Mysterious portals to a “First World” are appearing all around Equestria. Even worse, there are unknown creatures coming through! When it’s discovered that these creatures are immune to unicorn spells, Twilight comes up with a bold idea to harness earth pony magic to combat the menace. Applejack must take the first steps on a new path she never expected, which just might be the biggest challenge she’s faced yet.

Inspired by JinYaranda/InkyBeaker’s artwork On the Run, used here with his permission.

Featured on Equestria Daily!
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This is pretty much my first work of fiction, so I greatly appreciate any and all feedback. Let me know what you think!

Might contain some incidental Dungeons & Dragons crossover elements, but not enough to warrant the tag, I think.
Rated Teen for mild violence and language.
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This story made FIMFiction's Hot box on 12/24/14 -- I never expected such a response! Thanks everyone!!
04/17/15 -- Wow, hot box again. Thanks guys!!
08/02/15 -- You guys are swell. :)
01/12/16 --

A sudden and powerful magical event consumes all of Ponyville in the space of a few moments, and when Twilight and her friends come to, they find the landscape around them quite different. And the world they discover, to be devoid of magic and inhabited by strange beings.

One of these beings is Asher Burgess, the oldest son of the family whose secluded, Colorado ranch has suddenly become the location of an entire town of alien creatures overnight. Their lives are changed forever as they find themselves the link between the ponies and their own nation.

Bewildered by this new world, things start getting more urgent as more of the Equestrian world arrives piece by piece, and not all of it is so friendly. Searching for answers, Asher, Twilight, and the rest of the gang stumble onto more questions, and uncover an amazing secret. One that could either save them all, or doom both worlds to annihilation.

(Set just after the events of season 3 finale. Diverges from there, movie has no effect.)

Graciously edited by Dream Seeker, Commander Fire Starter, Sharp Quill and Absurd Tomfoolery

P.S. A request if you will: When someone gives a "dislike," would ya'll mind commenting why? Especially if it has something to do with a writing skill.

This story is a sequel to Pony Age: Origins

With the defeat of the Archdemon, Twilight Sparkle, new Arlessa of Amarethine, must assemble a new team of Grey Wardens to defeat the threat of the ponyspawn. Her friendships will be challenged by a cunning new foe while betrayal and deception lurks behind every corner.

Long ago in a distant land, I, Nightmare Moon, the shape shifting mistress of darkness unleashed a never-ending night! But, a foalish pony warrior, wielding a magic stone stepped forth to oppose me! Before the final blow was struck, I tore open a portal in time and flung her into the future, where my darkness is law! Now the foal seeks to return to the past, and undo the future that is Nightmare Moon! (FiM/Samurai Jack fusion)

Diplomacy has failed. Six years have passed Equestria's crowning of the princess of friendship, ushering in a supposed unprecedented age of peace and harmony. The concept of warfare is, to most ponies, nothing more than an unfathomable legend. They have let their guard down.

An unknown enemy has seized the opportunity to attack Equestria with terrifying new weapons of war, bent on taking the fertile land and restoring an ancient order. The valiant efforts of the Royal Guard have given Princess Twilight and her arcane scientists time to research and develop a response to their attackers, and the time has come for that response to be implemented. Utilizing weapons and tactics borrowed from another world, five squads under the command of Princess Luna will infiltrate the forests of the Equestrian Northwest to destroy a revolutionary magical matrix that Twilight refers to as the "radio" - a tool that allows enemy ponies to communicate across vast distances instantly.

Nightmare Two is comprised of three foalhood friends who, rather than be separated from each other in the draft, volunteer to become one of the five Nightmare squads. With their bodies forever altered to suit the needs of their mission, the three young mares join legions of ponies armed with powerful weapons to partake in a horrifying new breed of warfare - Equestria's first in over one thousand years.

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Heads up, folks. If you wouldn't mind leaving a comment alongside the thumbs-down, I'd appreciate it. This is my first foray into fan fiction and although it's a hobby I nonetheless wish to get better. :)

Got some FAQ's for you guys as well!

