Twilight Sparkle was only a filly when Equestria detected the enigmatic Signal. A series of increasingly complex mathematical proofs, the Signal transformed from an intriguing curiosity to reliable evidence of extraequestrian life.

And as it happened, Equestria's exploration of their own solar system was nearly complete. With colonies orbiting every planet and large body, and an asteroid belt filled with miners and prospectors, Twilight's civilization was just about ready to turn its focus outward. The signal was less than ten light-years away, within reach of a daring, experimental voyage. A voyage Twilight Sparkle would lead.

Along with a small crew of the most skilled scientists and engineers Equestria could offer, Twilight is determined to uncover the mystery of the Signal, and brave the final frontier for future generations of Equestrian explorers.

A comment-driven, CYoA story. Please use the links provided in the author's notes of each chapter to vote, rather than the comments.

This story is a creative experiment of mine, one meant to explore the general idea that creativity is often most fostered by restrictions. As a result, I've imposed a number of restrictions on the writing of this story, which I'm stating explicitly here so I can be called out if I break any of them.

1. Brevity is the soul of wit
No chapter may be more than 1000 words long. This wordcount only includes prose, and not the questions/rolls.

2. Every choice matters
When a choice is offered in a chapter, at least one sub-optimal choice must be present, with no indication about which is which other than the prose itself. Every chapter should end with a CYoA-style decision tree when possible.

3. Fate is cruel and the universe is heartless
The decision of the vote must be respected. This means any character could be killed, or the entire story could end in failure, if that's what the votes decide. Where numbers, stats, and randomization appear in the text, these elements are not verisimilitude, but are decided by public diecrolls in my discord server.

Note: Because of the unusual production of this story, its chapters won't be edited in the same way as my usual fare. Feel free to point out any mistakes you encounter.

Awesome cover by Zutcha as you can probably tell. Editing stuff by Two Bit and Sparktail, where applicable.

When two worlds of great difference meet, it shall result in either the greatest of unities, or the most horrific of tragedies.

These are tales of such tragedies.

A series of one shots about human-pony interactions that I lack the time and/or creativity to create full fledged stories about. Feel free to get inspired and make one of these ideas work, or point me towards a story that already does.

If you're looking for something happier, check out the sister collection.

Cover art by me, using flag images from google search and put together with gimp.

This story is a sequel to Changeling Courtship Rituals

Queen Chrysalis attacked Canterlot, brainwashed Twilight Sparkle's brother, kidnapped her former foalsitter, defeated her mentor in combat, and conquered her kingdom. She kidnapped the sisters of Twilight's friends, turned them against one another, and tried to drain all of Twilight's magic. Queen Chrysalis has, at every opportunity, done her very best to utterly destroy Twilight Sparkle's life.

For some reason, this has not caused the pony to fall in love with her.

However, due to Twilight's misunderstanding of changeling customs, it does mean they are now married. Twilight eventually managed to tell the Queen the truth, but she forgot that whether it's a kingdom or a heart, changelings conquer.

And since the changeling way of conquest didn't work, Chrysalis is determined to try the pony way. The only problem is, of course, she has no idea what that is. But she knows someone who does: Princess Cadance.

Now, with the absolutely sincere help of her mortal enemy, the pony she once locked in the caves beneath Canterlot while trying to steal her husband on their very wedding day, Queen Chrysalis is going to woo the sister-in-law of that very pony.

Surely this is the most perfect plan ever devised.

***

Proofread by ShutterflyYay.

Takes place roughly after season five (so Starlight Glimmer is running around occasionally)

An unofficial sequel to A Mothers Love Never Dies

As repentance for their actions, the entirety of the Changeling race now lay dead in an inhospitable badland, their flame finally snuffed out.

Or, so Celestia would have her nation believe.

My submission into ocalhoun's writing contest. Got first place in Least Down and Best Description.

Vinyl Scratch, for lack of a better word, is depressed. She has been for a very long time. Everything in her life is a disaster: her job, her love life, her friendships... Then she meets Fluttershy, a mare who's so happy and in love with the world and its faults. And it all goes uphill from there.

...Or does it?

edit: featured on the front page on may 2nd, 2016! thank you so much!

There should be fireworks, at least, when a dream dies.
~Kirby Larson

Ty-Day used to be my favorite day of the year. I planned the Canterlot fireworks performance, timed to go off when the Wonderbolt's race ended. Every year, my Dashie would win that race, and I got to see her smiling face as she came back with a medal, proud to be alive.

But where did she go... was it something I said? Will she ever come back?

I have to find her. But how...? All I have is some dumb paper.

Credit to Yalcahoon on DA for this wonderful picture!
Looked over by Commissar Derpy Hooves (With positive feedback!), but this story does not have a formal proofreader (If anyone wants to take a stab! )

For years, Twilight Sparkle and Queen Chrysalis have been at each other's throats. Both have experienced victory over the other, and both have experienced defeat. Out of all the creatures in Equestria, none despise each other the way the pony Princess and changeling Queen do. They seemed destined to remain locked in battle forever, or at least until one is finally dead at the hooves of the other. The cruel insults, the vicious loathing, and the powerful spells that have passed back and forth between them at each meeting have become the stuff of legend.

Imagine Twilight's surprise when she finds out changelings consider this dating.

And now they're married.

***

Sequel: Pony Courtship Rituals

***

Some beautiful fanart of the end of chapter three was done by Dmann892; you can see it here.

More awesome fanart, this time from chapter one.

Now with a TvTropes page (obligatory TvTropes warning goes here).

If you want a Russian translation, you can find it here.

There is now a reading of the story on Youtube, which starts here.

The Night Guard was once a highly regarded order, and joining the personal servants and defenders of Princess Luna herself was one of the most prestigious positions anypony in Equestria's armed forces could aspire to. Then the Princess of the Night had her little run-in with jealousy-induced insanity, and her subsequent banishment left the Night Guard in a bit of an awkward position.

Fortunately, the fact that the Night Guard was not really needed anymore never seemed to occur to anyone, and now, a thousand years later, the order is still just sort of... there. However, after centuries of neglect and a complete lack of supervision, the Guard barely resembles a military organization anymore.

Some unquestioning military bureaucrats apparently still take care of pay and hiring, and every now and then, new recruits arrive with purpose in their step and stars in their eyes, convinced that service with the Guard will allow them to achieve great things. But while those hopes unavoidably end in disappointment these days, recruits tend to acknowledge soon enough that the current state of the Guard does have its perks.

The only thing that could possibly ruin this cushy little job would be the return of Princess Luna. But it's been centuries since she was banished, and really, at this point, what are the odds of that ever happening?
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A little just-for-fun side project I did a while ago over a pretty short period of time.
Be warned, within this tale you will find:
- references to excessive alcohol consumption
- juvenile and cringeworthy innuendo
- shenanigans
May also contain trace amounts of bat ponies.

Expertly proofread and edited by the hawk-eyed, diligent, and just all around [insert positive adjective of your choice] 0_0.

Sweetie Belle gets stuck in a time loop.

Traducción Española: https://www.deviantart.com/spaniard-kiwi/art/Un-poco-circular-1-4-990271915

Proofread by many people such as: 0_0, refferee, Leonzilla, crooked, TheGreatEater, and other people I may have missed.