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.

When the deposed king of the Diamond Dogs is brought before the court of Celestia, the story he tells is far too much to believe. For if it is true, the Equestrians' conquest of his nation has been a terrible mistake.

* * *

Audiobook by Illya Leonov.
Proofread by GaryOak.
Reviews:
PresentPerfect
The Goodfic Bin

Celestia may be going crazy...

And how shall these "negotiations" through e-mail turn out?

If you favorite this story, please leave a comment explaining why.
Same if you disliked the story. Please leave a comment explaining why.

This story is a sequel to Twilight's Escort Service

Ratchette runs a one-pony fix-it shop for enchanted conveniences and devices, the only such facility in Ponyville. Some of her services are limited ones, and there are things she has to refer elsewhere -- but on the whole, she puts the majority of the repair traffic in order and in the two years since she first moved to the settled zone, Ponyville's become used to her. But strangers in town can still have a little trouble with her qualifications. Because her mark says she's perfectly suited for her occupation --

-- while her body claims exactly the opposite.

(Part of the Triptych Continuum, which has its own TVTropes page and FIMFiction group: new members and trope edits are welcome. While this story is technically a sequel, the earlier one just has the main character's first appearance, and this piece can be read as a stand-alone.)

Now with author Patreon and Ko-Fi pages.

Cover art by EquesTRON.

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.

Twilight Sparkle has had a crush on Princess Celestia for a very long time. When Celestia's own advice prompts her to confess her attraction, Twilight discovers a secret that Celestia has hidden for hundreds of years. With the fires of the sun itself separating them, can Twilight find a way for them to come together?

Cover art by NadnerbD

Huge amounts of editing by Jordanis

The Crystal Empire finds itself in the middle of property dispute when a representative from the north comes in, claiming that Equestria doesn't own the land. Who does? Canada, apparently.

Alternate universe tag because this is a world with Canada in it. Random tag because it's a bit silly.
Written mostly for the group Canadance is Best Pony.

This story is a sequel to How Much Is Freedom Worth?

Aphid, a changeling, is now free of the cage that held her, and the life she'd been forced to live as part of the changeling swarm. Employed now as a maid for the family that helped free her, she struggles to understand something that she's never had before...
Freedom.
But the past has a strange habit coming back to haunt us, and it seems as if every employee in the Mason de Bleu has a secret... including Howe, the changeling who serves as the head butler.

Cover Art Provided By Pen Mightier

A human finds himself in Equestria under very unpleasant circumstances with no explanation.
His reaction: get the heck out of Dodge and start a new life where Equestria and her ponies can't reach him.
But an alicorn's reach is long and the events which brought him here and his treatment in Canterlot are not so easily forgotten by those who did it. How does one say 'go away' to an immortal goddess?

Yay! Featured, thank you all.
A TV Tropes page
Revised 08/31/14 for clarity and grammatical issues, no events changed. I am working on a sequel, but it will be from Fancy's POV.
P.S. Green is NOT Lyra. There are other green unicorns.

Lyra Heartstrings has always known that humans exist, even if none of the other ponies in her life have ever appreciated that fact. But aside from a few enigmatic ancient prophecies and a popular fantasy series, there haven't ever really been any authoritative sources on what humans were really like. Years of discouragement begin to take their toll on Lyra's faith in the strange and wondrous beings with their strange limbs and ways of sitting.

Until one day, when Lyra finds a strange device on the ground outside Ponyville, and it starts talking to her with short messages printed on its tiny screen. So instead of search for the device's proper owner, Lyra takes it home, hoping for the chance to talk to a real human.

Takes place ostensibly in the universe of My Little Apprentice, though very little connection with that story is expected. Familiarity with that story and its sequel are neither expected nor required.