What is the nature of an oath? What is camaraderie?
And what should a guard do, when his background has secrets buried within?

Isolated from her friends and taken prisoner in the middle of a war, Twilight must deal with the very real dangers of being percieved as an enemy as well as the nightmares of her arrival on 'Earth'. Can she overcome her own fears and the fears of her captors? Will the wayward unicorn's assistance be a boon or a curse to the 'humans?' Most importantly, will she ever find her way home?

"In short, it's a story of friendship and plasma rifles, with the emphasis on the friendship. The characters are well written, the XCOM setting is fleshed out very well, and the story is compelling. If you love XCOM, you'll love the story, but even if you've never heard of it, it's more than worth giving the first 3 chapters a read.

There's excellent action later on, but the real strength lies in the collision between the friendly and naive world of Twilight Sparkle and the desperate world of humans fighting a losing war for survival and willing to do anything to turn the tide."

--Arzoo

(XCOM/FiM crossover)
(Cover art commissioned by a friend and created by the magnificent FoxInShadow!)
(Original cover art by the amazing Carnelian can be viewed here!)
(Gore tag for blood and some violence)
(Many thanks to the studius OminousTen, Arzoo, xXFluttershyForeverXx and finally Setokaiva for giving my rambles a once-over)
(Now with it's own TV Tropes page! Get to tropin' folks!)

This story is a sequel to Past Sins

Hearth's Warming is a time for friends and family to come together, celebrate harmony, and welcome the new year. Nyx is looking forward to just this as she rides the train to Canterlot with Spike and Twilight. She's going to meet her extended family for the first time and wants nothing more than to make a good impression. Yet, the sheen of the holidays can't hide the trouble caused by meddling grandparents, relentless reporters, and a paranoid uncle.

"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.

"Is anypony out there? Please, my name is Trixie! I need help! I think... I saw a cockatrice. I can't move, I can't see. Please, somepony, anypony.... Help me."

Laid low by circumstances beyond control, trapped in a cruel and unrelenting prison of flesh made stone, can anypony hold out hope to see the day once more? When their life rests in the hooves of one whom they tried to humiliate and belittle, can they trust in them and make it right? When they can only see through the eyes of another pony, when only one other can hear them, can they stay sane? When the only chance for their freedom is a fool's hope made incarnate, the impossible made improbable, can they beat the odds? Trixie is going to find out.

Pride can lay one low. Stubbornness can leave somepony friendless. Anger and Sorrow can turn others away. And yet, they can give strength. And Hope, in the darkest hours.

If you're afraid of Dark tones, or find them distasteful, or can get stabbed easily in the feels, I suggest reading on only with caution. This is not a happy tale.

While he has returned from being absorbed into Unit-01, Shinji finds himself in an odd situation. Now, in a body that looks nothing like a human's and with a snarky roommate in his head, he has to deal with new powers and abilities while those around him shift.

And he thought that fighting Angels was weird...

A few weeks ago, Chrysalis and her brood attacked Ponyville for revenge against Twilight. During the fight, the final spells of the two collide and create a portal that they're sucked into. The Princesses with the help of the others manage to summon them back only to find... that the two are marefriends!? How the buck did that happen!?

This story is a sequel to What if: Rarity from The Three Sisters met with Chrysalis

Choosing whether or not to visit Chrysalis has been bugging Rarity for a week since receiving an invitation to do so. But there seems to be trouble brewing in the Hive and Rarity now has little time to act. Either way, her family's future rests in her hooves.

Now with a TV Tropes page! Warning: Will Contain spoilers.

Twilight Sparkle has always admired Princess Celestia. Her fortitude, her wisdom, her eternal grace and love for all her subjects. Twilight has often fantasized about what it would be like to be in Princess Celestia's horseshoes. She never imagined those fantasies would come true.

---
Events take place a short time after the Crystal Empire's return (early S3).
Proofreading from chapter three-onward provided by Daemon of Decay.
Cover image used with permission from TexasUberAlles, thanks!
Inspiration for Sunny Skies from PhantomFox.

Bon Bon has been deeply in love with Lyra for almost as long as they have known each other. Every day is a blessing for the two lovers. But as Bon Bon starts to feel under the weather, will Lyra uncover a dark secret that will rip the two mares apart and leave only hate, sadness, and fear in it's wake?

The story continues in 'Life, Lies, and Love'

### Note ###
The story has undergone it's first ever proof-read and edit, to hopefully fix a lot of grammar and typos. Thanks goes to KiroTalon and Ivo for all their help with this.