Advances in science and magic had detected the Anomaly – a star in the heavens that was unlike all the others in the night sky. Intense research had only served to deepen the mystery. Although Equus had a vibrant space program, going forty-two light years to investigate had been considered impossible until now. The Cosmic Lotus program was born, and over a hundred crew-members of multiple species were sent into the void to discover the unknown. After a journey of years, what they would find would both amaze and terrify them.

The prequel to this story is the "Ad Astra" arc in the story – "Life, Love, and Death in the House of Path".

This will be a crossover story with my "Chakat Universe".

This story is a sequel to Rumble's Cutie Problem

Sunset and the others have been trying to live at least somewhat peacefully after the events prior. However, it seems fate doesn't want to let up. Ponies are going missing in and around Ponyville and a new Inquisitor has been sent in to oversee the town's defenses.

As well, a griffin and his apprentice have set up roots in Ponyville as of late and there are growing suspicions abound on them. Are they at fault or is there something else going on?

In the land of Equestria, there was an epic legend of Guardian Wolves who fought in a Legendary War and freed all of Equestria from the evil Dark Lord Bloodfang and his Nightwalker Army. But because Twilight Sparkle didn't believe in the story, it caused her to accidentally free Bloodfang and started an invasion to destroy all of Equestria. Twilight and her friends must begin their most difficult journey and travel to the land of Imperiacus to seek help from the wolves and bring them back to save their home once again.

When Fluttershy finds a human in her backyard trying to eat one of her chickens, she and a majority of the residents of Ponyville only want this dangerous creature as far away from their town as possible.

After a less than stellar first impression, Derpy Hooves and the human struggle to quell the rumors surrounding his diet, and convince the townsfolk that he's harmless.

Will the human be able to make himself meek enough to coexist? Or will he be driven out of town with torches and pitchforks?

Each chapter is told from the perspective of a different pony.

Initializing....
Source Code Identified......
Playback Audio Feed......Operation: World Jump 2463197......Subsection; Mission Parameters......

.........Um, hello, my name is Doctor Daniel Phillips, and I am the lead scientist overseeing the Gateway Project, one of the most cutting-edge technologies in existence today. With it, we can open wormholes to worlds far beyond the reach of conventional space travel, and even into other dimensions if we can work out the right frequency. As of late we have discovered over a dozen habitable worlds that have been slated for colonization, but as of yet no signs of intelligent life. Yet I hold out hope that one day we might find such a world, however remote, and put our best foot forward in opening relations with our new galactic neighbors. Yet not all of the planets we find are poppies and roses, so instead of sending in humans to explore them, we have these little babies.

Oh, right, you can't see me because this is an audio-only feed. My mistake. Well, I guess I'll just have to explain it to you. These cybernetic wolves, known in our group as the Mech Hounds, are outfitted with the most advanced computers in the world, along with some of the most cutting-edge robotics and weapons money can buy. Now right at the moment we only have a dozen of these little critters, but don't let that fool you. Each of these little babies carries enough firepower to level a small town, although it would take them a couple days to do so if they were working alone. They also have the programing to work out almost any situation in a matter of seconds, although they still have many of the logic problems that most computers face when confronted with something that does not fit within the established parameters of their programming. Yet, regardless of their possible shortcomings, they do the heavy lifting upon initial exploration where humans cannot, dealing with threats as they see fit in order to assess the habitability of a planet for human use. I could tell you more, but that would be breaking protocol.

So, without further ado, I'll turn you over to our logistics specialist, who will be happy to tell you all about how these little babies are going to change the world, or rather, worlds, that humanity has come to call home.................

End Audio Recording........

This is a story that delves into the boundary between life and machine, where AI is something that has only been dreamed of, even with the most advanced computers available. Then again, these machines have never encountered magic before, so who knows what might happen. I guess you'll just have to read the book to find out for yourself.

This story is a sequel to Changeling

Aura and Trixie have been living in Ponyville for a few months now, with the ocassional travelling across Equestria to perform Trixie's shows, and life has been pretty peaceful for them.

In the Changeling Kingdom, however, tensions continue to rise as the hunt for RE brings the loyalty of all changeling soldiers into question, and the griffon Emperor Nero takes advantage of this vulnerable time in Queen Chrysalis' reign to erradicate the enemy race once and for all.

With Aura called back to the Changeling Kingdom, Trixie goes along with her to protect the youngling who she has come to know as a good friend over the past few months.

On the other side, Rainbow Dash wants to do whatever she can to help her childhood friend turned soldier Gilda in her time of need. Even if it means fighting against somepony who may or may not be her friend.

Griffons and ponies have had a longstanding animosity, as griffons tended to eat the ponyfolk. However, with the times changing, this has been frowned upon, and griffons have moved on to less intelligent and sentient creatures. Or have they? A new deal has been made: ponies sold to griffons may be eaten. This led to a societal method of making this somewhat alright: the Cute-ceñera, once a beloved rite of passage, is now dreaded by the foals, as it is the day they can be hunted and caught to be sold.

As a pegasus colt has just obtained his cutie mark, the hunting season is on. Can he survive his own Cute-ceñera unharmed... Or at all?

Gilda has a long, glorious tradition of hunting to live up to: her people, the griffons, are predators to the core. Hunting is in her blood, but sometimes, even the greatest of predators needs to keep their skills sharp.

Especially when you're in pony lands, where such activities aren't exactly common, and opportunities to test oneself even rarer.

Scar the gnoll and the newly-formed pony squad arrive in the Griffon Kingdoms, eager to hunt the hated Izelim from their hiding places but unaware of what sinister plans lie hidden in the dark.

While the ponies and griffons focus on the present and what the future may bring, the gnoll finds himself faced with his own past as their journey takes them closer and closer to his old, forgotten home.

This is the second part of The Reader. Reading the first part is not necessary, but is highly recommended.

When Equestrian camera hunter Burst Rate falls off his yacht and swims to a nearby shore, the last thing he expected was to find a snippet of civilization tucked away in the middle of the forested island. Even moreso did he not expect to be forced to take part in a crazed Griffon's game in the ultimate battle of predator and prey.

Yes, this is a sort of 'rip-off' of Richard Connell's story of the same name, but I have thrown in a few fresh things of my own.

Special thanks to Richard Connell for making the great original story and to Salted Pingas for the cover image.