"This is a story about Twiddle and his bad night." Erm... It's straight to the point, but I think I can be a little more thoughtful than that. Let's start again.

"We all have been there, on the cusp of giving up on everything you've ever worked for." Err -no. I really don't want to appear preachy nor make too broad of assumptions either. It shouldn't be so obvious -it should be subtle, portraying a meaningful emotion and moral without ever actually saying it outright. Just try one more time.

"Down under the the stolid stars gazing upon the earth, beneath the smokestacks and thatch roofs, Twiddle sat at his-" no, no, no; this isn't right either. I mean, sure it is an omniscient narrator like it should, but... I don't know, it's nice but it just doesn't fit in with the feel quite right. Ugh.

Okay, focus. The summary needs to reflect the story in a brief selection, so what is this story? Oh Celestia, is it bad that I don't know?

This story is a sequel to Empress Rarity's 250th Birthday

“We are friends, are we not?”

The Empress’ two hundred and fifty-first birthday is just a few days away, yet there is little cause for celebration as Rarity’s Empire is crumbling before her eyes. Bad luck somehow meets her at every turn, and there’s a grim shadow looming over any hope for her nation and her crystal ponies. With a powerful darkness locked within her own mind, will the voices in her nightmares tear her apart? Or can she learn to rely on those she once called friends before it's too late?

Welcome to the sequel to Empress Rarity’s 250th Birthday.

This story was designed with new and old readers in mind. I have made sure to carefully place information to touch on the important facts to remind those that had read the first book of what happened, and to let new readers know what is going on in this one. Not everything is going to be explained from the last book at once, but it will be eventually covered.

So it is not necessarily a requirement to read Empress Rarity’s 250th Birthday, but it is highly recommended.

The group for the story: Birthdayverse.
Credit goes to Autumnschild for the editing.
Cover art is done by, and belongs to ifthemainecoon.

The beginning was on odd thing. It wasn't defined or tangible–barely even conceptual. It consisted mostly of nothing. But back then it was easy to create and bring to life the imagination literally. Objects flashed in and out of existence unless believed-in hard enough. Meaning was at the whim of the mind's wishes. Whole worlds of curious wonder could explode into existence and fizzle out in a second like lit gunpowder.
But it was awfully lonely–awfully terribly lonely. The number of those who could create, the gods, was few to nil. It was impossible to tell if the tracks–made up of objects dreamt into existence–were those of another creator, or the searcher's own. It is plausible there is only one creator, and the idea of another is just of their own imagination, but they hope it isn't, or at least hope to believe into their own lie that it isn't. They'll keep looking regardless.

The queen of the Changelings' defeat at Canterlot left her with more than just physical wounds. In an attempt to heal the blows struck deep within her, she takes a recommended vacation to a remote area in the swamps. Ironically enough, the cottage she takes vacancy proves to be unforgiving as she finds herself with nothing but swamp berries, a lumpy floor pillow, and all the time in the world to complain about it. The only consolation to her misery made worse comes in the form of four furry felines.

"The pieces are set, and the dice are in play. But does every pony have the heart for this day?"

Nearly two hundred years have passed since Rarity Belle merged with the Crystal Heart and took the throne of the Crystal Empire. Since then, through her care, determination, and vision, the Empire has flourished like never before. Now Empress Rarity stands as not a ruler of a providence, but the monarch of a rising superpower.

Today though, is the Empress' Birthday, and Lady Merry Sapphire, seneschal to the Empress, is determined to make this the best birthday Rarity has ever had. Little does she know that not everypony shares her enthusiasm for today...

Notes:
This is an official prequel to the Princess Twilight Sparkle's Birthday stories, created by Autumnschild. This story will develop and expand much of the world we made, but taking place 250 years before PTS500 and its sequel, PTS505. Due to its time gap and status as a prequel, you do not need to read the stories created by Autumnschild, and I have done my best to help that. However, knowing what happened in them will help you be a bit more aware of what is going on, and I encourage you to go read them for they are very enjoyable.

We now have our own group! Come check out the Birthdayverse!

Credit goes to Autumnschild for the proofreading for this story.
Razalon The Lizardman is credited for the grammatical overhaul.

Great thanks goes to these two, for this story would not be as good without them.

What do Vinyl and Neon do after a show?
Did anything happen at the show?
Will this affect Octavia? And if it does, how?
Is Vinyl the reason Octavia is in therapy?
Will all of these questions be answered in this story? ... maybe...

Pre-read by Strythio.

The ponies of Equestria have feared Princess Luna ever since her return from exile, something Twilight hopes to change with the help of her friends.

These stories are the product of inspiration from six words, and six words only.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
All stories are there own, completely un-related.
The "random" tag is is going to be the only one on this story because the stories are going to vary in drastic ways.

"Love is friendship that has caught fire. It is quiet understanding, mutual confidence, sharing and forgiving. It is loyalty through good and bad times. It settles for less than perfection and makes allowances for human weaknesses."

FlashLight Part: Princess Cadence is feeling something suspicious since she is the Princess of Love. So she asks Shining Armor a favor. A favor that may leave Twilight in a huge shock.

SoarinDash Part: Two of Rainbow Dash's friends, who is a Wonderbolt and are twins, sent a ticket to the Wonderbolts Derby and Backstage VIP Pass to see the Wonderbolts. Rainbow is excited about this, but what she didn't know is that the twins are planning to play matchmaker.

Collab with: December Sprinter (Starting Chapter 2)

Proofread by: MLP Fangirl

ON HIATUS for the meantime... I have so many stories in mind...

Dash’s Checklist
1) Become captain of the Eventide Watch. Check
2) Convince Soarin, Lightning Dust and Sunset Shimmer to join. Check
3) Deal with the emotional problems of a timid coltfriend, a headstrong mare trying to prove herself and an all powerful mage that's terrified Celestia is going to show up and vaporize her?
4) Use said group to protect an alicorn of magic, who’s stronger than the entire Royal Guard combined?
5) Don’t stress out from all the press ready to bash away at every attempt you make to prove that you are capable as Captain?
6) Have three buds to take care of you when everything goes to Tartarus as you’re embroiled in a political plot that will possibly create soldiers that can fight against alicorns? Check.