A first-in scout from the Associated Worlds investigates the anomalous star system IGS 254672, expecting to find the home of a machine god. She finds herself making first contact with sophont ponies instead. A couple of them are weakly godlike ponies, but still...

Neither world will be quite the same again.

Side stories and notes can be found here.

(This is actually a crossover with the original SF that I write as my day job, which is to say with the universe of Vignettes of the Star Empire and The Core War and Other Stories, and if you like - although it should not be necessary to read this - you can read a whole selection of the nanofiction I write in that setting over at the Eldraeverse blog. I also have a Patreon which exists to fund my ongoing original writing, but if anyone wants to give me money for this instead - I'm not asking, in this case, but you never know - I surely won't turn it down.

The Eldraeverse also has a Discord, which has an #advancedverse channel specifically for this fic's AU; feel free to drop in at: https://discord.gg/SnzkKhf

As such, I should warn you in advance, gentle reader, that updates may be erratic, because I also have said writing-as-a-day-job to do and it has to take priority. I hope that won't put you off.

Timeframe-wise, it's safe to assume these events start sometime in the middle of S3, and continue from there. The situation will of course butterfly-effect away from canon with reasonable speed, and there may be a few changes needed in the course of the fusion, hence the AU tag.)

Twilight Sparkle has too much magic, and it will take her decades to learn to control it. Her spectacular loss of control during her entrance exam only proves that fact. She is a danger to herself and others.

After Sunset Shimmer’s disappearance, Princess Celestia needs a new student to bear The Element of Magic to defeat Nightmare Moon. With all of Equestria at stake, Twilight Sparkle…is not the pony she needs.

Princess Celestia seals Twilight Sparkle’s magic with the distant promise of one day teaching her.

But there are two diarchs of Equestria. Amidst a lucid dream, an offer is made.

“Hello, Twilight. Would you like to be my student?”

Cover art provided by Lafiir.

An alicorn can fly, fly so very high, high above the sky.

Celestia recalls the evolution of her love of flying.
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A twist on the “Celestia’s millennium of lament” story. This one includes hypersonic velocities (although if you read the title, it was probably obvious).

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The third story in the Flight: Altitude series, a series focused on the sensual experience of flying high.
30,000 Feet || Stratosphere

4131 EC, a year of no importance. Thousands of years ago, the entirety of our universe consisted of a single planet, an idyllic world of harmony and peace. Now, the galaxy is a hard place. The Age of Harmony is over, the old order is dead, and all that’s left of our once glorious civilization are fractured states in decline.

My name is Horizon Seldat. I grew up on a slum colony orbiting Luna six. My life just got a little complicated.

Twilight lives a comfortable, expected life with the security of being surrounded by her mentors and friends. As she grows into a model unicorn, a dangerous being takes hold of the volatile Brood and drives them to war, breaking a long period of peace. After years of preparation for a higher order, Twilight is chosen to ascend beyond that of a typical sorcerer in a mysterious plan to counter the impending conflict.

During her dark, trying mission Twilight will discover a caged soul and unknowingly set them free, gradually acquiring an affinity for the darkness as a result. As she struggles within deepening conflict, she must push on and fight for what she believes in. With manipulation, deceit, and betrayal storming around, will she be able to contain herself and protect those she loves, or will she succumb to the creeping darkness and abandon everything she stands for?

*Warning: Comments may contain spoilers.*