Five years ago, a disaster left low-Equus orbits swamped with orbital debris. The husks of dead ships careened through the aether, threatening any that might try to leave the planet. But now, it’s under control. Debris trawlers roam the skies, picking up those husks and carefully gathering smaller shards. Thanks to their efforts, bit by bit, space is becoming usable again.

Mesonox is a newbie on one of those trawling crews, recently hired to fly on DT Heavenly View. She’s aced the sims. She knows her ships. She knows her tools. She knows her techniques. And her crew just got assigned to grab a typical wreck. It’s a straightforward job: clean up the small debris, get the large debris under control to haul back to the scrapyard. The perfect task for a rookie like her.

Time to get to work.

The School of Friendship has new Teacher Assistants!

The Cutie Mark Crusaders have been welcomed into staff on a probationary basis in order to assist their sisters (and Rainbow Dash) with their classes. Today just happens to be the day for the School Trip to Canterlot Castle for a certain group.

When things go wrong and our characters are flung into the Void and come out in one of many worlds at war, what kind of challenges will they have to face? And if they survive... what will they bring back with them to Equestria?

Many thanks to Petrichord and GapJaxie for their feedback and assistance.

Far, far away from the Equiss system, the queen of blades is readying the launch of her newest weapon. A ship designed to infest an entire planet in secret, readying it for the eventual zerg invasion and softening up even the hardest target, Korhal. Unfortunately for the queen of blades, the untested zerg biotechnology is more difficult to master then she thought and the infestation ship vanishes after launch.

Untold eons later Twilight Sparkle is preparing for her entrance exam for Celestia's school for gifted unicorns only to stop when she sees a star fall into her new treehouse. The young pony sets out in the middle of a storm, intent on seeing this fallen star for herself.

What she finds inside will change not only her destiny but the destiny of all on Equiss prime.

Make sure to check out the sister story to this one.
Trigger warning, parasites. Starcraft Crossover!
Updates twice a month!
The story so far!

The Dazzlings are old. Really old. It's very likely they've gone on many adventures and done many different things in their thousand-years trapped in the human world.

For Aria, a family might well be one of them.

Written for the May Pairings Contest 2022!

Thanks for the pre-read by The Sleepless Beholder

Starlight Glimmer is the best thing to ever happen to me. She's by my side through thick and thin, and whatever hardships we face, we always face them together. She's an amazing mare and an amazing friend, one who inspires me to be the best Trixie I can be. And in turn, I push her to believe in herself as much as she believes in me. Twilight will never hear me say this, but she's right, friendship absolutely can be magic.

But I want more than just friendship, than being besties. I know it's crazy—she's leagues above me! But I don't care. Tonight, I tell her the truth. Tonight, I'm going to say the three most terrifying words in the Equish language.

Stars help me, I am not drunk enough for this!

Takes place several months after S8E19 "Road to Friendship".

Contains:

• nightly impressive alcohol consumption
• lightly suggestive dialogue
• slightly progressive tonal shift from drama to comedy.
• And what might be excessive expletives for younger readers

Inspired by the oft-covered song "Killing Me Softly". If you're a Millennial or Gen X, you probably know the Fugees' version. If you're a boomer, you probably know Roberta Flacks' cover. But Lori Lieberman is the OG singer and co-writer.

This is my first serious(ish) story in several years, and I'd like to thank Ice Star for helping with the cover; my Google Docs prereaders who I no longer remember the fandom names of because I procrastinated on editing this for almost two years: Rep Hex, –P, Min, Jeremy, yay force, Lightning Flash, and anonymous; and also Aragon for letting me bounce ideas off of him. I sat on this for almost two years, so he probably doesn't remember it lol. The fantastic cover art of best ship is by Imalou.

Thank you so much for reading my first new story in exactly a year, please leave any feedback good or bad, drink plenty of water, and have a blessed day!

This story is a sequel to Before the Storm: The Rise of Firefly

Three hundred years after Luna's banishment, an uneasy peace has collapsed and war erupts between the United Tribes of Equestria and the growing Gryphon Empire, who seek to supplant Princess Celestia as ruler of the heavens and claim the rich lands of the pony nation for their own. With the border defenses shattered, Canterlot endangered and the armed forces unable to stem the onslaught, who can stop the relentless Gryphon war machine as it overruns province after province, scoring victory after victory as it closes in on the Equestrian capital city?

