Twilight isn't having a very good day. An experimental spell blew up in her face, an army of changelings is attacking Canterlot, and she just died. Yet somehow, it looks like it's going to keep going downhill from here.

Given the chance to correct what's gone wrong, Twilight swears she's going to fix all this even if it kills her. Which it will. Frequently.

Cover art by Pixel Prism
Spanish Translation
Series TV Tropes page

A different take on alicorn ascension. Sixteen years after arriving in Ponyville, Twilight Sparkle is excited to have invented a brand-new kind of spell, but it will come with consequences she cannot possibly anticipate. Meanwhile, threats in shadows around the world conspire to overthrow the Solar Throne. With her world turned upside down, she will have to come to terms with the role that fate has dealt her while straining to keep Celestia in power.

Now with a TVTropes page! Please show it some love! Also check out the official side stories, Designing Intrigue, and Love and Barriers! (With even more in my stories page!)

(Please Note: This story was started before any season three information was available. All episodes in season three and later are non-canon for this story, which also means there's no Crystal Empire in this one. In addition, the promotional map released close to the beginning of season three was also not available and is not compatible with this story. While the OC tag is active because there are OCs in the story, they're really just supporting characters. The focus is on Twilight.)

Also be sure to check out the Rites of Ascension Expanded Universe Group! We're working to develop the resources needed for other authors to try their hand at writing stories set in the Rites Universe!

The Book Two cover art was created by the amazing Silfoe! The original cover art can still be found at Violet Squiggle's deviantArt page.

Author's Notes, including proofreader's credits, can be found here!

"This is 100% Approved by Twilight's Library!"

"Those of us who have a general overview and knowledge of King Sombra regard him to be a despotic autocrat, a power-hungry potentate and a vicious oppressor. And, even if this condemnation is justified, we may perhaps not have the right reason for this attribution. This is due to the fact that before King Sombra turned to the tyrant we all know him to be, he was the greatest knight of the Crystal Empire."
-Sir Sombra de Onyx, Foreword to the Third Edition

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Used with permission, coverart by the talented Gaiascope.

Suggested Format:
Font: Georgia
Size: Normal
Color: Medium Dark
Spacing: 1.0

Technical A/N: The writing style of Sir Sombra de Onyx is heavily influenced by two books. These are Le Morte D'Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory and Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott. For a detailed analysis of this style, see this blog enrty. (Warning: Text Block)

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Featured in the Royal Canterlot Library
Reviews:
Paul Asaran
Present Perfect
One Man's Ramblings

Note: The rewriting has started!
Magnus is the sole survivor of a colony ship headed towards Betelgeuse. The ship gets thrown off course when a huge asteroid slams into the ship, which is then pulled into a black hole.

When the ship exits on the other side, he finds himself alone and in an unfamiliar shape. His only companion, an advanced A.I named Ana keeps him slightly sane during their six thousand year voyage through unknown space in a nearly derelict ship.

Everything changes when they find a small blue planet teeming with life.

The old version can be found here: Link

Editing by: Lab
All art by: Mister Aibo, DeviantArt, Fimfiction Profile

For a thousand years, the Code of Harmony has ruled Equestria, and the Code of Dissonance has sabotaged its works at every turn. Now the war for control over the land will come to a head, and one unicorn's decision may decide the fate of all.

For though she does not know it, Twilight Sparkle is the shining example of the Code of Harmony. Her teacher, Princess Celestia is Harmony's most powerful master and she knows her enemies are hatching a plan that threatens to cast down the Harmony of her throne and all she has sacrificed to create.

What she does not know is her foe seeks a new Apprentice to turn to his dark ways. A unicorn with seemingly limitless potential for magic, whose thirst for knowledge may yet lead her down a dark path, who is known to be such a faithful student of magic, eagerly seeking the truth no matter how forbidden it might be...

Sequel: Code of Harmony

"It has been the pivotal teaching of the great Fountainhead, personal mentor and Celestia's most esteemed archivist, that the grand unified theory of magic, if discovered, is to be found within the mage's affectivity –that is; of the polarizing impetus of love, for unicorn magic, and hate, for Black Magic. It is claimed, further, that reality itself, too, is subject to this principle; and to deny so was self-contradictory. The dogma, however was not uncontested. Unicorns, Mages and Archmages from all over Equestria of all emotional preconditions would challenge and confute the thesis with ease. It was here that the great Fountainhead replied that the grand unified principle was too profound to be felt and too minute to be perceivable. He posits that, though invisible, this maxim holds together the fabric of the universe: matter with magic; existence with consciousness; dreams with reality; and–most significant of all–ourselves with one another."

