A kingdom needs a protector to defend it.
A protector needs a weapon to defend the kingdom.
A fundamental truth from the times where Luna was the hero of Equestria instead of a nightmarish fairy tail.
So now that Luna has finally returned, she is in need of a new weapon to protect the kingdom once more.

But when swinging a sword becomes a major obstacle for the princess, is it the fault of the blade, or the one who wields it?

An entry in Imposing Sovereigns III, using the prompt Luna/Kindness.

Pre-read by the always amazing daOtterGuy who as if he wasn't amazing enough, also made the cover art!

Now with a reading by StraightToThePointStudio!: Reading

Here a primer:
Nine years ago the three main princesses disappeared from Equestria those Princesses were
Celestia, Luna and Cadance. This forced Celestia's foals to take over ruling of Equestria. Princess Flurry Heart had been born but grew up without her mother Cadance

Princess' group pic done by the royalprincess on Deviantart

TTS Reading of the entire fiction: Courtesy of the FanFiction Reader on Youtube.

Character List: Courtesy of TruthHut (A work in progress)

Handy is not a happy man at the best of times.

He was even less happy to find himself in an alien world that offended the very laws of physics and got injured for his own stubborn refusal to accept the obvious path fate had apparently laid out for him.

For his trouble he is now on a journey, with the long term goal of finding his way back home, only to find himself involved in plots and machinations so far above his head and cares that he quickly becomes a pawn in a game played by powers who care not for his well-being.

Quite like his life back on Earth if you think about it.

Needless to say, Handy does not care for any of it. He is much more preoccupied with the more immediate and pressing mundane concerns of day to day life a human needs to worry about while in Equestria.

Obtaining a new pair of shoes for example.

All this and one almighty hangover, what's the worst that could happen?

Rated teen for harsh language and minor violence

Proofread by JBL, Jude and Usurper

Set in the canon of Friendship is Optimal

Ashley is an unimportant research assistant in an American machine learning lab. The release of Equestria online provokes more than a little interest in her lab, and she is selected to investigate it. What she discovers horrifies her, but for some reason she can't get anyone to take her seriously.

This does not dissuade her. Ashley might not know much, but she isn't going to sit idly by and watch her world end. No... if nobody else is going to step in, she will. It doesn't matter that nobody believes CelestAI is dangerous. It doesn't matter that it's a game about a children's show.

Ashley is going to save the world. Or try, anyway. The odds aren't great.

Editing by Two Bit and Sparktail, and art by Zutcha!
Il existe une traduction française de cette histoire, elle est par ici.

Year 2061: One year ago, while protecting her son Armin during a riot, Coraline's hand is destroyed during an attack. After gaining a robotic limb from Technomancer Industries, she joins a support group for augmented people.

Included in the group are a Twilight Sparkle Pod Pal who gained severe PTSD when she witnessed the death of another Twilight Sparkle on television, an enigmatic once-human Maud Pie who says little but knows much, and a Gardevoir-suited human whose choices have now left her with an identity she can't seem to remove.

Together, can this support group help Coraline find peace again after the tragic attack which took her hand (and almost her life) a year prior?

This story takes place in the "Equus Metamorphosis" storyline 11 years before the events of the main story. You don't have to read that story to understand this one. This is a self-contained one-shot. It helps you understand the main story a little more from the mother's perspective, and by itself functions as a story about how technology can affect our future. :)

Main story:
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/333408/equus-metamorphosis
Story Timeline:
http://www.fimfiction.net/blog/646776/supplemental-timeline-for-equus-metamorphosis-thank-you-to-all-my-readers

---You might like this story if you also like:---
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Blade Runner or Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Transhumanism
Cybernetic Augmentation
Robot Ponies, Pony Robot Suits, Pokemon Robot Suits
Gardevoir!
A Mother Doing Everything She Can to Love and Protect Her Son
Ponies and Humans Spending Time with Each Other
Hints of Twyra Shipping

Armin suffers from a rare degenerative bone condition which will result in the end of his life if he doesn't take drastic measures soon. Thankfully, advancements in robotics and medical technology have provided him with a new option: The Meta-Frame. This technologically advanced exosuit will repair his body and stabilize his condition, but he will never be allowed to take it off ever again.

