Hope is the faith of the young. Losing everything she holds dear, Puppysmiles embarks on the adventure of her life to find her mother, her hopes of meeting her again driving her through the horrors of a world not of her making. Too bad the Wastelands doesn't care about hope.

This story is a sequel to What I Am

Much has changed since that fateful day when the remnants of the old Krin Empire attacked our two worlds.
They crashed so many ships onto Earth, destroyed our cities, killed millions, and collapsed several governments in an instant, all as a diversion from their true objective, which was the blatant mass abduction of the citizens of Equis. Lives lost, families broken, and cities burnt to the ground, all to fuel the Krin war machine and their mad quest for power and vengeance against the snakes that had wronged them.

However, that's not the end of the story, or our involvement in its unfolding. A darkness is growing in the depths of space, and even though the snakes have done their best to assure us that they will take care of it, there are so, so many on both of our planets that choose not to listen to them.

And how could I blame them? After all, every time I look in the mirror, I'm reminded of the horrors of the Krin Empire, and more importantly, the promise I made in that accursed tank that remains unfulfilled. They came for us, they struck first, and I'm not about to let that go unpunished.

Yeah, sure, it's hard for me to do it right now, since I'm just a diplomat to the people of Equis, and we don't exactly have a fleet outside of the few ships we commandeered from the krin, but trust me when I say that both of those are just temporary inconveniences.

After all, it's rather difficult to keep a monster like me behind a desk, especially not when there's a perfectly good war brewing throughout the galaxy, and that's not even counting the other humans and ponies that are all chomping at the bit, ready for some good, old-fashioned payback.

The only problem with that, though, is that, somehow, deep down, I feel like we've already lost. Call it a hunch, or a premonition, but something deep inside is telling me that we messed up when we let the general's ship get away. Maybe I'm just being paranoid, but somehow, I don't think so.

After all, I know better than anyone what the krin are capable of. We might be coming for them, but that doesn't mean the reverse isn't also true. They're coming for us, too.

The only question is: Who's going to be ready first?

Given that we've only just obtained (stolen) ships capable of spaceflight, I don't think it's going to be us...

This is the beginning of the next set of books in this series that I'm tentatively calling the Soul of the Milky Way.
The title up for change, as well as suggestion. Not only that, but the title of this story, as well as the set it belongs to is also up for change and suggestion, so feel free to leave them in the comments. If you're just starting with this one, please don't. I mean, you can if you want, but there's a lot here that you won't get if you haven't read the trilogy that predates this new set of books. They are, in order:

What I've Become
What I've Done
What I Am

They're quite good, if the feedback I've gotten is anything to go by, so if you haven't read these by now, please go and do that now. Don't worry, this story will still be here when you get back...

This story is a sequel to Entrenchment

An Age of Iron story.

At last, Ferrous Dominus is (mostly) secure.
Centaur III has been (largely) pacified.
The enemies of Chaos and Equestria have finally been crushed (probably).

But victory is merely a prelude to the next war. The Imperium of Man and the pitiful, far-flung holdings of the alien await the Iron Warriors and their new allies, ripe for conquest and plunder. With a new home world and a new ally under their thumb, the 38th Company at last turns its attention on a galaxy ablaze with constant war, seeking new victims to fill the bellies of their ships. The gentle but resourceful equines of Equestria travel with them, taking to the field not out of malice or avarice but gratitude in at last fulfilling their grave debt to the Legion.

But in the depths of the void, far beyond the fleet, beyond the veil of the Materium itself, Chaos is not idle. Plots advance, blood spills, and ancient evils seethe.

The light will be extinguished.

(Dark humor warning; grimdark themes)
(Cover art, and pretty much the rest of the art too, by EZTP)

This story is a sequel to What I've Done

This is the third book in The Humanity Within Trilogy. If you haven't read the other two books first, go back and do that now. Don't worry, this will still be here when you get back...

Also, if you've already finished this trilogy, you should be happy to know that the next book in the series, A Darkened Sky, is out right now! Go read it, follow it, and all that stuff!

I don't know what to believe anymore. I was sure they were all monsters, all demons bent on destroying any peace I and my new friends might find in this life.

I was wrong.

Instead of burning this world down around me, their weapons are pointed away from the planet, not towards it.

