After reading a book by Spitfire's personal trainer, Rainbow Dash decides that the best way to get closer to her ultimate goal of joining the Wonderbolts is to add strength training to her practices by having one of her friends ride her. However, when she decides that Twilight Sparkle is just the mare for the job, the pegasus gets a bit more than she bargained for.

Artwork by Piggybank12. Used with permission. Thanks to DPV111 for assisting me with story planning.

"...The test ends when you open that door."

Princess Luna has begun searching for her own personal student, and her test has hit a small snag: Not a single unicorn, out of the dozens of applicants, has passed. In fact, every last candidate has failed the test in seconds.

But just what is the purpose of this test? And how can somepony pass it?

A young earth pony named Morning Glory is going to find out.

This story is a sequel to Luna's Daughters

(Can be read without first reading the prequel.)

Centuries ago, in the years after Nightmare Moon's banishment, Luna and Celestia's descendants helped Celestia build the new nation.

Luna's great-granddaughter, Gale Glider, forged the Royal Equestrian Coast Guard, imbuing it with traditions of valor, sacrifice, and bravery. Her final words remain their sacred oath:

Preread by Sledge115 and RDT, thank you!

Cover art found on Google without any attribution, alas.

Author's notes blog, containing spoilers.

Pincer is a changeling, a proud soldier of Queen Chrysalis. After the failed invasion of Canterlot, he finds himself trapped and at the mercy of Princess Celestia's Royal Guard. Believing that Celestia sees his species as nothing but soulless monsters, he prepares himself for the worst. The weeks crawl by, marked by an endless series of questions he will not answer for fear of endangering his friends and family at The Hive. As his nerves wear down and his interrogators learn just how ruthless he thinks they are, they have nothing to report but his belief that they will kill and destroy his kind without mercy.

Celestia steps in to prove him wrong, and what Pincer learns leaves him questioning everything he has ever known — but also gives him hope for what he'd never thought possible.

Cover art commissioned from http://www.demonkings.com.

Now with a TVTropes page.

Novel Tale is an author that's been living in Canterlot for about ten years now. That's a pretty good track record for a changeling. He's even included a changeling character in his latest book, and his fans have been loving his take on such an obscure mythological creature, especially his biggest fan, Twilight Sparkle. Things are looking up!

Then an army of changelings from another hive attacks Canterlot.

Now all of ponykind knows that changelings are real, and his readers are sure to realize that the changeling in his book was too similar to the real thing to have just been based on a myth...

earlier chapters have been revised as of 7/19/13 to be more inline quality wise with the later chapters.

Featured on EQD 10/5/13!

Let it be known that there will be extensive changeling world building in the chapters to come.

cover image courtesy of ackdari.

Much thanks to Nyerguds for proofreading and to all my fellow tropers on the TvTropes pony fanfiction thread for helping me develop this from a vague idea into an actual story.

The doctor pronounced it officially: Scootaloo will never fly. However, Rainbow Dash and Applejack introduce her to another pony who has a story they hope Scootaloo can relate to.

Sequel: The Ponies in the Caves
Side-story: Redheart's War

After his violent defeat, the former tyrant King Sombra has managed to claw his way back from the land of the dead and has returned to Equestria to seek revenge on Princess Celestia and the Elements of Harmony. However, the Emperor of Darkness is no fool. He knows that he cannot simply seek retribution on the Main Six or the Princess of Day, so he waits, gathering intel on his foes, learning of their weaknesses. When the time is right, he will strike. Can our heroes overcome King Sombra's plot for vengeance?

Sequel: The Return of the King

*Note: This story takes place in my official headcanon universe, not in the one for Shattering a Heart of Darkness

This story is a sequel to When Darkness Falls

King Sombra, the dark sorcerer and former ruler of the Crystal Empire, has been defeated by Twilight Sparkle and the other bearers of the Elements of Harmony, leaving him stripped of his magic and imprisoned deep below the surface of Canterlot Castle. There, he waits for his chance to take revenge against Princess Celestia and conquer Equestria, though his affection for both his long-lost daughter and the mare that he loves have him question everything that he knows. Can the shadow-pony learn forgiveness and mercy or will he let his deep-seated anger and desire for vengeance consume him?

*Takes place in my head-canon universe

Every legend has a beginning.

Every legend also has an end.

Set in The Dusk Guard Saga AU, but requires no knowledge of that setting.
Written for the Renaissance Contest (and second-place finisher, as well as a judge's personal fave).
Due to time constraints (see author's note) this story did not have Alpha/Beta Readers for editing. Please excuse any errors.

What is a mediocre villain to do these days? How in Equestria do you compete with the likes of Chaos gods and love-stealing shapeshifters? Ever since those Bearer brats found the Elements of Harmony and Princess Celestia's long-lost and kind-of-evil-but-not-really-in-the-end sister returned, nopony bats an eye at the small potatoes any more.

Small Potatoes himself just cannot take being relegated to the side lines any longer! He has one, glorious plan in the works, one that might finally see it - his name, that is - go down in history. He's going to do the one thing that villains all over Equestria have been failing to do since that fateful Summer Sun Celebration to stop the Guardians of Harmony once and for all.

He's going to hire somepony else to do the job for him.

[This story contains scenes about death, attempted murder, some blood and an injury described in light-moderate detail (and with a humourous bent, I'm hoping.)]