This story is a sequel to It's a Dangerous Business, Going Out Your Door

The great adventure achieved its goal. Twilight Sparkle was cured of her deadly horn rot, her friends came back safely, and everything can go back to normal.

Except, of course, that such an upheaval is never truly forgettable. It leaves its mark on all who take part in it, touching and changing them in ways they may not, at the time, completely understand. Like the pressure in the earth that turns coal into diamonds, the stresses of disaster--or its near aversion--alter the natures of ponies, and alter the relationships between them. Twilight Sparkle, on a seemingly ordinary day, is about to learn that first hand.
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This story has been floating around since shortly after Dangerous Business' completion. At the time, I envisioned it as the first in what would be a whole cycle of stories, building up to a monumental, multi-story tale very similar to what eventually became Besides the Will of Evil. It's not quite 'canon' to BTWOE--for one thing, Twilight and Spike's relationship here isn't what it is in there, since the later clarifications by the showrunners were taken into account with the later story. However, I like to think that the spirit of this story still informs the later, larger story. Astute readers will also see a clarification of something that was only hinted at in BTWOE. I hope old readers enjoy their fond memories, and that new readers enjoy what has long been a fan favorite.

In some other version of reality, in a future some unnumbered days away, the Glorious Equestrian Empire stands astride the planet like a colossus. It gobbles up territory without remorse or restraint, and grows ever closer to global domination. In antiseptic meeting rooms, native species are absorbed and subjugated in cold blood. But what is troubling the Empire's magnificent ruler?

Off the south and eastern shores of old Manehattan, there is an island where the sun never rises. An island where a sickly bluish light suffuses all the darkened air, where trance music rocks and pulses through the grandly sculpted cities like the pumping of the blood. An island to which Equestria is rapidly losing population, as well as influence.

What is this place, this land of Nocturne? And who- or what- is its mysterious ruler?

This story is a sequel to It's a Dangerous Business, Going Out Your Door

EDIT: 6,000 unique views! Thank you so much to everyone who has read and enjoyed this story.

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An ancient evil has awakened. No, really, it has. From the depths of time, a black, noxious threat has risen up after millennia of imprisonment. It washes like oil over Equestria, swallowing up towns and uncovering terrible secrets long buried. Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rarity are prepared to combat this great darkness. However, to do so, they must uncover the truths about the Elements of Harmony, and the truths about the ancient forerunners of Equestrian culture. What they find will challenge their conceptions of their own places in history and ponydom's place in the world. The six Bearers of the Elements must draw upon their friendship and the strength of their hearts to stand firm against the darkness. If they fail, it will mean the end of everything.

UPDATE: 8,000 unique views! Wow! I'm incredibly flattered!

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Plowpony's Day- a day of peaceful rest and relaxation. Or it was, until Twilight Sparkle badly mangled a teleportation spell. It has left her with a bad case of Horn Rot, a disease that if untreated could prove fatal. What's more, the malady is advancing faster than the slow-brewing potion that cures it!

There is one swifter cure: the Beneviolet, a star-shaped flower that grows in the distant Archback Mountains, far beyond the western borders of Equestria. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity choose to undertake the long journey for the sake of their friend. Their path will wind through floes of ice, across gold-tinted plains, into distant forests glimmering with magic. They will learn much about the world beyond their homeland- and much about themselves, as well.

Yes, it's "Dangerous Business," here on FIMFiction. A huge debt is owed to all those who have supported me over the years. I've edited the story some to remove extraneous bolding and italics, but other than that, it remains unchanged. I hope new readers enjoy it as much as old ones did.

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