A human in his mid thirties that makes his living off of online video games that he designed and by writing about ponies. When he gets his chance to go anywhere he wants, he opts to visit Equestria, despite more sane options being available.

Behold as our author-turned-protagonist deals with the dangers of Equestria as he attempts to make a new place for himself without looking too much like an ass. He will encounter faces he knows from before, and some that are not as they seem. Will he survive a convention traveling at the side of his new friends? Will he get his fill of Equestrian life and want to go home?

Additional Tags: Not chosen one, no super powers

Everypony has a story. Some tell of heroic feats and grand adventure. Others tell of villainy against the forces of Harmony. The story of an average guard, however, is one of obscurity. They live in the background, unnoticed but ever-present.

Silent Knight assumed his tale would be like that of his father's: join the Royal Guard and serve Equestria. He would be just another helmet and spear, part of the rank and file. And that was all he ever wanted.

However, when Captain Shining Armor asked for volunteers to form a House Guard for the recently returned Princess Luna, it was Silent's hooves that stepped forwards to set his new life in motion.

The world is in shambles. All worlds are in shambles.

When in nothing short of a miracle a soldier in a united galaxy's war for survival stumbles upon a peculiar planet inhabited by equines with incredible abilities, he and his associates are determined to do whatever they can to turn the tide of their own war. But as they spend more and more time on the surface, some things there may turn out... not as foreign as they might have imagined. And not nearly as friendly.

And these poor officials are going to have a really hard time filling immigration forms of a goddamn horse.

Featured on 04/13/2020! Thank you so much!

Featured again on 05/27/2020! You wouldn't believe how much this means to me!

Editor of the first chapter: Mind Jack

Just a quick disclaimer: this IS NOT a crossover. The universe MLP interacts with here is entirely my own creation. More and more of the lore will be gradually unfolded as the story progresses.

The Alternate Universe tag is not there because, despite the changes in how magic works (most prominently the dreamscape), this is no 'alternate universe' - it's canon with small adjustments, and I ultimately decided to remove the tag as it only served to unnecessarily confuse people.
More tags will be added as the story progresses.

Also, this is my first fic, so I can't say it won't have issues. As such however, any form of feedback is greatly appreciated, be it positive or negative.

You wake up in an unfamiliar place. It is a warm and cheerful place. It is a place filled with friends. Something feels empty. Something feels wrong. You seclude and distract yourself. You master new skills. Perform great works. Earn the fear and adoration of those around you. Something still feels empty. Something still feels wrong. Maybe it's the new world. Maybe it's the loss of your old one. Maybe it's something inside you. Maybe it's something you can unlearn. Maybe it's something so fundamental you can never get rid of it. Maybe it's just a feeling, passing along on a breeze, that stuck to you as you walked by.

I have had this thing inside me for two years now just sorta fermenting and now I'm evacuating it onto paper with my two human arms that I own. It tells the tale of a man named Johnathan Siegsmith who finds himself in an unfamiliar world, uses his knowledge to further himself, and comes to know despair.

The biggest and most recent inspirations for this story, respectively, are Steel Sanctuary by writefag_is_kill and Isolation by Rimmy.

Anon likes his life to be simple. He wakes up, goes to work and sometimes gets himself a good book to read while he is home. It's a routine that he likes to follow, it makes him feel like he has a bit of normality with his life in Equestria. The fact that having Celestia come crashing into his home as part of his routine should prove that his life is anything but normal.

(Thanks to PeerImagination for editing!)

The Mayan calender was right in a way. The world ended not because of war or natural causes, but because of the idiots who saw the end as a reason to start a damn Purge and it was a test by God. Not that I'm truly capable of caring anymore. Now I've been given a way out of all that, out of the Hell my life has been, and I'm not looking back.

MC doesn't know about Kingdom Hearts, references he'll make, or worlds he'll visit if I choose to go that route.

Rove Hummel was in a rut. Every day was the same; wake up, go to school, go home, and go to sleep. What he wouldn't give for something to break up the monotony.

But when he spontaneously turns into a Changeling during Biology Class, he begins to regret ever thinking that.

Rated T for usage of the F-bomb, as well as heavy innuendo, mature themes, and a single instance of off-screen sex. There is also mention of what essentially amounts to a drug in Chapter 21, but none is actually seen or used.

The sequel is here!

It is the year 0179 of the Cloud Century. Almost two centuries have passed since the Pegasus Enclave closed the sky and cut off the toxic, uninhabitable surface world. A new home for ponykind, where pegasus ponies are born, and raised, and die.

Before the war, before the sky was cut off, something terrible was locked away. Chamomile is an average pegasus, born into a family of archaeologists and living at the edge of Enclave territory, far to the north. When she stumbles into ancient dangers and conspiracies, she finds her quiet life turned into a horror story. Can she set things right, or is the Enclave doomed?

A Fallout: Equestria sidestory. Thank you to all my readers, patreons, and well-wishers!

As always, I most look forward to seeing what references and cameos people notice. You surprise me sometimes with how you pick up on minor details!

Here's a gallery of the previous cover art, as well as a few bits of character design I put together: Gallery