On a visit to the Everfree forest, Fluttershy encounters a creature she has never seen before. It’s tall, it wears clothes and nopony can understand it. Can the ponies of Ponyville make friends with this new creature, even when they do not understand eachother?

(28.1.2017) Did I...Did I get featured? I think I got featured!

Huge thanks to lordelliott for helping me proofread and edit.

Like everything else in life, the service of a Royal Guard has both a beginning and an ending.

Artwork by: Ruirik
Proofread by: Eckaji, Snakeskin Ducttape, and PresentPerfect
Featured by Equestria Daily
Review link: PresentPerfect and PaulAsaran

"Those of us who have a general overview and knowledge of King Sombra regard him to be a despotic autocrat, a power-hungry potentate and a vicious oppressor. And, even if this condemnation is justified, we may perhaps not have the right reason for this attribution. This is due to the fact that before King Sombra turned to the tyrant we all know him to be, he was the greatest knight of the Crystal Empire."
-Sir Sombra de Onyx, Foreword to the Third Edition

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Used with permission, coverart by the talented Gaiascope.

Suggested Format:
Font: Georgia
Size: Normal
Color: Medium Dark
Spacing: 1.0

Technical A/N: The writing style of Sir Sombra de Onyx is heavily influenced by two books. These are Le Morte D'Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory and Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott. For a detailed analysis of this style, see this blog enrty. (Warning: Text Block)

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Featured in the Royal Canterlot Library
Reviews:
Paul Asaran
Present Perfect
One Man's Ramblings

There once was a story about the beautiful dark alicorn who moved the moon. In the tranquil countryside, a young boy listened to the story, looked at the stars, and imagined. He grew up and fell in love with the ruler of the night … and she loved him, too.

It was perfect, except for one nagging doubt in the back of the quiet boy's head: she was a character from a children's story.

Winner of the Writeoff Association's "Written In The Stars" competition! ** Featured on Equestria Daily ** Featured by The Royal Guard (twice! )

Rated ★★★★★ by Louder Yay! "This is, perhaps, a Lucky Dreams story for grown-ups. ... Plenty of magic and friendship here, but also sadness and loss ... a clear classic."

Highly Recommended by Present Perfect! "An excellently written story about an emotional encounter between the titular characters … yet a good bit more than that. If you like reading, you will like reading this."

Recommended by Titanium Dragon! "This story had an excellent style to it, a sort of fairy-tale-like quality … really, this is a work of original fiction which pokes at MLP in only the barest of ways. But that doesn't mean it isn't relevant to your interests."

Art: Assembled by me. Luna vector by azur-wing.

20-year-old Ryan Burbank is living with his girlfriend in their woodland home when he is struck by a mysterious infection seemingly out of nowhere. To everyone's horror, his sickness spreads quickly throughout his body, shutting him down one piece at a time. The doctors are at a loss of what to do about this new form of bacteria. Ryan and his loved ones choose to keep fighting until either a cure can be discovered...or the pain becomes too much.
At the height of his suffering, he discovers a happy little show while watching television in his hospital room. The bright colors and happy attitudes of the cartoon equines provide him with a much-needed escape from the daily pain of being killed from the inside.
Eventually, the pain becomes too much and he decides it would be better to go out surrounded by his family, in the embrace of those who kept him company throughout his short life. Just as he starts to fade, his eyes wander to the screen of the hospital room television and the cartoon ponies who adorn it. Something strange begins to occur...almost like the screen is pulling him in. Tunnel vision, maybe?
No, that can't be it...why can he hear his name being called by a very familiar voice? And why is she...crying? Who is this crying, familiar voice and why does she seem to know him?

[img]https://orig10.deviantart.net/bf87/f/2014/010/3/0/recup_pinkie_sphear_1_2__by_xdrawdex-d71pigr.gif[/img]

SPOILERS IN THE COMMENTS

Rated "Teen" for language and the "Sex" tag is for all of the sexual humor and suggestive situations. If I decide to up the suggestive stuff in the future, I'll change the tags and rating to fit that change.

Cover by enamis.

Does King Sombra like rock crystal candy? What happens when a lonely lumberjack finds an amnesiac villain on her doorstep during a snowstorm? Will the power of friendship overcome Sombra's desire for revenge? Read on to find the answers to all these questions and more.

Written for the Everfree Northwest 2014 pre-con writing contest.

As featured on Equestria Daily.

Some say he is just an urban legend. Others call him a ghost. Others still call him a heartless monster, living on nothing but rage, fear, and isolation.

But what is the real story behind "the Phantom Pony of Everfree"?

Fluttershy accidentally wanders into the territory of the pony everyone fears, and she is a witness to his cold, frightening fury. Scared to tears, Fluttershy is determined never to cross him again. But later, she witnesses something thought to be impossible, and deduces for herself that this "Phantom" is really a gentle, kind pony who merely suffers from the pain of loneliness. She then strives to learn the secrets behind this menace of a pony: who he is, why he lives in the woods, and why he is so angry.

The Phantom Pony, Nocturne, wants nothing to do with Fluttershy, and wants to avoid her at all costs. But his feelings toward her, and her friends, fluctuate over time, and he finds his mind and heart slowly changing. Whether for better or for worse, he is unsure, and he finds himself helpless against the kind light of a mare who may just know him better than he knows himself.

A rewrite of "Kind Light - A Gentle Dark Supplemental", combined with the rewrite of Chapter 1 of "The Gentle Dark".

Special thanks to the amazing Spirit Shift, a man far more talented than I, for the incredible artwork of the title character.

Featured on 3/17/2016!

Years before the liberation of the Crystal Empire, King Sombra invites six citizens to feast in his castle on the last night of each month. Seldom few are ever seen again. Now a young pegasus who will become known as Guest Number Five has been invited to dine with the King, although his own plans for the night might just lead to everyone's salvation.

Five courses. Three chapters. Served up over three nights.

Sent to the corner three times in one week . . .

Despite getting his cutie mark, Stormy Knight isn't happy. He thought it would change things at school, but he's still made fun of, just for a different reason. Convinced that he's no good, cutie mark or no, he starts believing his own sad thoughts, and it makes him lash out, which only makes everypony at school believe what he believes.

That he's nothing but a bad colt who deserves it.

A sad little one-shot for the naughty kid in school, or the screw-up who never felt loved.

The dialogue without modifiers is more akin to memories than actual dialogue. Sort of like reflections. I hope that helps to clear up any confusion.

Special thanks to Sipioc for the amazing hand-drawn cover art!

Now with a beautiful reading by Midnight 23 and AJ the Autistic Pony!

The plan, he thought, was perfect. Instead of returning to the mortal world as a shade of his former self, King Sombra would transmute his soul into the body of his greatest foe, using her influence and power to destroy Equestria from the inside and take vengeance on the Princesses that stole his beloved empire.

There's just one problem: after her fight with Tirek, Twilight Sparkle changed her address. This turns out to be a much bigger problem than Sombra thought. A Dinky-Doo-sized problem, to be precise.

5th-place finalist in the More Most Dangerous Game contest.

Cover art crudely Photoshopped by me from this and this. I am art and so can you.

Reading by Neighrator Pony