In the chaotic period following the fall of the Covenant Empire, the Shipmaster Vraal Rutaen does his best to ensure the safety of his race. For years he and his crew have fought countless threats, searching at the same time the precious Forerunner technologies on which depends the future of the Sangheili. But this is not enough. The Sangheili, once proud warriors that fought in name of glory and honor, are now without a true purpose to live, risking the extinction. But when they discover accidentally a new planet that defies every law of physics, maybe they've also found the answer to their existential question. All depends on the first contact with the inhabitants.

Chapters 1 to 18 edited by Requiem17.

"Speech."
'Thoughts.'
"Speech in a foreign language." (Ponies hearing Sangheili language - Sangheili hearing human/pony language)

THE STORY IS NOT ABANDONED. I'M JUST TOO BUSY TO CONTINUE IT AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE STOP ASKING WHEN I WILL UPDATE IT. READ MY BLOG FOR DETAILS.

Spike led Thorax into the throne room of the Crystal Castle confident he could convince the others that the changeling could be trusted. That he meant no harm, and instead wanted to be an ally and live peacefully with them. That he could make them see Thorax for what he really was. That they could befriend the changeling and accept him as one of their own.

They didn't.

And consequences followed.

SPOILERS IN COMMENTS!
First featured on 11/12/2016. -- Now with a TV Tropes page. -- Review by Arcanum Phantasy -- Review by PaulAsaran

This story is a sequel to The Sunlight Project

After the disaster that was her Sunlight Project, Twilight Sparkle somehow manages to ask Sunset Shimmer out on a date. She isn't ready.

That isn't enough to stop her from trying. However, she needs all the help she can get to navigate the relationships in her life.

☀Edited by the kind and wonderful fourths.
☀Preread by Misago

When Twilight first began her experiments in trying to figure out better ways to access the Aether, the realm of magic and souls just outside their physical realm, she did not expect to make significant progress. After all, pony kind has been trying to find out the answer to that line of thinking for centuries.

When she felt herself connect to the other realm Twilight accidentally manipulated its energies in a different sort of way. The Aether bent to her will much easier than before. Getting just a bit too excited, Twilight played with the Aether a tad too freely and the reality-bending powers of the outer realm sucked her into its bottomless depths.

Fortunately Twilight was able to direct herself back to the material realm using the closest, and brightest, soul she could find as an anchor. And the second she looked up at the skull of the skeleton sitting on top of a golden throne, she knew life was about to get more... interesting.

(A crossover with "If the Emperor had a Text-to-Speech Device")