A man, empty.
A mare, damaged.
A life, lived.
A life - loved.

Now with its own TV Tropes page!

A thousand years ago, Princess Celestia banished her sister to the moon, that much we know. What wasn’t known, and what Celestia kept secret was that before her banishment, Luna had given birth to a foal. Now a thousand years later, as Nightmare returns to Equestria to bring about Eternal Night.

Twilight Sparkle, protege of Princess Celestia, struggles against the tyranny of this ancient foe. But how will she be able to save herself and her friends when the truth of this ancient legend crashes down upon her? Twilight will have to confront herself...and her heritage.

Polaris501

If trust if a fragile thing, then life can shatter by the gentlest breeze. The Cutie Mark Crusaders had entered the school paper to become journalists, Instead they are forced to slander their friends and family. And now they they are shunned and exiled. Forced to wander the Everfree they start to question their worth, and they start to doubt if their lives ever had any meaning to begin with.

Elsewhere a meteorological anomaly freezes everything in it's path. And attracted to the hatred and grief caused by the Crusaders' gossip, a force unseen for a thousand years begins to resurface.

But this is not a gentle breeze. It is a storm of emotions, a storm of death and a storm of ice, and it is inevitable. For this is their path. A path of ice and snow, hatred and wrath, sin and punishment. The Path of Absolution.

If you proceed any further then you shall witness darkness and ice overtake Equestria as it plunges on the verge of a second ice age and the brink of despair. I hope you are aware that this story won't be bright or cheerful.

Thanks to Sereg, Pond/Posey, Mixolydian Grey, and plainoasis for proofreading and to Swirling Line for the cover art. And special thanks to the good folks on the TvTropes Pony Fanfiction and MLP Live Reactions threads.

This is not a rewrite of "The Path Of Absolution - Forgiveness"

Everyone knows how easily forgiving Twilight was in "A Canterlot Wedding" but what if she wasn't? Instead, Twilight becomes resentful and lashes out on how they've left her. Will she ever find a way to forgive them?

Now on TV TROPES! Bitterness

After all this long waiting...

I'M BACK!

I'll be posting a small teaser on what I've been working on, before midnight. Until then, I will be updating a new chapter later on in this New Year!

Special thanks to The Myth andCavenerd20 for editing some of my works.

PS: I am now asking for more editors as I've gotten complaints on how shitty my past/present tense uses are. Please PM me if you got Google Doc and ask Myth that I've gotten my ass to work.

It was 16 Years when Twilight Sparkle was exiled from Equestria before the Changeling invasion. Equestria fell not long after, and ponies from all over the devastated nation are searching for places of refuge from the swarms of parasites patrolling the sky. Twilight's friends have searched for years trying to find a safe haven for their families as well, and they have finally found a single location not tainted by the Changelings. The only problem; it was founded by Twilight herself.

As fate would have it, Twilight had to hatch a much bigger egg this time.

King Sombra came from an old age, a time where darkness and evil were prevalent across the land. The Princesse's power and influence were weaker in those days, for the land of Equestria was divided amongst many kingdoms of lesser Princesses and Princes. But out of all their ruling neighbors, The Four Shepherds held the most power of all, even threatening Celestia and Luna's kingdom. However, all of that changed when they vanished for a thousand years, ushering in a new era of peace and prosperity. Until that is, when the Crystal Kingdom reappeared, along with one of the Shepherds. King Sombra, however, was thankfully vanquished swiftly, but the following peace of his defeat would not last as long as anypony might think. A new force sets its eyes on the recently coronated Princess Twilight Sparkle, one that seeks to restore a lost heritage and remind the land of who is the true owner of the night. For when one evil is smitten, another appears in its place. And King Sombra was only the first in line.

Set before Season 4

Note: Dark tag is meant for Light Dark

Special thanks to my editor Ladrian for his diligent and superb work. I wish I had him when I first started this story because maybe then the early chapters would have been much better.

Special thanks to Stanku for revisions and prereading this story. It would be at a much worse state had it not been for his detailed opinions to each and every chapter, and letting me know where I can improve.

10/2/2014 : Woah... it's on the featured list... *cue squealing and fist pumping* THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!

Twilight has been having her study sessions with the Cutie Mark Crusaders for some time, and has been remarkably pleased with their progress. And kind of worried, as they keep getting better and better. She might be a princess now, but TEACHING THE CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS? She'd rather not become their formal mentor. Yet.

A letter is sent out, and Princess Celestia gets a call for help. And, an opportunity is born. After all, why not? After a thousand years, perhaps it is time to do something else, just for a bit. She does have a rather wonderful younger sister who hasn't been ruling a land for a thousand years, and who has been studying how to rule for the past four rather intensely. So, teaching three fillies undercover? Sounds like fun.

And Luna. She's wanted to be as respected as her sister so much that she once went mad over it. But now, she's simply being handed the power that she once coveted for so long and no longer wants. What kind of a world does she live in now that her highest desire has been so casually granted?

With all of this, What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

Arcs:

Escape: When Celestia hears the call, she jumps at the chance to teach again, especially three fillies who might surpass her grandest student. But first she's got to escape her own identity...
Examination: So you want to find out what a filly does? Time to test her silly, so long as you don't taunt the Happy-Fun Filly.
Excitement: So, you've found the Happy-Fun Filly. Great, but the other two need help as well, and Scootaloo has this ~Great!~ idea for how to use her new-found magic...
Encouragement: Cometh the Bubbles, and a whole load of new headaches as they find out just what being a Happy-Fun Filly really means...
Exaltation: Where's Luna been this whole time? She can't be very happy about being left in the lurch holding Equestria. She could really use somepony to talk to.
Exercise: 'Sunbeam' is looking to teach the Happy-Fun Filly more, but first she needs to start taking care of the wagon-tire she keeps around her middle so that certain Unfun-Time Fillies don't interrupt her. And there's this big draft stallion looking for help...

During an experiment with new magic. Princess Twilight Sparkle suddenly finds herself in a strange new world and in even stranger company.

Kai is your everyday guy. He wakes up, goes to work and then comes home again, a monotonous routine that is his everyday life. That is until a talking, purple horse appears in his apartment. Well… so much for monotonous routines.

The Princess has a secret or two though, perhaps a new friendship will help her forget some old ones?