Twilight Sparkle, Master of Magic.
Luna, Mistress of the Night.
Cadance, Princess of Love.
Celestia, the Lightbringer.

Of the Four Princesses, Celestia is the one that ponies believe they know the best. After all, they've known her longer than any of the others. That's got to count for something, right?

They couldn't be more wrong.

The follow-up to Cadance the Unbroken, and the second story in the Four Princesses, Four Demons series. Reading the prior stories is not required.

Featured from 2-3-2021 to 2-7-2021, peaking at #1. Thanks, everypony!

Tragedy strikes.
A nation affected.
Old, the young, rich or poor, all alike to the touch of sorrow and fear.
All are affected.
All have stories to tell...

The various side stories of The Secret Life of Rarity. If you think of a good story for this universe, please send it to me and I shall include it!

It had been about a month since the changeling incident in Canterlot. Everypony is on edge, because stray changelings keep popping up here and there, trying to blend in with the population. Everyone worries that one of their closest friends, or even their family, could not be who they appear to be. But what happens when a pony isn't really that pony...

...but they're not a changeling, either?

A great many things occur all throughout Equestria as the reunification proceeds and the days count down to a great upheaval. Every grand picture holds many small details, easily forgotten or unnoticed. These are brief records of such things.

A series of brutal murders seize the attention of the worlds greatest consulting detective.

Soon after meeting his eventual partner Jog Watson, Holmes must contend with the Butterfly Killer, a serial murderer who only kills when it rains and always leaves a dead butterfly with the victim.

The only suspects: a classroom of young ponies.

Isolated from her friends and taken prisoner in the middle of a war, Twilight must deal with the very real dangers of being percieved as an enemy as well as the nightmares of her arrival on 'Earth'. Can she overcome her own fears and the fears of her captors? Will the wayward unicorn's assistance be a boon or a curse to the 'humans?' Most importantly, will she ever find her way home?

"In short, it's a story of friendship and plasma rifles, with the emphasis on the friendship. The characters are well written, the XCOM setting is fleshed out very well, and the story is compelling. If you love XCOM, you'll love the story, but even if you've never heard of it, it's more than worth giving the first 3 chapters a read.

There's excellent action later on, but the real strength lies in the collision between the friendly and naive world of Twilight Sparkle and the desperate world of humans fighting a losing war for survival and willing to do anything to turn the tide."

--Arzoo

(XCOM/FiM crossover)
(Cover art commissioned by a friend and created by the magnificent FoxInShadow!)
(Original cover art by the amazing Carnelian can be viewed here!)
(Gore tag for blood and some violence)
(Many thanks to the studius OminousTen, Arzoo, xXFluttershyForeverXx and finally Setokaiva for giving my rambles a once-over)
(Now with it's own TV Tropes page! Get to tropin' folks!)

This story is a sequel to Log of the UNS Twilight Sparkle

In her quest to reach Twilight Sparkle, Sunset Shimmer must accept that new frontiers aren't always safe.

Note: this is actually a prequel, but you really need to read Log of the UNS Twilight Sparkle first to understand this.

Edited by Solstice Shimmer.
Thanks to Oliver for fact-checking.

“I really like what you have done here. You have taken the wonder for the unknown and the strive for a better tomorrow from the science fiction genre, and molded it with FiM perfectly.”

— The Observer

Twilight and Applejack walk through the orchard in the darkness just before dawn, as the rancher describes a strange happening on one of the hills at the edge of her property.

A commission for a benefactor who wishes to remain anonymous, and wondered what conversation might take place under these circumstances. Thanks to you for this story <3
Slight spoilers for the tags: All of them are for one specific part of the tale when he lifts his hat. You'll know what I'm talking about when you hit it.

Edit 3/17/21: Holy shit guys, we didn't think a cowboy would go over so well Uh, I guess if enough people want it I can continue writing this pro bono? Yeah, let me know
Edit 3/19/21: Well hell, after three days, two hundred likes, and staying on the front page for this long, I guess you guys want more of this one. Changing from Completed to Incomplete

Twilight is called on to be a political Emissary to the far northern kingdoms. Due to the attacks from Tirek and the others, the land borders have been altered. Several miles of land that was once considered to be a part of Equestria is now within the borders of their northern neighbors. It is ruled solely by a pony that is as unwavering as steel. Twilight is tasked with being an emissary to this kingdom and try to negotiate to have him withdraw his claim to the territory. Meeting him is going to change everything she knows about how an Overlord rules his ponies. She finds out just how politics works for him and how he treats his subjects. She reminds herself to keep an open mind and treat him as she would any other. She is not prepared for what she finds. A stallion that rules alone. One that is more complex than she realized. One that if offended could spell disaster for Equestria itself. Hunter Flame is about to make her realize that nothing is as simple as she thinks it is.

Story is loosely based off the Overlord Video Games By Triumph Studios

Cover art by https://www.fimfiction.net/user/228967/Little+Tigress

Featured on Front Page 3/9/2019! OMG! Thank you!
Featured on Front Page 3/18/2019
Featured: 6/4/2019
Featured: 5/16/2021
Featured: 9/4/2022

When Twilight Sparkle had the magical surge that cemented her place as Celestia's student, the amount of power she released not only hatched a baby Dragon, it brought forth something else. Something that shouldn't exist any more.
Something that has Celestia worried.

A fluffy puppy.

[Despite the gore tag it's rather light on that, and they have yet to make a lewd tag and there's a bit of that.]

Editing help by Lawlypops, ThatNoobpony and people in the comments.

Modoc is converting this story into a youtube audio format if you'd rather listen to the story. That link is here.

Cover art by marking

Season two is live here, Season 2