This story did not explode! What a relief and/or letdown.

Part of OPERATION CRACKFIC STORM 2024 ( group | stories ).

Thanks to Silk Rose for coming up with the idea, writing chapters 22 and 9, and developing the code; thanks also to Meadowsys for general code help.

Thanks to IrradiatedPirateBooty ( tumblr ) for the awesome character art.

And thanks to everyone in the comments who stuck around for the final countdown!

This story is a sequel to The Twilight Enigma

With the queen of Twilight Town present, the Storm King's invasion of Canterlot goes badly for his commander and minions. Not satisfied with a mere victory, Captain Blackmane and her friends go on the hunt. Twilight is determined to find the Storm King and make sure he will never be able to harm anyone ever again. It's obviously a mission of reasonable prevention, not murderous revenge. Obviously... Right?

Book 4 of the Alicorn Adventure series.
Sequel to The Twilight Enigma and prequel to The Skyla Pseudonym.

In every world, era, and species, adolescents think they're the first to invent or discover whatever they come across. It's not hard to see why. In the flower of youth, every experience is new and fresh and exciting, especially the ones previous generations won't discuss. Not in polite company, anyway. Certainly not with their children.

Well, "exciting" isn't always the best word to describe those discoveries. Sometimes it's "horrifying." Especially when it involves certain alicorn princesses.

Rated Teen for discussion of topics that would be rated Mature. Also rated C for Crackfic. Graciously preread by Comma Typer.

My name is Comet Tail, and I have died many times.

Queen Chrysalis, against her better judgement, accepted Starlight's offer of redemption after her hive, and her plans, exploded around her. Now, the next day, she wants nothing more than to go on with her miserable life. Her children have other plans.

This takes place in the same universe as my alicorn Starlight story The Tiniest Changes, but can be read on its own perfectly comprehensibly.

I'm marking this as incomplete, because I suspect I will revisit it when I'm in the mood to write Chrysalis, but the first chapter was written, and functions, as a standalone story.

Princess Cadance, determined to make Hearts and Hooves Day special for her husband Shining Armor, finds herself torn between royal responsibilities and romantic aspirations. In a daring move, she enlists the help of Twilight Sparkle to take on her regal role. As Twilight navigates the intricacies of royal duties her brother decides to surprise his wife, too...

Hearts and Hooves Day writing contest!

Cast out of the Celestial Palace, the former Royal Student, Sunset Shimmer, is about to take life into her own hooves and seize what rightfully belongs to her, on the other side of that mysterious Mirror Portal.

Only problem is, somepony else got to the mirror, first. It's gone, vanished.
So is Celestia.

On the bright side, the new Acting Princess, Mi Amore Cadenza (or Cadance, as she likes to be called), is willing to ignore that banishment and give Sunset a second chance. She's heard the rumors about the reclusive, disobedient, and just-generally-mean Royal Student, but the Acting Princess needs all the help she can get.

So, all of a sudden, Sunset goes from being a disgraced scholar, banned from the palace grounds, to serving as a valuable asset of Princess Cadance's desperate scramble to hold the Principality of Equestria together and figure out what on Equus even happened to the Princess of the Sun.

Now, Sunset just has to avoid royally peeving off the ponies giving her a second chance: to ingratiate herself to them, even; to make herself indispensable. She can lie, cheat, and swindle like nopony else in the Celestial Palace, and it's time she used those talents for somepony other than herself.

Starting with this little project of Cadance's. The Princess needs to recruit a young group of friends to serve the Crown and Harmony, and she's already got a lead. Sunset just has to do the actual hoofwork of meeting the candidates, and then she can dust her hooves of this and go back to her studies, secure in her appointment as Royal Student.

What's the worst that could happen?

Comes after Stay of Execution, but that work is not required to appreciate this one.

Rated Teen for coarse horse language and various threats made to ponies' well-being.

Twilight's castle has gone through many wild and life altering changes over the years. What once was a simple library was now the seat of a princess and her council. Not only that, over the years it's played host to so many new and interesting people; each one memorable in their own way.

Which makes it all the stranger that there's this pony tending to the books lately that nobody seems to know... But she seems so familiar!

Top featured 12/5/23-12/11/23! I couldn't be prouder! Thanks to everyone.

Reading by Skijarama/Tone Shift HERE.

"If you stay in this place," Tempest said. "They will saw off your horn the first chance they get."

"Is that what they did to you?" Sunset asked.
 
First Place winner of the Sunset X Villain AU competition (October 4th 2023 to November 2nd 2023).

Silverstream learns an interesting fact about Smoulder's name. Naturally, she has to share!

Smoulder isn't too thrilled.

Preread by ChudoJogurt!

As featured by Equestria Daily! And again on Student Six Day!