King Sombra came from an old age, a time where darkness and evil were prevalent across the land. The Princesse's power and influence were weaker in those days, for the land of Equestria was divided amongst many kingdoms of lesser Princesses and Princes. But out of all their ruling neighbors, The Four Shepherds held the most power of all, even threatening Celestia and Luna's kingdom. However, all of that changed when they vanished for a thousand years, ushering in a new era of peace and prosperity. Until that is, when the Crystal Kingdom reappeared, along with one of the Shepherds. King Sombra, however, was thankfully vanquished swiftly, but the following peace of his defeat would not last as long as anypony might think. A new force sets its eyes on the recently coronated Princess Twilight Sparkle, one that seeks to restore a lost heritage and remind the land of who is the true owner of the night. For when one evil is smitten, another appears in its place. And King Sombra was only the first in line.

Set before Season 4

Note: Dark tag is meant for Light Dark

Special thanks to my editor Ladrian for his diligent and superb work. I wish I had him when I first started this story because maybe then the early chapters would have been much better.

Special thanks to Stanku for revisions and prereading this story. It would be at a much worse state had it not been for his detailed opinions to each and every chapter, and letting me know where I can improve.

10/2/2014 : Woah... it's on the featured list... *cue squealing and fist pumping* THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!

Diplomacy has failed. Six years have passed Equestria's crowning of the princess of friendship, ushering in a supposed unprecedented age of peace and harmony. The concept of warfare is, to most ponies, nothing more than an unfathomable legend. They have let their guard down.

An unknown enemy has seized the opportunity to attack Equestria with terrifying new weapons of war, bent on taking the fertile land and restoring an ancient order. The valiant efforts of the Royal Guard have given Princess Twilight and her arcane scientists time to research and develop a response to their attackers, and the time has come for that response to be implemented. Utilizing weapons and tactics borrowed from another world, five squads under the command of Princess Luna will infiltrate the forests of the Equestrian Northwest to destroy a revolutionary magical matrix that Twilight refers to as the "radio" - a tool that allows enemy ponies to communicate across vast distances instantly.

Nightmare Two is comprised of three foalhood friends who, rather than be separated from each other in the draft, volunteer to become one of the five Nightmare squads. With their bodies forever altered to suit the needs of their mission, the three young mares join legions of ponies armed with powerful weapons to partake in a horrifying new breed of warfare - Equestria's first in over one thousand years.

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Heads up, folks. If you wouldn't mind leaving a comment alongside the thumbs-down, I'd appreciate it. This is my first foray into fan fiction and although it's a hobby I nonetheless wish to get better. :)

Got some FAQ's for you guys as well!

- Alternate universe in which the events of "Crusaders of the Lost Mark" did not occur. (As much as I loved it! :D)

- Numerical age tends to vary with headcanon, but the CMC here were just getting started with their adult lives when the draft went into effect.

- The war is pony v. pony, utilizing firearms and the Equestrian equivalent of a tank. The underlying headcanon is that ponies used firearms similar to muskets and tracked armored vehicles akin to our tanks in times of old, and what the enemy currently employs is essentially the natural progression of these technologies.

- There are no real-world weapons or equipment i.e. "Panzer IV," or "M16 assault rifle." Particularly acute details such as the caliber of weapons are also absent.

- Technology is based on that of WWI with some WWII elements. Firearms are primarily bolt-action.

- The "radio" spell matrix functions as what we know to be a radio, but is not identical.

- All four of a Night Mare's legs are permanently replaced by the augments.

- Night Mares are female. Stallions proved unable to properly animate the limbs.

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Hold up, now - fanart? You guys rock. Like, for real. Thanks a lot!

1. A great YouTube video coming from The_Pegasus_Box. Thanks, bud!
Check it out!

2. Click here for the collection on DArt.

3. https://derpibooru.org/740375?scope=scpeac921b191f688d04521575f31608785cbc3bbaa1
[img]https://derpicdn.net/img/view/2014/10/10/740375__safe_anthro_apple+bloom_gun_artist-colon-pusspuss_night+mares.png[/img]

This story is a sequel to Cafeteria Control

After witnessing abuse at the hands of Adagio and Aria, Pinkie Pie comes to the aid of Sonata. The two quickly hit it off and a friendship is born… much to the dismay of everyone around them.

Cover art used with permission from siansaar.

This story is a sequel to Misadventures in Manehattan

Ponyville is a dusty little town that wasn't very well-known. Gradually, it's gotten more popular over the years, because some great ponies have left and risen to the top. Grace Manewitz and Coco Pommel are not those sort of ponies, yet.

And if they keep ditching work like this, they certainly won't be going anywhere...

Temporary cover art edited by moi.

After a mishap with Twilight's magic, Rainbow Dash finds herself split into seven different ponies.

A very fun story

After Rainbow Dash accidently crashes through the library window and interrupts Twilight's newest spell, she is split into six ponies, each representing a part of her personality. These ponies will be sure to have their fun, much to Ponyville and Rainbow's friends dismay.

Cover art made by me. Here it is on Deviantart

Edited by Crowscrowcrow (thanks again, mate)

Featured! Here's a picture, thank you to all those who liked and faved! (9/8/14 - 12/8/14)
Featured! A second time! Here's the pic, thanks y'all (23/8/14)

Mis-communication has started many a war, but in this case maybe calling it a war was too generous.

The "war" is over, Twilight has successfully orchestrated a bloodless end to the Griffons' aggression, but only now does she realize that there is more to winning than she had first assumed, especially against a nation that holds war as a central part of their culture...

Now Twilight must deal with the aftermath while facing a challenge she never anticipated: being seen as a conqueror.

This can be read alone, but I recommend reading the letter that started it all for a chuckle and a little exposition. This series of expositional one-shots can also give some additional world-building.

In response to threats of a griffon attack on Equestria, Twilight responds with a letter detailing just why such actions would prove unfavorable for them.

Celestia wakes up in human form and at an insane asylum where similarities between the world she is in now and the world of Equestria cause her to wonder if Equestria even exists or if she simply made it up to escape her human life. Does she try to hold on to her memories of her Canterlot life or does she let them go and accept them as nothing more than stories? Who is she going to trust? Who is she anyway?

This is only the beginning...

TV Tropes Page

Cover Art by blahblahaha123 (with some altering by me.)

Reading by Phantom Brony

Editors:

Csquared08, DarkPheonix, Gweat and Powaful Twixie, HenryAnthonyCourtler, Kaidan, KartalTheWriter,ZeroOmega

Pinkie Pie challenges her friends to play a game in which they take turns being evil, with the rest of the players tasked to thwart the evil schemes. The stakes are high, and all of Ponyville is caught in the middle...