Ponyville is filled with strange citizens. Enigmas such as the mildly psychotic Lyra, drama queens Roseluck, Daisy, and Lily, as well as Pinkie Pie, the reality-defying party pony are all welcome in the quaint little town.

But there is one new arrival that stands out among the rest, an individual with a tale so horrifying as to shake this blissful village to its core.

Is it possible to heal any wound? To regain something lost that may never have been there in the first place? Does there exist any hope for a soul that has been so thoroughly broken and betrayed by the world?

In the bright and happy land of Equestria, is it possible to bring such a victim back from the brink?

This is a story that's been on my mind for a while, so I figured I'd finally mollify my creative muse's demands and get it out. One of my very favorite things to read about^__indeed, perhaps my most favorite subject^__is those who so desperately need it getting the help and therapy they need. I like to think that in Equestria, where the common citizen is so much friendlier than us humans, such help is likewise more plentiful.

I know that there are some individuals here on earth that are past the point of complete recovery, indeed, past the point that we have tools to help them. But I sincerely doubt that Equestria is bound by the same rules, and thus I've been wondering if there's any individual that's beyond help.

Strap on in folks, this one's gonna be rough.

New cover art by the fantastic Flygon! My gratitude knows no bounds!

(P.S. Just to clarify: The title is Libero as in the Latin word for 'liberate', not the volleyball term.)

(P.P.S. For those understandably put off by the...well...strangeness of the writing in early chapters, it gets better later on.)

This story is a sequel to Changing Expectations

When ages are segmented and divided in the annals of history, it is done so with great events as breakpoints. The Second Age of Heroes was unanimously declared to have started with the return of Princess Luna and the changeling Invasion of Canterlot.

For thousands of years, the changelings survived beneath The Great Tapestry, that which connects all living and nonliving things. Hundreds of generations worked endlessly to keep their existence a secret. With one command from Queen Chrysalis, the Masquerade was broken.

In a single night, the changelings waged war against Equestria and took the Kingdom by storm. Months later, the war between changelings and ponies has ended. A new tapestry, a new story, must be woven between the two species. Equestria and the Fifth Hive have gone through a dark chapter and have emerged stronger for it.

One war ends and another begins.

As The Sword of Damocles hangs above the heads of the formerly-human King Phasma and his Equestrian counterparts, the forces of light must work on an ever-shortening window before war once again brings Hell to Equus. Dark powers grow in the places that the light does not reach, and they bring one irrefutable truth.

Epitaph is coming.

Cover art by Nixworld.

Special thanks to my pre-readers!

Anonymous finds himself in Equestria, ready to attend Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. He didn’t quite study for the entrance exam, but using the Magic of Friendship™ has never steered anypony wrong before!

Unfortunately, he’s using that kind of magic almost a decade too early. Whoops. Worse, admission was only open to young fillies and colts. Guess which one Anon is stuck as.

In Manehattan there is a strange ape-like creature that is being held in a lab. Its injuries bear the distinctive marks of illegal sport hunting by exotic game poachers.

What's strange is that there's an entire section in books on natural life about this creature designating its kind maned apes. What's even stranger is that there are accounts throughout Equestria's history about maned apes turning up.

The maned ape, given the moniker Big Red by the scientists holding it, is given over to the crown and transferred to Ponyville for safe keeping. The Mane 6 comb through Equestria's historical texts and oral account to try and find where the maned apes come from.

This is an HiE story that starts in Season 1 shortly after Apple Buck Season.

EDIT: 6-8-2022 Featured! Woo-hoo!
18-202023 Featured! Woo-hoo!

This story is a sequel to Djinn Of The Everfree

The life of Damian Price has been complete and utter hell ever since he appeared in Equestria a month after the banishment of Nightmare Moon. Not only was he forced to take on the mantle of a Djinn, a nigh omnipotent being from Saddle Arabian myth who is bound to grant wishes, but he can't even grant the wishes as intended. Instead, he is forced by the curse he is under to twist the wishes so something is taken from the one making the wish.

For one thousand years, he has been trapped in the Castle of the Two Sisters, his curse forcing him to stay sane enough to cast spells. He lives in a bubble of frozen time, unable to see the changing of the seasons, unable to hear the wind blowing against his skin, and unable to interact with anyone unless they want to make a wish.

Then he met Celestia.

The conversation was brief, but it was one of the closest things he'd had to a proper conversation with another sapient being. He'd enjoyed it, but warned her to leave without making a wish or risk the destruction of the world from the consequences of the wish she'd had that subconsciously drew her into his prison.

A year has passed since that day, and Nightmare Moon's return is imminent. Celestia's plans for her faithful student have been altered ever since the day she learned that the Elements might be the key to breaking him out of his prison. As the time for the one thousandth Summer Sun Celebration approaches, Celestia plans for the hopeful, if temporary, release of the tortured soul she met one year ago...

...And inside his perpetual prison of night, Damian Price is none the wiser as forces from without of Equestria move to find him for their own personal agendas...

The idea for this came initially from yakopak, but I have since expanded upon the world. Rated T for the time being, but it might change to M in the future with the development of the story.

Also, if you're reading this and confused by the new names of places, I edited my first story to reflect these changes. I was using a fanmade map as a reference, but even though they said it was okay to use it as long as credit was given, I decided to make my own world instead.

This story won't be updated as much as my main story, A Cloaked Heart.

Anonymous, asshole extraordinaire and a rotten egg by all accounts, has fallen on good times after being made a commander of the Storm King's vast armies. With the King's forces and equipment at his fingers, he's found great success conquering nations, sowing chaos, and kicking the asses of all walks of life. All while having a rip-roaring great time doing it.
But the day of the Storm King's biggest conquest to date - the nation of Equestria - looms just around the corner. All that's left now is the final few preparations for the invasion: loose ends to tie up, new weapons to seize, and even some co-commanders to annoy to no end. And once those are complete, Anon will be the first in line to take Equestria as his next conquest.
God help us all.

This isn't the first horse story I've written, but it is the first one that is prose instead of greentext. And I'm still a bit rusty on top of all that. Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated!

My captor was kind, to a point. They provided me with a comfortable private suite, three meals a day, and tried to accommodate any of my needs within reason. It was a far cry from being locked away in a dingy dungeon or straight up killed, but I still was a bit wary about the true intentions of this alicorn. 

A gilded cage, however, is still a cage.

Edited by UnamusedWaffle. and INeedSleep

Thanks to Snuffy for proofreading chapter 9 part 1

Credit to Neither for the amazing cover art!

Discord gets Rainbow a gift. Rainbow wishes he wouldn't.

Written for Roundabout Recluse for Jinglemas 2021

The holidays are meant to be a time of holly jolly fun, spending time with friends and family, and celebrating the magic of friendship. You usually couldn't pay most ponies to take a work shift on Hearth's Warming. Redheart, of course, loves the Hearth's Warming shift. It's her favorite time of year, and she can spend it with the only friends and family she has: her patients.

But this particular Hearth's Warming might be different.

Written for NeirdaE for Jinglemas 2021

How many times must I be called monster, beast, or foul chimera?
How many times must they hunt me down?
What did I do?
What do they see?
...
Am I a monster?
...
Do they want a monster?

Featured 12/23/2021 first time I got a story featured :)
edited by:
DarthBall - Fimfiction
UnamusedWaffle - Fimfiction
prereader - 0fficerZ0mbie#0569

image source
Zlayd-oodles: https://www.deviantart.com/zlayd-oodles