In this verse Chrysalis successfully takes over Canterlot with no last minute hiccups. This hardly ends her venture. In fact, it is just the beginning.

Will neighboring nations become friend or foe? Can her rulership survive the enemies lurking in the shadows ready to sabotage her every effort? Among these obstacles are foes the Alicorns and element bearers would have faced...

NOTE- I began this story early into season 5, accordingly much of the changeling lore in this story won't match details shown in Season 6 and beyond.

Twilight Sparkle discovers that the alternate timelines created by Starlight Glimmer in her misguided attempt at revenge did not, in fact, disappear when the original timeline was restored. Instead, they persisted as separate, parallel universes.

Never one to leave a job unfinished, she decides to employ the magic of friendship to restore those universes to a more harmonious state.

She begins with Nightmare Moon.

This story is the first in a series. The other stories can be found below.

1. For Want of a Horseshoe <-- you are here
2. A Big Brother's Duty
3. Healing

Cover art provided by the excellent Sini.

Equestria is expanding unstoppably. The Conversion Bureaus are working at peak capacity. It looks absolutely certain that Celestia will replace humanity with ponies.

But then one niggling flaw appears in her plan. You see, humanity's religions, while dismissed by Celestia as just more evidence of human barbarism, are correct in at least one respect. Humanity has a loving father, and what Celestia is doing makes Him angry. So angry in fact, He's going to do what He hasn't done since ancient times: smite.

Seems like Exodus is being reenacted, and guess who's playing Pharoah?

I'm sure you've heard all about it by now. Rainbows and sunshine. Unhappy humans turning into happy ponies. Dancing and singing together in harmony, now and forever.

All of those stories you've heard, exaggerated. All those statistics and graphs, faked. Propaganda. Delusions.

They didn't tell the real story, what it was actually like. So, I've decided to write this book to record some of the truths that have been... glossed over.

My name is Matthew Roberts, and I'm the Mayor of New Hope. While my covering may have changed, I am still human.
This is the untold story of the Conversion. The one they never wanted to acknowledge.

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away....

Sunset Shimmer, the former pupil of Princess Celestia, entered the mirror hoping to find a place where she could plot her revenge and prepare to enact it.
Instead she finds herself face down in a swamp, cold and alone, lost to the machinations of the dark, that is until she comes face to face with a being almost as ancient as her old mentor, and maybe just as wise.

Spoilers in the comments
Original Art by Bakki
Featured 5/30/2019

It has been ten years since the defeat of the Changling Queen, and Equestria is again at peace. Twilight Sparkle and the Elements of Harmony have reached their prime, and have begun to settle down. Love and life abound in Ponyville, especially for Twilight's friends, but she has nopony to call her own.

There is a reason.

A series of events lead to a horrible revelation, and Twilight is thrust deep into a terrifying web of secrets and lies. Her peace is over.

This time, however, she won't be fighting monsters or madponies. What she faces will be much, much worse.

Act One of Two.

Act Two is here.

Currently undergoing editing by the wonderful Mstar!

Twilight Sparkle was only a filly when Equestria detected the enigmatic Signal. A series of increasingly complex mathematical proofs, the Signal transformed from an intriguing curiosity to reliable evidence of extraequestrian life.

And as it happened, Equestria's exploration of their own solar system was nearly complete. With colonies orbiting every planet and large body, and an asteroid belt filled with miners and prospectors, Twilight's civilization was just about ready to turn its focus outward. The signal was less than ten light-years away, within reach of a daring, experimental voyage. A voyage Twilight Sparkle would lead.

Along with a small crew of the most skilled scientists and engineers Equestria could offer, Twilight is determined to uncover the mystery of the Signal, and brave the final frontier for future generations of Equestrian explorers.

A comment-driven, CYoA story. Please use the links provided in the author's notes of each chapter to vote, rather than the comments.

This story is a creative experiment of mine, one meant to explore the general idea that creativity is often most fostered by restrictions. As a result, I've imposed a number of restrictions on the writing of this story, which I'm stating explicitly here so I can be called out if I break any of them.

1. Brevity is the soul of wit
No chapter may be more than 1000 words long. This wordcount only includes prose, and not the questions/rolls.

2. Every choice matters
When a choice is offered in a chapter, at least one sub-optimal choice must be present, with no indication about which is which other than the prose itself. Every chapter should end with a CYoA-style decision tree when possible.

3. Fate is cruel and the universe is heartless
The decision of the vote must be respected. This means any character could be killed, or the entire story could end in failure, if that's what the votes decide. Where numbers, stats, and randomization appear in the text, these elements are not verisimilitude, but are decided by public diecrolls in my discord server.

Note: Because of the unusual production of this story, its chapters won't be edited in the same way as my usual fare. Feel free to point out any mistakes you encounter.

Awesome cover by Zutcha as you can probably tell. Editing stuff by Two Bit and Sparktail, where applicable.

There is a flood on the horizon. Equestria's enemies have united, and the coming tide will not only change the course of history on one world, but two, and bring about a monumental meeting that will bring brothers and sisters from those two worlds together.

At long last, the downtrodden will rise.

The battle begins.