https://www.fimfiction.net/story/418440/those-forty-years (The sequel is out! Check it out here. Check out my latest blog for why it's on my co-author's profile instead of this one.)

A legendary magical discovery leads the protagonist Twilight Sparkle through a chain of events that not only explain Celestia and Luna's history, but a history about herself that even she could not have imagined.
Co-Author profile link.

WE HAVE COVER ART! 8/3/2016 Check the source for the artist. (permission was given)

A strange white thestral falls into Sweet Apple Acres barely alive. Nopony knows her, and no records of her exists. That is nothing compared to the strange devices that she brought with her from wherever she is from.

That is all Yolina Yvanova will allow them to know. She is aware she shouldn’t be here, and that this body isn’t her real body. What she does know is that some beast saw her dream walking as a danger and nearly killed her. It now bars her way home.

Thankfully, she has help. Not just in the form of friends from her home, but in the princess who guards the realm of dreams.

Cover art done by Little Tigress

Faced with an incompetent captain, orders that make no sense, and a winter of boredom and terrible coffee, the choice for Stoker was to either like it, or lump it. So he chose mutiny instead. Unfortunately, life is seldom as simple as all that, especially in the frozen north of Equestria. Before the day is out, he will have to face a royal visit, negotiations, a terrifying new weapon, and history that wants to be repeated.

With a complete chorus of soldiers, sailors, tractor axle makers, princesses, terrible bars, crossed wires and big mistakes, you could do a damn sight worse than read The Battleship Ponytemkin.

Over the countless years, ponies have become almost monotonous to Princess Celestia. Then along comes Anon, so strange and laid back, and he treats her like anypony else. She'd forgotten what that felt like, and finds she quite enjoys it. They have a very enjoyable evening together as their friendship blossoms.

This story made for the artist Enonnnymous in response to the drawing in the cover.

As Princess Luna’s youngest daughter, free spirited, freshly minted college dropout Princess Cassiopeia constantly feels overshadowed by her beautiful older sister, Neoma, and is still unsure about her place in the world. She often gets into trouble by constantly defying Luna and pushing every boundary that stands in her way.

As the royals gather in Silver Shoals for the summer, Cassie revels in the recklessness and freedom of the ocean, finding friendship in dolphins and other sea creatures. She has formed a uniquely close bond with a pod of magnificent orcas, and she often escapes to the sea when she needs to clear her head. Cassie’s life becomes more confusing when she discovers that she has a very special gift: The ability to summon dolphins and orcas.

As she tries to figure out how to use her newfound power to benefit Equestria, Cassie must also navigate her complicated relationship with Neoma, though the two sisters are completely different in many ways.

Dutiful, serious, steady, and dedicated to her role as a princess, Neoma often becomes frustrated with Cassie's wild personality. The two sisters have grown apart since Neoma became a wife and mother. They fight constantly throughout the summer, but Cassie still hopes they can heal their fragile relationship as Neoma struggles to come to terms with her failing marriage.

This trip will open fresh wounds, and healing may come from an unexpected source.

Celestia, Princess of the Sun and Princess of Equestria, has led a long life. She's made a lot of decisions, for good and for ill, and she's decided it's time to quit. Twilight Sparkle, her faithful student and fellow Princess, will assume the crown and rule Equestria in a month's time with the help of her friends. But before that can happen, Celestia has to host one last Grand Galloping Gala. She decided it would go out with a bang.

That was last night.

Today, the Princess awakens with a ring on her horn and a strange earth pony in her bathroom. She's hungover, and the pounding in her skull triggers some memories of events she pushed far out of her mind for many years. Because Princess Celestia wasn't always a Princess or even Celestia.

And her new husband won't stop running his mouth.

(Cover art by cadillac_dynamite.)

Celestia tries to stop Sunset from leaving.

Written for the A Thousand Words Contest II Contest in the Drama Category.

Preread by The Sleepless Beholder and TCC56.

When the Crystal Empire returned, it did so without incident, bereft of its former ruler - the Mad King nowhere to be found across all the frozen wastes. Many believed he perished, lost to whatever magics he used to banish the Empire into the aether. And yet...

Within the confines of a quaint and curious club, nestled into the depths of Canterlot, a returned Sombra ekes out a comfortable existence. Unburdened by his prior madness, he has taken to the life of a humble bartender, offering advice and a listening ear to those who find themselves at his establishment - and soon comes to find himself intrigued by the plight of a moonlit mare. When all one has known are lies and deceptions, can the dancing embers of compassion thaw his stony heart?

Bald Ostrich, was once a human. Now he’s a pegasus, in a land that looks eerily like medieval Europe. Will he find a way home? Will he even survive past a week? How will becoming the consort of the Princess of Night go?

And why is the Day Princess so wary of him? Also some old guy with a Beard is a massive asshole. What a dick.

Now it has a sequel

Used to be called Element of Strength.

This fanfic was inspired by A New Hero

As the time for Nightmare Moon to return draws closer, Celestia gives birth to a son she names Fire Sword. To her surprise he ends up being an alicorn. Knowing he will have a role to play when her sister returns. When his mother disappears, Fire Sword joins Twilight Sparkle on her quest to defeat Nightmare Moon and bring Celestia back as they make new friends, as well as keep old ones from Canterlot and undergo the journey of a lifetime to study the magic of friendship.

Updates weekly now.