Everyone has done it at some time. Made that wish upon a falling star, or otherwise gazed longingly with hope into the night sky. Though maybe, we've just been doing it at the wrong time.

Maxwell is a physicist, on his way to finally having his Ph.D, and getting tired of the seemingly minimal impact his work will have in the field as a whole.

That is, until he makes his wish.

Now he's in a bright world full of bright ponies. Also they can talk. And do magic. And fly.

Having hooves is going to take some getting used to.

The Changeling General, war hero, driven to win at any cost. The Moon Princess, Equestria's guiding light, seeking to protect her ponies from an unseen threat.
Between these two, a secret war was waged. Between these two, stood a young changeling princess: Chrysalis
Born of a different color from her mother's hive, Chrysalis finds herself being drawn towards the center of the conflict. With those she holds dear backing her, she'll march into the heart of this war, changing the fate of her race. For better, or worse...

Set in the Trio-verse, an AU where Celestia was banished, instead of Luna. No prior reading required.
Want to give my most sincere thanks to Seiya, Llyrisviel, and docontra for their help editing this tale.

After the changelings' failed invasion of Canterlot, Twilight tries to soothe some of Ponyville's rampant paranoia by casting a spell to prove there are no imposters hiding in the town. But her spell leaves her in an alien body, facing a mob of angry ponies who just don't believe her when she says she is Twilight Sparkle.

Or, at least, she was Twilight Sparkle, anyway...

Featured on Equestria Daily, 2/17/13
Cover art is by the awesome and amazing Conicer

Supreme Overlord of the Dominion of Equestria.
Wonderful title isn't it?
Capture the Country, Marry the Princess, Take over the world.
Sounds like an Adventure story doesn't it?
Well this is no story.
How do I know? Well I'm not stupid for one.
All those other dolts that came before fell into too many simple traps.
They're all so easy to avoid.
That's why I work to rule.
The rules.
The Rules of an Evil Overlord.

Failing once in her attempt to take Canterlot and failing again in her attempt to take down Twilight, one would think Chrysalis would have cut her losses and let things be, but the queen has once again appeared, this time in broad daylight with no disguise and no army. Her weapon of choice? Diplomacy.

Now Twilight is having to deal with the changeling queen, but surely putting up with her antics will be worth the knowledge she's willing to provide about her mysterious race and the potential undiscovered agents still within their midst...right?

Takes place before Magical Mystery Cure and diverges from there.

With thanks to MisterGunpowder for proofreading and editing.

Revision History:

05/09/2015: Chapter 1 updated with millions of little corrections.
05/20/2015: Chapter 2 revised and edited with another million small and large corrections.
06/12/2015: Chapter 3 given a thorough editing and revision.
06/23/2015: Chapter 4 taken to the gutter and edited twice to be sure.
07/14/2015: Chapter 5 thoroughly brutalized with the editing stick.
08/03/2016: Chapter 6 finally edited. Yes, I'm still alive, dammit.
09/29/2016: Chapter 7 fell out of the editing tree and hit every editing branch on the way down.
10/26/2016: Chapter 8 has emerged from the editing emergency room.
11/17/2016: Chapter 9 found and edited. No casualties reported.
11/30/2016: Chapter 10 treated for whiplash after lightning fast editing.
12/22/2016: Chapter 11 edited. Chrysalis shot first.
01/17/2017: Epilogue edited. Time to hit the cider.

It's been a thousand years. Princess Luna is returned, and the castle staff must scramble to see that she has servants to attend to her needs, and just as importantly, that they look the part. Of course, it turns out that it's rather difficult to find competent servants on such short notice. A hooffull of servants are chosen based on their appearance and duties, and are assigned to serve the Moon Goddess as personal retainers until more suitable replacements can be found. When coloring, Cutie Mark, and chance coincide, one of the castle's junior stewards is thrust into a role any loyal servant ought to jump at: Lunar Hoofservant. Unfortunately for Nightlight, Princess Luna is far more demanding than her older sister, and being her servant means contending with an unforgiving goddess who demands nothing short of perfection. Furthermore, somepony must be responsible for the inevitable failure. The duty of "Royal Hoofservant" just might be synonymous with "Royal Scapegoat."
Saddled with responsibility far beyond his post and expected to fail, Nightlight has no choice but to quit his post or to become the servant that Luna needs. This is the story of a pony's development from colt to stallion, and from servant to leader.
Thanks much to DirePony for the editing and story direction he's graciously provided me.
Rated 'Teen' for alcohol use, mild innuendo/sexual references, and pony-swears.
Not based on the (excellent) sci-fi novel of the same name by Robert Heinlein.

