The sequel to Wayward Courier. Read that first, or you'll get lost.

Two months after his first visit to Equestria, Thomas has returned. And this time, he's not alone!
Now the ponies have to deal with not only him, but a depressed snarky ex-Scribe and a Brotherhood Ghoul with her own list of incredible achievements and emotional baggage.
However, things aren't well in Equestria, as they quickly find out...

All major details relating to Season 3 are non-canon to this fic.

Celestia and Discord, as teens, flee their destroyed homeworld to a new world promised by a letter from Luna. But Discord can't escape his nature, nor Celestia her memories. Being a chaos mage on a starliner is a death sentence, and yet, Discord has to keep using his mind-control powers to take Celestia's emotions away, at her request, because otherwise she wants to die. And Gray Celestia, the discorded Celestia with no emotions but the drive to protect herself and Discord, will do anything that needs to be done to save them both.

Warnings: suicidal ideation, consensual mind control that's still kind of messed up, genocide, a near-execution, mass murder, and comforting lies.

Cover art is by ponkamena/polkahorse, who now goes by ashiida (link goes to their new deviantart account). The source link goes to the derpibooru version. This was the closest I could get from all of derpibooru, though in the fic they're both much younger than the art would suggest.

In the far reaches of Canterlot Castle, high above in the towers lived the archmage. Everypony knew her, yet few had met her.

Twilight Sparkle sighed, having teleported away another noble seeking favors before reaching the top of the stairs for the second time today. They never learned. As the archmage, she already dealt with political squabbles far too often without inviting them into her home. Aside from personal favors for Celestia, she did what was required of her position and then returned to seclusion and research.

The nobility grumbled that no archmage should be a commoner, and Twilight’s disrespect toward them proved it. Each and every time they were forced to bow to her, they hated what they saw: the position, the status, the deference.

Was she not powerful? Was she not great?

Twilight, now reading through dusty scrolls and long forgotten tales, wrote in her notes — notes gathering dust of their own. A brief thought flashed through her mind.

Am I not powerful? Am I not great?

And then Twilight picked up The Tale of the Royal Pony Sisters.

Defunct side stories told in Across the Boundary. They can still provide a little context, but when in doubt, the main story here is canon.

Cover art provided by Lafiir

Ever wonder what characters are doing when they’re not in the spotlight?

They’re certainly glad you never knew.

Unfortunately for them, stories of their lives have come to light.

Defunct side stories to the Seeking Power series.

A forewarning, each short story may contain spoilers for the main series. Although they are arranged in chronological order, they are written in an arbitrary order and out of sync with the main story. It is possible that reading a story can reveal information that isn’t given until much later in the main series. Such stories will have a warning at the top listing the chapter at which spoilers are no longer in effect.

Art created from various sources. A full list of links is available here.

This is a series of one-shot chapters that tell the stories of important events in griffon (and potentially world) history as pertains to the world built in Diplomacy for the Strong.

Chapter 1 - What is Griffonstone? How did a tiny decrepit village get the title of a Kingdom?

Chapter 2 - The Crystal Empire just accepts Cadance as their ruler? Why?

If you read these without the context of DftS, you do so with the understanding that this is expanded world-building and therefore innately head-canon territory. (Oh, and you won't really understand what's going on... so there's that too.)

One fine morning, Spike woke up early and ran some errands. Then he found Discord putting up a seller's stand, apparently ready to open his own business. One which offers a one-day transformation into anything the user wants. And he apparently had the patience to set up his shop LEGALLY. Twilight and the others brace themselves for the inevitable...

(Content of future chapters controlled by user votes!) (Now with Tropes!)

Now with a 'dramatic' reading: Prologue

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(Voting closes after a week from the posting of the current chapter)

It was 1825, and it's been a year since Ludwig van Beethoven had premiered his Ninth Symphony. One evening as he did his daily walks in the Austrian countryside, a surprise storm forced the composer back into his cheap, rented room. Where a mysterious shadow whisked him away to Equestria, taking everything, including his music along with him.

Holding Ludwig captive against his will, the shadow tells him that if he ever hopes to see all he knows and loves in Vienna, he would have to give him something in exchange. Something priceless that only he could give. The shadow demands that he'll give Beethoven one year to compose his Tenth Symphony, or give up all hope that he will ever return home.

Please keep in mind, this story is partly edited. Only between chapters, 54 to 61 is edited by Circut Breaker.

