The Seventh Company of the solar guard should have left the town Grimbush to its own devices, but when a letter asking them to clear out a pest invasion lands in their possession, they have no choice but to oblige.

Disgruntled and annoyed, the soldiers march into the mire only to find something far deadlier than they expected.

Five years ago, Nightmare Moon returned to Equestria and took it by storm. She imprisoned her sister in the moon, and Equestria fell into an Age of Darkness. She ruled with an iron hoof; her word became law. The Mare in the Moon became a grim reminder of what happened to those who opposed the new tyrant, and nopony dared oppose.

Except for one aspiring unicorn.

Twilight Sparkle, a mare shackled by the failures of her past, prowls the ruins of the old capital Canterlot, praying for a spell that can right what has been so horribly wronged. Buried beneath the rubble of the Royal Library, she finds a tome that might be the answer to her prayers.

A "Warrior of Sunlight"; surely he will be able to overthrow the wicked tyrant and restore Celestia to her rightful throne. Twilight can almost see the sun returning over the horizon. She just didn't expect this warrior to be so... jolly.

Set in Starlight's "alternate future" where Nightmare Moon reigns.

Audio reading by Skijarama

Many of these so-called ponies believe they were the first to discover the land that is now known as Equestria. They were wrong, of course. Those idiotic Humans, inebriated Dwarves, and the pitiful vomit-inducing, tree hugging, frolicking Elves littered the landscape first all the while living their simple, boring lives. The ponies and the other smattering of races moved here over time from some other land. If they were still here, the various original races meeting the ponies would have made for a bit of a chaotic first contact considering they used dumber cousins of the ponies as labor and mounts. It's too bad that didn't happen, oh I could have enjoyed watching that carnage with a nice bowl of salamander eyeballs.

But, well, one or one-hundred powerful wizards attempting magic beyond their capabilities on magical artifacts beyond their comprehension tend to make things go... explodey. In a single snap of my claws the entire human race, and all of the other "intelligent" races as well, were simply gone. Vaporized in a magical wave of energy. The landscape left even more magically scarred than when the Tower Heart of the old Dark Tower went kaboom. We minions fled back to the Netherworld from whence we came and waited for the land to heal, and hopefully for some other race capable of thought to come knocking at its gates.

We waited a long time for that and now we should really get around to finding a new Master, none of the races showed any real promise so we need to do this ourselves. Giblet seems to have found something promising while digging around the cave of a local dragon (the dragons seem to have gotten smarter too), so I'll have to go give that a look-see and pray to Darkness nothing weird comes out of it.

But as I always say... Evil always finds a way.

-Gnarl, the Minion Master, on the origins of Equestria

Years after the Stable Dweller's journey to restore Equestria the world is still slowly recovering. Many parts of the world remain radioactive Wasteland despite the efforts of the NCR. In the far flung northeast region around the former city of Detrot the land remains a harsh, violent place. Living in a secluded mountain valley at the edge of this region, Longwalk is a colt ignorant of the larger Wasteland. His tribe has lived in isolation for generations, and he knows nothing of the world beyond the ten miles surrounding his remote mountain village.

All of that is about to change. Dragging a friend along to explore beyond the boundaries his tribe's laws allow, Longwalk makes a startling discovery; one that prompts a journey of his own out into the Wasteland with a mysterious unicorn filly at his side. Before he knows it Longwalk is caught in a dangerous web of Wasteland politics, powerful pre-war organizations, ancient death-filled ruins, and a growing cadre of unusual companions... each with secrets of their own.

Based on the wonderful Fallout Equestria by Kkat, and the Wild Arms video game series by Media Vision.

Pre-read by Doomande, an all around awesome dude.
Cover art by SpyroConspirator, a very talented artist.

Completed side-story featuring Crossfire found here.

Changelings.

To most, they are the creatures that almost took Canterlot, shapeshifters able to feed on the emotions of those around them.
While this is true, it is not all there is to the story.

When the Great War began, an alliance was struck between Princesses Celestia and Luna, of Equestria, and Queen Chrysalis, of the Changelings.
The changelings, natural infiltrators since birth, would become spies for Equestria. In return, they would no longer be hunted, permitted to continue feeding as they had for countless years before their failed invasion, provided they not engage in acts harmful to the equine government or population at large.

Of course, that was simply the beginning. As the war began to escalate, Stable-Tec, the company responsible for the life-saving Stables, recieved a request from parties that would, as part of the contract, remain anonymous and unnamed.
They were asked to create something new, something that would allow both changelings and ponies to survive, and promote harmony between the races.

They were asked to create...

Project HIVE

This story is a sequel to Stardust

When Equestria’s newest member of royalty asks for aid to be offered to her friends from abroad, the best and the brightest volunteer to serve. Captain Steel Song of the Dusk Guard are immediately mobilized to help XCOM defend their world from the enemies that besiege them. However, their first joint operation with the humans takes a turn for the worse and they quickly find themselves fighting for their lives against the full force of the monsters that threaten Earth.

(Stardust/Dusk Guard crossover)
(Coverart provided by a friend of Viking ZX!)
(While familiarity with both stories isn’t required, it is recommended)
(Many thanks to Arzoo for pre-reading!)
(All screenshots can be found at XCOM.wikia.com)
(Featured on 3/13/2013. Thanks everyone!)
(Now has it's own section on TVTropes as part of the Stardust series!)

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 Stardust

Times are changing for Equestria as Twilight’s return brings with it news of people and cultures from beyond the peaceful world everypony knows. Aid and volunteers are freely offered to help the besieged humans of Earth because every Equestrian knows that’s what good friends do. Unfortunately, making friends can also have the unintended consequence of making enemies.

When the monsters besieging the humans strike at Equestria with a level of brutality not seen in over a thousand years, the cry for help is sent to all the kingdoms of the world. Honored allies step forth to fulfill ancient treaties and oaths. Enemies, old and new, bury their grievances. An alliance never before seen in Equestria will be created to combat the monsters from the void.

And because of these events, a grim but welcome sibling to the XCOM project is born.

(XCOM/FiM Crossover)
(Sequel to Stardust, which I recommend reading before starting this. Fortitude Amicitia and Broken aren't required reading but are supplemental to the storyline)
(Gore tag for blood and violence)
(Alternate Universe tag because of the divergence from canon that Stardust has caused)
(Uses elements of Season 4)
(Coverart produced by the amazing Carnelian!)
(Many thanks to Arzoo, BradTheBrony, Vandenbz and Setokaiva for prereading!)
(As of 03/07/2016, the prereading team consists of Arzoo, BradTheBrony, Noble Cause and Metallusionsismagic!)
(Complete with it's own TVTropes page as part of the Stardust continuity. Could use some updating!)
(Character tags will be added as chapters are added!)
(Featured 5/12/2014! Thanks folks!)
(Possible spoilers in the comments! BEWARE!)

This is the story of a brony, who inserted into Equestria.
But instead of a pony, he became the enemy of Celestia.

Would he decide to do what’s right, to love and tolerate
Or would his evil changeling nature make it hard to integrate

Then there is the question of the duty that is his natural birthright
Tasked by the changeling Queen, he was to murder Princess Twilight

So, here’s my attempt at a SI with a bit of a twist that others have done before. Go to Equestria, end up on the wrong side of the tracks, and have to deal with it. Enjoy!

Art provided by SoukiTsubasa

You wake up in a land where magic is real and sapient ponies have built a civilisation. Being from a different universe, you have no understanding of their language or laws, but you're happy to have found yourself in the friendliest town there is. Good luck building a new life as their favourite... monkey thing.