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.

The pony that came back after 1000 years of exile to the moon was not the pony that Celestia expected. Instead of the menacing figure of Nightmare Moon what she instead got was a madly cackling alicorn rolling in a grassy field occasionally taking a break to stroke the lush green plants as if they were the most fascinating thing in the world.

While this was certainly better than the alternative Celestia was a bit miffed that her sister had not even acknowledged her presence before going to play in the grass. How could grass be more interesting than her?

Nightmare Moon has spent years of accumulating enough magic for herself to materialize after her defeat by the Element Bearers. She is separate from Luna. Her own being. She does not want eternal night anymore, having realized it would doom Equestria.
She can only think of the Sun. Of how dear is the Sun for her actually. She wouldn't take it from the skies... Everything needs her.
Even dark creatures as herself.

Cover from 90sigma's DeviantART

EDIT: Wow. Featured. I didn't expect that. You guys are wonderful. There will DEFINITELY be a sequel to this now.

Nightmare Moon returns and is hit once again with the Elements of Harmony rendering her a mischievous little filly.
Much to Nightmare Moon’s annoyance, Anon thinks she's cute as all hell and is the only one willing to put up with her antics and evil, so Celestia tasks him with reforming the bundle of misery and mischief.

Cover Image is by EvetsSteve, may he rest in peace.
Chapters 1-21 were converted into prose from my greentext stories with the help of Nav/WhatMustIDo

When your life is as dull a gray as the world that surrounds you, the mundanities can make it all seem meaningless. Sometimes all we need is a little color -- or six -- to reintroduce us to what truly makes life worth living.

*6-16-2017 Edit, added Rainbow Dash tag because it triggered knighty.*

Equestria is still picking up the pieces after the defeat of Tirek, and everypony is helping out with the paperwork, even Rainbow Dash. Things change when Princess Celestia arrives, bringing with her a letter with some very stunning accusations of the exploits of a resident in the town of Oasis. Now, the main six are tasked with finding out if the letter was truth or fiction. Did this Mister Baker really do what they claim? Only one way to find out.

However, Mister Baker is not who, or what they expected.

Rated Teen for occasional language. Additional tags added for more dark themes.

Proof read and edited by the amazing SunnyPack , Snakeskin Ducktape, and Tyrannosaurus Tux.

Twilight lives a comfortable, expected life with the security of being surrounded by her mentors and friends. As she grows into a model unicorn, a dangerous being takes hold of the volatile Brood and drives them to war, breaking a long period of peace. After years of preparation for a higher order, Twilight is chosen to ascend beyond that of a typical sorcerer in a mysterious plan to counter the impending conflict.

During her dark, trying mission Twilight will discover a caged soul and unknowingly set them free, gradually acquiring an affinity for the darkness as a result. As she struggles within deepening conflict, she must push on and fight for what she believes in. With manipulation, deceit, and betrayal storming around, will she be able to contain herself and protect those she loves, or will she succumb to the creeping darkness and abandon everything she stands for?

*Warning: Comments may contain spoilers.*

Princess Luna has been through a tough life. A thousand years ago she could not control her jealousy, envy and rage and became the infamous Nightmare Moon. Then, she spent a thousand years on the moon, only to return, still as Nightmare Moon.

However, despite everything she has been through, her return to Equestria was warmly celebrated. Princess Luna is a pony that everypony loves, and she is completely forgiven for everything that's happened.

So, when Princess Luna is suddenly and unexpectedly killed, the entire nation of Equestria is thrown into grief and despair. Ponies everywhere find themselves unable to deal with the tragedy.

But the worst hit is Princess Celestia herself...

When Twilight returns Cerberus to Tartarus, the last thing she expects to find and happen is to meet the ruler of the realm herself.

Even less so when that pony, Penumbra, turns out to be an alicorn. As she spends more time with the mysterious mare, Twilight finds herself drawn to her.

Unable and unwilling to leave Penumbra alone, Twilight strikes a deal with her to allow her to leave Tartarus. A deal that will change both of their lives.

Here I am, thrown in as a changling Queen far before the Canterlot invasion, watch as I- A: make my whole race terrified of me B: overthrow a changeling god! C: die, a lot. D: all of the above.

What do you think?

.....wait a minute.

(Open for new cover art)