Ten years ago, the Bearers of the Elements were preparing for the Summer Sun Celebration in Canterlot. Ten years ago, a guard disrupted the ceremony. Ten years ago, Ponyville vanished in a flash of purple light.

One week later, Ponyville was found.

Now approved by Twilight's Library!

The Dragonborn, a legendary warrior capable of absorbing a slain Dragon's soul, and knowledge, directly, forever killing it. The Last Dragonborn had defeated the first, stopped the plans of a Vampire cult, and built his own lakeside home, before finally slaying Alduin the World Eater and fulfilling his fate. Now, after all the challenges he has faced, the Dragonborn is sent to a realm where Friendship is Magic, and there is no mead. Finally, to cap things off, he kind of... well...
Became a Dragon.

Failing once in her attempt to take Canterlot and failing again in her attempt to take down Twilight, one would think Chrysalis would have cut her losses and let things be, but the queen has once again appeared, this time in broad daylight with no disguise and no army. Her weapon of choice? Diplomacy.

Now Twilight is having to deal with the changeling queen, but surely putting up with her antics will be worth the knowledge she's willing to provide about her mysterious race and the potential undiscovered agents still within their midst...right?

Takes place before Magical Mystery Cure and diverges from there.

With thanks to MisterGunpowder for proofreading and editing.

Revision History:

05/09/2015: Chapter 1 updated with millions of little corrections.
05/20/2015: Chapter 2 revised and edited with another million small and large corrections.
06/12/2015: Chapter 3 given a thorough editing and revision.
06/23/2015: Chapter 4 taken to the gutter and edited twice to be sure.
07/14/2015: Chapter 5 thoroughly brutalized with the editing stick.
08/03/2016: Chapter 6 finally edited. Yes, I'm still alive, dammit.
09/29/2016: Chapter 7 fell out of the editing tree and hit every editing branch on the way down.
10/26/2016: Chapter 8 has emerged from the editing emergency room.
11/17/2016: Chapter 9 found and edited. No casualties reported.
11/30/2016: Chapter 10 treated for whiplash after lightning fast editing.
12/22/2016: Chapter 11 edited. Chrysalis shot first.
01/17/2017: Epilogue edited. Time to hit the cider.

Ever had one of those days where everything's just gone wrong, one problem after another?

Of course you have.

Ever had one of those days when you wake up to find you've accidentally switched places with your counterpart in a world where you and all your friends are stallions?

...No?

Maybe that's just Twilight, then.

But the Princess of Magic isn't going to let a little thing like being in the wrong universe ruin her day. She has a schedule - a checklist! - and it matches up with this Dusk Shine's perfectly. Apart from the names and the genders, everything seems to be a match, and Ponyville has seen much weirder things since she moved here.

Being stallions or mares shouldn't make her friends that different. What could possibly go wrong?

Days after Tirek's near-takeover of Equestria, The Great And Powerful Trixie travels to Ponyville, intent on settling her rivalry with Twilight Sparkle once and for all. No trinkets to fudge her abilities, no megalomania to apologize for -- just pure and simple magician's honor!

Upon her arrival, however, she quickly learns that the information she has on Ponyville -- and Twilight -- is more than a little dated.

Edits (as well as a bit of scene inspiration) courtesy of nanashi_jones.

A few days after the Nightmare Moon Incident, Spike awakens to find Twilight acting a little...odd. Or odder than usual anyway. All of a sudden she's being all motherly, sure of herself in ways she's never been before, and even more outgoing.

But…it’s kind of creepy how she just seems to know everypony’s name, or their habits, and even some stuff nopony else should know.

But she's still good old Twilight...right?

Featured 5/28/2014

As the Summer Sun Celebration approaches, Twilight Sparkle and the rest of her friends have plenty of their own problems to deal with. Ponyville is packed with tourists, and they've got to work themselves to the bone to make sure things go off without a hitch, and Twilight may just have the most important job of all.

But fate is about to take a turn for the strange, and soon those problems are going to be the furthest things from their minds. A magical ritual has begun in the land of Equestria, and it's not in any of Twilight's books. It's dangerous. It's destructive. And there's no getting out of it. It's called the Holy Grail War, and it's about to engulf the entire town of Ponyville.

Seven ponies have been chosen to be Masters, and Twilight is one of them. The other six could be anyone, which means Twilight doesn't know who she can trust. Their weapons in this war are called Servants, heroes from the myths and legends of a far-off world, and they're like nothing Equestria has ever seen. And this war has a prize: the granting of any wish the victor could possibly desire.

But there are a lot of unanswered questions. Where did this Grail come from? What secrets is it hiding? Who is the mysterious Servant who calls herself Ruler and does she have the answers? Twilight is going to have to figure things out, and quickly. Because this game was originally intended to be deadly for everyone who wasn't the winner, and if she makes even the smallest mistake, Twilight Sparkle might end up being a casualty... or even causing one.

A failed experiment.

Not exactly new for Twilight. But when the outcome brings forth its own science, the likes of which her nation hadn't even yet dared to hope for, the ponies of Equestria slowly realize that they're in for the adventure of a lifetime.

The problem is, they might just not be ready for the revolutions that technological advancement always brings.

And they're about to get hundreds of years of human science and advancements all at once.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

As a forewarning, updates will likely be erratic. I have every intention of finishing this story, it's just that my life has been rather crazy lately as I'm sure many of you can imagine.

Also, if you are going to leave a thumbs down, please leave a comment detailing why. Thumbs downs don't tell me much, and I can't make the story better until people tell me what's wrong with it.
Thank you for your time.

WARNING: There may be spoilers in the comments. Read at your own peril.

Covert Art brought to you by the amazing powers of photoshop with an artist's permission.

Applejack has found a mysterious photo album in the depths of her basement. While looking through it, she discovers an unfamiliar pony. With the help of Twilight Sparkle, Applejack discovers a new connection with the closest family member one can ever have: a twin.

A dinner party at Fancy Pants’s manor turns into an international incident as Rarity is accused of grand larceny. With a foreign delegation demanding justice, it falls to Fluttershy and an ace Canterlot attorney to clear her of the charges. But against the dark plot beneath these events, will their wits, skill, and a loud “Objection!” or two be enough to set her free?

A “spiritual crossover” with the Ace Attorney series, by alexmagnet and Belligerent Sock.
Cover art by Belligerent Sock.