On July 17th, 2023, satellites around the world began to pick up a strange radiation source coming from the North Pacific, just above Hawaii. Just as the US, Japan, Australia and other such nations along the Pacific begin to investigate, something covers the entire North Pacific in blinding light, a loud crack rippling through the air. When the light finally died down and humanity rubbed it's eyes in shock, they saw none other than Equestria.

The first contact had gone well enough, with pony and human delegations meeting in New York, Celestia herself showing up for a moment. They claimed that the appearance of Equestria was purely accidental, a 'magical mishap' as they put it. They established 'Conversion Bureaus' around the globe, establishments for the sole purpose of permanently changing a human into a pony.

As it turned out, this was all a ruse. Shortly after the final conversion bureau was built, Celestia herself declared humanity to be a 'vile' and 'unfit' species, citing examples such as their wars, their pollution, and so on. All at once, the Conversion Centers released hordes of Pegasi and Unicorns, bent on forcibly turning all of humanity into 'peace-loving' ponies.

All at once, millions of humans were transformed. Military bases sabotaged. The world couldn't even get a missile out of the ground in time, much less perform a coordinated counter-assault. Humanity simply wasn't prepared for this.

But as it turned out, there were other players in the game. Humanity had gotten out of fixes much worse than this before, and they didn't even realize it. Organizations, unknown to even the world elite, sat beneath the surface of the Earth or disguised as ordinary facilities, prepared to do everything in their power to prevent the extinction of humanity.

As humanity panics, the SCP Foundation takes action.

THIS STORY IS A CROSSOVER WITH MY LITTLE PONY: FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC AND THE SCP FOUNDATION.

THE SCP FOUNDATION MYTHOS IS A COLLABORATIVE WRITING SITE CONTAINING THOUSANDS OF USER-SUBMITTED ARTICLES DESCRIBING FICTIONAL, ANOMALOUS OBJECTS AND ENTITIES.

I DO NOT OWN MY LITTLE PONY: FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC, NOR DO I OWN THE SCP FOUNDATION. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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!)

Novel Tale is an author that's been living in Canterlot for about ten years now. That's a pretty good track record for a changeling. He's even included a changeling character in his latest book, and his fans have been loving his take on such an obscure mythological creature, especially his biggest fan, Twilight Sparkle. Things are looking up!

Then an army of changelings from another hive attacks Canterlot.

Now all of ponykind knows that changelings are real, and his readers are sure to realize that the changeling in his book was too similar to the real thing to have just been based on a myth...

earlier chapters have been revised as of 7/19/13 to be more inline quality wise with the later chapters.

Featured on EQD 10/5/13!

Let it be known that there will be extensive changeling world building in the chapters to come.

cover image courtesy of ackdari.

Much thanks to Nyerguds for proofreading and to all my fellow tropers on the TvTropes pony fanfiction thread for helping me develop this from a vague idea into an actual story.

A changeling who has lived at the side of an Equestrian mare for most of his life finds himself in the middle of the changeling invasion of Canterlot. He has no idea who the invading queen or hive are, and just wants to stay where he is, and more importantly, who he is.

The spell that ends the invasion doesn't discriminate, though. With his old pony form irreversibly stripped away, and the whole kingdom out to hunt his kind, he tries to keep his family together, and struggles to find his place in the world.

Please comment! Even now, I'd love to hear what people think as they read through

EPUB download
PDF download

Czech version:
Flitter on Google Docs translated by Draim (published at bronies.cz)

Russian version:
Флиттер on ponyfiction.org translated by repitter.
Audio book on YouTube by Diogenus.

Spanish version:
Flitter on DeviantArt, translated by SPANIARD KIWI.

She is as beautiful and graceful as the moon, and just as hard to reach. He is a young artist with much to learn about the world. When he accepts her challenge to create an artistic masterpiece, will he win her heart, or learn a terrible lesson in the nature of beauty and love?

