As far as Golden Harvest is concerned, the newlyweds who live next door are fine ponies. But Carrot Top, the mean little voice inside Harvest's head, doesn't see them quite the same way.

Written for the 221st Writeoff competition with the prompt, "The Hugs Went Away Again," the original version of this story took 2nd place. It's been extensively rewritten and expanded since then.

This fanfic was inspired by the art Spider Mane
By artist ShutterflyEQD

With the upcoming Traders' Exchange due at Rainbow Falls again, Lyra Heartstrings is alone in the attic to find some items to trade when something catches her attention. Something that has been a long-forgotten secret for a very long time.

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!)

What do you do on a bad day? Do you read a book? Do you listen to music and calm down? What about robbing a bank?

No, of course you wouldn't do that. But then again, you aren't a mad scientist pegasus with a history of hair-brained schemes; nor do you have a cooky unicorn friend that wants to be an internet star.

Now the real question is, how bad must the day be in order to push you to that point?

My entry in GMBlackjack's Depth in Innocence contest.

This is the debut of my first official work edited by the brilliant SoloBrony, who has graciously agreed to edit for me on future projects as well. (expect a sudden quality spike on GHT2 whenever I get around to continuing that one)

Thanks for reading!

After being driven out of Ponyville following the incident with the Ursa, The Great and Powerful Trixie flees into the Everfree forest, where she meets a mysterious masked stallion named Herald. Herald offers Trixie a chance to learn ancient magic that will truly make her the most powerful unicorn in Equestria, by offering her a book that not even Twilight Sparkle has ever read. But there is a reason Twilight's never read this book, and there is more to Herald than there appears...

(A Cthulhu Mythos crossover. Cover art by kirokokori. TVTropes page here, although I've no idea who started it, and was gobsmacked when somebody else told me http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/FanFic/TheStarsWillAidTheirEscape )

There's something strange and unnatural living in Bon-Bon's house.

Something other than Lyra.

Twilight and her friends are leaving for a week-long vacation, leaving Ponyville in the very capable hooves of Lyra and Bon-Bon.

What's the worst that could happen?

Written for the February Write-Off.