Personal discovery is a wonderful thing. In Silverstream's case, five words softly uttered from a certain distraught friend was all it took to ignite a furious fire in her heart.

Unfortunately for Grampa Gruff, he was flammable.

*Spoilers for Season 9 Episode: A Horse Shoe-In*

The Griffon Kingdom was once a prosperous and happy country, but in the past century it has fallen into ruin. It now sits as an empty husk of what it once was, leaving the griffons living there to scrounge for whatever they can find to survive. There is no government, no leaders, and for many griffons, no hope.

Princess Celestia has done all she can to try and aid it and the griffons living there, but there is only so much she can do without causing an international incident. Now her hoof has been forced. A changeling queen is building a hive deep inside the kingdom, and once fully established it will be a threat to ponies and griffons alike.

Gilda doesn't care about any of that. She's far more interested in finishing her new bakery. It hasn't been easy, she had to persuade a number of griffons to come together to build it, but she had gotten it done. Now, with the help of her two employees (who she might go as far to even call friends) she's almost ready to open for business.

Unfortunately, Gilda's hard work is about to put her front and center in Celestia's plan to save the Griffon Kingdom. A task which comes with a whole host of problems, as well as a crown.

Editing by m1ntf4n

Custom cover artwork by silfoe

A nation fractured and surrounded by enemies, a physically weak ruler who struggled daily to maintain an empire that weakened with each passing year. Together with nobles increasingly ambitious and emboldened as the emperor's authority dwindled.

All this added up to a powder fuse for a nation that would explode into conflict with the ambition of the various duchies and counties that already wielded considerable power.

And in the middle of all this chaos, he is born.

An old spirit in a young body. The first and only heir of the Von Greifenstein dynasty and the last hope of a declining Griffonian Empire.

Grover the Sixth, Emperor of the Griffons.

This story is based on the mod for Hoi4 Equestria at war. It's really worth checking out. All types of constructive criticism are accepted and very well welcome! I don't own any of the images! They all belong to the Equestria at war Dev team and their Artists!

Rarity, following a somewhat rocky introduction, has become a rather welcome member of the upper classes of Canterlot. Living the dream, she eagerly accepts an invitation to an Opera in Canterlot with her new friends Viscount Fancy Pants and his wife Fleur de Lis. Especially since it means meeting a mysterious and somewhat reclusive Baroness that will also be attending.

Naturally, things grow somewhat awkward when she runs into one of her friends... and definitely not in any way she thought she might.

(Note: This is based on a head-cannon I had circa season four. We hadn't met Rainbow's parents yet, and we didn't really know all that much about many of the Mane 6's home lives. I know this isn't canon now, but I just wanted to put this on paper. Quarantine, man.)

Cover image: https://www.pinterest.com/mdhsoccer/
Prereading: Mosanted

Edit: Holy S***. I did not expect this to blow up like this. Thank you all so much!

This story is a sequel to Good Trooper Gilda

Gilda has been a fugitive, a refugee, a prisoner of war, and a bat-hen to Equestria's fussiest unicorn. But it wasn't until she took 'the Princess's bit', that she began to know something about what it meant to be responsible for the welfare of others, even if the others in question happened to be the pack of imbeciles, blackguards, con-ponies, and bat-ponies who had been fool enough to answer her captain's call to the standard.

A crystalline standard which had not been seen in the living world for over a thousand years.

And although Captain Gleaming Shield and her motley band of raw recruits and shifty bat-ponies aimed to do nothing more exotic and dangerous than put a foreign princess on her proper throne, there are other things stirring in the shadows.

Like calls to like, and the revival of ancient battle-colors may lead to the revival of other, darker memories upon which the rays of Celestia's sun lay lightly and infrequently.

This story is a sequel to Empty Horizons

For the first time in a thousand years, the old magic has returned to Equestria.

The Elements of Harmony have been torn asunder by the careless Equestria they found themselves in just one month ago. Twilight Sparkle fled into the ocean, pleading for her friends not to follow her after only barely stopping the destructive rampage caused by The Other. Rainbow Dash and Applejack, with nothing but their knowledge of Twilight's nature and a crew of seasoned adventurers, leave Altalusia hoping to find their lost friend and bring her back. Meanwhile, Countess Rarity finds herself trapped among the machinations of Duke Titus, but perhaps she can yet use her new position for good.

