Journals. Everyone keeps one, even if they call it by a different name. An autobiography, some online blog, or even fading memories in the mind regaled as tales to grandchildren, it's always recorded somewhere for someone to see or hear one day. And whether or not it's truth or fiction, it's always unique in delivering an individual perspective on life.

Celestia politely asked Sunny, her mirror pool duplicate, to write about her life experiences in one such journal.

Unfortunately for her, Sunny wasn't very good at following directions.

This is a side story to Letters from an Irritated Princess.

While knowledge of the whole series is not required, it is highly recommended that one has read the events beyond the Slice of Life Letter to have a better understanding of the circumstances. Otherwise, reading this might be confusing.

Correction: It will absolutely be confusing. Also made a small title change that should, in theory, be simpler.

Important notes about the status of this story below

Ever wonder what Equestria's past was like? How did Celestia and Luna come to rule? And what made their rule a time of peace? Well I may have had something to do with that.

Name's Zack. I appeared in Equestria over 3000 years before the show "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" takes place. For whatever reason, a few months after my arrival, I was transported to the modern day Ponyville. What happened? Are the Princesses mad at me for disappearing like I did? I only helped establish the greatest country this world has ever seen and then vanished.

That... sounded more innocent in my head. Uh oh...

A/N:
Just to let you know ahead of time, this is a ponified human, 1st person story. If you don't like it, don't bother.
The cover art was made by me, with the exception of the night sky bg (Wertyla).

Edit August 2nd 2016: I want to rewrite this story from the beginning. Read this for more info and tell me what you think.

Edit May 24th 2017: IMPORTANT! I am currently rewriting the entire story and with that, many details and aspects are set to change. As such, it will essentially be an entirely new story, meaning this version of Past, Present, and Future is technically Cancelled. There will be no more chapter updates until I finish the rewrite, meaning that this version will not have a proper ending. If it's requested enough, I may do some kind of Cliffnotes version of how the rest of the story was meant to play out, but for right now just know that if you start reading this version, you will not get an ending. I will post an announcement chapter on this story and Blog on my profile when the writing nears completion and I'm about to start uploading chapters. Thank you for all of your interest in my first public work of fiction. It really means a lot to me.

Sweetie Belle wonders if she can learn more about magic. It's a curiosity which has gripped her for some time, especially with how mysterious the subject is. Spending some time with Twilight Sparkle helps answer some questions, but she rarely has the time to teach Sweetie about the advanced spells which captivate her.

However, she soon gets an unexpected visitor in the form of Sunset Shimmer, who's willing to tutor Sweetie in the art of magic. It sounds like the perfect recipe for understanding magic, but Sweetie can only guess what kinds of challenges await her. And while Sunset is ecstatic to teach somepony, there's much more to her visit than just tutoring Sweetie.

Thanks to Verbose Mode for the amazing cover image.

Nova, a young pegasus mare decides it is time to return to Equestria after years of self exile. She carries a dark past that, no matter how hard she tries to hide it, always seems to come back. Now she arrives in the small town of Ponyville hoping to pay off some old debts. She's determined to make up for her past, while stopping her history from repeating.

No one must know the monster inside...

Everypony in Ponyville is happy, carefree, and content with their life on the whole... except one. Rarity harbors a dark, murderous secret. She is Equestria's only active serial killer. She has to balance her fashion life, her friends, and her murderous urges as best as she can. This is the story of her mind.

Edited wonderfully by Kaidan and Kagji5

Now with a Tumblr!

Now with a TVTropes Page!!!

This story is a sequel to The Irony of Applejack

Warning: this story is a sequel. Therefore, it is highly recommended that you read the prequel first before continuing!

Over half a year has passed since the changeling attack on Ponyville, and Applejack would like to think things have finally settled down. Much has changed for the young changeling, and all of Equestria in kind. The new district in Ponyville proves that, along with the town's many new residents.
But there is much the young queen does not yet know about being a changeling. Some things, she will learn, can be chosen, while others will be chosen for her. With new allies and enemies emerging all around her, Applejack must discover what it truly means to rule before the choice is taken from her forever, and the history of the changelings repeats itself, once again...

Image provided by Heilos.

Jason's life has grown dull. While some may have thought that the weekly monster attacks might have kept him on his toes, he had grown to learn that as the norm around town. Now, after months of living in Ponyville, he can't shake the feeling that there is a void in his life. He follows his usual routine every day: breakfast, a quick shower, followed by a quick walk to the park to read the newspaper. One morning, he finds two parents playing with their filly in the playground. As he watches, an idea sparks within his mind: why not adopt a pony of his own?

Featured on Equestria Daily

This story is a sequel to The Witching Hour

Midnight Storm has had one heck of a year. She's gone from being a wandering outcast to a respected and liked member of the community of Ponyville, a captain of a secret guard created by Celestia herself, and even a mother.

That was last year.
This year she'll have to deal with chaos entities, rogue dragons, and her past. And that's all just before Nightmare Night!

Follow Midnight and her friends and family as they chart their way through one life changing event after another in part 2 of The Witching Hour!

Cover Image by Valkyrie Girl

How can this be true? When the sun was later in rising than it should have been, Princess Luna became concerned for her older sister. No pony had seen her since Princess Cadance and Shining Armor's reception had ended late the night before. However when Luna went to urge the moon down hoping to nudge Celestia into completing the cycle, her magic brushed against an aura she had hoped and prayed to never glimpse again.

Had her inability to protect the ponies she cares so deeply for, driven Princess Celestia to do... The unthinkable?

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!"