When Scootaloo and a new student get into a fight at school, it's up to Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle to teach her the importance of Griffon/Pony relations by reading the story of the first encounter between a Griffon huntress and a Pegasus soldier.

Now on Equestria Daily

Cover Art By
StinkHund

Editing and Pre-reading done by
NotMurphy
Georg
Ping111
DistaffPope

There is a secret in Equestria. A secret the newly crowned Princess Twilight Sparkle doesn’t dare to believe. Like puppeteers pulling on marionettes, they have influenced Equestria for better and worse since the fall of Discord. So far they have been benevolent, but their potential for evil is vast. What’s worse, she doesn’t know their name. She doesn’t know their mission. All she knows for certain is one thing.

That they all seem to be zebra.

This story is a sequel to The Assembled Letters of Twilight Sparkle, Protégé of Emperor Discord

After getting a taste of Friendship and questioning her allegiance to Discord, Twilight Sparkle chose instead to accept the will of Chaos and remain a student of the Emperor. Now, she has been charged to return to Ponyville and plant Seeds of Discord around the Tree of Harmony, but there are more things than broken friendships awaiting her arrival in Ponyville.

A note on the [Dark] tag: This fic is not grimdark.

It is however, an adventure story with high stakes, and themes that may touch on more serious matters, such as brainwashing or mental/emotional abuse. There is also some brief moments of violence and intense danger that, while not excessive, may be troubling to some. This tag was actually something recommended by one reader after Discord's psychological games with Twilight in the previous story, and I think it's time to add it. Link to reddit discussion where I made the decision, slight spoilers for Chapter 6.

Please don't let it turn you off from the story, just consider it fair warning that some parts may be slightly disturbing to more sensitive readers.

When a freak reading accident causes Twilight to be admitted to the Ponyville hospital, Rainbow Dash is right by her side. Compelled by a sense of duty and repayment, she takes it upon herself to cheer up her friend.

Twilight Sparkle has spent years as Discord's protege, studying the Magic of Chaos. But when rumors of a strange phenomenon dubbed "Friendship" show up in a small outlying town, the Emperor sends his star student to find out what's going on. Twilight goes with the best intentions and quickly discovers there is more than meets the eye going on in Ponyville...

Inspired by this post on r/mlpwritingprompts, by MetaSkipper. Original version by me is in the comments there.

Continued here!

A flip of a coin. A twist of fate.

Twilight Sparkle, younger sister of Princess Celestia's personal student, Shining Armor, grew up listening to her brother's bygone dreams of joining the elite of the elite: The Royal Guard.

Now, fresh out of the Academy, this young mare is ready to prove herself equal to the deeds of the great soldiers she read about as a filly. Too bad the princess she ends up protecting isn't Celestia.

Sunset Shimmer encounters Santa Claus in Pinkie's living room and they have a short chat.

Cover art belongs to Astral Sketch.

Now with YouTube reading by kingfish!

Second reading by ObabScribbler!

Third reading by AliCentaur Br0ny!

...and a fourth reading by LoneWriter1800!

Wow, guys. That's a lot of readings.

This story is a sequel to Past Sins

Side-story to Past Sins - Slowly, the wounds inflicted by Nightmare Moon's reign heal. Ponyville is being reconstructed, and the last refugees are leaving the castle. Nyx is with Twilight. Celestia and Luna rule Equestria and guide the sun and moon once more. Everything is as it should be.

But some things are never washed away. These are the things that remain to remind us of the past. They remind us of the good times we've had with friends and family. They never let us forget the mistakes we've made. Everyone has them. Twilight has them. Nyx has them.

And, on occasion, when you share your scars, your photos, and your trinkets with another, they just might share theirs in return.

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...

As a general rule, leaving your future bride at the altar and abandoning your entire family to flee the city of Canterlot is a bad idea.

Then again, you never know just who you'll meet on the train to your new life.