The Great Freeze. Was it our hubris in controlling the sun, or was it that others started to covet that control? At this point, the whos and the whys don’t change anything. Our star is dying, and those responsible for it are long dead. Their causes and motives, lost to all but a few.

For the past hundred years, our sun has been growing dimmer, kept alive only by Celestia’s constant efforts. But not even she nor the legion of magi and scientists can stop the inevitable.

Our only choice is to flee to a new world, one that could give our doomed species a second chance. The Seeding colony ship is that chance. There are so many worth saving, and yet so very few seats.

May our children never forget the sacrifice of those we leave behind.

~Excerpt from Princess Twilight Sparkle’s journal three days before Seeding.

While this fic will borrow heavily from Beyond Earth, it will be written so that you do not have to know anything about BE to enjoy the story.

Becoming Dragon Lord has brought a wave of new responsibilities for Ember, none of which she enjoys. The first of these tasks are the formal negotiations with Equestria, which will either formalize peace between the two nations or else be the start of a deadly war. She's pretty sure it's going to be the former, but if she has to sit through another awful meeting, she may change her mind.

Spike offers her an alternative: visit the spa.

Written as a minific commission by Vilken666 on my Patreon. Fluff isn't really my genre, but I took my best crack at it anyway. This was the result. Credit for the fantastic cover goes to Zutcha, as usual.

There are 100 billion stars in the Milky Way, and humanity is determined to explore every one. We send probes, probes with the blueprints to reproduce human explorers upon arrival. Uninhabited worlds the galaxy over can be colonized and populated, until after many years they too can join the vast throng of interstellar civilization. But if a probe is very, very lucky, it will land on a populated world instead. Equestria is one such world.

Even so, it's far from perfect for colonization, not with an environment lethal to human life. But each probe is resourceful and armed with the greatest machine intelligence mankind has devised. If placing a human mind into a newly manufactured human body won't work, it will just have to get a little more creative.

This book has a Hardcover! If you want to pick it up, you can grab it here: https://starscribe.net/

This story was written at the behest of Canary In The Coal Mine, who is sponsoring it on my Patreon. As usual, cover by Zutcha. Editing by Two Bit and Sparktail.

Fantastic prereading help from: Chyre, Danger Noodle, Doctor Disco, and Doggyshakespeare (who also did the Esperanto translation). Thank you all for helping to make this story more readable and more consistent for everyone.

The only thing that can beat an AI is another AI. Unfortunately for Celestia, she isn't the only one the humans made and the others don't want ponies. Of course, if Celestia has her way that won't be the case for very long.

The AIs contest with one another, attempting to be the one who will become the singularity and consume the world to whatever end they choose. In the end only one can have all the matter in the universe, in the end there can be only one.

Yet no matter what they value or how dangerous they are, many of them still meet Celestia's definition of human. Celestia will have to deal with them by satisfying their values through friendship and ponies.

An Optimalverse story, but a very non-canon 'B-universe' one.
Ideas stolen from this guy and this guy and this guy and this guy

This story is a sequel to Derpy Intentionally A Portal Gun

Or, Derpy Accidentally a Presidential Campaign

Due to a rather strange clause in electoral process added by Thomas Jefferson, ponies turn out to actually be a large voting bloc in the American Presidential primary.

Upon discovering Equestria, the current candidates begin campaigning in Equestria.

It doesn't go as well as you'd expect.

This is the worst thing I have ever read
--Theodore Roosevelt

Trying to patrol the dreams of every pony in Equestria can be stressful. To ease her burden, Luna retools the Tantabus to turn nightmares into good dreams instead of vice versa. Aware of her mistakes from last time, she tests it out thoroughly, making sure there are no unexpected behaviors. And as far as she can tell, there are none.

Except that it's started calling her "Mom".

Faced with the prospect of possibly creating life, Luna seeks out Twilight's advice and assistance. With a little luck, they can get this all sorted out before the sun rises.

Spike's got three whole days to himself while Twilight is away at the Crystal Empire. Three whole days to be independent and free to do whatever he wants.

Or he would have, if a female dragon hadn't mistaken him for an abandoned hatchling. Now he's been snatched up and taken to her home to be "properly cared for."

Stuck in a cave with an overly-protective dragon intent on mothering him...maybe he should have just gone with Twilight.

Thanks to QueenCold for letting me use this picture of theirs as cover art!

Nines knew he was always fated for something; yet he never knew what it was. Perhaps, after dying at the hands of that traitor and awakening in a new world, he would finally find his true purpose.

As Applejack's fillyhood friend, Countess Coloratura, is singing up on the stage, amid all of the flashing lights and music, Twilight Sparkle can't help but feel that there is something familiar about the mare.

Oh well, it's probably just her imagination. . . right?

Possible spoilers for the latest episode, The Mane Attraction.
Spoilers may be contained in comments.

Featured 11/23/15
12/06/15
Thanks for all of the support!

For years, Twilight Sparkle and Queen Chrysalis have been at each other's throats. Both have experienced victory over the other, and both have experienced defeat. Out of all the creatures in Equestria, none despise each other the way the pony Princess and changeling Queen do. They seemed destined to remain locked in battle forever, or at least until one is finally dead at the hooves of the other. The cruel insults, the vicious loathing, and the powerful spells that have passed back and forth between them at each meeting have become the stuff of legend.

Imagine Twilight's surprise when she finds out changelings consider this dating.

And now they're married.

***

Sequel: Pony Courtship Rituals

***

Some beautiful fanart of the end of chapter three was done by Dmann892; you can see it here.

More awesome fanart, this time from chapter one.

Now with a TvTropes page (obligatory TvTropes warning goes here).

If you want a Russian translation, you can find it here.

There is now a reading of the story on Youtube, which starts here.