

Celestia leaves Equestria in the hooves of Luna and Twilight.

While she searches among the gods to answer her questions, Luna and Twilight must struggle to fulfill their own duties to ponies and to Equestria.
Now with a Spanish translation by SPANIARD KIWI: https://www.deviantart.com/spaniard-kiwi/art/Apoteosis-3-3-857110357

It's springtime in Equestria and Twilight Sparkle and Princess Celestia find themselves out of sorts despite the gorgeous weather. Luna and Rarity both think they know the reason behind their moodiness and set out to make sure that true love blossoms - but will an unfortunate misunderstanding keep the two star-crossed lovers apart forever?

Illustration courtesy of nightmaremoonluna, adapted from a sketch by bri-sta.

A place where ponies can go to have their fantasies brought to life. A young colt finds himself asked by invitation only, as all the clients are. He's not sure if he belongs, and as he discovers more about the strange boutique and how it works, he becomes less and less sure about his patronage - and more and more bewildered by the idea of 'fantasy' and what it means to want something that might never be real.

A story for the friend off, based on Obsidian Solitaire's "The Cutest Thing..."

My first attempted at 'real' writing... apologies to everyone looking for the usual stuff. Will return to regularly scheduled content soon.

There comes a moment in everypony's life when they have to look back and see what they have done. There is nothing that I regret in my life. I have battled demons, defeated gods, and deciphered mysteries that the Princesses themselves doubted could be unlocked. All of that was just the beginning to a grand adventure.

Prior to Season 3
Story three in my Twidash Challenge: Feel Good Theme
Credit Image to PageTurner1988

In the weeks following the coronation of Equestria's new princess, Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash are both troubled by regret. In the face of changes they can never reverse and actions they can never take back, they search for solace in solitude, but instead find each other in the small hours of the morning.

Inspired by Little Wonders by Rob Thomas.

Editing by Formerly Committed and Shellsh0cker.

Winner of the TwiDash Showdown by a single vote.

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!)

Ever had one of those days where everything's just gone wrong, one problem after another?

Of course you have.

Ever had one of those days when you wake up to find you've accidentally switched places with your counterpart in a world where you and all your friends are stallions?

...No?

Maybe that's just Twilight, then.

But the Princess of Magic isn't going to let a little thing like being in the wrong universe ruin her day. She has a schedule - a checklist! - and it matches up with this Dusk Shine's perfectly. Apart from the names and the genders, everything seems to be a match, and Ponyville has seen much weirder things since she moved here.

Being stallions or mares shouldn't make her friends that different. What could possibly go wrong?

Twilight Sparkle has walked the wastelands for a very long time, but now, at last, he has reached the end of his journey. He only hopes now that the gods will listen to his prayers, and finally allow him a good place to die.

(Please read the story before commenting on the description)

Twilight and her five friends are transported during a botched spell, across dimensions to... Ponyville, Equestria? But not the same one that they knew. Sitting on a bench is Harpsy and Babar. The Doctoress avoids apples from an aspiring Applebuck. And in a library across town, six stallions join their forces as they try to decipher the appearance of filly look-alikes of themselves around Ponyville!