There are many stories where Twilight tells off her friends after the Wedding. But that's not really Twilight's bag, she gets worried she's failed, or depressed, not angry. So here is a different bridal path, one where Twilight acts decisively to try and redeem herself in the eyes of her friends and sovereign, and ends up travelling to places she never imagined, facing dangers and foes she never dreamed of and making even stranger friends. Of course, there is still a 'reason you suck' speech delivered, but delivered by the last person anyone would expect...

Bellikos. Odd golems from an EverQuest expansion released long after the game had any relevance. The players helped them turn against their divine creator. Landshark is one of these creatures. Since those events, years have passed. She has traveled far and built herself a life among mortals, far from the divine domains of her creation. Now she's stranded in Equestria.

By instinct, she distrusts gods, and the ageless alicorns seem to be just that. She can't ask beings of such power to break through into other worlds to return the construct to more familiar places. So Landshark tries to make the best of her current situation and settle into Equestria to 'retire' and make friends.

(That's the pitch. If you want to know more about bellikos in the actual EverQuest game, click More.)

But what even is a bellikos? They're an enemy type from EverQuest's 16th expansion, Underfoot. But they're not just mooks that screech like rusty hinges and try to bite you. They're that, too, but they had a story.

Brell Serilis runs the Underfoot, populated by his servants and by the souls of worthy worshippers. He created most of the subterranean sapients. But his unique First Creation secretly turned against him. The First created hosts of servants, the elite of which were the Bellikos. Not primarily meant to fight, the Bellikos were sent out into the Underfoot to preach the ideals of freedom and the absolute supremacy of the Self over the needs of society. They were meant to be relatable, charming and cunning to aid in their purpose. It's not clear why they needed jaws like bear traps. Pictures do not do justice to how far these things can open up their maws to chomp at enemies.

The secret goal: Disrupt the ordered workings of Brell's realm, where every being has its duty and its purpose, or is a former mortal experiencing their afterlife reward.

But some Bellikos started believing what they preached. With the aid of mortal champions (following a quest line and doing an instanced raid), they discovered that the First's other servants were taught only obedience and sacrifice in preparation for open war with Brell's divided followers. This sparked a fight to share the knowledge of self with the First's slaves and reveal his plans to the rest of the Underfoot.

Landshark, then still known by the name she was crafted with, was one of these renegades, fighting to share the idea of free will among the First's slaves and sabotage his evil plans for the divine realm.

I do not own MLP or any intellectual property related to EverQuest.

Practicing her sonic rainboom technique on a cool morning in Ponyville with Applejack as her spotter, Rainbow Dash rescues another pegasus from an imfamous Falling Leaf Spin.

Upon recovery, they discover that the young mare had been in posession of an extremely sophisticated camera, now a pile of scrap metal on the ground.

In an attempt to console the distraught pegasus, Dash and AJ search for a solution to her busted optics, only to end with the young pegasus leaving for the manufacturer in a rush of excitement.

Things take a turn for the strange when the same pegasus returns four hours later with a brand new camera... From a round-trip journey of over five thousand miles.

Tempers flare, challenges are issued, and Rainbow Dash's pride is put to the ultimate test.

What is the secret of the photographer known as Dainty Dish?

Luna has some rather strong opinions regarding punishment inside Equestria. These come to a head when Tempest Shadow's fate is to be decided.

My Little Pony: The Movie spoilers

Thanks to Tired Old Man for his input and Nova Quill/Firimil for her input and edits!

Luna vector by speedox12.

How do you kill a pegasus's soul? Put her in charge of the town's weather, then only let her schedule sunny days and gentle evening showers. Not thunderstorms, not blizzards, certainly not hail or tornadoes.

Nothing fun, in other words. Celestia forbid the weather team make some real weather, the kind Rainbow Dash dreams about. The farmers would never stand for that.

Well, screw the farmers. Screw the fashionistas and screw the library princess too if she complains. Rainbow Dash has a dream and she's going to share it with the world, whether the world wants it or not.

A story dedicated to anyone who's ever been passionate about something.

There's nothing strange about Alias, except for how awesome and radical she is, and how she totally relates to all today's youths and is not Queen Chrysalis. In fact, she's so definitely not Queen Chrysalis it's bodacious and by the way, what's your greatest weakness?

If Celestia and Luna were born during G3.5, how did Celestia and Luna become the masterful rulers and mages we all know? Friendship. Who were these friends? And what kind of adventures did they have from the sweet and easy G3.5, to more difficult, dark and dangerous G4/FiM?

The Long Patrol is an extension of the crown. It brings the rule of law and the princess's banner to the far reaches of the kingdom, the places where harmony fades and the wild chaos of nature still reigns.

In times past, all the tribes took part in the patrol. Today, it is mostly pegasi and a few gryphons. The distances they travel are simply too vast for anyone without wings.

Like most gryphons who join, I wanted to get away from my kind. I dreamed of the adventures I would have and the friends I would make. I certainly got those.

I just wish the price weren't so high.

[My entry for the EqD Summer "Outsider Insight" contest.]

This story is a sequel to Discord's First, Last and Only Friendship Report

Set in my "Next of Kin to Chaos" series, but no Star Trek knowledge is needed for this story. More or less direct sequel to "Discord's First, Last and Only Friendship Report", but not humor. Celestia summons Discord to explain himself regarding his ridiculous "friendship report", but the conversation quickly diverges. Discord wants to know what Celestia wanted to reform him for, and what he's expected to do. And Celestia wants to know why he decided to reform.

A page for this series now exists: Next of Kin to Chaos

Edited to add: The marvelous zabchan drew me this lovely cover art! Thank you!

It turns out that Sunset Shimmer's final letters to Princess Celestia before her exile were not filled with resentment or remorse.

There might have been a lot more frantic running away involved.

But whatever the case, it was definitely not Sunset's fault.

At all.

Cover Art designed by Novel-Idea from my original cruddy screencap!

Rated Teen and Sex for mentions of egregious sexual irresponsibility. No actual sex.

Contains minor Sunlight shipping. Much apologies.