Chrysalis had come a long way from absolutely nothing - a humbled bug-horse left to fend for herself in the howling wilderness. But she's not the pony changeling she used to be, and she's set her hoof upon the path of conquest, for herself, for her crown, and for her children minions.

All she had to do was seize the commanding heights of the pony principalities, and feed her brood upon that endless supply of pony happiness which was her birthright, by all that was villainous!

If only her mother didn't keep tripping her up.

Can you make a rainbow just with sunlight and water? No magic required? With the help of the pegasus weather team, Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle investigate.

Twilight Sparkle is a troubled pony who just wants to understand—magic, history, the Elements of Harmony, how other ponies work, and how to live a functional, fulfilling life like everypony else. She excels in everything she does, because all she does is read. Some things are just harder for some ponies. But when she sets her sights higher, toward exploring the obscure terrain of interpony relationships and navigating the circuitous history of the Elements, she learns more than any book she's read could tell her. The world has its secrets for a reason.

Inspired by fiction in the vein of, e.g., HPMOR, Worm, Luminosity, Ra, and To the Stars. I identify this story as a so-called "rational" fiction; for more information, feel free to check out the subreddit /r/rational, or read my comment on /r/mylittlepony explaining some details about my goals and values regarding the story. If you'd like to see non-chapter progress updates, you can follow my twitter, @aknifeallblade.

The royal court of Canterlot welcomes its newest member with open forelegs: the human philosopher Voltaire, from Earth.

On Earth, Voltaire is known as the greatest enemy of tyranny in the history of literature, and a legend in his own mind.

On Equestria, the court betting pool is giving him a week before the Princess banishes him to the Moon.

Note: This story doesn't have sequels per se, but there are a couple of short follow-ups set in the present day ("Parade Coverage" and "Secret Histories"), and a prequel of sorts in "At the Inn of the Prancing Pony".

TV Tropes page.

Family is a complicated thing, it comes with all sorts of expectations, hopes, and unsolicited advice.

It also implies an abundance of drama, this time involving a Changeling Queen, an unlucky messenger and, at least tangentially, a rubber duck.

Cover art used with the permission of the awesome Kp-ShadowSquirrel.

For editing, pre-reading, and enduring me, in no particular order, thanks to: Carabas, Themaskedferret,
MrNumbers, Fenton, FamousLastWords and Aeluna.

In the far reaches of Canterlot Castle, high above in the towers lived the archmage. Everypony knew her, yet few had met her.

Twilight Sparkle sighed, having teleported away another noble seeking favors before reaching the top of the stairs for the second time today. They never learned. As the archmage, she already dealt with political squabbles far too often without inviting them into her home. Aside from personal favors for Celestia, she did what was required of her position and then returned to seclusion and research.

The nobility grumbled that no archmage should be a commoner, and Twilight’s disrespect toward them proved it. Each and every time they were forced to bow to her, they hated what they saw: the position, the status, the deference.

Was she not powerful? Was she not great?

Twilight, now reading through dusty scrolls and long forgotten tales, wrote in her notes — notes gathering dust of their own. A brief thought flashed through her mind.

Am I not powerful? Am I not great?

And then Twilight picked up The Tale of the Royal Pony Sisters.

Defunct side stories told in Across the Boundary. They can still provide a little context, but when in doubt, the main story here is canon.

Cover art provided by Lafiir

Twilight Sparkle has too much magic, and it will take her decades to learn to control it. Her spectacular loss of control during her entrance exam only proves that fact. She is a danger to herself and others.

After Sunset Shimmer’s disappearance, Princess Celestia needs a new student to bear The Element of Magic to defeat Nightmare Moon. With all of Equestria at stake, Twilight Sparkle…is not the pony she needs.

Princess Celestia seals Twilight Sparkle’s magic with the distant promise of one day teaching her.

But there are two diarchs of Equestria. Amidst a lucid dream, an offer is made.

“Hello, Twilight. Would you like to be my student?”

Cover art provided by Lafiir.

After years of shame and ridicule, archaeologist and explorer Lyra Heartstrings stumbles across a discovery that validates all her theories and ideas in one fell swoop. Along with her best friend, Bon Bon, and her old classmate Cadance, they find themselves faced with a mystery and marvel that may change everything.

Following the next greatest lead found in the database of an ancient race, another international team is formed. Led by Doctors Carter and Jackson, they strike out to explore another network of Stargates discovered in a galaxy on the edge of the local cluster. In the process, their findings will cause them to question much of what they thought they knew.

The adventures continue and unlikely allies will face dangers new and old as the Legacy of the Ancients continue to unravel in the latest chapter of the universe.

[Co-written by Thunderclap and Shagohad12] Formerly co-written by Grey Cait. [Edited by: Lithl and m2pt5][Cover art: 1, 2 modified + vectors]
Now with a Russian reading by SviMik

Live Reading!

Featured 8/21/2017!

During the events of Somepony to Watch Over Me, Applejack acted a little strange. After reading about it in the now published Friendship Journal Pinkie Pie thinks she knows the reason. And being Pinkie Pie, she won't stop until Applejack knows the consequences of ignoring an ability that's in her blood.

Commissioned by Alexwarlorn!

My Little Pony belongs to Hasbro!

Thanks to SorcerusHorserus for the cover art!

Spike has a problem regarding inviting two of his royal friends over on the same day! To avoid a diplomatic disaster, can Twilight, Starlight, and Spike prevent these two from meeting? No. No, they can’t. Let’s move on to the real problem.

Thanks to Tired Old Man and Nova Quill for their edits and inputs!