Desperation can make a pony do a lot of crazy things. Lie. Cheat. Steal. Pay a call on two ponies who were trying to kill her the last time she saw them.

Of course, she was trying to kill them, too, back then.

But that's all in the past! And now that their daughter Rarity is on Princess Twilight's new ruling council, set to become a leader in the Equestrian government once Princess Celestia and Princess Luna actually step down, well, everything'll be totally different and so much better, right?

As long as the truth doesn't come out, of course...

An entry in the Ancestral Tribute contest, this story was awarded 3rd place, and its title comes from David Mallett's song "Ambition."

This story is a sequel to Prey and a Lamb

'Little lamb, Little lamb, where have you been?~ I've sown the fields and reaped the corn~'

Ups and downs, triumphs and setbacks. This story(s) mainly draws from the characters after the end of 'Prey and a Lamb'. These individual story-chapters are both about what came afterwards, and their owners involvement in the wider events of Equestria.

You don't necessarily have to have read the marathon long previous story, (its really long, I know) as the characters can stand alone to an extent, but it might help. Or not? You can do as you please.

Now, as a word of how I plan to do this, first off: There is no release schedule! Sorry, no bi-weekly update grindstone writing. However, each chapter will be a small self contained story in itself. I will maybe use certain characters more than once, and interweave these min-stories Time Lines, but this will at least mean there are no cliff-hangers at the end of each chapter.

(Disclaimer: I own nothing and have no say in FiM and associated industries. The cover image came from a suggestion from earth)

This story is a sequel to Changing Expectations

When ages are segmented and divided in the annals of history, it is done so with great events as breakpoints. The Second Age of Heroes was unanimously declared to have started with the return of Princess Luna and the changeling Invasion of Canterlot.

For thousands of years, the changelings survived beneath The Great Tapestry, that which connects all living and nonliving things. Hundreds of generations worked endlessly to keep their existence a secret. With one command from Queen Chrysalis, the Masquerade was broken.

In a single night, the changelings waged war against Equestria and took the Kingdom by storm. Months later, the war between changelings and ponies has ended. A new tapestry, a new story, must be woven between the two species. Equestria and the Fifth Hive have gone through a dark chapter and have emerged stronger for it.

One war ends and another begins.

As The Sword of Damocles hangs above the heads of the formerly-human King Phasma and his Equestrian counterparts, the forces of light must work on an ever-shortening window before war once again brings Hell to Equus. Dark powers grow in the places that the light does not reach, and they bring one irrefutable truth.

Epitaph is coming.

Cover art by Nixworld.

Special thanks to my pre-readers!

Nightmare Moon's return was not without incident and injury. Those that were chosen by the Elements suffered and were pained in the attempt to save Celestia's younger sister. While they succeeded, the trial left scars.

Princess Celestia sees this as everything going as planned and is ready to use the new Bearers for anything she needs taken care of.

Princess Luna thinks the group should be protected and only used when the situation is at it's most dire.

A compromise is made and Luna is allowed to form a team to deal with threats that do not require an orbital strike from a friendship canon. Provided she can find those willing.

With the memory of Nightmare Moon still fresh in every ponies mind, Luna is unable to find ponies who are willing to serve her readily.

So what is a Princess of the Night to do?

Not recruit ponies obviously.

[ Story has my usually Lewd jokes and comments but no sex and thus the warning is here. Story not affiliated with TGaP or SiS. It's just yet another idea i had. ]

Now alone in the makeshift bunker that's kept her safe for years, Nightmare Moon opens the door and remembers her failures.

This story is a sequel to Anchor Foal: A Romantic Cringe Comedy

It's been over a year and when it comes to the little routines of labor and love, Fleur still hasn't managed to fully adjust. She needs to find some means of making it all last. And one thing she can definitely try to do is screen out anything which threatens to make her mate unhappy. Such as, just by way of very unwelcome example, the brother. Because Zephyr wants to be part of Fluttershy's life. He claims to have changed. But Fleur doesn't know whether change is truly possible.

Or if she's really changed at all.

(Now with author Patreon and Ko-Fi pages.)

Trapped in the endless halls of Tartarus, forced to listen to the endless screams of rage and regret; an artist grins.

Royalty had put him here, and royalty would let him out.

A deal here, a concession there, and openings would appear.

A crack could break a marble statue, a drop of poison could ruin a meal, the smallest of errors could bring down anything.

art Source: a Fatal_Error has Occurred: Chapter 2 - Cover by Xedramon on DeviantArt
in case Fimfic screws up the source thing again on the coverart

To rise against the tyrant. To taste victory. To become what you hated. He had experienced that loop and, given this chance, he would do it right this time. He would turn his suffering people on a better path from its tyrant, Queen Chrysalis.

Twilight didn't expect she would get to know anypony in Ponyville, let alone travel with them through one of the most dangerous forests in Equestria to fight a supercharged alicorn in an abandoned castle.

What she REALLY didn't expect was that she wasn't going to be the one fighting.

I did not draw any of the art that is on the cover. I only photoshopped Let Me Solo Her into the image.

p.s. writing this has given me aids.

p.p.s. Thanks for getting this on to trending, I like watching numbers go up.

Sombra's takeover took everyone in the Crystal Empire by surprise. No one saw it coming, none were prepared for it, and almost no one got away. Almost.

A few hooffuls of daring souls managed to break out of the city and flee southwards, towards Equestria. Some ran to beg the Princesses for aid, others - just to save themselves and their families from the mad tyrant.

But as the refugees are about to learn, it's the dead of winter outside the Empire's shield, and the crystal ponies are far too used to their warm life in the city. One filly that gets separated from her parents while trying to get away learns that fact all too painfully...

Cover art by Marbo, Allfather of the Snowponies.

Additional tag:snowpony