Princess Twilight Sparkle has been faced with a difficult decision. Unsure of what to do, she seeks advice from her old mentor, Celestia. The ex-ruler of Equestria may not have an answer for her, but she does have a story. A story about guilt. A story about the greater good.

A story about the day after the worst day of her life.

Rarity is turning into a plant, which is the least of her troubles.

Winner of the Rainbow Dash award in Everfree Northwest Scribblefest 2018

Edited by Dubs Rewatcher and horizon
Cover art by dm29

He marched through the wastes. He was also bright yellow, and had a tail that did not sway much. He was also named Buttercup, not exactly a manly name, but it was his. His friend needed him. What is that? It looks like him, but also very not...

She lived in seclusion with her people, avoiding the humans and their many dangers. They had weapons and loved to use them on anything that threatened them. It was very easy to threaten them. Buttercup was her name and scouting was her game. What didn't expect was to see a... sorta horse with a human.

Inspired by and based upon Statistics, by xTSGx.

Sometimes, one source of data isn't enough. Sometimes, another set of statistics is necessary to tell the whole story.

Three weeks have passed since Twilight Sparkle was crowned a Princess of Equestria; but many things have not changed. For instance, one hour every day, all of the animals at Fluttershy's home take a nap, and she has tea.

One day, though, her routine is spontaneously interrupted by the least spontaneous mare she knows, eager to talk about anything, except what brought on her visit in the first place. Fluttershy is left to wonder: Just what is going on in Twilight's mind, and can she help her unravel it?

Romance, palace intrigue, and swashbuckling adventure await our six heroines when Princess Luna summons the Elements of Harmony to Canterlot.

I started writing this story in the middle of March 2011 and submitted the last chapter and the epilogue to EqD 3 1/2 months later on July 4th. The basic idea for it, though, had come to me after watching the first two episodes on YouTube at the beginning of that February, but it took me a month to discover there were places on the net to which a person could send fanfiction and have it posted. I don't get out much, y'see...

The discerning reader may, therefore, find a bit of canon-fodder here and there, and for all that I've thought about diving back in and changing a few things to make the story line up better with Season 2, I'm not gonna. For better or for worse, this story's done, and I hope to use what I learned while writing it and from the comments it's gotten--and the comments I reckon it'll get here--to make my next story better.

Mike

Sometimes, all we need are a few stats to shed some light on a subject.