Nightmare Moon was not one to sit about and wait in hopes that she might sometime escape. She would bring about her freedom with her own two hooves!

All she needed was power. Enough to fill the stars and drag them from the skies.

For an alicorn in chains, that was magic she just didn't have. But she could take it; it was only a subject's duty to give of themselves for their Princess's sake, was it not? Still, that would take time, centuries even, and with such thorough bindings she would be unable to take more than scraps from from common peasants.

No, she would need somepony... special. Somepony attuned to the stars themselves.

And if no such pony could be found, then she would make one.

Now with an audiobook provided by Illya Leonov.
Approved by Nonpareil Fiction!

As the Summer Sun Celebration approaches, Princess Celestia sends the young Guard Lieutenant Twilight Sparkle to Ponyville to make final security and preparation checks. In Canterlot the Princess's Apprentice, Shining Armor, works to uncover the hints of an anarchist movement striking at the City's heart. When Night falls the young Princess Cadance is left trying to hold the heart of Equestria together in her aunt's absence

Only a small number of bat ponies remained in Equestria after the disaster of Nightmare Moon. The majority fled, not trusting the nation after being betrayed by their own Princess. But with Luna's thousand year exile having come to a close, it is time for them to rejoin the fold, and no pony is better suited for negotiating that task than the Princess of Friendship herself.

However, when the captain of your escort is Indigo Zap, who suffers from a severe case of Lust At First Sight, and has an ego to put Rainbow Dash's to shame, things get a little more complicated than merely healing millennium-long tensions.

Thanks to bahatumay for pre-reading.

This is the tale of a drake craving freedom.

Spike wakes up every day to a nagging roommate. His days are spent doing chores he neither likes nor dislikes. And, to make matters worse, Rarity's heart is still as distant as ever.

So he stops caring for a day.

Spike Stopped Caring cover done by the wonderful, 2135D. Please check him out; his art is better than my stories.

Edited by gaming goof, Diamond Brook, along with the ever so mysterious, Silent Watcher, the new and improved, Obsidian Shard, and tea drinker, Vexy.

FamousLastWords calls the story: "Swag."

Hearth's Warming Eve.

A night to celebrate new beginnings, to be with family and friends, and welcome the new year.

For Derpy Hooves, a few things are missing.

Editing by Minds Eye, prereading by ZodiacSpear

Rated T for kissing, drinking.

Thank you kindly to Tchernobog for permission to use a different cover art, originally for Mood Wings! Give it a read if you haven't already.
Art by Im_not_sue.

Octavia has finally been promoted to first chair, unfortunately for her, that chair is in the new (and as of yet unformed) Royal Ponyville Orchestra. Now, the best cellist in Equestria (Her words) is being sent to the cultural gulag of Ponyville (Also her words) to form and lead the Royal Ponyville Orchestra to greatness (Princess Luna's words).

Now has a sequel, Princess Luna's Academy of the Arts and Sciences.

And an online reading.

Credit goes to jlm123hi for arranging the cover art
Vectors used:
The stage
Vinyl
Lyra
Fiddlesticks
Octavia

Bonus: Have some fan art made by GamingMelody I found when I accidentally typed my username into Deviant Art's search tool instead of logging in. It's cool someone liked my words enough to draw them, and I hope anyone who does so in the future will send me a link so I can plug them in whatever way I can.

An unexpected encounter with a stallion helps Fluttershy feel better about a personal problem... And then hilarity ensues.

There is now an Interquel in progress, taking place between chapters 3 and 4. And there is a sequel planned.

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!"

Tick...tock...tick...tock...
I keep a pocketwatch. Odd thing for a time-traveler to say. Fortunately, it was enchanted by a friend of mine to tell me the year, along with the relative time. I used to find it odd that if I spent a day in the year 600, a day would pass in the year 2300 and 1000 and...oh, you get the idea.
Of course, I found being here also something to freak out about, much less the ability to travel the time-stream with that Gate Key I ordered. Apparently the thing worked a little too well.
It did, after all, pull me here from home. And while I found the way to go back a while ago...
...I can't leave. Not yet.

...I've seen their future. And I'll be damned if I leave them to it.

Dark times lay ahead for the ponies of Equestria. A dark force comes to take their lands and their magic, to leave them all but helpless. Subjugated to life under a tyrant, their only salvation will come in the form of a champion, a champion who wrestles bears for fun. Zangief, the Red Cyclone, is their only hope.

Unfortunately for them, he's playing for the wrong team.

Zangief will be based on all of his best traits with as much personality as I could find from within his quotes. Don't take this story too seriously, it's done for fun. All my information came from the games and comics. LARIAT.