This story is a sequel to Substitute

A great evil is destroyed and its wards are so too. But now a fragment of that evil is on the loose and is unchecked.

Between an awakened seal threatening to soak up Equestria's magic, a long-dormant thorn now budding, and changes to once well-understood rules, the final pieces of a partially solved puzzle are in place and are ready to be filled in.

The greatest trials may produce the biggest revelations, transform the tightest bonds, and perhaps even lead to salvation. The cost, however, is first the breaking of everything.

The Crystal Ball Trilogy is a series of stories which deal with time travel, parallel universes, and other manipulations of time and space. Divergence is the last story; it is preceded by Feedback and Substitute.

Digital pdf version here
Print book version here

Featured on 2/6/19!

Edited by James Fire

This story is a sequel to Feedback

A terrible loss has been averted, but even that has a price.

Between the disappearance of several hundred ponies from around the world, strange portals leading to alternate versions of Equestria, an unknown alicorn frequenting Ponyville for secretive reasons, and the arrival of a new race of ponies bringing some ulterior motives, the pieces sowed by Twilight’s fight with the Nameless are set to crash back down.

What happens when friendship fails? Who will take Twilight’s place within the grave?

The Crystal Ball Trilogy is a series of stories which deal with time travel, parallel universes, and other manipulations of time and space. Substitute is the middle story; it is preceded by Feedback and is succeeded by Divergence.

Digital pdf version here
Print book version here

Featured on 7/19/2016!
Goodreads entry~

Ask Me Anything 10/22/16
Ask Me Anything 1/18/17

Edited (with varying degress of contribution) by
sourichan, Kuairu, Thought Prism, Orion Caelum, Corejo, and AlicornPriest

[Complete! With TVTropes apparently!]
Also, apparently, an animated trailer.

In a world of brass and steam, Twilight Sparkle had thought she had made a life-changing discovery with the invention of the telescope. For better or worse, she was correct.

Now her discovery has not only changed her life, but the lives of those she seeks out in her desperate attempt to contact the only other creature as lonely as Twilight herself.

It all would have been much simpler, but it had to be the one Twilight could only call The Mare on the Moon.

Decidedly not within walking distance, then.

[Featured on EQD before story was meant to be submitted. 4/03/2015]

[Editing team: Southpaw, Wolfvenom, Maskedferret, SwanSong and BluePaladin42, without whom this story would be a fraction of its current state.]
[Special thanks to Novel-Idea for the updated cover]

There's a crime wave gripping the sleepy town of Apple-Morepone, and nopony on the City Watch seems to care. Corporal "Rainbow" M. Dash naps through her patrols, her partner Dobby is an infamous kleptomaniac, Captain Rhymes is a drunkard, and the entire Watch is a group of burnt-out misfits.

They're about to meet a batpony (adopted) by the name of Carrot, visiting town to return an overdue library book.

And none of their lives will ever be the same.

A crossover/homage to the "City Watch" books of Terry Pratchett's Discworld, written to be readable without any familiarity with the series (though they're excellent, and if you do read them you'll catch my Pratchett in-jokes).

Winner of Aragon's "Comedy Is Serious Business" Contest! "I was quoting this offline for days, forgetting where I was remembering the lines from. … This story made me legitimately jealous, both of its cleverness and of its funniness." –Contest judge MrNumbers

Rated ★★★★★ by Louder Yay! "The best comedy I've read in a long time."

"Highly Recommended" by Super Trampoline! (Video review here @ 09:17) "It's 13,000 words long, but it doesn't feel long, because so much fun stuff is happening."

Reviewed by Ghost Mike! "It features meticulously laboured-over prose, rhyming with actual metre for Zecora, perfectly-timed jokes and reveals that are often outrageous, a sneakily clever plot and character investment that works its magic throughout ... This is a phenomenally executed piece of work."

Other reviews: Present Perfect | City of Doors

Thank you to Themaskedferret and Caliaponia for prereading, and GaPJaxie for motivation/inspiration!

Twilight and Sunset race against the clock to save Canterlot from a foe of unimaginable power… a romantic narrative.

Entry in Aragon's Comedy (is Serious Business) Contest with the prompt Today We Learned Something "Subtle."

Cover Design by Novel Idea
Twilight Sparkle Cutie Mark By Intbrony
Cover based on screenshot from Black Mesa

Beta Reader & Editor Credits
Cursori: Reader of Many a Pony Word
Little Tinker: Master of Systems at Poniverse & Scripting Engineer on The Manehattan Project
Ladrian: Resident Snarky Mistborn
Heartshine: Smol Pegsus, BIg Heart
Oroboro: Assassin of Extra Spa ces

Word Count: 12,000
Version: 3.1

Princess Celestia has been planning for this day for years: the return of Nightmare Moon, the restoration of the Elements of Harmony, and the ushering of Equestria into a new age of friendship and love. Now that it's finally arrived, all she has to do is wait for Twilight to get to Ponyville, make some friends, hunt down the Elements, and save the...

Wait, what'd that letter say?

She didn't get on the chariot?

She went to whose party instead?

Oh. Oh, this could be bad. And more importantly, it's gonna need some hooves-on interference from Celestia to get her master plan back on track. But it'll probably all work out in the end. After all, how big a deal could one party be?

Third-place finalist in Aragon's "Comedy (Is Serious Business)" contest

There's nothing strange about Alias, except for how awesome and radical she is, and how she totally relates to all today's youths and is not Queen Chrysalis. In fact, she's so definitely not Queen Chrysalis it's bodacious and by the way, what's your greatest weakness?

Her house is in the northeast section of Ponyville, near the Whitetail Woods, and she is not married. She takes care of dozens of animals, both pets and wild critters, and she gets home every day by 8 PM at the latest. She is always in bed by 11 PM, and makes sure to get eight hours of sleep, no matter what. After having a glass of warm milk and doing about twenty minutes of stretches before going to bed, she usually has no problems sleeping until morning. Just like a foal, she wakes up without any fatigue or stress in the morning.

Fluttershy is a pony who wishes to live a very quiet life. She takes care of others with simple needs and makes sure that they're content, living vicariously through their own joy. That is how she deals with society, and she knows that is what brings her happiness.

Although, if she were to fight she wouldn't lose to anypony.

This story is an entry in Aragon's Comedy (is Serious Business) contest, with the prompt "We Learned Something, Unfortunately".

One does not simply blaspheme the princess's tits.

Consequences may include, but are not limited to, snuggling, court-martial, and third-degree burns. And not necessarily in that order.

Entry for the Comedy (Is Serious Business) contest.

The selected prompt was "We learned something hot."

"Every time these jokers get knocked out by a flailing unicorn or decide the best plan against a magic-sucking centaur is to fly towards his mouth, I'm the one who makes them look good anyway."

Publicity Stunt is the head of the Wonderbolts PR division. Her job isn't glamorous, or even easy, but it is one she is proud of. And once a week she gets to catch up Equestria's most famous flyers on rumors and news about them that show just how wild an imagination ponies can have.

An entry to Aragon's Comedy (Is Serious Business) Contest with the prompt "We Learned Something Newsworthy" and Manaphy's Wonderful Wonderbolts Contest.

Inspired by and the (unofficial) sequel to FanOfMostEverything's Team Cohesion.

Preread by GPizano and FOME himself.

Edit: Thanks to your efforts this story has now surpassed its rival. Huzzah!