Once, she'd had children. So strong, so brave, so many. Once, she'd been strong, and warm, and loving, and her Blessing spread like wildfire among the pitiful humans. Until she'd been betrayed. Killed. Imprisoned. Cursed.

Now she has returned, and nothing shall stop her. She has allies. She has, for the first time she can remember, friends. Her family will spread throughout this new world, and she will not fail. Elizabeth Greene will not repeat her past mistakes, she will be victorious in her quest.

After all, third time's the charm.

[/hr]

For antiquity, featured 6/1/2014 and 7/20/2014.

Twilight lives a comfortable, expected life with the security of being surrounded by her mentors and friends. As she grows into a model unicorn, a dangerous being takes hold of the volatile Brood and drives them to war, breaking a long period of peace. After years of preparation for a higher order, Twilight is chosen to ascend beyond that of a typical sorcerer in a mysterious plan to counter the impending conflict.

During her dark, trying mission Twilight will discover a caged soul and unknowingly set them free, gradually acquiring an affinity for the darkness as a result. As she struggles within deepening conflict, she must push on and fight for what she believes in. With manipulation, deceit, and betrayal storming around, will she be able to contain herself and protect those she loves, or will she succumb to the creeping darkness and abandon everything she stands for?

*Warning: Comments may contain spoilers.*

Twilight becomes alicorn of the stars. This is sort of a problem, because Luna kind of already was alicorn of the stars. Oops!

TV Tropes

There comes a turning point in every civilization where the future is dictated by the smallest decision.  Be it the will of a king or the cascade of changes by a commoner, it rarely matters the source, only the outcome.  So it was that, shortly after banishing Nightmare Moon, Celestia envisioned a world that could have accepted, loved, and embraced her now lost sister; an Equestria that had to cast off the simplicity of agrarianism and stanch traditionalism.

Instead of relying on the old ways as a bedrock for the six tenets of harmony, Celestia pursued this vision by lauding the advancement of magic and technology.  Over the centuries, cities of marble and stone were replaced by steel and glass. Family farms commercialized, business and trade expanded the world over, and the streets brimmed with cars.  The nobility long since traded away the power backed by titles for influence via companies. Megacorporations now dominate the skylines of every Equestrian city, yet Celestia still holds fast to the reins of true power.  Her word is law.

Even centuries after Nightmare Moon’s banishment, harmony is still in the bedrock of Equestrian society, yet one must dig to find it under so much soil and refuse.   There have always been those that chafe against the law and give lip service to harmony. Be they the rich and powerful figureheads of industry, or the scum of the underworld, there are always things these ponies in power need done discreetly, or at least deniably.  Sensitive matters such as these are often handed over to a class of professional criminals as diverse in their skills as they are in their ideologies. The Shadowrunners.

Note: As with my Beyond Equestria story, I am taking a lot of elements from the Shadowrunner series, but it will be written so that anyone unfamiliar with Shadowrunner can understand what's going on and enjoy the fic.

I consider myself a lucky guy. Good job, good family, and best of all, really, really good friends. We call ourselves MMPD, and together we've had tons of crazy adventures, helped one another discover ourselves, and always have had a good time. It's a shame we've drifted apart since high school, but at least we get to see each other once a year on our shared birthdays.

That tradition turned out to be a lifesaver, because as my friends and I just found out… well, let’s just say we’ve known each other a lot longer than we thought. Now we’ve gotta find a way back home, and hopefully we won't drive each other nuts along the way. We know we’re not the big heroes, and we’re all in WAY over our heads, but hopefully we can do enough to make a difference in the end. If we can do that, then I know we’ll have made our families proud.

I just wish we still had our capes.

Side fic to Five Score, Divided by Four by TwistedSpectrum.The reading of that story is NOT required in order to understand what is going on in this one.

Now with a Chinese translation!

The Last Crusade Tv Tropes Page
Five Score Divided by Four Group

Cover art by Sonson-Sensei.

So, my friends and I woke up in this forest none of us recognize, and were scattered by these wooden dog things. Now I gotta find my friends before we get into any more trouble. Now if only I wasn't a foot tall, and can say more than "Eevee"....

This is a random thought that popped into my head one day. I figured I'd get it out now. Still don't quite know where this'll end up, so let's take this adventure together.

Character tags and categories will be added as needed.

Proofread by Zannblade.

Have any theories? Can't remember who is who? Fear not! Thanks to Adenbadens for starting up a Google docs to help with this. You can veiw it here. Beware, wild unmarked spoilers abound in the grass.