How long can it take to learn a simple lesson? A day, a week, a year? What if you are an immortal goddess, charged with the well-being of an entire realm? How difficult can a simple lesson be? Well, how many grains of sand are there in all the beaches in all the world, or how many stars?

Some simple lessons take an age to learn.

Twilight reads a book about literature and, analysing her world, decides that everything she does is planned by someone other than her.

She does not take it very well.

Rated Everyone for adult humour.

now with a reading

Spike only wants things to stay the same. Time, however, has other ideas. He's going to need a lot of help... An everypony story.

(Cover image by Rannva)

Celestia has had enough of half-arsed promises from her loyal subjects. It's time to wear a different hat.

Also on: DeviantArt

(The sequel to this story is Where Nopony Has Gone Before.)

This is a Star Trek: The Next Generation / My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic crossover fic (though it's mostly just a FiM fic since none of the Star Trek: TNG cast except for Q show up, though a few are briefly mentioned). The frame story is set immediately after the TNG season 3 episode "Deja Q." The story being told to Q2 (who is simply called "Q" rather than "Q2" in the fic itself) by Q is about Q's existence as Discord from his first arrival thousands of years before the events depicted in the play in "Hearth's Warming Eve" up to the end of "The Return of Harmony."

The three main characters are Q/Discord, Celestia, and Luna, and there is much star-crossed shipping between Discord and Celestia. The main 6 from the show only appear near the end and don't play that big of a role outside of a partial retelling of "The Return of Harmony" from Q/Discord's point of view.

Celestia's parents are based upon fanart that can be found on DeviantArt ("Little Princesses" by SpyrotheFox, the original creator of them, and "just keep flapping" by egophiliac), though their names are ones I came up with myself.

The star system Omega Centauri was just another oddity on a map to scientists in the not too distant future. However when they found the star was orbiting an earth-sized, earth-like planet instead of a black hole as its motion had suggested, a mission was scrambled to investigate this most unusual of celestial behaviors.

Hamstrung by politics, and nearly crippled before it began, the 'Lone Ranger' mission was reduced to just one crew member and left to his own devices.

These are the logs of Arrow 18 and its lone commander. This information is classified TOP SECRET by the Global Space Agency.

Do NOT tell the princess.

How did our world begin? Was it some all-powerful, all-knowing deity? Perhaps a giant explosion in the depths of space? Well no, actually. In simplest terms it was a bag of oatmeal.

Hey, there's no reason to call me crazy, our world really did begin with a bag of oatmeal. Just allow me a few minutes to elaborate...

Special thanks to neilthenerd (http://www.fimfiction.net/user/neilthenerd) and Sabre (http://www.fimfiction.net/user/Sabre) for being such great proofreaders! If it weren't for them, this fanfic would be utterly devoid of commas. Read their stuff, they're both better writers than me.

Actually, the thanks have been doubled for Sabre since he also helped with the description.

More popular than the "Celestia's Homecare" omnibus, better selling than "Fifty-Three More Things to do When Trapped on the Moon", and more controversial than the infamous "Cupcakes", how does the story of this remarkable book differ in a universe full of... pony?

After escaping the destruction of Equestria at the hands of some big ol' meanies, Pinkie Pie leads her friends on a series of baffling, mind boggling and downright nonsensical adventures through a galaxy where harmony is in short supply, but aliens, monsters and chaos are most definitely not.

Gasp! As they meet strange alien creatures!
Cry! As emotional torment assails our characters!
Groan! As the Author includes yet another 4th wall break!

And most importantly, DON'T PANIC

Princess Celestia tires of constantly being surrounded by decorum, deference, and formality, and decides to take a day off from being Princess. But visiting Ponyville incognito is harder than she expects. Will she be able to fit in and make friends without blowing her cover?

The adventures of Daring Do become a thrilling reality as Rainbow Dash explores ancient ruins, battles sinister foes, and endures shameless cliches in search of a legendary artifact.