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!

Huzzah! It’s Anonymous’ day off! What glory it is to be free of any duties, and spending his free time goofing off with his buds!

What’s that? He’s bored? That simply will not do! Time to go visit Twilight, where nothing bad every happens and spells definitely absolutely never go wrong!

Flurry Heart has reached that stage in her life where she is looking for a purpose, something other than ruling or going through something so lame as a Goth phase to try and find her way in life.

Her father may have just given her just that it seems. Cadance has some concerns though.

Written as a response to a prompt in the Goth Flurry Heart Contest but is not an entry.

My name is Comet Tail, and I have died many times.

This story is a sequel to Entrenchment

The 38th Company brought many strange and novel things to Equestria.
Technology beyond Canterlot's wildest fantasies. Horrors beyond its bloodiest nightmares.
War, strife, blight, and the dominion of monstrous gods long hidden from the eyes of Equestria's innocent populace.

But the planet known as Centaur III knew the touch of dark magics and evil cults long before the Iron Warriors took their first step upon its soil and constructed their blasphemous idols.
The plot to plunge the world into darkness left many wounds and ancient grudges to fester.
The story of the thestrals, the bat-winged soldiers of the Lunar Guard, is one of misery, bitterness, and betrayal. Their history is little more than desperate quests for power and anticlimactic failures, all mere footnotes now as the survivors quietly return to service under their humbled, purified Princess.

Alas, some scars do not heal.
You reap what you sow.

(Dark humor warning; limited grimdark themes)
(Cover art by MagicStarFriends)

One year ago, the immortal moon lich died.

One year ago, Twilight Sparkle the so-called human moved to Ponyville.

Rarity never believed that, of course. The "human" bit. After all, no human would willingly choose to live in a town of monsters, and no amount of magic or hunting orders or Plans with a capital "P" would ever change her mind on that—especially when said human was so constantly collected and calm.

But... if she wasn't human, what kind of monster could she be?

Written for the Raritwi-deprived Monochromatic, who so graciously let me cook for 1/4th of a year. Huge thanks to Swan Song for prereading, and to everyone I pestered for synonyms whenever the last of my braincells refused to word. Cover art by me!

Lug wasn't the smartest. He knew that. And he was fine with that. As long as he had a club to swing or a ripper gun to fire, he was content, and there wasn't much thought needed beyond that.

And like many other Ogryn, he was content to serve the Imperium and it's interests until he died.

Until one fateful space skirmish with the forces of chaos, a drop-pod sent him careening through the warp, and soon after, into the Land of Equestria.

A world made up entirely of xenos, most of whom were small, fluffy, and colorful!

Lug likes it here already.

[Inspired by Warrior Tier's 'Ogryn Story' video.]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oNpb0dLNhE

On the day of the Summer Sun Celebration, Nightmare Moon returned from her banishment. The power she had accumulated during her stay on the moon proved to be too great for Princess Celestia, and Equestria's ruler was defeated.

Weeks later, Anon arrived in Equestria via unknown means. Although lost and confused, his natural resistance to magic made him quite useful to Nightmare Moon. To his surprise, he quickly became one of her most trusted servants and found himself falling in love with her. Even more surprisingly, it seemed like she was doing the same.

Eventually, despite Anon's best efforts, Nightmare Moon was defeated and Princess Luna returned. Everyone was rejoicing. Everyone... except him. Because Anon did not fall in love with Princess Luna.

Anon fell in love with Nightmare Moon.

I liked to be alone and didn't socialize much. I lived in a house at the edge of town and only went out when I had to. So why is the whole town trying to burn my house down!

Applebloom and Diamond Tiara have never been friends. Diamond Tiara was redeemed, and truly felt guilty for the things she did... but Applebloom couldn't fully reconcile with her. The years of torment, the scars she left, the thoughts she put in the farm filly's head... She couldn't fix that in one day. An apology wasn't enough, not for one texas yellow mare.

One day, the two walk past eachother on the street, and Diamond Tiara strikes up a conversation. So begins a long journey of self-acceptance, recovery, and love...

TL;DR; Applebloom finds out she is a lesbian with a horrible taste in mares, and has to juggle internalized homophobia alongside reconciling with her childhood bully.
[Featured #2 - #7 on 10/10/23]