Only a few hours after she learned of the Griffon Empire's invasion, Princess Celestia surrendered herself to the griffon army and asked for an audience with the Griffon Emperor.

The Emperor thinks she's here to negotiate Equestria's surrender.

He's wrong.

Spanish Translation
Polish Translation

Being the Princess of Equestria is busy work. Luna would know. She raises the sun and moon everyday, looks over the dreams of her beloved subjects, and, well, runs Equestria. Now, in addition to all that, she must find herself a protégé, before her sister's banishment ends!

But, that isn't the problem. The problem, is that three particular fillies stand out for the role!

Who will she choose? Can these three fillies become friends? Who will become Equestria's future savior!?

I guess you'll have to read to find out~!

First story of the Trio-verse.
Cover Art commissioned by Cloureed. Thanks again~!
Also want to thank Izanagi for the help with editing!

For a thousand years, the Code of Harmony has ruled Equestria, and the Code of Dissonance has sabotaged its works at every turn. Now the war for control over the land will come to a head, and one unicorn's decision may decide the fate of all.

For though she does not know it, Twilight Sparkle is the shining example of the Code of Harmony. Her teacher, Princess Celestia is Harmony's most powerful master and she knows her enemies are hatching a plan that threatens to cast down the Harmony of her throne and all she has sacrificed to create.

What she does not know is her foe seeks a new Apprentice to turn to his dark ways. A unicorn with seemingly limitless potential for magic, whose thirst for knowledge may yet lead her down a dark path, who is known to be such a faithful student of magic, eagerly seeking the truth no matter how forbidden it might be...

Sequel: Code of Harmony

This story is a sequel to Return to Flight

This story precedes Brayside Crush

Cover Art by Rattlesire

A first-of-its-kind event, a international race in the skies, comes to Cloudsdale. Creatures of all shapes and sizes sign up to prove that they are the best flier of the world, including the presumed best in Equestria, Rainbow Dash. Along with her new-found friend, Swift Flying, both find that the competition is fierce, and while there are some friendly faces, there are also foes, both new and old. There can only be one winner, but at what lengths will each one go to come out on top?

Dash gets what she always wanted: a spot in the Wonderbolts and Spitfire by her side. Their relationship is all speed, all adrenaline, all passion, and absolutely, positively doomed.

A trainwreck of a romance in an ongoing series of slice-of-life snapshots, clop-free.

Restraint, or Lack Thereof - Spitfire knows what she wants, knows how to get it, and knows exactly how wrong this could all go.

Day In, Day Out - Soarin needs to know why Spitfire's been distracted and out of sorts lately, and there's a good chance he already knows the answer.

Been a While - Spitfire isn't the only one in this relationship who's been nursing a crush on her idol for years. Difference is, Dash has been doing something about it.

Burden - It isn't easy being a hero, especially if you're not the hero you thought you'd be.

Forgive and Forget- Dash makes a terrible mistake. Making it won't get her in trouble; trying to fix it could be disastrous.

Wings - Sometimes you get your dreams handed to you on a silver platter. Sometimes that's the last thing you want.

Touchdown and Takeoff - Somepony's gotta put out fires for the Wonderbolts before the team implodes, and Soarin' just drew the short straw.

Shattered - Spitfire is royally ticked off at Rainbow, and RD has no idea why.

Unscheduled - Spitfire gives the Wonderbolts the week off only to find that Dash left a few things unfinished.

What Has Been Seen - The Wonderbolts are taking bets on Spitfire and Dash self-destructing, and Soarin' just wants a nap.

Now featuring beautiful new cover art courtesy of Celebi-Yoshi!

These stories are in continuity with Luna's Librarian and The Rustic & The Romantic.

All chapters originally written as separate entries for flash-fic blog Thirty Minute Pony Stories (TMP). I highly recommend a visit to TMP if you're looking for some of the best 1000-word gems in pony fiction. Many thanks to TMP for inspiring me to write!

The sequel to this story: Sweetie Belle and the Quest for Knowledge is now available!

When Sweetie Belle finds a mysterious artifact of a now lost civilization, how will she come to terms with the wealth of knowledge it provides? It says it can be ignored, it says it will never try to influence her, but can an artifact of such power really be so harmless?

Book I of III

Prologue and Chapter 1: Thanks to TheOtherSideOfFluttershy for pre-reading and editing.
The whole story: Thanks to RaylanKrios for editing.
Chapter 4: Thanks to AuthorGenesis for editing.
Epilogue:
Thanks to Malefactory for editing.

