I have always been alone in this forest. I have always feasted in this forest. I call this forest home and those ponies that travel through it are my prey. I devour all those who fear me, all who come to face me. They fear me for I am Fear incarnate. But now...I have met one who does not fear...and I am unsure of what do with her...

Image by the very awesome thewraithofwolf

Now has a sequel! Celestia Does Stuff in Ponyville While Other Things Happen Elsewhere

"Your Majesty!" "Your highness!" "My princess!" "My Sweet Goddess!"

These are all titles that Celestia has heard her little ponies call her. They hold her in the highest esteem, praising her for every little complement she gives them, and they look for her approval above all else.
Even her student Twilight treats her very highly, although that could be chalked up to a mother/daughter relationship. In fact, the only ones that don't treat her as a high and mighty, so-far-above-from-the-world-you-would-not-understand ruler were those not under her, and her sister.

Yes, everypony worships the very ground she treads upon.
And she is sick and tired of it.

With the help of her dear sister, Twilight and her friends, our beloved princess will seek out a way to put an end to the high level of praise that she has, Luna is jealous of, and Twilight is worried about receiving because of her status-- no matter how humble her subjects are to her.

The picture here seemed to get the premise of the story right. yes, sue me, I picked a picture to fit with the story, not a story for the picture. Please give the artist your full appreciation!

If you want to read the old and rejected chapters, consult this link [Clickey!]

It occurred one peaceful night. Half of Equestria awoke to the sound like a double-shot thunderclap. A percussion heard in the skies and rattling windows from Apploosa, to Canterlot, to Ponyville. Nopony knew what it was or what it heralded for the world as it drew a line across the nation.

For Twilight Sparkle, this isolated incident might have faded from memory after a time, if not for the strange rumors of a creature sitting on the hill on the outskirts of town.

These are her thoughts given written form. These are Sparkle's Notes.

Report EVERYTHING to the Princess.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders have always lived in the now, getting what they think needs to be done as a soon as possible, executing their plans just so they can move on to the next one right away, not thinking about the consequences till they’re right there in their faces. But when an attempt to earn their cutie marks goes too far, Sweetie Belle and her friends must face a horrible reality that sends their world into darkness and fear. How will the truth be uncovered and what will be sacrificed to undo this nightmare?

My name is Rainbow Dash and today I learned something new. I learned I'm actually a changeling. You'd think that would be something you would already know. I just learned it now when I saw my true self for the first time. How did I come to replace the real Rainbow Dash, and when? And why can't I remember it?

Nightmare Moon won the first battle, but luckily the Elements of Harmony turned into guns.

Okay, I don't know if anyone can hear this, or read this, or whatever, but I'm trying my best to use Pinkie Pie's legendary fourth-wall-breaking powers to try and get a message out.

If you can hear this, I need help. I'm in Equestria, and man, this is strange. But I'm also stuck in Pinkie Pie's body, for some reason.

Yes, it's just as weird as it sounds. And now, I need your help... because all the ponies in this town think I'm crazy!

Just about everypony in Ponyville knows Scootaloo. She's your normal, carefree pegasus foal who crusades for her cutie mark, zips around town on her scooter, and looks up to her idol Rainbow Dash. But what if that's not all there is to her? Scootaloo worries that her friends will find out that she's not the foal they know and love, or that she's not even a foal at all. But, when her secret does come out, their reactions might surprise her.

As Twilight Sparkle awoke one morning from uneasy dreams, she found she had been turned into a changeling.

How has she become a changeling? How will she adapt? How will her friends respond? And what new terrors will her metamorphosis bring?

Cover image by the fantastic Carnifex... or Siansaar... I can't tell which. You can find more wonderful works here: http://siansaar.deviantart.com/

EDIT: Featured... nearing 1000 Favorites... multiple pages of comments (swoons)

Thanks for everything guys. I never expected this thing to get so popular. I need to rework the second chapter, but it looks like there's going to be a blue moon every Friday for a while yet. Thanks again for your support and please keep reading and reviewing!

EDIT2: I've updated the character list again, a little preview of the second story arc...

EDIT 3: Just doing a quick character update to account for changes made to the next Arc...

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.