Everyone always asked Tank where he was going.

He never knew how to answer them. How could one say that when time eroded everything else away, there became less and less meaning in a purpose.

All he knew is that the time passed him by, the more he always seemed to be leaving.

That's when Philomena showed up.

Written for the third Quills and Sofas Expanding Universe contest. A sequel to Novelle Tale's Growing Together .

Art by Shaslan!

In the modern era, it has become common for foreigners to mock Equestria, seeing the pony nation as weak, naive, unwilling to commit to hard decisions. More belligerent neighbors often view the ponies as easy prey or targets, to have their magic stolen, to be devoured and pillaged, or conquered as a ready supply of slaves.

It was not always thus. In ages past, Equestria was a land of heroes and legends, of darkness and bloodshed. In time, the princesses learned to temper strength with mercy, power with forbearance, and righteous conviction with benevolence.

But now, a thousand years after the younger princess was banished to the moon, the long peace is drawing to a close. Forces both within and without Equestria awaken, seeing a nation weak and easily toppled. Seeing a people grown fat on peace and luxury, who have long forgotten the hardships of war and conflict, or the glory of bloodshed.

Woe betide to all who come to Equestria with ill intent. For in all these long years of peace, the Princess of the Sun has never forgotten the lessons of war, and her eyes watch over her beloved subjects with not only patience and understanding, but an implicit promise of protection.

The time will come soon, when those who would do Celestia's Little Ponies wrong will come to learn... That even an Empire of Mercy is still paved upon the bones of its enemies.

[...]
Alternate universe story based on two main principals: First, that Rainbow Dash is taken in as Celestia's student in addition to Twilight. Second, that the threats to Equestria are both larger in magnitude, but also countered by a more competent and militarized Equestria. Also, it will follow my headcanon that alicorn's are gender neutral.

It is also somewhat based on my love of story threads that are disconnected but still intersect. The continuity will not really have a single group of main characters (Though it will start with mostly Rainbow Dash and Celestia), but rather a number of different story threads playing out simultaneously across the world. I have plans for the Mane Six, Celestia, Luna, Spike, Starlight Glimmer, and Scootaloo at the least.

I will be posting every 28 days on saturday, at least for the time being. Story is in present tense, third person. Genre will kinda be all over the place, parts of the story will include the whole spectrum from war story to slice of life to drama to who knows what else.

This story did not explode! What a relief and/or letdown.

Part of OPERATION CRACKFIC STORM 2024 ( group | stories ).

Thanks to Silk Rose for coming up with the idea, writing chapters 22 and 9, and developing the code; thanks also to Meadowsys for general code help.

Thanks to IrradiatedPirateBooty ( tumblr ) for the awesome character art.

And thanks to everyone in the comments who stuck around for the final countdown!

It's graduation day. Sunset watches as her friends make their plans for the future, each having dreams to chase, and college to look forward to. In contrast, Sunset is filled with uncertainty and indecision, unsure of her own path in life.

Can Sunset conquer her insecurities and, with Fluttershy's guidance, find solace?

Many thanks to Cursori for his feedbacks and to Gearcrow for editing!

Sister Twilight of the Celestial Order makes an unsettling discovery in the bowels of the abbey.

Small world-building one-shot.

All at once, I lost everything in my life, and was swept away to a new world in the body of this small... horse... thing. What now? Will I be able to find new meaning in this new world? Will I be able to get over the loss I've experienced? Will I ever confront that deep dark secret that I keep even from myself?

...and will I ever get used to not having hands?

Wooo my first fic ever! Always been a big fan of HiE fics so decided to give it a shot myself. Hopefully it isn't too depressing at the start, I have some cute ideas for some wholesome moments later on.

Edit 4/16/24: 250 LIKES!!! I'm running out of ways to say thank you!! But THANK YOU!!!

Edit 3/17/24: 100 LIKES WOWWWW
THIS GENUINELY BLEW UP!!! I HAVE NO IDEA WHATS HAPPENING!!!!! BUT THANK YOU ALL!!!!!!!

Edit 3/15/24: FEATURED?! WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS
Thank you all so much for all the support so far!! I wouldn't have ever thought that a little story I made on a whim would grow so large this quickly! I'll be trying my hardest to get new chapters out for you all >:3

Note: Tags may update as I continue the story. I’ll add tags as I introduce important characters.
Also, do note that this fic will contain transgender themes. If that bothers you, please leave.

Inspired by Greenhorne's Trust Once Lost and Boopy Doopy's Beyond Me.

Cover by Fireglow!

It's been a little over a year since Princess Flurry Heart founded the settlement of Winter's Hearth deep in the unclaimed territory of the Frozen North, and in that time she and her subjects have faced many dangers. But whether through grit or sheer equine spirit, they've survived every one of them.

So when the yaks of the Northwestern Tribes decide to declare war on them, it feels like just another Tuesday.

The yaks feel differently.

This story was originally conceived as an entry to Imposing Sovereigns IV, but I didn't end up writing it until several months after the contest closed. You can read the actual entrants to that contest here! The intended prompt was Flurry Heart/Strength.

After evil King Sombra conquers the Crystal Empire, why is Flurry Heart the only pony in her family who thinks something is wrong?

A contest entry for: The Shining Armor Is A Bad Dad And Also A Himbo And Flurry Heart Is A Goth Or You Will Be Penalized And This Is Definitely Not Somebody's Weird Fetish List Contest

briefly featured for part of 2-24-24, somehow

Opaline has declared herself the greatest Fire Alicorn in Equestria.

The actual greatest Fire Alicorn in Equestria would like to disagree.

Featured 2/22/2024 - 2/25/2024!

After a month of uncertainty, sulking, and reorientation, Sonata rambles her shower thoughts on everything from the sirens' new human voices, to the loss of their magic, to the Rainbooms.

This is a short, stream-of-consciousness character voice exercise. Dialogue is fun, so why not remove everything else? I'm rather pleased with it; Sonata's head, as it turns out, is a delightful place to be.