This story is a sequel to Seasons Turning

Story 6 in the Savage Skies series.

Thanks to Twilight Sparkle's plan, Dawn Lightwing's story has been spread across Equestria. Back in Ponyville, Dawn and those close to him prepare for the inevitable fallout. However, their plan has some unexpected consequences, leading to Dawn's place in Ponyville coming under threat in the most unexpected of ways as Fluttershy must prove her fitness to be Dawn's mother.

However, there is something more at work behind the scenes. In order to protect his home and his place in Ponyville, Dawn must venture abroad with an unexpected and unwanted ally in order to bring an end to these machinations.

The series begins in Foal of the Forest.
Now with a TV Tropes page.

A failed assault, a shamed monarch, and a spiteful sister.
The world has taken much from Chrysalis, but when her own nation is stolen from her, with her life almost following suit, she finds herself granted kindness from an unlikely source; the very ponies who she had wronged.
What kind of future can she hope to have, now that everything that she holds dear has been stripped from her?

This story is a sequel to Before the Storm: The Rise of Firefly

Three hundred years after Luna's banishment, an uneasy peace has collapsed and war erupts between the United Tribes of Equestria and the growing Gryphon Empire, who seek to supplant Princess Celestia as ruler of the heavens and claim the rich lands of the pony nation for their own. With the border defenses shattered, Canterlot endangered and the armed forces unable to stem the onslaught, who can stop the relentless Gryphon war machine as it overruns province after province, scoring victory after victory as it closes in on the Equestrian capital city?

In this time of peril, when the entire pony nation teeters on the brink of defeat, a champion will rise to lead the resistance to the gryphon invasion, becoming not just the commander of an elite force, but a symbol of Equestrian valor and fighting spirit. A born warrior and leader, the name of Firefly will be one day revered as not just the founder of the Wonderbolts, but as Equestria's greatest hero...

Taking place seven hundred years before present and canon to both the Gentlemanverse and Turnabout Storm novelization, this is the story of Rainbow Dash's ancestor, the founding of the Wonderbolts, and their role in the bloodiest conflict of Equestrian history. It is a multistory Magnum Opus consisting of several discrete stories, as described below:

Book 1: The War Begins

The Gryphon Empire invasion of Equestria launches at dawn with an all-out assault on the Equestrian Army and Aerial Corps border bases, accompanied by deep-strike raids against Cloudsdale and the Royal Guard training base of Fort Spur.

Will Princess Celestia unleash her enormous power to end the war quickly? Can Outpost Epsilon withstand the onslaught long enough for the much-maligned Royal Navy to reach them? And can the civilian populace of Cloudsdale resist a massive and determined air attack by the Imperial elite against its all-important weather factories and storm cloud production facilities?

Book 2: Rally and Recover

With the border defenses crushed and the remains of Outpost Epsilon evacuated, both sides lick their wounds, hastily reorganizing and preparing for the next Imperial offensive aimed deeper into Equestria.

Can missing Cloudsdale be located near the borders of Thestralslovakia? Will the once-disloyal and still-distrusted bat-ponies that live there side with Equestria or the Empire? What is the Imperial invasion plan? What role will the Changelings play in the conflict? And what will happen when a sixteen-year old gryphon cub faces off with the gryphon-hating pony named Thunderbolt; one of the most lethal and bloodthirsty beings to ever live...?

Book 3: Second Offensive

While the fate of Cloudsdale is negotiated and Firefly's forces prepare for additional action, the second Imperial offensive begins with an assault against the badly outnumbered Equestrian Army at Maresk two hundred miles inside Equestria, attempting to pocket and destroy the thousands of sorely-needed soldiers based there.

Can an out-of-favor earth pony Colonel rally his regiment to save the city and an entire Army Corps? Or will the city's soldiers and civilians alike face the fate of the border bases, becoming yet another crushing defeat in the Imperial drive on Canterlot?

