Ambre, Sarah, and Laurence do not seem to have that much in common besides living in the same city of southern France, and sharing a birthday on May 1^st. However, the three of them will soon have to come together, as chance and fate force upon them the greatest change they ever experienced – forever altering their bodies, their minds, and their very lives.

How would you react, if suddenly you were cast into a skin not your own, and all you thought you knew about yourself or your place in the world was upended?

Treat it as a blessing, a new beginning, letting go of what once was? Try to hold on to yourself, while adapting to circumstances?

Or fight and reject it all, whatever the cost..?

Though we follow the same characters from start to finish as they learn to deal with their transformed lives, each Part of this tale is its own adventure, focusing on a specific plot and themes:

This is a sidefic set in the 'Five Score, Divided by Four' universe created by TwistedSpectrum. I recommend the original fic, as well as the various subsequent sidefics by other authors, but neither are required for enjoying the present tale, which is conceived as a stand-alone story exploring other corners of this universe. The fic does not currently take into account the 2019 update of Five Score, Divided by Four.

"Sub-Level Five doesn't exist." That's the official statement of the Stairway company.

Washing out from the Night Guard program is usually a death sentence to any similar career. When Astral Sentinel was asked if he was interested in a security job, the Thestral obviously jumped at the chance.

There was just one oddity about the job. Well, there were quite a few, but mainly just one.
He just never, ever could acknowledge the existence of Sub-Level Five.

When a complete lock-down traps the Thestral inside the odd facility, he has to break that one rule. As the security systems begin to eradicate all life inside the building, Astral has to venture down to the elevators that officially don't exist, to a floor nopony alive will speak of.

He soon finds out that some things are best left buried beneath rock and stone.

*Warning. Hitchhikers may be escaped convicts.

"This story is simultaneously horrifying and adorable." -Witchery

Takes place far after Season 9. Although, it could take place at any time...(or in the Radverse, as some people call it.) This thing took on a mind of its own.

Seriously.

Read on if you want to join Astral for the ride.
I hope you brought your crowbar.

In later chapters, loose spoilers for Timeless, Sunspots, and Cure for a Toxin
Warnings for creepy atmosphere, gore, violence, and brief mentions of sexual content/assault (nothing explicit, only implied.)

Despite this being a horror story with unpleasant elements, it's not grimdark or a depressing tale. Lots more ups and downs, but overall it's a positive read of good vs evil, love and fluff; those are the types stories I write, after all. I just want to let everyone know what they're getting into, and don't want any readers blindsided due to some of the content.
(Not a romance involving a 'herd')

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!)

After the events of the Canterlot Wedding, the Changelings regroup and plot a return. Upon their comeback, they successfully imprison every live equine in Equestria into cocoons within the span of a year. Nesting in the mountain next to Canterlot, the Changelings feed off of the thousands of ponies' love, claiming Equestria as their own.

Many years after their triumph, one pony escapes her cocoon prison through sheer luck, discovering Equestria to be a dark and barren wasteland of dead trees and no existing plant-life. Searching for any means of survival that she can find, the individual pony seeks a safe place to hide from the Changelings hot on her tail, knowing that if she gets captured again, they will put her back in her cocoon where she will be trapped for the rest of her life, dooming her kind forever.

Far, far away from the Equiss system, the queen of blades is readying the launch of her newest weapon. A ship designed to infest an entire planet in secret, readying it for the eventual zerg invasion and softening up even the hardest target, Korhal. Unfortunately for the queen of blades, the untested zerg biotechnology is more difficult to master then she thought and the infestation ship vanishes after launch.

Untold eons later Twilight Sparkle is preparing for her entrance exam for Celestia's school for gifted unicorns only to stop when she sees a star fall into her new treehouse. The young pony sets out in the middle of a storm, intent on seeing this fallen star for herself.

What she finds inside will change not only her destiny but the destiny of all on Equiss prime.

Make sure to check out the sister story to this one.
Trigger warning, parasites. Starcraft Crossover!
Updates twice a month!
The story so far!