Many years ago, King Sombra attempted to overthrow the Diarchs of Equestria by subduing the Crystal Empire. The actions of three of Equus' greatest champions stopped him, but not without cost. Now, forces that had long been buried were working to bring him and his army of darkness back. Two ponies, whose past actions had elevated them to the forefront of the fight, would come to find their own connection to these past events.

Can Rainbow Dash, Element of Loyalty, perspective Wonderbolt Captain, and heroine of Equestria, rise up to the challenge of a new destiny? And, can she do this alone, or will she have to risk possible heartache with a certain adorkable librarian-turned-princess in order to do so?

All characters except for OC's belong to their respective parties. This fic complies with all free-speech and use laws.

This fic is a prequel/parallel fic to my fic Princess of Shadows, Darkness, and Light. As such, each chapter will help to explain some of the details not covered in the sequel.

Also, the Mane Six will be featured, but I can't tag them on account of the five-character limit.

This fic and its companion/sequel are my first major attempt at writing FiM fan fiction, though not fiction in general; I have done other work, nothing published. What I'm doing here is trying to explore an Equus that is both larger and smaller than the people know. That's the major reason why nothing of Season Five is making its way into the fic, and why it has the AU tag. For more details, look for my various blogs on the subject.

Please Note: I'm in the process of trying to find cover art, as I think that's one of the reasons why this fic has so few views. If you know of any way I can get some, or have some talent in drawing, please PM me. The only problem with commissions is that I have no way to pay; if I did, I'd hire someone to get some cool cover art.

Edit July 22nd, 2016: The rating and addition of the Gore tag is due to the fairly graphic scenes that will be in an upcoming chapter. The scenes are not going to be excessively bloody, just more graphic than usual. There will be a tagged warning on the chapter in question. At this point, that will be the only chapter with those scenes.

Edit August 6th, 2016: Sex tag now added due to the nature of some of the subject material in the last chapter. Spoiler tags will be removed from this edit note when the chapter in question is posted.Story is now complete.

This story is a prequel to The War for the Sun & Moon.

Twilight and the bearers have been missing. When they return, Celestia has to deal with how her student and friends have changed. Will she be able to, when they now possess as much power individually as the Princess of the Sun?

I would like to thank everyone/pony/ling/hyperintelligent shade of the color blue who reads this, and my sister, who attempted to be the editor for this story.

Tags: Adventure for some globetrotting, Dark because... well, look at that cover art!
Comedy for general Pinkie-ness.

[A/N] The cover art is one of my favorites from the comics. It doesn't have much to do with the story, or does it?

Trixie is tired of being the cast-off and the laughing stock of Equestria. When she gets her hooves on a rare spell, she finally has the means to seek her revenge on Princess Twilight. Switching their bodies, Trixie becomes an overbearing royal overlord who wants everything her way. In the meantime, Twilight is stuck in Trixie's body and the Mane 6 have all been scrambled. Twilight and her friends have to find the answers to this puzzling spell before Trixie ruins Equestria for everypony!

On secret assignment from Princess Celestia herself, Twilight investigates a powerful magical artifact for clues to the mystery of Luna's transformation in the evil Nightmare Moon. Incautious use of the artifact sends Twilight hurtling back in time. Can Twilight discover what caused Luna's transformation? And will she ever make it home again?

Kickass cover art used with permission from Bitz.
http://allthebitz.tumblr.com/

After being defeated by Nightmare Moon, Twilight is transformed into a puppet of darkness called Lunar Eclipse. But when she starts to have flashbacks of a certain baby dragon, she realizes that there may still be hope for Equestria.

Will Lunar Eclipse be able to see the error of her ways in time?
Will Twilight survive?
Will Equestria be saved?

Read on to find out!

Credit goes to Giuliabeck for the photo which gave me inspiration for this story.

Link to picture

The sequel to this story 'For Want of Eternal Nightmare' is out and can be accessed quickly via the link. Its a lot longer compared to this and has higher quality writing. It's worth the read, trust me.

Celestia is dying. Or at least it seems so. Afflicted with a curse that is destroying her very nature, she sets a plan in action.
The Bearers of the Elements of Harmony will take the throne in her wake... Not that they know that yet...

(Takes place as an Alternate Season 3)

After waking up from a nightmare she has little memory of, Apple Bloom is stunned to discover that she has become a fully-fledged alicorn! She quickly heads to Twilight's castle, in hopes that the princess will be able to shed some light on her sudden transformation.

Unfortunately, Twilight is just as baffled as the new Alicorn filly, leaving only Celestia herself to possibly have the answer. But both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have gone missing, leaving more questions than answers.

Could Apple Bloom's dream have a connection to their disappearance?

Is there a dark force behind it all?

And most importantly to Apple Bloom; does she still have to go to school?

Cover-Art designed by: Novaintellus

When your whole life has changed, who's going to remain by your side? - Novaintellus