Diplomacy has failed. Six years have passed Equestria's crowning of the princess of friendship, ushering in a supposed unprecedented age of peace and harmony. The concept of warfare is, to most ponies, nothing more than an unfathomable legend. They have let their guard down.

An unknown enemy has seized the opportunity to attack Equestria with terrifying new weapons of war, bent on taking the fertile land and restoring an ancient order. The valiant efforts of the Royal Guard have given Princess Twilight and her arcane scientists time to research and develop a response to their attackers, and the time has come for that response to be implemented. Utilizing weapons and tactics borrowed from another world, five squads under the command of Princess Luna will infiltrate the forests of the Equestrian Northwest to destroy a revolutionary magical matrix that Twilight refers to as the "radio" - a tool that allows enemy ponies to communicate across vast distances instantly.

Nightmare Two is comprised of three foalhood friends who, rather than be separated from each other in the draft, volunteer to become one of the five Nightmare squads. With their bodies forever altered to suit the needs of their mission, the three young mares join legions of ponies armed with powerful weapons to partake in a horrifying new breed of warfare - Equestria's first in over one thousand years.

--

Heads up, folks. If you wouldn't mind leaving a comment alongside the thumbs-down, I'd appreciate it. This is my first foray into fan fiction and although it's a hobby I nonetheless wish to get better. :)

Got some FAQ's for you guys as well!

- Alternate universe in which the events of "Crusaders of the Lost Mark" did not occur. (As much as I loved it! :D)

- Numerical age tends to vary with headcanon, but the CMC here were just getting started with their adult lives when the draft went into effect.

- The war is pony v. pony, utilizing firearms and the Equestrian equivalent of a tank. The underlying headcanon is that ponies used firearms similar to muskets and tracked armored vehicles akin to our tanks in times of old, and what the enemy currently employs is essentially the natural progression of these technologies.

- There are no real-world weapons or equipment i.e. "Panzer IV," or "M16 assault rifle." Particularly acute details such as the caliber of weapons are also absent.

- Technology is based on that of WWI with some WWII elements. Firearms are primarily bolt-action.

- The "radio" spell matrix functions as what we know to be a radio, but is not identical.

- All four of a Night Mare's legs are permanently replaced by the augments.

- Night Mares are female. Stallions proved unable to properly animate the limbs.

--

Hold up, now - fanart? You guys rock. Like, for real. Thanks a lot!

1. A great YouTube video coming from The_Pegasus_Box. Thanks, bud!
Check it out!

2. Click here for the collection on DArt.

3. https://derpibooru.org/740375?scope=scpeac921b191f688d04521575f31608785cbc3bbaa1
[img]https://derpicdn.net/img/view/2014/10/10/740375__safe_anthro_apple+bloom_gun_artist-colon-pusspuss_night+mares.png[/img]

Strange nightmares are plaguing the ponies of Equestria.

Somepony must help ponies to face their deepest fears, but unless Princess Luna is able to discover who—or what—is responsible, the nightmares may never end.

Scootaloo is ready to prove that she can be as fearless as her big sister, Rainbow Dash, even if it means never having a peaceful night's sleep again.

It has been one of the closest guarded secrets of Canterlot's royalty. Deep in a specially constructed dungeon, surrounded by warding spells and powerful magic barriers, exists an enigma. Within a cage that could only be described as something out of a nightmare, it waits and watches all of Equestria. A creature that cannot age, is immune to disease, does not thirst nor hunger, and resists all injury. But, it also holds secrets and knowledge that could safeguard the kingdom. Its powers are frightening, but it is civil enough for debate when patience permits.

Princess Celestia has sought counsel with the creature before, enduring it making deal after deal for its services. The Princess walks a fine line when dealing with it, knowing full well anything could give it an advantage despite its imprisonment. She has had to go back on her word in these dealings, and from this a deep animosity between them has been born. It is a necessary evil as she is convinced this is a being capable of untold evil far and above anything Equestria has ever dreamed of. So long as it remains within the confines of its cell, her kingdom is made safe. So much magic has been woven to ensure that, there is little chance of escape.

So long as the magic holds, there is no danger. So long as the cage remains strong, the nameless creature stays enthralled in his cavernous dwelling. If that were to change--if the magic failed--not even the wisest could say. But one thing is assured, it does not bode well for Equestria.

Twilight isn't having a very good day. An experimental spell blew up in her face, an army of changelings is attacking Canterlot, and she just died. Yet somehow, it looks like it's going to keep going downhill from here.

Given the chance to correct what's gone wrong, Twilight swears she's going to fix all this even if it kills her. Which it will. Frequently.

Cover art by Pixel Prism
Spanish Translation
Series TV Tropes page