Rainbow Dash has an unusual way of learning, and Twilight’s determined to take advantage of it. Before she knows it, Rainbow’s worst fears become reality and her life unravels before her eyes as she becomes the smartest pony alive.

The dark tag is for the implications of the story.

An entry for the April 2015 write-off event, with the prompt “Great Expectations.”

It's been a thousand years. Princess Luna is returned, and the castle staff must scramble to see that she has servants to attend to her needs, and just as importantly, that they look the part. Of course, it turns out that it's rather difficult to find competent servants on such short notice. A hooffull of servants are chosen based on their appearance and duties, and are assigned to serve the Moon Goddess as personal retainers until more suitable replacements can be found. When coloring, Cutie Mark, and chance coincide, one of the castle's junior stewards is thrust into a role any loyal servant ought to jump at: Lunar Hoofservant. Unfortunately for Nightlight, Princess Luna is far more demanding than her older sister, and being her servant means contending with an unforgiving goddess who demands nothing short of perfection. Furthermore, somepony must be responsible for the inevitable failure. The duty of "Royal Hoofservant" just might be synonymous with "Royal Scapegoat."
Saddled with responsibility far beyond his post and expected to fail, Nightlight has no choice but to quit his post or to become the servant that Luna needs. This is the story of a pony's development from colt to stallion, and from servant to leader.
Thanks much to DirePony for the editing and story direction he's graciously provided me.
Rated 'Teen' for alcohol use, mild innuendo/sexual references, and pony-swears.
Not based on the (excellent) sci-fi novel of the same name by Robert Heinlein.

Murder has come to Canterlot.

When a body is discovered, mutilated beyond recognition, Princess Luna is tasked with finding the culprit and bringing them to justice.

As the Alicorn of Darkness, it is her duty to watch over the night, and protect the ponies of Equestria from that which lurks in shadow. But she won't be alone in this endeavor; a stallion from the Royal Investigative Service and the prince of chaos himself have been sent to aide her in this matter.

Together this strange trio will find that there is much more at play here than mere murder; a storm is gathering in the shadows of Canterlot, and even the powers of a god may not be enough overcome it.

Prereading credits go to the eminent Carabas.

This story is a sequel to The Night Princess and the Day Job

Luna got a day job to help her better relate to the ponies of Equestria, and all was well. But when a niece she knows next to nothing about is getting married, the Princess of the Night offers to take a night shift at the StarsBucked near Canterlot University as a way of blowing off a little steam.

Pity it's the Night Shift of the Living Dead.

This piece is a sequel to The Night Princess and the Day Job, and should probably be read as such.

Luna's having trouble. She doesn't know where she fits in, and she can't run night-court until she can at least understand the modern problems of modern ponies. In an effort to find a place in this brave new world, the Princess of the Night decides there's only one solution.

Get a job.

After all, how hard could it be to get a job working retail, with Hearth's Warming Eve coming up?

This story is a sequel to Celestia Makes Dinner.

One average afternoon, one average princess, one average town, and one average grocery list... Perhaps it would be best not to explore it.

An ordinary one-shot about innocent Cadance doing perhaps one of the most mundane things... Once more, perhaps it would be best not to explore it.

Twilight has been having her study sessions with the Cutie Mark Crusaders for some time, and has been remarkably pleased with their progress. And kind of worried, as they keep getting better and better. She might be a princess now, but TEACHING THE CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS? She'd rather not become their formal mentor. Yet.

A letter is sent out, and Princess Celestia gets a call for help. And, an opportunity is born. After all, why not? After a thousand years, perhaps it is time to do something else, just for a bit. She does have a rather wonderful younger sister who hasn't been ruling a land for a thousand years, and who has been studying how to rule for the past four rather intensely. So, teaching three fillies undercover? Sounds like fun.

And Luna. She's wanted to be as respected as her sister so much that she once went mad over it. But now, she's simply being handed the power that she once coveted for so long and no longer wants. What kind of a world does she live in now that her highest desire has been so casually granted?

With all of this, What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

Arcs:

Escape: When Celestia hears the call, she jumps at the chance to teach again, especially three fillies who might surpass her grandest student. But first she's got to escape her own identity...
Examination: So you want to find out what a filly does? Time to test her silly, so long as you don't taunt the Happy-Fun Filly.
Excitement: So, you've found the Happy-Fun Filly. Great, but the other two need help as well, and Scootaloo has this ~Great!~ idea for how to use her new-found magic...
Encouragement: Cometh the Bubbles, and a whole load of new headaches as they find out just what being a Happy-Fun Filly really means...
Exaltation: Where's Luna been this whole time? She can't be very happy about being left in the lurch holding Equestria. She could really use somepony to talk to.
Exercise: 'Sunbeam' is looking to teach the Happy-Fun Filly more, but first she needs to start taking care of the wagon-tire she keeps around her middle so that certain Unfun-Time Fillies don't interrupt her. And there's this big draft stallion looking for help...

After a busy day celebrating princess Mi Amore Cadenza's birthday, Shining Armor and his wife take time to wind down, relax, and talk. The topic of their conversation soon moves in an unexpected direction, and the couple finds that their marriage still has surprises in store for them both.

Cover image by naroclie. Used with permission.

Princess Celestia is getting tired of her sister skipping out on her royal duties for trivial matters that she calls 'emergencies'. Princess Luna don't care.

An insane and illogical parody of your favorite ponies.

Are you looking for a story about the magic of friendship or how great it is to be alive? Too bad! What you're getting is a story about a bitter bookworm named Twilight Sparkle who just got booted out of Canterlot and is forced to go to a little backwater town named Ponyville in order to get some sort of social life.

Will she enjoy it? No. Not at all.

Rated Teen for strong language, cartoonish violence, immature humor, and god-awful jokes.
Sex tag is for repeated mentions of sex, sexual activities, and Rainbow Dash. Just...Rainbow Dash in general.

Cover Image by the very talented Wadusher0.

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