In these dark times, King Golud Thebilstetar has sent out several parties to begin scouring the lands for new viable mining settlements. This is the story of The Light of Dawn, a group of seven volunteers from the homeland Coupledye, searching out new resources in the king's name. It has been some months since they set out on their journey, and now, with supplies running low, the expedition leader Virtue has called for the party to set up camp. I'll let her tell the story herself. But first, here's the seven starting ponies:

(Left to right in cover art)
Ashwood (Male Pegasus) (Taken: Heavy Weapons Pony) - Woodcutter - Sociable, nervous, modest.
Saw Dust (Male Earth Pony) (Taken: WolfeyS) - Carpenter / Mason - Open minded, a bit reserved, dutiful.
Longshot (Male Pegasus) (Taken: ansontan2000) - Hunter - Self conscious, non confrontational, enjoys thrills.
Virtue (Female Earth Pony) (Taken: Telgin) - Expedition Leader - Slow to anger, assertive, but doesn't handle stress well
Harvest Moon (Male Pegasus) (Taken: Nyxalinth) - Farmer - Very self confident, open minded, slow to trust others
Panacea (Female Pegasus) (Taken: UnHerpers) - Doctor - Very calm demeanor, unassertive, likes helping others
Halberd (Male Earth Pony) (Taken: The Master) - Axe Pony armed escort - Confident under pressure, avoids crowds, often discouraged

Authors Note: This is a transcription of a Community Game from Dwarf Fortress. I am unable to claim any responsibility for the storyline itself, or any of the Pictures, as I attempted to join right at the end (Page 141 out of 143 at 25 posts per page). Had a pony picked out and everything.

Note by Telgin, The OP of Dawnpick, on the fort's chronology:

I'm also borrowing a bit from KingStrongbeard's backstory (hope he doesn't mind!) in that this would presumably take place quite some time before the events of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Celestia and Luna probably aren't born yet, and Discord (among other bad things) still runs rampant across the land.

The original thread can be found here.

A sequal, named Duskfields, can be found here.

A wiki for Dawnpick and it's fellow Dwarf Fortress Pony Mod Community Fort Glitterglen exists here. Please contribute if you have the time and energy.

Transcription has reached page 115 of 144.

From the OP:

As of today, June 9th, 2013, this game has been over for almost a year. For anyone interested, I hereby grant permission to use the world of Dawnpick and any content produced by me in relation to it in the use of any further stories, games, artwork or any other media.

(Roleplay ran 11/19/11 to 2/8/13)

Sunset has had the same jacket ever since she came to Canterlot High. Rarity and the girls want to treat her to some new clothes, but some things are too important to be replaced.

When her daughter has to do a report on her family history for school, Applejack of Dream Valley recalls a long life and many adventures a humble little earth pony had lived though. From apple bucker to fashion designer, from saloon filly in Apploosa to picnic prepare in a very different Ponyville, this mare has done more in ten lifetimes than an Alicorn has done in one eternal one. Experience the history of the past thousand years of ponydom, from the mare who lived through it all! (covers MLP generations 1, Tales, 3, and 4!)

This story is a sequel to The Wizard and the Lonely Princess

Book Two of the Lonelyverse

Having returned to the Dursleys after a highly eventful first year at Hogwarts, Harry and the alicorns had been looking forward to unwinding. As it turned out, all their hopes were for nought. Between summer shenanigans, a crazy house elf, and learning Potter family history, they've got a full summer ahead of themselves. And when they get back to Hogwarts, they'll have to deal with giant snakes, idiotic teachers, and a gathering darkness. With things going off the rails, they've got a long year ahead of them.

And if they survive that, they still got to deal with the strange power surges and dreams that both Luna and Nim have been having since soon after the Summer Solstice...

Other stories in the Lonelyverse:
The Wizard and the Lonely Princess
Hooves, Plush, and Magic: The Untold Tales
The Wizard and the Lonely Princess: Hallowe'en Special
A Nightmare Christmas

Princess Twilight Sparkle lay there in anguished silence for almost a minute until she decided to let Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and me help her. It came out as a whisper: "My special talent isn't magic." Of all the ponies we might help, I had never imagined our first might be Twilight, or that it would essential for Equestria that we got it right.

Featured (as high as #2) from Oct 18th through Oct 22nd 2015 for 100 hours.
Thank you everypony!

"The pieces are set, and the dice are in play. But does every pony have the heart for this day?"

Nearly two hundred years have passed since Rarity Belle merged with the Crystal Heart and took the throne of the Crystal Empire. Since then, through her care, determination, and vision, the Empire has flourished like never before. Now Empress Rarity stands as not a ruler of a providence, but the monarch of a rising superpower.

Today though, is the Empress' Birthday, and Lady Merry Sapphire, seneschal to the Empress, is determined to make this the best birthday Rarity has ever had. Little does she know that not everypony shares her enthusiasm for today...

Notes:
This is an official prequel to the Princess Twilight Sparkle's Birthday stories, created by Autumnschild. This story will develop and expand much of the world we made, but taking place 250 years before PTS500 and its sequel, PTS505. Due to its time gap and status as a prequel, you do not need to read the stories created by Autumnschild, and I have done my best to help that. However, knowing what happened in them will help you be a bit more aware of what is going on, and I encourage you to go read them for they are very enjoyable.

We now have our own group! Come check out the Birthdayverse!

Credit goes to Autumnschild for the proofreading for this story.
Razalon The Lizardman is credited for the grammatical overhaul.

Great thanks goes to these two, for this story would not be as good without them.

XCOM Record: Operation: Rising Star
11:52 am, 18th Febuary, 2016
Northwestern Territories, Canada.

Summary: Witness reports contact with extra-terrestrial creature. X-ray is unconcious and unresponsive. X-ray does not match description of previously observed species.

Response: Strike-One dispatched on high alert, orders are to recover X-ray alive. Alien Containment prepared for the new arrival.

***

The war ended. They were beaten back, their mothership destroyed, their command structure in ruins. Lost ships and soldiers continued in vain, but thanks to XCOM, humanity won, and the world was saved. The Volunteer saw to that - everything changed because of one man.

And then suddenly, everything changed again. Only this time, it's not a man's doing - it's a mare's.

Proofreading by the aweome Setokaiva, entirely without me asking!
Tagged Dark and rated Teen: Gore, because there is going to be some blood shed by the end of this.

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!"