Music for this fic are, in chronological order:
- Piano Sonata No. 14 (Moonlight Sonata) 3rd Movement.
- Bagatelle in F minor.
- Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor Op. 13 "Pathetique" 2nd Movement.
- Für Elise.
- Rondò alla ungherese, quasi un capriccio Op. 129 "Rage Over a Lost Penny".
- "Music to My Ears" by DJ PON-3.
- Concert Etude #4 for solo cello by Bukinik.
- Cello Sonata in A Op.69: Allegro, ma non tanto, 1st Movement.
- "The Old Grey Mare" Variations in the style of Beethoven. Improvised by Richard Grayson.
- Salve Regina (Cello solo, arranged from the Gregorian Chant by Tomoyan).
- Symphony No. 1, 1st Movement.
- Symphony No. 1, 4th Movement.
- Symphony No. 2, 1st Movement.
- Symphony No. 2, 2nd Movement.
- Symphony No. 2, 4th Movement.
- Piano Sonata No. 17 "Tempest," 3rd Movement.
- Symphony No. 3, 1st Movement.
- Symphony No. 3, 2nd Movement.
- Symphony No. 3, 3rd Movement.
- Symphony No. 3, 4th Movement.
- Piano Sonata No. 14 (Moonlight Sonata) 1st Movement.
- String Quartet op. 135 (Lento assai, cantante e tranquillo).
- Nocturne No. 20 in C# minor by Chopin.
- Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major, Op. 58.
- Symphony No. 4, 1st Movement.
- Symphony No. 4, 2nd Movement.
- Symphony No. 4, 4th Movement.
- String Quartet No. 13 in B-Flat Major, Op. 130: II. Presto
- Beethoven - Rondo a Capriccio REMIX by TPRMX
- String Quartet No. 14 in C# minor, Op131. Allegro (7th Movement)
- Piano Sonata No. 29 "Hammerklavier," Op. 106: 5th Movement
- The Spectacle (Razzle Dazzle) from season 5, episode 24.
- Symphony No. 5 in C minor.
- Piano Sonata No. 1, Ops 2. 2nd Movement (Adagio)
- String Quartet no. 15 op. 132. 3rd Movement: Molto Adagio.
- Nocturne in Eb Major. Op. 9 No. 2 by Chopin
- String Quartet in B-flat major, Op. 130. 5th Movement: Cavatina
- "The Swan," for violin and piano by Saint-Saens.
- Symphony No. 6, 1st Movement
- Symphony No. 6, 2nd Movement.
- Symphony No. 6, 3/4/5 Movements.
- Turkish March, from "The Ruins of Athens," arranged for solo piano.
- Violin Sonata No. 9 (Kreutzer), 1st Movement.
- "Mark Yonder Pomp of Costly Fashion," arranged by Beethoven.
- Violin Concerto In A Minor, 1st Movement by Vivaldi.
- Native American Music & Chants by Phil Thornton.
- "Oyate Miye" (War Song) by The Native Tribes United.
- "Lakota Lullaby" by Robert "Tree" Cody.
- Auld Lang Syne by Beethoven.
- Cello Sonata in D Major No. 5, Adagio.
- Piano Trio No. 3 in C minor Op. 1 No. 3: IV. Finale (Prestissimo).
- Violin Romance No 1, Op. 40.
- Egmont Overture.
- Symphony No. 7: 1st Movement
- Symphony No. 7: 2nd Movement.
- String Quartet: Große Fuge, op. 133
- Missa Solemnis: Kyrie (excerpt).
- Missa Solemnis: Gloria in excelsis Deo
- Missa Solemnis: Gloria; In gloria Dei Patris
- Missa Solemnis: Credo; Et incarnatus est
- Missa Solemnis: Credo; et vitam venturi sæculi
- Missa Solemnis: Sanctus; Benedictus
- Piano Concerto No.6 in B flat, K.238. 2nd Movement: Andante un poco adagio by Mozart.
- Choral Fantasy for Piano, Orchestra and Choir.
- Coriolan Overture
- Symphony No. 8: 1st Movement.
- Symphony No. 8: 2nd Movement.
- Symphony No. 8: 4th Movement.
- In fourore iustissimae irae, RV 626. By Vivaldi.
- Symphony No. 9: 1st Movement.
- Symphony No. 9: 2nd Movement.
- Symphony No. 9: 3rd Movement.
- Symphony No. 9: 4th Movement (Ode to Joy).
- Piano Concerto No. 1, 2nd Movement: Largo, Romance by Chopin.
- Piano Concerto No. 5, "The Emperor"
- Bagatelle No. 3. Op. 126.
- Reconstructed Largo from Oboe Concerto in F Major (Hess 12)
- Symphony No. 10, Unfinished (Reconstructed by Barry Cooper)
- Beethoven's Last Thoughts (reconstruction from the sketches of Ludwig van Beethoven)

There are certain responsibilities which come with being a Princess, and Twilight's still learning about most of them. She's slowly adjusting to meeting diplomats, attending ceremonies, and hosting functions. However, being on the receiving end of the scheduled, contractually-obligated kidnapping came as something of a surprise. And she really doesn't understand why she's supposed to cooperate with it.

Her kidnapper's starting to become a little frustrated.

(Now with author Patreon and Ko-Fi pages.)

Twilight is assassinated. Repeatedly. If only anypony knew what the word "immortal" meant...

Now with a reading by Skijarama!
Now available in Spanish!

Originally written for the Writeoff Association's February contest, "The Twilight Zone."
Thanks to Not_A_Hat, Masked Ferret, Floydien, Chryssi, and ChappedPenguinLips for prereading.

When you hear the name Enterprise what is the first thing to come to your mind? Is it a Yorktown class aircraft carrier with more medals and honours than you can wave a stick at? Or maybe a starship of the Federation? But what about an ageing Emerald class light cruiser of the Royal Navy who served valiantly in WWII? No? She has been forgotten from history, and this is her story, the untold story of the H.M.S. Enterprise D52. Her story is one of survival and valour, adventure and loss, we open a book untouched by history, to remember, remember the brave men who have faded from history. This is their tale.

Now that we have the hopefully powerful description out of the way, this story isn't historically accurate (Just a warning but really, how accurate is it going to be with talking ponies?) this isn't a HiE or a PoE, oh no, this is something I don't think has been done much, if at all. But alas: Spoilers.

Equestrian flag by: http://qtmarx.deviantart.com/

I do not own anything My Little Pony related in this story, other than the story itself. Nor do I own anything pertaining to the Destroyermen series by Taylor Anderson, while not a crossover his work is referenced directly and some basing is from it.