A day of applebucking has Rarity fed up with Applejack. When the unicorn expresses her frustration in the oddest of ways, Applejack is left befuddled and confused. After some thought, the country mare goes to confront her friend. The discussion they have about it is nothing if not vague. Will this incident cause a rift in their friendship? Or, will it become stronger?

It's time once again for Nightmare Night and the citizens of Ponyville are ready for another night of candy, costumes, ghost stories, and more. After Twilight Sparkle taught her the true meaning of Nightmare Night one year prior, Princess Luna takes the day off from her royal duties and joins in the festivities. But when Ponyville suddenly comes under attack by a mysterious force, Luna is discovered missing in the aftermath. What's more, this force is being commanded by a malicious creature wielding a terrible power that the ponies have actually heard of, but know nothing about.

Once again, Twilight and her friends must take up the Elements of Harmony in defense of everything they hold dear, but if Equestria is to have any real hope of surviving against this force, the ponies must first unravel the mysteries of the power that threatens them.

-some clarification: the “Lords” in the title is figurative.
-Act 1 - A Tale of Two Sisters. Word count: 72k
-Act 2 - Shadow of Malice. Word count: 102k.
-Takes place mid season 3, before Keep Calm and Flutter On.
-This story assumes there's a one-year time frame for each season of the TV show, give or take a couple months here and there.

Was on hiatus from 4/18 - 8/18 due to lack of an editor.
Many thanks to BronyDad for his help with editing!
New editor as of October 2019: Vertigo22
-Jan 2020 to present: James Fire
Cover art by Tzolkine on DeviantArt. Unfortunately, the page 404s every time I try to look at it. This wallpaper was found on google and pinterest.
The time-stamp for Act 1 - The First Adventure is wrong. I revised it and re-released it on 3/1/15.

Twilight's been noticing some changes, but she isn't the one changing. Everything else is changing while she stays still, immobilised in time while the world moves on without her, and she has been thinking recently about the point to life. Namely that, for her, there isn't one.

Equestria is a haven for the magical pony race. Ruled under the beloved and benevolent Alicorn Sisters spanning hundreds of miles, it's our heroes' job to travel across it. But not just Equestria, no. They must go further beyond Equestria, Equus even! Griffonia and Zebrica are in need of some help too y'know. But before our little ponies can even leave Ponyville, they'll have to settle some domestic issues first...

This story takes place during season 6 after "Gauntlet of Fire" before 'No Second Prance's' for obvious reasons. Also, the season five finale, the season five episode 'Party Pooped', The season six two-parter, 'The Crystalling,' and the rest of season six onward are not canon to this AU.

Parts of this story are no longer Canon, as of 10/23/23 this work is now considered partial canon.

All Twilight wanted was to get the cure for the cutie pox. Another little foal was busy trying to get their cutiemark, and like Apple Bloom's incident last year, they did it the wrong way. Now on her way to visit Zecora, Twilight and Spike get on topic of the different species of Equestria. When they arrive at Zecora's hut, the whole conversation takes a turn as the zebra adds a bit of her own knowledge -- and two cents -- to what they were discussing.

Trixie Lulamoon gets into Flash Sentry's car and orders him to drive. Seeing her angry demeanour, he doesn't dare to refuse.

Now with a Chinese translation by plapoco | [fimtale.com]

Love is shared, Thorax and the changelings are freed, Chrysalis is defeated, and alls well that ends well. But Twilight isn't Celestia. An escaping villain should be chased down. In pursuit of chrysalis however, Twilight is surprised to uncover the truth of who the queen really is, and learns a little of the truth of politics in the process.

A personal twist on the season 6 finale, inspired by watching said finale, listening to my brother complain about it, and pondering how I would have structured the story differently. Less a "Fix" and more a "what would I do if I ran the zoo?"

Unicorn Quick Caper and his much larger Earth pony pal Mugger, have had it with constantly having their schemes thwarted by the savvy law enforcement of Manehatten.

So when they hear about a fair-sized hamlet out in the middle of nowhere, stuck right beside the Everfree Forest and the main city of Canterlot, they see this as the perfect opportunity to snag some quick bits from the unsuspecting rubes that travel between the Forest and the way to Canterlot.

What could be more simple?! Avoid those pesky, nosy Bearers, lie in wait along the Road, jump out and surprise anypony with enough bits! With Caper's brains and Mugger's muscle, they'd soon be rolling in cash! Profit!

When Twilight Sparkle had the magical surge that cemented her place as Celestia's student, the amount of power she released not only hatched a baby Dragon, it brought forth something else. Something that shouldn't exist any more.
Something that has Celestia worried.

A fluffy puppy.

[Despite the gore tag it's rather light on that, and they have yet to make a lewd tag and there's a bit of that.]

Editing help by Lawlypops, ThatNoobpony and people in the comments.

Modoc is converting this story into a youtube audio format if you'd rather listen to the story. That link is here.

Cover art by marking

Season two is live here, Season 2

When Scootaloo has a close call in the forest, an unexpected hero comes to rescue her, proving that not all heroes rely on magic, strength, or courage to save the day.

Image comes from Matty4z's web comic. Sorry I Couldn't Be There For You