It came from the depths of the Everfree; a plague unlike anypony had ever encountered. What began as a simple oddity became a nightmare that very nearly plunged Ponyville into a darkness from which it might never have recovered from.

And Bright Macintosh was there to see it all. To bear witness to the event that would forever be known only as... the Trouble.

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Happy Halloween 2019!

Based on a story idea someone suggested

Queen Novo banishes Twilight and her friends to the deepest reaches of the ocean. In this dark and desolate place of water and silence, giving in to one's animal instincts seems like the obvious course of action.

Thus Spike awakens, trapped and alone in an unfamiliar place. But as he quickly learns, it's a lot worse than that.

Twilight Sparkle is a successful mare - it's hard to do better than a pair of alicorn wings and a crown! Which leads her to wonder - why is she still single? Perhaps Rarity, connoisseur of all things romantic, will hold the answer?

Now has a reading thanks to StraightToThePointStudios!
Now has a reading thanks to Cloud 9!
Now translated into Chinese thanks to xieyuesanxing!
Now translated into Russian thanks to GreatDragonLord!
Now translated into Spanish thanks to SPANIARD KIWI!

Lovely cover art by VladiVoices commissioned by Cloud 9 for their reading (link above).

Top spot in the Featured box 1/2/20 - 1/5/20!

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!)

You are Anon, and you own a musket for home defense. When four rapscallions break into your house. "What the devil!?" You do what must be done. Now you have to explain to Twilight why this makes sense.

Edit: Featured? Thank you everyone!

Reading by Wuten: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8Hab2Ff1cI

Things aren't going well for Twilight. Celestia seems to be upset with her, things are starting to make less sense, and she keeps seeing that face in the mirror.

(A PoE story.) Additional Tags: (Slice Of Life)
All Twilight wanted was to give Spike a special gift for his birthday. Yes, it was a book, but it was a very special book. An Enchanted Book like that Power Ponies comic they had recently experienced.
Things went wrong when Spike startled Twilight as she was working the spell for his (secret) gift. Needless to say, startling Twilight while she's in the middle of a spell can be a bad idea - as certain frogs can tell you.
Twilight has every reason to believe that she is now trapped in a closed reality bubble fabricated out of her own magic, with no way out. She's lost in some made-up universe reflecting some random story line.
Mike, of course, has a different opinion about the matter.

WARNING: Both Twilight and Mike love talking technical and explaining things to each other.

Twilight's World now has an audio reading by No One and Nobody. Listen HERE.

This most excellent cover art was provided by Void Heart

Sand mining is a vibrant industry in the United States. A fair share of states hold a stake in the name of sand, and while most rules of the dunes are followed, profits find a way in the margins of the law.

Nestled between the sister-cities of Conway and Myrtle Beach, a sand mine opens for its annual operation.

An entry for Admiral Biscuit's 'Not-a-Contest'. Group here.
An audio reading by StraightToThePointStudio.
On Goodreads thanks to the work of Facedeer.

”Charming, and a very believable glimpse into a small part of an unfamiliar, but very real world.”
—Bobbles

Cammy and Scrim are a husband-and-wife team of window washers in New York City. They’re fast and friendly, and best of all they don’t need ladders or fall arrest gear to do their jobs.

Now with a reading by StraightToThePointStudio!
Now with a Chinese translation by FLX071
New Coverart by AlwaysDressesInStyle