Equestria is a land of rainbows and pastel-coloured ponies, where friendship is a tangible force and villians are redeemed as often as they are defeated.

It is truly a land of magic, but even more than that, it is a land of stories, from the mundane anecdote between friends to the world-spanning epic. And every story has a happy ending.

But a happy ending doesn't always mean a happy beginning, and it certainly doesn't mean a happy middle. Celestia has manipulated Equestria for over a thousand years to ensure that the dark times are as short and as painless as possible - though doing so may mean breaking every one of the tenets of harmony she preaches.

When faced with a choice between seeing Equestria fall to darkness with the promise of salvation, or fighting to stop the catastrophe by sacrificing the guarantee of a happy ending, Celestia holds the fate of her little ponies in her hooves as never before.

A behind-the-scenes look at Celestia and Luna's actions throughout Season Three.

This story is a sequel to Destinies

Nearly a year has passed since the events that had brought two realms together. Each had kept the other a secret until now, two worlds separated by a certain cartoon. Finally, both are ready to deal with the inevitable complications, to realize the benefits of trade: human technology for Equestria, and magic for humanity.

The Princess of Friendship is convinced she‘s up to the task, while Meg‘s doubts over the true meaning of her cutie mark grow as the two worlds converge.

Read Destinies first. You won‘t have any idea what‘s happening if you don‘t.

Pre-reading and editing by Mitch H, Doggyshakespeare, and darkszero.

It's been a long time since Trixie Lulamoon could call herself "Great and Powerful". After her humiliation at Ponyville, she searched far and wide across Equestria, looking for some way to restore her reputation and shore up her pride.

Lucky for her, Princess Luna has decided to re-open a very special division of the Guard: The Dreamguard. Trixie was only one of many to apply, but she was the very first to be accepted. Now she has a roof over her head, three square meals a day, and lessons in dreamwalking taught to her by the Princess of the Night, herself!

As far as Trixie is concerned, life couldn't be better. But the Dreamrealms have wonders and dangers all their own.

A side-story to Project Sunflower: Harmony, though no prior reading should be needed to read this story.

Cover art: Trixie vs Ursa Major by Korcika, used with permission.

Editorial poking and prodding provided by Razalon the Lizardman, Coandco, BrilliantPoint and Ekevoo, listed in no particular order.

[Complete! With TVTropes apparently!]
Also, apparently, an animated trailer.

In a world of brass and steam, Twilight Sparkle had thought she had made a life-changing discovery with the invention of the telescope. For better or worse, she was correct.

Now her discovery has not only changed her life, but the lives of those she seeks out in her desperate attempt to contact the only other creature as lonely as Twilight herself.

It all would have been much simpler, but it had to be the one Twilight could only call The Mare on the Moon.

Decidedly not within walking distance, then.

[Featured on EQD before story was meant to be submitted. 4/03/2015]

[Editing team: Southpaw, Wolfvenom, Maskedferret, SwanSong and BluePaladin42, without whom this story would be a fraction of its current state.]
[Special thanks to Novel-Idea for the updated cover]

Starlight Glimmer is content with running her little village just outside of Equestria's borders. Having built from the ground up with her own four hooves a town where everyone is Equal, Starlight is satisfied. Ponies wander in and they decide to stay. There's no reason for her to return to her homeland.

Then Tirek defeats Princess Twilight Sparkle, and an undercover changeling tells Starlight Glimmer she's the last hope to save Equestria from the mad centaur.

This story is a sequel to Nightmares Are Tragic

How does Fluttershy feel about being forced to confront her worst nightmare -- a full-grown Dragon? Can she be brave and conquer her fears -- or will she be the coward she knows she is inside, and fail her friends at the worst possible moment?

S1E07 "Dragonshy," from Fluttershy's perspective.

Very early September, YOH 1500. Part of the Flutterarc. Side story to Chapters 3-6 of All the Way Back

Now with its own TV Tropes Page!

Deep in the Everfree Forest, two young sisters face a god of Chaos.

(Inspired by fairy tales and the stories of H.P. Lovecraft. Thanks again to _Medicshy for his feedback on this.)

Every day Celestia shares light and love with all the ponies of Equestria. In turn, they share their love with her. Still, the princess senses there is something missing. Something her heart longs for.

Something her responsibilities have denied her for all these years.

As luck would have it, she’s given a gift that will let her experience her deepest hearts desires and take her to a place she may never want to leave.

Ever.

Inspired by the Alan Moore story, For the Man Who Has Everything.

Featured on Equestria Daily! [Link]

In the wake of a great tragedy, Celestia opens up, and, for the first time, tells her own story. For the first time, she tells what happened with Discord and King Sombra. And, for the first time, she tells what it's like to have to give up everything she's ever had, everything she's ever wanted, everything she's ever dreamed of--all of it, for the good of Equestria.

Please note: this is an "AU-ish" fic--that is, it sticks to canon in most respects, except when it doesn't.

Unfortunately, not planning on continuing this story arc [Blog Post]. I hope you enjoy it nevertheless!

Rated Teen for mild language.

Thanks to Eruantalon, CCC_037, and Rainb0w_Dashie for proofreading.
Awesome art by Alanymph. Go check 'em out!
Original cover art, also by Alanymph.

Discord's the only creature in Equestria who can recognize the human for what he is -- not the long-lost Seventh Element that never actually existed and couldn't have existed before the human arrived, but a meta-reality warper, an entity far more powerful than Discord with the power to warp the minds of all around him and the very rules of magic to make sure that he's always the Big Hero. And the role the human's assigned to Discord is the Villain to beat down or kill.

Pre-reform Discord's fine with being the villain. But on his own terms. Not dancing on some alien interloper's puppet strings.

Without friendship, or even allies, Discord's going to have to find a way to defeat a creature who can alter fate itself and who can even mind-control him. Or he may just end up worse than dead.

Art by Tenchi-Outsuno. Progress Bar at my writing journal.

Trigger warnings: Mind control (magically induced love, magically induced friendship, magically induced stupidity, Discord being Discord), noncon/dubcon (magically induced love, other forms of highly dubious consent), rape (female on male), violence/gore (mostly against Discord), literally everything in chapters 19-21, humans not being presented as unilaterally wonderful and superior to ponies and/or draconequui.