The Crystal Empire disappeared long ago during Princess Celestia and Princess Luna's quest to cleanse the land of Equestria from all forms of evil. King Sombra was a great threat to their entire world and when his defeat came about, at the cost of the Crystal Empire vanishing from existence, it brought nothing but a whole lot of good to the world.

What they didn't realise however, was that Sombra had survived their confrontation and was now plotting his revenge against them both in the one way he knew how.

Twilight Sparkle thought she was the luckiest filly in all of Equestria when Princess Celestia asked her to become her personal student, but she had no idea she'd be a pawn in a game nopony is even aware exists.

Source for art: https://www.deviantart.com/dipfanken/art/Domesticated-626423587

Within our little corner of the multiverse are several agencies all funded by the Crown along with other 'backers' whose names you won't find in any public files—organizations that exist to handle certain tasks at the behest of Her Royal Highness. Many of these agencies work behind the scenes, out of the public eye. They strive to keep not just our country, but the world itself safe from the more dire threats that plague it.

There is an infinite number of universes that exist, some of which have been explored and countless others that we know are out there but have yet to see with our own eyes. There are those that are trained to take such risks. venturing into the unknown and unknowable for the sake of our continued prosperity. And then there those that deal with the nastier things that slip through from time to time. There are ponies and other creatures that specialize in dealing with those things—more often than not eldritch abominations so obscenely hideous and mindbendingly horrifying that the mere sight of one can drive you insane or kill you outright from the fear alone.

While there is some general overlap, I am not officially part of either of those groups. My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I am a newly minted agent of P.O.U.T. or the Procurement of Outlandish and Unearthly Treasures. My role is just what it says on the tin. I find and seize mysterious and often deadly artifacts that have been classified as 'not of this world', preferably before they end up in the hooves, claws, or paws of innocent and hapless civilians who have no idea what they're dealing with.

Unicorns are Elite. Just ask them. All must enroll in Celestia's Magical University in Canterlot. The motto however is adhered to without exception: Only the best, only the Elite. May Celestia show them mercy if they fail any task. The Princess however, has none to give.

In a society where knowledge is power, the unicorns of Canterlot refuse to be anything less than the best. Everything depends on it. Everything. Money, friends, it all is based solely on how well you've done at the Academy. Failure is not an option. But don't fret, even the failures will graduate...Eventually. They have to. Because at any cost all Unicorns must be:

Only the Best, only the Elite.

When Starlight Glimmer tricked Twilight Sparkle into freezing a filly Rainbow Dash in crystal, the sonic rainboom was prevented. This sent a wave of chaos through the timesteam as destiny unraveled, and empowered Discord. He is quite curious as to who exactly was evil enough to cast a potentially lethal spell at a filly.

They say that reading it will send a pony to insanity. Twilight knows that's nonsense.
She knows a simple story can't make her go mad. It's perfectly safe.
Now if only she felt safe around Spike...

Winner of the Ponyfest 3.0 Iron Author Competition. This was originally written in 2 hours with the prompt: Include: Hippogriffian Culture, A Rare Fruit & An Artistic Pursuit. This version has received some editing.
Many thanks to wishcometrue for her editing and Syke for helping with the descriptions!

Chrysalis didn't become a Queen by making stupid mistakes, nor by failing to have a backup plan. So when a certain pesky purple pony starts to stick her nose where it doesn't belong, Chrysalis thinks up a plan sure to win her the day.

Twilight Sparkle is an extremely powerful mare filled with platonic love. Platonic love that's necessary in order to power one of the only weapons strong enough to eradicate Chrysalis' swarm. Platonic love that makes both Celestia and Luna hesitate to hurt the little mare. Platonic love that Chrysalis can both eat and twist to her whim.

This day is going to be perfect. If nothing else, Queen Chrysalis is at least going to have one very satisfying snack.

Twilight Sparkle has been abandoned.

After an expedition into the badlands is torn to tatters by an unprecedented monster attack, Twilight finds herself stranded in a hostile environment with no safe way back home. With no supplies and no survival training, It all seems hopeless for the scholarly unicorn until she is discovered by a type of creature she has never seen before. A changeling named Thorax, a native of the badlands.

With Thorax's knowledge of the environment, he is Twilight's best chance of getting home safely. And by that same token, perhaps Twilight is the best chance the timid, pacifistic drone has of discovering something he has lived his entire life without.

Set well before the Season 2 Finale.

Cover art was drawn by me.

This is a spiritual successor to The Bug in The Herd, and The Bug in The Basement.

Edited by Mister Hypothetical.

Tom has been chosen by a withered Dragon Spirit, to carry on his legacy.

Little did he know, it meant becoming a mother to a massive clutch of eggs.

Now as a young Dragoness in a world of dwindling magic, she must hatch and raise her children against all odds.

Perhaps even sharing her gift with a few other friends, raising a family isn't an undertaking to be experienced alone.

Ember TF, Smolder TF & Spike TF.

Egg hatching shenanigans aplenty.

Made Popular On 11/24/19.

Midnight is a changeling... who works and lives at the Golden Oaks Library with Twilight Sparkle herself. It wasn’t a very smart decision, but the reformed changeling needed a place to stay. Now she’s building herself a new life in Ponyville, but as the events of season three play out it gets increasingly harder to keep her identity secret. Combine that with her new friendship with Lyra and Bon Bon and sporadic appearances from the Doctor, can she keep her cover and defend her new life in Ponyville?

Twilight Sparkle discovers that the alternate timelines created by Starlight Glimmer in her misguided attempt at revenge did not, in fact, disappear when the original timeline was restored. Instead, they persisted as separate, parallel universes.

Never one to leave a job unfinished, she decides to employ the magic of friendship to restore those universes to a more harmonious state.

She begins with Nightmare Moon.

This story is the first in a series. The other stories can be found below.

1. For Want of a Horseshoe <-- you are here
2. A Big Brother's Duty
3. Healing

Cover art provided by the excellent Sini.