Equestria stands on the brink of ruin. A necromancer has raised an army of the dead and is poised to plunge the world into darkness. Monsters and brigands roam freely across the land, preying upon the innocent.

Only one hope remains. Armed with swords, spells, snacks, and a bag of dice, five heroes band together to defeat the forces of evil… if their rolls are good enough.

Welcome to gaming night in Ponyville.

Dramatic reading by Goombasa.

Cover image by Elosande used with permission.

A changeling gets a very risky and clever idea.
Pretending to be an advanced magic doll left as an anonymous gift in front of Twilight Sparkle's home.
It's so audaciously stupid there is no way it's not going to work.

There are many axioms in Equestria. "Go with the grain." "Count your blessings." "Strive to be happy with what you have."

And, though left unsaid, the most important one of all: "Know your place."

Although Flash Sentry loves Twilight, she can never know of his love. She can never return the feelings. It wouldn't be proper. After all, social order is more important than fulfilling one's own wishes.

Alternate Universe tag is due to the existence of a caste system in this story. Please keep that in mind as you read.

Thanks to Sir Rustbucket, Draconian Soul, Regidar, and Loopy Legend for editing.

Now Featured on Equestria Daily!

Now with a poem by Fiend from the Darkness!

Now with a YouTube reading by BlackIrisBalloon (and multiple voice actors)!

Now with a Korean translation by Kianoke!

Followed by What Hath Joined Together.

Rated Teen for mild violence and thematic elements.

Twilight Sparkle's tenure in Ponyville has been anything but calm. Since the Summer Sun celebration, she's dealt with a variety of foes, from Nightmare Moon to dragons, hydras, Discord, and King Sombra. But when Pinkie Pie asks for help with a small problem, Twilight finds herself pulling out all the stops to deal with the most dastardly (and curious) fiend yet encountered: Sugarcube Corner’s haunted mailbox. Rainbow Dash’s letter from the Wonderbolt Academy is on the line. Failure is not an option.

Applejack is in love.

Having fought against her desires and hidden her sexuality for far too long, Applejack comes to terms with the prospect she has fallen hard for a certain young princess she believes is way out of her league.

What will she do?

(Featured on 29/10/14. Woot.

Because of popular demand, this is no longer a one-shot. But guess what? This fic is now a collaboration, with an alternate universe! Want to know what would happen if Twilight was the one in love with Applejack? See below for details.)

This Universe Written by: Me
Alternative Universe Written by: Creed Located Here: Chasing Applejack

(Click the picture for source. The owner of the picture is not me, and if asked, I will remove it.)

This story is a sequel to Stardust

Times are changing for Equestria as Twilight’s return brings with it news of people and cultures from beyond the peaceful world everypony knows. Aid and volunteers are freely offered to help the besieged humans of Earth because every Equestrian knows that’s what good friends do. Unfortunately, making friends can also have the unintended consequence of making enemies.

When the monsters besieging the humans strike at Equestria with a level of brutality not seen in over a thousand years, the cry for help is sent to all the kingdoms of the world. Honored allies step forth to fulfill ancient treaties and oaths. Enemies, old and new, bury their grievances. An alliance never before seen in Equestria will be created to combat the monsters from the void.

And because of these events, a grim but welcome sibling to the XCOM project is born.

(XCOM/FiM Crossover)
(Sequel to Stardust, which I recommend reading before starting this. Fortitude Amicitia and Broken aren't required reading but are supplemental to the storyline)
(Gore tag for blood and violence)
(Alternate Universe tag because of the divergence from canon that Stardust has caused)
(Uses elements of Season 4)
(Coverart produced by the amazing Carnelian!)
(Many thanks to Arzoo, BradTheBrony, Vandenbz and Setokaiva for prereading!)
(As of 03/07/2016, the prereading team consists of Arzoo, BradTheBrony, Noble Cause and Metallusionsismagic!)
(Complete with it's own TVTropes page as part of the Stardust continuity. Could use some updating!)
(Character tags will be added as chapters are added!)
(Featured 5/12/2014! Thanks folks!)
(Possible spoilers in the comments! BEWARE!)

Twilight wakes up with a serious head-ache caused by her horn spontaneously growing due to a sudden increase in her magical power. Nopony seems to have an answer for it, but it has attracted the attention of an unusually powerful militant foreign nation intent on her capture and execution. When a string of events lands Twilight before Celestia's father himself he tasks her and her newfound magic with tying up some loose ends he'd left behind long ago, ultimately connecting with this foreign nation's goals. With their powerful enemy baring down on Equestria, intent on taking it in a stranglehold, Twilight and her friends have little other choice than to travel the world and hunt for the rest of Celestia's family and end several thousands of years worth of feuding to prevent the war coming to Equestria before they themselves are caught.

Image Picture by Lostzilla of DeviantArt.
(find him yourselves)

Ech is a whiny bitch, but he helped edit a little I guess. (you too bats)

Monster attacks. Crime. Illegal hallucinogens made from electric fruit.

They say things didn't use to be like this. They say things were different, before Luna came back 60 years ago, but Detective Hard "Hardy" Boiled of the Detrot Police Department has never known any world other than that demarcated by the seedy streets of his beloved decaying metropolis; a world in which the coroners sing and dance, surveillance bugs have personality disorders, and the Chief of Police is a scarier entity than most of the eldritch things the city attracts.

The grey unicorn who turned up dead outside the posh High Step Hotel seemed like just another case, but her missing horn is the pointy tip of a very large and nasty iceberg. It's up to Hardy and his friends - a rejected monster hunter, a psychic cab driver, and an underground antiques heir - to find out what’s going on in an investigation that promises to stick more than a cupcake into the very eye of Detrot.

Especially if Hardy has anything to say about it.

By Popular Demand, there is now a Patreon

Additional editing by coandco Sig_Awesome, Hinds, Clint, and Raccoon!
Featured on EQD - 5 Stars!
Cover art by MisterMech (http://mistermech.deviantart.com/)
Now with TVTropes page here!

This story is a sequel to The Syndicate

Spike stumbles upon the biggest conspiracy that Ponyville has ever known! With only his wits and a hard-boiled attitude, the square dragon will take down the lowlive thugs who threaten Equestria to ensure justice is served.

And also because he's really bored.

Rarity and Fluttershy have been friends for years, and every week they go to the spa. But after every trip, Rarity finds herself growing greener with envy over Fluttershy's beauty and grace, if not something more than just envy— and what might happen if she finds out Fluttershy feels the same way about her?
Rated Teen for moments of sensuality, foreplay, and sexual themes. Reader discretion is advised.
Assistance by Karrakaz, Blue_Paladin42, TheGreatEater, Setokaiva, Squinty Mudmane, Aurora, Starfall, and Ariamaki.
Cover Image by Megasweet, used with permission.
Image colored by Explosivegent.
Additional graphical design by Novel-Idea.
TV Tropes page can be found here, credited to Winter Lily.