Everything happens for a reason, even if you don't know what that reason really is. After some untold period of time, Cozy Glow awakens and finds herself freed from her imprisonment. Unsure of where she is, how long she's been gone, or how she escaped, there's one question that haunts her and demands an answer - why was she released...

Artwork by Rhorse

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Sunset Shimmer has lived in the human world for over ten years now. Some of the best and worst days of her life have happened there. When she finds herself no longer having a place in the world she's grown accustomed to she travels back to her homeland of Equestria to figure out who she is and where she belongs. What she finds is a land and people irreversibly changed by time.

Twilight Sparkle now rules over this new Equestria. It is a time of peace and prosperity for the entire world, so why does the Princess seem so sad?
Figuring out her own problems, an entirely different home than the one she grew up in, and her increasingly complicated relationship with Princess Twilight could be the most difficult thing Sunset Shimmer has ever done.
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Story takes place post FIM and EG

Cozy Glow is missing. Detective Luna is on the case.

Inspired by the Cozy Glow contest, but doesn't adhere to their rules so 😝. Here it is anyway.

Heyyyyyyy! Peaked at number one in the feature box! Thanks, everypony!

After a fight with her marefriend Rarity, Twilight decides to drink her problems away.

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A big thanks to kits for proofreading and overall helping me a lot with the story.

Cover art by Fizzledlines (Tumblr, Twitter)

After being banned from coming to the wedding, Twilight leaves Equestria and becomes a member of the Storm King's army. This allows Twilight to become close friends with Tempest as Twilight swiftly rises to the rank of 2nd Commander and is renamed Sparkle Shadow.

Far, far away from the Equiss system, the queen of blades is readying the launch of her newest weapon. A ship designed to infest an entire planet in secret, readying it for the eventual zerg invasion and softening up even the hardest target, Korhal. Unfortunately for the queen of blades, the untested zerg biotechnology is more difficult to master then she thought and the infestation ship vanishes after launch.

Untold eons later Twilight Sparkle is preparing for her entrance exam for Celestia's school for gifted unicorns only to stop when she sees a star fall into her new treehouse. The young pony sets out in the middle of a storm, intent on seeing this fallen star for herself.

What she finds inside will change not only her destiny but the destiny of all on Equiss prime.

Make sure to check out the sister story to this one.
Trigger warning, parasites. Starcraft Crossover!
Updates twice a month!
The story so far!

The Life Aura Center is one of Equestria's top medical research centers, the producer of spells and medicines that have cured many once-fatal illnesses, and they continue to produce quality technology and cures. No one wants to think that they're doing anything unethical, but Celestia has her suspicions, so she sends Twilight to investigate.

One symbiotic pairing with an alien later, Twilight realizes Celestia was right to be suspicious. Now, working together with the strange creature inhabiting her body, Twilight will have to expose the center's shocking truth. And not get killed in the process. It's gonna be a wild ride.

Now with an audio reading by Mr. Snarky on YouTube! Please give him your support!
Part 1 Chapters 1-4
Part 2 Chapters 5-12
Part 3 Chapters 13-19
Part 4 Chapters 20-25

I also have a Discord! Rather quiet right now but feel free to join if you wanna talk fics or just ponies in general! Ask me for the link if you want in, I had to remove it because of too many spam bots.

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Twilight Sparkle was banished from Equestria a long time ago for a crime she didn't commit. The rest of the Mane 6 have been searching for her to tell her that she can return. When they do find Twilight, they realize that the trials of surviving outside Equestria have changed their old friend. Not all the changes are necessarily good.

As they return to Equestria, they must figure out who is opposing them. Shadows lurk in every corner, enemies watching for a single misstep. Not to mention, Twilight's shadows are creeping up on her. But even if they do manage to face the trials and troubles, do they have what it takes to face what awaits them back home?

If you want to chat to me, we have a discord server here!

Editing team: Stinium_Ruide
People who've helped me before:
Ex-coauthor: computerneek
Ex-editor: Holtinater

A different take on alicorn ascension. Sixteen years after arriving in Ponyville, Twilight Sparkle is excited to have invented a brand-new kind of spell, but it will come with consequences she cannot possibly anticipate. Meanwhile, threats in shadows around the world conspire to overthrow the Solar Throne. With her world turned upside down, she will have to come to terms with the role that fate has dealt her while straining to keep Celestia in power.

Now with a TVTropes page! Please show it some love! Also check out the official side stories, Designing Intrigue, and Love and Barriers! (With even more in my stories page!)

(Please Note: This story was started before any season three information was available. All episodes in season three and later are non-canon for this story, which also means there's no Crystal Empire in this one. In addition, the promotional map released close to the beginning of season three was also not available and is not compatible with this story. While the OC tag is active because there are OCs in the story, they're really just supporting characters. The focus is on Twilight.)

Also be sure to check out the Rites of Ascension Expanded Universe Group! We're working to develop the resources needed for other authors to try their hand at writing stories set in the Rites Universe!

The Book Two cover art was created by the amazing Silfoe! The original cover art can still be found at Violet Squiggle's deviantArt page.

Author's Notes, including proofreader's credits, can be found here!

"This is 100% Approved by Twilight's Library!"