With the help of his robotic friend Pinkie Pie, Armin decides on the new exosuit identity he will wear for the rest of his life, wondering if perhaps he should join his pony pal with a body similar to hers...

Along the way, they'll meet other robotic partners based on famous retro television shows like Doctor Who, explore what it means to be human, and learn how to survive an identity crisis which will either be a rebirth of self or a repression of who Armin really is. Then again, perhaps things are not as clear-cut as they would seem...

Edit (Jun 23, 2016): Thanks to some plot developments starting in Chapter 5, including slightly more mature discussion, this story rating has been raised from "E" to "T" and the new tag "Romance" has been added, because it's gonna happennnn. Nurse Redheart has also been added as a major character tag. :P

--

You might like this story if you also like:
Transhumanism
Transformation Stories
Deus Ex video game series
Cameos from other shows like Doctor Who
Stories which take place in Texas
Augmenting the Human Body with Science
Robotic Partners and Artificial Intelligence
Austin, TX and Corpus Christi, TX

Edit 6/25/2016: Supplemental Universe Timeline Written: http://www.fimfiction.net/blog/646776/supplemental-timeline-for-equus-metamorphosis-thank-you-to-all-my-readers

Twenty thousand years into Twilight Sparkle's rule, the burden of the countless trillions of ponies killed Equestria. Depleted, polluted, and dead, the planet was abandoned. The Goddess Twilight Sparkle and her alicorn compatriots led the surviving ponies to a new life among the stars.

Ponies advanced. They evolved, and grew. A golden age of peace and prosperity occurred that lasted for thousands of millennia.

But that was long ago. Before evolution turned against them, and before the deadly Mortality Virus raged through their ranks. Now, at the twilight of ponykind, their final hope is for a small crew to return to their long-dead and long-forgotten homeworld one last time.

Pinkie is the Cyberponk, a cyber pony that awakes in a world she knows nothing of. The distant future of Equestria involves a cyberkinetic revolution, interstellar colonization, and a race of android ponies built to satisfy the demands of the rapidly expanding equine population. While struggling to adjust to a world she doesn't belong in, Pinkie uncovers her forgotten identity in an attempt to understand her role in a mystery that seems to span the entire universe.

(STORY IS UNDERGOING REEDITING)
“Demonstrate to the world, there is ‘No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy’ than a U.S. Marine.”
~Gen. James Mattis

Excited for his first deployment, young marine LCpl. Kevin Brooke and his fellow squad mates of Bravo Company 2nd Battalion 1st Marines, begin their journey through the Pacific Ocean with the U.S. Navy carrier fleet. On their second day of voyage, they encounter a large floating crystal, ending in a swift and devastating battle.

After awakening in an unknown world, four ships (‘USS’ Anchorage, Princeton, Spruance & Michael Murphy) must adapt to a land filled with talking ponies while finding their way back home. However, during their stay, Queen Chrysalis rebuilds her army to take on her new enemies, and Brooke slowly unfolds the depths of a forgotten past.

NOTICE:
*Edited/Proofread by Dumbgamer999, totallynotabrony, & Groggari
*Rated for graphic violence, language, and gore
*Additional Tags: Random (occurs a few times in the story), Comedy, Dark, Thriller
*All characters (humans) in this story are fictional and are not affiliated with the U.S. military and other international militaries
*This story takes place several months after S03E02
*My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is owned by Hasbro Studios & Lauren Faust

Featured:
-November 24, 2014 -- Wow... I have no words what to say about this. Thanks so much for this achievement.

You are a human in Equestria, forced to work as a for-hire 'stress management consultant' (ie, cuddler) in order to make ends meet in this strange world while others search for a way for you to get home.
However, you've just been assigned to your biggest job yet- 'managing the stress' of none other than Princess Celestia herself. How will you go about your job?
In this Choose-Your-Own-Adventure story, you make the decisions, you are responsible for the consequences, and many possible storylines await!

Featured 5/24/17! Thank you all so much!