This story is a sequel to The Celestia Code

When the monsters created by the dark crystal engine escape their prison, it's up to Princess Twilight Sparkle to deal with them. She gets help and advice from Princess Luna, but things don't go as planned. In fact, when a pony who relies on logic and rationality tries to navigate the stormy seas of emotional entanglement while simultaneously saving Equestria from a horde of evil creatures intent on destroying everything they encounter, nothing goes as planned.
AUDIOBOOK by VisualPony
WARNING: Major spoilers in the comments.

Book 2 of the Alicorn Adventure series.

Goodreads Page
100% Approved by Twilight's Library!

The Badass Twilight tag applies more than ever, but please note the new tags.

This story is a fairly direct continuation of The Celestia Code. You might be able to follow it without having read The Celestia Code first, but it's better if you do.

The sequel is here: The Twilight Enigma

Most excellent pre-reading/editing done by the erudite AcademicPony and the dapper statoose!

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.

The surface isn't safe anymore.

In the ruined depths of Canterlot, a team of brave salvagers discover six mares, long forgotten but miraculously preserved. Though these mares cannot remember what happened to their world, they possess powerful magic that hasn't been seen for centuries.

Now the Elements of Harmony are thrust headlong into a world beyond recognition. Twilight and her friends must dive into the sunken remains of history to determine what happened, but Equestria isn't the harmonious land it once was. Before they can focus wholly on the past, they may first have to survive the present.

It isn't going to be easy.

Audiobook by Skijarama!
Original Soundtrack by Noc!

Special thanks to Doccular42 for the original concept, and M1ntf4n for editing!

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Big thanks to dA artist fantazyme and reader jeffh4 for making this fantastic rendition of Rarity at Mr. Rich's party!

On the fence of whether to read? Check out the Rage Review or hear PaulAsaran's thoughts!

Drinking the serum is an extremely difficult choice, but at least you know it will turn you into a pony.

Right?

(A satire of, and salute to, the genre that once couldn't be stopped.)

Commissioned by iisaw. Proofread by Neko Majin C. Preread by Muruschio, Pickleless, KingMoriarty, Troubleshooter, and Ariamaki.

The dragons have returned. They've been a thorn in Equestria's side since the beginning. They scheme, dreaming of vast Equestrian lands rich with plunder, of flame-roasted ponyflesh. At long last, the dragons have committed to war, all wings united in their final push to break Equestria. Nopony dares stop them.

Twilight has been expecting this. How could she not? The last time dragons turned a greedy eye to the north, their presence alone nearly destroyed the nation. It can't happen again. It won't happen again. Twilight has a final solution to save Equestria — but at what cost?

Set several decades after Twilight's inevitable rise to prominence, Strangehorn draws on the satire of its namesake, examining the uncompromising drive to harmony that has made Twilight — and Equestria in her wake — the power it is today. An unsurprising tack given the brief tale's pedigree: Strangehorn is a semi-sequel to Blackacre, the political thriller set thirty years before the time of the show we remember.

Both Strangehorn and Blackacre are canon, of a sort, telling of a much darker sort of story than those we usually see on Saturday mornings. Unlike its predecessor, Strangehorn is an experiment in the short form; I gladly solicit commentary on it.

The jury, those twelve mares selected by lots to choose his fate, largely ignored the young pony in the grey jumpsuit. Was he waiting for someone? If so, no one came. No one cared. It didn’t matter any more, because time was up. One by one they stepped out the door, and then all at once the jury box was empty.

What happened that night? Would this young colt, a displaced refugee from a bloody civil war, really kill his own mother? After all, the Everfree terrorists no older than this colt had done worse things to better ponies. Had he? Between passion and prejudice, it certainly seems so — but one mare disagrees.

Though Twelve Angry Mares stands alone, it is probably best enjoyed as a sequel, of sorts, to a previous story of mine, Blackacre. You don't need to have read it to appreciate this — certainly the styles and tones struck are vastly different — but it does contextualize some of the prejudice and gut reactions of our cast of characters.
For those of my faithful readers coming from Blackacre: this is not a straight sequel, so if you come at it like one you'll probably be a bit disappointed. There's no sequel proper . . . not yet.

In 1957, Reginald Rose wrote a screenplay about a murder trial. It has since been adapted many times, and the story you're about to read draws from many of those adaptations. Twelve Angry Mares is, however, something entirely different, located in a different world, with different concerns. Though similar on the surface, you are about to read a very different story than the one with which you might be familiar.
And yet — there is a resonance here that goes beyond space and time, beyond one story or another. You are about to read a pony fanfic, but there's more here than just that. The basic elements of this story are ones that should be familiar to all, for this isn't a story about ponies. It's a story about me. About you. About the very heart of the notion of justice, of fairness, of what is right.
I greatly enjoyed telling this story, and sincerely hope you enjoy experiencing it.

Necromancy gets a bad rep.

Oh, sure, some ponies like the whole cliche of the evil zombie master, pulling his puppet strings to make corpses dance and kill for their amusement. And yeah, you kinda do have to work with dead bodies a lot, and most ponies find that a bit creepy. Oh, and you learn a lot of spells to kill things and gain power from it.

But, come on, that doesn't mean all necromancers are bad... right?

Feature on Equestria Daily

If you came to hear a story, I’m sorry to disappoint. I suspect this’ll just end up as one big confession, really. When you’re the first Teutscher to set hoof into Equestria, I suppose that’s to be expected. And when you’re the universe’s favorite chew toy, doubly so. Still, with enough wit, some Prussian ingenuity, a droll sense of humor, and wanton murder, I might just survive this. Then again, when you’re going up against an unending list of things like government conspiracies, that guardian angel who keeps telling you to kill ponies, psycho Equestrian girls with allophilia, a lunatic princess, the legions of the Inferno, the Equestrian culture itself, swashbuckling sword fights, and laissez-faire economists, you begin to realize why there’s a big “if” in the middle of your life.

Your thoughts/critiques/deathreats are welcome in the comments. Spoilers are also encouraged. If you don’t have anything to complain about, do please tell me what you liked so I know what worked.

Now on TV Tropes. Posted on the Equestria Daily 5/28/13. Now in ePub format for your convenience.

Mort, also known as the Pale Pony (of Death), has been tasked to take time off from his rigorous duties of reaping souls. Seeking guidance, he is directed towards the town of Ponyville, to learn about the magic of friendship from Twilight Sparkle and her friends. All he needs to do is keep his true nature a secret. That shouldn't be too difficult...right?

Special thanks to Specter-Von-Baren and Pyrite Foolsgold for their help in proofreading and editing this story, as I really needed it. Additional thanks to Pilate, Chuckle5, Unimpressive Vagaries and Admiral Biscuit as well! Couldn't have done it without all their help!

Credit for the title card goes to Siansaar, AKA Carnifex.

For another excellent take on Mort, check out Sip's version!

When the Cutie Mark Crusaders dig up an ancient magical artifact, they unleash a spell on the town that allows everypony to see a "lie meter" floating above each other's heads. While attempting to solve the mystery, Twilight Sparkle has to analyze the tenuous balance between friendship and honesty. She doesn't like what she finds.

Based on a story idea conceived by theworstwriter
Written and posted with his permission