In this time of peril, when the entire pony nation teeters on the brink of defeat, a champion will rise to lead the resistance to the gryphon invasion, becoming not just the commander of an elite force, but a symbol of Equestrian valor and fighting spirit. A born warrior and leader, the name of Firefly will be one day revered as not just the founder of the Wonderbolts, but as Equestria's greatest hero...

Taking place seven hundred years before present and canon to both the Gentlemanverse and Turnabout Storm novelization, this is the story of Rainbow Dash's ancestor, the founding of the Wonderbolts, and their role in the bloodiest conflict of Equestrian history. It is a multistory Magnum Opus consisting of several discrete stories, as described below:

Book 1: The War Begins

The Gryphon Empire invasion of Equestria launches at dawn with an all-out assault on the Equestrian Army and Aerial Corps border bases, accompanied by deep-strike raids against Cloudsdale and the Royal Guard training base of Fort Spur.

Will Princess Celestia unleash her enormous power to end the war quickly? Can Outpost Epsilon withstand the onslaught long enough for the much-maligned Royal Navy to reach them? And can the civilian populace of Cloudsdale resist a massive and determined air attack by the Imperial elite against its all-important weather factories and storm cloud production facilities?

Book 2: Rally and Recover

With the border defenses crushed and the remains of Outpost Epsilon evacuated, both sides lick their wounds, hastily reorganizing and preparing for the next Imperial offensive aimed deeper into Equestria.

Can missing Cloudsdale be located near the borders of Thestralslovakia? Will the once-disloyal and still-distrusted bat-ponies that live there side with Equestria or the Empire? What is the Imperial invasion plan? What role will the Changelings play in the conflict? And what will happen when a sixteen-year old gryphon cub faces off with the gryphon-hating pony named Thunderbolt; one of the most lethal and bloodthirsty beings to ever live...?

Book 3: Second Offensive

While the fate of Cloudsdale is negotiated and Firefly's forces prepare for additional action, the second Imperial offensive begins with an assault against the badly outnumbered Equestrian Army at Maresk two hundred miles inside Equestria, attempting to pocket and destroy the thousands of sorely-needed soldiers based there.

Can an out-of-favor earth pony Colonel rally his regiment to save the city and an entire Army Corps? Or will the city's soldiers and civilians alike face the fate of the border bases, becoming yet another crushing defeat in the Imperial drive on Canterlot?

• Writers: Denim_Blue and Firesight with occassional writing assists from Leo Archon and AJ_Aficionado
• Prereaders: AJ_Aficionado, SilentWoodFire, TheGoldCrow, Denim_Blue
• Guest Writers: AJ_Aficionado, Denim_Blue

Maps of Equestria and Equis: https://www.fimfiction.net/chapter/1105220

Cheesy pick-up lines? Really? They're so dumb!
Who comes up with this stuff?
There's no way that actually works.

...Does it?

While Twilight Sparkle and her friends are off saving the day, Starlight Glimmer is at home in the Castle of Friendship taking care of a bunch of ponies driven from their homes.

Including several farmers.

And, because this is Equestria, their livestock as well.

To be fair, they're considerate house guests...

... all but one.

Bronze medalist for Humo(u)r in the Thousand Words contest, written in haste.

Audiobook by the Mystery Fluttershy Fan here!

Part of the Remember Fort Libris print anthology, thanks to our Kickstarter supporters!

The story focuses a little on domestic abuse and bullying but only a little in the beginning. As well as small hick-ups along the way, I will not go into great detail about the subject, but there will be problems later on.

Any feedback and criticism are welcome.

Genres and age rating may change in the future.

I own all the rights to the picture. It was made by NixWorld a amazing artist.

Izzy Moonbow has always felt alone. Bridlewood was quiet, and its people quieter still.

Then one day, she comes across a moonlit garden, hidden deep amongst the trees. Its caretaker is a strange mare who speaks of the days of old when friends were plentiful and the nights were beautiful.

Her name is Luna.

Received an Honourable Mention / Judge's Pick for the 2022 May Pairings Contest.

Rated Excellent by Ghost Mike!

5/5 Stars from Loganberry's Louder Yay!

Now with an audio reading by StraightToThePointStudio. Stay tuned!

Now translated into Chinese!

Edited by VoxAdam, proofread by The Sleepless Beholder, SockPuppet, Bicyclette, and skysayl. Thanks, everyone

Cover by Plainoasis.

Featured on 25/05/22-31/05/22, reaching the #1 spot in the Featured Box on the first day.