Heavy is the head that bears the crown. Light is the heart that shares its burdens.

Historian’s Note: The Tarnished Crown occurs three weeks before the events in the Season 4 Finale, Twilight’s Kingdom.

Cast: Rarity & Twilight Sparkle
Introducing: Amber Spark

Cover Art: Little-Tweenframes (SciSetDaily)
Rarity Header & Section Breaks Design: Novel Idea
Rarity Cutie Mark: Black-Gryph0n (Yes, that BlackGryp0n)

Beta Reader & Editor Credits
Ebon Quill - Audio Director & Quest Designer on The Manehattan Project
Little Tinker - Master of Systems at Poniverse & Scripting Engineer on The Manehattan Project
Beltorn - Commenter-at-Large on FimFiction
Cursori: Reader of Many a Pony Word
Monochromatic - Patron Saint of RariTwi

Word Count: 11,000 Words
Version: 2.6

A more realistic take on the opening events of the MLP movie, where the entire cast is NOT hit by plot mandated incompetence. It is, as expected, significantly shorter.

(Minor spoilers for first 15 minutes of the MLP movie, but 90% consisting of what would already be known from the trailers.)

Cover image borrowed from DashieMLPFim

Spike carries each of the most important ponies in his life home after a long day.

A commission-turned-gift for B_25

UPDATE: A Spanish language translation for Carry Me Home is now available, made by Spaniard Kiwi on his deviantart.

UPDATE (2024): Them's Writin' Words podcast did a wonderful review of this story. I appreciate all the thought and work put in to their critiques and all the kind words.

A brave stallion goes on a quest to save the world by finding a lost princess in an enchanted forest. Things don't work out as he planned.

WARNING: Some spoilers in the comments. Also, a few mild spoilers for the Alicorn Adventure series, though it's not necessary to read those stories to understand this one.

Equestria Daily Page
Goodreads Page
Zabaware/AT&T Natural Voices "reading" by Modoc

Twilight Sparkle wants to reestablish her old rapport with Princess Celestia - the close relationship they had when Twilight was the Princess’s personal student. But life moves ever onward and the connections they had in the past will not be enough for the alicorns to overcome the challenges that lie ahead. To make it through their shared trials and revelations, Twilight and Celestia will need to grow beyond their existing bonds and become much more than faithful student and immortal mentor.

This story is a sequel to The Cadenza Prophecies

Princess Flurry Heart inherited her mother's beauty and grace as well as her father's strength and bravery. The Empire couldn't hope for a better or more suitable heir to the Crystal Throne. Everypony in Equestria admires her and thinks she will be an ideal ruler.

They're wrong.

Young Flurry Heart has no interest at all in being a prim and proper princess, and would much rather have wild and dangerous adventures like her Aunt Twilight.

Book 5 of the Alicorn Adventure series.

Twilight Sparkle has had to adjust to a great deal as Equestria’s newest princess—safeguard the Cutie Map, solving friendship problems, managing her new guard, and saving Equestria on a semi-regular basis. However, her routine grinds to a halt when a new threat emerges in the Smoky Mountains. One of King Sombra’s artifacts has resurfaced, an object whose dark reach threatens the whole region. With no time to lose, Twilight must gather her untested guard and face the malicious power of the Umbral Shard.

A Winningverse story.

Celestia and Luna have lived long and suffered greatly. Luna, still insecure in her newfound grace, is anxious to secure herself against any further suffering. She sees in Twilight Sparkle (and in many others) the roots of ten thousand tragedies. Celestia proposes a wager.

A very loose retelling of the Book of Job.

Being an alicorn is wonderful... except when it isn't. There are plenty of things that put a damper on limitless vistas of possibility afforded by such a long life: Court, mortal needs and expectations, the occasional decade of ennui.

And the dreams, of course. Agelessness comes with its own special kind of dreaming. Celestia finds that her own "Inner Court" is a bit too literal, and it--and she--are troubled at the prospect of a near-immortal Twilight Sparkle.

If only she could articulate exactly why that was.

art by spectralunicorn

Part of the Monophysite Quartet, which also includes Celestia Isn't Real, Have You Considered My Servant, Twilight?, and The Esoteric Rites of Darkness. All four stories have a common origin point in an old story idea I called "Monophysite" and touch on who or what Celestia really is in some way. They are otherwise unrelated.

The Sparkles are a very old Canterlot family. Like any old family they have traditions. One of these traditions is that a Sparkle must do noble deeds to win their love-a tradition going as far back as Sir Prancealot. These are the noble deeds Lady Twilight Sparkle did to win the hoof and heart of Princess Celestia.

Now has a sequel! (https://www.fimfiction.net/story/362471/seasons-of-the-heart)