Princess Nightmare Moon has it all. Socially awkward shut-in Twilight Sparkle has nothing of worth. Princess Nightmare Moon can acquire anything she desires. Twilight Sparkle can't seem to catch a break. Two polar opposites from completely different worlds. Yet amidst her dominant rule, Princess Nightmare Moon feels she's missing something. A certain day from her memory has been wiped... and none of her common materialistic desires can sate her quench for answers. That is until she encounters a certain young unicorn mare, who she can't seem to get off her mind.

Twilight Sparkle's dull and downtrodden life is about to get much more interesting.

[Inspired by S5 - Nightmare Moon AU: Thank you for your support!]

Leave it to Twilight Sparkle to create the greatest spell of the past century – and then want to destroy it.

It's too dangerous to use, she says. It's too tempting. It can't help you the way you think it can.

Well, Starlight Glimmer knows a thing or three about temptation. She'll prove to Twilight that this spell – this magnificent book – is too important to destroy. That it can help ponies.

She just has to survive using it, first.

Second place in the May 2018 WriteOff.

Cover art is "Reformed" by Okaces.

Derpy Hooves. Loveable goofball, caring mother, dedicated mailpony.

Of course, few ponies know what she really does for a living.

Now available in Czech translation!

Princess Twilight, for all of her knowledge, didn't particularly know that much about Celestia or Luna's past. In an attempt to figure out more about her peers she digs up the infamous time travel spell. Jumping at the chance to gather first-hoof about the only other immortal ponies she dives head first into the past!

Finding that she has stumbled into helping the Princesses on a mighty quest she isn't hesitant to lend a helping hoof but her resolve is quickly tested when not all is what it seems and the past, and present, of Equestria is put at stake!

Follow Twilight, and the would-be Princesses, across the world as they track down dangerous artefacts, delve into dilapidated dungeons and avoid disaster in a race against time itself!

• Romance will, eventually, be between Luna, Celestia and Twilight.
• This story will include gratuitous amounts of cuteness at times.
• There will be action and a little dark here and there, but only because it's the past and fighting does occur. It won't be a regular thing, trust me.
• There is time travel and Twilight will be jumping around the timeline. But don't think about it too much!
• The AU tag is only there due to the Princesses still being there, as well as the whole world existing before Equestria thing.
• The world this story takes place in is: Equestria and Beyond. I absolutely love the detail which was put into this. Obviously there's parts not included, such as the Crystal Empire, etc.

I'm thankful to Dusk Melody for reading through and helping me realise the direction I wanted the story to go in.

Spelling, grammar and general thoughts have been provided by TheGreatEater

The source of the image used is: Magnaluna - Eye contact

->19/10/2019
Thanks for featuring! <3 Love you peeps!

It is Heartswarming Eve, and filly Twilight Sparkle wants to stay at the empty castle with Princess Celestia, refusing to go home with her parents even after the monarch has sent all the staff back to their families. But why?

Twilight's answer leaves Celestia contemplating all the ways that make the lavender unicorn so special.

Thank you to the wonderful readings by Lonely Fanboy48 over here and one by Agent0Fluffy over here!

And also, a Russian translation by GreatDragonLord over here!

This, this is why I spend so much time in the archives, Twilight thought, holding a dusty old book close in her magic. Inside the book were a number of advanced spells, each one more interesting than the last in some sort of circular logic that Twilight could only assume went to infinity

Twilight galloped through the doors to her tower and leaped onto her favorite reading pillow on the balcony. She opened the book to the table of contents.

Oh my gosh! They’re all so interesting! Ooh, an age spell! That…might be a bit beyond me. But here right below it – a duplication spell!

Previous Episode: The Brief Reign of Princess Twily
Current Episode: Season Zero – Episode Two
Next Episode: Works Every Time

"Thanks, Mom." Two simple words said by a simple guard.

Not so simple when those words are accidentally addressed to Princess Celestia.

Twilight Sparkle, the Solar Regent, was frustrated. She’d never had a chance against Nightmare Moon, and now she had to live with the consequences of her failure and the moon goddess on the throne beside her.

Shining Armor, Captain of the Royal Guard, was frustrated. His liege was gone. His marefriend was somewhere doing something. His sister was showing all the early warning signs of one of her infamous breakdowns. Worst of all, everypony was keeping secrets.

Sweetie Drops, Equestrian special agent, was frustrated. Work kept piling up, and there seemed to be more and more monsters to fight every day. She needed help.

Cadance, the Crystal Princess, was frustrated. Being somepony’s snack was beneath her, but needs must.

Tempest Shadow, wanderer, was frustrated. Why did life always insist on kicking her while she was down? If it wanted to maintain even the pretext of fairness, her next destination would be her last.

Luna, the Lunar Diarch, was delighted. Everything had gone perfectly since her return from exile.

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.

This story is a sequel to Stories in Stone, Luna's Royal Guard.

The Canterlot Royal Gardens: a complex prison housing some of the greatest threats Equestria has ever known, sealed in stone. But what happens when something goes wrong, and some of these threats are freed?
Twilight Sparkle and her friends are again called to defend Equestria from an attack that the Royal Sisters are unable, or too afraid, to deal with. But can six ponies raised in a time of peace be any match for creatures who knew nothing but war and conflict?
Perhaps the only hope Equestria may have lies in another set of the gardens residents: the Five Beasts of the Moon, Nightmare Moon's generals, the very ponies who helped her nearly destroy Equestria a thousand years ago.

[This is a direct sequel. Please read,
[ http://www.fimfiction.net/story/1918/stories-in-stone-lunas-royal-guard ]
before starting on this fic or you will be quite lost.]
Season 3 is not accounted for in this fic.
Tags: Action, Sad, Humor, Roller Coaster, Violence, Singing, Some Romance, 80's HBO late night sex scenes... also, nearly every pony is naked... like normal.