Somehow, I've always known.

Cover artwork courtesy of Cloud-Drawings on DeviantArt.

My entry for the Dialogue-Only Contest!

Celestia travels to a far corner of her kingdom to investigate a rumor about a colt with strange, illicit cutie marks. She meets Radish Root, a boy whose marks make him an anomaly in the fabric of Equestria, a mystery to himself, and an outcast among society.
When Radish joins the Royal Guard just prior to the return of Nightmare Moon, he finds his life being complicated by all the changes coming to Equestria. His marks will lead him into adventure, intrigue, and trouble... but will they ever lead him to answers?

Proofreader: Slavenger Karl
Cover Art Gallery
Table of original characters
A reader is translating this story into Spanish. Check it out here.

Opaline had stolen the cutie marks from half of Equestria and was rapidly conquering the rest. Even the fake alicorn Sunny Starscout and her minions were faltering before her. One more push would bring Opaline to her final victory.

Then she surrendered.

And even Opaline doesn’t know why.

This story was commissioned by Caladis

Despite her lineage and ongoing best efforts, Flurry Heart has always struggled to make a romantic connection. When left to her own devices, she tends to over share and overwhelm prospective stallions with her desperation and foal-like quirkiness. Unable to find a true special somepony or take the Crystal Empire throne without getting married, her life as a princess is beginning to look bleak. But her hope is rekindled when she meets Equestria's only resident human who seems to share many of her bizarre proclivities.

Flurry Heart, now going by Midnight Winter, is a brooding mare in the midst of her teenage years. Her parents don't understand her, and that's all that matters in her world.

Serious Version

Written for the Shining Armor is a Terrible Dad 2024 Competition.

For the Sixth Annual Equestria at War Writing Contest...
and an Express Ticket to Horse Hell.

The year is 1023.

The world burns. Harmony has been forgotten in the fires of war. Guns, tanks, planes... technology outpaces magic and cruelties hitherto unknown are daily occurrences. One of them is Chiropterra, the last remnant of Nightmare Moon's rebellion. A thousand years ago, her loyalists fled across the sea to Zebrica, and their offspring have built a millennia-long legacy on fear and suffering. The beleaguered Hippogriffs of Aris have been pushed back to their home islands, as they were decades ago under the Storm King.

But no longer. Equestria and the Crystal Empire have withstood the invasion of Queen Chrysalis at great cost. They have rebuilt, and now the Princesses turn their eyes to their last mistake. Across the ocean, the Griffonian Empire, reforged and reformed, sees an opportunity to thaw relations between three species.

The greatest expeditionary force ever assembled, bearing weaponry never used before in war, descends upon north Zebrica to end the long night of terror. Two of the leaders find themselves at one of the first landings: Flurry Heart, the Crystal Princess and heir apparent to the Crystalline Throne, and Grover VI, the constitutional Kaiser of the Griffonian Empire. They are barely adults, and this is their first war.

Everyone wishes they took it seriously.

The Golden Oaks has been destroyed and with it nearly all of Twilight's possessions.

But Big Mac has one of hers that she doesn't know about - a singular memento that escaped the flames.

Featured 1/30/2024 - 2/2/2024!

And featured on Equestria Daily on 2/3/2024!

Cover art generously used with permission from Harwick's Sun And Moon portrait collection.

Gleaming Shield and Anon have been friends for a few years now, ever since the portal opened between worlds and humans have started immigrating to Equestria. Exchange programs and military co-ed training brought them together, and a friendship quickly blossomed between them.

Their relationship has always been more platonic than anything else, but they've also never been too physical with each other either. When Anon brings this up... Gleaming decides to rectify it on the spot.

Contains: R63 Shining Armor, a flustered Anon, snuggles, ear scritches, nuzzling, and an impish mare who knows exactly how much she's flustering her friend

This was the Patreon one-shot for the month. Hope you guys like it :)

If you want to support me, please consider joining the Patreon: https://patreon.com/user?u=4398966

Also, I have a discord server now, so if you wanna hang out and chat with me, feel free to join: https://discord.gg/HA6aEAHnCN

Not sure who the artist is so if anyone can tell me, I will credit the artist for the coverart used on this story. Just know that it's not mine.

After a busy day celebrating princess Mi Amore Cadenza's birthday, Shining Armor and his wife take time to wind down, relax, and talk. The topic of their conversation soon moves in an unexpected direction, and the couple finds that their marriage still has surprises in store for them both.

Cover image by naroclie. Used with permission.

This story is a sequel to If You Came to Conquer

Princess Nightmare Moon had tried to keep it secret. She had suppressed her power, feigned ignorance, played the outdated fool at every opportunity. She should have known that something like this would happen. A threat that would reveal her, whether she played dumb or not.

If she had to reveal herself, then at least she could protect Equestria in the process. She nocked the arrow. The bow felt so flimsy, but she could not risk him absorbing a spell. She laced magic across the arrow and the string and the air, enough to make it fly faster and aim smoother. She sighted him easily; Tirek was a large target. Now he only had to turn around. An arrow to the spine would kill him simply and instantly, no matter how much magic he had absorbed.

Once he was dead, the hard part would come: explaining herself to Celestia.

Prereading thanks; Meta Four, Blank!, Yami Vizzini, and especially Craine

Russian translation by Doof
Chinese Translation by Dreams Set Free

Comments contain spoilers.