When Scootaloo hears from Sweetie Belle that a number of last season's merchandise was leftover at Rarity's Boutique, the young filly gets a mischievous idea regarding her idol. After all, if anypony can make frilly, out-of-style fashion cool... It's Rainbow Dash.

In the modern era, it has become common for foreigners to mock Equestria, seeing the pony nation as weak, naive, unwilling to commit to hard decisions. More belligerent neighbors often view the ponies as easy prey or targets, to have their magic stolen, to be devoured and pillaged, or conquered as a ready supply of slaves.

It was not always thus. In ages past, Equestria was a land of heroes and legends, of darkness and bloodshed. In time, the princesses learned to temper strength with mercy, power with forbearance, and righteous conviction with benevolence.

But now, a thousand years after the younger princess was banished to the moon, the long peace is drawing to a close. Forces both within and without Equestria awaken, seeing a nation weak and easily toppled. Seeing a people grown fat on peace and luxury, who have long forgotten the hardships of war and conflict, or the glory of bloodshed.

Woe betide to all who come to Equestria with ill intent. For in all these long years of peace, the Princess of the Sun has never forgotten the lessons of war, and her eyes watch over her beloved subjects with not only patience and understanding, but an implicit promise of protection.

The time will come soon, when those who would do Celestia's Little Ponies wrong will come to learn... That even an Empire of Mercy is still paved upon the bones of its enemies.

[...]
Alternate universe story based on two main principals: First, that Rainbow Dash is taken in as Celestia's student in addition to Twilight. Second, that the threats to Equestria are both larger in magnitude, but also countered by a more competent and militarized Equestria. Also, it will follow my headcanon that alicorn's are gender neutral.

It is also somewhat based on my love of story threads that are disconnected but still intersect. The continuity will not really have a single group of main characters (Though it will start with mostly Rainbow Dash and Celestia), but rather a number of different story threads playing out simultaneously across the world. I have plans for the Mane Six, Celestia, Luna, Spike, Starlight Glimmer, and Scootaloo at the least.

I will be posting every 14 days on saturday, at least for the time being. Story is in present tense, third person. Genre will kinda be all over the place, parts of the story will include the whole spectrum from war story to slice of life to drama to who knows what else.

In another Equestria, order is maintained by a select group of skilled spellslingers operating under the endorsement of the crown. The ponies call them Lawmares, and they are a dying breed.

Twilight Sparkle is one such Lawmare, considered by her Princess and her peers as the finest spellslinger in generations. Her abilities will be put to the test soon, however, as a dark force is growing in the North, and not even the Lawmares may be able to keep the chaos at bay.

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My loving tribute to Westerns and Stephen King's 'Dark Tower' cycle.

THE TALE TAKES TIME, BUT THE TALE SHALL BE TOLD.

Suppose you found yourself in a strange body and on an unknown planet, with only a lonely dentist for company. What are you willing to do to get home? How hard would you fight? Does it matter if you're a princess or just a person?

With the end of the reign of the Two Sisters, Celestia and Luna decide to raise the sun and moon together in one final solar eclipse. Where it once represented the rebellion of the moon against the sun, it would now represent a display of stellar beauty where the sun and moon rise together in harmony. It would mark the transition to a new time of peace for Equestria, under Princess Twilight.

Too bad they forgot to notify Twilight about this. Or anypony else for that matter.

This will end well.

Huge thanks to Soaring for pre-reading and helping me get off my flank to finish this, and thanks to ThePeer for pre-reading as well!

Written in celebration of the last total solar eclipse to be visible from the US for the next 20 years!

Yes, I know it was a week ago. Yes, it's a skill issue.

Anon is meditating after doing a whole lot of nothing all day. Twilight stumbles upon him doing this and asks him what he's doing. Anon just invites her to join him as he stops thinking and just viiibes.

She doesn’t know how to vibe. Book pone can only think.

Anon decides to change that. One way or another.

Idea provided by golabi2101.

Everypony knows the Hearth’s Warming Eve tale of tribal unity and the shared rule which followed. Everypony also knows that alicorns - singular or dual - have sat on Equestria’s throne for well over a thousand years.

Very few have really looked in to what actually happened between those points.

Even Twilight Sparkle, until a chance encounter leads her to an alarming discovery: Neither she, nor any other alicorn, has actually held any legal right to Equestria’s throne. They are technically usurpers, autocrats - even tyrants.

Still struggling with her own personal rule, having the fundamental basis for her authority swept from beneath her leaves Twilight with one simple, yet impossible question: 

Now what?

Many thanks to Commawriter and Kirtai for pre-reading!

Cover image was edited by Vinylshadow. They deserve all credit for it!

When Twilight has returned from limbo as an Alicorn, Celestia also underwent a big change. This one was not quite so... expected, though.

Demons were once merely a myth. But now, they are all too real.

Scribe Twilight Sparkle is content with her position within The Order, simply documenting and cataloging various menial pieces of information. It's a life she couldn't imagine being any different.

However, when a veteran Demon Hunter arrives at Monastery Firelight, and she's at the wrong place at the wrong time, she's thrust into a new, terrifying and dangerous world. One that has always existed beneath the veil of her previous life.

Now, instead of shying away from the darkness, she must face it head-on.

Every full moon, Scootaloo’s mother is left with no choice but to chain her own daughter up. If she were to be free then there would be untold carnage.