Celestia is far from an ordinary filly. The wings on her back and horn on her head have made that quite clear. In the corrupt, poverty-ridden world of steam and grime that she calls home, judgement against alicorns is swift and final by order of the Lord of Chaos that ponies have learned to worship.

The road to safety is far from welcoming, and fate has greater ambitions in mind than freedom for Equestria's last surviving alicorns.

(A steampunk-ish interpretation of Celestia's origin story and Equestria's historical past. Book One of a planned Three) Special thanks to Ice Star for prereading and editing help

Two ponies fall in love.

One will be conquered by Sombra and cast out of time.

The other will give everything to seal away the Pony of Shadows in Limbo.

Neither knows the other waits on the far side of a millennium.

Written for the M/M Shipping Contest III!

And with cover art by the esteemed daOtterGuy.

Featured 10/5/2023 - 10/9/2023!

Submitted as part of the 'Shining Armor is a Terrible Dad 2024' contest.

My first ever Featured Story!

Featured on 2-24-24 and 2-25-24, Thank you for your support!

Cadance wants Shining Armor to spend more time with their daughter, Flurry Heart. The results aren't what was expected.

Filly in a potentially dangerous situation

[T for safe reasons]
Sombra is dead, everypony is happy. Everypony except Fluttershy that is. For she has rather mixed feelings about her father's demise. She knew he was a tyrant, Tartarus after her mother died he wasn't even nice to her anymore. But he was still her father. How is she supposed to feel? And can she tell her friends that she inherited her father's dark magic?

Inspiration taken from this story!

King Sombra, trapped in a limbo between life and death, must find out who is stealing his dark power... before the thief unintentionally triggers a disaster that will destroy the Crystal Empire. However, without a physical body, the wizard's options are limited. A young earth pony, Cobalt Blue, seems to be the best hope at finding and securing Sombra's horn, but even with Howe, a surprisingly competent changeling, aiding the two of them, their odds of success are low. After all, can they really hope to solve the mystery behind the theft of Sombra's power in a week's time... when this puzzle has stumped Sombra, one of the greatest geniuses of his age, for several moons?

Part Of Bucking Nonsense's Nonsense-Verse. This story connects A Meal Fit For A King, Cooking Roach, How Much Is Freedom Worth, Nor Iron Bars A Cage, and Who Are You And What Have You Done With Diamond Tiara?

Wendigos are such a nuisance. Because of those detestable monsters, the three southern pony tribes are at each other's throats and are utterly miserable.

We can't feed on that.

Luckily, there is a fourth tribe, far away in the frozen north. These so-called 'Crystal Ponies' surround their home in an aura of light and love, radiating from the largest love crystal in the world!

My name is Carina, and I am an Infiltrator sent to secure the Crystal Heart for my queen. Failure means the end of my hive. Failure is not an option.

The crystal ponies have captured a trespassing diamond dog, but for Electra, there's more at stake here than simply wondering how best to treat an old pest in a new world...

Days after the fall of King Sombra, when the Empire was starting to put itself back together again, a couple of guards have discovered that behind a hidden door, a colt that had a resemblance to a particular, hated king.

A huge thank you to Exanime32 & AlaskanBabe and for helping me edit this. And his Highness PrinceCelestia for the cover art.

Music used in this fanfic are, in chronological order:
-Bach: Goldberg Variations, Aria for Solo Piano.
-Tchaikovsky: Romeo & Juliet, Fantasy Overture (Love Theme).
-Mozart: Violin Concerto No.3 in G (from the Master and Commander Soundtrack).
-Bach: "Great" Fugue in G Minor.
-Vivaldi: Spring, 1st Movement for Solo Piano.
-Beethoven: Ode to Joy (Piano Lullaby).
-Mozart: Tondo Alla Turca for Orchestra.
-Mozart: Adagio from Flute Quartet In D Major Kv285
-Mozart: Sonata No 18 in D, K 576 - Adagio, 2nd Movement.
-Beethoven: Symphony No.5, 1 Movement for Solo Piano.
-Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, 1st Movement.
-Mozart: Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, 1st Movement.
-Beethoven: Symphony No. 9, 4th Movement.
-Chopin: Nocturne No. 20 in C# Minor.
-Tchaikovsky: 1812 Overture for Cannons and Choir.
-Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring.
-Vivaldi: Winter, 2nd Movement for Solo Piano.
-Beethoven: Fur Elies.
-Handel: Lascia ch'io pianga.

While the Crystal Empire works hard to get everything ready for the Equestria Games, Private finds himself in a strangely familiar world. Before he can ponder just how connected to the strange land he volunteers to look after Princess Skyla when her foalsitter contracts the flu. Will Private be able to handle looking after the young alicorn? Just how connected is Private to the empire?

At the height of the Dark Crystal Empire, the King of Shadows sits down to do his accounts, because even a totalitarian dictatorship cannot suppress taxponies.

But as he tries desperately to get through the impenetrable paperwork, Sombra finds himself the victim of a magically manifesting bird. Because of course he does.

I have no idea why I wrote this.

Made as a birthday present for the magnificent Evehly.