"... at the forefront of our fandom’s writing scene ... Masterpiece." —PCaRG
"... really enjoyable ..." —City of Doors
"...worthy of high praise." —PaulAsaran
"Lots of wonderful world-building, great action, well-developed characters and an engaging story." —Hoopy McGee

Steel Song is a lot of things. Earth pony. Uncle. Professional bodyguard.

Retired.

So when he receives a mysterious package from Princess Luna a few weeks after the changeling invasion, he's understandably apprehensive. More-so when he presents himself before the Royal Diarchs to find that not only do they desire him to come out of retirement, but to take command of a most unusual position...

A position that may have more significance than any of them suspect. Because strange thefts are occurring on the Equestrian Railway, thefts that nopony can explain. Thefts that may have far more sinister intentions than their seemingly innocent nature may convey.

Intentions sinister enough to shift the balance of power in Equestria forever.

Book I of The Dusk Guard Saga.
Epic Fantasy
Has a collection of Side Stories as well, the first of which is here.
Now with a TV Tropes page!
"This is 100% Approved by Twilight's Library!"
Added to Twilight's Library 11/26/2013
Added to Canterlot's Finest 12/01/2013

Note on Introduction, Note on Elder Age, and Prologue in description below. Please read before diving in.
[Warning: There may be spoilers in the comments. Read at your own risk.]

In a time long before Equestria was discovered, the Alicorn Empire ruled the region known only as the Northlands. Life was good, until the Alicorn Empire broke apart, and pony turned against pony. In this volatile time, the unicorn Sapphire must learn to survive in the territory of Horizon and beyond, and discover her true potential. For a storm is coming, carried by dragon wings, that threatens to wipe out ponykind’s way of life. The Equine Scrolls: SkyFiM, explores a long-forgotten land much like Tamriel from the Elder Scrolls in a time period similar to the time of The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim. Only this time, in this world, the stakes are much greater.

Book 1
Act I: An Unfamiliar Land (Chapters 1-9)
Act II: A Hero's Call (Chapters 10-20)
Act III: Saving Steadfast (Chapters 21-26)
Act IV: The Search For Power (Chapters 27-32)
Act V: To End a Dragon (Chapters 33-45)
Book 2
Act VI: Elements of Legend (Chapters 46-54)
Act VII: War That Brings Peace (Chapters 55-69)
Act VIII: Child of Darkness (Chapters 70- 79)
Act IX: To Make an End (Chapters 80 - 87)

Map of the Northlands
Map of Northlands (with all markers)

Note on "pre-Chapters": The story itself begins in the Prologue, though reading it is not necessary to understand the story; it just provides the events immediately before the main storyline. The Introduction is a brief description of the world the story is set in and the main events that shaped it. For a more thorough description of the Northlands and its culture consult the Note on the Elder Age. It is not a required read to understand the story, but it explains the religion, governments, and cultures of the different pony factions at the time, as well as the differences in the acquisition of cutie-marks in more detail.

For the first time in recent memory, a regional reservoir is chosen two years in a row to provide additional water for Cloudsdale’s important rain clouds. Rainbow Dash sees this as her chance to really shine. It’s gonna be big, it’s gonna be powerful, and it’s gonna blow everypony away. Unfortunately for Rarity, things become a little too literal. She finds herself dropped into a strange facsimile of her home, and she'll need all of her wit, charm and fabulosity to get back to Ponyville.

Based on the works of L Frank Baum and the 1939 MGM film The Wizard of Oz
Rarity vector courtesy of *BobtheLurker
Illustrations by Heather Biggs of LolliPengu Graphics

Thunderlane had never thought he would meet a mare who would turn everything he knew on love and relationships upside down. He always figured that if he ever found a mare worth dating, she would be a close friend of his who he could talk to easily.

That was before a simple mix-up introduced him to Derpy.

Now on a date with the wall-eyed pegasus, he finds out that sometimes a pony needs another to sleep peacefully.

Hidden Fortune and her sister grew up in the Wasteland, learning its dangers and doing their best to stay out of sight and out of mind of the larger world. During a treasure hunt they discover a Stable, and a chance encounter changes their world. Now the sisters must travel out of their element, learn how to survive all over again, and hopefully, discover the one true treasure of the Wasteland.

Cover art by Jordo76.

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 occurred one peaceful night. Half of Equestria awoke to the sound like a double-shot thunderclap. A percussion heard in the skies and rattling windows from Apploosa, to Canterlot, to Ponyville. Nopony knew what it was or what it heralded for the world as it drew a line across the nation.

For Twilight Sparkle, this isolated incident might have faded from memory after a time, if not for the strange rumors of a creature sitting on the hill on the outskirts of town.

These are her thoughts given written form. These are Sparkle's Notes.

Report EVERYTHING to the Princess.

The star system Omega Centauri was just another oddity on a map to scientists in the not too distant future. However when they found the star was orbiting an earth-sized, earth-like planet instead of a black hole as its motion had suggested, a mission was scrambled to investigate this most unusual of celestial behaviors.

Hamstrung by politics, and nearly crippled before it began, the 'Lone Ranger' mission was reduced to just one crew member and left to his own devices.

These are the logs of Arrow 18 and its lone commander. This information is classified TOP SECRET by the Global Space Agency.

Do NOT tell the princess.