When the Cutie Mark Crusaders dig up an ancient magical artifact, they unleash a spell on the town that allows everypony to see a "lie meter" floating above each other's heads. While attempting to solve the mystery, Twilight Sparkle has to analyze the tenuous balance between friendship and honesty. She doesn't like what she finds.

Based on a story idea conceived by theworstwriter
Written and posted with his permission

Researching the history of Discord's time as ruler of the land, Twilight comes across something strange that piques her interest. Looking further into it, she discovers a piece of information that changes the dynamic of not only her own, but everypony's relationship with the mysterious draconequus.

Discord is utterly bemused by the apparent turn of events. Why in Equestria is everyone suddenly being so nice to him?

*If you'd like to purchase a physical copy of this story, click here*

One of Equestria's greatest traits is tolerance. Every pony, whether Unicorn, Pegasus, or Earth, is accepted for who they are, and have their own parts to play in keeping Equestria running.

But what if an Earth pony decided he didn't want to play his assigned part? What if he wanted to rise above everyone else and become an Alicorn? Such a thing is possible... but the path to fulfilling one's dreams is never simple. Risks must be taken. Sacrifices must be made. And the question is always asked: How far would you go to get what you wanted? And would you be willing to pay a terrible price to get it?

While welcoming a foreign dignitary to Princess Twilight's Palace, Applejack refers to the single monarch as "Y'all." This, of course, causes the entire Kingdom of Equestria to explode into flames.

Okay, maybe not explode into flames, but it could happen... right? Just ask Twilight...

Meh.

What would you do, if you met a pony who was at once your brother, and yet not? Applebuck wishes to reunite with his 'Cousin JayJay', and braves the dimensional divide to reach his goal. But being a small foal, how will he deal with a world in which everything is flipped? His friends, his family, and even... himself?

Spike's got three whole days to himself while Twilight is away at the Crystal Empire. Three whole days to be independent and free to do whatever he wants.

Or he would have, if a female dragon hadn't mistaken him for an abandoned hatchling. Now he's been snatched up and taken to her home to be "properly cared for."

Stuck in a cave with an overly-protective dragon intent on mothering him...maybe he should have just gone with Twilight.

Thanks to QueenCold for letting me use this picture of theirs as cover art!

This story is a sequel to The Order

Despite receiving a harsh reprimand from Captain Ironhoof for his "little stunt," Flash Sentry still struggles with his forbidden feelings for Princess Twilight Sparkle. Maintaining a professional stance while adhering to the law of the land proves an even more difficult task, especially when his one act of defiance only seems to awaken the seething rebellion within him.

When Flash is assigned to escort Twilight to the Crystal Empire at Princess Celestia's insistence, tensions on all sides only seem to escalate.

Full list of character tags: Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Cadence, Twilight Sparkle, Flash Sentry, Shining Armor, Discord, Prince Blueblood, OC, Other.

Thanks to Sir Rustbucket and Holo for editing.

Now with a TVTropes page! A huge thanks and tons of Doge GIFs to Poptard for creating it!

Now Featured on Equestria Daily!

Rated Teen for some language, mild violence, and thematic elements. Sex tag is for sexual references in dialogue and implied sexual situations.

Sweetie Belle burst into the Carousel Boutique in tears because one of her best friends is moving to a foster home in Baltimare. Surely there has to be a pony in Ponyville who can be her foster parent, right?

I'm lucky to have two of my favorite, (and also way underrated authors) on this site pre-reading for me, HMXTaylorLee and DemonBrightSpirit. Their work is seriously excellent and unappreciated so go check them out.

My super awesome cover art was done by hugsforpenguin and commissioned by the aforementioned HMXTaylorLee, so another thanks to him.

This story takes place in an Alternate Universe where Quills and Sofas sells more than two things.

Pinkie doesn't tell ponies about Pinkamena and Surprise. The doctors said that they were bad for her, that they were a disease, but she disagrees. Sure, Pinkamena's a bit of a grumpy-pants, but she's still a great friend! She's often the voice of reason to counter-act some of the other two's crazier ideas, after all. Surprise, on the other hand, is a great prank-player, and always up for some fun. She's more like Pinkie, only more hyper. Both are great fun to be around, and they get on well.

Thing is, she knows that if she told ponies about them, then they would be dragged back to the hospital. And then be 'treated' again. None of them want that. Because of this, not even her best not-in-head friends know about them. The three of them have, for years now, been careful enough to keep the existence of Pinkamena and Surprise secret.

This has, of course, gone out the window now that Twilight is hammering on the door after overhearing one third of a conversation, with no sign of anyone else talking.

Hints of F/F shipping inside. Nothing will actually come of it here, though. Maybe in a future story.

Cover art can be found here: http://killryde.deviantart.com/art/Smile-338206490

The sequel to this story: Sweetie Belle and the Quest for Knowledge is now available!

When Sweetie Belle finds a mysterious artifact of a now lost civilization, how will she come to terms with the wealth of knowledge it provides? It says it can be ignored, it says it will never try to influence her, but can an artifact of such power really be so harmless?

Book I of III

Prologue and Chapter 1: Thanks to TheOtherSideOfFluttershy for pre-reading and editing.
The whole story: Thanks to RaylanKrios for editing.
Chapter 4: Thanks to AuthorGenesis for editing.
Epilogue:
Thanks to Malefactory for editing.