Twilight Sparkle stops by Carousel Boutique for a perfectly ordinary teatime with Rarity.

Rarity knows it's anything but.

An entry to the Depth in Innocence Contest.

The original draft of this story was an entry for the Quills and Sofas Speedwriting Joy of Youth Contest. The prompt was "The Sound of Distant Thunder". This version has received significant expansion, editing, and refinement during the month of May.

Thanks to Undome Tinwe and Seer for editing.

Cover art by MalineTourmaline.

For Pinkie, it was a day like any other, spending time with her good friend Fluttershy. What she didn't know was that it would be her very last day alive, passing away in an unfortunate accident as she tried to save her friend. When she woke up, she was laying in the middle of the woods, staring Death itself in the face as it made an offer to her. Should she make a deal with Death, or would that be worse than dying itself?

This is the source of the art, I stumbled across it and it's partly what inspired me to write this story. https://www.deviantart.com/prancingcrow/art/Friend-576949252

Huge thanks to https://www.fimfiction.net/user/278463/Buttonous for editing!

Featured: 7/27/20 to 7/30/20, 9/12/20. Wow, really wasn't expecting this to blow up so much. This is my second ever featured story, and my first story that ever got hot. I'm glad you guys enjoy it so much. This is now my most liked story, I can see you guys really like this.

Clover the Clever never asked for his life to get so complicated.  It was bad enough tricking a drunk Imperatrix Celestia, war goddess of the Three Tribes, out of her accidental coup against Queen Platinum.  But now the most dangerous pony in Equestria has returned to trade her claim on the sun for a chance to woo him.

On top of that, his erstwhile mentor Star Swirl the Bearded has saddled him with a mysterious magical necklace and a uniquely bleak and pointless prophecy: If he's brave enough, and if he's clever enough, he just might survive Celestia for long enough to break her heart.

Now with an audio reading by ScarlettBlade!

Recommended by PresentPerfect! "horizon gave me the story I needed rather than the one I wanted ... along the way we get some very strong lessons about love, and meditations on the value of a lifetime and what one pony can achieve on their own."

Featured on Equestria Daily!

First place, "Out of Time" Writeoff! (11/2015) At long last, expanded to novella size! The world-spanning, centuries-spanning romance as it was always meant to be told!

PRAISE FOR THE WRITEOFF VERSION:
"One of my favorite depictions of Celestia in a long time." –billymorph
"To the top of the ballot with it." –AugieDog
"There’s going to be a lot of tears shed when this one hits publish." –Georg
"You need to read Time Enough For Love. I literally swore out loud when my computer crashed when I was halfway through, and then I immediately whipped out my smartphone to finish it. And now I'm reading it again in a desperate attempt to figure out how it does its job so damn well." –Bachiavellian
"I can get behind some historical revisionism for such a brilliant story. The writing is second-to-none … I laughed, I cried, and I felt other things too." –Trick Question

Cover art by Nadnerb.

Rumors of a dark cult on the rise are circulating around Equestria. As Princess, Twilight Sparkle has no choice but to investigate this potentially dangerous development.

When she finds that the cult is worshiping her as a divine figure, things become more uncomfortable.

So Twilight falls back to her safe answer: consulting with Celestia for advice.

Unfortunately, Celestia's answers are not what Twilight expected.

Written for Fan of Most Everything's Imposing Sovereigns II contest with the combined prompt of Twilight Sparkle and The New.

Featured 10/24/19-10/30/19!

And with a reading by The Mystery Fluttershy Fan!

Featured in Equestria Daily's 44 Awesome Fanfics to Read for Twilight Day! on 8/6/2020!

Now with a Spanish translation by Spaniard Kiwi!

And reviewed by HapHazred! And also by Loganberry!

And by PresentPerfect with a rating of Recommended!

And with a Chinese translation by jazspid available here!

Each of the Bearers of Harmony came to that first Grand Galloping Gala with a dream in her heart and dreadfully few relevant facts in her mind. Rarity dreamt of finding her Prince Charming. She knew his name, appearance, and not much else.

But in this timeline, one of her friends has her back.

Twilight invents speed dating.

Rarity tries not to perfect murder.

(Part of the Triptych Continuum, which has its own TVTropes page and FIMFiction group. New members and trope edits welcome.)

Now with author Patreon and Ko-Fi pages.

Roseluck is a pony who believes in Facts, and what she believes about them is that everypony saying something is true can only be the product of mass brainwashing. The free mind recognizes that Evidence is just a hoax with props. So if the government has asked ponies to temporarily wear masks in order to avoid spreading an illness? That can't be the real reason. Something is going on, and only the forces of Independent Thinking stand any chance of saving Ponyville from itself.

Of course, when it comes to the Flower Trio, Independent Thinking is also known as Fear-Addicted Paranoia. Everypony's been trying to tell them that for years...

Which proves the Conspiracy is just that widespread! To the soapboxes!

(Now with author Patreon and Ko-Fi pages.)

Anyone seeking MLP-styled masks like the one in the cover image may want to start through Etsy.

Princess Nightmare Moon has it all. Socially awkward shut-in Twilight Sparkle has nothing of worth. Princess Nightmare Moon can acquire anything she desires. Twilight Sparkle can't seem to catch a break. Two polar opposites from completely different worlds. Yet amidst her dominant rule, Princess Nightmare Moon feels she's missing something. A certain day from her memory has been wiped... and none of her common materialistic desires can sate her quench for answers. That is until she encounters a certain young unicorn mare, who she can't seem to get off her mind.

Twilight Sparkle's dull and downtrodden life is about to get much more interesting.

[Inspired by S5 - Nightmare Moon AU: Thank you for your support!]

This story is a sequel to Hoofticuffs Day

The days after Hearth's Warming saw an especially hard hit in returns, and there won't be any real seasonal sales traffic for a while. When the Boutique's thermostat setting starts to move down, it's a sign that Rarity is expecting a hard winter. And after everything she's given to them, her friends see nothing wrong with trying to give something back. A few paid requests, here and there, to ease the burden.

But there's only so many dresses anypony truly needs.

And only so much one mare can stand.

(A stand-alone, no-prior-reading required part of the Triptych Continuum, which has its own TVTropes page and FIMFiction group: new members and trope edits welcome. While this story is tagged as a sequel, it just takes place after the linked one: no knowledge of those events is required.)

Now with author Patreon and Ko-Fi pages. Cover art taken from an image created by Visfor Yoshi.

Every holiday has its aftermath and for Rarity, the day after Hearth's Warming means a well-established groove of frustration leading a parade of ponies into the Boutique. But she has absolute confidence in her ability to get through it. She's heard the songs, she knows what the most threadbare of floats looks like... having it happen every year just allows her to benefit from experience.

For example, the myriad of seasonal murder fantasies now know exactly which vital arteries to strike.

(A stand-alone, no-prior-reading required part of the Triptych Continuum, which has its own TVTropes page and FIMFiction group: new members and trope edits welcome.)

Now with author Patreon and Ko-Fi pages.