A different take on alicorn ascension. Sixteen years after arriving in Ponyville, Twilight Sparkle is excited to have invented a brand-new kind of spell, but it will come with consequences she cannot possibly anticipate. Meanwhile, threats in shadows around the world conspire to overthrow the Solar Throne. With her world turned upside down, she will have to come to terms with the role that fate has dealt her while straining to keep Celestia in power.

Now with a TVTropes page! Please show it some love! Also check out the official side stories, Designing Intrigue, and Love and Barriers! (With even more in my stories page!)

(Please Note: This story was started before any season three information was available. All episodes in season three and later are non-canon for this story, which also means there's no Crystal Empire in this one. In addition, the promotional map released close to the beginning of season three was also not available and is not compatible with this story. While the OC tag is active because there are OCs in the story, they're really just supporting characters. The focus is on Twilight.)

Also be sure to check out the Rites of Ascension Expanded Universe Group! We're working to develop the resources needed for other authors to try their hand at writing stories set in the Rites Universe!

The Book Two cover art was created by the amazing Silfoe! The original cover art can still be found at Violet Squiggle's deviantArt page.

Author's Notes, including proofreader's credits, can be found here!

"This is 100% Approved by Twilight's Library!"

When the only other alicorn in Equestria is its ruler, a lot of questions don't have answers. There will be times of trial and error, there will be times when nothing makes sense, and there will be times when it's lonely. Was the crown given to you or forced on your head? It's heavy either way.

Edited by GoldenVision and NightChronicle

It's been two and a half years since Twilight Sparkle returned from the other world, leaving Sunset Shimmer in the company of the alternate group of friends she made. However, not all has gone well for her one-time rival in the other world. On the night of the 30th moon, Sunset emerges from the mirror and uses an ancient relic to switch their bodies. Alone in the care of Sunset's overbearing ex-tutor, Twilight uncovers the forgotten past that drove her rival to such desperation, while back in Ponyville, Sunset struggles with Twilight's lifestyle clashing with her own dreams.

Proofreaders: RTStephens, Winter Solstice, The Albinocorn, Dartrunner and NightWolf289.
Cover art: FallingRain22

Featured by Twilight's Library September 2014.
Featured on Equestria Daily

The wheel of time turns, as destiny and history clash together.

Fifty years into the future, Sunset Shimmer is Princess Twilight Sparkle's most faithful student. She is smart and eager, but doesn't always think things through. Her life had been perfect, right up to the End of the World.

With a ruined future, Sunset travels into the past to alter the course of history. With only her mentor's cryptic word to go on, Sunset and the Elements of Harmony must solve the riddle of the Dark Regalia and stop the mysterious Vesper Radiance from rising to power. But the further Sunset goes, the more she feels like she's been through it all before.

Is destiny set in stone, or can Sunset shape her own future? Only time will tell.

Featured on Equestria Daily 6/16/13
Gratefully edited by JustAnotherTimeLord, Icarus_Gizmo, Cerulean Voice and Bad_Seed_72

The Sunset of Tropes page!

This story is a sequel to Thrown Abroad

After the events of Thrown Abroad, Suncloak the changeling is happily living in Ponyville. Well, sort of. He needs the love of friendship to stay alive! Luckily, there's plenty of ponies who would want to be friends with him. But let's not forget about other changelings here...

You know, this would be a lot easier if the whole concept of friendship wasn't so needlessly difficult.

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Amazing cover art by Wolfeh! Find her Tumblr here!
Fanart!
To be found on Equestria Daily here!

A single changeling is blamed for making Chrysalis' plan to take over Equestria fail. He's banished and thrown out of the hive, ending up somewhere far away.

Luckily, he ends up not too far from a certain well-known village, where he can feed to his heart's content.

Needless to say, not everything goes according to plan.

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Now with a French version, courtesy of Wansdich, here.
Fanart! Check it out here. And even more here!
Now in ereader-friendly PDF version, by Starflower Hooves! You can view and download it here.
Featured on Equestria Daily!

Hundreds of years have passed since the wedding of Princess Cadence and Shining Armor. As with all mortal life, Shining Armor was fated to die and his soul to pass from the world. But with magic, his end was averted. What price will his immortality demand?

Now 100% approved by Twilight's Library!

Featured on Equestria Daily!

Also on TV Tropes!

New cover art by the awesome BroDogz.

This story is a sequel to Together Forever

Princess Celestia relates the tale of how her kind came to be, and the world as it was long ago.

A Together Forever side story.

This story is a sequel to Together Forever

Twenty years after the events of Together Forever, Cadence still struggles to create a new form for her beloved husband as Shining Armor seeks the source of his wife's misery. Meanwhile, tensions mount in the world at large, drawing the intervention of Celestia. But is this all more than coincidence?

Now complete with a TV Tropes page!

Twilight isn't having a very good day. An experimental spell blew up in her face, an army of changelings is attacking Canterlot, and she just died. Yet somehow, it looks like it's going to keep going downhill from here.

Given the chance to correct what's gone wrong, Twilight swears she's going to fix all this even if it kills her. Which it will. Frequently.

Cover art by Pixel Prism
Spanish Translation
Series TV Tropes page