What if the alicorns of Equestria aren't just representations of their various aspects, but are in fact, linked to their very existance?

This question had been bouncing around my head, and just kept gathering more and more details until I had to get it out for others to know my suffering.

Look, upon the Desolation of Elysium, and know despair.

Edit: I may revisit this at some point and tweak it a bit, but mostly I just needed to get the idea out there before it joined so many others in the dusty, forgotten corners of my mind

We doubted the queen's power. We thought nothing of her tales of strength. Why should we have believed the far fetched rumors of awesome power? Of her loyal maidens of battle? That the small country that had the gall to call itself the "Crystal Empire" was in its right a true empire?

Well, the simple answer is, we didn't. And we should have.

Then maybe the bloodshed could have been avoided. I believe that's what Queen Megan would have wanted.

-From the memoirs of an ex-Providence soldier.

Inspired by a particularly excellent piece by Equestria Prevails!

A series of stories focused on Princess Luna adjusting to modern Equestrian society, assisted by her sister and her friends.

No one alive today can say where she came from; simply that she has always been there.

And yet, few ponies have had a greater impact on Princess Celestia's life than Raven, her most faithful aide.

Inspired by and based off of a headcanon put forth by Heir-of-Rick, though perhaps a bit less insidious than what he had in mind. He very kindly provided an alternate version of his image for me to use as my cover image! Text added by me.

All comments and criticism very welcome!

Featured in the Royal Canterlot Library! Go there to read the interview for some behind-the-scenes info on this story!

Translations: Chinese, Spanish!

(A retelling of the episode "She's All Yak")

"This is the story of a young creature who believed that in order to win the approval of another, she had to change what, and therefore, who she was. This is a belief that has been held by many a creature throughout time. However, no creature that held to this believe ever found happiness. Why? Because to hide or change one's own identity just to please someone else is foolishness, as that other creature clearly doesn't have the first creature's best interests at heart. At the same time, those who truly do care would be turned away by the sight of their friend twisting and corrupting their identity, and thus would their friendship die."

"This is the tale of a young creature who learned this lesson the hard way. . . It is a tale of love."

Trixie has met the most beautiful pony ever - Trixie. But how will Trixie react to the relationship between Trixie and Trixie?

(Update: 11/5/2017 - Major shout-out to Rock-Mint-Swirl who was incredibly nice enough to do a fanart for this story, which you can see right here. It contains story spoilers so please read the fanfic first though.)

The Cutie Mark Crusaders have dealt with all kinds of ponies having trouble finding their true calling in life, but none can compare to the special request they receive from Princess Twilight Sparkle herself, or the shock they receive on discovering who it is: Fizzlepop Berrytwist, possibly the most hated and feared pony in generations. Can a pony who's spent most of her life rejecting her true calling possibly find it now? Can the Cutie Mark Crusaders help a pony who almost everypony else in Equestria has rejected?

Movie Spoilers.

Cover art is property of Hasbro and DHX Media.

Warning: spoilers!

Tempest Shadow aka Fizzlepop Berrytwist has committed quite a few crimes during her time as the Storm King's lieutenant: high treason, slavery, kidnapping, use of forbidden magic conspiracy to overthrow the government, etc.

Now, after her trial, Tempest is locked away in the castle, waiting for the Princesses and the Council to deliver their verdict...

Coverart by puddingskinmcgee

Special thanks to Georg for proofreading and editing!

Twilight's got a pretty good life going in Ponyville. Her days are full of friendship, studying, and the studying of friendship. On top of that, she's a princess in a fancy crystal castle in Ponyville. Her life is as close to perfect as she can imagine it...

Except for that weird noise that has suddenly started keeping her up at night.

Click here for an audio reading by Emogak

You are entering another dimension, a land not of sight or sound, but of mind and magic. It is a realm where light hides amongst the shadows, and your enemies wear the faces of your friends. This is a dimension we call … The Gray Zone.

Submitted for your consideration: Canterlot, the capital of Equestria, the gleaming city on the mountain. Just yesterday, the city was host to a lavish Royal Wedding—and it fought off an invasion of shapeshifting insects. Today, the ponies fancy themselves safe. But as they will soon discover, their worst enemy still walks among them, unseen. The real nightmare has only begun …

———

My tribute to a classic episode of The Twilight Zone.

Many thanks to my pre-readers:
JapaneseTeeth
KuroiTsubasaTenshi
Yami Vizzini

———

Review and such.