There are a lot of relics, artifacts, and other ancient items of power strewn throughout the world. I should know; I've found safe homes for a lot of them, and even destroyed a few. A good rule of hoof is that the older it is, the more powerful it is. Not because it's old, but because it's survived that long, either because of its own toughness or the defenses its creators put around it.

The Weapon of the Ancients predates written language. Ahuizotl wants it for himself. I can't let that happen.

(Fourth place entry in the April 2015 Writeoff Competition. Prompt: Great Expectations.)

Luna must find a gift, so she creates one.

My modified entry for Iron Author at EFNW 2018, dedicated to Monochromatic and Novel-Idea, both of whom insisted I enter.
A special, heartfelt thanks to Grand_Moff_Pony for handing my entry an honorable mention.
And many thanks to Carapace, Blue, Dreamlag, and many others for their selfless help and encouragement.

Darkness holds dominion over the world. Cinders of Sun and Moon gathered from a long-forgotten catastrophe are all that remain to shelter the village from the consuming void. But their power wanes. Lanterns of Sun and Moon held close against his chest, a stallion takes up the mantle of light bearer and forges into the abyss to return light to a world that has all but forgotten it.

Beyond the safety of the village gates, he will meet a voice of shadows and starlight, and many are the revelations it has of the world he thought he knew so well.

7/10/19 update: This story has been completely remastered to meet my 2019 writing standards! Enjoy!
Love this story? It's available in hardback and paperback!

[Cover art by Ventious]

This story is a sequel to Listen

Rarity has found a new hobby in meditating with Fluttershy, and through months of practice, she's not only learned how to listen to nature, but also how to read ponies and the inner feelings they hide. But she never wanted to read her best friend.

Second in the Flarity "L" Series.
Listen > Language > Lust (NSFW)

Edited by Eloquence.

Chrysalis had come a long way from absolutely nothing - a humbled bug-horse left to fend for herself in the howling wilderness. But she's not the pony changeling she used to be, and she's set her hoof upon the path of conquest, for herself, for her crown, and for her children minions.

All she had to do was seize the commanding heights of the pony principalities, and feed her brood upon that endless supply of pony happiness which was her birthright, by all that was villainous!

If only her mother didn't keep tripping her up.

As day ends and night begins, there is a brief window of time in which the two royal sisters meet on equal terms, neither one firmly in complete control.

In these times of quiet reflection with one another, their minds and their hearts can truly meet most closely. This is when they see each other the most clearly, here in the trading and in the game they play.

Note: The game in this story can actually be replayed if you're interested! Get the text of the .pgn (portable game notation) file at http://pastebin.com/NY258GJx, copy it to your clipboard, and paste into the PGN text box at http://chesstempo.com/pgn-viewer.html for a JavaScript based replay right in your web browser, or save it as your own .pgn text file and replay with the game viewer software of your choice (you can find one by Googling for "pgn viewer" - not to be confused with "png viewer", though, which is completely different).

It's not terribly important, however. Alternately, you can ignore the game replay and just read the story without it, which most people probably will. Other options for replay are in the notes at the bottom of the story.

Commander Hurricane sought only the best and hardiest of pegasi for her warflock.

She failed. Instead, Private Pansy found her.

Cover art from the tumblr of mariponihoney. Proofread by themaskedferret. Written for the Military March prompt for the Time Action Glory Challenge! group.

A lot can change in a thousand years. For a pony out of her time like Somnambula, it can be disorienting and confusing. With her mind full of worries about her home, she decides to take a trip south to see her old hometown. But will she really find peace in a place where so much has changed, or does she perhaps have another reason for making the journey?

Editing provided by SolidFire and LoyalLiar.
Cover art provided by Ruirik.

On her very first trip above the clouds at night, the young Blue Venture finds something she never expected.

Herself.

Historian’s Note:
Stars Above is set over five hundred years after the original events of MLP:FiM.

Cast: Blue Venture & Family

Featured on EquestriaDaily on April 17, 2018!

Cover Art & Blue Venture's Cutie Mark: Sankam
Cover Text: Novel Idea

Beta Reader & Editor Credits
Heartshine: Smol Pegsus, Big Heart
Painted Heart - Wife of the Author

Word Count: 4,500 Words
Version: 1.5

SF (canon species only; no humans) Ponies were magically and genetically engineered to be the perfect servitor race. They are powerful, adaptable, intelligent and completely under the control of their creators. A laboratory accident frees one such pony from her mental chains, but how can one mare save herself and the rest of her kind if she doesn't even know she's a slave?
This is not the Equestria you know and these are not your little ponies... not yet, anyway.

Tags: Adventure, Diamond Dogs, Gryphons, NO HUMANS (did I mention that already?)
Other tags: historical, mind control, Clarke's 3rd Law, excessive use of high energy physics, before they were famous.
Detailed review by PaulAsaran.
Cover art by endrome , used with permission.
Russian translation (partial -- 'unofficially' completed in the comments)
A Soot-Covered World, book 1.