This story is a sequel to Before the Storm: The Rise of Firefly

Three hundred years after Luna's banishment, an uneasy peace has collapsed and war erupts between the United Tribes of Equestria and the growing Gryphon Empire, who seek to supplant Princess Celestia as ruler of the heavens and claim the rich lands of the pony nation for their own. With the border defenses shattered, Canterlot endangered and the armed forces unable to stem the onslaught, who can stop the relentless Gryphon war machine as it overruns province after province, scoring victory after victory as it closes in on the Equestrian capital city?

In this time of peril, when the entire pony nation teeters on the brink of defeat, a champion will rise to lead the resistance to the gryphon invasion, becoming not just the commander of an elite force, but a symbol of Equestrian valor and fighting spirit. A born warrior and leader, the name of Firefly will be one day revered as not just the founder of the Wonderbolts, but as Equestria's greatest hero...

Taking place seven hundred years before present and canon to both the Gentlemanverse and Turnabout Storm novelization, this is the story of Rainbow Dash's ancestor, the founding of the Wonderbolts, and their role in the bloodiest conflict of Equestrian history. It is a multistory Magnum Opus consisting of several discrete stories, as described below:

Book 1: The War Begins

The Gryphon Empire invasion of Equestria launches at dawn with an all-out assault on the Equestrian Army and Aerial Corps border bases, accompanied by deep-strike raids against Cloudsdale and the Royal Guard training base of Fort Spur.

Will Princess Celestia unleash her enormous power to end the war quickly? Can Outpost Epsilon withstand the onslaught long enough for the much-maligned Royal Navy to reach them? And can the civilian populace of Cloudsdale resist a massive and determined air attack by the Imperial elite against its all-important weather factories and storm cloud production facilities?

Book 2: Rally and Recover

With the border defenses crushed and the remains of Outpost Epsilon evacuated, both sides lick their wounds, hastily reorganizing and preparing for the next Imperial offensive aimed deeper into Equestria.

Can missing Cloudsdale be located near the borders of Thestralslovakia? Will the once-disloyal and still-distrusted bat-ponies that live there side with Equestria or the Empire? What is the Imperial invasion plan? What role will the Changelings play in the conflict? And what will happen when a sixteen-year old gryphon cub faces off with the gryphon-hating pony named Thunderbolt; one of the most lethal and bloodthirsty beings to ever live...?

Book 3: Second Offensive

While the fate of Cloudsdale is negotiated and Firefly's forces prepare for additional action, the second Imperial offensive begins with an assault against the badly outnumbered Equestrian Army at Maresk two hundred miles inside Equestria, attempting to pocket and destroy the thousands of sorely-needed soldiers based there.

Can an out-of-favor earth pony Colonel rally his regiment to save the city and an entire Army Corps? Or will the city's soldiers and civilians alike face the fate of the border bases, becoming yet another crushing defeat in the Imperial drive on Canterlot?

• Writers: Denim_Blue and Firesight with occassional writing assists from Leo Archon and AJ_Aficionado
• Prereaders: AJ_Aficionado, SilentWoodFire, TheGoldCrow, Denim_Blue
• Guest Writers: AJ_Aficionado, Denim_Blue

Maps of Equestria and Equis: https://www.fimfiction.net/chapter/1105220

(Cover art by Weird Alicorn)

(NOTICE: As of 5/22/21, Special Chapters have been added to the story! They are denoted with SP and a number. They are best understood after having read the entire story, but have been written to fit their place in the narrative.)

"You've heard of it, haven't you? The Legend of the Two Sisters?"

Two thousand years ago, two sisters sealed away the world of demons by wielding its own infernal power against it. One thousand years ago, one of them was corrupted by her power and banished to the demon realm by the other. With the demon realm sealed away, the remaining sister faded into history, deciding to leave humanity free of their immense powers.

But with her virtuous sister long since a myth, the Dark Sister plots to return and conquer the land of mortals once more.

Standing in her way in the present day is Sunset Shimmer, a legendary demon hunter who was once a lowly high-school bully, but trained in the ways of the Light Sister to redeem herself. Half-human, half-demon; fully loaded with twin pistols and a huge sword, she runs a demon hunting service called "Sun Never Sets". Despite her history as a bad girl, she now uses her demonic abilities to challenge the forces of darkness with wit and style.

But also chasing the Dark Sister is her long-standing best friend Twilight Sparkle, another half-demon demon hunter trained in the light, but fallen to the darkness within herself. She's willing to sacrifice everything to stop the Dark Sister's return- even the rest of their friends. An unresolved rivalry stands between the two of them, and by facing her Sunset must learn what it means to carry the legacy of the Sister of Light.

Between the Dark Sister, Twilight, and all of the underworld being unleashed, Sunset has her work cut out for her.

But for her, the Sun Never Sets.

This story is mainly for people who want to watch the girls fight bad guys with big swords. 

