This story is a sequel to What I Am

With the invasion repelled, and both planets in the process of rebuilding, there has come a moment for our heroes to stop and take a breather, and reflect upon the events that have led them to this point, and to investigate the nearly forgotten fragments of the past. One such fragment holds secrets that are easily revealed, however, mysteries that have been hidden for centuries behind an ancient tongue, and are finally within the grasp of the Royal Sisters to uncover.

At the special request of the sisters, as well as the curiosity of their new human allies, the last record of the old pony that the sisters had once called teacher are finally translated, and his last words have finally been revealed for all to see.

Yet, their shared history is not a happy one, and even though his story ended on a fair note, a dark shadow loomed over his last remaining years. Starswirl saw many things that others could not, and though he did not live long enough to prevent the tragedies of the future, his warnings still echo from the dust.

These are his writings. The last testament of his life.

Exactly what it says on the tin, this is the account in the book that Celestia showed Alex in What I Am, and ties directly into that story. It is a bit of a spinoff, yes, but it will have importance to the story as a whole, and will be very short (only around 6-7 chapters at most), so it will not be that big of a detour.

This story is a sequel to What I Am

Much has changed since that fateful day when the remnants of the old Krin Empire attacked our two worlds.
They crashed so many ships onto Earth, destroyed our cities, killed millions, and collapsed several governments in an instant, all as a diversion from their true objective, which was the blatant mass abduction of the citizens of Equis. Lives lost, families broken, and cities burnt to the ground, all to fuel the Krin war machine and their mad quest for power and vengeance against the snakes that had wronged them.

However, that's not the end of the story, or our involvement in its unfolding. A darkness is growing in the depths of space, and even though the snakes have done their best to assure us that they will take care of it, there are so, so many on both of our planets that choose not to listen to them.

And how could I blame them? After all, every time I look in the mirror, I'm reminded of the horrors of the Krin Empire, and more importantly, the promise I made in that accursed tank that remains unfulfilled. They came for us, they struck first, and I'm not about to let that go unpunished.

Yeah, sure, it's hard for me to do it right now, since I'm just a diplomat to the people of Equis, and we don't exactly have a fleet outside of the few ships we commandeered from the krin, but trust me when I say that both of those are just temporary inconveniences.

After all, it's rather difficult to keep a monster like me behind a desk, especially not when there's a perfectly good war brewing throughout the galaxy, and that's not even counting the other humans and ponies that are all chomping at the bit, ready for some good, old-fashioned payback.

The only problem with that, though, is that, somehow, deep down, I feel like we've already lost. Call it a hunch, or a premonition, but something deep inside is telling me that we messed up when we let the general's ship get away. Maybe I'm just being paranoid, but somehow, I don't think so.

After all, I know better than anyone what the krin are capable of. We might be coming for them, but that doesn't mean the reverse isn't also true. They're coming for us, too.

The only question is: Who's going to be ready first?

Given that we've only just obtained (stolen) ships capable of spaceflight, I don't think it's going to be us...

This is the beginning of the next set of books in this series that I'm tentatively calling the Soul of the Milky Way.
The title up for change, as well as suggestion. Not only that, but the title of this story, as well as the set it belongs to is also up for change and suggestion, so feel free to leave them in the comments. If you're just starting with this one, please don't. I mean, you can if you want, but there's a lot here that you won't get if you haven't read the trilogy that predates this new set of books. They are, in order:

What I've Become
What I've Done
What I Am

They're quite good, if the feedback I've gotten is anything to go by, so if you haven't read these by now, please go and do that now. Don't worry, this story will still be here when you get back...

Rickety Gear has been proudly maintaining the Ponyville clock tower all his life. A task that had been entrusted to his family for generations. But his family has also been working on something else in the shadows, and now, the project is finally coming to an end. After years of construction, all that's left is to activate the machine.

But will it really go according to plan?

