A prince is called to action to save his people's home, a land forever scarred by the battles of ages past against the one they know as the Trickster; to the Equestrians, they know his descendant as Discord. His legacy stretches far back into time, where the first rulers of the humans first brought their own tools to bear against his nightmarish reign of old and banished him to the depths of the void, but only now are his seals truly beginning to weaken. With the second release and re-imprisonment of Discord, it sets off a series of events that threaten to swallow the humans' Renascent Empire whole and turn their legacy into another dark age. With limited options, the prince turns to their heralded saviors of the sun and moon to aid them in their quest in the hopes that they can end the threat, once and for all.

Twelve thousand years ago, humanity was driven into a war with an unknown enemy. Fire rained from the heavens and the sky turned dark as the sun dimmed. Acid poured from the clouds and a plague was unleashed upon mankind: A virus that caused men to turn on one another. A disease that forced man to fall to his knees and beg for mercy. A pathogen that ravaged man’s civilization.

And when humanity lost all chances of reconciliation, all hope of keeping their loved ones safe, they pulled the plug, three hundred souls left Earth while sacrificing their only home to the angel of the enemy.

In the twelve millennia since the Great War, all traces of humanity have been wiped from the surface of the Earth. In man’s rightful place now are a multitude of sapient species. For twelve thousand years, these animals have lived in peace and harmony, man reduced to nothing more than but a myth, a folk tale, a legend.

But word has spread across the countryside. Word of forgotten beasts that still walk the western wastelands. Creatures able to bend the world to their will without the help of magic. Creatures said to be older than time itself.

Teen for language, and dark moments. Character tags will be added as the story progresses

Nobody wanted it. American soldiers in Equestrian streets. Hundreds, thousands of dead. A city in ruins.

Nobody wanted this.

This is not a story about closure or healing. A traumatized soldier is NOT taken to Equestria to heal his war-torn soul. This is a story about an unfortunate series of events that get a whole lot of ponies and people killed.

Currently undergoing rewrite. Former Chapters 6-15 as well as the incomplete, unpublished Chapter 16 available for viewing on ArguingPizza's Scrap Files

Rated T for language

It's been a year since the day Twilight Sparkle learned what Star Swirl the Bearded couldn't, since she found out that friendship can truly conquer any trial, since she was announced as a princess of Equestria for creating new magic. During then, the times seemed happier for everypony. Now, however, darkness has returned... and it's influence is stronger than ever. Mysterious Everfree Forest threatens the ponies as do the swarming changelings in the badlands. In southeastern Vallhalla, the formerly allied dragons fight one another. Then, there are the eastern Zeklathine isles, the mightiest realm of the griffins... lost completely due to evil.

As her first anniversary as a princess nears, Twilight cannot keep from confronting these troubles. Everyone clearly needs aid. Yet, where can she get the needed help? From a forgotten other world, a forgotten other people? Perhaps. Join her as she calls to the stars... and get's her answer. A "Humanity will return to Equestria" story, if you will.

"It is when the sun is shining its brightest, when the moon is at its fullest, when the Elements of Harmony have been born anew and Star Swirl is amongst us once more... that there shall be a most remarkable sparkle of twilight. And from that twilight, from a place long thought as lost, from we who have been forgotten, a child of history will be brought back home as well as a millennium old prophecy will finally be fulfilled."

"I have sworn upon the altar of God, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man."
-Thomas Jefferson

Three hundred years ago, Equestria tried to assimilate Earth.
They failed. They fled, rather than face justice.
We moved on. We conquered the stars, we made a civilization that spans across the infinite void. We built true harmony between species.
We thought we'd seen the last of Celestia, but as a desperate mobile colony on the fringes of known space came to discover, we were wrong.

It is time to finish what was started by our forefathers.

Based on TCB: Not Alone, by Starman Ghost.

EDIT: Following Starman Ghost's deleting of Not Alone, I've replaced the above link with one leading to a PDF file uploaded to mediafire.

EDIT (14/04/2014): The character of Evening Star was originally created by Starman Ghost. I am using her without his permission.

The Terrans. A small amalgamation of sapient races and constructs who’s civilisation has rocked the boat of the known galaxy. Forever riding in to save the day weather others like it or not, taking action in the face of injustice perhaps even when it is best not to and boasting the most underhanded of actions as heroic. As the rouges of the galactic community they have earned friends, allies, rivals and enemies with each move they make, sending chaotic consequence cascading through the status quo.

To one particular anomalous planet they are a legend passed into myth, remembered by few in reverence and animosity alike. After an impossible two thousand years they are returning, biting the tail of what remains of a society of slavers now fleeing through the unknown regions.

Some creatures eagerly await this return, having waited millennia for their saviours and honorary siblings in hardship. They yearn for the place in the world they were once promised and denied.

One of those who remember awaits them eagerly, willing to bare the price of the progress they bring. Her passion drives her to reforge a connection with those who have in actuality never really known her.

Another has only apprehension for the disruption of the status-quo that is known to follow them and the chaos they sow. She fears them and more so the reaction of how she condemned those who came before, herself ignorant of the good others have seen in them.

And yet many more will only have shock and confusion at the appearance of this ancient myth but the Terrans, they will be the most confounded of all as they will find their legacy on this world is older than even they are as a people.

Reader, in ancient days, the old lords of the world numbered in thousands. Then hundreds. Then even less.
Now, they are found only in tapestries and fanciful ballads.
The creatures are all vanished. All but one.

Rumors say there are more of him, somewhere far away. A young and supposedly gifted mage called Star Swirl, and Heartstrings, a gentle spinster, have joined him on a journey to find the rest.

Featured in The Royal Guard's Fic Spotlight #5
TV Tropes page (that could use more love)

Spartan A-042 finds himself on a mission gone wrong when he winds up in a land of talking ponies and other magical creatures as he struggles to comprehend how he got there, why he is there and above all, how can he leave.

2022 REWRITE IN PROGRESS

After being rudely awoken from Cryo-sleep, John-117 finds that the Forward Unto Dawn has been sucked into a gravity well, causing it to fall towards an unknown planet. In the crash, he is separated from Cortana and falls alone into the Everfree forest. In addition to this new complication, old memories from a scarred and tragic past haunt his dreams, putting his remaining sanity on edge.

However, he has little time to ponder these thoughts, as he encounters the planet's... peculiar... inhabitants.

First 19 Chapters proofread by Bravo 539 and Shadownamesto.
Credit for the intro sequence goes to Blaze Spectrum.

Current rewrite will not necessarily follow the old story but certain events and details may be reused.

Jessica finds herself flung into a world she has little concept of. Everything is strange and new to her, but worst of all she cannot communicate with the native inhabitants. A world of monsters and sapient ponies, griffons and other assorted beasts is no place for a human girl.

How will Jessica cope? Without an understanding of their language how will she make her way in the world, will she even be able to ever communicate with them? Why was she even brought into the world and is there even a way for her to get home?

(Thanks to Tulip for the Cover image!)

(Also now apparently has a Tv Tropes page in the making. )

Now has a re-telling in progress focusing on the Equestrians' side of things, A Stranger Among the Voices