Eager for more answers about Equestria's ancient history, Sunny Starscout uses one of her dad's maps to venture into a long-untouched forest in search of the past.

Cover by HeavySplatter@deviantart.com

Newcomers, welcome! Confused on the order of this story series? Look no further!

Part 1 (You are here):
Forgotten

Part 2:
Forgotten: The Frozen North

From here the story divides into two separate versions, no spoilers aside from what can be gleamed from the titles.

Part 3a:
Forgotten: Sunrise
Forgotten: Mists of Bridlewood (Currently in progress)

Part 3b:
Forgotten: The Crystal Princess

In the ancient past, when the world struggled to recover from the Reign of Discord, the lands that would become Equestria were in ruin. Tyrants, monsters, and warlords had risen, promising order in their petty domains but delivering brutality. One such domain was the Alicorn Supremacy, an oppressive regime whose subjects languished under a ruling class entirely of alicorns led by the self-proclaimed Suzerain Supreme Opaline Arcana.

War would soon come to the Alicorn Supremacy, as the neighbouring realm of Equestria under the leadership of the peacemaker Celestia and the warrior Luna resolved to end its tyrannical rule. The bloody conflict between the two realms raged for years, with the Equestrians making definite, costly progress. Yet with Equestrian victory imminent, Equestria's two leaders were divided on what to do with the defeated tyrant.

Over a thousand years later, Equestria was ruled solely by the younger sister, known then as Empress Nightmare Moon. Her forces stood triumphant and resistance to her rule was systematically crushed with an iron hoof. With victory over the scattered Celestials practically assured, Nightmare Moon learns that Opaline Arcana still lives, and may pose a threat to her burgeoning Empire. But as Nightmare Moon goes to correct her mistake, she finds herself facing not only her old foe but a truth impossible to accept.

Takes place in my New Lunar Millennium alternate universe. More information can be found here, but no prior knowledge of my AU is required to read this story.

Proofread and edited by Izzy Incraft and Ebonyglow.

For the Sixth Annual Equestria at War Writing Contest...
and an Express Ticket to Horse Hell.

The year is 1023.

The world burns. Harmony has been forgotten in the fires of war. Guns, tanks, planes... technology outpaces magic and cruelties hitherto unknown are daily occurrences. One of them is Chiropterra, the last remnant of Nightmare Moon's rebellion. A thousand years ago, her loyalists fled across the sea to Zebrica, and their offspring have built a millennia-long legacy on fear and suffering. The beleaguered Hippogriffs of Aris have been pushed back to their home islands, as they were decades ago under the Storm King.

But no longer. Equestria and the Crystal Empire have withstood the invasion of Queen Chrysalis at great cost. They have rebuilt, and now the Princesses turn their eyes to their last mistake. Across the ocean, the Griffonian Empire, reforged and reformed, sees an opportunity to thaw relations between three species.

The greatest expeditionary force ever assembled, bearing weaponry never used before in war, descends upon north Zebrica to end the long night of terror. Two of the leaders find themselves at one of the first landings: Flurry Heart, the Crystal Princess and heir apparent to the Crystalline Throne, and Grover VI, the constitutional Kaiser of the Griffonian Empire. They are barely adults, and this is their first war.

Everyone wishes they took it seriously.

Equestria and the Crystal Empire have fallen to the Changeling Hegemony, led by the brutal Queen Chrysalis at the head of a mechanized horde of guns and tanks. Princess Cadance stayed in the Crystal Empire; Princess Twilight stayed in Equestria. Chrysalis rules the continent, only defied by Nova Griffonia, the poor Griffon colony in the north.

Across the ocean, the Griffonian Reich pledges to reclaim its lost territory, sundered by revolution a generation ago. While the Alicorn Sisters retreat to New Mareland, Princess Flurry Heart and Shining Armor turn to Aquileia, the Republic born out of the ashes of the Griffonian Reich. The Kaiser of the Reich is only a child, subject to a regent bent on war and conquest.

Flurry knows the Reich and Chrysalis have worked together.

She knows that war is coming to Aquileia.

She knows that Celestia and Luna abandoned her mother and Twilight Sparkle.

She knows that the world is on fire, and she is the last true Princess of Ponies.

She knows she will go home.

Cover Art by Opal Radiance, commissioned by Sunstreaker.
https://www.deviantart.com/opalradiance

This story is a sequel to Apotheosis

Celestia leaves Equestria in the hooves of Luna and Twilight.

While she searches among the gods to answer her questions, Luna and Twilight must struggle to fulfill their own duties to ponies and to Equestria.
Now with a Spanish translation by SPANIARD KIWI: https://www.deviantart.com/spaniard-kiwi/art/Apoteosis-3-3-857110357

This story is a sequel to Off The Edge Of The Map

When Twilight is sent with Luna on a diplomatic mission to Draconia, they quickly find themselves somewhere that doesn't appear on any map, and Luna is lost in more than one way...

Thanks to RBDash47 of Pony Fiction Archive for formatting it for submission.
Title image by Valcron

Tremendous thanks to Illya Leonov and Scribbler for the Audiobook version.
Now with a Spanssh translation by SPANIARD KIWI: https://www.deviantart.com/spaniard-kiwi/art/Apoteosis-2-3-857110089

When Rainbow Dash's newest trick backfires spectacularly, she and Fluttershy find themselves stranded in the middle of nowhere. Together, they'll have to survive and find their way back to Equestria and Ponyville...no matter how far the journey.

Now with a Spanish translation by SPANIARD KIWI: https://www.deviantart.com/spaniard-kiwi/art/Apoteosis-1-3-857109863

(Originally submitted to Equestria Daily)
Art by katwalk.

Twilight becomes alicorn of the stars. This is sort of a problem, because Luna kind of already was alicorn of the stars. Oops!

TV Tropes

Twilight and her friends are approached by Princess Luna who presents them with a set of questions that trigger a long and perilous journey.

Did you ever stop to wonder what became of Trixie, Gilda and Blueblood after your encounters? What did these episodes truly mean to you? What role will they yet play in the lives of the Elements of Harmony?

Last, are these questions as relevant as the journey towards the answers? Who will benefit from seeking these answers - you, them, or I?

The Great War was brutal, but thanks to the near inhospitable frozen lands of the north, the Crystal Empire was spared much of the Changeling's Wrath.

While Empress Nightmare Moon leads the battered armies of the Lunar Empire in the occupation of the former Changeling Hives, and reclamation efforts to the south, the Empire is left to its own devices.

Governess Rarity has ruled the Crystal Empire for the last two years since her appointment by the great Empress, Nightmare Moon. With the skills developed from running her fashion business, the Crystal Empire has flourished beyond the imaginations of anycreature.

This prosperity and her renown fairness has made these lands a bastion for anycreature (changeling included) looking for a chance to live in harmony- a true Equestria. But all good things must come to an end. The wars to the south are winding down, and without the need to lead her armies, Nightmare Moon is ready to assess the state of her Empire.

What better place to start than the jewel in the Equestrian Crown?

An idea I've been working before converting it for the Fourth annual Equestria at War Writing Contest.

Cover art belongs to viwrastupr