Starlight Glimmer had the perfect plan: using Star Swirl's time travel spell, erase the Sonic Rainboom and everything it did. After failing to stop her, Twilight was returned abruptly to an Equestria that bears little resemblance to her home, where the other Elements of Harmony don't even know her name.

It should've been simple then: use Star Swirl's magic to return to the past and stop Starlight from changing things. Unfortunately for Twilight, all the magic in the Cutie Map is gone. She'll have to find another way to put Equestria right, and fast. After all, the Elements didn't stop Nightmare Moon...

This story is sponsored by Two Bit as a Patreon reward. If you'd like me to write your awesome story idea, that's the place. Cover by Zutcha.

The star system Omega Centauri was just another oddity on a map to scientists in the not too distant future. However when they found the star was orbiting an earth-sized, earth-like planet instead of a black hole as its motion had suggested, a mission was scrambled to investigate this most unusual of celestial behaviors.

Hamstrung by politics, and nearly crippled before it began, the 'Lone Ranger' mission was reduced to just one crew member and left to his own devices.

These are the logs of Arrow 18 and its lone commander. This information is classified TOP SECRET by the Global Space Agency.

Do NOT tell the princess.

Inept guards, unsupervised death traps, and monologuing villains – Twilight Sparkle thinks the Daring Do stories are too predictable, so when she learns Rainbow Dash and Applejack are going off to have a make-believe Daring Do adventure, she vows to make it one they’ll never forget.

Set between Seasons 3 and 4.
Contains: Violence, swearing, dirty Jokes, and shadows. Lots of shadows.

What exactly is the link between a famous historical painter, a mare with a talent for exaggeration, and the student of Princess Celestia?

When Twilight Sparkle examines a book thought to be lost to time, and casts a spell she probably shouldn't have, questions like that are only the start. Soon, she's not only dealing with glimpses of the future, but also the fallout from some misplaced weather, an errant thief, and a dream pony who isn't quite what she seems. But perhaps the most important question...

...is why everything keeps coming back to the same place.

Cover art by yours truly, veteran story of NaPoWriMo three four years on the trot. Featured on Equestria Daily 23rd April 2018.

To better herself, Luna has studied Twilight's actions and friendship reports almost religiously. However, she never expected to find the tables turned and be under the microscope herself, nor did she realize that a pony would go so far for one they called friend.

Pre-reading/editing by auramane, Habanc, Foals Errand, Meridian Prime, and Timaeus

Cover art commissioned by me and done by Silfoe and can be found here. Thanks a bunch!

In the aftermath of her battle against Tirek, Twilight Sparkle is unwell. She wants more. She needs more. And she is afraid of what others might think of her.

But even in the midst of her growing despair that she has betrayed everything she stood for, she learns something about friendship and what it means to be an alicorn.

Late one night, Twilight receives a letter from an anonymous scientist to work on a top secret project with long-reaching implications. If they succeed, Equestria will be changed forever. But what if the mysterious benefactor has other plans in mind? Twilight has decisions to make: About morality and mortality, love and hate, friends and lovers.

Book two: The Ghost Of You

Celestia leaves to deal with a foreign crisis, giving her sister a chance to rule alone and become more attached to the modern world. She calls on Twilight Sparkle to advise Luna, hoping her student will be able to draw Luna out of her shell. With two major threats to Equestria already defeated in the past year, it seems like the perfect time to let Luna gain some confidence and experience in the modern world. After all, what are the chances of a third disaster occurring?

Now comes with complimentary tropes.

Princess Twilight Sparkle discovers a centuries-old mystery hidden in the Royal Archives. Her investigation leads through layer after layer of deception and misdirection, setting her hooves on a path that seems to be leading to a mysterious secret. Along the way, she learns that some friendships can be very, very strange.

Book 1 of the Alicorn Adventure series.

AUDIOBOOK by VisualPony
Featured at the Royal Canterlot Library
TV Tropes Page (Courtesy of Sandtalon)
Goodreads Page (Courtesy of Facedeer)
Equestria Daily Page

WARNING: Major spoilers in the comments. Takes place several months after the end of season four. (Not a Da Vinci Code crossover, BTW!)

Do you see a dark tag? No, you don't. Not dark. Well, okay, there are a couple of dark-ish bits, but that's all. Not enough to warrant a tag. Speaking of tags, there really ought to be "Badass Twilight" and "Friendshipping" ones.

Sequels and side-stories (and more) can be found here Offprint and AO3, and a hardbound two-volume set of all that can be ordered from The Ministry of Image.

My editor for the first edition of this story was Gogito, and I can't thank him enough for all the hard work he did. My editor for the revised version was PresentPerfect, and he did a terrific job of getting the story into excellent shape.

Thirty years ago — before Luna's return, before the Mane Six, before everything — Equestria stands on the brink. A harsh winter threatens starvation, discontent threatens to bubble over to full-blown rebellion, and to the south lurk dragons, hungry for vengeance and waiting for a moment of Equestrian weakness.
But Celestia knows how the game is played, and if anyone can right the ship of state, it's her. No one can dance on the edge of a blade like she can; after all, she was there when it was forged. Slowly, delicately, she charts her course —
And then everything goes wrong.

Blackacre is somewhat different fare than the usual you might find here, telling a much darker story than the sort we usually see on Saturday mornings. It won't be for everyone, but then again what is? This is a story of the long con, of the world as it is — a story both of those who reason why, and those who do and die.

Blackacre has a relatively long history. The notion took root in August 2013; it gestated for a time and took its first real steps as part of NaNo in November 2013. It took a finalized shape around April 2014, whereupon the editing started. The text here was updated in July 2014 to reflect those edits — a comprehensive revision and polishing of the text, including several new chapters and several entirely rewritten ones.
The text you see here is the final version of Blackacre; at least, I don't intend on working it over again. That's not to say I don't welcome and encourage comments, questions, or suggestions, either on the text itself or the style; I certainly spent long enough working on it the first time around, and if you enjoyed it (or didn't!) I'd be happy to talk.
Besides, there will always be room for improvement — and there will be a next time.

Blackacre has no sequel proper. At least, not yet. It does, however, have companion stories, set at different times in the same universe:
Dr. Strangehorn; or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Elements — a one-shot set in Twilight's future, well after her rise to power.
Twelve Angry Mares — an adaptation of the classic story of a murder trial, set after Blackacre but before the show.

Reviewed one year out — and accurately so, too — by Chris.
Analytically reviewed by Cosmic Cowboy.
Rated four moustaches out of five, and later referenced, by xTSGx.