The bow, the chariot, the hammer, the torch, the spear, the sword and the scythe. As prophesied by Star Swirl the Bearded ages ago, these seven powerful relics are being hunted by a malevolent force. It is foretold that the releasing the scythe, the symbol death, will end all life as it is known. Only the six remaining relics will be able stop the dark armies from unleashing it. Twilight and her friends must fight for their lives and each other to save their world from calamity.

…until she came along…

Life as a living legend isn't all it’s cracked up to be. Living in the wake of one isn't any easier. As they finally go their separate ways, Dash and Applejack begin to remember the way life was…and how it's all changed.

For the largest legends always cast the longest shadows.

A story chronicling the events after Twilight's coronation. Takes place after Season 3, assuming Season 4 never happened.

**Art by AeronJVL, for original story Contrail, by Alex Nuage.

Everyone knows the story of Hearth's Warming Eve. Everyone knows how six ponies brought the three tribes together and banished winter with the magic of friendship. But what if fear and hate had won instead, and created a society where winter is eight months of the year and earth ponies are little better than slaves. Millennia later, a dark lord plans to use that hate to power a foul magic. Can six new ponies, brought together by chance, find a way to end the winter, or will they be just a footnote to the end of the world?

This story is a sequel to It's a Dangerous Business, Going Out Your Door

EDIT: 6,000 unique views! Thank you so much to everyone who has read and enjoyed this story.

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An ancient evil has awakened. No, really, it has. From the depths of time, a black, noxious threat has risen up after millennia of imprisonment. It washes like oil over Equestria, swallowing up towns and uncovering terrible secrets long buried. Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rarity are prepared to combat this great darkness. However, to do so, they must uncover the truths about the Elements of Harmony, and the truths about the ancient forerunners of Equestrian culture. What they find will challenge their conceptions of their own places in history and ponydom's place in the world. The six Bearers of the Elements must draw upon their friendship and the strength of their hearts to stand firm against the darkness. If they fail, it will mean the end of everything.

Twilight Sparkle enjoys her friends' visits. They only want to help, after all. But when the line between dream and reality blurs, she must decide whom to believe, the ones she's known for so long, or the one she mistrusts the most.

"Are you afraid of the good you might do?"
Anonymous old peasant woman to Madeleine, Les Miserables.

Second-place winner in the /fic/ write-off "Sweet Music."

Featured on Equestria Daily!

The Cutie Mark Crusaders cut the tails off their sisters. It goes well. Sort of.

Find this story and more in a print copy! Just click these words here!

Twilight Sparkle, Apprentice to the Crown, has everything under control. With a sphere of knowledge ever-expanding and a range of powers ever-widening, her world seems smaller and smaller with every passing day. That is, until the day a terrifying vision of the future leaves her convinced that someday very soon, she will take the life of a dearest friend.

Rainbow Dash, the newest recruit of the Wonderbolts, lives in a world without limits. Made of blistering speed and unfettered nerve, she blows past every obstacle that dares to stand in her way. However, when the flight team's training regimen pushes her too far, Rainbow does something she never wanted to find herself capable of.

The Elements of Magic and Loyalty reunite in Ponyville. One must know the answers while the other just wants to run away, but both are on a collision course with a renegade mage desperate to save her imperiled sister, caring little for the consequences of her actions. As the Harmony Storm descends on unsuspecting Ponyville, the fabric that binds Equestria together comes undone, forcing the Elements of Harmony into a race against time if they hope to save themselves, their loved ones, and even the town they hold so dear.

Can Twilight discover the truth behind the Storm before her tragic destiny comes to pass? Will Rainbow surrender to reckless anger if it means the salvation of the innocent? Eyes in the shadows look on all the while, hoping to see the outcome of events set in motion 1500 years ago . . .

From the author of Lost Legacies comes a feature-length prequel made for newcomers and veterans alike.

This story is a sequel to That Which Makes up a Rainbow

What are we? Are we just memories or is who we are something more? When everything is gone who are we in the end?

For one mare, that is a question with only one answer. She has a life with no past, but also with no scars. Follow her through the pain of building anew, when everyone around her clings to the past and to hope. What can be wrought from the turmoil of loss and birth? Could it be... a soul?

"Who are you? Where am I?"
"Am I...dead?"

Rainbow Dash explores the darkest recesses of her soul. Can she handle the truths of her past and her present, or will breaking the walls she has spent a lifetime building be more than she can handle? When one must come to terms with who they are, It can lead to a painful rebirth or an empty death.

Essence of a sunrise: That which is left behind

Featured 3.7.14, 6.19.14, 7.2.14, 7.8.14
See below summary for additional information

"Make a wish."

Rainbow Dash is presented with an opportunity to gain the skill she needs to join her idols, the Wonderbolts. However, the opportunity seems false, and she learns to accept it as such. But does that mean the wish was a lie? If not, then just whose wish is actually granted?

"You cannot hope to defeat me, dear Princess. Your Harmony lies broken!"

Note: This story began in July 2011, between Seasons One and Two. Show continuity has been considered, but due to constraints, the following canon is entirely ignored:
•Discord's reformation
•Twilight's ascension and coronation
•The wildlife of the Everfree Forest
•The relinquishment of the Elements of Harmony, the Tree of Harmony, and anything regarding the finale of Season Four
•All background characters that do not directly affect the plot (such as Shining Armor, Princess Cadence, Trixie, Snips, Snails, etc.)

Author: Leoshi. Co-Author: Cyros Lugoth. Featured on EQD, Star-5.

Additional tags: Adventure, Drama, Action, Dark, Thriller, Suspense, Struggle, Serious, A/U, Everypony, Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, Luna, Spitfire, OC