Scorpan attempts to reason with his brother, Tirek.

Tirek has won. As he escapes from his cell in Tartarus and wreaks havoc across Equestria, he has taken down the Princesses and has stolen all their magic from Twilight.
But during Tirek's victory... someone new shows up.

This story is a sequel to Please don't ever take the pain away

Celestia knows Twilight has a problem.
And she knows how to fix it.

This story is a prequel to What does it mean to be?

Twilight Sparkle has a problem.
And she needs to fix it.

A soldier dreams his final dream before entering Elysium.

Chess is Hard. Everypony can agree on that.

Some are better than others. Some exceptionally so. And some, not so much.

Twilight Sparkle is good at planning. This does not correlate to her being good at chess.

After moving on with their adult lives, the Cutie Mark Crusaders decided to have a get-together after being out of touch for years. They planned to meet in the old clubhouse to have a small party. As they drank into the evening and played some old games, the party of three eventually retires to a party of two. Scootaloo, fed up with the situation and adult life in general, vents to her friend.

Fortunately for her, Sweetie Belle claims to have a remedy for her peculiar problem.

Unfortunately for Scootaloo, that means opening long-closed doors.

Celestia is broken.
Equestria is dying.
Twilight challenges certainty.

A Human by the name of Aaron has lived in Equestria for a good 2 years or so. He's enjoyed the Company of the Mane 6 in Ponyville, and even befriended all of them. The other Ponies/Creatures treat him either just as amicably or neutral.

Today, he was tasked by Twilight to do a little shopping run across Ponyville for a special surprise for Rarity.

This was a perfect day. Absolutely nothing could ruin this.