There’s no end to the monsters that lurk in the dark.

Ghosts, werewolves, mad scientists, cultists, mutants, zombies, vampires, aliens and more lie in wait in the dark corners of Equestria, terrorizing the night. But the most infamous and dangerous of them all is the legendary witch Twilight Sparkle, with a five hundred million bit bounty on her head.

Seeking fame and fortune, Rainbow Dash sets out to defeat the legendary witch and collect the massive reward. The one thing she wasn't counting on was Twilight being less evil than she expected.

More stories set in this AU can be found here.

Cover art is a work in progress by Abode_WTF

Tempest gets roped into babysitting Flurry Heart during a visit to the Crystal Empire. It's not so bad. She can talk all she wants and Flurry's a good listener. Plus, it gets her away from the hustle and bustle of the Crystal Faire. In all, she expects a quiet night.

Then she spots a spider. And spiders need to die. By any means necessary.

The Crystal Palace will never be the same.

Written for the May 2020 Pairing Contest. Loosely inspired by, well, Kill it With Fire. Has a Spanish translation by SPANIARD KIWI.

This story is a sequel to The Freeport Venture

Sunset Shimmer has established a good life for herself in Freeport. Sure, the city might be horrendously corrupt, but she makes a very good living as the Freeport's only officially sanctioned unicorn magus.

All that goes down the drain when somepony robs the richest bank in Freeport. And most baffling of all, after the heist the crook went to the poorest part of town and scattered the loot for all of Freeport's poor and deprived citizens. Now Sunset has to find the thief, and figure just why someone would rob from the rich and give to the poor...

Reading The Freeport Venture is not necessary to follow this story's plot, though you'll certainly enjoy it more if you have. Plus you should read the previous story anyway, because I'm quite proud of it.

This story is a sequel to A Moment in the Sun

Sunset Shimmer is on the run. It's been six months since she left her life as Princess Celestia's student behind, but she can't escape her own past. Her parents are offering a reward for her safe return home, and Celestia's agents are watching her every step. She might have gotten out of Canterlot, but the runaway student is still a long way from freedom. Especially since her education with the Princess of Equestria didn’t cover things like how to make a living wage with her magical skills.

However, there might still be one place where she can escape all of them. The infamous island nation of Freeport has long had a reputation as a haven for pirates, criminals, and exiles, but there's no better place in the world for somepony who wants to disappear. The only question is whether Sunset will live long enough to pull it off.

This story is a sequel to The Freeport Venture

As Freeport's best problem solver, Puzzle Piece finds himself helping the Magus-for-hire Sunset Shimmer with a job once again. The Sweetash family, one of the richest families in Freeport, has contacted Sunset with a new job to investigate ugly new rumors surrounding one of their rivals.

While the job seems straightforward enough, they quickly find out how a sweet deal can become sour.

This story is a sequel to The Crown of Night

Now available in print from Lulu.com! Hardcover - Paperback.

(New readers, unsure where to start? The Education of Clover the Clever is best.)

Clover Cordelia is a freshmare student at the Cambridle Academy of Magic who is determined to become a great sorceress.

Star Swirl the Bearded is a legendary wizard in need of an apprentice.

It's a tough job, working for the world's greatest wizard. On top of the usual challenges of student life there are apocalypses to deal with, and assassins who show up at inconvenient times, and plant life scheming for world conquest.

It's probably nothing Star Swirl can't take care of, provided he and Clover manage to resist killing each other first.

Previously updated alongside its prequel, The Crown of Night. It is not necessary to read The Crown of Night first.

Featured on Equestria Daily!
Featured on the Royal Guard!

Cover art by iisaw.

"Characterization is the name of the game here, and this story's take on Star Swirl is one of the most enigmatic and intriguing I've seen. His eccentricity is offset perfectly by his straight mare, Clover the Clever, and the interactions between them are a joy to behold."
-Prak, PR for the Royal Guard.

Rated "Why Haven't You Read These Yet?" by PaulAsaran.

Weird praise for The Education of Clover the Clever from the comments:

"........The sadist in me is grinning while the student is screaming it's little lungs out "
-Smirkythread.

"I can't tell if he's insane or not. And it's glorious."
-FancyFan.

"I am unsure if this is merely silly and deranged or subtly brilliant."
-SIGAWESOME.

"Ok, so I like this story. I actually like it quite a bit. I have no clue why though. Not a single clue.
I haven't a clue what you're doing right, but keep doing it. You're awesome."
-Vibrato con Amore.

This story is a sequel to The Freeport Venture

Sunset Shimmer, the Magus of Freeport, has taken plenty of jobs since her arrival in the city. Though she's picky about what work she'll do, especially when the job is offered by one of her least favorite ponies in the world, the large bag of gold that came with the latest request was enough to change her mind.

And that's how she finds herself attending a high-end auction, where one of the rarest and most dangerous tomes of magic in the known world is being sold off to the highest bidder. With some of the world's wealthiest scum and villains attending, who walks out with the book could have consequences far beyond the islands.

This story is a sequel to Freeport Venture: More Equal than Others

Sunset Shimmer had grand ambitions upon becoming Freeport's only magus, most importantly helping out the citizens of Freeport itself. When she hears of an outlying farming community in danger from a horde of undead, she knows she has to help them. Even if they can't pay her fees, it's the right thing to do.

However, this new challenge might be too much for her to handle. These zombies are unlike anything she's ever seen, and an old enemy is mixed up in the middle of all of this. Sunset has no idea what dark secrets the undead horde hides, or the danger posed by the necromancer behind it.

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

Princess Twilight Sparkle discovers a centuries-old mystery hidden in the Royal Archives. Her investigation leads through layer after layer of deception and misdirection, setting her hooves on a path that seems to be leading to a mysterious secret. Along the way, she learns that some friendships can be very, very strange.

Book 1 of the Alicorn Adventure series.

AUDIOBOOK by VisualPony
Featured at the Royal Canterlot Library
TV Tropes Page (Courtesy of Sandtalon)
Goodreads Page (Courtesy of Facedeer)
Equestria Daily Page

WARNING: Major spoilers in the comments. Takes place several months after the end of season four. (Not a Da Vinci Code crossover, BTW!)

Do you see a dark tag? No, you don't. Not dark. Well, okay, there are a couple of dark-ish bits, but that's all. Not enough to warrant a tag. Speaking of tags, there really ought to be "Badass Twilight" and "Friendshipping" ones.

Sequels and side-stories (and more) can be found here Offprint and AO3, and a hardbound two-volume set of all that can be ordered from The Ministry of Image.

My editor for the first edition of this story was Gogito, and I can't thank him enough for all the hard work he did. My editor for the revised version was PresentPerfect, and he did a terrific job of getting the story into excellent shape.