As if that conundrum wasn't perplexing enough, I also have to deal with finding my own place in this odd, yet familiar society. But how does one simply go back to being normal? Especially knowing that the real monsters that caused this mess in the first place could be just around the corner?

After all, it's not like I'll ever see my home planet again. They may not be here to hurt me or my friends, but I still don't trust these 'friendly' aliens to get me a ride home...

This story is a sequel to Project: Sunflower

No story ever truly ends, and some stories have parts that remain hidden until they are unearthed.

This will be a collection of stories related to Project: Sunflower. Stories as yet unheard, and things that come after the end.

Note:
The stories presented here will be slice-of-life style stories based in the same universe as Project: Sunflower, and therefore will contain spoilers. It is recommended that you read Project: Sunflower before reading these stories.

These will not necessarily be in chronological order, and each side story will contain a note describing when it takes place in the main story time line.

(Additional characters/tags may be added as the stories require)

This story is a sequel to Project Sunflower: Harmony

In every tale, there are unseen details. Small stories, often going unnoticed. This is a collection of those stories that relate to Project Sunflower: Harmony.

It isn't recommended to read these stories without reading the main story. Without the context provided in Project Sunflower: Harmony, it isn't likely that these chapters will make much sense.

Every chapter will have an author's note detailing where it fits in the main storyline. These chapters are intended to be optional to read, and are intended to add some depth and color to the main story.

Cover art by Genbulein

Rainbow Dash hasn't been having a good time since Discord was defeated. Her supervisor suddenly thinks she can't handle a simple weather schedule. Her relay team all suddenly have a grudge against her. Something isn't right, and it's not limited to her. Applejack's family is watching over her like a jailhouse warden. Twilight is avoiding them all, visiting with strange ponies, and losing sleep on something she won't talk about. Pinkie Pie, and Rarity are both having problems they can't explain. And for Fluttershy, it's the worst of all.

Without Twilight’s guidance, 5 ponies have to figure out what happened to the town, and why their lives are so messed up despite Discord being long gone. Somehow they have to get Twilight to open up to them again, and accept help from her friends. But nothing they do seems to work right. They’re at a loss of what to make of any of this, until Rainbow Dash stumbles upon a truly chilling revalation, that throws into question everything the 5 of them have ever known.

When trouble calls, Dash wants an obvious goal, a big bad monster to defeat, but now the only thing she can see in front of her are all her friends.

The long-awaited crossover between Pony.exe and The Iron Horse: Everything's Better With Robots! co-written by respective authors Blue Blaze {COMET} and The Hat Man.

Twilight Sparkle: Once a magic student in Equestria, now trapped as a program running on a college student's computer. She just wants to go home.
Turing Test: A robot pony whose primary directive is to make friends. She wishes she could be more like her organic friends.
They're about to get their wishes and become closer than either of them had ever expected...

Edited by GenerousGhibli and E3gner; Cover art by Colby Green.

Nightmare Moon won. She defeated Celestia, broke the Elements, banished the sun. This all happened a very long time ago. So long ago, that she has had plenty of time to change her mind.

Of course, fixing our mistakes is never so simple, and never without consequences. Even with particularly potent help.

"If you came to conquer, you'll be king for a day. / But you too will deteriorate and quickly fade away."
— "No Control" by Bad Religion

A big thanks to Craine, Sorren, and Idylia for prereading and editing. If you enjoyed the story, don't forget to check out their pages.

Equestria Daily
Royal Canterlot Library (FIMfic version)
Russian translation by Doof
Chinese translation by Dreams Set Free

Kitsune Heart has done a dramatic reading of this story! Find it over here.
ObabScribbler has done a dramatic reading of this story! It includes a full cast of voice actors. Find it over here.

Comments contain spoilers.

Searching for any records King Sombra may have left behind, Twilight learned of the shadowy king's tragic past. However, she also discovered his horn, in which his mind and remaining power were contained. Determined to learn how to use his Dark Magic for Good, Twilight brought Sombra back to Ponyville with her. After all, what could he possibly do as a horn? ...Or will he stay that way?

Edited by Darth Vendar and Myrkur
Inspired by Issue #1 of FIENDship is Magic
Gore tag just to be safe.

Edit 06/15/23: Now in the top 2K stories on the site, by rating! Thank you all!