Twilight is a princess, and traveling the land to meet ponies far and wide; an excellent opportunity to make more friends. So why is she so unhappy?

Celestia left the public eye of Canterlot to be alone with her beloved, Twilight Sparkle. All she ever wanted could finally be hers. Together in love within her sanctuary, Celestia attempts to have a perfect day with Twilight.

Princess Twilight Sparkle discovers a centuries-old mystery hidden in the Royal Archives. Her investigation leads through layer after layer of deception and misdirection, setting her hooves on a path that seems to be leading to a mysterious secret. Along the way, she learns that some friendships can be very, very strange.

Book 1 of the Alicorn Adventure series.

AUDIOBOOK by VisualPony
Featured at the Royal Canterlot Library
TV Tropes Page (Courtesy of Sandtalon)
Goodreads Page (Courtesy of Facedeer)
Equestria Daily Page

WARNING: Major spoilers in the comments. Takes place several months after the end of season four. (Not a Da Vinci Code crossover, BTW!)

Do you see a dark tag? No, you don't. Not dark. Well, okay, there are a couple of dark-ish bits, but that's all. Not enough to warrant a tag. Speaking of tags, there really ought to be "Badass Twilight" and "Friendshipping" ones.

Sequels and side-stories (and more) can be found here Offprint and AO3, and a hardbound two-volume set of all that can be ordered from The Ministry of Image.

My editor for the first edition of this story was Gogito, and I can't thank him enough for all the hard work he did. My editor for the revised version was PresentPerfect, and he did a terrific job of getting the story into excellent shape.

This story is a sequel to Critical Mass

Two months have passed since Twilight was rescued, and since then, she has been constantly exhausted, worn out, and easily ran down. Her outlook is far from hopeful in her vulnerable state, but Rainbow and the rest of the princesses are there to help her start the long road to recovery. Perhaps the Crystal Faire, the celebration that the Crystal Empire is most known for, a prominent display of joy, love, and hope, will be just what she needs to realize that tomorrow will be better than today. A hope that things will improve, even if it isn't overnight.

This story is completely written, except with the possibility of revisions of the last chapter. Edits of the remaining chapters are still in progress, but a new chapter will be posted every two weeks until completion, barring any unforeseen problems that arise.

This story is a sequel to Reaction

All actions have consequences, and those consequences can vary widely. A single phrase can change so much.

Things are looking brighter for Twilight, but she is still vulnerable and recovering, and all of the ramifications of what happened haven't come to fruition yet.

Twilight is Rainbow's best friend, and Rainbow is Twilight's best friend. Both of them are struggling with their feelings and what happened, but Rainbow has promised to be there for Twilight, and she will keep her promises, even as the consequences reach a boiling point and threaten their fledgling relationship.

Beware of unmarked spoilers in the comments section.

This story is a sequel to Meltdown

Twilight Sparkle struggles with life, loss, and sickness after having saved Ponyville from disaster. The day she asked Rainbow Dash out on a date, unsurprisingly, did not go according to plan. Now that she's recovering, she has to deal with the results of what happened, regardless of whether they are good or bad. At least she has the support of her friends, and perhaps, somepony more than just a friend to help her.

Beware of unmarked spoilers in comments.
Sequel found here!

Today's the day! Twilight is finally going to tell Rainbow Dash how she feels, and it couldn't be a better day for it! But there's still plenty that could go wrong, including Rainbow saying no. Needless to say, things go wrong in a way neither of them could have imagined, and Twilight's day goes from bad to worse...

This is more or less just setup for the sequel, and the sequel is much better than this.

Sequel found here.

Rainbow Dash is nothing if not an enthusiastic coach and teacher, but her winning smile isn't the reason Twilight asked her for flying lessons.

Okay... maybe it is... but only a little bit.

Still, looking isn't touching. It's not like Applejack could get mad if all Twilight wants is to spend a little time with her marefriend, could she?

Written as my entry into the AppleDashLight group's contest.

As always, pre-reading and editing assistance by the amazing Karrakaz and Steel Resolve.

Cover art by Johnjoseco over at DeviantArt.

Rainbow Dash doesn't have anypony to spend her Hearth's Warming with—she hasn't for many years. All of her friends are enjoying it and she's had enough. She finds her way to Sweet Apple Acres and asks Applejack if she can spend the evening with her family.

AppleDash shipping. Again.

Failing once in her attempt to take Canterlot and failing again in her attempt to take down Twilight, one would think Chrysalis would have cut her losses and let things be, but the queen has once again appeared, this time in broad daylight with no disguise and no army. Her weapon of choice? Diplomacy.

Now Twilight is having to deal with the changeling queen, but surely putting up with her antics will be worth the knowledge she's willing to provide about her mysterious race and the potential undiscovered agents still within their midst...right?

Takes place before Magical Mystery Cure and diverges from there.

With thanks to MisterGunpowder for proofreading and editing.

Revision History:

05/09/2015: Chapter 1 updated with millions of little corrections.
05/20/2015: Chapter 2 revised and edited with another million small and large corrections.
06/12/2015: Chapter 3 given a thorough editing and revision.
06/23/2015: Chapter 4 taken to the gutter and edited twice to be sure.
07/14/2015: Chapter 5 thoroughly brutalized with the editing stick.
08/03/2016: Chapter 6 finally edited. Yes, I'm still alive, dammit.
09/29/2016: Chapter 7 fell out of the editing tree and hit every editing branch on the way down.
10/26/2016: Chapter 8 has emerged from the editing emergency room.
11/17/2016: Chapter 9 found and edited. No casualties reported.
11/30/2016: Chapter 10 treated for whiplash after lightning fast editing.
12/22/2016: Chapter 11 edited. Chrysalis shot first.
01/17/2017: Epilogue edited. Time to hit the cider.