- Alternate universe in which the events of "Crusaders of the Lost Mark" did not occur. (As much as I loved it! :D)

- Numerical age tends to vary with headcanon, but the CMC here were just getting started with their adult lives when the draft went into effect.

- The war is pony v. pony, utilizing firearms and the Equestrian equivalent of a tank. The underlying headcanon is that ponies used firearms similar to muskets and tracked armored vehicles akin to our tanks in times of old, and what the enemy currently employs is essentially the natural progression of these technologies.

- There are no real-world weapons or equipment i.e. "Panzer IV," or "M16 assault rifle." Particularly acute details such as the caliber of weapons are also absent.

- Technology is based on that of WWI with some WWII elements. Firearms are primarily bolt-action.

- The "radio" spell matrix functions as what we know to be a radio, but is not identical.

- All four of a Night Mare's legs are permanently replaced by the augments.

- Night Mares are female. Stallions proved unable to properly animate the limbs.

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Hold up, now - fanart? You guys rock. Like, for real. Thanks a lot!

1. A great YouTube video coming from The_Pegasus_Box. Thanks, bud!
Check it out!

2. Click here for the collection on DArt.

3. https://derpibooru.org/740375?scope=scpeac921b191f688d04521575f31608785cbc3bbaa1
[img]https://derpicdn.net/img/view/2014/10/10/740375__safe_anthro_apple+bloom_gun_artist-colon-pusspuss_night+mares.png[/img]

Twilight gets killed protecting Princess Celestia and wakes up to the words Game Over floating in front of her.

Love is a tricky business. Twilight knows this, and the subject has always fascinated her ever since she saw its raw power at her brother's wedding. She is fully prepared to study it in depth... some day. But when Cadance asks her to take part in an experiment that could revolutionize love in Equestria, Twilight realizes that day has come sooner than expected.

If you had a clock that could count down to the moment you meet your soul mate, would you want to know?

Cover art courtesy of Jondor. Go on his page and tell him he's awesome!

Pinkie doesn't tell ponies about Pinkamena and Surprise. The doctors said that they were bad for her, that they were a disease, but she disagrees. Sure, Pinkamena's a bit of a grumpy-pants, but she's still a great friend! She's often the voice of reason to counter-act some of the other two's crazier ideas, after all. Surprise, on the other hand, is a great prank-player, and always up for some fun. She's more like Pinkie, only more hyper. Both are great fun to be around, and they get on well.

Thing is, she knows that if she told ponies about them, then they would be dragged back to the hospital. And then be 'treated' again. None of them want that. Because of this, not even her best not-in-head friends know about them. The three of them have, for years now, been careful enough to keep the existence of Pinkamena and Surprise secret.

This has, of course, gone out the window now that Twilight is hammering on the door after overhearing one third of a conversation, with no sign of anyone else talking.

Hints of F/F shipping inside. Nothing will actually come of it here, though. Maybe in a future story.

Cover art can be found here: http://killryde.deviantart.com/art/Smile-338206490

All magic vanished from the world when Discord fell. Along with it, the might of the unicorns and alicorn princesses dwindled. Even the Elements Of Harmony lost their potence and were lost in the sea of time.

Left without the guidance of the alicorns and the magic of harmony, the ponies soon raised Equestria to a country ruled by science and industry. But still, some remain who dream of magic.

As the mysterious beast Magia threatens the world, a sickly filly named Twilight Sparkle and five friends take it upon themselves to delve into the caverns beneath Canterlot to find the burial ground of magic, the Lunarium.

This is an ongoing Rewrite. The story in and of itself was finished in April 2013 but needed some massive editing. This new version features all new scenes, better descriptions, less mistakes, 3D-Effects, and a gratis code for the DLC-Character "Emo Pie", which on any other occasion would've been a pre-order bonus only.

Or something.

Current Coverart by: kmrshy, go check 'em out.

Also thanks to everybody who helps/ed editing this story, no matter if you did only help me with one chapter or all. Thank you for turning this rewrite from another mess into a brilliant story!