The nation of Equestria has been exploring their little slice of the universe for some time now. From launching probes into deep space, to landing ponies on the moon. Sending things beyond the grasp of their planet has become almost routine. However, with every mission into space, there comes a time when the voyage must end. What happens when Equestria experiences the end of a voyage that they didn't begin?

Updated and Revised on October 5th, 2014

After reading a book by Spitfire's personal trainer, Rainbow Dash decides that the best way to get closer to her ultimate goal of joining the Wonderbolts is to add strength training to her practices by having one of her friends ride her. However, when she decides that Twilight Sparkle is just the mare for the job, the pegasus gets a bit more than she bargained for.

Artwork by Piggybank12. Used with permission. Thanks to DPV111 for assisting me with story planning.

Not too far into the future, Twilight Sparkle visits Queen Chrysalis, in response to a letter stating her intention to ask forgiveness for her crimes against Equestria.

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Inspired by this.
Cover Artwork by Art-Anon on DA.

Training Session
We all knew Twilight Sparkle was a powerful sorceress, but none of us had ever realised just how powerful she truly was. It is no underestimation if somepony said that she’d be able to challenge an immortal to a battle and come out as the victor. The possibility was there, of that there was no doubt, the only thing that was needed for her to actually defeat an immortal, such as myself, was for her to realise her full potential, for her to realise just how much power was stored in that small body of hers

The thick growth of the Everfree Forest harbors many secrets. Some, it shares with the adventurous souls that seek them out. Others are well-guarded for a reason.

Lyra Heartstrings, a graduate student in Canterlot University's archaeology program, is no stranger to discovering lost civilizations. When she finds a survivor from one, however, she begins helping him to restore his culture.

The question burning in the back of her mind is, "At what cost?"

This story was written as a commission for genuis101. We both know that the "Lyra and Humans" thing has been done to death, but I wouldn't have taken this project on if I couldn't breathe some fresh life into the trope.

Cover art is by Gaiascope. Follow him on Tumblr if you like his artistic style; you won't be disappointed.

Special thanks goes to my shrinking pool of pre-readers.

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!)

It is the year 2038, and the Earth is slowly being consumed by a space-borne monstrosity dubbed the Black Tide, which is using nanotechnology to remake the planet into something hideously alien.

Erin Olsen works for Project Harmonics, humanity's last-ditch effort to find a new world before the Tide can wipe them out. But when that world is found, and it turns out to be occupied, Erin will need to find the courage to face the unknown in order to save the inhabitants of both worlds.

(Many thanks to Easteu for the fantastic cover image for this story!)

Now with its own TV Tropes page

There is now a follow-up to this story: Sunflower - Side Projects
Sequel: Project Sunflower: Harmony

Ten years ago, Twilight made the ultimate sacrifice in order to defeat Tirek. Equestria has been in a state of civil war ever since.

Canterlot has at last fallen, and the six heroes of the rebellion now go to face the ultimate challenge: defeating the godlike Twilight Sparkle. What they expect to be a brutal, hard won quest for glory and Equestria's salvation turns into something entirely different... and now they face a choice.

This story is a reaction piece against the Tyrant Sparkle trope.

Special thanks to Absolution for pre-reading and Danger Beans for proofreading.

Cover art credit: BluestreakFUS

Now with a Chinese Translation courtesy of Hellagur.

A normal day was all it took.
A simple failed prototype, a missed experiment.
There was an explosion, and I woke up. I don't really know what happened between those two events, but I'm fairly certain I shouldn't have awoken in a small, dark box.

I'm scared.

Cover art by the amazing Avatar of Madness!

I don't see what all the fuss about death is. Our princesses have been dodging it for over a thousand years. Who's to say Sweetie and I can't experiment a little? No, don't be ridiculous, zombies don't exist. Not yet, anyway.

[As seen on Equestria Daily.]