To save her sister and her faithful student, Celestia herself must travel into the ancient tunnels beneath the ruined castle in the Everfree Forest. She, and the guards who accompany her, must face the dark, twisting corridors. Still, what was Luna and Twilight's purpose at the old castle? Why were they unable to return of their own accord?

And what watches Celestia from beyond the light's edge?

I've spent the majority of my life tilling the desolate land in which I live. Every day, I wake up to move useless rocks from one location to another. This is an archaic line of work that my family has clung to for generations. It is a dull, grey existence.

Today, I have woken up in a strange room, lying in a bed that isn't mine. I'm surrounded by five mares whom I've never seen in my life. They claim to be my friends, and expect me to bring joy to the hearts of everypony.

Joy? I don't think I've ever experienced this for myself, so how am I supposed to thrust it upon others?

My name is Pinkamena Diane Pie, and I'm not sure what to make of this situation.

Vinyl Scratch walks into a bar. There is no punchline.

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Featured on Equestria Daily (6 Nov 2012)
Inducted to the Pony Fiction Vault (10 May 2013)
Dramatic Reading courtesy of Farnsey's Fanfiction Theatre 3000
Live-Reading courtesy of the Living Library Player Society

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Hey, everyone. OtterMatt here. Just for the record, I’m not coming back to FimFic. Not ever. I’m sorry to say it, but my life has moved on, as it were, and writing just isn’t a part of it anymore. That being said, I love these stories of mine very much. There’s a lot of myself that I put into them, and at least a couple people have told me that these stories meant a lot to them as well. So, for those people, and for anyone else who enjoys my work in the future, I’m charging my friend Spabble here with curating my completed stories. Thank you all for the love, the faves, and the support as I grew and learned. Keep doing what you love, and the best of luck to you all.

On a dark day, one may wonder: just what horrors lie beyond the veil of the heavens? What ghastly demons exist that could only spawn in a pony's dreams? What terror!? What blight in the face of all that is good!? What- wait, it's the Mane Six?

What sort of twisted reality contains a lycan Applejack, a vampiric Fluttershy, a ghostly Rarity, and a lich queen Twilight Sparkle, you may ask? Why, it's just the Nightmare Realm, existing one and a half dimensions below and above the normal Equestria, and they are sick and tired of Nightmare Night not living up to its name in the 'real' world.

However, are these nightmares truly nightmares, or do they just like a good scare? Why, it depends on who you're talking to! So sit tight, give way to fright, for coming soon is Nightmare Night!

"Why do you think Trixie acts the way she does, Twilight Sparkle? Why do you think she became a showpony in the first place? She does it so she can be remembered. All the good Trixie did, all the bad Trixie did--it was all so her name would never die out, even after she herself had. She will not allow herself to be used as a catalyst for some greater scheme, then tossed to the wayside to be forgotten. She will make the world remember her name."

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Years after her humiliating fiasco in Ponyville, a pacified Trixie returns to try and find closure with the ponies she hurt the most. But time has wiped the slate clean in more than one way, leaving the showpony forgotten, nothing more than a fading memory in the minds of the townsfolk. Will a mare who devoted her whole life to being remembered find solace in the vastness of her impact? Or will the loss of her hallowed image tear her apart?

Art by My-Magic-Dream.

When Rainbow Dash called for help on her dying breath, she never imagined she would be rescued twice at once. Now she is neither dead or alive, and she definitely doesn't remember wearing all six Elements ...

Rainbow Dash is divided, and she doesn't have much time. To save herself and her friends she may have to convince them to give up the Magic of Friendship, or she can fight ... but how does one fight destiny?

Also on: DeviantArt and EqD

Reading of the story by Skytail

For my first 100 followers.

It is said that nothing in life is free, and when your life lacks any foreseeable end, the most precious things come at the highest of costs.

Is it worth it?

Is love worth pain so great that it sinks into madness? Is it worth insanity so intense that it gives way to evil? Is it worth malevolence so destructive that it aims to annihilate an entire civilization?

The answer is hidden like a Rainbow in the dark.

Josh, Bill and Blue are hard-working Earth Ponies that haul freight around Ponyville. Sometimes, Bill and Blue envy the freedom and power of the Pegasus and Unicorn Ponies. Josh, older, wiser, and a bit of storyteller, tries to comfort his teammates with the "secret truth" about the other types of ponies. And Bill and Blue... well, there's a short distance between between being open-minded and empty-headed.

These were my first two MLP:FIM fan fictions. The first, "The Truth About Pegasus Ponies," is a little rough, but it was one of those stories that just appeared in my head, whole and entire, and demanded to be written.

The second, "The Shadow Over Ponyville," is a bit more polished. Despite the title, it's not really a Lovecraft pastiche, although HPL obviously influenced my description of Blue's reaction to the "blasphemous truth" about Unicorns. ("Kelpies," by the way, are a real thing, or at least real in terms of folklore. Sometimes, this stuff just writes itself.)

When I wrote these stories (during the break between Seasons One and Two), I thought I had cleverly immunized myself against changes to the canon. Josh is, of course, only telling tall tales, so any changes to the canon couldn't affect his stories. Baby Cakes, however, makes these stories a bit implausible. Still, I'm fond of them anyway.

Josh's full name is Joshington Traveller Pie. In my personal canon, he's Pinkie Pie's uncle, the "bad" one that ran away from the rock farm to join the circus. Oddly, I have yet to write a story that includes both Pinkie and Josh. When I write about him, I imagine he sounds like John Goodman.

Edit: If you liked this story, you might also enjoy my story, "The Boneyard," which directly follows the events in "The Shadow Over Ponyville."

The three teamster ponies, Josh, Bill and Blue, journey to the Pie family rock farm to look after the place while the family is away. But, by accident, they disturb the ancient spirits that dwell within the land and are soon besieged by all the terrors of prehistoric Equestria!

Pinkie Pie has a new friend who just arrived in Ponyville. She sees him every morning, when he orders a plain old breakfast muffin. She's tried several times to surprise him with parties, but he always manages to disappear. Today, however, will be different!