But the new Equestria remains as treacherous as ever for six mares lost in time, and the sunken ruins of their old home still holds fresh and terrifying dangers. Mysteries a thousand years old demand solving, and even those born on the floating islands of the new Equestria may find themselves torn between two paths.

The world changed in the absence of Twilight Sparkle and her friends, and with their return it braces for change once more.

Audiobook updates Thursdays and Fridays!

Edited by Noc, Dominus Alicorn, and PsyonicG.

Join the Empty Horizons Discord or Support Me On Patreon!

TTS Reading of the entire fiction: Courtesy of the FanFiction Reader on Youtube.

Character List: Courtesy of TruthHut (A work in progress)

Handy is not a happy man at the best of times.

He was even less happy to find himself in an alien world that offended the very laws of physics and got injured for his own stubborn refusal to accept the obvious path fate had apparently laid out for him.

For his trouble he is now on a journey, with the long term goal of finding his way back home, only to find himself involved in plots and machinations so far above his head and cares that he quickly becomes a pawn in a game played by powers who care not for his well-being.

Quite like his life back on Earth if you think about it.

Needless to say, Handy does not care for any of it. He is much more preoccupied with the more immediate and pressing mundane concerns of day to day life a human needs to worry about while in Equestria.

Obtaining a new pair of shoes for example.

All this and one almighty hangover, what's the worst that could happen?

Rated teen for harsh language and minor violence

Proofread by JBL, Jude and Usurper

The surface isn't safe anymore.

In the ruined depths of Canterlot, a team of brave salvagers discover six mares, long forgotten but miraculously preserved. Though these mares cannot remember what happened to their world, they possess powerful magic that hasn't been seen for centuries.

Now the Elements of Harmony are thrust headlong into a world beyond recognition. Twilight and her friends must dive into the sunken remains of history to determine what happened, but Equestria isn't the harmonious land it once was. Before they can focus wholly on the past, they may first have to survive the present.

It isn't going to be easy.

Audiobook by Skijarama!
Original Soundtrack by Noc!

Special thanks to Doccular42 for the original concept, and M1ntf4n for editing!

Join the Empty Horizons Discord!

Big thanks to dA artist fantazyme and reader jeffh4 for making this fantastic rendition of Rarity at Mr. Rich's party!

On the fence of whether to read? Check out the Rage Review or hear PaulAsaran's thoughts!

This story is a sequel to Secrets of a Royal Guard

Duty, honor, and loyalty above all else. That was what Silent Knight had been told ever since he was a colt. They had guided him all his life and he was more than ready to follow in his father’s hoofsteps by dedicating himself to the Royal Guard. Then he discovered something else he had never expected: friendship and love. He learned that he owed these values not just to his job, but to his wife, his friends, and his family. Unfortunately, he learned that too late.

War has broken out between the gryphon kingdoms and Equestria is stuck in the thick of it trying to protect their ally, Nordanver. As Silent marches off to war, he must contend with the guilt that battles within him. He played right into the claws of Sudramoar's sovereign, and now he must leave his newlywed wife behind so that he can pay the price for his foolish actions.

Knowledge of the Quill & Blade AU is recommended to understand this story. It is a direct sequel to Secrets of a Royal Guard.

  The Cycle of Flame defines every phoenix’s life, even those who refuse to fly the path ordinated by the Cloudsong. One such mischievous phoenix has found a home on the edge of the dangerous Dragon Lands. But after an old friend beckons her home, this phoenix meets a creature of myth and legend who gives her a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
  The phoenixes know her as Glorious Dawn.
  But the ponies of Equestria know her by a different name...

Entry for EFNW Scribblefest 2017 - Prompt: Growing up wild and forever free

Featured on FimFiction on March 13-16, 2017 with a Hot Tag!

Historian's Note: Believe it or not, this is not set in the Wavelengths Timeline!

Cast: Philomena and Princess Celestia with the Dragon Nation and the Griffon Kingdom

Cover & Section Break Design by Novel Idea
Flame Icon by MisterAibo
Philomena by moongazeponies

Beta Reader & Editor Credits
Ebon Quill - Audio Director & Quest Designer on The Manehattan Project
Tchernobog - AppleDash Fanatic, Special Guest Beta Reader
Little Tinker - Master of Systems at Poniverse & Scripting Engineer on The Manehattan Project
Beltorn - Commenter-at-Large on FimFiction
Painted Heart - Wife of the Author

Word Count: 6,600
Version: 2.6