It shouldn't have been a big deal. Celestia was kidnapped or knocked out or just generally made to seem powerless by whatever idiot with ill intent decided to show up on a nearly weekly basis. As the mighty and immortal Sun Princess, she could escape at any time, but she was happy to play these little games. The daring rescues and bloodless battles gave her ponies such a sense of confidence and purpose!
But this one didn't go as planned. One small, stupid mistake got her thrown to the twisted reaches of the world-prison, Tartarus. Now alone, unarmed, and barely more than mortal, Celestia wakes in a living landscape where everything has every reason to hate her.
And, far worse, she has accidentally picked up a passenger.

Sidenote: This a repost (I tried to go through official channels, I promise!) of a story I wrote long, long ago on an account I foolishly deleted. Back in those days, Tartarus hadn't shown up in an actual episode yet. It's not exactly an alternate universe situation, but it has nothing to do with the canon portrayal of the place.

Super amazing cover art by Cold In Gardez.

This story is a sequel to Upheaval: Breaking Point

Following the events of Breaking Point, Twilight Sparkle and her friends discover that Equestria's demise may not come from an enemy invasion, but from within. The Barrier Lands and the Heartland begin the slow and uneasy process of reuniting into a single Equestria, but this long-delayed joining is already in danger at its conception.

With Celestia's power in her grasp and her agents by her side, the wheels of Black Rose's plans for Equestria's future continue to turn. However, her brazen gamble has done more than just bring down a centuries-old barrier. Ancient powers begin to stir: the remnants of a dark period in Equestria's history, the immortal inhabitants of Celestia's homeworld, and a rising tide of darkness coming ever closer.

To Twilight Sparkle and Princess Celestia, it is a simple surprise visit to Canterlot. To the ponies of the Equestrian Civil Service, it is twenty-four hours of chaos, politics, weaponized dessert, politics, underhooved manipulation of media, politics, and things batrachian and tentacular. Who said bureaucracy isn't exciting?

Ever since she stopped Sombra and saved the Crystal Empire, Twilight Sparkle has taken an interest in dark magic. Princess Celestia catches wind of her student's interests, and tells her exactly why dark magic is not to be trifled with.

Image was used with permission.

Luna was tired of always being pushed around. Forgotten. Cast aside. Abandoned.
Now, she's hit her breaking point. With a dark spell brewing at her horn tip and Celestia's grip on her broken, she's ready to show all of Equestria what it truly means to be The Princess of the Night.

Celestia, never in all her life, dreamt that she'd stand opposite her sister in a fight. The two of them had defended Equestria many times together, yet now Celestia stood alone. Her sister wanted to kill her, but she couldn't bring herself to harm Luna. She had to find some way to stop her, but she was running short on time and ideas.

All it would take is one little mistake, and Equestria would never be the same again...

Featured: 11/14/23 - Thx!

The Sun has many sides that we are unaware of, Celestia hopes to keep it that way.

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.

Am I dead?
No. I can feel my limbs. They're numb. I can't move.
Have I been captured?
There's a sound. Voices. Women. Talking about me.
Oh God—there's something attached to my spine!

* * *

Audiobook by Scribbler Productions.
An entry for The Most Dangerous Game.
Speedpaint of the cover art.
Edited by GaryOak.
Reviews:
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The Royal Guard

This story is a sequel to Luna's Daughters

(Can be read without first reading the prequel.)

Centuries ago, in the years after Nightmare Moon's banishment, Luna and Celestia's descendants helped Celestia build the new nation.

Luna's great-granddaughter, Gale Glider, forged the Royal Equestrian Coast Guard, imbuing it with traditions of valor, sacrifice, and bravery. Her final words remain their sacred oath:

Preread by Sledge115 and RDT, thank you!

Cover art found on Google without any attribution, alas.

Author's notes blog, containing spoilers.

What does it mean to be immortal? Celestia has lived for too long. Her memories are old. She has seen many ponies, and many places, and many times, and many stars, and many dreams. She wakes one night to find she does not know the ponies and the stars of today from the ponies and the stars of any other day she has lived. She no longer knows what was real and what was only dreamed.

She desperately searches for the one pony she knows could not have been a dream.