A pegasus woke in the woods. He was lost, injured, and had only the vaguest of dreams for memories; nightmares of a Canterlot engulfed in shadow and flame, of an invading swarm lead by one great and terrible dark figure. As he begins a new life, the dreams continue to taunt him. Will he ever find out who he was? And if he does, can he -- and his newfound friends -- accept what he finds?

(Credit also goes to Mekhazzio for help with editing)

TV Tropes page

Book cover art by viwrastupr

Hopes. Dreams. Aspirations. They're what everyone survives, and even thrives, on. What happens, then, when hopes and dreams are dashed? When something so monumentally destructive and life-changing occurs, and dreams, hopes, even ponies' lives are thrown into turmoil, where can solace be found? When somepony's entire world comes crumbling around them, who can they turn to for support? What can they do when everything they once had is shattered?

This story is a sequel to Windfall

A brilliant mind discovers a problem in search of a solution, which leads to inspiration, which leads to invention, which leads to a technological/magical advance that will in time forever change Equestria.

Sequel to Windfall, set three years after the events in that story.

"We live in what we believe is a shell, a closed sphere where all is constant. As physics would have it, nothing in the universe is unique, nothing is wasted or destroyed: it is repurposed. But now I prove them wrong. With a single idea, I realize that we are not so insignificant as we think. We are not slaves to destiny and existence. We are the ashes of gods, the fruits of eternity, the products of choice and fate. We are not meaningless. This universe is not our prison.

This is our empire."

- Excerpt from A Lexicon of Impossibilities, by Cypher

Special thanks:
AeronJVL, for the amazing cover art.
Emberspeak, Forderz, RTStephens, PropMaster, and RazgrizS57 for their editing.
shortskirtsandexplosions for the idea.

Canterlot... For centuries, Canterlot was the shining gem of Equestria, the pinnacle of pony society. Now, it’s a reminder, a bleak and monolithic warning to the world. 

Changed by the chemical and technological poisons that plague the mountain, an abomination of nature, I wander the greatest disaster Equestria has ever seen. 

... I will escape eventually, and when I do, I hope my friends still see me as Twilight Sparkle, and not the monster that hides among the ruins. 

Some things in this world happen by chance. Others do not. Twilight Sparkle is about to learn a disturbing truth that will turn her world upside down.

- Originally written May 2011 for Deviant Art

Reading this story first is strongly recommended:
(Blood is Thicker) http://ciroton.deviantart.com/gallery/26378692#/d3e1ndq

Credits:
~Image by JohnJoseco~ ~Edited by BrotherPrickle on Deviant Art~

Just as a lonely man once found a filly Rainbow Dash, so did a tiny Scootaloo turn up in the backyard of a loving couple with no children of their own. Years later, Prof. T. Sparkle, Ph.D, writes the official biography of one particular Earth's first Pony citizen, with instructions to 'talk to anyone you need to and don't censor anything.' Rated T and now 20% cooler.

Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy were brought together by Twilight Sparkle and the magic of friendship and have had incredible experiences. But now they are trapped in a world they don't understand-Equestria. How will these five normal human girls deal with such dangers as dragons, minotaurs, parasprites, -and perhaps the most dangerous of them all,- themselves?

Art Source: http://demoncat8.deviantart.com/art/Eqg-In-Equestria-Cover-392108298

NON CANON with Season 4 and EQG 2.

The earth had belonged to the People since time immemorial, until the ponies came to push them out. For centuries, they have hidden in the forest and the hills, slowly losing ground to their enemies.

But now the gods have chosen two young warriors.

Twilight isn't having a very good day. An experimental spell blew up in her face, an army of changelings is attacking Canterlot, and she just died. Yet somehow, it looks like it's going to keep going downhill from here.

Given the chance to correct what's gone wrong, Twilight swears she's going to fix all this even if it kills her. Which it will. Frequently.

Cover art by Pixel Prism
Spanish Translation
Series TV Tropes page