The princesses gave their magic to Twilight to prevent Tirek from stealing it. As a result, they end up stuck in Tartarus.

Marvelous place, Tartarus. Really brings ponies together. The fact that things manage to go downhill here says a lot about the wonders of family and alicornhood.

Spanish translation by SPANIARD KIWI

Audio Drama by Espa_Roba_5 and Ajvasquezbrony28
Live reading by The Living Library
Live reading by Astro-Brony

Proofread by Octavia Harmony

Princess Twilight Sparkle, in a bout of anger, flips a table.

This quickly escalates.

Now with a Youtube reading!
Thanks to Captainbron3y

"The pieces are set, and the dice are in play. But does every pony have the heart for this day?"

Nearly two hundred years have passed since Rarity Belle merged with the Crystal Heart and took the throne of the Crystal Empire. Since then, through her care, determination, and vision, the Empire has flourished like never before. Now Empress Rarity stands as not a ruler of a providence, but the monarch of a rising superpower.

Today though, is the Empress' Birthday, and Lady Merry Sapphire, seneschal to the Empress, is determined to make this the best birthday Rarity has ever had. Little does she know that not everypony shares her enthusiasm for today...

Notes:
This is an official prequel to the Princess Twilight Sparkle's Birthday stories, created by Autumnschild. This story will develop and expand much of the world we made, but taking place 250 years before PTS500 and its sequel, PTS505. Due to its time gap and status as a prequel, you do not need to read the stories created by Autumnschild, and I have done my best to help that. However, knowing what happened in them will help you be a bit more aware of what is going on, and I encourage you to go read them for they are very enjoyable.

We now have our own group! Come check out the Birthdayverse!

Credit goes to Autumnschild for the proofreading for this story.
Razalon The Lizardman is credited for the grammatical overhaul.

Great thanks goes to these two, for this story would not be as good without them.

"The stars have faded. The moon has grown distant from me. Sister, what has happened during the thousand years of my absence? What has happened to my night?"

Archive of Our Own Version

Featured on October 19, 2013

I'm so sorry. We opened the box...

Please. Don't make the same mistake we did...

Luna is a happy filly, and wants her sister to be happy too. She doesn't know why Celestia cries at night, so she's going to raise the sun and let her big sister sleep in.

Celestia watches her waiting to raise the sun from inside her chambers, torn between a love that she wants to acknowledge and the machinations of politics that have kept her from doing so.

What would a good sister do?

What would a good mother do?

Proofreading by Minds Eye

Cover Art: Then I Heard Your Heart Beating - Riz Cifra

Featured on Equestria Daily

Hello, Equestria. My name is Princess Luna, and my sister is an idiot. The object of her idiocy – her faithful student, Twilight Sparkle – appears to share her stupidity. Luckily, I am here to lend them a helping hoof.

I can't really blame them, though. They're just so adorable when they're completely clueless.

100% Approved by Twilight's Library!

Princess Twilight has brought Tirek to his knees with the aid of the alicorn magic given to her. Only this time, the wisdom of thousands of years allows her to see the only way to keep Equestria safe. With her nearly unlimited power, Twilight aims to ensure that evil never rises to threaten her kingdom again. The only way to do that is to stamp out the enemies of her kind one by one.

Contains Season Finale Spoilers.

Ten years ago, Twilight made the ultimate sacrifice in order to defeat Tirek. Equestria has been in a state of civil war ever since.

Canterlot has at last fallen, and the six heroes of the rebellion now go to face the ultimate challenge: defeating the godlike Twilight Sparkle. What they expect to be a brutal, hard won quest for glory and Equestria's salvation turns into something entirely different... and now they face a choice.

This story is a reaction piece against the Tyrant Sparkle trope.

Special thanks to Absolution for pre-reading and Danger Beans for proofreading.

Cover art credit: BluestreakFUS

Now with a Chinese Translation courtesy of Hellagur.

Music is everything for Octavia but, one night when she visits a café run by Princess Luna, she may find she wants more in her life.

Entry for the Random Romance contest: Octavia and Luna