The Exmoori: a mythic race of ancient warrior ponies who, according to legend, once ruled Equestria not by use of magic but by unspeakable technological creations. All legitimate archaeologists, of course, are aware of the fact that the Exmoor ponies are nothing more than a hoax or fairy tale.

Other entities, however, believe they were very much real.

A pair of mysterious albino Pegasi arrive at the ancestral home of Doctor Caballeron, bringing with them images of a carving in the ancient language of the Exmoori- -and promising him riches beyond his wildest dreams if he can bring them the artifact it mentions.

Simultaneously, a young and discredited academic arrives in Southern Equestria, bearing an ill-gotten fragment of the same text. He presents it to none other than Daring Do, who sets out to prove his theories true- -and to recover an artifact of profound and unknowable danger.

What began as a studious endeavor into the origins of tribal magic quickly becomes rife with bedraggled exhaustion as a strange message invades Twilight's dreams, forcing her research to take a drastic new course that leads her on an adventure all across Equestria. For every answer she finds, yet more mysteries arise. What is the source of the daunting dreams which plague her at every moment's rest? Will she see with eyes unclouded... or lose sight of what's truly important?

Written by PsychicKid
Edited by Ember Heartshine
Cover art by Prince-Lionel (http://Prince-Lionel.deviantart.com)
Cover text, insert music, & special thanks: Cadenza Heartsong (https://www.youtube.com/c/Heartsong)
Pre-reader chapter 31: Floral Spring

Links to my story's music can be found below. They are intended to be paired with certain chapters/sections of the story, and emphasize a specific location, so give them a listen for extra ambience! Their paired chapters are indicated by the link URL. All songs produced by Cadenza Heartsong.

Amethyst Hollow - Chapters 7-9

Peacegrove Village - Chapters 12-19

Cloudsbane - Chapters 25-27

Takes place after S7/The Movie, but before S8. Story was drafted when S8 was brand new, so it does not take anything from S8 and later into account.

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.

As the eternal regent of Equestria, Princess Celestia's knowledge of magic is without equal. Over her long life, only a few gifted ponies who had a great destiny before them have had the honor of learning at her side. Sunset Shimmer was one such pony: one of Celestia’s best and most promising students. As she learned at Celestia’s hooves, their bond strengthened until they became far more than student and teacher to one another.

Sometimes those closest to us are the ones who can hurt us the most.

[Note: This story does not directly tie into Equestria Girls]

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.

Strumming Heartstrings of the Equestrian Intelligence Services is on a mission. A mission from ... well, actually she just made one up for herself. Sure, she has her actual job of keeping an eye on Celestia's ex-student Sunset Shimmer, but that's not enough to occupy all her time. After all, Sunset seems to have gotten a bit better about not getting herself into too much trouble. Sometimes. Occasionally.

Thus, when Strumming encounters a mad zebra seemingly obsessed with getting revenge against the gryphons who injured him years ago, it seems like it might be an interesting diversion. Little does she know there's more to this case than meets the eye...

This story is a sequel to Good Trooper Gilda

Gilda has been a fugitive, a refugee, a prisoner of war, and a bat-hen to Equestria's fussiest unicorn. But it wasn't until she took 'the Princess's bit', that she began to know something about what it meant to be responsible for the welfare of others, even if the others in question happened to be the pack of imbeciles, blackguards, con-ponies, and bat-ponies who had been fool enough to answer her captain's call to the standard.

A crystalline standard which had not been seen in the living world for over a thousand years.

And although Captain Gleaming Shield and her motley band of raw recruits and shifty bat-ponies aimed to do nothing more exotic and dangerous than put a foreign princess on her proper throne, there are other things stirring in the shadows.

Like calls to like, and the revival of ancient battle-colors may lead to the revival of other, darker memories upon which the rays of Celestia's sun lay lightly and infrequently.

This story is a sequel to Freeport Venture: Blood and Iron

War rages throughout Equestria. The return of the Crystal Empire has seen years of strife and millions dead as Princess Celestia’s forces strain against Sombra's seemingly endless hordes.

However, the entry of Freeport’s forces turn the tide in Equestria’s favor. Archon Sunset Shimmer and her army smash into the fray, breaking the long, brutal siege of Manehattan and shifting the balance in Equestria’s favor. With Sombra's army falling back to his home territories, there's finally reason to hope again.

If only they knew something far, far worse than Sombra loomed on the horizon.

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

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.