This story is a sequel to Celestia

Villains rarely appear out of thin air. They start as most creatures do, but fall victim to fate, choice, manipulation... or love. Princess Luna's descent into the Nightmare is something that has been long forgotten by modern ponies, but Luna will always remember.

(Sequel to Celestia, and a part of the past that she would rather keep hidden. Reading Celestia is strongly recommended!)
(Many thanks to my prereaders Noble Cause, Metallusionsismagic, and BradTheBrony!)
(Character tags will be added as the story develops!)
(Coverart is a placeholder for the moment, until I get something better!)
(BEWARE POTENTIAL SPOILERS IN COMMENTS!)

A diplomatic crisis arises between Equestria and the small, poor kingdom of Tarandroland, ancestral home of the reindeer. Celestia and Luna agree that it is time Luna takes a more active hand in foreign relations again, and Luna brings Twilight with her as someone she actually trusts and can talk to. But the mission turns out to be much more than political discussions - if scheming unicorn courtiers, unfriendly surly reindeer, bloodthirsty pirates, ancient sorcery and dangerous monsters weren't enough, our heroines must deal with something old - older than Luna. And is Luna really ready for diplomatic action, will Twilight learn to use a fan properly, and exactly how wrong are Spike's superhero comics about reindeer mythology?

Now has a TV tropes page

Discord, with the help of a pegasus, attempts to fill in a form designed by someone who never expected a near-immortal Dragonequus to try to fill it in.

A short one-shot, written for the Equestria Daily writer's training grounds.

Now with a dramatic reading by DRWolf!

When Twilight told the Princess that one of her long-time friends was actually a changeling drone, she expected shock, she expected questions, requests for proof.

She did not expect "Yes, I know. Was that all?"

Now with a dramatic reading by Alicentaur Br0ny!

...and another one by Voiceguy!

And a most impressively produced reading by obabscribbler!

(If you're just going to listen to one of them, pick the third one).

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Translated into Chinese (by Chelicera) can be found on FimTale.

This story is a sequel to The Brightest and the Best

Professor Crystal Clear, Chairpony of the Board of Examiners at Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns has always taken pride in running a fair set of admissions tests to accurately assess all candidates and select those most deserving of a place at the elite academy. Together with her colleagues, she has upheld the highest standards of academic excellence, and managed the school examinations with the utmost professionalism.

Then there came the day they met Twilight Sparkle.

Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns is famous across Equestria as a center of academic excellence. Only the best and brightest unicorns are offered places, selected by their academic merit, magical ability and passion for study. To make the admissions process as fair and reliable as possible, all candidates are given three exams by different teams of examiners, who then meet in private to decide which students are most deserving of a place.

Winner of the December 2014 Writeoff competition: Behind Closed Doors.

This story is a sequel to Nightmares Are Tragic

After the final fight against Nightmare Moon, Princess Luna has regained her identity and sanity. But she is still weak, scarred by her suffering, and -- save for her sister -- mostly alone in a strange new Equestria, a world which in some ways resembles the old Age of Wonders, and in other ways is very different.

Can she recover her strength, make friends, and resume her rightful role as Celestia's co-ruler? And can she do this fast enough to save the kingdom?

Now with its own TVTropes page!

For the Shadows which claimed her before are still extant, and stretching their malign powers forth to consume the light of Celestia's bright new world ...

Because when her Pinkie Sense is going off and she just knows somepony's been denied the birthright which is their birthday celebration, she'll go anywhere and do anything to make it right. Even if anywhere means heading deep into a changeling hive, and anything is... well, anything!

But she'll do whatever it takes.

Birthdays are important.

Now with author Patreon and Ko-Fi pages.

Derpy Hooves is secretly a changeling.

Nopony particularly notices, or cares.

(New 9/15/19: Spanish translation by Spaniard Kiwi! Thank you!)

Princess Celestia, tired of the constant pressure that ruling a nation puts on her, decides to take a day off and let Luna take her responsibilities for a day, something the younger alicorn is more than happy to do. She disguises herself as a pink maned pegasus pony named Sunny Skies and decides to go walking around Canterlot without any supervision. Unfortunately for her, not all parts of Canterlot are as safe as the palace, and she finds herself at the wrong end of a gang of muggers, who decide to kidnap her for a ransom when they see how much money she has on her.

Luna freaks out.

Celestia thinks it's hilarious.

Find this story and more in a print copy! Just click these words here!

Featured on Equestria Daily 8/15/13

Go here for the French translation!

[img]http://i.imgur.com/CUBPvKI.png[/img]

Edited wonderfully by sqarishoctagon and Cloud Hop

Updated cover art by Dominatore