The Fire of Friendship has all but faded. One thousand years ago, Equestria fractured... those who disagreed with Celestia's rule left under the leadership of Princess Luna to found their own nation, their own way of life. Seventy years later, Celestia and Luna both disappeared during the first war, leaving the battered nations leaderless in their absence.

Over the last nine hundred years wars have frequently waged between Equestria and Lunaria, each seeking to unite ponykind under their own ideals. Equestria's mastery of magic often gave it the edge in battle, but never enough for a decisive victory. Peace reigns for now, but recent developments in Lunaria signal a shift in the balance between the two divided nations...

Rainbow’s face darkened. “Cozy, I’m not asking you. I’m telling you. I need to know how we end.”

Something flashed through Cozy’s face, something Rainbow vaguely thought of as fear. But it passed and Cozy hissed, rubbing her forehead. “Fine. You want to know how you two end?”

There was a second of silence filled by the wind.

Cozy’s eyes burned red when she spoke again. “One of you will destroy the other.”

A gift for Shaslan.

The world ended.

That, at least, is what it sounded like. Screaming, howling, and then deathly silence.

A month later, Cheerilee and Scootaloo emerge from their shelter in search of food. As they search among the dead bodies of their friends, only one question comes to mind:

Where are the unicorns?

--------

Written for the Quills and Sofas Cheerilee contest.

Featured on May 18th, 2021!

Hundreds of years before the legendary Starswirl opened his eyes, a moment of change shook Equestria without even being noticed. Such is the way of the Changeling hive.

A new brood has hatched, unlike any other the hive has seen in generations: Changeling princesses, destined to lead the hive in a new direction that their mother could not. But the path is not easy for any one of them. Pony settlements dot every corner of Equestria, spreading thin the hive's hunters across the vast hunting ground.

Faced with the possibility of a divergence, a splitting of the home hive across Equestria, the princesses are thrust into the savagery of the world around them; their hive, their world, even their prey, show no mercy. To keep their kind alive, the princesses have no choice but to unleash their wrath upon those who would challenge them, lest they lose their hold on their family.

A normal end to a normal day -- at least, that's what it was supposed to be.

But it wasn't.

Luna went to raise the moon as usual, but something went wrong. Terribly wrong. She felt it, but she couldn't stop it.

None of us could.

It appeared too suddenly -- acted too quickly.

The only warning we received was a roar and a bright flash of light, then everything was gone. No more Canterlot, no more ponies, no more anything.

Nothing survived.

Nothing... except for us and whatever 'it' is.

We may be immortal beings, but that doesn't make things any better -- if anything, it makes the pain all that much worse. The only thing we can really do now is try to avenge those dear to us. Our subjects... our families... my friends...

Everything.

I don't care how long it takes, and I don't care if it's a pointless battle. All I care about now is making sure we put that thing down for good.

After that?

Well...

Cover art done by Little Tigress. Check out her other stuff on deviantart if you wanna see more!

The Canterlot Archive decides to create a document listing the age of every pony in Equestria. It's impossible to mess this up.

The Canterlot Archive messes this up.

Proofread by Octavia Harmony.

Special thanks to Selbi for additional help.

Live reading by CaptainBron3y

When she was birthed with horn and wings she was thought to be a pegacorn, a rare and blessed blending of the tribes, whose long life and power brought wealth and stature.

Then the guards came, seeking the first alicorn born in over a thousand years.

An entry for The Most Dangerous Game contest
Now archived in Twilight's Library

For hundreds of years, Twilight Sparkle has managed to go through her life by working day and night as the sole ruler of Equestria. Sensing her life coming to an end, Twilight looks back at her achievements and believes like something is missing since the last of her loved ones died.

One day, Twilight finds some old relics with her great-great-great-great-great granddaughter with one of them being her old doll, Smartypants. Memories of the time she used to play with her favorite doll, even bringing it to life with a spell, flood her as long-buried emotions come out. It is with Smartypants that Twilight will find what she has been missing all this time.

***

Inspired by BerrryPAWNCH's Growing Pains Comic, who I thank for the permission to do this fic.

Thanks to my Editors: Darth Link 22, First Down, Chaotic Note, BronyWriter, and Socks

Three words, spoken as calmly as a comment of early rain on a spring day, made the goddess who received them to forget how to breathe for one long minute.

(Stand-alone Side Story to Ascension)
Cover art is an adapted picture from the amazing artist Raikoh-illust.

Luna has a secret.

A secret that she's kept close to her heart ever since her return from the moon, a secret she's hidden for so long that she's no longer even sure if it's real. At least until it returns to haunt her, and she has no choice but to confide in Celestia and hope her sister trusts that she hasn't gone mad.

It's time to tell Celestia about the circles.