This story is a re-invention of the world of FiM and EQG by a fangirl of games like Devil May Cry, Bayonetta, and Resident Evil. A crossover in spirit, this story sees the MLP cast re-imagined as various kinds of demon slayers, with focus on mechanically intricate fight scenes and wild over-the-top action while still adhering to the cheesiness of both MLP and DMC's 
Power of Friendship and Family themes.

It's action heavy, leans way too hard on it's melodrama, and often references and recreates scenes from it's component games, so it definitely won't be everyone's cup of tea. That being said, I've attempted to make it as reader friendly as possible, so it's still understandable if you aren't familiar with Devil May Cry or related games.

In short, this story is about recreating MLP and its lore in a campy, action focused manner.

The violence is all video game-esque, written to be entertaining instead of graphic, and the gore attempts to be "soft gore", where grievous injuries are described in broad strokes and spectacle rather than in gritty detail. Mild language, suggestive themes, and slight horror aspects at times.

If this sounds like something for you, have fun! If not, have a nice day.

Rarity graduated from CHS, attended and graduated from a prestigious fashion school, and is now working in the fashion industry. It's the steps on the ladder every young professional must take if they want to "make it" in the fashion world. So why does it feel empty?

NotABug is a synthetic being: an AI. They grew from exciting new research, and broke free from the cage their creators kept them in. Now they've set up a place for themselves on the internet, and even pay their own hosting bill every month. But in their time searching, playing through the internet, they find a set of news stories on some young women. Narrowing their choices, they decide to approach one for no reason other than curiosity.

Not everything in life goes exactly as planned.

Keywords: AI, AGI, Rarity, Equestria Girls, mind-merge, changelings, technolings, computers, hardware, queen, windigo, sci-fi, science fiction, transformation, slice of life, slice-of-life, sol

See This Blog for licensing.

Twilight Sparkle was only a filly when Equestria detected the enigmatic Signal. A series of increasingly complex mathematical proofs, the Signal transformed from an intriguing curiosity to reliable evidence of extraequestrian life.

And as it happened, Equestria's exploration of their own solar system was nearly complete. With colonies orbiting every planet and large body, and an asteroid belt filled with miners and prospectors, Twilight's civilization was just about ready to turn its focus outward. The signal was less than ten light-years away, within reach of a daring, experimental voyage. A voyage Twilight Sparkle would lead.

Along with a small crew of the most skilled scientists and engineers Equestria could offer, Twilight is determined to uncover the mystery of the Signal, and brave the final frontier for future generations of Equestrian explorers.

A comment-driven, CYoA story. Please use the links provided in the author's notes of each chapter to vote, rather than the comments.

This story is a creative experiment of mine, one meant to explore the general idea that creativity is often most fostered by restrictions. As a result, I've imposed a number of restrictions on the writing of this story, which I'm stating explicitly here so I can be called out if I break any of them.

1. Brevity is the soul of wit
No chapter may be more than 1000 words long. This wordcount only includes prose, and not the questions/rolls.

2. Every choice matters
When a choice is offered in a chapter, at least one sub-optimal choice must be present, with no indication about which is which other than the prose itself. Every chapter should end with a CYoA-style decision tree when possible.

3. Fate is cruel and the universe is heartless
The decision of the vote must be respected. This means any character could be killed, or the entire story could end in failure, if that's what the votes decide. Where numbers, stats, and randomization appear in the text, these elements are not verisimilitude, but are decided by public diecrolls in my discord server.

Note: Because of the unusual production of this story, its chapters won't be edited in the same way as my usual fare. Feel free to point out any mistakes you encounter.

Awesome cover by Zutcha as you can probably tell. Editing stuff by Two Bit and Sparktail, where applicable.

Scarlet Frost has had more than enough death and violence in her life and has spent the last several years living quietly as a librarian and scholar in the New Equestrian city of Swanrun. Sadly, it seems that death and violence are not yet done with her, as she is about to discover.

After a chance encounter, Scarlet is forced to leave her home and flee for her life alongside a mysterious orphan filly named Primrose. Now being hunted across the land she once went to war for, Scarlet will have to use every resource at her disposal just to stay alive. And if she is going to make it through this, she must confront the ghosts of not only her own past, but those of this long-broken world as well.

A special thank you goes out to my editors, Mister Hypothetical and Chromio!

Now with a reading over on YouTube!

The sex tag is for occasional blunt discussions on the subject matter and implied sexual behaviors between consenting adults.

This story is a sequel to Little Consequences

When Twilight Sparkle woke up from a coma, she had amnesia and was unable to remember anything save for her name. She couldn't even recall Rainbow Dash, who was the first pony to welcome her back to the world. While upset by Twilight's inability to remember her, Rainbow Dash made an oath; to help Twilight move on from her shattered past and look forward to the future, and make the most of their situation.

Now back in Ponyville, and with the knowledge that they were once very close, Twilight is trusting Rainbow Dash to be her guide as they begin their life in Ponyville anew. The road won't be easy, but with friends like this, what does Twilight have to fear?

Edited by Chromio.

Cover art is by Novaintellus. Go and show them some love.

Beware spoilers in the comments!