Five years ago, Nightmare Moon returned to Equestria and took it by storm. She imprisoned her sister in the moon, and Equestria fell into an Age of Darkness. She ruled with an iron hoof; her word became law. The Mare in the Moon became a grim reminder of what happened to those who opposed the new tyrant, and nopony dared oppose.

Except for one aspiring unicorn.

Twilight Sparkle, a mare shackled by the failures of her past, prowls the ruins of the old capital Canterlot, praying for a spell that can right what has been so horribly wronged. Buried beneath the rubble of the Royal Library, she finds a tome that might be the answer to her prayers.

A "Warrior of Sunlight"; surely he will be able to overthrow the wicked tyrant and restore Celestia to her rightful throne. Twilight can almost see the sun returning over the horizon. She just didn't expect this warrior to be so... jolly.

Set in Starlight's "alternate future" where Nightmare Moon reigns.

Audio reading by Skijarama

For the Star Rod of all things to be so delicate as to break from a simple fire breath... well, not even the seven Star Spirits could have predicted that it could! Nor would they have foreseen that it would send the Mushroom Kingdom's long-time archnemesis, Bowser, and all of his henchmen into a different universe entirely.

This is the story of a couple of would-be heroes who... wait a minute... no. This is the story of the Koopa King himself and his trusty advisor Kammy Koopa as he tries to take over the magical lands of Equestria.

Mario is out of the picture this time, so maybe now is the chance for him to finally be able to win?

Applejack wakes up in the forest, finds another creature called a human, and learns that the only way to escape this prison is to collect lumber.

Sounds easy, right?

Oh, how wrong they are. For out here, nothing is easy, everything takes longer than it should, most of the wildlife wants to kill and/or eat you, and there's no such thing as clean.

Mud, Misery, and Mayhem are the names of the game. Now, will they choose to play, or give up?

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NO KNOWLEDGE OF THE GAME IS REQUIRED!

So, if you're unaware, this is a spinnoff/crossover of a older game called Spintires, which some years ago got a remake called Mud Runner, which then got a sequel called Snow Runner. I've played and beat the first two, and I'm currently about 40 hours into the third. While this story is heavily focused on the dynamics of the first two games, I will also be borrowing some elements of the third (for our characters sake) and be implementing a few other things not in these games, such as more survival tactics of being in the woods.

Also, currently no pre-readers or editors, and while this story isn't meant to be something perfect, if this genera, story, or even the game are your thing and you'd like to help out, feel free to message me and you can be part of this!

Ganondorf, King of Thieves, Lord of Darkness, Master of Evil and Wielder of the Triforce of Power, had long since grown thoroughly and completely bored with the path the gods had decreed for his destiny.

Time after time it was always the same, try and unite the Triforce, plunge the world into darkness for a time, search out and then kidnap Princess Zelda, watch his minions be defeated one after another and then finally battle Link for supremacy. Rinse and repeat.

All the while knowing that regardless of winning or losing, that no matter what he did or didn’t do, that in the end everything would end up repeating itself in another time and place afterwards, again, and again and again, in an utterly pointless never ending cycle.

Having decided that enough was finally enough, and refusing to continue to be a simple pawn at the hands of the gods, he vowed he would find a way to escape from his cumbersome destiny, a way to start anew far beyond the meddling grasp of the gods, a way to reach a realm upon which he could be the master of his own fate.

And after years of careful planning he had finally succeeded.

Sure, the fact he had to drag the know-it-all Princess and the green obsessed Hero along for the ride for his plan to work was a minor inconvenience, but he knew that sometimes sacrifices had to be made. And the fact that this new realm apparently decided to turn him and his two unwilling companions into miniature pastel colored ponies upon arrival also wasn’t exactly part of the plan, but he could cope.

After all, that was a negligible price to pay in achieving his deepest wish: freedom.

In this story Ganondorf, having grown sick of following through the motions his destiny placed before him as the eternal bad guy to be defeated time after time, seeks out to escape from his fate by breaking through the void between dimensions and running away from Hyrule to another realm entirely, Equestria, all the while dragging both Link and Zelda along for the ride.

Arriving long before the founding of the country, back before the events of Heart’s Warming Eve and at the highest point of the conflict between the Three Tribes, he and his two new companions will have to deal with a whole new world and it’s wonders and dangers. All the while this new magical world will have to learn to deal with its three new strange inhabitants in kind.

Just a warning: This is NOT a Displaced fic. All three main characters are the actual characters from the Zelda series that have been taken to Equestria due to Ganondorf’s master plan, and not humans turned into them.

Beta Reader: The Amazing Emtu!
Cover Art: The Incredible swagmu!
Proofreader: The relentless TranquilClaws! (From chp I - XXV)

Featured for the first time! 07/06/2018 to 07/11/2018

Now with a TvTropes page!

Edit: Crossposting at Royalroad where I have the same username.