Have you ever had a dream that just seemed so real, that it was impossible to say for certain that it was even a dream at all? A dream that, despite all of its impossibilities, seemed to re-write your entire perception of reality, re-writing your sense of what—and indeed, who—you are? Accepting change is hard enough as it is. But when you're a somebody who wakes up as a somepony, how do you cope with the impact such a drastic change has on your mind and body? With changes like these, it must surely just be a lucid dream—albeit a suspiciously accurate one—just brimming with potential and ripe for exploration. So you might as well suck it up and make the most of these distressingly…unusual circumstances, and seize this psychological adventure before you wake up and the dream ends.
After all, this couldn't possibly be real, so the dream must come to an end eventually…right?

Twilight Sparkle is a unicorn, and she has a problem...

It occurred one peaceful night. Half of Equestria awoke to the sound like a double-shot thunderclap. A percussion heard in the skies and rattling windows from Apploosa, to Canterlot, to Ponyville. Nopony knew what it was or what it heralded for the world as it drew a line across the nation.

For Twilight Sparkle, this isolated incident might have faded from memory after a time, if not for the strange rumors of a creature sitting on the hill on the outskirts of town.

These are her thoughts given written form. These are Sparkle's Notes.

Report EVERYTHING to the Princess.

"My name is Lyra Heartstrings, and you will not remember me. You won't even remember this conversation. Just like with everypony else I've ever met, everything I do or say will be forgotten. Every letter I've written will appear blank; every piece of evidence I've left behind will end up missing. I'm stuck here in Ponyville because of the same curse that has made me so forgettable. Still, that doesn't stop me from doing the one thing that I love: making music. If my melodies find their way into your heart, then there is still hope for me. If I can't prove that I exist, I can at least prove that my love for each and every one of you exists. Please, listen to my story, my symphony, for it is me."

Cover pic by Spotlight: askspotlight.tumblr.com

There really is no excuse for forgetting something as important as a hoof-written law. But Celestia forgot. And now, a thousand years after she wrote it, a law comes into play mandating that Celestia take a two-month sabbatical from her duties as Princess of Equestria.

So what happens when she has to step down for a couple months and leave Luna by herself in the bloody gladiator ring that is Equestrian politics? What happens when Celestia has to disguise herself and mingle with the populace of Ponyville without them knowing?

The short answer to that would be "a string of hilarious chance encounters, sisterly banter, romantic mishaps, and a political coup that was decades in the making."

The long answer, of course, is this story.

=-=-=

Rated Teen for swearing and sexual humor.

Cover image is by enma-darei

Pony magic works in funny ways. Unicorns all have magic they can control. Earth ponies and pegasi have innate magic that connects them to the earth and the sky. And then there are more unusual cases. Pinkie Pie's supernatural senses, for example. And then there's Braeburn, who seems to have a rather unusual effect on other stallions...

In a bout of boredom, Twilight Sparkle decides to make a clockwork automaton. When she tries to give it limited sentience, enough to follow basic instructions, she is more than a little shocked to discover that she has inadvertently put the soul of a living being within...

Now, Twilight has to cope with a living machine.

A silly little thing, not meant to be taken too seriously.

It is the middle of the night when two bored princesses visit Twilight and her 'What If' machine. Join the three ponies and Spike as the view more:
Tales
of
Interest!

Sweetie Belle has found a new friend. A star pony who claims to have fallen from a comet and who needs help with a very secret mission. Normally Sweetie Belle would tell an adult, but you're allowed to trust star ponies, aren't you?

The star pony isn't the only thing that fell from the sky. Somewhere in Equestria is a box. A very special, very dangerous box. A box which could end the world if it ends up in the wrong hooves.

A box which Scootaloo has just found...

Twilight Sparkle wakes up one morning to a harsh dose of unreality. She is stranded, without her friends, on an island which matches no known locale on Equestria. Surrounded and harried on all sides by the alien and the dangerous, she will find her mettle sorely tested, and find perhaps that the best friends you will ever have in your life are the ones you make when your back is to the wall...

Thanks to CedricBale and noobie56xx for tracking down the name of the artist so I could give them credit.