"The pieces are set, and the dice are in play. But does every pony have the heart for this day?"

Nearly two hundred years have passed since Rarity Belle merged with the Crystal Heart and took the throne of the Crystal Empire. Since then, through her care, determination, and vision, the Empire has flourished like never before. Now Empress Rarity stands as not a ruler of a providence, but the monarch of a rising superpower.

Today though, is the Empress' Birthday, and Lady Merry Sapphire, seneschal to the Empress, is determined to make this the best birthday Rarity has ever had. Little does she know that not everypony shares her enthusiasm for today...

Notes:
This is an official prequel to the Princess Twilight Sparkle's Birthday stories, created by Autumnschild. This story will develop and expand much of the world we made, but taking place 250 years before PTS500 and its sequel, PTS505. Due to its time gap and status as a prequel, you do not need to read the stories created by Autumnschild, and I have done my best to help that. However, knowing what happened in them will help you be a bit more aware of what is going on, and I encourage you to go read them for they are very enjoyable.

We now have our own group! Come check out the Birthdayverse!

Credit goes to Autumnschild for the proofreading for this story.
Razalon The Lizardman is credited for the grammatical overhaul.

Great thanks goes to these two, for this story would not be as good without them.

This story is a sequel to Princess Twilight Sparkle's 500th Birthday

Five years have passed since the events of that fateful morning. Smarty Pants and her friends set off on an adventure of a lifetime to discover the secrets of the past when they awaken a… oh wait, that would be spoiling it!

Many questions from the first story will be answered! New questions will arise. Lunch will be had, pies will be thrown, blood will be kept inside bodies because seriously, ew blood, you guys.

Notes:
- Cover art commissioned by HAK2. Check out his other stuff, too.
- This is a story in the Birthdayverse.
- This story was written and completed (except for the epilogue) before Season 4 of MLP:FiM aired.
- Many thanks to my faithful Pre-Reader and all around super-duper best pony, Blood Lord go read his story, too!

"My name is Lyra Heartstrings, and you will not remember me. You won't even remember this conversation. Just like with everypony else I've ever met, everything I do or say will be forgotten. Every letter I've written will appear blank; every piece of evidence I've left behind will end up missing. I'm stuck here in Ponyville because of the same curse that has made me so forgettable. Still, that doesn't stop me from doing the one thing that I love: making music. If my melodies find their way into your heart, then there is still hope for me. If I can't prove that I exist, I can at least prove that my love for each and every one of you exists. Please, listen to my story, my symphony, for it is me."

Cover pic by Spotlight: askspotlight.tumblr.com

Second main installment in the Tutelary Spirit universe. Recommended reading order: Loyalty, Honesty, Generosity, Kindness, Laughter, and Friendship.

Many ages after the original adventures of the Elements of Harmony, a hybrid mare crosses the countryside, searching for the Element of Honesty. And just like the rest of her friends, Honesty is no longer just a simple bearer of her Element anymore.

She is her Element.

Cover image belongs to turnipBerry.

Octavia has finally been promoted to first chair, unfortunately for her, that chair is in the new (and as of yet unformed) Royal Ponyville Orchestra. Now, the best cellist in Equestria (Her words) is being sent to the cultural gulag of Ponyville (Also her words) to form and lead the Royal Ponyville Orchestra to greatness (Princess Luna's words).

Now has a sequel, Princess Luna's Academy of the Arts and Sciences.

And an online reading.

Credit goes to jlm123hi for arranging the cover art
Vectors used:
The stage
Vinyl
Lyra
Fiddlesticks
Octavia

Bonus: Have some fan art made by GamingMelody I found when I accidentally typed my username into Deviant Art's search tool instead of logging in. It's cool someone liked my words enough to draw them, and I hope anyone who does so in the future will send me a link so I can plug them in whatever way I can.

This story is a sequel to The Sword Coast

The shadows of the past plague the present.

Twilight Sparkle stands on a precipice, one false step from a dark destiny. Months ago, she set out to find her foster father’s murderer. After she defeated the Black Knight, she was hailed as a hero, but what she remembers most is the lives she took. On the path of strife, she discovered more about herself than she ever expected.

With her friends by her side, Twilight sets out for Canterlot, seeking the villain responsible for the death of her father and the crises that plagued the Sword Coast. On the way, a sadistic spellcaster interested only in power intercepts her and promises to unlock her potential. In the aftermath, Pinkie Pie is taken captive by the secretive wizarding order that rules Canterlot.