"They take da' pain out, make it somethin' good, somethin' good. Wear yer' blues well, colt, you gonna earn every drop of em'. Yer' gonna be tangled up in blues," the old stallion told Blues, presenting him with the saxophone.

Blues himself tells us of his life after that day and as he explores what it means to be "painted blue"; to hope, to fear, to love, to lose. He tells us as he learns what really makes a stallion a stallion, what it's like to leave something you love behind, and what risks one must face in life or risk becoming nothing at all.

All of this, Blues tells us, takes place against the background of critical moments in his life and as he travels the scope of Equestria from Manehattan to Ponyville and Appleoosa. All the while the songs he learns from his pain mingle with the one his mentor, Moody Blues, revealed within him...something unbelievable the old pony did to bring it forth.

My name is Sea Swirl and I love swimming in the Ocean. That hardly tells you anything about a pony, though. My name is Sea Swirl and my Mother is a thief and a murderer. Maybe. Maybe that tells you too much.

Maybe a pony would say that has nothing to do with me whatever, sins of the mother, so to speak, but she's turned up after all these years, alive and well in Ponyville. My quest to find her and hold her to account is waylaid as she adds high treason to the list and leads me, as a bit of a tag along to the Element Bearers, on a desperate chase deep into the heart of Eagleland.

Airships, griffons, murder, scheming and magic. An unreliable narrator and often neurotic, Sea Swirl is toyed with by her mother whose motivations are her own secret. Is everything she ever knew a lie or is she likewise a killer as her mother insists?

Crime was easy before Princess Twilight and the First Five ushered in a golden age of Harmony. Back then, any idiot could plan a robbery, just like any rat could sneak through the cracks in wooden granary walls. But now that everything is cloudstone and clearsteel, with magical countermeasures over the few remaining holes, it takes a different breed of rat to survive.

"Slippery" Jimmy the Grey is one of the rare few ponies who can still slip through the cracks — even with the legendary Rainbow Corps on his tail. Now he's got a billion-bit heist planned in the gleaming skyscrapers of Cloudsdale. If only he hadn't made the mistake of stealing from a dragon …

Now with a reading by Illya Leonov and Scribbler!

* * *

This is a crossover with Harry Harrison's Stainless Steel Rat novels, but it assumes no knowledge of the series.

Winner of February's Writeoff Association competition! * Featured by Equestria Daily! * Featured by Seattle's Angels!

REVIEWS: "Highly Recommended" by Titanium Dragon; "Recommended" by Present Perfect; rated "Why Haven't You Read This Yet?" by PaulAsaran

WORD OF MOUTH:
"The Iridescent Iron Rat was not only my favorite story from the most recent writeoff... it's my favorite story of anything I've read in months." —Sharp Spark

"What a ride it is. This story is made of awesome moments." —Casca, Seattle's Angels

"[A]stounding on so many levels. … If there’s one story from this round you have to pick, make it this one." —Corejo, Seattle's Angels

"Absolutely beautifully done. It fits the style and feel of the books to a perfect T." —Themaskedferret

This story is a sequel to Sombra The Highly Unmotivated

Over a year ago, Twilight Sparkle, Discord and four million other ponies escaped from an alternate Equestria on the verge of collapse, hoping to start a new life on Earth.

While many have started to adapt to a world full of humans, Twilight still has trouble calling the place home. Trying to correct this, Discord arranges for the pair to spend a night out on the town.

If only someone had warned drunken human Arthur Mitchell about the dangers of insulting ponies in front of Discord.

Edited by spigo.

Following his tumultuous defeat, King Sombra is flung across space and time to exit out a human's malfunctioning toaster. For weeks, Sombra monologues his revenge to destroy those that hurt him. But seven months later, when a route back to Equestria is found, does he not seem all that interested in returning.

Edited by spigo.

Prequel: The Roommate From Tartarus
Side Sequel: (Not My) Home Sweet Home

Update: labelled as complete. The last three chapters will remain as bonus chapters.