This story is a sequel to Twilight Verbs Article Nouns

Having defeated the scourge of news stories about her banal personal life, Twilight must now face a far greater and more embarrassing threat:

News stories speculating about her nonexistent love life.

She's beginning to get a little annoyed.

Not a one shot anymore, because reasons.

Twilight Sparkle discovers that the alternate timelines created by Starlight Glimmer in her misguided attempt at revenge did not, in fact, disappear when the original timeline was restored. Instead, they persisted as separate, parallel universes.

Never one to leave a job unfinished, she decides to employ the magic of friendship to restore those universes to a more harmonious state.

She begins with Nightmare Moon.

This story is the first in a series. The other stories can be found below.

1. For Want of a Horseshoe <-- you are here
2. A Big Brother's Duty
3. Healing

Cover art provided by the excellent Sini.

Ponies expect certain things from a mysterious shop that appears at the end of a lonely side street, and Old Gob does his very best to provide that experience. The candlelight flickers, a thick layer of dust coats items of dark and fantastic powers, and the door creaks ominously as ponies enter and leave with their purchases to discover the costs and rewards. Of course, sometimes the costs outweigh the rewards.

They certainly did for Twilight Sparkle and her friends. So when they manage to get to the shop right before it closes and disappears, they aren't going to leave until they get a refund.

(Fic contains a small amount of comedic TwiJack shipping.)

Second place winner for the February Writeoff Association prompt "Closing Time."

Stuck on desk duty from a broken wrist, Sergeant Piobar's day got off to a bad start. It's April Fool's Day, which only adds to the misery. Between prank calls from a pay phone, and a pair of homicide detectives who have nothing better to do, the phone just keeps ringing. And just when he thinks he's eked out a moment of peace, a pony walks through the front door.

Now with a reading by AShadowOfCyguns!

Twilight Sparkle has always been frustrated with Discord. His ability to do anything, with no more effort than a snap of his claw. It shouldn't be possible. His power had to come from somewhere.
Then, one day, Twilight lets slip how she feels. Surprisingly Discord agrees to explain it to her. To give her the secret to all of his powers. If she's willing to pay the price that knowing it all will bring.

In the brief moment when one guard leaves and a new guard arrives, everything slows down for a few moments. Then things resume again, a new face on the same mission.

*A love letter of sorts to this beautiful series that has done so much for us.
*Big thanks to Pascoite for his editing and pre-reading advice as I worked through one draft after another.

Gilda only wanted the humble things in life. Cheap rent, copious bits, the respect of her peers, the occasional juicy field-mouse.

Being captured by the Equestrians and dragooned into the Territorials wasn't quite what she'd dreamed of, but at least the rent was free.

And the rats were nice and plump.

Applejack's tour of duty didn't work out like she expected; maybe if she'd been able to keep her dang mouth shut... oh, well. She hadn't decided if she really wanted to make a career out of the military, but her superiors made it pretty doggone clear they didn't care for the idea, so that was that. But everytime Harmony closes a door, it opens a window. And maybe she's been sent exactly where she's always needed to be.

However cat-infested it was at the moment.

The long trial was over, and Twilight - no, Dusk Shine's finally out from under that terrible shadow. Poor little Skyla and her auntie could move on with their life. Skyla's murderous grandfather was behind bars, and Dashville was simply beautiful in the fall!

And all Dusk Shine needed to do was stay out of the public eye, and never catch the eye of 'King' Sombra's secretive confederates. And make sure that she stayed in the local deputy marshals' good graces.

How much trouble could a slightly witchy woman and her orphaned niece get up to in a quiet Applelachian town like Dashville, anyways? Even if they were hiding in witness protection from their incarcerated drug-cult kingpin of a patriarch.

This story is a sequel to Shelter of the Storm

Starlight Glimmer decides to accompany Sunburst when he goes to start classes at Celestia's School. It's the worst possible day in her entire life... that is, until a chance encounter with a certain plume-maned unicorn...

For more of this AU, see: Never Any Doubt

And also check out the series, beginning with Not Exactly Friends.