Now with a dramatic reading by AShadowOfCygnus!

Sombra.
The name that makes ponies everywhere tremble.
The name that is the definition of cruelty.
The name that strikes fear into the hearts of all that hear it.
And that's really all that anypony can say. Ponies everywhere wonder what really goes on inside the head of the legendary crystal tyrant. What dreams and thoughts of malice could possibly sustain such cruelty?

What actually goes on inside Sombra's head might surprise everypony...

A big thanks to the amazing Mickeymonster for letting me use the cover art. Check it out here!

I deserve no forgiveness. If I could take it back, well... I would never have met her. Somepony who could forgive me. I think. Look, it confuses me so stop asking!

I hate him and what he did to the Crystal Ponies is something I will never forgive. So why is it that I care when ponies scorn him? When they hurt him, why does it make me cry? When I see him, why does my heart skip?

Is it just me or has Twilight gone crazy? Dude's a jerk.

Can we please change the subject?

Author's Note: Other is flagged due to the character flag limit. Expect Cadance, Shining Armor, Luna, and Discord at least!

A mysterious entity awakens from a long slumber. Unique to this world, this being must face suffering from its very nature. Some will seek to use this nature for good and others for ill. In a new world, opportunity abounds, but so too does adversity.

Legend has it that on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape.

After one-thousand years of being bound in the celestial body, Nightmare Moon is free! Right alongside the poor sap that got bound with her.

Thrust into an unfamiliar world, with scars and memories that are now drastically out of place, this is the story of the former guard captain, Magic Barrier.

Do the words above sound familiar? If they do, then you've probably read my other story, A Pony Displaced. This tale isn't a sequel. It isn't a rewrite, though you might consider it a re-imagining of sorts. It is a tale of progression, one that I hope will show my development as a writer in both skill and quality. But more importantly, it is a story that offers exploration into one simple question. What if Magic Barrier had trotted down another path?

As always, thanks go out to everyone who helped me get to this point. In particular, thank you to Alticron, for editing, proofreading, co-writing, being my idea-wall, and arguably the single biggest reason this story saw the light the day, and thank you to Word Worthy, formerly Izanagi, who also edited, proofread, and threw ideas around with us. It wouldn't be possible without these two. In addition to those two I'd like to thank the newest member of the group Omnicron25 for his efforts in proofing/editing as well. Damn glad to have you on board mate.

Additional thanks to Wing for keeping me company late nights and for being a wordsmith when I needed one.

One day a man wakes up in a pony's bed. For the next several days the two of them try to discover why such a thing happened.

They don't do a very good job of figuring anything out but they do cuddle a lot.

"Hey, uh, Rick, what did you want me to, uh, write down here again?"

"Look, Morty, it's not that urp complicated, just, just write down a generic description of what we did."

"But Rick, we did a lot of things!"

"Then figurp it out, Morty. Christ, and here I thought you were getting at least a bit smarter. Just, write down something about, uh, 'Rick and Morty Get Stuff From Horse Land'. 'Morty and Rick and something something horse pun'. I dunno, something."

"I want to go back to the ponies..."

"Oh, I bet you would like that, huh, MMMorty? Go back to the girly dimension full of urp friendship and magic and all that. Look, just give it here, I'll, uh, just put it up as it is."

Now with coverart by some guy named Shadow Bolt

When Fluttershy finds a human in her backyard trying to eat one of her chickens, she and a majority of the residents of Ponyville only want this dangerous creature as far away from their town as possible.

After a less than stellar first impression, Derpy Hooves and the human struggle to quell the rumors surrounding his diet, and convince the townsfolk that he's harmless.

Will the human be able to make himself meek enough to coexist? Or will he be driven out of town with torches and pitchforks?

Each chapter is told from the perspective of a different pony.

Cheating. It never leads to anything good. Hearts get broken, trust is lost, and lives are ruined. Unfortunately, even the best of relationships are not immune to it.

When it comes to light that Shining Armour has been in a secret affair with Rarity, it leaves Princess Cadence and Spike stunned and badly hurt. Leaning on each other for comfort, the two devise a plan to not only get revenge on the ponies that hurt them, but maybe even heal their broken hearts along the way.

Note: This fic was written during season 4 originally, so that's why Flurry Heart isn't mentioned.

Coverart by: Not Enough Coffee

Inspired by the album Two-Faced Charade by Famous Last Words.

“Do Humans Hibernate?” Rainbow has a question on her mind. She's not entirely sure why it's bothering her so much. It probably doesn't help that the only human she could ask is the world's greatest liar.

Cover art by Pusspuss this random guy called ‘Pen Mightier’ who probably wishes he is Pusspuss but isn’t.

Marshal: (mɑː.ʃəl) noun….etymology - archaic: Middle English, from Anglo-French ‘mareschal’, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German ‘marahscalc’, from ‘marah’ (horse) + ‘scalc’ (servant). Originally referring to "a person in charge of the upkeep of horses or stable hand”. The station became a position of trust and power in medieval courts and went on to acquire its modern military usage.

Idol Hooves holds a special place in Equestria. He's probably the only exiled changeling to serve in the Royal Guard, or at least, that's what he expects, as exiles don't really broadcast that fact. However, it's well known that Princess Celestia loves all of her little ponies, and her guards perhaps more so, and that makes it one of the best ways for a changeling to discreetly feed.

But how does a changeling even get there, let alone get exiled in the first place? For that matter, why would it ever go to Canterlot? Set a number of years before the series proper, before Luna’s redemption, Idol details how he was exiled, the ponies he’s met, and the series of misadventures that led him to joining the Royal Guard, and should continue a good ways into the series, as something of an alternate perspective.

Soon, he’ll have to deal with a boisterous new princess to serve and a royal wedding in the works bringing a third to power. Will his old instincts bring this new life crashing down around him? What precipitates Chrysalis’s ill-fated assault on Canterlot? Is it really so wrong for a changeling to enjoy good craftsmanship to an obsessive degree?

New cover art provided by the fantastic Carnifex

And a TVTropes page here.

And an Ask Blog of questionable canonity!
Out of Idol Curiosity

Fanart by Norad2! Major thanks! Short For a Royal Guard

Art by Egophiliac of Idol and his Daring Duckie Please don't tell him what that brush is meant for.

Rating updated to (T), it's a bit darker than (E)
Comedy Tag added as well
And changed the character tags a bit.