Cover image used with permission by Konsumo
The picture

A thousand year absence from the world would be disorienting for anyone, but when your job is Head of State, understanding how society has changed during your interregnum is vital. Princess Luna, banished in the age of the longboat and the longbow, has returned just in time for the launch of the tablet computer. With the help of her sister, she undertakes to understand the history she's missed and the people she finds herself among, in order to resume the duties of her title.

This story takes the form of a series of conversations between Celestia and Luna that take place months and years apart. It is openly concerned with political ideas and how societies are organised, and not at all concerned with monsters and magic beyond the conceit of immortal monarchs. The Alternate Universe tag is there because I will be ignoring every single one of the thousand year catastrophes that occur in the show after the Nightmare Moon crisis, the retirement of the Princesses, probably the presence of any other Princesses, and anything else in the show I feel like ignoring, because I find them irrelevant to the themes I want to cover.

In short, if you wanted The Audience with ponies, I got you covered.

This story can be considered canon to my comic works such as The Sunjackers, and my other associated worldbuilding projects, and uses the same date system as them (ie. roughly matching our own, with the return of Nightmare Moon happening the same year as the episode aired, 2010). May also be your jam if you like Equestria At War, but not affiliated at all.

Princess Celestia needs to have Blueblood assassinated.

For reasons.

Rarity seems like a good choice to do that, right?

Derived from a very silly conversation three months ago between Dewdrops on the Grass, The Sleepless Beholder, and myself.

Featured 4/6/2023 - 4/13/2023!

Now with a Russian translation by GrandCat!

Reviewed by Loganberry in the blog Louder Yay!, earning a three out of five stars rating!

Featured on Equestria Daily on 4/11/2023, as well as in their 25 More of the Best Rarity Fanfics to Read for Rarity Day on 9/8/2023!

Princess Celestia was sure that the day was going to be great. The Sun shone bright in the sky, the birds were singing, and nothing could possibly go wrong. That was, until she received some rather grim news concerning her sister.

She thought she'd been clear enough about things last time.

Polish translation by Dolar84.
Spanish translation by SPANIARD KIWI.
Audio reading by Pony&Wolf Productions.

This story is a sequel to Princess Luna is dead. Again.

He really should have known better. Saying that he didn't like Princess Luna, even if she could no longer hear him, would have probably lost him the sympathy of many ponies in Canterlot, and it had been perhaps a rash decision for an expert diplomat like him. Still, the damage would not have been irreparable. But how was he supposed to know that she was still alive? Clearly, jumping out of the window had been the only logical course of action after that.

Rainbow Dash is widely known for her propensity for pranks. While seeing an unsuspecting Anonymous the human in the outskirts of Ponyville, Rainbow decides to hit him with classic from her arsenal, the ol' lightning stomp prank. It's simply really, she's played it on tons of ponies before.

Rainbow didn't think Anon would get hurt. She didn't think he'd become paralyzed. It was supposed to be a harmless prank!

'What have I done?!

Officially Featured March 1st 2023

What was going to be a relaxing weekend camping turns into a nightmare as a human gets lost in an unknown forest. Also, his phone decides to stop working for some reason, so he can't use it to orient himself or even for an emergency call. Maybe it's not the phone's fault at all, because you all can imagine where he actually is now.

Will there be adventure? Maybe a little at the beginning, but mostly slice of life afterwards. Sudden unknown OP human abilities because reasons? Well, if you count ear scritches, maybe? Instant romance with all the equestrian heros? Probably not, gee...

Then what's the point!?

... Uh... yep, that's the question, isn't it?

This is my take on a cheeky human in equestria self insert a human in equestria doing all the human in equestria things there are for a human in equestria to do. There is language barrier to spice it up a little bit, so it will focus on cultural differences, how to even communicate with the locals and coping with all the weird things this world can casually throw at a regular, out of the mill, human.

May contain subtle traces and hints of RGRE.

For those who know of Cheery Cheesy Cheeky Romance Hoers Words, this is the original setting and story I had planned but never published.

A modern-day explorer gets his chance to visit Equestria, and writes down notes about the interesting ponies he meets and the stories that they tell.