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!

It has been a decade since Twilight Sparkle was crowned sole Princess, and Equestria is at peace.

The Crystal Empire, not so much. King Sombra is apparently unkillable, despite all efforts. He returns several times a year to be destroyed, leaving behind his horn and always swearing vengeance. The jaded Crystal Ponies, some literally jade, have grown used to their tyrant attempting to return. Princess Cadance rules with her husband Shining Armor, while their daughter Flurry Heart excels in school. All is well.

All seems well, until Cadance begins to suspect that something is wrong with her daughter after the latest battle with Sombra. Flurry quite literally walks off a blast of concentrated dark magic. What Cadance discovers will shake her family to the core and upend everything she thought she knew about her daughter.

Flurry Heart is evil. If Cadance cannot save her daughter, she must stop her before it's too late.

3/14/24 Still Alive Edition

There's only one pony in Ponyville that the Mane Six have never met. Pinkie Pie has never thrown him a party, Applejack has never sold him a mug of cider, and Twilight has never seen him check out any books. And as far as that unicorn, Lapis Print, is concerned, that's exactly how it should be.

Lapis can't risk them knowing where he lives, what he does for a living, or even what his name is - if he gets his way, the Mane Six won't even know he exists, and nopony in Ponyville will miss him once he's gone.

It should be a piece of cake - after all, it's not like the biggest magical power in Equestria is about making sure everypony looks out for each other, right?

(Rated Teen for language - mental cursing mostly.)

"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.

Life's tough when you're the most-wanted mare in the galaxy...

Half the world wants you dead. The other half is afraid of your help.

Flurry Heart has turned her back on her family, friends and society, but when a desperate call for help arrives, she is reminded that some things still matter. Now, she must battle her demons from the past to save those she loves - but they have demons of their own they must deal with as well.

Co-writer: Recon777

Many heartfelt thanks go out to my editors:

Developmental Editing: Recon777, BernardDK, Pawz
Line Editing: Recon777
Copy Editing: TranquilClaws
Proofreading: Oberth Effect

Without their encouragement and support, this fic wouldn't have been possible.

Check out BernardDK's other awesome art here!

Prereaders: Word Worthy, Flutterfinar. Orionwolf, Plonkett

A special nod to Pen Stoke for inspiring the character of Nyx.

Now with a review! https://issuu.com/equestriatimes/docs/040/s/10947601

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

This story is a sequel to Rekindled Embers

Thanks to the efforts of Emberglow, her fellow Elements, and all who stood against tyranny, the twisted heart of the Holy Equestrian Diarchy was exposed and expunged. Some time has passed since then, and all the creatures of the land have settled into a new normal. While there are those who still cling to their old fear and hatred, the seeds of change have been planted in the hearts of many who once blindly followed a bigoted faith. Others have already embraced peaceful coexistence, following Emberglow’s example.

But sudden, unfathomable arrivals trigger a seismic shift, upending what everypony thought they knew and threatening to undo everything Emberglow and company achieved. Can they uncover the real truth once again and protect Equestria? Or will renewed violence and conquest sweep across the entire world under the purview of those who would claim absolute power?

Edited by LysanderasD and the inspiring applezombi
Cover Art by JodTheCod

Come join us on the Rekindled Embers Discord!

It has been nearly a thousand years since Twilight Sparkle died. Celestia and Luna are gone. The Holy Equestrian Diarchy, ruled by a bigoted and brutal theocracy, has driven ponies apart and divided them along tribal lines. Unicorns are driven from society, feared and hated.

The lessons of friendship, painstakingly written down in the journal of friendship by Princess Twilight and her friends, have been warped and twisted to fit the Diarchy's hateful ideology. But to the average pony, this is the truth and reality of the world they live in, beset on all sides by enemies monstrous and magical.

Emberglow, a young pegasus mare, aspires to join the elite Knights, magically enhanced warriors dedicated to the holy Saints worshiped by the state religion. Can she uncover the lies and deceptions that have led the world to this bitter place?

Thanks to QueenChrysalisForever for prereading Chapters 1-24. Prereader for chapters 29-31 is MrRTS.
Prereading for chapter 34-? by Horsetorian
Additional pre-readers: bananachips/CommissarVulpin, Thought Prism, Chyre
Special thanks to my amazing editor, Cyonix
Cover Art by JodTheCod

Note on timing: I began writing this long before Season 9 aired, so none of those events happened as far as the narrative of this story is concerned.

Come join us on the Rekindled Embers Discord!

Edit: Featured 8/7/20! Yay and Thanks!

It had seemed like a great and foolproof plan. Set up a fake Snow Day and get school cancelled so they wouldn't have to take the dreaded test they all were afraid they would fail. They hadn't counted on getting caught so easily. Principal Celestia is far from amused by the group's antics. Now they're all in trouble and it seems thier good idea wasn't so good after all...

Note: Based off the Equestria Girls' short "Holiday Unwrapped". This story was also a collaberative effort between SundropStriker and Wysteria on an old FIMfiction account belonging to SundropStriker.

Extra Note: Contains nonsexual disciplinary spanking of teenagers. Don't like, don't read.

Cozy Glow has been banished to the human realm following her criminal actions in Equestria, and now finds herself trying to survive in a world she knows nothing about. Luckily, or perhaps unluckily, for her, she's not alone. She is under the watchful care of one Sunset Shimmer, who agreed to keep an eye on her per request from Princess Twilight Sparkle. Cozy is not happy with her entire situation, and rebels at every turn. Her new "gaurdian" tries to be patient and understanding, but after an incident that affects the entirety of Canterlot High, Sunset finally decides to take matters into her own hands to bring her charge down a notch and teach a valuable lesson that won't be so easy to forget..and in the process, learn more about Cozy than anyone else had ever thought to learn.

Note: This story does contain disciplinary spanking of a minor by an older teenager in a later chapter. If you don't like that kind of thing, don't read.