Celestia travels to a far corner of her kingdom to investigate a rumor about a colt with strange, illicit cutie marks. She meets Radish Root, a boy whose marks make him an anomaly in the fabric of Equestria, a mystery to himself, and an outcast among society.
When Radish joins the Royal Guard just prior to the return of Nightmare Moon, he finds his life being complicated by all the changes coming to Equestria. His marks will lead him into adventure, intrigue, and trouble... but will they ever lead him to answers?

Proofreader: Slavenger Karl
Cover Art Gallery
Table of original characters
A reader is translating this story into Spanish. Check it out here.

Hope is the first step on the road to disappointment. The universe is full of hope, as it is with despair.

Far too often will the desperate fools of the universe lay their hands upon the key to their salvation...only to have it snatched away.

So when Ahzek Ahriman of the Thousand Sons encounters such salvation, he does respond with hope, but with determination. He will restore his lost brothers, he will right his ancient wrongs, and he cut down anyone who dares to stand in his way.

Since time immemorial, the Horn of Celestia has stood above the ancient northern glaciers. It is older than the Empire, older than Equestria itself. The tower carries many ancient legends, but the most credible is this: that during the time of strife, ponies sacrificed their greatest powers to come together into a single kingdom, committed to peace and friendship forevermore.

Lyra Heartstrings is convinced there is more to this story, and after years of preparation, she has arrived at the tower with an expedition of friends and fellow experts to discover the truth for herself. One way or another, she will discover the secrets concealed in the ancient horn, even if it costs her everything.

This story was written on my Patreon as a commission for HMage, but was one of the earliest casualties of the pandemic. As a result, only part 1 of 2 was written. There are roughly eleven chapters taking us to what was meant to be the halfway point of the story. At least for now, the story will end there--not as a painful cliffhanger, but before our heroes transition to the next phase of their adventure.

The story is now continuing again on a monthly basis.

Editing by Two Bit and Sparktail, cover by Zutcha. The works.

Reforming villains can be pretty challenging, but for Twilight Sparkle that's not a problem. What is her problem? The fact that most of them want to date her! Will she be able to redeem all these villains without falling in love with one first, or will second chances be put on hold, proving that not every villain can be saved? With help from her friends, and her new student Starlight Glimmer, she might just pull it off.

This story takes place at the start of Season 6, right after episode 1 and 2. Season 6 Finale doesn't happen in this.

Teen and Sex tags are for the childish innuendos and specific topics.
Also includes the worst thing imaginable: Crackshipping

* This story is part of my "Writing Goals" under 100K Word Story.

When facing Twilight Sparkle, Nightmare Moon was given a choice: redemption or revenge. What if she had chosen the latter? A grim fate awaits Equestria, but in a time of greater strife and conflict, Discord's return is accelerated. While he expected to bring chaos, he did not anticipate that he would end the Longest Night and bring hope and joy back to the land.

Discord struggles to reconcile his nature with his desire for admiration. While Twilight's friends strive to carve a new life in the ever-shifting Equestria, she searches for Celestia, the only one who can bring harmony back to her lands. But Nightmare Moon also seeks her sister in a desperate attempt to find her place in the world. New dangers lurk in the wild and more threaten to fall over Equestria. Nightmare Moon's decision broke the balance of the world. Will Equestria ever turn to peace, or will the spiral of chaos and destruction be the end of everything?

(An alternate history, this story takes the universe established by the canon and explores one possible outcome if Princess Luna had not been redeemed.)

Comments contain huge spoilers. Walk softly.

Special thanks to my pre-readers, MmmandarinOrange and DarkmatterButterflies for keeping my head on, taking the journey of the story, and making it so much better than it would have been if I wrote it alone.

Five hundred years have past since Celestia and Luna handed the reigns of rulership to Princess Twilight Sparkle. Five centuries of unprecedented peace and prosperity.

So it came as a surprise to the sisters when Princess Twilight requests their presence in Canterlot. But the biggest shock is her second request.

Twilight will be out of Equestria for some time on an important diplomatic mission, and she needs someponies to take over while she's away.

Seeing as how long they had once done so, Celestia and Luna agree to temporarily take back their old titles. It shouldn't be that hard to rule again.

Right?

Roseluck's life was somewhat boring, stuck in a rut. Opening the stall she shared with her foalhood friends at the local Ponyville market, serving customers, shipping large flower orders to their destinations, tending to the garden, taking inventory, paying rent... Although she loved her job as a florist, she craved some excitement in her life.

But luckily she has a trip to Manehattan with her friends for a decorative flower contest, something that always got her out of her routine. However, when she gets there she notices something strange, many ponies are behaving strangely, they are staggering, they have clear signs of lack of sleep, and they almost seem to have no energy. Driven by curiosity, she plunges headlong into a conspiracy that threatens all of Equestria, perhaps the entire planet.

But luckily, not only has she stumbled upon this conspiracy, she has also gotten in the way of somepony who can stop this whole mess. He calls himself the Doctor, and it's clear to Roseluck that he's the strangest pony she's ever met, but he also seems to be the most extraordinary. Will Roseluck and the Doctor be able to protect Equestria?

As Spinel watched Steven and his friends celebrate, she realized that she had done too much to them and everyone on this world to be their friend, and ran off to the warp pad. But even after she set foot on a new world she realized that no one would be friends with the person she was now... it's a good thing she had another Rejuvenator.

Pinkie is in for a big surprise and a new best friend this birthday.

picture created by GlamourCoffee, go check them out on DeviantArt

Twilight discovers Discord in-hiding - which is strange enough - but the discussion they have causes her to consider the particulars of true harmony, and whether or not a being such as he should be allowed to live freely to retain his part in it.

[Written/published between Sept. 2011 and Oct. 2012]

In the wake of Chrysalis' failed invasion, a different hive breaks tradition and steps into the light to open relations with Equestria. The ever eager scholar, Twilight Sparkle, uses this truce as the perfect opportunity to learn more about this enigmatic race. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, she will learn all there is to know about what it means to be a changeling.

But will Twilight lose herself in the hive, or will she regain what she has lost? Only time will tell.

Featured on 9/24/13

My first featured story! You guys are awesome.

Story readings and cover art by Luminescent Skies: Click here for some audio novel treatment

My Editor in Chief: Cloud Hop