Celestia has a dangerous creature held in the deepest of Canterlot's high-security dungeons. It can create ponies (with full backgrounds and histories) with it's strange and often-times prophetic powers. The Princess does her best to keep it under wraps, but its only a matter of time before it's "creativity" will get out of control.

Ten years ago, Twilight made the ultimate sacrifice in order to defeat Tirek. Equestria has been in a state of civil war ever since.

Canterlot has at last fallen, and the six heroes of the rebellion now go to face the ultimate challenge: defeating the godlike Twilight Sparkle. What they expect to be a brutal, hard won quest for glory and Equestria's salvation turns into something entirely different... and now they face a choice.

This story is a reaction piece against the Tyrant Sparkle trope.

Special thanks to Absolution for pre-reading and Danger Beans for proofreading.

Cover art credit: BluestreakFUS

Now with a Chinese Translation courtesy of Hellagur.

Something is gathering around the bearers of the Elements of Harmony. Something dangerous. Something magical. There's only one pony with the knowledge, the skills, and the muffins needed to save Equestria as we know it.
A Friendship is Magic: the Gathering crossover, taking place between seasons 1 and 2. Here there be flashbacks, briefly seen OC's, and possibly every emotion known to man or tiny horse. Abandon all pretenses of not being a nerd, ye who enter here.

==Originally written spring 2011== Equestria Daily Post==
GLaDOS is free of Chell, free to continue testing, when she discovers a portal gun Wheatley tried to repair with duct tape. When the portal gun catastrophically fails, the enrichment center, GLaDOS, and Chell are literally dropped in the middle of Equestria. The mute test subject soon finds the world of ponies far more welcoming than the human world. But GLaDOS sees possibilities. Let the testing begin... for science.

Spike's eleven year nap is interrupted by a little filly in his treehouse...

Third place winner in The Writeoff Association's June event, "A Matter of Perspective"

Now with a Spanish Translation, by SPANIARD KIWI.

Idol Hooves holds a special place in Equestria. He's probably the only exiled changeling to serve in the Royal Guard, or at least, that's what he expects, as exiles don't really broadcast that fact. However, it's well known that Princess Celestia loves all of her little ponies, and her guards perhaps more so, and that makes it one of the best ways for a changeling to discreetly feed.

But how does a changeling even get there, let alone get exiled in the first place? For that matter, why would it ever go to Canterlot? Set a number of years before the series proper, before Luna’s redemption, Idol details how he was exiled, the ponies he’s met, and the series of misadventures that led him to joining the Royal Guard, and should continue a good ways into the series, as something of an alternate perspective.

Soon, he’ll have to deal with a boisterous new princess to serve and a royal wedding in the works bringing a third to power. Will his old instincts bring this new life crashing down around him? What precipitates Chrysalis’s ill-fated assault on Canterlot? Is it really so wrong for a changeling to enjoy good craftsmanship to an obsessive degree?

New cover art provided by the fantastic Carnifex

And a TVTropes page here.

And an Ask Blog of questionable canonity!
Out of Idol Curiosity

Fanart by Norad2! Major thanks! Short For a Royal Guard

Art by Egophiliac of Idol and his Daring Duckie Please don't tell him what that brush is meant for.

Rating updated to (T), it's a bit darker than (E)
Comedy Tag added as well
And changed the character tags a bit.

This is Equestria. But something went differently this time. The Everfree is even more out of control, and has become a breeding ground and nesting place for thousands of dangerous creatures. With so many new threats constantly changing, evolving in the darkness, no one knows what the next monster could be capable of. In such a world, the Unknown means Danger.

Meet Pinkie Pie. She's an earth pony who likes parties and making everyone smile. She's very, very good at it.

That's a bad thing.

You see, some of the things she does are... strange. Unnatural. Sure, parties may be her special talent, but that doesn't explain where she got a cannon that can decorate a room. And it doesn't stop at parties. There's something unnatural about that mare. No one can explain it.

Pinkie Pie is an Unknown.

Unknowns are dangerous.

Princess Celestia has taken the poor pony under her wing, and raised her away from unfriendly eyes, allowing her to live what approaches a normal life. Soon, Pinkie will be reintroduced to the world at large, starting with a little town called Ponyville, on the day of the one-thousandth Summer Sun Celebration.

Let's see how that goes.

A human stays among ponies, mystifying them with his odd traditions and customs. It will be five years before Celestia and Twilight can send him back to his homeworld. Until then, Twilight wants to study him and have him experience pony culture. These are their stories.

Scarlet Letters is a lot of things. A Mare. A pegasus. A former member of the guard. And now, a librarian. She's looking forward to the post-war peace and prosperity that's been promised.

Now if only she could get some sleep.

Notes:
- Cover art by Minibot-1, check out their DeviantArt page here.
- This is a story in the Birthdayverse.
- Blood Lord is best pony and best pre-reader.

Cynical noble who hates everything.
Royal guard with big potential and a lot to learn.
Big, simple farmer with heart of gold.
Crazy self proclaimed time traveler.
Hotblooded, always second weather manager.
Expert lover and clumsy celebrity flier.

These six stallions will have to band together and discover true power of Elements of Harmony and Friendship to save Equestria from everlasting night.
***
New NEW cover art provided by ScarletCommenter.

Now has a TV Tropes page!