Hollow Shades is a small farming and lumberjacking community, a tiny bubble of Equestria existing on the edge of the Everfree Forest. Things have been hard-going since the lumber mill was closed down and the town is slowly dying out. A young filly named Corn Crib however might have found a solution when she makes a bargin with a talking scarecrow she meets along the road. But who is Lord Barleycorn, and how can he possibly breath life back into Hollow Shades?

This is a lighthearted story that contains lots of OCs outside of Ponyville. The mane six will appear, but not until later chapters.

First time featured was May 23, 2014! I can't believe it! Thank you everyone! =3
Now with its own TVTropes page!
Picture was made by my friend Escopeto. He did a fantastic job of representing my story.

In the middle of the night, sometimes waking up to a whimper is worse than waking up to a scream.

Cover Art: Little-Tweenframes (SciSetDaily)
Cover Text & Header Designs: Novel Idea
Sunset Shimmer Cutie Mark: Millennial Dan

Beta Reader & Editor Credits
Corejo: Lavender-Unicorn-Syndrome Counter Agent
Little Tinker: Master of Systems at Poniverse & Scripting Engineer on The Manehattan Project
Beltorn: Commenter-at-Large on FimFiction
Cursori: Reader of Many a Pony Word

Word Count: 3,300 Words
Version: 3.3

Five years ago, Nightmare Moon returned to Equestria and took it by storm. She imprisoned her sister in the moon, and Equestria fell into an Age of Darkness. She ruled with an iron hoof; her word became law. The Mare in the Moon became a grim reminder of what happened to those who opposed the new tyrant, and nopony dared oppose.

Except for one aspiring unicorn.

Twilight Sparkle, a mare shackled by the failures of her past, prowls the ruins of the old capital Canterlot, praying for a spell that can right what has been so horribly wronged. Buried beneath the rubble of the Royal Library, she finds a tome that might be the answer to her prayers.

A "Warrior of Sunlight"; surely he will be able to overthrow the wicked tyrant and restore Celestia to her rightful throne. Twilight can almost see the sun returning over the horizon. She just didn't expect this warrior to be so... jolly.

Set in Starlight's "alternate future" where Nightmare Moon reigns.

Audio reading by Skijarama

Uncle lives a very fulfilling life at his antique shop. It's peaceful and quiet for the most part, just how he likes it. Of course, he's a skilled chi wizard, so he knows better than to actually let the universe know that he's content. So he complains.

A lot.

Then one day, a basket containing three infant magical ponies arrives, and his peaceful life goes out the window...to be replaced with, perhaps, something a little more than contentment.

The universe, apparently, is smarter than he gave it credit for, because now he has "Three More Things!" to complain about to hide just how much they mean to him.

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Part of the PWNY-verse.

First chapters take place approximately 10 years before the events of the first episode of the show.

Edit: Cover Art put together by Shadow Bolt
Edit 2: New Cover Art by Swan Song. Link to his page in image source.
Edit 3: Level Dasher commissioned an image of the CMC with their new Cutie Marks from Katakiuchi4U over on Deviantart. Here's the pic!

As fate would have it, Twilight had to hatch a much bigger egg this time.

Flat teeth or fangs? Velvety smooth coat or firm carapace? Mane or headfin?

Thorax frets over which face he wishes to show the crystal ponies his age. Fortunately, there's somepony willing to offer a word or two of comfort and support, as well as teach him a life lesson that will stick with him forever.

Preread by Fahrenheit and Timaeus.

Loosely inspired by this piece by Starshade001. Used as cover art with permission from the artist.

Youtube reading by Chaotic.