There was only one explanation. For all of it. All of the strange, erratic behavior. Her irrational fear of the sun. Her nocturnal habits of locking herself in in the dark and closing all the blinds. Wearing her sunglasses everywhere, even inside! It was time to invest in some silver, garlic, and a wooden stake.

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!"

Twilight Sparkle is the prized student of Princess Celestia, two-fold champion of Equestria, bearer of The Element of Magic, and general mare of renown. But we are all a product of our history and Twilight, along with the whole of Equestria, is no exception. When she is asked by Princess Celestia to look into an strange new field of magic, our studious heroine will get to learn first-hoof just how fickle history, and how important its quirks, can be.

I got this idea after cruising DA and seeing that there was a rather appalling lack of Solar Flare fan content. Since I'm about as talented at visual art as Stevie Wonder, I decided to go with the written word as my medium. Also credit to http://emeralddarkness.deviantart.com/ for the cover image

I'd really appreciate feedback on how I can keep improving, so feel free to point out any errors in the comments. I'm looking forward to continuing this story despite my poor work ethic, so updates might be a bit slow. Regardless, I hope you enjoy what i have so far.

And with that I proudly present, What Might Have Been

SF (canon species only; no humans) Ponies were magically and genetically engineered to be the perfect servitor race. They are powerful, adaptable, intelligent and completely under the control of their creators. A laboratory accident frees one such pony from her mental chains, but how can one mare save herself and the rest of her kind if she doesn't even know she's a slave?
This is not the Equestria you know and these are not your little ponies... not yet, anyway.

Tags: Adventure, Diamond Dogs, Gryphons, NO HUMANS (did I mention that already?)
Other tags: historical, mind control, Clarke's 3rd Law, excessive use of high energy physics, before they were famous.
Detailed review by PaulAsaran.
Cover art by endrome , used with permission.
Russian translation (partial -- 'unofficially' completed in the comments)
A Soot-Covered World, book 1.

Twilight and her five friends are transported during a botched spell, across dimensions to... Ponyville, Equestria? But not the same one that they knew. Sitting on a bench is Harpsy and Babar. The Doctoress avoids apples from an aspiring Applebuck. And in a library across town, six stallions join their forces as they try to decipher the appearance of filly look-alikes of themselves around Ponyville!

Pound Cake never cared for Canterlot. Why should he? This city has poisoned his existence, destroyed who he his, mutilated his body and soul and left him only a shell of who he could've been. And so he leaves it behind by rising above it, taking up the dangerous job of runner and transporting documents from rooftop to rooftop, away from the prying eyes of the provisional government. But when his sister is framed for a crime that would make her the most wanted criminal in all of Canterlot, he must prove her innocence while protecting the ones he loves and the lifestyle he has grown accustomed to.

A pseudo-crossover with Mirror's Edge. Teen for swearing ponies. A big thank you to all my pre-readers as well, for helping me crank this thing out!

Something is causing the pegasi to follow an irresistible urge to hug their ground-bound cousins, leaving Ponyville foundering in a mildly annoying emergency. Twilight Sparkle ventures into the no-more-dangerous-than-usual town in a desperate attempt to solve the cutesy crisis and finally get her study time back.

Inspired by shortskirtsandexplosions' story Herald.

It was supposed to be a simple task: drop Cerberus off at the Gates of Tartarus, the prison doors for Equestria's greatest and most terrible monsters. Little did Twilight know it was host to an entirely different prison: the SCP Foundation.

Twilight is enthralled with the sheer amount of knowledge and power the Foundation contains. They are likewise willing to bring her on board. After all, who can stop a black ops facility that doesn't officially exist?

Celestia, if she has any say in the matter, and she promised there would be hell to pay if the Foundation harmed her student.

Silver Spoon has always been a loyal friend to Diamond Tiara. In the years since the Cutie Mark Crusaders earned their cutie marks, however, she has tried and failed to get Diamond to leave them alone. Secretly, she never bore the Crusaders ill will but she always feared incurring Diamond's wrath. When a secret Silver was keeping comes out and destroys her friendship with Diamond, Silver takes it as an opportunity to mend some fences and re-discover just what kind of pony she is.

This story follows the timeline of Raiders of the Cutie Mark from the second ending where the CMC earn their cutie marks.

After the most important night of her career is ruined and its saboteurs not even so much as punished, Octavia's life changes. She begins to pursue a path that has never been seen before in Canterlot, where concertos and rhapsodies give way to controversy and rebellion.

A path where symphonies are composed with cans of spray paint.

Cover art used with permission by LuGiAdriel14