Daring Do has never turned away from a challenge. But when she finds herself trapped beneath an ancient temple with a haunted artifact, she may end up wishing she'd stayed home instead.

First place story in the Equestria Daily 2013 Nightmare Night Contest!

Prophecy is a dangerous game; meanings which are obvious can become obscure in an instant, and fates are laid bare only in hindsight.

After the fall of Discord but before the rise of Nightmare Moon, a dragon breaks the peace between its race and ponykind, and Princess Luna flies to mete out justice.

Editing courtesy of the speedy, thorough, and unfailingly helpful Pascoite, whose assistance has proved invaluable once again.

Cover image by the astonishingly talented GenjiLim, used with permission.

Now in (breathtakingly excellent) audiobook form, courtesy of Illya Leonov and co.!

Now available in Spanish, courtesy of SPANIARD KIWI.

[Complete! With TVTropes apparently!]
Also, apparently, an animated trailer.

In a world of brass and steam, Twilight Sparkle had thought she had made a life-changing discovery with the invention of the telescope. For better or worse, she was correct.

Now her discovery has not only changed her life, but the lives of those she seeks out in her desperate attempt to contact the only other creature as lonely as Twilight herself.

It all would have been much simpler, but it had to be the one Twilight could only call The Mare on the Moon.

Decidedly not within walking distance, then.

[Featured on EQD before story was meant to be submitted. 4/03/2015]

[Editing team: Southpaw, Wolfvenom, Maskedferret, SwanSong and BluePaladin42, without whom this story would be a fraction of its current state.]
[Special thanks to Novel-Idea for the updated cover]

Darrilon has proudly served Princess Celestia for many years, and risen to the rank of Captain of the elite squad known as the Solarian Patrol. But every day is a new challenge when your superior officer (and divine ruler) has no respect for protocol or procedure.

Twilight Sparkle is a happy pony. With the help of her friends she defeated Tirek. She has a shiny new castle, the kingdom is safe, and she knows the reason behind her ascension. What more could a young princess want?

She is happy, she tells herself as she digs through the ruins of her home. She is so happy she can barely smell the ashes any more.

But in those ashes she finds something unexpected: a small porcelain vase, and with it a decade's worth of unspoken questions. A mystery hiding beneath her hooves, waiting to be put to rest.

Winner of the November Writeoff event.

A recurring nightmare convinces Luna that, since her return, she has never regained her sister's complete trust. And at the forthcoming Festival of the Eclipse, she decides to make amends with a bold gesture.

But Luna's solution causes consequences she never anticipated. Consequences the whole world will feel. Now, Celestia and Luna must set forth on an adventure that will take them even into Tartarus itself, and set everything right before it's too late.

And if they're lucky, they'll rediscover the trust they once had a thousand years ago.

Buried beneath the Dragon Lands, there is a city. It rots, and it bleeds.

And it breathes.

A writing exercise inspired by the magnificent Lost Cities, written by Cold in Gardez.

Enormous thanks to Undome Tinwe, without whom this story would probably not exist.

Audiobook by Illya Leonov!

Audiobook by Jman14102!

In the dark forests of Tramplevania dwells a coven of vampires, led by a deadly draconequus named Discord. For many years, his only interests have been in his own survival, until he stumbles upon a beautiful mare with a heart pure enough to care for a monster like him.

Music to listen to.

Cover Art by IduChan

Alternate Cover Art

More fanart by Whiteheart7
CandySweets90240
autumnruby18

AJ Pony's review

Everypony has a story. Some tell of heroic feats and grand adventure. Others tell of villainy against the forces of Harmony. The story of an average guard, however, is one of obscurity. They live in the background, unnoticed but ever-present.

Silent Knight assumed his tale would be like that of his father's: join the Royal Guard and serve Equestria. He would be just another helmet and spear, part of the rank and file. And that was all he ever wanted.

However, when Captain Shining Armor asked for volunteers to form a House Guard for the recently returned Princess Luna, it was Silent's hooves that stepped forwards to set his new life in motion.

Finalist and judge's top choice in Equestria Daily's 2012 Nightmare Night contest.

Fluttershy has been plagued by nightmares, and Twilight wants to help her get rid of them. But when the bookish mare begins to pry into the depths of Fluttershy's unraveling psyche, she finds more questions than answers. What do her dreams mean? Why won't they stop haunting her? And why does the creature she keeps seeing inside them seem like more than just a simple night terror?