It is three months after the Royal Wedding, and normalcy has returned to Equestria... for the most part. Pinkie is the same old Pinkie, Rainbow Dash is still addicted to the Wonderbolts, Rarity is still trying to learn Prench... but for Twilight, things are not the same. Ever since the Wedding, she's noticed an almost unnoticeable distance from her friends and from Celestia. This alone would be enough to bother her, but to make matters worse, she has been tormented by a dream that she cannot remember and physically cannot rest for fear of.

The tension is building, and something is bound to snap. If you've felt death and loneliness... what would you do to keep your loved ones from suffering the same fate?

Hello, this is your author speaking.
I know you're anxious to get to reading the story with the cryptic description would just like to point out a couple things before you get reading.

First of all, this is my first MLP fanfic, and it is set as an AU beginning just after the S2 finale, so I would appreciate constructive criticism. Not flaming or silent downvotes; give me criticism!
Secondly, it is important to understand that the AU tag seen above possesses two meanings. Not only is it an AU in the literal sense as it utilizes my own expansive worldcanon (dubbed Nidus) but in addition to that, it is an AU in that it does not accept the events of season three as canon. This is due to it chronologically beginning only 3 months after season two. The events of season three may appear, but they will likely be warped.
Lastly, I need to point out that I will probably be editing the tags and characters as this story goes. This being my first story, I'll need time to get a handle on the nuances of the submission system.
Thirdly, Please tell me if any of the fonts I use in the story go wrong. There are bound to be a few errors even with my prereading, so if you find them do say something.
Finally, I'd like to thank RoseyTail for her permission to use this marvelous image as my cover.

Thank you, and enjoy the story of Dark Horizons.

Twilight Sparkle is a gifted student and scholar. When she attempts to harness her creative side by writing a science-themed sensual romance novel, however, things rapidly get out of hoof. Can her friends stage an intervention before she humiliates herself (and them) at a prestigious literature recital?

No. No, they cannot.

When five foals asked Princess Twilight Sparkle to please try and paint the moon purple during Nightmare Night, she initially refused. It wasn't until they insisted (and Princess Luna quite basically dared her) that she relented. She only relented, however, because she really thought she wouldn't be able to do it.

Too bad she thought wrong.

A very silly story that started as a prompt that got way, way, way out of hand.

Twilight was doing the best she could to become a princess of which everypony could be proud. With only a few teensy little bouts of self-doubt, she was hitting the books like a pro, learning the ropes from the elder princesses, and easing into the job at a cautious, steady pace. Steady, that is, until a certain power-obsessed centaur threw all of her timetables and checklists into the air – along with most of her house.

So with T-wreck now back in the slammer, all she and Spike have to do is get used to living in a new house castle as well as cope with changed circumstances, responsibilities and expectations. Easy-peasy, right?

The events of this story happen in parallel to and intersect with events in Outland, although each story can be read independently.

This story is a sequel to All things evil

Everything had gone according to plan... Twilight was saved, Nightmare Moon was defeated and The Elements were victorious.

Or so they thought.

Following the recent incident, Nightmare Moon strikes again, intent on revenge. Putting her grand scheme into motion.

The pieces are set, but which side will checkmate the other? Read on to find out!

In order to make sense of this story, I highly recommend reading 'All things evil' prior to reading this. The reason being one of the characters (Lunar Eclipse). It gives a basic understanding of the character and the story is also a prequel to this.

Link to pic

Why it's on hiatus here

When the Princess gives Twilight an opportunity to compete in the
Arcane Arts Competition, Twilight is thrilled. But when doubt creeps
in, and preparation turns into obsession, will she push away her
friends too far in the pursuit of success?

A vengeful demon steals Starswirl the Bearded from his pleasant afterlife and shoves his spirit in a book.

Starswirl is secretly elated by this.

Not so much once he meets the pony he'll be staying with for the indefinite future.

Featured on 13/02/2015

Proofread by the wonderful God Of Physics and CryHavoc21.

Art courtesy of the awesome Lightspeed!

"If this foal can unlock his power without help, we should expect him to be more powerful than an average child, possibly more powerful than the average unicorn... he will be a danger to himself and to the city"

Each year the unicorns and nobles of Djeeneigh gather to expel those they believe are beggars, urchins and miscreants. Masters of the disciplines of magic, they know no pony can oppose them, but their protective spells are not as strong as they once thought.

The characters in this story are protected by OCRA

Twilight knows the princesses have seen more than their fair share of unpleasantness. She and her friends have, too. But after a terrifying experience during a trip to the Griffon Kingdom, Twilight fears what else she may see in the line of duty and begins to wonder what it really means to be a princess of Equestria.

What if two mares of great magic had been born in each other's towns?
Twilight Sparkle in Hoofington, and The Great and Powerful Trixie in Canterlot?
Would that change their destiny?

Brought up in the rich and high-class city of Canterlot, Trixie had all life could offer. When her magic began to blossom, her parents did everything they could to make sure she got into Celestia's Private School for Gifted Unicorns. Out of sheer pride, Trixie knew she had to pass that entrance exam and make her parents proud.
Unlike the test of the Dragon Egg that is posed to students who have already been accepted into the school, the test posed to Trixie was to lift a Phoenix feather a foot into the air. This test is actually much more difficult than it sounds, as it requires perfect control and power to lift such a magical item.
After struggling with the feather for almost an hour, Trixie was about to give up when a crashing boom ricocheted across the sky, and startled her into awaking power she didn't know she had, causing her to not only lift the feather far into the air, but also imbue it with life and create a newborn phoenix. As the instructors dived for cover from the brilliant blue flames that were beginning to surge, a red phoenix could be seen winging off towards the Solar Tower.
Before any lasting damage could be done, Celestia arrives to calm the awoken magic, and take the young filly under her wing as her personal student.

So it seems that destiny has indeed changed... But will the change of two fillies' paths change the path of a black Alicorn's as well?