The Ponyville Playhouse presents a bold and inspiring new interpretation of the immortal classic, Hearth's Warming Eve. Music! Adventure! Intrigue! And a few surprises!

During the pause between Seasons Three and Four, let's remember where we began and how much our friends have grown.

This story is a sequel to Petriculture

It's been several months since Pinkie Pie made a stunning admission about her past that permanently changed her relationship with her friends, particularly Twilight Sparkle, but life seems to have settled back to normal (well, normal by Pinkie Pie's standards, at least). However, when an old nemesis returns and ensnares Twilight in her influence, it's up to Pinkie to make things right.

This is the second story in The Petriculture Cycle. There is a TV Tropes Page for the entire Cycle here.

Cover image by Page Turner; "Princess Twilight" vector by Nianara.

Once, every decade, the changeling race prepares for their most sacred of days.
It is a celebration of life, of the past, of the bond between all Queens, past and present, and their subjects.
It is a time of joy, when all changelings return from the world beyond Flutter Valley to be with their families.

But one filly looks forward to it more than most. For Chrysalis, future Queen of the Changelings, this is her first Festival of Lights and her first step on the road to becoming Queen.

This is the story of a very ordinary pony's extraordinary day. Carrot Top and Derpy are good friends indeed, and sometimes friendship can lead to wonderful surprises. It can also lead to arguments, frustration, and general grumpiness, of course, and this story has all of those things as well. But mostly, this is a story about the day Carrot Top learned how to fly.

*****

Originally written for the Hearth's Warming Care Package contest. Many thanks to the contestants who commented on this story, to my EqD pre-reader, and especially to Sessalisk, for helping to polish this story to its present state. Cover art by the incomparable Elosande, used with permission.

Fanart here, courtesy of lalieri!

Audiobook here, courtesy of Deftfunk and Scribbler!

Now available in Spanish, courtesy of SPANIARD KIWI.

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.