North of Canterlot, in the far marches of Equestria near the border with the Griffon tribes, there is a mountain that flies.

West of Canterlot, beyond the Galloping Mountains and a desert painted in the pastel hues of a faded rainbow, a tower sits at the edge of the world.

South of Canterlot, past the Everfree forest and the desolate badlands, a city of gardens waits to be born.

The Lost Cities Challenge! Awesome authors who have taken it upon themselves to explore other abandoned places:

- The Land of Glass and Stone, by RazgrizS57
- The City that Breathes, by Pearple Prose
- Aletheia, by Foehn
- Far Kobresia, by Baal Bunny
- Keskiyönnon, by Bradel
- Unknown Architecture, by Not_A_Hat
- The Gentle People, by Bad Horse
- The Seal of Wax and Glass, by DuncanR

Dramatic Reading by Illya Leonov: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4.

Royal Canterlot Library interview for Lost Cities.

"Hello, hello, hello, this is Thorny Bends coming at you live on Radio Free Canterlot, and from where I'm sitting, folks, the Land of the Eternal Moon is looking lovely. Well, except for that nasty smog cloud rolling toward us from the coast, but hey, that's the price of progress. Still, if you're heading outside you might want to think about an Easy Breezy-brand respirator, guaranteed to make the air taste like new. Buy yours from all major retailers today!

"As I'm sure you all know, it's been almost a thousand years since the founding of our great civilization. And as the big day approaches, I sure hope the High Castle set their clocks right. I'd hate to find out it was really last Thursday. Ha! But seriously, folks. I've been doing a fair bit of thinking about our fair Canterlot, and I've realized it isn't just somewhere we all live. It's what we build together into something greater as we all reach for the moon. A symbol for a way of life and a state of mind. So, in honor of the thousand years, I'm taking an eye in the sky peek into the lives of the ponies on the streets, and a few in the penthouses too. I don't often do real news on this show, but these are some genuine equine interest stories, folks. In their own small, unique way, these ponies are as vital to the city as the princess of the night herself. So settle down, get comfortable, and don't touch that dial.

"You won't want to miss this, I guarantee."

This story is a sequel to Fecundity

Mount Everhoof. Tallest peak in the world, jutting up to stab the sky like a tall, cruel fang. The mountain’s western slope has held a secret since before the three tribes were founded, but few who seek it ever return. Those that do always speak of a foul magic that attacks the mind—horrors brought to life, paranoia unending, and a blind, murderous rage that sets even family against each other.

In olden times, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna heeded their elders and forbade access to the western slope. That forbiddance continued after the rise of Nightmare Moon, for Celestia realized even alicorns can go mad. The last ones allowed passage were a team of ponies sent by Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor two years ago, and of the seven that set out… only one came back.

But the mystery may be on the verge of being solved. The defeat of Tirek has awakened a new power in the Elements of Harmony, one that can resist Mount Everhoof’s empathic magics. With the aid of Maud Pie’s expertise in geomancy, Twilight Sparkle and her friends now venture up Mount Everhoof in search of an artifact belonging to the late King Sombra. They’ve yet to learn what connections the Mad King had with the mountain, but they know they must locate the cursed artifact and destroy it…

...before it can cause any more harm.

Picture by Silfoe.

This story is a sequel to The Virgin Princess

"I won't forgive you," Flurry Heart said, moments before she turned Cheval to stone. She didn't think about what she would do with Cheval after.

Years later, Cheval has come back to life, and Flurry must decide if she meant what she said.

The last story in the Third Wheel series. Thanks for sticking with me everyone. It's been a great ride.

This story is a sequel to A Foreign Education

Twilight was sixteen when she became an alicorn. She hasn't aged a day since. Some ponies ask her what it's like, not being able to grow up.

Twilight can't really say. She's never known anything else.

During an attack on Ponyville in the middle of the Summer Sun Festival, Princess Twilight Sparkle evacuates the town by teleporting the entire population to safety in Manehattan. It turns out that her idea of safety needs some work. As well as her aim. And spelling.

Meanwhile, on a hot summer day outside of Manhattan, Kansas, Jonagold Bruener had a fairly successful life with few complications. Until while out mowing hay, he had a very strange visitor fall from the sky. And then another. And another. And another....

Editors: Tek, TheMaskedFerret, Peter, BluePaladin42, Edward Becerra

Picture credit: Manhattan Water Tower

The Griffon Kingdom was once a prosperous and happy country, but in the past century it has fallen into ruin. It now sits as an empty husk of what it once was, leaving the griffons living there to scrounge for whatever they can find to survive. There is no government, no leaders, and for many griffons, no hope.

Princess Celestia has done all she can to try and aid it and the griffons living there, but there is only so much she can do without causing an international incident. Now her hoof has been forced. A changeling queen is building a hive deep inside the kingdom, and once fully established it will be a threat to ponies and griffons alike.

Gilda doesn't care about any of that. She's far more interested in finishing her new bakery. It hasn't been easy, she had to persuade a number of griffons to come together to build it, but she had gotten it done. Now, with the help of her two employees (who she might go as far to even call friends) she's almost ready to open for business.

Unfortunately, Gilda's hard work is about to put her front and center in Celestia's plan to save the Griffon Kingdom. A task which comes with a whole host of problems, as well as a crown.

Editing by m1ntf4n

Custom cover artwork by silfoe

It had been hard enough, being one of the first. With the walls dropped, leaving her nation, her herd, traveling to Japan and trying to exist among so many strangers... every day had been a challenge. But she'd tried. Day by day, hoofstep by hoofstep, she'd felt she was finding her place in the human world.

But now there are no humans. No other demis or liminals. Nothing to anchor her. She exists among tiny horses and the scent of their fear, or at least what little of it drifts into her cell.

For nopony can look at a centaur and see anything but a monster.

(Now with author Patreon and Ko-Fi pages -- and the TVTropes page just went live.)

Cover art by Harwick. Please contact him for commission rates & prints.

Trigger warning: character interpretation.

Why do ponies dream? Why do we all seem to dream the same dreams?

What if we started to dream new things?

Discord said he wanted to make our dreams more interesting. Add some spice to our boring nocturnal lives. Nothing dangerous – just a bit of excitement to talk about in the mornings.

"Stop worrying so much, Twilight Sparkle," he said. "After all, dreams never hurt anypony."

How I wish he’d been right.

Gold Medalist in the Under the Sun Writeoff Event.

Now with Russian translation, courtesy of Cloud Ring! https://darkpony.space/the-archetypist-1/

This story is a sequel to Courtesans

Princess Cadence adopted a changeling, and now little Cheval is Flurry Heart's younger sister. As old enemies resurface, their sisterly love may be all that can save the Crystal Empire.