This story is a sequel to Better Living Through Science and Ponies

THIS STORY IS CURRENTLY BEING REWRITTEN. PLEASE READ:
I've decided to rewrite this entire story. Considering that I began this project with almost no creative writing experience, I was bound to make some pretty bad mistakes. The story flow is not well organized, and there is an unhealthy amount of redundancy and poor pacing, as well as some pretty important things that I should have included. I intend to address these issues to the best of my ability, but it will be a long and arduous task. This story means a lot to me, so I want it to be more than the mere amateur mediocrity that it resembles. So, give it a read if you want, but keep in mind that it will change. I recommend that you put this on your read later list in the meantime.

This is a Portal 2 crossover. If you haven't played Portal 2, please do that first. Then read the prequel if you haven't done that either.

After Chell finally escaped the confines of Aperture Science, a freak portal mishap down below transported her, along with the entire Enrichment Center, to the land of Equestria. Upon entering this world, she was transformed into a pony. In a strange body and in a strange land, Chell was fortunate enough to be accepted by the ponies of Ponyville, and she lived out a new life contently among the ponies.

But that peace was not to last, for GLaDOS took a particular interest in the ponies of Equestria, and after two weeks of preparation, she launched a surprise attack and kidnapped 300 ponies to serve as test subjects, including Chell's friends and the princesses themselves. Once GLaDOS had them, she subjected them psychological torture. To save her friends, Chell made her way into the one place she hoped never to see again. In doing so, she freed the ponies, defeated GLaDOS in battle, and helped bring about the destruction of the facility. Although this made Chell a hero, she paid a terrible price in that brutal fight.

Beaten, battered, and traumatized, Chell spent months recovering from her wounds. After returning home from the hospital, all she wants is to once again live a normal life in Ponyville, but to do that, she must first heal from her wounds, both physical and psychological.

At the same time, GLaDOS herself has survived Aperture's destruction. With nothing left but herself, she vows to get back to testing. Though she faces an uphill climb, she is determined to see her facility rebuilt and the testing resume, and will stop at nothing to achieve this.

Has a TV Tropes page (will need to be updated after rewrite)

The works that this fanfiction is based on are properties of Hasbro and Valve. I would like to thank Pen Stroke for writing the original story and Flyer for his assistance and advice.

Please note, this is an unofficial sequel. I have received permission from Pen Stroke, but it is not canon to the original. I hope you enjoy it, but keep in mind that this is a fan work (of a fan work), and Pen Stroke holds the rights to the original story.

Twilight is the new changeling queen, Chrysalis is gone, and now lies dead, Celestia isn't worried in the slightest, and Shining Armor and Cadence have just returned from their honeymoon.

The fate of a race is in Twilights hooves, and all the doors are open to her, what path will she call her own?

It's been too long since I've done any writing (for school, I might add), I hope I haven't lost all my skill.

This story is a sequel to Ascend

Congratulations, Twilight. With Celestia and Luna on their constitutionally mandated vacation, you're in charge of Equestria. The position of Regent is an honored and hallowed one. But maybe it's a bit early to congratulate you. After all, whether it's a nobility jealous of your ascension, or a military unhappy with Celestia's decisions; one thing's certain: your reign will be anything but peaceful.

This story is a sequel to Shadowbolts Adventures: Standing Up

Ever since Twilight Sparkle transferred to CHS, her personal laboratory within Crystal Prep has stood empty. She finally decides to pass it on to Sugarcoat, but when she realizes that the isolation improves her test scores, Sugarcoat may be tempted to throw away her new friendships to take over Twilight's vacant position as the smartest student in Crystal Prep Academy.

One again thank you to Bootsy Slickmane for pre-reading and cover art.