Prequel to The Witching Hour

1500 years ago, a kirin named Storm Vine was the unofficial leader of the kirins. Along with her husband Tempest Flame and most of the others, she fought to protect Equestria from any dangers that arose as knights of the realm. When she wasn't doing that, she was spending time with her adopted daughter and friends, which included the archmages of the Sun and Moon, her elder brother, and a delightful, if somewhat eccentric, trickster.

But, this is not the story of her daily life or her exploits as a knight. This is the story of how it all ended. How one of their closest friends turned against them. How they fought against and eventually defeated him. And how his fall brought them down with him.

This is the story of how the kirins disappeared from Equestria.

Cover image by Valkyrie-girl

Semper Pie is one of Equestria's most honored and decorated soldiers. Protector of the innocent, hero of countless battles, champion of all ponykind. Even Shining Armor, ex-Captain of the Royal Guard, and Prince Consort to the Crystal Princess, looks up to this great stallion. Truly one of the best and greatest ponies to have ever served under the Royal Sister's banner.

Still, where did he come from? Where was he born? What has he done? Does he have any family? Why would he suddenly want to come to Ponyville?

And why, for the love of Celestia, does he specifically want to meet with the Element of Laughter herself?

Lug wasn't the smartest. He knew that. And he was fine with that. As long as he had a club to swing or a ripper gun to fire, he was content, and there wasn't much thought needed beyond that.

And like many other Ogryn, he was content to serve the Imperium and it's interests until he died.

Until one fateful space skirmish with the forces of chaos, a drop-pod sent him careening through the warp, and soon after, into the Land of Equestria.

A world made up entirely of xenos, most of whom were small, fluffy, and colorful!

Lug likes it here already.

[Inspired by Warrior Tier's 'Ogryn Story' video.]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oNpb0dLNhE

Sunset Shimmer, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Applejack wake up in a drop pod as someone welcomes them to a corporation called Deep Rock Galactic and remembers nothing about how they ended up in this situation. With guns in one hand and pickaxes in the other, they must work as a team if they want to make it back to the surface.

Pinkie Pie wakes up in a small cabin aboard a space station. Upon finding the quality of her new homes's food particularly low, she volunteers her skills as a master chef and lands a spot in the station's bar.

Fluttershy isn't of much use to Deep Rock Galactic at first, but that changes when she saves a dwarf's life in the medical room, and her new employer pays surprisingly well for a company that sends people to fight bugs miles underground in dark, scary caves.

Twilight Sparkle seemed too smart to be sent to the surface, so Management puts her on the Research and Development team in hopes that she can help them develop better tools and equipment for conquering the harsh world of Hoxxes IV.

Together, the friends must work harder than they ever have before if they want to survive the caves, climb the ranks of DRG, and--fingers crossed--return home.

Crossover with the game Deep Rock Galactic, which is a 1-4 co-op first-person shooter where you all play as dwarves that go down to the depths of a hostile alien world and mine minerals because Management pays you to. It's a hell of a lot of fun, and I highly recommend playing it with your friends.

I'm not sure how often I'll update this one, but it's still going to be a great adventure either way.

Character Progression Tracker and explanatory blog here. If you want to know what the girls can and can't do, this is the first place you should look!

EDIT: Added the "Narcotics" warning to cover myself as the girls begin using the complementary bar. In this story, it is assumed that all characters are of legal drinking age other than Twilight for the first while because she specifically mentions it (Don't underage drink kids). Alcohol is the only drug I will be using in this story.

Arcane Catalyst, ageless royal alchemist, has had hundreds of adventures over the years. This is a collection of his field research studying various creatures and enviornments in the thousand years he was alive before the events of MLP.

An anthology of research notes, done in comedy style.

Fantastic cover art by Amalgamzaku aka Mix-Up

TTS Reading of the entire fiction: Courtesy of the FanFiction Reader on Youtube.

Character List: Courtesy of TruthHut (A work in progress)

Handy is not a happy man at the best of times.

He was even less happy to find himself in an alien world that offended the very laws of physics and got injured for his own stubborn refusal to accept the obvious path fate had apparently laid out for him.

