One timeline after another, Twilight and Spike are thrown into a world of Starlight's morbid machination. Another tragic end to Equestria, another circumstance of failure.

The frigid wind does little to ease Twilight's thoughts as a simple question plagues her mind:

"What happened here?"

Takes place during the Season 5 finale.
Proofread and edited by Dreams of Ponies.
Third place in the Nightmare Moon 2017 Summer Contest.
Featured 8/6/17 - 8/8/17.

Legend has it that on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape.

After one-thousand years of being bound in the celestial body, Nightmare Moon is free! Right alongside the poor sap that got bound with her.

Thrust into an unfamiliar world, with scars and memories that are now drastically out of place, this is the story of the former guard captain, Magic Barrier.

Do the words above sound familiar? If they do, then you've probably read my other story, A Pony Displaced. This tale isn't a sequel. It isn't a rewrite, though you might consider it a re-imagining of sorts. It is a tale of progression, one that I hope will show my development as a writer in both skill and quality. But more importantly, it is a story that offers exploration into one simple question. What if Magic Barrier had trotted down another path?

As always, thanks go out to everyone who helped me get to this point. In particular, thank you to Alticron, for editing, proofreading, co-writing, being my idea-wall, and arguably the single biggest reason this story saw the light the day, and thank you to Word Worthy, formerly Izanagi, who also edited, proofread, and threw ideas around with us. It wouldn't be possible without these two. In addition to those two I'd like to thank the newest member of the group Omnicron25 for his efforts in proofing/editing as well. Damn glad to have you on board mate.

Additional thanks to Wing for keeping me company late nights and for being a wordsmith when I needed one.

This takes place after "Mirror Magic".

Starlight Glimmer has immensely enjoyed her time with Sunset Shimmer and the Canterlot High group. However, as she has a last conversation with Sunset, an important question comes to her mind to ask Twilight. The answer may not be quite what she expected.

Dash finds herself once more in the nurse's office after being injured at practise. However, Nurse Redheart is more distant than her usual self.

A framed insignia patch and picture sitting on the nurse's desk hints towards the reason, but worries that broaching the question would be asking something too personal.

The story she hears will change her view on the nurse for the rest of her life...

---

Cover art modified from totallynotabrony, and used with permission.

Note: Featured within 24 hours of being published? All of you guys rock, seriously! Never expected a story like this to reach the featured box. Thank you all!

Principal Celestia always has wings in her dreams.

They got her into trouble, once. She let herself believe that they meant she was an angel. Then she grew up, and learned some hard lessons about what being an angel really required.

Now six magical girls have just fought a demon in front of her school. And her phantom wings are itching.

Her life is turning upside down ... and she hasn't even heard about Equestria yet.

Rated Highly Recommended (Top 15 Stories Sitewide) by Present Perfect! "It's f**king flawless, you guys. … The first [6]00-word chapter by itself is a masterpiece."

"Literally the single best EqG story on the site." —Professor Plum
"[One] of the best stories on the site, period." —Pearple Prose
"One of my all-time favorite pieces of fanfiction." –brokenimage321
"My favorite EQG fic of absolute all." -Skywriter

Rated Why Haven't You Read This Yet? by PaulAsaran! "I might have been skeptical going in, but horizon knocked it out of the park."

Rated 5/5 by csquared08! "The opening chapter here was truly something else. ... Then I hit the end of chapter 3. holy crap."

Rated ★★★★ by Louder Yay! "A lesser writer might have made a horrible, cliché-ridden mess of this story, but fortunately horizon is not a lesser writer. For a start, it's by some distance the best portrayal of the human world's Celestia I've read."

Third place in the "Under the Sun" June 2017 Writeoff!  (That first draft has been revised and expanded for FIMFiction.) Praise for the Writeoff version:

"Holy cow ... That's how you write an EqG fanfic! You captured the heart and SOUL of this/your version of Principal Celestia, wrapped it up in bi-universal consistency, and sold me on an idea of redemption I didn't even know I needed." —Xepher

"This is gorgeous. A thorough, exhaustive, incredibly moving portrait of a character who I don't think I've ever seen get quite this much development or attention." —Posh

"This is actually, after all these years, an original take on a story on Luna's banishment. If that's not something to be celebrated I don't know what is." —Quill Scratch, Radio Writeoff

MORE REVIEWER PRAISE: Rated "Definitely Read" by Super Trampoline! Reviewed by City of Doors! Reviewed by Titanium Dragon! Featured on Equestria Daily!

Rated T for brief cursing and alcohol use. Cover art by Seniloko, used under Creative Commons license.

Translations:

中文 - 行政天使

Time moves eternal. Those who were young become old, those who are children, become parents and in the fullness of time, parents of parents.

It's Grampa Neb's birthday and all the family will be there. For Twilight Sparkle, it's a chance to put things in perspective.

Celestia's personal dungeon. A thing of mystery. A thing of terror.

So just what does it take to get banished to such a deep, dark, horrific place?

Not much, actually.

Artwork by EvilbobO. Formatting assistance by ChappedPenguinLips, aka, The Best.

In the dead of night, a cloaked figure enters a witch's hut, desperate for a solution to an unsolvable problem. Hoping to help, the witch lays out five cards on the table, each one representing an important point in the figure's past. Maybe by exploring its past, the witch can save its fragile and shattered future.

Written for the Under The Suns writeoff!

Cover art done by Haze

Proofread done by Krickis

This story is a sequel to Secrets of a Royal Guard

Duty, honor, and loyalty above all else. That was what Silent Knight had been told ever since he was a colt. They had guided him all his life and he was more than ready to follow in his father’s hoofsteps by dedicating himself to the Royal Guard. Then he discovered something else he had never expected: friendship and love. He learned that he owed these values not just to his job, but to his wife, his friends, and his family. Unfortunately, he learned that too late.

War has broken out between the gryphon kingdoms and Equestria is stuck in the thick of it trying to protect their ally, Nordanver. As Silent marches off to war, he must contend with the guilt that battles within him. He played right into the claws of Sudramoar's sovereign, and now he must leave his newlywed wife behind so that he can pay the price for his foolish actions.

Knowledge of the Quill & Blade AU is recommended to understand this story. It is a direct sequel to Secrets of a Royal Guard.

This story is a sequel to The Luna Cypher

Twilight sets out to learn more of the ways of the world, and soon decides that the whole planet is disorganized, insanely dangerous, and desperately needs to be fixed. And she's just the mare to do it... with a little help from her friends.

Also, there are sky-pirates!

Book 3 of the Alicorn Adventure series.

A few extra, slice-o-life chapters are here: On the Rocks