To escape from Tartarus is nearly impossible, even for one of great magical power. When you've lost your powers and are little more than a withered old centaur, it's even harder. But Tirek has a plan, one that will draw in a creature from a world where life is cheap, hats are plentiful, and gravel is king. Will the Spy take the opportunity to enjoy a well-earned vacation in this new world, or will he see the population of friendly, innocent ponies as just a fresh selection of backs to stab? It could be both!

(Takes place before the beginning of Season 9.)

The worlds are changed.

Where Equestria was set to follow a familiar path of harmony and friendship, the path is waylaid by the appearance of a creature out of myth, bearing grave tidings.

On Earth at the dawn of the third millennium, a war that should have never been rages between humanity and the ones who would seek to perfect it.

For down the road less travelled, Equestria is Empire, a dark mirror of what it once was and should be.

Lyra Heartstrings, musician and dreamer, previously content to spend her life in the shadow of Princesses or their faithful students, must now decide the role she’ll play in this new reality. But within the threads that connect us all, just as even Princess Celestia can have the humblest desires, the smallest person may change the future.

Authored by Team Spectrum, currently consisting of Sledge115, VoxAdam, and RoyalPsycho.

Cover by skysayl.

Our TV Tropes Page.

Our Group
Equestria Timeline
Dramatis Personae/Character Sheet
Story Outline

Side Stories

Equestria
The First Second of Eternity, by Sledge115.
A Sun in Winter, by Sledge115 and VoxAdam.
In Night's Garden, by Sledge115.
Celestia Regina, by Sledge115.
The Rose of Florentina, by Sledge115.
Wallflower of Canterlot, by Sledge115.
Sogno di Volare, by Sledge115.
Velvet Quill & Sunny Skies, by Sledge115
Joy to the Worlds, by VoxAdam, TB3 and Sledge115.

Earth
Story of the Asian Front, by Kizuna Tallis.
Snowbound, by DoctorFluffy.
The Slow Mutants, by DoctorFluffy.
The Light Despondent, Remixed, by DoctorFluffy.
Dissonance, by RanOutOfIdeas.
Starvation, by DoctorFluffy.

Prior to Luna's transformation into Nightmare Moon and subsequent banishment, there was always one little filly that appreciated the night sky for what it was.

Fifty years ago today, there was not a war. It was not one of the longest and bloodiest struggles ever known to ponykind. It did not claim the lives of hundreds upon thousands of ponies.

There is no such place as Shetland. It could not have been Ground Zero for Operation Petrichor because it never existed.

The Cloudsdale Massacre is a cheap horror flick, nothing more. Chemistry has no solid application in combat. The Non Sunt Dii has not existed since the first days of the Royal Sisters' reign.

Celestia is perfect. Celestia has never made mistakes. Celestia is not a coward.

Apple Bloom's room is right next to Applejack's. It was never a problem until one night she hears Big Macintosh come over and... certain sounds follow. After a few nights of the noises continuing Apple Bloom can't take any more; she has to confront her siblings and end their late night antics.

A short, stupid story with a surprise ending. Rated PG-13 for implied topics.

TTS Reading of the entire fiction: Courtesy of the FanFiction Reader on Youtube.

Character List: Courtesy of TruthHut (A work in progress)

Handy is not a happy man at the best of times.

He was even less happy to find himself in an alien world that offended the very laws of physics and got injured for his own stubborn refusal to accept the obvious path fate had apparently laid out for him.

For his trouble he is now on a journey, with the long term goal of finding his way back home, only to find himself involved in plots and machinations so far above his head and cares that he quickly becomes a pawn in a game played by powers who care not for his well-being.

Quite like his life back on Earth if you think about it.

Needless to say, Handy does not care for any of it. He is much more preoccupied with the more immediate and pressing mundane concerns of day to day life a human needs to worry about while in Equestria.

Obtaining a new pair of shoes for example.

All this and one almighty hangover, what's the worst that could happen?

Rated teen for harsh language and minor violence

Proofread by JBL, Jude and Usurper

Scootaloo's final thoughts as she plummets to her demise.

Rainbow Dash turns thirty, and it's just like any week, month, year, or decade of her life.

The day after she swears off her petty, villainous ways, Starlight Glimmer is finally ready for her very first friendship lesson! To mark this grand occasion, Twilight decides a walk through town is in order to let her new student make some friends the right way.

It turns out that Starlight Glimmer is exceedingly bad at making friends the right way.

Many thanks to Syeekoh and Kamikakushi for taking a big one and prereading this for me.

After a sudden realization about how Shining Armor became a captain in the Royal Guard, Rainbow Dash hatches an insidious plot to become Captain of the Wonderbolts by following in his hoofsteps in the only appropriate manner...

By sleeping with a Princess, of course!

A collab fic with Doccular42. Needless to say, neither of us were in our right minds when we created this.

Pre-reading done by PegasusMesa and PheonixStarr

Editing done by m1ntf4n.

all are awesome!