The opening of the Empire has also meant the reintroduction of the species who live there. It's been over a thousand years since Equestria has been through this particular migration -- more than enough time to forget how hyper-territorial, angry, unreasoning, and just plain foul these travelers are. But it's finally the right season again, and that means Ponyville is about to get a refresher course in dealing with the second-worst thing to ever come out of the North.

...well, maybe first.

(A stand-alone, no prior-reading-necessary part of the Triptych Continuum, which has its own TVTropes page and FIMFiction group: new members and trope edits are welcome. )

Now with author Patreon and Ko-Fi pages.

This story is a sequel to Rise of the Phoenix Empress

It has been nearly nine hundred years since Sunbeam Sparkle claimed the throne of Equestria after Celestia’s abdication. In that time, she has forged Equestria into a powerful centralized empire that spans most of the known world. Even the distant griffons and zebras pay reluctant homage to the Phoenix Empress.

In this series of connected one-shots, we’ll be taking a look at life the new Equestria Sunbeam Sparkle has forged, through the eyes of its inhabitants.

Study Buddies: Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle are the Empress’ co-students. They also rather dislike each other, mostly due to Sunset’s less than friendly attitude. Can they find a way to work together to fulfill the Empress’ high expectations, or will they just end up trying to kill each other?

Sunbeam Sparkle is not a good pony. She might not be pure evil, but she is ruthless, ambitious, and so power-hungry that she would even aspire to usurp Celestia's throne. Worse, she succeeds in manipulating Celestia into not only surrendering rule over Equestria, but her immortality as well.

It is often said that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. In most cases that’s true. Many good ponies have begun with good intentions, but slowly lost their way. However, this is not always the case. A rare few virtuous ponies have the character and strength of will to resist temptation, and are never corrupted by their authority.

Even rarer, there comes a time when gaining power makes a pony better than they were before. This is one such story.

Shining Armor goes to sleep one night and wakes up in the future, having been resurrected by his wife Princess Cadance for the fourth time. All of his memories of the past century are missing, and his kingdom is nearly unrecognizable.

As Shining struggles to make sense of the new world around him, he begins to suspect there's more to the story he isn't being told...

Written for The Writeoff Association's "All the Time in the World" contest.

You've read this scene before.

Sunny believed the tales. Really believed, in a way that most ponies didn't anymore. About the Elements of Harmony, and about Twilight Sparkle. Back when Equestria had princesses, and was whole, when every creature knew the real power of Friendship. She believed⁠—and she knew that, one day, if she believed hard enough, it could be again.

Elsewhere, distant, Twilight Sparkle watches her would-be student, and frets.

A Russian translation by NovemberDragon is available here. | Русский перевод от NovemberDragon доступен здесь.

A Chinese translation by forgivenlove is available here here. | 这里有forgivenlove的中文翻译。

A reading by ObabScribbler is available here.

Part 1 of Equestrian Scions, which continues with The Dreamer and Me.

A late addition to the "But what happened to Equestria?" story pile.

[04/29/21 - 05/02/21] Featured. That's a first for me. Thank you all so much.

This story is a sequel to Triptych

As far as amenities go, most of what the Manehattan Fashion Moon trade show offers to first-time booth operators is 'the honor of attending'. It means Rarity is expected to pay for her cart's storage, along with just finding a place to put it. But with Pinkie along for the trip, at least there's somepony to speak with during the endless Moon-watched circuits of the structure. Two mares desperately searching for an empty space, with nothing to do but think.

It's easy to think, when all you can really do is trot and talk. The hard part is figuring out how to stop.

(Part of the Triptych Continuum, which has its own TVTropes page and FIMFiction group. New members and trope edits welcome.)

Now with author Patreon and Ko-Fi pages.

For a thousand years, there was just Celestia. Then Cadance appeared, Luna returned -- and now Twilight has ascended. There are ponies who are very curious about just what happened, why -- and how. Especially the how. Twilight herself is on that list, a freshly-minted princess with far more questions than answers, about to face a brand new one: what truly makes an alicorn?

And what happens if it goes wrong?

(Part of the Triptych Continuum, which has its own TVTropes page and FIMFiction group. New members and trope edits welcome.)

Now with author Patreon and Ko-Fi pages.

Cover art by Harwick.

Princess Celestia tries to raise the moon on three nights across eras. Each night, that which haunts her grows in power — and it is a power she dares not name.

A power she cannot name.

Proofreading and editing help by Chris the Cynic and Cynewulf. Cover art by Nadnerb. Buy this story! Contribute to the TVTropes page!

Twilight Sparkle wakes to a wasteland. Equestria as she knows it has been destroyed. Her friends have scattered to the winds.

Twilight must find out what happened, where the Princesses have gone and what has happened to her friends. To do that, she must fight through a toxic gas that has changed ponies into something unrecognizable. Have her friends survived at all?

There's a dark secret behind all of this, and in a journey that heralds only pain and turmoil, does Twilight really want to know the truth? Or are some things best kept close to a pony's chest?