The Canterlot Caverns are a strange and enigmatic place, untouched and forgotten by pony-kind for centuries. So when a strange metal object is unearthed in their depths, it's up to Twilight Sparkle and Lyra Heartstrings to discover the many secrets it holds.

Together, the two of them will have to do their best to understand the remnants of an ancient civilization, and decipher what remains of Those Who Came Before.

The cover-image is a cleverly edited stock image, which was modified by the stupendous Corvo.
Proofreading was performed by the equally fantastical writers:
Timetraveling Pony (Who started as a proofreader when Cloud was writing this. Hats off to him for being dedicated and staying on as a proofreader for me.)
DustyPwny
Tidal
Superluminous
Night Spark
PhiliChez

And a special Thank You goes to The Sentient Cloud for allowing me the honor of continuing this great story after he retired from writing fimfictions.

As it turns out, this story is eerily similar to Lyra Heartstrings and the Hand of Man. Due to their similarity, I feel that it would be appropriate to give said story a mention.

Pinkamena "Pinkie" Diane Pie is Us. In crazy brilliance, We made Pinkie so strange that We would never be suspected, and it worked until the very end. An end that came about, not because We failed, but because of inescapable circumstance.

Now, We must run.

We do not want to think about what they will do to Us if they catch Us.

A pegasus woke in the woods. He was lost, injured, and had only the vaguest of dreams for memories; nightmares of a Canterlot engulfed in shadow and flame, of an invading swarm lead by one great and terrible dark figure. As he begins a new life, the dreams continue to taunt him. Will he ever find out who he was? And if he does, can he -- and his newfound friends -- accept what he finds?

(Credit also goes to Mekhazzio for help with editing)

TV Tropes page

Book cover art by viwrastupr

"We want most that which we cannot have," or so the saying goes. After what I've seen, and the things I've had to do, I would agree.

But I won't stop protecting my city. Not for anything.

Because the only thing more dangerous than someone who blindly chases an impossible dream is someone who finds it.

Kuno, a young changeling, is left weak, bloodied, and bruised after the events of the Canterlot wedding. She is soon discovered by Warden, a Royal Guard. But for some reason, Warden shows her mercy. Instead of taking her into the custody of the Royal Guard, he becomes both her captor and her savior. But over time, Kuno will come to ask herself the hardest question she has ever pondered: Can a changeling feel love?

"YOU ARE NOT THE REAL PINKIE PIE!"
"You probably shouldn't even exist."
"You're only a clone, you don't HAVE any feelings!"

Who was she to believe? She was barely a day old, and already she'd seen the disappearance of her mirror images, all but her. Was she just a clone? A disposable unfeeling analog?
What would happen if she became her own pony? If she became real?

Is it possible for one of the Pinkie's, the only copy left behind, to develop? To become an entirely different pony to the one that she was modelled after?

Oh, and before I forget, thanks to the amazing WerewolfNobody for the (At one point) cover art!
Featured on Equestria Daily!

Octavia is a high-class pony. Fine alcohol is her wont, and uncouthness her intense chagrin. Such is her surprise to find herself lumbered with an insufferable oaf of a DJ pony. However, sometimes these situations work themselves into a satisfactory ultimatum all the same.

Stoic. Calm. Unflappable. And above all, Professional. These are attributes that the pianist Frederic Horseshoepin likes to pride himself on.

But sometimes it's difficult to stay professional. Frederic finds it difficult to maintain a veneer of stoicism when he has to deal with his own feelings. What can he do when he's in love with a mare that he cannot hope to have?

At first, Chrysalis loathed him; the dumb-as-a-brick woodspony who goes by the name of Evergreen. But through circumstance, he is her only savior. And slowly, she comes to love the simple pony and his way of life. But her life as a changeling keeps holding her back. Will there be a happily ever after for them? Or are they doomed for failure?

*Comments contain massive spoilers!*

Check out the Sequel, Antecedent! http://www.fimfiction.net/story/25117/Antecedent

Cover art by Ink-Flow!

Edited version helped along by Fernin and Burraku_Pansa.

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