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.

Rainbow Dash grew up not knowing who her mother is.

One Mother's Day, Twilight Sparkle becomes determined to find out who Rainbow's mother is and drag her back to Ponyville to reunite with her daughter.

There's just one little hitch:

Rainbow Dash's mother is Daring Do. And she's inconveniently off "researching" her next book.

Now, Rainbow Dash has to go on a journey. A journey of self-discovery. A journey of a thousand unanswered questions.

A journey to find...her biomom.

Oh, and there's an ancient alicorn tomb and a closely guarded secret that'll change the history of Equestria forever, but that's just another day in the life of Daring Do.

(This story ignores certain details established by the Journal of the Two Sisters and the Daring Do chapter books.)

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!"

How would things be different if Twilight had never made it to Ponyville? Twilight Sparkle finds out just how different things could be when she is forced to travel to her own past while chasing down a mystery; a plot to erase Princess Twilight Sparkle from history.

Landing in a time just weeks after the one thousandth Summer Sun Celebration, she finds a world shrouded in an eternal night, where the Elements of Harmony were never recovered. Can she fix the things that should have, but didn't happen? Or is this Equestria destined to head down a different path?

Chinese Translation by Hell Organist

21 June 1003 - Eight months after her transition into alicornhood, Twilight finds herself on the brink of becoming a full fledged goddess. In the midst of this transformation, an ancient power awakens to attempt to reassert itself, threatening the status quo even as Twilight struggles with her budding abilities. Now Twilight and her friends are tasked to stop Spring before she topples the modern world order - A challenge that proves to be much harder than anticipated...

After the defeat of Tirek, Equestria is safe once more, but Luna can sense that her sister is troubled. When Celestia retreats to the starry realm of ascension in order to look upon the past, Luna joins her to discover what is bothering her.

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

Cheer up, Twilight. It's not every day somepony changes species. In fact, no pony has ever changed species. It's something new and you like discovering new things. Granted, Equestrians don't like new things, especially things that fundamentally alter their government. So maybe there is reason not to be happy after all.

The Great Tragedy. The night an era ended. The night the skies stopped turning. The night the Canterlot palace, along with all of its occupants, was utterly obliterated.
Nopony knows how it was done or by whom. But they do know that one unicorn stood at the center of that calamitous explosion, and they know that Twilight Sparkle survived where two immortals had perished.
Twilight awakens in a world a shadow of its former self, abruptly thrust into the fallout of a disaster she remembers nothing of. Faced with a foe that is perhaps more familiar than she might realize, Twilight must find a way to restore her broken world and carry on the legacy of her beloved princesses.

Huge thanks to my proofreaders Some Person (chapter 1-12) and RazerWrites (chapter 12-14). The story would have been much worse off without them.

Transformed into an alicorn against her will, Twilight’s peaceful world is shattered when she discovers that she’s considered a threat to the throne of the Two Sisters. With her friends nowhere to be found, Twilight must set off on a journey to find the truth behind her transformation, and why her own country considers her an enemy.

Old wounds will be opened, new friends will come forth from the shadows, and Twilight will discover a truth that will shatter her view of her mentor forever. Yet unbeknownst to her, this was her destiny all along.

This fanfic is heavily based on Equestria-Prevails artworks and fanon material. Any credit for the Characters, Locations, and Art that belongs to him must be directed at his page on Deviantart. Any other art will be credited to the respective owners on the author's note section of each chapter.~

I also have to give my thanks to a few guys who are helping me with this:
The awesome Bulder for Proof-Reading chapters seven through thirteen;
The amazing Vexy for revamping the long description;
The fantastic ymom2 for proof-reading from chapter two towards six;
The lovely Divine Path for helping me with rephrasing.

Cover art credits must go to ~Nalenthi

On secret assignment from Princess Celestia herself, Twilight investigates a powerful magical artifact for clues to the mystery of Luna's transformation in the evil Nightmare Moon. Incautious use of the artifact sends Twilight hurtling back in time. Can Twilight discover what caused Luna's transformation? And will she ever make it home again?

Kickass cover art used with permission from Bitz.
http://allthebitz.tumblr.com/