Everypony enjoys myths and ponytales, even if they know such things aren't real. Alicorns fighting against a spirit of chaos? An ancient princess trapped in a library under a tree, waiting to be found? Quite enchanting and fantastic tales yes, but nonetheless as fictional as Daring Do and other such stories. At least, that's what Rarity used to think.

She doesn't anymore.

Dedicated to Annuska for being as amazing a writer as she is a friend.

Now a physical book!!!
Patreon!
Based on an old oneshot.
Chapter Art by Arctic Waters // Graphic Design and Typography by Swan Song.

[Complete! With TVTropes apparently!]
Also, apparently, an animated trailer.

In a world of brass and steam, Twilight Sparkle had thought she had made a life-changing discovery with the invention of the telescope. For better or worse, she was correct.

Now her discovery has not only changed her life, but the lives of those she seeks out in her desperate attempt to contact the only other creature as lonely as Twilight herself.

It all would have been much simpler, but it had to be the one Twilight could only call The Mare on the Moon.

Decidedly not within walking distance, then.

[Featured on EQD before story was meant to be submitted. 4/03/2015]

[Editing team: Southpaw, Wolfvenom, Maskedferret, SwanSong and BluePaladin42, without whom this story would be a fraction of its current state.]
[Special thanks to Novel-Idea for the updated cover]

This story is a sequel to The Longest Night

As her twenty-first birthday dawns, Twilight Sparkle finds her simple life turned upside down. While her birthright forces itself into her life, Twilight also has to deal with the arrival of three Alicorns. No pony knows where they came from or what they want, and the Alicorns seem intent on keeping themselves and their purposes hidden. To uncover the truth, Twilight will set sail for distant, ancient lands with old and new friends.

Side-Stories: Velvet Sparkle and the Queen in Stone, Myths and Birthrights: Anthologiae, A Dream of Pride and Envy, The Castle Canterlot, by Honey Mead

TVTropes Page

Pre-readers/Editors: Honey Mead, WNA, Cerulean Voice
Cover art by Saint-Juniper

Comments Contain Spoilers

Secrets. Everypony has them, and as they get older the more numerous they become. Their benevolent ruler Celestia herself has lost track of just how many secrets she holds, but Twilight and Luna are going to find out quite a few of them. Follow Twilight and Luna as they discover things about themselves, and those dear to them, as memories and secrets are brought to the light.

Image - Done by Archonix.

Note - The writing is the earliest I have of what I've done. As such it's quite sloppy compared to my standards today. Slated for a rewrite/full editing in the future. At some point.

https://www.fimfiction.net/story/418440/those-forty-years (The sequel is out! Check it out here. Check out my latest blog for why it's on my co-author's profile instead of this one.)

A legendary magical discovery leads the protagonist Twilight Sparkle through a chain of events that not only explain Celestia and Luna's history, but a history about herself that even she could not have imagined.
Co-Author profile link.

WE HAVE COVER ART! 8/3/2016 Check the source for the artist. (permission was given)

There are many stories where Twilight tells off her friends after the Wedding. But that's not really Twilight's bag, she gets worried she's failed, or depressed, not angry. So here is a different bridal path, one where Twilight acts decisively to try and redeem herself in the eyes of her friends and sovereign, and ends up travelling to places she never imagined, facing dangers and foes she never dreamed of and making even stranger friends. Of course, there is still a 'reason you suck' speech delivered, but delivered by the last person anyone would expect...

Words and actions can sometimes hurt more than we know, sowing betrayal and hatred where friendship and innocence lies. A single thoughtless action can be a tipping point, one fallen domino setting off hundreds. Look back, and answer me.

(Brand-spanken new) TvTropes page here
Story theme is Chronophobia

"Learning to trust your instincts is a valuable lesson to learn."

Mere months after the events of "A Canterlot Wedding," the memories of cold shoulders and dismissals remain fresh in Twilight Sparkle's mind, which causes her to question her ability to face the next task that Princess Celestia bestows upon her.

Alone, she must find a way to protect an entire empire. She's afraid and unprepared, but when a mysterious stallion lends a hoof to her success, she soon discovers a friendship that threatens to blossom into something much greater.

(6/9/2016): Made it to the "Featured" page again! You're so awesome, guys!

(( "Of Magic and Masquerades" is the first story in the Crucibles of Harmony series. It is an alternate take on "The Crystal Empire," with some alternate events from Season 3 and minor Twilight/Sombra shipping. ))

For Doctor Twilight Sparkle, life at Canterlot National Hospital was pretty good. She'd struck up a bond with the director and even had enough time to publish a paper or two. There's only one thing she needs to advance even further: better bedside manner.
For these reasons, Doctor Celestia carts her off to a tiny Ponyville practice. Now, Twilight must find a way to both cure and tolerate the village idiots--and try to convince a certain high-strung healer that she's not after her job.

Because "grumpy doctor Twilight" practically writes itself. Art by Punk-Pegasus

Twilight Sparkle broke time when she got her cutie mark. Now Twilight and Sparkle are sisters from another time. Twilight is hailed as the potentially greatest light magician of all time, and already has a reputation as a hero by the time she goes to Ponyville. This isn't her story, not primarily.

Sparkle is an orphan - her dark magic killed her parents. She lives with her brother in Canterlot's industrial sector because they can't afford anything better. She can't leave either. She's a natural dark mage; while Sparkle won't go mad like Sombra, her reputation is hardly any better. Worse, the law doesn't see her as a good pony.

The fact that the dead don't stay dead around her, or that Thorn - Spike's double - is an undead, soul-eating abomination, are other matters altogether.

(Also has some Slice-of-Life, but fimfiction tags won't let me put it with Adventure.)

Has an ask blog to go with it: Ask Sparkle and Thorn.
Also has a TvTropes page: Split Second Tropes.

Featured on EQD.

Cover art by Swirling Line.