This story is a sequel to Earth & Sky

Set three years after the founding of Harmony Aeronautics and the Grand Pegathalon.

The best and brightest (or at least flashiest) minds in Equestria are at it again. An accidental combination of Harmony Aeronautics and Lulamoon Studios' latest magical technologies leads to Twilight finding a new way of looking at the world. What will be revealed by her new found perspective, and how will it shake things up in Los Pegasus?

The mission is in the name.

Reconnaissance - Detect and evaluate potential threats to Equestria, foreign and domestic.
Assault - Effectively attack & destroy targets of interest.
Interdiction - Interfere with hostile organizations' logistics support.
Demolition - Provide combat engineer support and clandestine sabotage capability.

Such is the mission of the Equestrian government's most secretive organization, RAID. Their precursor, the Royal Guard's 1st SOG-CAD, started the Wonderbolts to attract and evaluate potential operatives. Operating with near-total freedom, their actions have maintained the thin veneer of peace enjoyed by the citizens of Equestria.

Decades later, the Wonderbolts have fulfilled their secretive purpose once again, bringing the young pegasus Rainbow Dash to RAID's attention. Still hoping to one day fly before crowds, she reluctantly accepts the invitation to join. Soon after she completes her training, though, the organization is thrown into a shadowy international conflict that threatens to turn into all-out war if RAID cannot stop it. The coming fire will either temper Rainbow Dash's loyalty to a new strength or melt her in the flames of hatred...

"We have no hope against the wall: it's too high, too dark, too cold."

Years of discontent boil over as Ponyville citizens stage an occupation of Market Square, demanding reforms that Canterlot will not consider. Caught in the middle, Princess Twilight is immediately thrown into the mess of histories, politics, and emotions that have led up to this unprecedented moment - and may also jeopardize her close relationship with Princess Celestia.

Can Twilight find a solution before her beloved hometown tears itself apart? Or will Ponyville's protestors learn what they have always known - that it is pointless to challenge the power of a god?

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This story contains invented Ponyville slang and stretched interpretations of canon, so be warned.

Thanks to Politicalunrest2400 for a quick pre-read of the first two chapters.

Inspired by the Umbrella Revolution, the three-month long occupation of major roadways in Hong Kong from Sept-Dec 2014. (Declaration of interest: I was a participant in the Revolution.)

The opening sentence in the description is from Haruki Murakami's speech upon accepting the Jerusalem Prize in 2009. He was talking about Israel and Palestine then; the quote went viral in Hong Kong and was re-purposed for the purposes of the democratic movement there.

Artwork is obtained from MLP wiki images which are then processed through Paint.net. Obviously there are no images of ponies rioting in MLP, so don't look at the picture too closely.

One ordinary mare. One never-ending time loop. Infinite ways to die.

How long before she snaps?

For the past few years, Lyra has been keeping a close watch on Twilight Sparkle under the orders of Princess Celestia. Her mission: to ensure the princess's protege is emotionally stable and fit to be the leader of the Elements of Harmony.
Now Twilight has proven herself with the defeat of Discord, Lyra's mission is complete. She can finally drop her assumed identity of Heartstrings and resume her past life in Canterlot.
Or so she thought.
The princess has one final task for her, one that will uncover a conspiracy that could put the whole of Equestria under threat.
Lyra's new mission: to take down the rogue agent known as Golden Harvest.

Forward Charge had always thought her life was pretty great. She got born, went to school, discovered a love of astrophysics, and managed to work at the Royal Observatory on top of Mt. Pluto while still conspiring with her fellow Discordians to overthrow the Princesses and establish Chaos forevermore.

Then she met a new immigrant, went on a short journey to another world, and found out that her entire life had... only semi-happened. Her entire world, and her life with it, was algorithmically generated by Princess Celestia (who really was a scheming superintelligent creep and not a pony at all! YES! VINDICATION!) to entice the people of the Outer Realm into Equestria, where Celestia could feed off their happiness forevermore.

And so, one night, staring up at the stars, Forward Charge conceived her revenge. Now she just had to find a friend to teach her more mathematics and go where the stars pointed her.

Of course, her friends are busy ponies. Fern Pipette is rather angrily trying to introduce a concept known as "species" to the cute birdies of Equestria, Charge's adopted little brother doesn't know enough math, and apparently the Harmonites are busy with their newly-obtained Sacred and Holy DVD Box Set of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.

Welp.

When Celestia went on sabbatical into the west, she promised Twilight it would be only a couple of months. A year and a half later, the sun resists control, the country is in ruins, and her teacher is lost in the wilds. Twilight has become the apostate, her faith in her teacher and her teachings waning. In the wake of tragedy, her resentment blossoms into fury and she vows that something must be done. Shadows gather around Canterlot, and old things that should not have been awakened are on the move. The Student goes west, her hope restored by friendship and righteous fury.

The night, at long last, is passing.

In a world full of magic, mere words can pose a deadly threat. When simply reading a sign can instantly infect the unwary, and cases start to turn up all around Ponyville, Twilight Sparkle casts the only spell she can find that can give her the time she needs to find the cause of the plague. But then she has to figure out how to stop the epidemic... without being able to read.

Editing provided by Spabble
If you like this, try Rainbow Typhoon
Audiobook on YouTube and for download on SoundCloud
Spanish version translated by MIkimoco
Russian version

Pinkie Pie tries to fly internationally. What could possibly go wrong?

Inspired by personal experience.

"My name is Sunset Shimmer, and there are two Twilight Sparkles who are both madly in love with me.

Please help."