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!"

This story is a sequel to Left Behind

After defeating the Broken Pony, Nightmare Moon is finally free to begin her plans to retake Equestria and restore it to its former glory. However, she is haunted by the ill portents she had been given and searches for signs of her sisters' fragments or the coming of any new alicorns.

On top of this, the king impedes the alicorn's work at every turn and tries to be rid of her just as frequently. So many things happening all at once and spiraling towards the doom the 'leftover tool' warned her about, but Nightmare Moon is determined. No creature will stop her goal, not even the dregs of Equestria's destroyers from so long ago.

Lucid Storm imagines a world beyond death, where no pony will ever need to truly say goodbye to the ones they love. When all the magic and medicine of Equestria failed one young Sweetie Belle, he proposed a radical new technique--total brain recording, taken minutes before her death.

Years have passed since that day, years spent scrounging the funding for a body and experimenting with many failed machine intelligence models before tinkerer ponies all around equestria finally came together in the perfect synthesis.

After all this time, Sweetie Belle will finally have her second chance.

Written for Lucid on my Patreon. Edited by Two Bit and Sparktail, who also sponsored it. Cover by Magfen.

This story is a sequel to Cold

Time flows differently, in the multitude of plains that make up the universe. Seconds here can be hours there... and hours here can be decades over there. There is, however, one universal constant among all time and space: Time never stops. Perhaps I counted on time as my ally when I cast that spell and dove into the past... if only I'd know just how cruel and unwavering it can really be.

Thirty years, I've tried... in most other worlds, it's probably been hundreds, but I've managed to keep track. Thirty years of searching, trying and trying again, desperately doing everything in my power to bring you back... and all that I've learned is that unless I make this choice, it's simply not possible... I hope you'll forgive me. I know that'll be hard... but maybe given enough time, you'll understand... -Twilight Sparkle

Discord- https://discord.gg/EQh5YzE8YE

Patreon- https://patreon.com/user?u=4398966

Time, as it turns out, is indeed finite. There is a certain point where, against all logic, everything ends. Of course, that's not something most will witness.

Twilight however, has been waiting a very long time to see it, and maybe something more.

This story is a sequel to I Am Human, And That's All I Want To Be

A/N this is a sequel to my story I Am Human. It is not required reading for the sequel, but you may want to read it regardless. Also, I work as a PMC, so I don't get alot of free time. As a result, updates will likely be sporadic. Thanks.

A/N woo-hoo! Featured! Thanks for reading and the support!

Its been just over six years since your injury. You're not sure what happened but apparently while flying over the city you lost control and plummeted to the ground. Thanks to the Princess you were still alive but with no memory of your life before the incident. But lately, you have been plagued with dreams that seem so familiar.

This story is a sequel to Stardust

Times are changing for Equestria as Twilight’s return brings with it news of people and cultures from beyond the peaceful world everypony knows. Aid and volunteers are freely offered to help the besieged humans of Earth because every Equestrian knows that’s what good friends do. Unfortunately, making friends can also have the unintended consequence of making enemies.

When the monsters besieging the humans strike at Equestria with a level of brutality not seen in over a thousand years, the cry for help is sent to all the kingdoms of the world. Honored allies step forth to fulfill ancient treaties and oaths. Enemies, old and new, bury their grievances. An alliance never before seen in Equestria will be created to combat the monsters from the void.

And because of these events, a grim but welcome sibling to the XCOM project is born.

(XCOM/FiM Crossover)
(Sequel to Stardust, which I recommend reading before starting this. Fortitude Amicitia and Broken aren't required reading but are supplemental to the storyline)
(Gore tag for blood and violence)
(Alternate Universe tag because of the divergence from canon that Stardust has caused)
(Uses elements of Season 4)
(Coverart produced by the amazing Carnelian!)
(Many thanks to Arzoo, BradTheBrony, Vandenbz and Setokaiva for prereading!)
(As of 03/07/2016, the prereading team consists of Arzoo, BradTheBrony, Noble Cause and Metallusionsismagic!)
(Complete with it's own TVTropes page as part of the Stardust continuity. Could use some updating!)
(Character tags will be added as chapters are added!)
(Featured 5/12/2014! Thanks folks!)
(Possible spoilers in the comments! BEWARE!)

Isolated from her friends and taken prisoner in the middle of a war, Twilight must deal with the very real dangers of being percieved as an enemy as well as the nightmares of her arrival on 'Earth'. Can she overcome her own fears and the fears of her captors? Will the wayward unicorn's assistance be a boon or a curse to the 'humans?' Most importantly, will she ever find her way home?

"In short, it's a story of friendship and plasma rifles, with the emphasis on the friendship. The characters are well written, the XCOM setting is fleshed out very well, and the story is compelling. If you love XCOM, you'll love the story, but even if you've never heard of it, it's more than worth giving the first 3 chapters a read.

There's excellent action later on, but the real strength lies in the collision between the friendly and naive world of Twilight Sparkle and the desperate world of humans fighting a losing war for survival and willing to do anything to turn the tide."

--Arzoo

(XCOM/FiM crossover)
(Cover art commissioned by a friend and created by the magnificent FoxInShadow!)
(Original cover art by the amazing Carnelian can be viewed here!)
(Gore tag for blood and some violence)
(Many thanks to the studius OminousTen, Arzoo, xXFluttershyForeverXx and finally Setokaiva for giving my rambles a once-over)
(Now with it's own TV Tropes page! Get to tropin' folks!)

Heroes.

Whether they are supermen with incredible strength and speed or alicorn princesses with the power of magic, they fight a never ending battle to uphold truth, justice and friendship. They are the pillars of the world, keeping it safe when all else fails.

But what if those six pillars are reduced to one? Can a single hero hold up the weight of the world? That is what the new ruler of Equestria Twilight is trying to figure out when a superhero enters her life. Strong, fast, impossibly white teeth, the hero All Might is the lone pillar that holds up his world. And perhaps this hero can show her how to be that lone pillar.

Or perhaps she will show him why one pillar cannot stand alone.

The last nine hundred years haven't been kind to Spike.
 
Unable to live in pony society at his current size, Spike sets off on a journey to find the spell that can revert his rampant growth. But he's not the only one searching for the cure.

From a lost library buried deep under the frozen north, to the seedy depths of a starlit metropolis, to the desolate surface of the moon, Spike will go to any length to reclaim what time and biology have taken from him--if the journey doesn't kill him, first.

 
A story about coming to terms with yourself. Also an entry for the May Pairings Contest.