Long ago, the founders of Equestria built a magical portal on sacred ground, hiding their greatest secret on the other side. Generations of leaders stepped through the portal so that they might emerge as the equal of their forebears.

Celestia and Luna were the last to enter. For a thousand years, the portal lay forgotten, its purpose lost.

Luna thinks it is time that Twilight learn what it means to rule.

There is now a Spanish translation of this story, courtesy of Spaniard Kiwi

Diamond Tiara has always been known as a braggart and a bully. She has manipulated and subjugated her fellow students and the town of Ponyville ever since she could remember. Now that she has changed and had some time alone, she can see all of the damage she has done. She feels she has no choice but to go to Princess Twilight Sparkle herself and try to do something about it.

When Sweetie Belle is asked on her first date, she desperately turns to her best friends and sister for help. With all this planning, nothing could possibly go wrong. Right?

Edited and Proofread by anonpencil

A breakfast conversation between the princesses turns toward Celestia's long history of losing fights.

There are a thousand reasons for not making a purchase at the Carousel Boutique. Some of them are legitimate. Many are excuses. The majority are lies. Falsehoods which Rarity has been listening to for years now, without the slightest touch of variety in the performances. Lies which, during the first week of Ponyville's summer tourist season. have escalated to the point where it feels like they're the only words being said at all.

So if nopony is going to buy anything no matter what Rarity does -- why not call them out on a few? Surely that couldn't do any harm, at least not more than what's already been done?

Surely...

(A stand-alone, no prior-reading-necessary part of the Triptych Continuum, which has its own TVTropes page (with new Recap section) and FIMFiction group: new members and trope edits are welcome. )

Now with author Patreon and Ko-Fi pages.

During a lull in the conversation at an upper class charity dinner, Rarity takes a moment to contemplate some commonly held assumptions made of Princess Celestia. Specifically, her table manners.

Luna and Twilight devise a spell to go back in time and view the dream that inspired Celestia to become an alicorn.

It's not what they expected.

Prior to the events of "A Canterlot Wedding" Princess Celestia asks Cadance what ought to be done with the changelings that have been discovered living hidden in Equestria. Cadance's proposed plan of action is swift, brutal, and ruthless, but absolutely unnecessarily so. Celestia has never heard Cadance speak an ill word of anyone, and she cannot fathom why the young princess seems to so despise the uncovered changelings.

Cadance just can't fathom why the uncovered changelings have chosen to forsake their own kind to live among the ponies.

Ten years ago, the Griffon Empire opened a portal to a strange new world and tried to annex it. In the peace settlement that followed they lost control of the province containing the portal. Since then, the Griffonian Democratic Republic had been completely isolated, surrounded on all sides by a hostile empire. Now, for the first time, a visitor had been allowed.

Four weeks after helping her new friends turn Nightmare Moon back into Princess Luna, Fluttershy's still trying to adjust to the changes that have come so suddenly into her life. Because sometimes it seems like having friends can be almost as hard as not having friends...

Written for "Closing Time," the February 2015 contest at The Writeoff Association, the original version of this story came in 12th. The rewritten version here takes place just after "Griffon the Brush Off" and owes a special thank you to Bad Horse for the inspiration and another to Thornwing for finding the cover image I wanted!