When Twilight receives a letter from Princess Celestia asking her to come to the castle for something very important, Twilight is puzzled. What Princess Celestia and Luna have to tell her will change the Unicorn's life forever.

What should one do when they find their current knowledge lacking? After the changeling attack, Twilight has to answer that question and for her the solution is simple enough. But her chosen path may yet turn out to be her downfall. Will the cost of knowledge be too high? Or will she be victorious in her journey into the paths of darker magic? One way or another Twilight will find it out as she learns under her new teacher. There is however one thing everypony close to Twilight should remember, that history likes to repeat itself...

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A/N: Tags will probably be added as the story progresses. Updates may be irregular. Flames will be ignored, constructive criticism is welcomed. Now the image: background by me (and it shows), NMM recolor by DoctorXFizzle.

Twilight Sparkle stood on her hind legs, her forelegs to her side swaying back and forth as her scythe dropped to the ground. Tears welling up in her eyes, she looked down at the corpse that laid before her, still young, but ready to die. It wasn't her fault she was chosen for this, all because she became fascinated with new powers.

"I can't believe this."

Twilight stared over the horizon, gazing on the city of Ponyville in the distance. It's inhabitants, who once saw her as one of their best friends, now barely knew her. She could walk the streets to Sugar Cube Corner, or help her friend Applejack on the family's farm. She could even sit in her Library with Spike and read her favorite books.

But none of it would be the same.

"I am evil."

Sometimes, evil can hide in the most innocent things... but what happens when the inner good is covered by an appearance of evil?

Discord has been defeated, and Twilight and her friends are eager to get back into the swing of everyday life. Shortly after the end of the victory ceremony in Canterlot, Celestia asks a favour of Twilight, to put Discord back where he belongs, and the ever-faithful student accepts.

By noon of the next day, however, Twilight has both a startling revelation, and a terrible new secret to keep. Otherwise, the last thing she sees may in fact be the statue garden.

Acknowledgements
Edited and test-read by DreamVirusOmega (aka PoisonClaw) and Nonagon
Heavily inspired by and adapted from Garden Party: Petrified by PumpkinHipHop
Cover art used with permission by DocWario

(REWRITE IN PROGRESS)

After a weekend spent in Canterlot, Twilight Sparkle arrives home to find an odd scroll in her saddlebags. In the following days Twilight is plagued by terrifying nightmares, and horrific visions from a life not her own. Can Twilight Sparkle resist the Nightmare, or will she fall prey to the darkness?

A terrible new day rises when a tragedy, foreseen only by Celestia but preventable by none, occurs right in the middle of Canterlot, turning Twilight Sparkle's world upside-down. Now, all of Equestria is looking to her to hold the broken nation together, all while she tries to pick up the pieces of her shattered life.

Coverart used with permission from: metalpandora

Old coverart may be found here.

A/N: Yes, the title was based of the Dragonforce song of the same name, you may stop postulating about it now.

A different take on alicorn ascension. Sixteen years after arriving in Ponyville, Twilight Sparkle is excited to have invented a brand-new kind of spell, but it will come with consequences she cannot possibly anticipate. Meanwhile, threats in shadows around the world conspire to overthrow the Solar Throne. With her world turned upside down, she will have to come to terms with the role that fate has dealt her while straining to keep Celestia in power.

Now with a TVTropes page! Please show it some love! Also check out the official side stories, Designing Intrigue, and Love and Barriers! (With even more in my stories page!)

(Please Note: This story was started before any season three information was available. All episodes in season three and later are non-canon for this story, which also means there's no Crystal Empire in this one. In addition, the promotional map released close to the beginning of season three was also not available and is not compatible with this story. While the OC tag is active because there are OCs in the story, they're really just supporting characters. The focus is on Twilight.)

Also be sure to check out the Rites of Ascension Expanded Universe Group! We're working to develop the resources needed for other authors to try their hand at writing stories set in the Rites Universe!

The Book Two cover art was created by the amazing Silfoe! The original cover art can still be found at Violet Squiggle's deviantArt page.

Author's Notes, including proofreader's credits, can be found here!

"This is 100% Approved by Twilight's Library!"

Should you form attachments to mortals if you yourself will never die?

Losing the last of her friends in a battle that should never have been fought, Twilight Sparkle's world falls apart, until meaning and purpose come back into her life in the most wonderful way imaginable. But she forgets, again, that every living creature must eventually die...

Sequel to Not My Destiny, which you can read here. PG-13 for some mild psychological horror and plot-relevant, non-gratuitous injuries. I'll try to keep to the same chapter-a-day release schedule as I did back over New Year's.

Glorious cover art: Secreta Altare Window 3: Twilight Transcendent used with the kind permission of the magnificent confused--guy!

Finding herself with wings and unusually powerful magic, Twilight Sparkle proceeds to have breakdown after breakdown, until with the help of her friends, she confronts Celestia and Luna about it... And learns that she's a far more important little pony than she ever imagined - for all the wrong reasons.

Awesome painting by Drezzer can be found here!

20 megapixel version is here (10MB JPEG, 210dpi strangely, 24"x20")!

Thanks, man!