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.

Princess Celestia conceals it well, in appearance and poise, but she is an old mare. A thousand years is a long time to dwell, and her's have been filled with laughter and tears, love and loss, achievement and regret.

With a fresh open book and quill, Twilight Sparkle endeavors to capture in some semblance the journey that Celestia, Queen of Equestria and Warden of the Sun, has trekked in her centuries.

But before Nightmare Moon, before Discord, and before the Crown; in the age when Equestria was little more than a patchwork of jealous princes vying for supremacy, there was a white pony.

Tall, strong, and mysterious, she'd creep from the wilds and realize a destiny forged in elder days. A terrible evil stirs after millennia of dormancy. Equestria needs a hero, and the Wanderer of the North will answer the call.

An epic work retelling the life of Celestia, expanding on the mythology created in De Surgente Cadenteque Alicornuum, but it's not necessary to have read it beforehand.

Cover image by my good friend Private Dangle.

Also with a TVTropes page here!

==== Originally Written: Fall 2011 ==== EDQ Link ====
After a party to welcome the season of Nightmare Night, the library becomes the target of strange activity. Minor annoyances prelude greater events, and soon Twilight and Spike each take action to handle the situation in their own way. All the while, questions hang in the air. What lingers amongst the shelves? What watches from the corners? What stands just behind you only to disappear when you turn to look?

What is in the library, and what does it want?