Smaug is the mightiest of all beasts in Middle Earth. No creature can match his prowess. As the last of his kind, he has no obligations to anyone being other than himself. The only thing he cares about is his hoard.

But this new creature, this alicorn, may just change that.

There's an old saying among ponies: Be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it.

In the aftermath of Tirek's rampage, Celestia finds herself thinking upon her life and yearns for those moments of glory and adoration from her youth. While on a trip to the Crystal Empire to assist Cadance and the other princesses in repairing the damage done by Tirek, Celestia finds herself drawn through the magic mirror into another world. Stuck with no way to return or communicate, she is forced to rely on the kindness of her newfound allies. But even here, dark shadows loom that threaten all...

This story is a sequel to The Longest Night

As her twenty-first birthday dawns, Twilight Sparkle finds her simple life turned upside down. While her birthright forces itself into her life, Twilight also has to deal with the arrival of three Alicorns. No pony knows where they came from or what they want, and the Alicorns seem intent on keeping themselves and their purposes hidden. To uncover the truth, Twilight will set sail for distant, ancient lands with old and new friends.

Side-Stories: Velvet Sparkle and the Queen in Stone, Myths and Birthrights: Anthologiae, A Dream of Pride and Envy, The Castle Canterlot, by Honey Mead

TVTropes Page

Pre-readers/Editors: Honey Mead, WNA, Cerulean Voice
Cover art by Saint-Juniper

Comments Contain Spoilers

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...

With shattered elements and hope, Twilight Sparkle is caught with an unknown ailment while she embarks on a quest to return the sun. The "hallucination" Discord has come to taunt her efforts, never resting and always close to her side. Friends enslaved, one Princess killed and the other banished, Twilight's search takes an unexpected turn as her mind ebbs away into darkness. Equestria's only light in the dark could be Discord saving the mare before she's corrupted for good. But as more information on Discord's history with the two sisters is revealed, questions arise about the credibility of her former leader Celestia and the intentions behind imprisoning Discord and Nightmare Moon, and what the true answer to saving her world could be.
Perfection came at a cost.

This story is a sequel to Celestia

Villains rarely appear out of thin air. They start as most creatures do, but fall victim to fate, choice, manipulation... or love. Princess Luna's descent into the Nightmare is something that has been long forgotten by modern ponies, but Luna will always remember.

(Sequel to Celestia, and a part of the past that she would rather keep hidden. Reading Celestia is strongly recommended!)
(Many thanks to my prereaders Noble Cause, Metallusionsismagic, and BradTheBrony!)
(Character tags will be added as the story develops!)
(Coverart is a placeholder for the moment, until I get something better!)
(BEWARE POTENTIAL SPOILERS IN COMMENTS!)

Princess. Alicorn. The pillar of all ponykind, against which so many ponies often judged themselves. Celestia hates having to constantly be these things, and it's past time for a break. Luna will watch over Equestria while her sister is gone, but taking a break from your duties and taking a break from how the world sees you are two very different matters. Enter Prominence, a quiet pony who nopony really pays much mind to. Perhaps because she doesn't exist.

Aided by this disguise, Celestia will find her peace and relaxation in the home of one of the few ponies who know Prominence's true identity: Princess Twilight Sparkle. But when Twilight begins to see Celestia as a pony, and not a princess, can she deal with the feelings that arise? And are the feelings for Celestia, or for a pony she knows is not actually real?

EDIT: I've been featured, July 19th, 2014. I have no words to express how terrified and humbled and terrified and proud and happy and terrified this makes me.

A United States Air Force AC-130 is transported to Equestria while in transit through the Bermuda Triangle. Insanity aside, this motley crew of aviators must juggle their duties while treading the uncertain waters of diplomacy.

Disclaimer: I've decided to write this in an attempt to get a more realistic view of what military in Equestria would act like, rather then the dark brooding kill happy stuff I've read. So with that being said, these guys will act more like diplomats. So there won't be much gore, and they certainly won't be going on a killing spree. (Obviously, as fiction the term realistic is applied loosely. My main goal is a realistic characterization of one specific community within the military. Just keep an open mind about how sub-cultures can exist within an entity as large as the U.S. military and you'll be fine.) Also rated teen for obvious reasons, morbid humor, light swearing, and background stories.

The Great Freeze. Was it our hubris in controlling the sun, or was it that others started to covet that control? At this point, the whos and the whys don’t change anything. Our star is dying, and those responsible for it are long dead. Their causes and motives, lost to all but a few.

For the past hundred years, our sun has been growing dimmer, kept alive only by Celestia’s constant efforts. But not even she nor the legion of magi and scientists can stop the inevitable.

Our only choice is to flee to a new world, one that could give our doomed species a second chance. The Seeding colony ship is that chance. There are so many worth saving, and yet so very few seats.

May our children never forget the sacrifice of those we leave behind.

~Excerpt from Princess Twilight Sparkle’s journal three days before Seeding.

While this fic will borrow heavily from Beyond Earth, it will be written so that you do not have to know anything about BE to enjoy the story.

When the Burning Legion aided those who sought to overthrow the Princesses, Twilight and Rainbow Dash were lost to Equestria. Stuck in a new world, a world of war and strife known as Azeroth, Twilight will have to learn the hard way that the universe isn't as friendly as Equestria. With no Princess Celestia to ask for guidance, with no Luna to keep the nightmares at bay, and with no peace or Harmony, Twilight must make a choice. Is she to be a symbol, to sit safe in a temple somewhere, dispensing advice while others fight and die in this cruel world? Or is she to take an active role, and learn just what it means to be an Alicorn?

As trolls are attempting to resurrect their dead god, the Black Dragon flight are hatching their own schemes, the undead are massing in the plaguelands for another war, and an old god is reawakening with it's army in Silithus, Twilight couldn't make any other choice.