The Dread League's forces in the Far North of Griffonia have wavered, and intelligent undead have escaped their thralldom. One such case is a Dracolich, whose attempts at ending himself or finding a cure have thus far proved unsuccessful or illusive at best.

Though, maybe he could learn to be less miserable about himself. There's not exactly a source that does 20 radiant damage, after all.

An entry for the Ponies at War contest.

Not everypony can handle the idea of living under a changeling regime.

Some ponies are willing to take risks to avoid that sort of fate. Some try to sneak out of whatever city they're living in that happens to be under Queen Chrysalis' hoof. Some turn to professionals to help smuggle them out of the city.

And sometimes they succeed.

My entry into Perfectly Insane's dialogue only contest.

Knowledge of Equestria at War is useful, but hopefully not necessary.

Huge thanks to FanOfMostEverything for giving this a look-over.

With the Great War finished, and life returning to normal, Slow Coach Jr. decides, on a Friday night with his Mother, to go play at the park.
Unfortunately for the Colt, things don't go as planned.

Months after Stalliongrad joined forces with Equestria to push back against the Changelings, Captain Winter Loch and his crew are sailing north alongside a fleet of other submarines to prevent Changeling Convoy's from supplying their forces in the land war.
In an ironic twist, they encounter a Changeling Raiding Fleet attacking an Equestrian Convoy and rush to their aid.

Captain Winter will bring his crew as deep into Tartarus as he must to ensure the safety of his Equestrian Allies.
And if he and his crew survive? There's no better time to celebrate living than under the shining Summer sun.

It is the year 1013 ALB and the resurgent Griffonian Empire has finally dislodged the invasion force of the Second Aquilian Republic and fought them into their own lands. The Empire was able to push deep into their countryside.

And then Summer came.

The first day of summer brought with it the strongest heatwave in Aquilian history stopping both sides in their tracks.

Major High Note is serving under Field Marshall Bronzetail, in an office safe behind the lines, but this does not spare him from the heat.

Fortunately one of his trusted friends informed him that the quartermaster was hoarding a truckload of air conditioners.

So High Note and his friends decide to liberate them for their fellow soldiers, hopefully the heat doesn't get them first.

(I did this for a contest in around 48 hours and made most of it up as I went along, I know it's not great.)

It has been many years since the war started...

Chrysalis and her armies rolled over our defenses, overwhelming our forces with sheer numbers. We fought a fighting retreat, always on the run from the swarm. We thought it would be over, that this would be the end of Equestria, and the end of Harmony...

But it was not so. We gathered our strength and held our ground, at last. Desperately our soldiers fought on and held the swarm off. Ponies took up arms to bolster our ranks or grabbed a tool to aid the war industry.

And now, after all these years, we remain in a stalemate. The Changelings adopted their own variant of total warfare. They launch raids on defensive positions at night, send bomber squadrons to destroy civilian centers all across Equestria and sink civilian cruisers out on the sea.

The war drags on, and my ponies grow tired of grieving the loss of their homes and loved ones. It is time for Equestria to commit to this war and leave behind our outdated principles of pacifism and harmony.

This war has brought upon us a new age. And with it, a new Equestria must rise!

This story takes place in the 'Equestria at War' universe. Further knowledge of this universe is not required, but it's good to know. Link to the official EaW group can be found here.

River Swirl is many things. A born riverlander, a capable and accomplished student at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, a teacher, and finally, the Chancellor of the River Republic.

Or, she was, at least.

Life always puts hurdles in your way to overcome, and yet, when River Swirl is voted out of office, a dream comes crashing down for her. A project she had dreamed of for so long flushed down the drain along with her career.

But she knows there has to be more to herself. More than a politician, no matter her good intentions. She always wanted to bring her ponies forward, to a brighter future. Perhaps now she can go back and look at the past, and find out just where she went wrong. A past that was as troubled as it was great.

And perhaps even the most vague of bonds of years gone by can yet grow into something far greater.

River Swirl and the locations described in this story belong to the Equestria at War alternate universe. Knowing it is not required for this oneshot, but this is where you should go if you're wondering about location names and such.

Paradise Gem had worked towards one goal her whole life. Her work and ambitions revolved around learning and mastering magic.

But stands the question - once you dedicate your whole life to one goal...What is to be done once it becomes obsolete?

To die in the past? Or to thrive in the future?

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I can't believe this whole time I forgot to do this, but I wanted to say thank you for choosing this fic to be the winner of the contest!!!

The year is 1007, and slavery is legal in the Colthaginian Republic. Under the brutal reign of the Zarcid family creatures are oppressed and exploited, bought and sold at the whims of cruel slavers.

Godfrey Girardin, on the other claw, finds "merchant" to be a more palatable name for his profession. Somehow he doesn't think his new marefriend will see it that way.

Takes place in the Equestria at War universe.

Equestrian culture in the 1030s got far-out, dude. It was the height of counter-culture, the try-everything times. Friendship, the magic preached by the older generations, hadn't stopped wars. Not on Equus, and not anywhere else. It was like, totally bogus.

It was a time all about... "finding yourself, dude". For some, that meant a bit of substance you wouldn't wanna show Celestia. For others, that meant involving yourself in movements, groups, all kinds of things to explore who you were. For very few, however, it meant a plane trip to the Evi valley and a crack at this whole "revolution" thing.

But, even the greatest of guerrillas need breaks, especially in this weather. It's too damn hot to revolutionize.