Set only a week after the banishment of Princess Luna to the moon, the realm of Equestria is in a state of upheaval. Celestia's royal guard attempt to regain control over the vast empire once ruled by dual monarchs, and the young alicorn's actions as a ruler have become a subject of scrutiny after her sister's attempted coup. Two factions have risen in the turmoil: The Knights of the Sun and The Bright Moon.

Far away from the political infighting and sword rattling exists a small mining town on the outskirts of Equestrian territory. Where once the royal guard would have no trouble fending off raids from bandits or other criminals, the panic of the capitol has caused a withdrawal of military forces to more essential cities and trading ports. Completely undefended and without a spell or sword amongst them, this town was soon overrun by a band of bi-pedal canines calling themselves the Diamond Dogs. As brutal as they are lazy, the Diamond Dogs have forced the local population to work until collapse to collect gems from the town mine.

Outraged by his inability to fend off these bandits and thieves, a young unicorn named Bone Marrow tries with all of his might to find his purpose in life - his cutie mark - and hopes that it will be enough to drive off the invaders of his home. He will soon discover that his special talent is far more than he bargained for.

((A Sequel will begin for this story as soon as I finish I Am a Pet Changeling. Stay tuned on Discord! https://discord.gg/nDXd3AB ))

Given the circumstances that had found her permanently posed in granite, Chrysalis hardly expected to find herself freed from that state by Starlight Glimmer herself - much less asked for help by her number-one nemesis.

But for Starlight Glimmer and Spike, all other alternatives are exhausted. Something is sickening the changelings: A disease which spreads by no clear vector, no observable cause, and has no known history in their species. If any information or hope of a cure exists, it may very well reside with the mind of their former queen.

But coercing Chrysalis to cooperate for the sake of those she views as traitors will be hard enough, and even if she does, what will the consequences of her information be?

An entry in Imposing Sovereigns III, using the prompt Chrysalis / Perseverance.

Cover art made by Comma Typer, who deserves all credit.

Daring Do cannot believe her luck when she is asked to help explore the most ancient tomb known to ponykind. But terrible danger awaits her, for beneath the earth rests something beyond equine understanding.

Warning: comments contain ending spoilers.

TVTropes page.
Alternate ending by Duplex Fields.
Archived in the Pony Fiction Vault.
Reviews:
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When the princesses receive word of a mysterious illness breaking out at an archaeological survey site in the Badlands, they send Twilight, Spike, and Starlight to investigate. They find a bizarre sequence of markers, signs, and hints left long before pony civilisation as they know it, leading the way to place long forgotten by history. Together, the ponies must uncover their meaning, before an ancient evil from a past not even remembered by ponies leaves its mark on the future.

Thanks to Alden MacManx for proof reading.

Featured 31/10 - 05/11/21

"Drink this potion, then answer the prompt written below."

Those are the instructions Twilight Sparkle has sent to a number of her friends, along with a small vial of a mysterious potion.

The following letters were their responses.

Art by Shamanguli, a snippet of the cover art for the Ponies at Dawn album Anthology.

Featured 5-18-21 to 5-20-21, peaking at the #5 spot. Thanks, everypony!

A kingdom needs a protector to defend it.
A protector needs a weapon to defend the kingdom.
A fundamental truth from the times where Luna was the hero of Equestria instead of a nightmarish fairy tail.
So now that Luna has finally returned, she is in need of a new weapon to protect the kingdom once more.

But when swinging a sword becomes a major obstacle for the princess, is it the fault of the blade, or the one who wields it?

An entry in Imposing Sovereigns III, using the prompt Luna/Kindness.

Pre-read by the always amazing daOtterGuy who as if he wasn't amazing enough, also made the cover art!

Now with a reading by StraightToThePointStudio!: Reading

Everypony on Rarity’s ship is in love with someone impossible. Some earn their fortune and go back to claim their love. Others find love along the way, or outgrow their crush and move on.

Rarity? She’s in love with the sky.

An entry into Jake the Army Guy's "Obscure Shipping" contest.

Through a miraculous and cruel twist of fate, Sombra has survived death yet again. However, his many defeats have left him broken and near feral, and the Princesses see no option but to lock him away. Starlight Glimmer, seeing more than the rage and hate the others see, feels pity for the fallen king, and offers to take Sombra under her care to try and reform him.

She quickly finds out Sombra's more broken than anyone believes, and it's going to be a rocky road to redemption, but even the darkest shadows can take solace in the starlight.

Cover art drawn by my sister, linked in the art itself.

"And we are absolutely certain that's a settlement? That Rhysling already has Indigenous populations?"

"Yes, Commander. There is no doubt. An engineer can fix the probe, but he would not know how to talk to them."

"Alright. Forget the engineer, then. Get me the linguist."

Coverart by SagebrushPony (not on Fimfiction).

Preread by Sunnypack, Shinzakura, Ghuntz, and Admiral Biscuit.

French language support by Conflicting views and Sparktail. German language support by Purple Smart. Russian language support by Alkarasu.

This story follows show canon until the end of Season 1.

Featured on 30 June -- 4 July 2021.

The Cutie Map summons Luna on her first friendship mission, and she's doubly excited to learn she'll be going with her girlfriend, Fluttershy. The only hitch is that it seems to be sending them to another world entirely. Some place called... Hell, was it?

This story was written as a special thank you to my followers – all 666 of you, as of posting!

Additional thanks go to thedarkrep and Eddie Grammar for proofreading!
Cover art by the absolutely amazing Overlordneon