Sunbeam Sparkle is not a good pony. She might not be pure evil, but she is ruthless, ambitious, and so power-hungry that she would even aspire to usurp Celestia's throne. Worse, she succeeds in manipulating Celestia into not only surrendering rule over Equestria, but her immortality as well.

It is often said that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. In most cases that’s true. Many good ponies have begun with good intentions, but slowly lost their way. However, this is not always the case. A rare few virtuous ponies have the character and strength of will to resist temptation, and are never corrupted by their authority.

Even rarer, there comes a time when gaining power makes a pony better than they were before. This is one such story.

This story is a sequel to Rise of the Phoenix Empress

It has been nearly nine hundred years since Sunbeam Sparkle claimed the throne of Equestria after Celestia’s abdication. In that time, she has forged Equestria into a powerful centralized empire that spans most of the known world. Even the distant griffons and zebras pay reluctant homage to the Phoenix Empress.

In this series of connected one-shots, we’ll be taking a look at life the new Equestria Sunbeam Sparkle has forged, through the eyes of its inhabitants.

Study Buddies: Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle are the Empress’ co-students. They also rather dislike each other, mostly due to Sunset’s less than friendly attitude. Can they find a way to work together to fulfill the Empress’ high expectations, or will they just end up trying to kill each other?

To save her sister and her faithful student, Celestia herself must travel into the ancient tunnels beneath the ruined castle in the Everfree Forest. She, and the guards who accompany her, must face the dark, twisting corridors. Still, what was Luna and Twilight's purpose at the old castle? Why were they unable to return of their own accord?

And what watches Celestia from beyond the light's edge?

A story about the bond between two sisters, jealousy, and regret.

Princess Luna feels as though she lives in the shadow of her sister. Always outshined, and never appreciated for her gifts. But what happens after the very first summer sun celebration will change the history of Equestria forever.

Image by Zedrin on DeviantArt

Silver Spoon has always been a loyal friend to Diamond Tiara. In the years since the Cutie Mark Crusaders earned their cutie marks, however, she has tried and failed to get Diamond to leave them alone. Secretly, she never bore the Crusaders ill will but she always feared incurring Diamond's wrath. When a secret Silver was keeping comes out and destroys her friendship with Diamond, Silver takes it as an opportunity to mend some fences and re-discover just what kind of pony she is.

This story follows the timeline of Raiders of the Cutie Mark from the second ending where the CMC earn their cutie marks.

When the Cutie Mark Crusaders find a book telling of an ancient artifact with the power to grant one's heart's desire, it leads them on their biggest adventure ever - and quite possibly their last!

So, I was wondering, as I'm sure many were, why Luna didn't ever turn up during the battle against the changelings. This idea effervesced into my twisted mind to explain her absence. Luna knew exactly what was going to happen, and needed to be in a position to play her part. Sorta-maybe-dark humor. Probably more funny in my head. Also, an excuse to dump random head-canon into text.
And what to do when you have a story you want to post but no picture for it? Why, crop a screen capture!
Update: Not complete after all! Why have Princess Luna troll one villain when she can do so much more?

Off shoot of: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic - Off the Record.

After several nights filled with horrible dreams, Rarity comes face to face with the dark side of her soul in her sleep, as it attempts to convince her that she is truly a horrible pony on the inside.

During this battle within Rarity, the entity that once controlled Princess Luna takes notice of her momentary weakness, and decides to use the opportunity to seize one of the Elements of Harmony, as to guarantee her safety from being sealed away once again.

However, the overflowing dominance from Rarity and her dark side, starts to crawl into Nightmare's mind, making her question whether or not she should continue with trying to conquer Equestria, or perhaps take a different route.

Cover art here! It was money well spent!

http://jinzhan.deviantart.com/art/Nightmare-Rarity-440977340

Princess Twilight Sparkle is perfectly happy with her perfectly ordinary life in Ponyville. Every library book is properly shelved in its appropriate place, and her life continues on exactly according to her meticulously planned out schedule.

Then she gets a bodyguard.

Now she has to find some way to fit this new pony into her life on short notice. It won’t be an easy thing to adjust to—especially since Captain Storm Kicker’s presence makes it that much harder for her to go on living like the same old Twilight Sparkle she was before she became a princess.

Rainbow Dash has been missing for two whole days, and despite Pinkie's claim that its just a family emergency, Fluttershy can't shake the feeling that something isn't right. So she goes to see Pinkie, and accidently stumbles across a horrifying truth...

How Pinkie's secret ingredient is made...

And it might cost her her life,
Or at least her sanity...

A Cupcakes Sequel
Note: This is a study of what might of occurred had Pinkie Pie been caught after the death of Rainbow Dash. The only part of this story to contain actual gore is Part 2.