"The first time I came back, I thought it was a miracle. By the fifth or sixth time, I knew it was a curse."

Death is a reasonable fear, but it is also a constant reassurance. A promise that no matter how bad things get, they will one day end.

That promise was broken, leaving Rainbow Dash to pay the cost.

A very last minute entry for the 2024 SciFi Contest III.

Special thanks to ScreamQueen and Rb for prereading and valuable feedback.

General content warning: Some depictions of blood, death, and debilitating injuries, but no graphic descriptions. Some existential horror.

Everypony knows the Hearth’s Warming Eve tale of tribal unity and the shared rule which followed. Everypony also knows that alicorns - singular or dual - have sat on Equestria’s throne for well over a thousand years.

Very few have really looked in to what actually happened between those points.

Even Twilight Sparkle, until a chance encounter leads her to an alarming discovery: Neither she, nor any other alicorn, has actually held any legal right to Equestria’s throne. They are technically usurpers, autocrats - even tyrants.

Still struggling with her own personal rule, having the fundamental basis for her authority swept from beneath her leaves Twilight with one simple, yet impossible question: 

Now what?

Many thanks to Commawriter and Kirtai for pre-reading!

Cover image was edited by Vinylshadow. They deserve all credit for it!

This story is a sequel to The Twilight Enigma

With the queen of Twilight Town present, the Storm King's invasion of Canterlot goes badly for his commander and minions. Not satisfied with a mere victory, Captain Blackmane and her friends go on the hunt. Twilight is determined to find the Storm King and make sure he will never be able to harm anyone ever again. It's obviously a mission of reasonable prevention, not murderous revenge. Obviously... Right?

Book 4 of the Alicorn Adventure series.
Sequel to The Twilight Enigma and prequel to The Skyla Pseudonym.

My name is Comet Tail, and I have died many times.

When what should've been a simple visit with a geneticist for some tests ends in disaster, Spike and Gallus suddenly find themselves the targets of a deadly conspiracy.

Now, running for their very lives, they have to work together so to uncover a stunning secret that has been kept from them both...for long enough.

!!! BEWARE OF SPOILERS IN COMMENTS !!!

First Featured 2/6/2024

This story is a sequel to The Blueblood Papers: Bound By Blood

The Heartlands Campaign has reached a stalemate, and the Guards Division pauses to lick its wounds and prepare for the next offensive. While on leave, Prince Blueblood meets his hero, A. K. Yearling, and is dragged into a Daring Do story he would much rather have read.

Proofread and edited by Setokaiva

Most of ponykind didn't think much of the space far above their heads, until a record from another world fell from the skies.

Foreword:

If you have found this book, then I urge you to return it to where you have found it.

When I began writing this journal I thought this information valuable and even as I progressed I thought it necessary for the survival of my tribe. It wasn't until much later that I understood that what I have learned is priceless.

These secrets are not mine to share and they are not yours to learn.

Inside of these pages you will find the musings of a young fool and the language and history of two truly unique ponies. It is not history that I wish to be forgotten, but it must be hidden.

Again, I urge you, return this to its place.

-Starswirl The Bearded

Written in collaboration with my friend Lion

DISCLAIMER: This is an experimental story meant to teach the absolute basics of a constructed language.

A companion piece to Babel and set in my Scorchedquestria universe. Not required reading as this story can stand on its own.

This story is a sequel to A Clash of Magic and Steam

Survivors of a decade long war that ended two years ago, Wiggly Sprocket and Live Wire have fended for themselves after war claimed their parents.

While the United Pony Space Initiative proved victorious, the Lilian star system was left nearly in ashes. The warp nexus allowing access to the wider UPSI still sits as a ruined mess, leaving the small planetary colony and two stations to fend for themselves against resurgent piracy.

Wiggly Sprocket has dreamed of leaving the system since her parents were killed, and taking the first shuttle when the nexus is repaired. However, money is sparse and the breaker yards only pay enough to keep her and Live Wire afloat.

That is until happenstance sees a battered but functional ship fall into her hooves. Trading the safety of a steady job for the potential riches floating in the void, Wiggly and Wire never could have imagined what they would find in the midnight sea.

Reading the 1st book is not truly required, but it will give context you might otherwise miss.

One came for a weekend getaway of relaxation, a hard earned reward after a grueling exam.

The other came for a weekend of awesomeness, to dominate and show just what she’s made of.

Straying eyes and a chance meeting brings these two unlikely ponies together, but after some time in Las Pegasus, will they stay that way?

Set before the events of season 1.

Cover art by Snow Quill