This story is a sequel to The Great Equestrian Administrative Renaissance (or "Twilight Sparkle realises some rather obvious things which were previously elusive")

The School of Friendship has codified and formalised an education of friendship and its properties, allowing for a much more efficient and entertaining way of spreading its magic to the inhabitants of Equestria, and enabling those outside the borders of the kingdom to learn and expand their horizons. The Princess of Friendship herself has managed to foster strong bonds among nations, developing peace, harmony, and prosperity not only for ponies, but for as many creatures as are willing to engage in her dream of a better tomorrow.

But part of living is learning, and that means changing from a position of ignorance to one of enlightenment. That process can be a risk, particularly if the process required for learning is confronting someone's ignorance and presenting them with an opposing point of view. When the opposing point of view comes from someone else's ignorance, sparks can fly.

Inspired by this humorous piece and written as a spiritual sequel to one of my own fics, being set in the same timeline. No additional reading is required to understand this story, though.

Please, ladies and gentlemen, accept this as the joke as which it is written, and don't think I'm trying to write a thesis on any genuine issue. It's some fun writing poking fun at things we've probably all encountered in life, not a rallying cry. There is no hidden message, other than that we can talk and laugh together without falling out.

Equestria is a wondrous nation of friendship, harmony, and convenient magic. Eras have passed under the watchful eye of the princesses, and the ponies of the land have thrived in the environment provided for them. In fact, they have been almost blessed with such a peaceful and prosperous way of life that the realities and dangers of the world in which they live are almost forgotten to them. Most struggles are resolved within a day, tops, and the easy pace of life has become the norm. For the citizens of the land, this is no bad thing, and in Equestria, it is practically a standard.

Twilight Sparkle, however, is no pony to lay down and let life pass her by. The newest princess of Equestria is curious, erudite, and ambitious, and in her quest to learn more about the nature of reality, she has taken to studying all she can about the world. In pursuit of this noble goal, she spends more time with her once-rival Sunset Shimmer and co in the mirror world, talking and exploring the ways of the alternate world.

And then comes the snag. While the two worlds may share many similarities, humanity has found a way to push forwards with an eagerness and vigour that even the Princess of Friendship finds amazing, and in doing so, confronts the mare with some uncomfortable questions, all of which she seeks to answer for the betterment of ponykind.

Except for "what is beef?" and "where does glue and leather come from in this world?"

Equestria probably wont benefit from discovering those, and Princess Luna would have to defer most of her workload to a certified therapist.

A side story to Generations.

One day, Pipsqueak told a story to his friends- a story about a gang of criminal masterminds who topped all others in Equestria, who pulled off daring raids and captured vast amounts of money, accruing wealth and sometimes redistributing it to the fair citizens of Equestria. They were known across the land, feared and admired in equal measure, their identities hidden by their infamous masks. The question is not their identity, but how far this organisation descends.

This is a rough approximation of Pipsqueak's story.

(The cover picture is not meant to represent which characters appear in the story, only the general appearance of the actual characters in the story.)

Equestria: A paradise world ruled by princesses Celestia and Luna, who have managed to maintain a Utopian society for the native ponies for hundreds of years. It has become a shining beacon of civilisation across the universe, a promise of peace and prosperity for other worlds and civilisations throughout the cosmos. Why then would anyone attack it? Who would commit such a terrible act? What would they stand to gain? What was their plan, and how would it prove beneficial to anyone?

Spike: A dragon in Equestria, raised for as long as he can remember alongside his adoptive sister, Twilight Sparkle. He has grown to be one of her oldest and closest friends as well as her assistant. The two have grown in each other's presence, providing each other with the love, care and closeness that only family can possibly give, and a life that neither could ever imagine without the other. For Twilight, it is perfect - but Spike yearns for the one thing that Twilight can't give him; information on his past and origins. Hungry for answers, he seeks out the wisdom of anyone who can possibly help him, a search which seems to sprawl before him in a long, winding road. Who can give him what he needs? How can Twilight, the most important person in Spike's life, risk the bond that they have for a quest that seems doomed from the beginning?

With such an abundance of questions and such a scarcity of answers, Spike is forced to trek down that road quicker than he would have imagined as the importance of seeking those answers increases exponentially. Through hardships and confusion, difficulties and turmoil, Spike desperately hopes to find what he's looking for before he's drowned in questions that seem to be relentlessly forcing their way into his life, but none more so than the three which evade his every attempt to seek clarity:

What is his destiny?

What is the real threat?

Can it be stopped?

Imagine waking up, and not knowing anything. As in, anything at all. You don't know your name, age, location, previous life up until that moment, nor whatever else is going on all around you. Imagine only being able to find out by searching for clues as to your history and whereabouts, and not knowing if what you find is true or not.

For me, this is my reality. My name is....I am....I am in this predicament. I am somewhere I don't know, and somewhere I don't like at all. I haven't met anybody else here, but I don't know if I want to. I've looked about, and I've found out very little about myself, or any other information that could help me.

I don't know if what I've found is true. I don't know if I want it to be or not. Everything I have managed to find has painted a disturbing picture. Everything I've found has pointed me towards vague clarity that I wonder not only whether it is real or fake, but whether the memory loss, the amnesia, is worse than the truth. My predecessor doesn't seem to have thought so.

Everything I've found is telling me to descend.

Descend into the dark.

My name is...I am...

...

...

...Diamond.

Pipsqueak is an adventurous young colt, and energetic at that! He's lively and curious, and never says no to adventure. After his move to Ponyville from Trottingham, he has his first Nightmare Night and finds it quite different to what he expected. Nevertheless, he pushes forward in the world to achieve his dream. His dream of having wild, endless adventures.........

So, I found an image on the internet and thought I'd make a story out of it. I love Pipsqueak and I'm so glad to be writing some much needed stories for the little guy. Enjoy. :)

Before the benevolent autocracy of Princess Celestia, the six heroes of Ponyville, the return of entire cities and the redemption of the vanquished, there was an era of stability and peace, brought about by the efforts of Princess Celestia herself and her heart wrenching decision to banish her corrupted sister. History remembers the sacrifice of the Princess and her dedication to sustaining the throne, the success of which allowed 1000 years of prosperity. History does not emphasize or highlight the background in which this event took place, however. Indeed, history neglects to mention the conflict that gripped the entirety of Equestria, the tensions that ran between neighbours and royalty alike, and the story of a small band of individuals who sought to find that one spark of light in the darkness that had fallen over the world. There are many tales that are no longer believed to hold any fact, including the destruction of a small town near Canterlot, the pony who, like a phoenix, rose from the ashes, the journey that united both friends and foes, and the fact that the banishment of the Mare of Darkness was merely the finale of an epic showdown that had began some time before. These are the tales that history neglects to mention.