-Starswirl the Bearded, "Hermeneutical Phenomenology of Pre-Classical Metaphysics", Royal Canterlot Archives (323 L.B.), p. iii-iv

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EDIT 04/16/13: Remastered version coming soon! Grammatically sound, split into several chapters and improvised.

The storm is breaking on the Horizon.

It's been two months since the battle against Nightmare Moon. Luna is recovering, Celestia is busy turning the government back into a diarchy, and the Mane Six have returned to their lives. All seems well, but when Celestia discovers that half of the power of the Elements of Harmony have been transferred to each of the Bearers, she decides to send thirteen mysterious members of the Royal Guard to monitor them as they manifest and develop their new abilities.

The sins of a forgotten war still linger, and an ancient evil lurks in the shadows, just waiting for the right time to strike. The Mane Six suddenly find themselves once again at the heart of a conspiracy to bring about Eternal Night, and only by awakening their powers and realizing their full potential can they do anything to stop it. Friends both old and new will help them along the way, and an unseen force will guide them as it seeks to right a wrong made thousands of years ago. The Bearer's journeys will take them outside the borders of Equestria and into the world beyond, and when they return, they'll have the power and experience necessary to save the world and bring about balance in all things.

The Powers of Harmony TV Tropes Page (SPOILERS)
The Powers of Harmony Art

Thanks to Wildy71090 for the cover pic.

Equestria has changed since The Darkest of Days. Since Celestia's Fall.

Dark forces, once held in check, are left to roam free, for those who stood against them are no more. All that remains are Twilight and her friends. But to stop this ancient threat, they must answer the oldest of questions.

What are the Elements of Harmony really? And what do they want with us?

Takes inspiration from and making reference to: Its a Dangerous Business, Going Out Your Door, by Jetfire, (Jetfire has given me permission to use material from DB), this is the tale of Equestria's near future, with Tolkein high fantasy, Eldritch Evils, and even elements of science fiction included.

Still (mostly) show canon. Until the attack on Celestia in the near future leads everyone in a direction they never saw coming.

Note: Currently not compatible with Besides the Will of Evil, Jetfire's official sequel to Dangerous Business.

I would also like to give a big shout out to my editor, 3theCaptain, who made this all possible. Thanks a million Captain. =) 3theCaptain

Non stylized summary:
Celestia, Luna, Cadence, and Shining Armor are all wiped out in a single, massive attack. Over the next few years, three of those four have found a way to contact the world again, only to discover a religion has sprung up around the way they died.
The main story takes place many years after the attack. The young ponies of the show (ie pound cake and pumpkin cake) are just reaching adulthood. Twilight has had to rule alone, and war has broken out as those who would have never dared to attack Celestia and Luna, smell weakness.
The mane six are fractured, the weapon that struck the capitol has left vast areas of the world uninhabitable, and the Elements of Harmony are attempting to communicate with the world, warning everyone that the most ancient threat the world has ever faced has returned. A threat so old, the Elements of Harmony were originally built to fight it.

Twilight Sparkle was presumed to be dead. Destroyed without even a body to bury, the young victim of a deadly magical surge that claimed the lives of many others along side her. More than a decade later, reports of a violent murder by a pony bearing her name are brought to Celestia and Luna's attention. A trail of carnage leading directly towards Canterlot's doorstep, brought by a pony who strikes without mercy. As Twilight approaches, in service to an unknown master, the Alicorn Sisters desperately try to uncover what happened all those years ago.

Edited by Zintegy and The Pink Mugsy

Chapter Heading Art by KirillK
All Sketches and Artworks can be found HERE

The creak of metal echoed as a hellish choir in the room. Lyra sobbed, clutching the little communication device to her barrel, as though it were her life itself. "Please..." She whispered. "Anypony, I think-I think it's getting closer." ...A sickly, raspy breathing crested the doorway on the other side of her hiding spot. "Help..."

[img]http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg531/heavensbee/Smilies/divider_medium_zps621145b7.jpg[/img]

There is an organization which protects mankind, but remains shrouded entirely in secrecy. It is known as 'The Foundation'. They are unscrupulous and methodical, sacrificing as many lives as need be for the greater good. It can't be helped, the supernatural and meta-physical will always be a threat to humanity.

But not all of their specimen and objects are dangerous. They are varied, some help, some kill. Some are delicious. Some, are deadly.

And some are...well... Cute

[img]http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg531/heavensbee/Smilies/divider_medium_zps621145b7.jpg[/img]
Hello everypoooony! I'd like to thank all the awesome bros that helped with this collab, MrPockets as a writer and editor! MerlosTheMad as a writer! And finally Flying Wingnut as our last collaborator and chief editor. Hope you enjoy the beginning of our haunting tale... *ENGAGE SINISTER LAUGHTER*