Being seniors at Canterlot High has some advantages. For the fall semester, Sunset Shimmer, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Twilight Sparkle won't actually be at CHS. Instead, the girls made it into a competitive foreign exchange program, which is sending them to Tokyo for the semester! Having taken Japanese as their foreign language credits, the girls joined the exchange program to open themselves up to a broader world.

Among the many experiences the exchange program exposed the girls to is the newest and hottest technology, the NerveGear, which brings virtual reality to a whole new level. Sword Art Online, also known as SAO, is the premier game soon to be released for the NerveGear. With their new friend, Ota Natsuki, they scored limited copies and get to be some of the 10,000 players to first experience Aincrad, but SAO is more than a game.

The girls are trapped, along with the other 10,000 players, by Akihiko Kayaba, the developer of the NerveGear and SAO. To get out, they must conquer Aincrad, floor by floor, until they beat the final boss in the Ruby Palace at it's summit. Then they all will be freed, however, if you die in the game, you die in real life.

The girls must band together with their new friend and face Aincrad, not just for themselves, but for all of the other players who can't take on such a challenge. After all they have been through, beating demons and sirens, a game should be easy, right?

EQG: Sword Art Online - Ruby Palace is not a sequel to EQG:SAO - Aincrad and, likewise, Ruby Palace is not a "rewrite". I chose to follow SOA Canon in Aincrad, placing the girls inside those events. Ruby Palace is a full crossover and Alt-U between EQG and SAO.

The Vignette Arcs are not required reading to follow the story, but they are recommended. The Pilot Episodes are the official start of the story.

Special Thanks to my editor, Void Runner and my beta reader, Cotton Sweet.
Artwork - Wing banners and page breaks are by Drytil.

Sword Art Online is created by Reki Kawahara.
My Little Pony is owned by Hasbro.

Princess Celestia has trained her three apprentices, Sunset, Trixie and Twilight, to become the newest generation of the Knights of the Realm, protectors of Equestria. Their abilities and morals are unquestionable, and they're also perfectly willing to become the heroes Equestria needs. However, something had to give, and in the process of turning them into the future Legendary Heroes, those three ended up becoming particularly eccentric in their methods and quirks. This is the start of a very silly era of heroes.

October 2019 Edit: The story's rating has been changed from E to T.

This story is a sequel to Kind Hearts & Coronets

“My name’s Daisy Jo Martinez. I was born – or so my birth certificate says – on March 30, 2012. I’m married with two kids, my husband’s a Naval officer. I’m originally from a town just outside of DC called Winchester, Virginia – apple capital of America, yay, go me. I’m a Republican – that tends to shock a lot of people – and I’m a practicing Catholic – and that tends to shock more people than the first, and like I said, I’m married – I think people start passing out at that point. I've lived a happy, charmed life and I’m proud to be an American.

“And as you can also see, I’m a pony. Well, physically anyway."

The first main story of The All-American Girl Saga.
TV Tropes page
Selected as "Humans Aren't Bastards" Group's Mods' Choice July 2013

When an ancient Equestrian artifact suddenly tears a hole in time and space, Sunny Starscout gets the chance to meet her idol, Twilight Sparkle, for real! However, not only is Twilight shocked by the changes to the Equestria she loves, but Opaline's ever-present eyes see this as an opportunity to undo her defeat at Twilight's hooves. Twilight and Sunny must find a way to stop the mad alicorn if Equestria is to remain stable.

G4/G5 crossover.
Timeline: Pre-season 9 of FiM, post G5 holiday special.
My 40th pony fic!
Coverart by Adagiostring.

Celestia travels to a far corner of her kingdom to investigate a rumor about a colt with strange, illicit cutie marks. She meets Radish Root, a boy whose marks make him an anomaly in the fabric of Equestria, a mystery to himself, and an outcast among society.
When Radish joins the Royal Guard just prior to the return of Nightmare Moon, he finds his life being complicated by all the changes coming to Equestria. His marks will lead him into adventure, intrigue, and trouble... but will they ever lead him to answers?

Proofreader: Slavenger Karl
Cover Art Gallery
Table of original characters
A reader is translating this story into Spanish. Check it out here.