A colossal mass of alien matter ends up on the surface of Equestria as a result of a cosmic disaster, and it is poisoning all it touches. Twilight Sparkle and her friends are caught up in the events as Equestria becomes increasingly hostile to ponies, and the ponies become increasingly hostile to each other. But is it the fault of the alien matter, or is something more going wrong?

It is up to Twilight to find the answer and a solution, preferrably one that also preserves the very fragile life of what may be the last representant of an entire species.

NOTES: Formerly known as 'The Creature'. HiE tag is mandatory for all stories with human characters. Note that there is only a human as a side character in this story.

Thanks to Matdat for grammar and spelling check!

The Second Age of Sail, I often hear this era called. Personally, I think the very definition of irony should be that we would have to develop spaceflight, nuclear fusion and ways to reach worlds beyond our own just to circle back to using wind-powered vessels. Not that I really care how this old bird gets from port to port, the important thing is that the drinks are cheap and the work is good—in that specific order.

I'm a free mariner. My domain is wherever the wind blows, and my sovereign is none. If you can respect those rules... welcome aboard.

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 Twin Monarchies of Equestria is flourishing, growing strong economically and ideologically. They have allies and puppet states strung all about the world, and their enemies lay defeated or dead.

But a new opponent, crossing dimensional borders, shall arise. The Prussians, having conquered almost their entire planet, grow hungry for more rivals. Through the sacrifice of many howitzers, a portal opened in the North Sea, permitting the travel of ships to a strange new world…

I got the idea for this following a campaign of Empire Total War, playing as Prussia and abusing Howitzers to take almost everywhere by 1787.

Inspired by 'Shouldnt have enslaved humanity', written by NoobMaster69, as well as a Hearts of Iron 4 mod called 'Beyond Earth'.

Special thanks to karnazom for proofreading.

"Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plain of dignity and discipline." - Martin Luther King Jr.

Humanity is surprising in many ways. When most expected it to die out from infighting and chaos, it somehow survived, and now, it thrives. Global conflicts, economic and ecological disasters, near-extinction level events and collapses, all of them overcome, all thanks to the undying spirit and will of Humanity. Every challenge thrown their way has been overcome, and they have endured.

However, when a cataclysmic event of immense proportions approaches Earth, Humanity must find a way to preserve their race. And when they re-emerge from the remains of the old world, they find a world not just foreign and unknown, but hostile to them. But like the legendary Phoenix, through it's ingenuity and unity....

Humanity shall once again rise from the ashes.

Two worlds, two peoples, two varying ways of life. For Equestria and its people, peace has been a staple of life for generations under the watchful eyes of their alicorn protectors. Resources and necessities for life are abundant, and the few times it has been threatened by external foes have ended in an Equestrian victory.

For mankind however, life is a brutal battle for survival in the war-torn hellscape of nuclear devastation. Violence and survival have been a mainstay for the last three decades, and only recently has a coalition tried to reestablish civilization. But the Earth is dying, and this last bastion of humanity only number around 50,000. For man, doom seems inevitable.

One day, two men accidentally discover something that will change the fates of both worlds forever. One man will discover Equestria and its prosperity, coming into contact with the very best Equestria has to offer. He will be shown kindness, and in turn, he will teach them understanding.

Regardless, the rest of Equestria will come to fear what they do not understand and after a tragedy costs humanity's good will, mankind will be left no choice but to invade in the name of survival. A sad tale, but one that history has repeated on numerous occasions. In the end, it will be up to a handful of individuals on both sides to find a solution and bring an end to the conflict. Will these two worlds come to terms and learn to coexist, or will one species be eradicated by the other?
First featured on 11/15/15