Was it a magical spell gone awry? An angry god laying waste upon a world that had forgotten him? A long and bloody war? An incurable disease?

Fluttershy couldn't remember what it was that had turned the world to this. All she knew was that she had to survive.

It shouldn't have been a big deal. Celestia was kidnapped or knocked out or just generally made to seem powerless by whatever idiot with ill intent decided to show up on a nearly weekly basis. As the mighty and immortal Sun Princess, she could escape at any time, but she was happy to play these little games. The daring rescues and bloodless battles gave her ponies such a sense of confidence and purpose!
But this one didn't go as planned. One small, stupid mistake got her thrown to the twisted reaches of the world-prison, Tartarus. Now alone, unarmed, and barely more than mortal, Celestia wakes in a living landscape where everything has every reason to hate her.
And, far worse, she has accidentally picked up a passenger.

Sidenote: This a repost (I tried to go through official channels, I promise!) of a story I wrote long, long ago on an account I foolishly deleted. Back in those days, Tartarus hadn't shown up in an actual episode yet. It's not exactly an alternate universe situation, but it has nothing to do with the canon portrayal of the place.

Super amazing cover art by Cold In Gardez.

She was tired of being a joke. Tired of being a failure.

Experimental neurosurgery seemed like the best option.

Now, for the first time, she can see the world as it truly is.

This story is a sequel to Pray, Hope and Wander

Case Report: Update - May 2nd
Submitted by: Verdant Vines
Location: Ponyville
Date: May 2nd
Case: Ponyville Mass Disappearance (#3467)
Classification: Top Secret

White Clover,

Given the new writings included in the addendum to the provided journal transcription, I’ve elected to continue our investigation through conversing with whoever, or whatever, is on the other side of it. They claim to be Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia's personal student. I’d like to request that Princess Celestia is not informed of this possibility until we can verify their identity.

As such, from this day forward I will be sending daily reports before sundown with transcription of our conversations, along with any thoughts I have. Included with these documents is a formal request of personnel transfer for Doctor Blue Sky to my team in order to assist with any psychological evaluations related to the writer of the journal. His team will continue to support evaluations of personnel working the case.

Special thanks to FloydienSlip, Petrichord, and KorenCZ11 for their help with feedback.

A print version of all the stories in this series can be found here. (There is currently a printing error I am working to correct. This will be available again soon.)

Shortly into starting her well-earned retirement, Celestia begins to develop unusual symptoms. Twilight, Starlight, and Trixie investigate, only to find that the Princess is dying.

And it is not the first time.

During the height of Equestria's war with a vicious, relentless enemy, two reservists are sent to the northeast coast with one mission: Keep watch over the sea. Isolated on the foggy, rocky edge of the continent, the two find themselves brought together by more than just circumstance.

Collaboration with Gay For Gadot Based off a prompt from Bean's Writing Group Discord server, "The Fog".

Thanks to the illustrious Bean for the coverart and crucial feedback.

When Celestia went on sabbatical into the west, she promised Twilight it would be only a couple of months. A year and a half later, the sun resists control, the country is in ruins, and her teacher is lost in the wilds. Twilight has become the apostate, her faith in her teacher and her teachings waning. In the wake of tragedy, her resentment blossoms into fury and she vows that something must be done. Shadows gather around Canterlot, and old things that should not have been awakened are on the move. The Student goes west, her hope restored by friendship and righteous fury.

The night, at long last, is passing.

This is the moment that she has been waiting years for.

After all this time, Equestria's new ruler pays a visit to her most valuable prisoner to fully map out her failure. Years of deception, manipulation, and betrayals have led to this one moment, and she intends to savor every look that crosses the Princess of Friendship's face.

And after, when the alicorn truly understands how perfectly she was played, there will still be one final bit of business that needs to be settled...

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My first new story since October 2017, and Day One of the Seventh Anniversary Story Bomb.

Calligraphy, a unicorn scholar, is informed of a strange book in an ancient language. He and his colleagues embark on a quest to discover its secrets... secrets that are buried perplexingly deep.

Expanded from my finalist entry for the 5th Quills and Sofas Speedwriting Contest, for the prompt "We Tried".

Special thanks to Petrichord, FloydienSlip, Syke Jr and Lofty Withers for giving it a good look and some proofreading/suggestions on the first draft.

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.