Rainbow Dash writes a letter to her daddy.

Written for One-Shotober.

Applejack hears a noise in Granny Smith's room late one night. What she finds breaks her heart.

Sometimes, our lives are like paper boats floating on the water. But as Applejack finds out, a boat can only take on so much water before it starts to sink.

Princess Celestia, Regent of the Sun, has long guided the ponies of Equestria with a gentle and caring hoof. Never once did she allow herself to be swayed by thoughts of power, nor did she turn away from her subjects in their times of need. A ruler rightfully adored, she has helped an uncountable amount of ponies with their lives, finding their dreams, and fulfilling their destinies.

But comes the day she had long dreaded, but never feared.

Twilight Sparkle, her dutiful and precious student, has fulfilled her destiny and has become a new princess for Equestria. With her new role comes many responsibilities, but for a curious mare such as herself, so to come the questions. What does it mean to be an alicorn? What does it meant to be a princess? But more importantly than anything else, why is Princess Celestia an immortal, but Twilight Sparkle not?

It is a question the Princess of the Sun must now answer. Her last secret to be told to her greatest student.

What Spike saw in the doorway of King Sombra's crystal palace hasn't left his mind. The fear of Twilight abandoning him haunts him through recurrent nightmares. Anxiety taunts him when he's at his most vulnerable, reminding him of all his failures, all his inadequacies, all his wounds.

One night, this fear and anxiety manifests itself in a full-blown nightmare, dragging Spike face-to-face with his greatest fear. What if Twilight never needed Spike in the first place?

Takes place right after the Season Three opener (before Episode Three).

Thanks to RGLloyd for editing.

Now Featured on Equestria Daily!

Now Featured by The Royal Canterlot Library!

Check out the YouTube reading by the awesome Chinchillax!

Check out another YouTube reading by DJ Tazzlez from Hive Radio!

Rated Teen for some dark elements.

Princess Celestia has been keeping a dark secret from her subjects for a very long time.

It's not an easy truth to tell, but if anyone can accept her after learning it, it will surely be her most faithful student.

Third Place Finisher in Equestria Daily's 2013 Nightmare Night Contest!

When Twilight comes back from her week long visit to her brother's house, she finds out that everything has changed. Canterlot High is babbling about some magic girl from another world, but Twilight knows better. There's no such thing as magic, or portals into other worlds.

Right?

EDIT: Wow. Never expected the feature. And by the way, thank you for anyone who commented with a consructive criticism. I'll be reading as many as I can and keeping them all in mind for the future chapters as well as going back to edit the past ones periodically. Enjoy the story!

EDIT 2: Went into the first chapter and tried to fix up the 'Twilight did X' issue that many people commented on. (Thank you to those who did.) Hopefully it is a bit more readable now.

EDIT 3: After fan feedback on a massive error I made where Princess Cadence was an out of control lunatic, I rewrote the Twilight meets Twilight scene so that it flows better and actually stays in character. Thank you for anyone who made a comment about this, I am listening to your feedback and writing my future chapters accordingly. (If there are any more of these, I'm going to keep these in a changelog in a blog post.)

Pinkie Pie has always served admirably as the Element of Laughter, and it's time for the princesses to show their appreciation. In fact, they have a special assignment for her, something they've never tried. It will be the best surprise she ever had.

Third-place winner in the /fic/ write-off "The First Time."

Featured on Equestria Daily!

Thanks to Scott "Inquisitor" M for critique of my rough draft.

Time runs out for all existence as Tirek emerges from oblivion to resume his eons-old vendetta against the Shepherd -- in her current incarnation as Princess Pandora of Atlantis -- and her allies, beginning with her sister, Princess Minerva.

Meanwhile, Twilight Sparkle begins her research on the source of Tirek's power, the Hope Ruby, leading to a fateful encounter in Canterlot with a mare whose appearance is not all that it seems on the surface.

After the pieces fall into place, Pandora and Minerva find themselves at the crossroads of history, where Tirek and a lost ally lie in wait as the Atlanteans bid farewell to the distant island and its advanced culture, both destined for destruction.

WDTP: S2/3

NOTES + CREDITS
This is the second story overall in the Timeline-42 series, and the second part of the Terminus & Exordium arc.
For best results, please read the first story of said trilogy before undertaking this one:
* "A Rainbow in the Dark"

Exiled from Equestria, you flee to the last place in the world left for you to go: the exalted Crystal Empire. After many months of searching for a means to support yourself, you end up both homeless and jobless in the dead of winter in the frozen north. Then, on one of the coldest and harshest days of the year, Princess Cadence finds you, alone and huddling around a small fire, and she’s more than happy to take you in.

So come, share a tender moment with the princess of the Crystal Empire.

Featured on October 2, 2013
Edited by The Abyss