Twilight’s journey takes her through the doors of a prison and into the depths of a forgotten place. She encounters horrors made from nightmares and soul-stealing beasts raised from the black of the Abyss, but what she fears most is the monster within. How far will she go to save her closest friend?

Featured on Equestria Daily
Cover by Bluest Ayemel
"I love this fic. Keep it up!" – Sethisto (on the EQD page)

Side stories: Tales of the Sword Coast

Warning: Comments contain spoilers. Proceed at your own risk.

When a dark enemy begins hunting the young wizard Twilight Sparkle, the walls of the fortress library of Candlekeep cannot protect her. Not even her mentor, the archmage Star Swirl the Bearded, can keep her safe. With a price on her head and the shadow of death on her heels, her only hope for salvation is the Magic of Friendship. Perhaps, with powerful allies at her side, she can find answers and uncover the truth about her destiny.

(This story is inspired by the Baldur's Gate CRPG series by Bioware, but you do not have to be familiar with BG to understand its events)

Featured on Equestria Daily
Cover by Bluest Ayemel
"I love this fic. Keep it up!" – Sethisto (on the EQD page)
"From it's fantastic character development of Twilight and fast pace and exciting action, The Sword Coast is an excellently written and well thought-out story." – Amy Clockwork

Side stories: Tales of the Sword Coast
Sequel: Shadows of the Crystal Empire
Warning: Comments contain spoilers. Proceed at your own risk.

One hundred years ago, a satellite detected an object, buried beneath the sands of the Great Desert. Therein lay the ruins of an ancient city, and in its center the colony ship that brought equinity to their dry, desolate planet. Within that ship, they found their destiny. A map, marked with Kharequus, their desert foster-world, and with one other name:

Equestria.

To some: Paradise. To others: Home.

Now: A place. A planet. Located deep in the core of the galaxy on whose rim they spun. With the Guidestone and the Hyperspace Core found with it, they had a map and a sail.

Construction of the vessel would take sixty years. It would demand new technologies, new industries, and new sacrifices. The greatest of these was made by the scientist Great Journey S'jet, who had herself integrated into the Mothership as its living core: Fleet Command. Born with wings and a horn merely due to a genetic fluke, she became a symbol of all that her people strove towards, in the image of the ancient Goddesses they still worshiped.

Their journey began one hundred years to the day after the discovery of that ancient city. Aboard a Mothership which would carry six hundred thousand sleeping souls to a land promised to them long ago, traveling across an unexplored and unknown galaxy.

Unbeknownst to all but a select few, six mares were to board that ship. They did not know each other at the outset, nor did they have any inkling of their importance, but their fates were inextricably intertwined with that of the galaxy itself. This is their story. The story of the Mothership. The story of the Homeworld Age.

No knowledge of the Homeworld universe should be required before reading. However, it is my recommendation that you view the briefing document regardless. This will give you the backstory of the Homeworld setting, as well as a glossary of terms, which are admittedly much more important to this story than to the game itself.

Edited by Benny, Hari Seldon, Andrey_159, Rodinga, and Willow the Pegasus, lovely fellows, all of them.

Cover image created jointly by myself and a friend of mine.

Sex tag is for innuendo, implications, and discussion. No explicit acts are depicted.

[img]http://i.imgur.com/6MrWqNZ.png[/img]Twilight takes on the most important task in her career as a princess of Equestria, when she opens up a magical portal to a distant world with extra-Equestrian intelligence. With her organizational skills and keen understanding of scientific principles, she leads diplomats and scientists in a well-planned expedition to a historic first contact.

The first exchange doesn't quite go without a hitch, however, as the portal opens near a pony ranch at Texas, Earth.

For the purposes of this fic, assume Equestria Girls didn't happen.

Former one-shot.

Twilight Sparkle's tenure in Ponyville has been anything but calm. Since the Summer Sun celebration, she's dealt with a variety of foes, from Nightmare Moon to dragons, hydras, Discord, and King Sombra. But when Pinkie Pie asks for help with a small problem, Twilight finds herself pulling out all the stops to deal with the most dastardly (and curious) fiend yet encountered: Sugarcube Corner’s haunted mailbox. Rainbow Dash’s letter from the Wonderbolt Academy is on the line. Failure is not an option.