This story is a sequel to CRISIS: A Royal Affair

A mysterious portal appears in the Everfree Forest one afternoon, and Twilight Sparkle and her friends are sent to investigate. The portal transports them to another Equestria, one full of evil and darkness, where they have to fight to survive on the long journey home. A pony named Tick Tock, a guardian of this new world from forces of chaotic magic, offers to find a way to take them home. They make other new friends along the way, but also new enemies, primarily six evil counterparts out for blood.

The central story of the CRISIS-verse. This story takes place during Season 3 of canon, before the Keep Calm and Flutter On episode.

Thanks to Devnator, BeeAre, and The Living Couch who assisted with editing and as creative consultants. Cover art by Starlight Spark.

Check out the TVTropes page, maybe give it some love.

In an alternate Equestria, the city of Hope's Point stands as a beacon of light and hope against the darkness and misery of the world around it, ruled over by the ever-watchful, keen-minded, and iron-hoofed Queen Blackburn.

But Blackburn wasn't always the queen of Hope's Point - she wasn't even its first ruler - and she wasn't always the hard-nosed mare with an eye for details. She was young once, too, just like everypony else, and just like them she had to make new friends, go to school, make mistakes, find love, and everything else that goes along with growing up, for better or worse, and that's not even counting her royal responsibilities.

Witness the rise of Blackburn, Princess of Hope's Point, as she becomes the mare - the queen - she was always meant to be, as well as the friends and enemies she makes along the way.

Takes place in the CRISIS-verse as a prequel to CRISIS: Equestria.

Many thanks to Devnator and BeeAre for their help in editing and as creative consultants. Cover art by Starlight Spark.

When Nightmare Moon’s rebellion tore across Equestria, leaving a trail of blood and horror in its wake, Princess Celestia knew that merely banishing her sister wouldn’t be enough. Her army was too powerful, and too bloodthirsty, to be left behind without a leader. When she finally turned the Elements of Harmony against her, she didn’t just banish Nightmare Moon. She banished thousands.

Now they’re in a race against time, to find a way to survive in an environment so alien that every aspect of it is trying to kill them. They face suffocation, freezing, boiling, starvation, radiation, meteorite impacts, low gravity… the list goes on.

Nightmare Moon thought she should be the ruler of all Equestria. Now, in a world nopony was ever meant to survive, her abilities will be put to the ultimate test.

This story now has a hardcover! If you'd like one of your own, you can grab it here: https://starscribe.net/

Editing by the indulgent and patient Two Bit and Sparktail. Coverart by Zutcha.

Note: I intend this story to be as faithful to our current scientific understanding of the moon, and I’ve consulted for help with the aspects outside my technical purview. That said, I fully expect to make decisions that some may see as mistakes, based on their own independent interpretations.

I am a storyteller first, and I realize it’s likely I’ll eventually make a mistake, or an arbitrary decision to simplify the storytelling over accuracy. I’m doing my best here, but this isn’t a NASA white paper. Set your expectations accordingly.

This story was commissioned by Canary in the Coal Mine on my Patreon, feel free to contact me if you’d like one of your own!

Changeling Twilight Sparkle and her number-one assistant, Sunset Shimmer, try to study magic without learning any wholesome lessons of friendship. They fail.

Twilight had never questioned the nature of the Tree of Harmony. To her at least, it stood as a sentinel, a silent guardian watching over Equestria and keeping disharmony at bay.

She soon starts to have questions and misgivings when she inadvertently witnesses the horrifying fate of hers and the rest of her friend's twisted doppelgängers. Did something happen to the Tree of Harmony, or was it always this way?

Twilight aims to resolve this mystery once and for all. Little does she realize that this mystery goes far deeper—the truth far more terrifying than she can imagine.

Will she be able to solve this nightmarish mystery with her sanity intact, or will she surrender and be lost to madness?

After some deliberation I chose to put a Crossover tag as the whole story uses many assets from several stories in the Cthulhu Mythos (most of them written by authors other than Lovecraft).

Fantastic cover art done by Mix-up!

Grogar's ancient machinations finally come together as he leads the Legion of Doom against Canterlot. Chrysalis, Tirek, and Cozy Glow want to rule for themselves, however, and intend to betray him as soon as it's convenient. Can Applejack, Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash save Equestria?

Other significant characters: Spike, Starlight Glimmer, Sunburst, Trixie, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Cadance, Shining Armor, Student/Young Six. Spoiler characters: Windigos, Mean Twilight Sparkle, King Sombra.

Author's note: I decided to rewrite episodes S9E24 and S9E25 as if Grogar were real and the finale were a four-parter. This story takes everything up to and including S9E23 as canon, and took inspiration from a huge variety of sources, including the finale trailer (though it does not strictly hold canon to the trailer).

I give my deep, heartfelt thanks my kind editors and prereaders, as well as the lovely anons on /mlp/ where I've been posting the first draft. My deepest thanks of all go to triq267, who's been helping me at every stage of the story with ideas and advice.

Featured 1/6/2020, and again 1/14/2020, 8/3/2020, 9/17/2020, 10/3/2021, and 10/25/221! Thank you guys!