• Writers: Denim_Blue and Firesight with occassional writing assists from Leo Archon and AJ_Aficionado
• Prereaders: AJ_Aficionado, SilentWoodFire, TheGoldCrow, Denim_Blue
• Guest Writers: AJ_Aficionado, Denim_Blue

Maps of Equestria and Equis: https://www.fimfiction.net/chapter/1105220

Three hundred years after Luna's banishment, Equestria is at a shaky peace, its borders protected by the Equestrian Armed Forces from several hostile races, from raiding Diamond Dogs to the increasingly aggressive Gryphons. Incidents are many, and tensions rise as the newly unified Gryphon Empire sets its sights on the lands and riches of its pony neighbors.

In this troubled time, a young pegasus orphan named Firefly comes of age. A born warrior, her name will one day be known as not just the founder of the Wonderbolts, but as one of Equestria's greatest heroes...

Set in the same universe as the Turnabout Storm novelization but taking place seven hundred years before, this is the story of Rainbow Dash's ancestor, the origin of the Wonderbolts, and the coming of the Great Pony/Gryphon War. Also referenced by multiple stories in the Gentlemanverse.

• Rated MUST READ by the Pleasant Commentator and Review Group - October 2, 2016 (8/10 stars).
• Rated RECOMMEND by the Reviewer's Cafe - April 13, 2017 (8/10 stars).
• Rated 4/5 Stars by Personal Review of xTSGx December 6, 2017.
• Rated WHY HAVEN'T YOU READ THIS YET? by Personal Review of PaulAsaran March 30, 2018.
• Rated 9.6/10 by Firefoxino of My Little Reviews and Feedback Group April 17, 2018.

Writers: Leo Archon and Firesight
Prereaders: AJ_Aficionado, SilentWoodFire, JamesCyberlink, Denim_Blue

Cover Art by Equestria Prevails, classified as creative-commons/share-alike: http://equestria-prevails.deviantart.com/art/Firefly-351657539

Swift Message has a good life. He has a job he enjoys, a home, and a mare he is lucky enough to call his special somepony. When he becomes aware of the changeling threat to Canterlot, he tries to warn those in power without drawing attention to himself. While his warning is heeded, the defenses readied against the threat prove to be inadequate with the appearance of Chrysalis. This is the story of his struggles to protect the mare he loves during the invasion, and the trials he faced after his identity was revealed during the final moments of the attack.

The Royal Vault in Canterlot has been sealed to all bar the Princesses and Royal Guard; it is home to some of Equestria’s most dangerous or valuable treasures, such as the remains of the Nightmare Moon incident.

Fate is a tricky mistress; especially so when magic is involved, and now only a short time after the ascension of Twilight Sparkle a new trouble rears its head in Canterlot Castle, right in the bosom of its most secure facility. It’ll prove to be a political nightmare for the Princesses, especially shortly after Twilight Sparkle’s inauguration.

We follow in the hoofsteps of this… new bundle of fun.

Stalwart Drone has been a Night Guard for a little over two years, and now he's being reassigned to the Crystal Empire, forced to leave his home and his talent behind only to have to readjust to living up in the frozen north.

Ruby Swift, conversely, has been in Equestria for most of her life, and recently she's taken a... darker look on life.

Forced to live in the same house as one another, the unlikely duo are going to have to live with what they fear.
At least, for now anyway.

Cover image can be viewed in its full resolution by clicking on it (or right-clicking and opening it in a new tab.) Spent a couple days working on it and I'll be uploading it to my DeviantArt gallery soon.

At the assault on Canterlot, she was a medic, but not for the Equestrians.
After the assault is concluded, a new struggle for the Changelings begins as those who survive must still find food and shelter.
Will the Equestrians simply forgive the Changelings for their assault on their capitol, and if so how bumpy a road is this going to become?

I was a simple drone; I did my work, had my meal, and returned to my own little carved-out den day in and day out. At least, until the invasion of the Golden City. Now I'm alone, cold, scared, and I'm pretty sure something is wrong...

I suppose being found is the least of my concerns...

King Sombra’s dark influence was obliterated by the Crystal Heart, and the villain is well and truly dead. But when he attempts to steal the afterlife of an innocent victim, a human spirit is left hurtling towards Equestria, where this unfortunate soul is revived into the only vessel available: the reconstituted body of King Sombra himself.

Thus, a cheerfully oblivious alien is crammed into the form of the most evil and malicious being Equestria has ever known. Not that Shining Armor and Cadence know this, of course. As far as they are concerned, the King is back and he’s lost his fricking mind.

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