When you have so little, and another has so much, it’s easy to justify theft. The more precious the commodity, the easier it is to tell yourself you need it more than they do. And what is more precious than time?

You'd think that being trapped in stone would mean that, if nothing else, I could get some peace and quiet. Unfortunately, it seems that Celestia has other ideas.

She has appointed these ponies... these 'Keepers', as she calls them, to keep me entertained during my incarceration.

Honestly? I'd prefer the boredom.

Cover art by matrosha123
Spanish Translation by SPANIARD KIWI found here

"We wear the mask that grins and lies, It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes."
— Paul Laurence Dunbar

It started as a normal Equestrian morning, but doesn't it always? The princesses are frightened, and in Ponyville, a creature from a forgotten race walks into town. His kind hasn't been seen in over a thousand years, but even then he's still far from what he appears to be.

Arc 1: The First Day

Author's Note: Hey guys! This is my first story, so constructive criticism is more than welcome. I'll take this moment to say that I own nothing but my main character, the plot, and a few surprises which will appear later. All other characters and linked music are NOT mine. A word on music. At times I might offer two links to a song. The first is the OFFICIAL version, the second is the closest approximation to how I feel it is sung in the story. Just warning you, because I know some people hate covers. This story is rated teen for occasional language, implied sex, and gruesome imagery (mostly late in the story and in flashbacks). Now with technical out of the way, I wish you all happy reading, and I hope you have fun.

Edit: Bug the writer! He writes faster when you do.

Steve Murray, the first human who discovered alien life, landed alone on Equestria.
A new world, familiar and alien at the same time.
Now he has to adapt his life to the new environment.

---
Co-authored/Co-written and edited by JBL
Proofread by Tofty

Set in an alternate universe. Takes place in Season 3, ignoring Twilicorn.
Earth time is 2013 in regards of culture/music/movies/games. Technology is more advanced, especially in space travel. Don't try to overanalyze in these scenes.

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!)

When Princess Twilight Sparkle's years of research and study comes to its fruition, and a portal to another world is finally opened, a team of ponies is selected to go through. But as they go through, some strange creature comes through, and the exploration team finds itself trapped on an alien world that proves to be much more dangerous than they could have known.

In Equestria, Twilight now must find the way to reopen the portal, and to find out just what happened to the team she sent through. But how do you communicate with something that is completely foreign to you?

And others want to possess this creature as well. They feel that it could be the key to power. Power enough to take control of Equestria, as well as the world from which it came from.

Will Twilight be able to learn what she needs to learn to save her trapped friends, and keep this creature alive, so that it may return home?

Will she be able to bring the team back, or will they be doomed to die on a hostile world?

Task Force 141 was at first an international special operations group held in high esteem by those who knew of it. Then they went AWOL, turning to many into a nightmare given life; top rank Spec Ops soldiers who betrayed their countries and went rogue. Yet when the ashes settled and WW3 had ended the fingerprints of Task Force 141 were all over the events that had brought about its swift conclusion. The public didn't know any of it and the experts and analysts didn't know what to make of it. And Task Force 141? They vanished into the shadows again, many uneasily giving up on finding them them with the reasoning that these elites among elites wouldn't be found if they didn't want to be.

One wonders what all the high generals and seasoned intelligence officers would do if they had known precisely WHY they never were found again.

Maybe had an aneurysm.

Or laughed.

Probably both.