Ponyville was just supposed to be another check in the bank and a few more locally provided perks. Instead, it was the biggest setback of Svengallop’s career.

Or so he thought. Twilight Sparkle has a proposition for him…

"Hey, you used to be Celestia's student, right? Did you know Sunset Shimmer?"

Celestia has been waiting for this night her entire life; Twilight Sparkle has been destined to come for years upon decades upon centuries. But she didn't know to expect her student like this.

She steels herself anyway. She pours some tea, and welcomes Twilight with open hooves.

Then the two of them have a talk.

Discord and Celestia have a conversation before he's defeated.

Written in two hours thanks to these two.
Warning: This has not been edited. Please point out anything you find wrong.
This, obviously, does not take place in the FiM universe. It takes place in one much like it, but there are some pretty big differences.

Twilight looks deeper into a certain prophecy, and finds an answer much stranger than she expected.

What are these mysterious 'stars'? Who wrote the prophecy? And why the heck does everything seem to run in cycles of a thousand years, anyway?

One-shot.

Twilight is almost used to being an alicorn now. She's accepted that unexpected change, and is even happy about it, most of the time. Her magical abilities have grown by leaps and bounds, and she's starting to enjoy the freedom offered by flight. While she can't imagine ever being as good as Rainbow Dash, anypony with reasonable standards would by now consider her quite competent in the air.

But despite her growing enthusiasm and confidence, there's something that she has neglected to deal with. Something that's bothered her at times ever since the transformation, but kept getting shuffled down her list of priorities. Fortunately, she knows just the pony to talk to for help, and she won't let nervousness and self-reliant rationalization hold her back anymore. The latest of Pinkie Pie's parties provides a perfect pretext for a conversation she should've had months ago.

If you're confused by the date listed on the chapter, that's just when I originally uploaded it for pre-reader viewing. Life got in the way and I didn't get around to hitting Submit until Feb. 7, 2016.

The story of King Sombra is not all that it seems. For once, in a different life, Prince Sombra had a dream of shadows...

The smell of coffee and a nicely folded newspaper is all that Celestia wants in the beautiful morning after she raises the sun. For as long as she could remember, that has been the same routine and she would have it no other way.

However, she forgot about one thing: Discord. While reformed, that doesn't mean he doesn't cause some chaos. When Discord comes between her and her paper... Oh, the chaos.

The sirens are defeated and Sunset Shimmer has restored her magic. All's well and good, right?

Of course not. What begins with Sunset's friends wanting to have a very important talk with her will escalate until the fate of at least one world hangs in the balance.

Rated Teen for cosmic calamities, trace amounts of waifu theft, and a bit more skin than Hasbro is likely to show. Cover by iisaw.

The Story Shuffle short stories "Aftershock" and "Rock On" take place in the same continuity as this story. The background details of "Fish Out of Water" apply, but the story itself does not.