Cadance isn't Sombra. But Sombra's leadership is all the crystal ponies remember, a ruler they had to love at all costs, with the final payment being their own lives. And as they gradually come to see their new Princess as leader instead of savior, too much of that residual fear is being transferred to her. They praise her, adore her, refuse to correct her no matter what she does -- because they live in terror of the consequences for doing anything else. They have yet to find their own voices, and may go on repeating hers until Celestia and Luna switch shifts. So how can she make them tell her when she's wrong, see that there's nothing to be afraid of, and take the next step in coming back to themselves once and for all?

Forbidding them to do anything other than criticize her should do the trick, right?

...right?

(Part of the Triptych Continuum, which has its own TVTropes page and FIMFiction group -- but can be read as a stand-alone, and no knowledge of the other stories is required. New members and trope edits are welcome.)

Now with author Patreon and Ko-Fi pages.

Mis-communication has started many a war, but in this case maybe calling it a war was too generous.

The "war" is over, Twilight has successfully orchestrated a bloodless end to the Griffons' aggression, but only now does she realize that there is more to winning than she had first assumed, especially against a nation that holds war as a central part of their culture...

Now Twilight must deal with the aftermath while facing a challenge she never anticipated: being seen as a conqueror.

This can be read alone, but I recommend reading the letter that started it all for a chuckle and a little exposition. This series of expositional one-shots can also give some additional world-building.

After discovering that Cadence is not who she appears to be, Twilight is sent to another world entirely by the disguised Changeling Queen to avoid her plan being disrupted.
When Twilight lands, she discovers that not only have Spike, Owlowiscious and Peewee followed her, but that they've arrived in a world where the main sentient species is human.
There's still a place where they teach magic, though.
Crossover with Harry Potter. Twilight will be effectively taking the role of Hermione.

I've marked this story as cancelled to reflect the unlikelihood of it continuing. If I do come back to it I'll revert that.

Twilight Sparkle, scholar and adventurer extraordinaire, has journeyed to the ends of the earth in search of the single most significant find in the history of academia. What she discovers is something else entirely...

It's been more than a thousand years since the Mane Six's adventures in Ponyville, and things look very different. Equestria is gone, devoured by chaos. Nightmare creatures roam the lands, changelings prey on the few remaining pony settlements, and all trace of the peace and harmony during Princess Celestia's reign has vanished.

Until, that is, a small group of ponies set out to map the Tangle, and find a slumbering dragon inside. Now Spike, a millenium out of his time and with only his memories to comfort him, is ponykind's only hope. Together, he and his new friends set out to find the one pony who can set things right: Twilight Sparkle.

Cover art by the inestimable TheAuthorGl1m0.

Featured by The Royal Guard on February 4th, 2014.

[img]http://tinyurl.com/kaxbtuk[/img]
AUTHOR'S NOTES

- Beware of spoilers in the comment section!
- Currently undergoing heavy revision for chapters nineteen and onward. The "lost" chapters - that is, the story as it was originally published - can be found here.

Captain Rainbow Dash of the Wonderbolts.
Has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?
Certainly her dream job.
Well, dreams and reality are two very different things.

Especially when our newly minted captain has to deal with an empty roster, budget cuts, the first non-pegasi cadets, and the pressure of finding out your best friend is now your boss, let alone a princess.

If that weren’t enough to make her quit, her three wing commanders might. Cloud Kicker is a sexual harassment lawsuit waiting to happen; Surprise makes no sense; and Lightning Dust is, well, Lightning Dust.

Meanwhile, Scootaloo arrives at the academy, ready and raring to prove she’s got what it takes to be an elite flyer. Pressure mounts as Scootaloo aims to make her hero proud.

Now on Equestria Daily
Editors: ping111
NotMurphy
Georg

Thanks for pre-reading go to:
John Perry
Distaff Pope
SolidFire
nygiants93
Eakin

Cover art used with permission by GSphere

Dearest Shining Armor,

By the time you read this, I’ll be long gone.

Originally a one-shot written during a very trying time, but many people asked for a continuation. You can read the first chapter by itself if you wish, and that may even be advisable, but I still hope that you'll enjoy the rest.

Featured on the front page at release, for the full four days possible under the site's heat system!

A complete deconstruction of the ‘Manipulative Mentor’ cliché. What happens when the Celestia is revealed to be an oppressive tyrant, but Twilight doesn’t care? What happens when the most faithful student sides with her beloved mentor instead of those she oppressed? She swears to help her princess and to destroy anyone who gets in her way.

I came up with this while suffering from writer's block on my other story, Twilight of Equestria. It got to the point that I decided that I might as well just post it and see what happens. No idea when it'll be updated, but it should be fun. The rating will probably go up as the story goes on.

Also, if anyone can find a better picture to go with this story, I'd love to replace this one. This isn't really what I wanted, but it's the closest I could find to matching the spirit of the story.

As the centuries pass, cutie marks come and go. Some are common: the healing cross, the basic compass rose, the courier bag. Others are extinct: no more mercenary companies, no more mercenary marks. A few are incredibly scarce, coming along once a generation or less: the mark for luck falls into that category. A number only manifest when the call for them arrives: train tracks didn't appear until it was railroading time. But for the most part, ponies take their mark with its associated talent and magic as a blessing in their lives -- no matter what that mark turns out to be. And they accept it as they accept themselves.

Luna, in her first truly open palace session dealing with the public, is about to meet the exception: Joyous Release, a pony who wants nothing more than to be rid of her mark forever -- and every bit of the talent which comes with it.

But marks are permanent...

(This story takes place shortly after A Total Eclipse Of The Fun.)

Cover art by Harwick.

Part of the Triptych Continuum, which has its own TVTropes page and FIMFiction group. New members and trope edits welcome.

Now with author Patreon and Ko-Fi pages.

In a future where strength of will and desire for knowledge has forced the next stage of evolution, a spacefaring civilization of equestrians come across a beautiful world with dark secrets. Here, Scootaloo will learn the limits of her resolve, her loyalty, and her hope as she learns about the birth of her people, the secret to their evolution, and the sins of a species.