Chrysalis kidnaps Rainbow Dash and holds her for ransom.

This same Rainbow Dash also happens to be engaged to the immensely powerful Alicorn Princess Twilight Sparkle.

Chrysalis is not a very smart changeling.

Ten years ago, Twilight made the ultimate sacrifice in order to defeat Tirek. Equestria has been in a state of civil war ever since.

Canterlot has at last fallen, and the six heroes of the rebellion now go to face the ultimate challenge: defeating the godlike Twilight Sparkle. What they expect to be a brutal, hard won quest for glory and Equestria's salvation turns into something entirely different... and now they face a choice.

This story is a reaction piece against the Tyrant Sparkle trope.

Special thanks to Absolution for pre-reading and Danger Beans for proofreading.

Cover art credit: BluestreakFUS

Now with a Chinese Translation courtesy of Hellagur.

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

The Mane Seven are on a mission to spread friendship across Equestria. It sounds easy enough, but should they let their guard down?

Twilight is confident that she can cope with any situation. Maybe she’s right and there really is nothing to worry about... Maybe.

[You may also revel in the Youtube reading (Chapter 1, Chapter 2) or mp3 download (Chapter 1, Chapter 2) that are available for this story.]

This story has it's own TvTropes page.

It was approved by:
Goodfic Bin
Black-light's Library!
Fimfiction’s Addicts

Here's what the readers are saying about it:

Dude whoa.... That was powerful. It kinda reminds me of “If you love something” let it go. The type of pony that Twilight is I could imagine that losing her friends would make her go insane, and I know she'd do anything to still be with them. Great story. Mad I didn't hear about it until now. ~ Man on the Moon

Princess of Friendship by Bad Dragon is a great piece of work. ~ Stinium_Ruide

If Twilight can't find a way to save her friends, she'll make a way. And that works out about as well as one would think. ~ FanOfMostEverything

I hope Twilight can let go... eventually. ~ StormyVenture

I liked this story. It was heartbreaking, a bit confusing (in a good way), and overall enjoyable. ~ Heart Felt

it had the nerve to make me experience something you twats call “the feels,” but a nice enthusiastic walk in the woods solved that problem. ~ DR_LaZer

made me cry… ~ deli73

I cried. I didn't shed one tear, but a thousand. ~ Crystal_Chaos

Great story, definitely deserves the tragedy tag. ~ MustacheMerlin

This story really does earn it's tag as it presents a situation that cannot be won and that has no positive outcome, which is part of tragedy in it's strictest sense. ~ HapHazred

Brilliant. Both her plan and the story. ~ Unbridled Dolly

I love it when a story comes together--and I say that this one did, at least for philosophical egghead dorks. ~ Mahayro

I love the entire premise and the ending was perfect. ~ Curify - ChasingVerse

A classical Equestrian fable, passed from mouth to mouth; from quill to page. The children of yore are the parents of today, and as they grow and change, so does the classic tale. Let us explore this tale as it may one day be known.

In the magical land of Equestria, three regal alicorn sisters rule for the good of their subjects, all the types of ponies, until one day, the shadow of jealousy comes upon one of them. How will the three sisters deal with this? Will harmony be lost forever?

Open the storybook, reader, and let us find out.

Massive thanks to Sagebrush for the beautiful art piece and for his help with the story, and many more thanks to Blue Thrush and Lysis for their wonderful prereading and editing.

A long time has passed since Twilight and her friends first discovered the Elements of Harmony, and she has since become a full-fledged alicorn princess. In that time, she's done many great things.

But the one thing she hasn't done is tested herself. She's never seen the full extent of her powers.

Growing bored of Equestria, and seeking the ultimate challenge, Twilight decides to see just how powerful she really is by attempting the impossible.

Creating her own world.

Idea taken from a brainstorming thread and used with permission from Kapuchu.

Special thanks to Conicer for the epic cover art!

What does it mean to be Celestia? What does it mean to be "at the top"?

Celestia knows.

And soon, Twilight will too.

Now on Equestria Daily!

Winner of the Second Twilestia Contest.

Now in Russian! Courtesy of Nogood.

In the warmth of her cloud home, Rainbow Dash is about to turn in for the night when she hears Scootaloo crying outside in the middle of a vicious blizzard. Plucking the freezing filly from the snow, Rainbow hopes to provide some much-needed comfort for the otherwise tough young pegasus, but she uncovers a disturbing reality that she knows she cannot handle alone.

Knowing only one pony that could really help her out, Rainbow enlists Twilight’s help, determined to set things straight for Scootaloo. But what Rainbow doesn’t know is that in her efforts to provide a better life for the filly, her friendship with Twilight will develop into something more.

Edited by Alcatraz, Rated Ponystar, Rocinante, Ponysopher, Marshal Twilight, Knight of Cerebus, ShimmeringStallion, and Jake The Army Guy

Proofread by Neko Majin C

A slice of life as Twilight learns that becoming a princess is a lot more than she bargained for. (Note: This is written immediately after the end of Season 3. Cover art is Mandala by Whitestar1802 - http://whitestar1802.deviantart.com/art/Mandala-355858836 )

"You cannot die unless your patron does."
The answer to the first question Twilight asked when she formally became the princess of magic. Billions of years later, she regrets not thinking this through.