Right before an exam, Twilight decides to try out Princess Celestia's brand new creation! An elevator! It sounds just delightful!
Well, it's not.

The ponies of the CDA have no natural means of reaching the worlds which have been launching incursions into Equestria, and have no hope of passing for natives should they cross. The Princesses, desperate for solutions, chose to recruit some of those who made the most resourceful, peaceful incursions as the CDA personnel on their sides of the barrier, stopping further disruptions in exchange for hours spent in Equestria. Bree Daniels is the only human agent in her world, a job which offers numerous chances to get killed. But she's survived so far, because Bree has a way of dealing with problems...

...a way which might call into question just what qualities the Princesses are seeking in their human agents to begin with. And how necessary those qualities are.

(Follows the first CDA story: the second one is slightly more optional.)

Now has a TVTropes page and character sheet. New edits welcome.

Now with author Patreon and Ko-Fi pages.

Everypony knows that the future is predestined; the very existence of cutie marks proves it. Still, Minuette isn't so sure that she has to make the same mistakes twice.

Two ponies look to the future, and all the while one looks back to the present.

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!)

Wanted: Porter, assistant, jack-of-all-trades, minion. Applicants should be strong, loyal, pain tolerant, cold tolerant, unambitious. Must be capable of following simple instructions. Ideal applicant should be of low to average intelligence and mildly deformed, but exceptions will be made for extraordinary candidates, with extraordinariness to be determined by employer. Must be willing to begin work immediately.

Remuneration will be in the form of room, board, and insight into the true nature of the cosmos. Extremely generous bonuses up to and including subcontinents may be awarded if merited and if circumstances permit. Interviews for the position to be conducted at 108 Haybale lane at 10:00 AM sharp on 4/7. Applicants are expected to be punctual.

—The Dark Lord Sassaflash

Editing and indispensable writer-prodding by The Masked Ferret

PRINCESS TWILIGHT SPARKLE: DEAD AT 18

TELEPORTATION INVARIABLY FATAL, WARNS LEADING SCHOLAR

One look at the headline of the Canterlot Times and Twilight knew that she should have slept in today. But at least none of her friends would be silly enough to believe she was killing herself every time she teleported, right?

There is now a Spanish translation of this story, courtesy of Spaniard Kiwi

The opening of the Empire has also meant the reintroduction of the species who live there. It's been over a thousand years since Equestria has been through this particular migration -- more than enough time to forget how hyper-territorial, angry, unreasoning, and just plain foul these travelers are. But it's finally the right season again, and that means Ponyville is about to get a refresher course in dealing with the second-worst thing to ever come out of the North.

...well, maybe first.

(A stand-alone, no prior-reading-necessary part of the Triptych Continuum, which has its own TVTropes page and FIMFiction group: new members and trope edits are welcome. )

Now with author Patreon and Ko-Fi pages.

Thirty five years. Been roaming Equestria from town to cloying town, looking for her. Not for lack of trying, mind you. Equestria's just that big of a place. There's only so many places left to look, though, and it'd be foolish to throw in the towel already. I'm getting close. So I'll do the same thing I did yesterday: search.

First place winner of The Writeoff Association's "A Single Moment" contest.

Featured by: The Last Roundup | Royal Canterlot Library | Equestria Daily | The Royal Guard
Reviews by: Present Perfect | Bad_Seed_72 | PaulAsaran | Titanium Dragon | Cerulean Voice

Eleven year old Rainbow Dash has just moved out of her parents house, and everything is wicked cool, everything is awesome. Moving out wasn't a mistake. It definitely wasn't a mistake. She 1,000% absolutely does NOT regret it.

... Right?

Having grown tired of seeing ponies worship the very ground that the Princesses walk on, Discord decides that it's high time ponies started worshiping him instead.

In his very own Cult of Chaos, no less.