After his violent defeat, the former tyrant King Sombra has managed to claw his way back from the land of the dead and has returned to Equestria to seek revenge on Princess Celestia and the Elements of Harmony. However, the Emperor of Darkness is no fool. He knows that he cannot simply seek retribution on the Main Six or the Princess of Day, so he waits, gathering intel on his foes, learning of their weaknesses. When the time is right, he will strike. Can our heroes overcome King Sombra's plot for vengeance?

Sequel: The Return of the King

*Note: This story takes place in my official headcanon universe, not in the one for Shattering a Heart of Darkness

Twilight is on a mission. There are twelve missing ponies to find, whether they be dead or alive. But what she finds will destroy everything she believes in. The Equestria she knows is not all that it seems. But there is one who will set everything straight.
"It is said that history is written by the victors! And the victims' bodies are lain in a bloody heap, left to be forgotten. Well, I have seen through the victims' eyes and seen the lies you have spoken! No more... No more will your lies infect me! "

Cover art done by Sonadow2865
https://www.deviantart.com/sonadow2865/art/The-Seventh-Light-873458878?ga_changes=1&ga_submit_new=10%3A1615945338&ga_type=edit

Editor/ beta reader Gboyd
Coauthor/editor/beta reader Sonadow2865

Rainbow has a lot of things going for her. And she should. She has friends, family, she's one of the Elements of Harmony, and she has her best friend Fluttershy. But what would happen.......if they all didn't want to be around her anymore? Even Fluttershy?

*P.S. Twilight is not a princess in this, even though it is after season seven. Just thought I'd put that in there.*

How do you guys like my new cover? I think it looks great and portrays the image of the main character very well! Tell me what you think in a comment!

URGENT AS OF MARCH 28th, 2018!!! Read Here NOW!!!

After being defeated by Nightmare Moon, Twilight is transformed into a puppet of darkness called Lunar Eclipse. But when she starts to have flashbacks of a certain baby dragon, she realizes that there may still be hope for Equestria.

Will Lunar Eclipse be able to see the error of her ways in time?
Will Twilight survive?
Will Equestria be saved?

Read on to find out!

Credit goes to Giuliabeck for the photo which gave me inspiration for this story.

Link to picture

The sequel to this story 'For Want of Eternal Nightmare' is out and can be accessed quickly via the link. Its a lot longer compared to this and has higher quality writing. It's worth the read, trust me.

Instead of Celestia fighting Chrysalis first, Twilight does. After Twilight is defeated and poisoned from Chrysalis's bite, Celestia becomes filled with an uncontrollable rage that transforms her into Daybreaker. Once that happens she attacks Chrysalis. Will she be able to stop the changeling, and more importantly, will the heroes be able to get Celestia back as well as save Twilight's life?

Twilight didn't know what came over her. At one point, she was having a wonderful tea party with her friends, and the next thing she knew, she was trying to kill the princesses.
This could have something to do with the fact that nopony would listen to her at her brother's wedding, everypony thinking she is crazy, or even the fact that Discord was set free without anypony noticing.
She finds herself at Celestia's court, facing crimes she didn't commit.
"Twilight Sparkle, for stealing the Elements of Harmony, attempting to kill me and Princess Luna, and Betraying everything you were supposed to protect, you are hereby banished from Equestria, never to return!"
Celestia's words continued to ring in her ears as she followed the road out of Equestria. She would never see her friends again.

My entry to The Exiled Competition

Cover art can be found here. It was made by StarlightSpark on DeviantArt.

In the far reaches of Canterlot Castle, high above in the towers lived the archmage. Everypony knew her, yet few had met her.

Twilight Sparkle sighed, having teleported away another noble seeking favors before reaching the top of the stairs for the second time today. They never learned. As the archmage, she already dealt with political squabbles far too often without inviting them into her home. Aside from personal favors for Celestia, she did what was required of her position and then returned to seclusion and research.

The nobility grumbled that no archmage should be a commoner, and Twilight’s disrespect toward them proved it. Each and every time they were forced to bow to her, they hated what they saw: the position, the status, the deference.

Was she not powerful? Was she not great?

Twilight, now reading through dusty scrolls and long forgotten tales, wrote in her notes — notes gathering dust of their own. A brief thought flashed through her mind.

Am I not powerful? Am I not great?

And then Twilight picked up The Tale of the Royal Pony Sisters.

Defunct side stories told in Across the Boundary. They can still provide a little context, but when in doubt, the main story here is canon.

Cover art provided by Lafiir

For a thousand years, the Code of Harmony has ruled Equestria, and the Code of Dissonance has sabotaged its works at every turn. Now the war for control over the land will come to a head, and one unicorn's decision may decide the fate of all.

For though she does not know it, Twilight Sparkle is the shining example of the Code of Harmony. Her teacher, Princess Celestia is Harmony's most powerful master and she knows her enemies are hatching a plan that threatens to cast down the Harmony of her throne and all she has sacrificed to create.

What she does not know is her foe seeks a new Apprentice to turn to his dark ways. A unicorn with seemingly limitless potential for magic, whose thirst for knowledge may yet lead her down a dark path, who is known to be such a faithful student of magic, eagerly seeking the truth no matter how forbidden it might be...

Sequel: Code of Harmony

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!"