For his trouble he is now on a journey, with the long term goal of finding his way back home, only to find himself involved in plots and machinations so far above his head and cares that he quickly becomes a pawn in a game played by powers who care not for his well-being.

Quite like his life back on Earth if you think about it.

Needless to say, Handy does not care for any of it. He is much more preoccupied with the more immediate and pressing mundane concerns of day to day life a human needs to worry about while in Equestria.

Obtaining a new pair of shoes for example.

All this and one almighty hangover, what's the worst that could happen?

Rated teen for harsh language and minor violence

Proofread by JBL, Jude and Usurper

In the aftermath of the Changeling incursion of Canterlot during the marriage of Shining Armour and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, Equestria gears itself for war against the Changeling menace. Against a foe that can take the shape of anypony, assume their life, and undermine Equestria from within, the Royal Pony Sisters create a new institution to monitor their Royal Guard for any Changeling corruption, cowardice, and incompetence: the Commissariat. As total war rages across the land one hero stands out above the rest; Commissar Blueblood, Hero of Equestria. Or at least that's what the propaganda says. The truth, as ever, is far more complex, as the esteemed Blueblood is merely looking for an easy and sedate life. Unfortunately, fate has a habit of throwing him into increasingly dangerous and suicidal missions, which he must survive with a combination of self-preservation, lying, and sheer blind luck, even if doing so only fuels his soaring reputation!

Equine military fiction in the style of Ciaphas Cain and Flashman.

Cover art done by me.

Proofread and edited by the always dependable Setokaiva.

It's time once again for Nightmare Night and the citizens of Ponyville are ready for another night of candy, costumes, ghost stories, and more. After Twilight Sparkle taught her the true meaning of Nightmare Night one year prior, Princess Luna takes the day off from her royal duties and joins in the festivities. But when Ponyville suddenly comes under attack by a mysterious force, Luna is discovered missing in the aftermath. What's more, this force is being commanded by a malicious creature wielding a terrible power that the ponies have actually heard of, but know nothing about.

Once again, Twilight and her friends must take up the Elements of Harmony in defense of everything they hold dear, but if Equestria is to have any real hope of surviving against this force, the ponies must first unravel the mysteries of the power that threatens them.

-some clarification: the “Lords” in the title is figurative.
-Act 1 - A Tale of Two Sisters. Word count: 72k
-Act 2 - Shadow of Malice. Word count: 102k.
-Takes place mid season 3, before Keep Calm and Flutter On.
-This story assumes there's a one-year time frame for each season of the TV show, give or take a couple months here and there.

Was on hiatus from 4/18 - 8/18 due to lack of an editor.
Many thanks to BronyDad for his help with editing!
New editor as of October 2019: Vertigo22
-Jan 2020 to present: James Fire
Cover art by Tzolkine on DeviantArt. Unfortunately, the page 404s every time I try to look at it. This wallpaper was found on google and pinterest.
The time-stamp for Act 1 - The First Adventure is wrong. I revised it and re-released it on 3/1/15.

My captor was kind, to a point. They provided me with a comfortable private suite, three meals a day, and tried to accommodate any of my needs within reason. It was a far cry from being locked away in a dingy dungeon or straight up killed, but I still was a bit wary about the true intentions of this alicorn. 

A gilded cage, however, is still a cage.

Edited by UnamusedWaffle. and INeedSleep

Thanks to Snuffy for proofreading chapter 9 part 1

Credit to Neither for the amazing cover art!

I woke up to a burning building coming down on top of me.

Oh yeah, that isn't even the half of it. There's these freaky Technicolor horses everywhere too and a few of them were dressed in golden armour.

They bound me, dragged me to the castle and hooked me up to some chains. Currently I'm being interrogated by a white unicorn... guard. Whatever it's called.

Well, it's not like it could get much worse, right?

Rated teen for suggestive situations and bad language

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Found some cover art.

Sorry to whomever made this, but the source website was taken down or something, so I'm really not sure who to credit.

Finally found the name of the artist: Blaz Portenta

I got featured a couple times. Yeah, I'm surprised too.