Deep in the catacombs beneath the Crystal Castle, Cadence and Shining Armour discover something that brings Luna running. When the moon fails to rise, Celestia follows to investigate.

Luna is no stranger to fighting darkness - both within and without. But when a new predator arises in the dreaming realm, she must fight like never before.

When the abyss gazes also into you, you can't afford to blink first.

Cover art from the gallery of Crowik.

[EQD Featured - 10/04/12] Derpy Hooves loses her job and home to personal failures and finds that her life of passivity and reckless indulgence have left her with nothing but an empty void in her heart. When she cries out for help, she receives two answers—one from a concerned Twilight Sparkle who tries to set her life back on track, and the other from a phantom mare who lashes her spirit to that of Silver Cross, traveling warrior and refugee of a destroyed nation.

The clumsy but well-intentioned optimism of the Elements of Harmony and the unshakable death wish of her new "soulmate" are challenging enough, but Derpy will have to contend with overzealous agents of the crown, romantic entanglements, wielders of impossible magic, an outrageously evil despot, and even the dreaded contents of Spike's Secret Stash before all's said and done. Little does Derpy understand that her pursuit of a way to fill the holes in her heart and mind will only draw her ever closer to the forbidden truths of Equestria's Lost History . . .

Cover Art by the talented McLarenF1LM22

The following is supplemental material. Do not read before finishing Episode 03.

APPENDIX

Character Ages
Ponies keep track of their age by seasons, not years. Birthdays are still celebrated annually, but measuring age in years is an unreasonable choice for creatures with a lifespan of roughly 25-30 - there just isn't enough room for demarcations that any reader could relate to. For clarity, the character's ages as of the time of this story are given in three categories below.

MLPL2 Character Age Chart [GDocs Format]

For reference, please note that MLPL2 begins about three years after the Nightmare Moon incident.
More characters will be added as they receive significant roles in the story.

Deleted Scenes

Episode 01, Scene 1 (Draft 4)
Episode 01 [ver. 1]

A few days after the Nightmare Moon Incident, Spike awakens to find Twilight acting a little...odd. Or odder than usual anyway. All of a sudden she's being all motherly, sure of herself in ways she's never been before, and even more outgoing.

But…it’s kind of creepy how she just seems to know everypony’s name, or their habits, and even some stuff nopony else should know.

But she's still good old Twilight...right?

Featured 5/28/2014

Twilight Sparkle is undeniably a prodigy and has the skill and knowledge of a unicorn five years her elder as well as the power of one as well. This knowledge and power has drawn Princess Celestia's attention, with the alicorn beginning to wonder if the young unicorn will be the one to fulfill an ancient prophecy that would save her sister. A prophecy that would have come to fruition, had the alicorn's own checkered past not come back to doom the filly to a life of fire and brimstone.

Go check out this story's sister story!
Updates twice a month!

Story So Far (Been awhile? Get up to speed by checking out this blog!)

Ten years ago the ten western tribes of griffins united to drive the ponies into exile. Now Gemma returns with her father Gus to one of the ponies' old cities with their eyes set on its fertile fields.

But Kelp Town may not be as empty as it first appears. Something haunts the old city streets. Something that steals from traps, and only comes out at night.

The city holds a secret, one that could change everything the griffins knew about themselves and the ponies that once lived among them.

My first mystery story. Contains light animal gore.

Ever since the Summer Sun Celebration, Twilight has been settling in to life in a small town away from Canterlot. And while she loves her new friends, she can't help but admit that it's a much bigger change than she'd initially thought.

But things like homesickness, getting lost, and dealing with the way everyone seems to stare at you and whisper are all just part of moving somewhere new.

Twilight just needs to adjust.

A suburban horror

Amazing artwork done by Lilfunkman

A farmer, a teacher, a student, a family.
One morning, they woke up and realised something was missing.
But what, exactly, has been lost?

Chapter 2 - Deleted Scene
"What Do Ponies Truly Fear?" - Essay

This story is a sequel to Tastes Like Heresy

It's said that time heals all wounds. Sometimes it takes a bit more than that, though.

Amber Spice used to have everything she thought she wanted. She had loving parents, a posh upper crust lifestyle, and her dream job as Royal Chef to the King of Unicornia. Or at least she did before she got herself banished to the Pegasopian Desert on charges of heresy. Now she's been stripped of everything she has ever loved, except for her dream to return home with a feat of culinary mastery so awe-inspiring that they just have to let her back in. Hopefully the legends about the pegasi exaggerated their taste for unicorn flesh...

Horizon, a pegasus vanguard of his caravan, has lost something important as well. Many ponies out in the great desert have. Some ponies lost their sister. Others lost their favorite storyteller. Horizon? He lost his fiancee, and nothing's ever been able to fill that hole in his heart. He can still do his job, but that's about all he finds he can do anymore. Time alone hasn't done enough to heal this stallion, but maybe something completely out of the blue will help. A fresh perspective can work wonders on one's outlook, after all.

The world has broken these ponies, but together they may yet rise again.

Edited most consistently by SirNotAppearingInThisFic, with occasional contributions from Themaskedferret and FanOfMostEverything.
Formerly edited by McWeaksauce.

Megan Williams has been to Equestria before. Twenty years prior, she made friends, fought enemies and lived happily. Two decades later, she waits for any sign that she can see her friends again.

When children start to go missing after making "wishes" to visit a magical place, Megan starts to investigate until she realizes the threat is closer to home than she expected. Her barn is holding an entrance, but to where, she has yet to find out. She won't go unprepared though...

Gore Warning: Megan fights back and fights viciously.

---You might like this if you also like:---
Silent Hill
Eternal Darkness
Sanity Effects in video games made into literary form
Megan Williams
Smart Protagonists
Protagonists Who Know How to Plan Not to Get Killed

Credit Edit 7/6/16:
A very special thank you to two people who helped inspire this story:
Doctor Disco helped edit the first half (thank you!)
BlueColton's horror stories, such as "Off the Road," inspired me to write this
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/297276/off-the-road

This story made it to the Featured Box on the day of its release: 7/6/2016

Other horror stories of mine:
(Fluttershy) "The Thing at the Edge of Sleep"
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/335108/the-thing-at-the-edge-of-sleep
(Marble Pie) "It Moves Below"
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/337815/it-moves-below