It's designed to suck you in, take your existence and bend it to their will. It is a mask to the reality, a cover to the secrets. It tricks you, uses you. It will pull you in, tell you things, lull you to obey. It lies to you, tells you it's going to be okay.

It makes you suspect things, makes you want to dig deeper. But that's what they want you to do. The deeper you go, the more it deceives you. The more you fall into their trap. It's made that way; they know. You can reach the truth, or what they make the truth. The truth is, there is no truth. The answer is before your eyes the entire time, but by then you are too late.

It will pull you in, suck you dry, and spit you out. But by then, you are already dead. Deprived of your essence.

I guess you could say....it's kind of like a flytrap.

----

I've gone insane, that's why I write this. The voices in my head tell me to continue, so I do. You need to know the truth, and the truth seeks you. But it's the machine that keeps it. It's like a flytrap, you know.

What Spike saw in the doorway of King Sombra's crystal palace hasn't left his mind. The fear of Twilight abandoning him haunts him through recurrent nightmares. Anxiety taunts him when he's at his most vulnerable, reminding him of all his failures, all his inadequacies, all his wounds.

One night, this fear and anxiety manifests itself in a full-blown nightmare, dragging Spike face-to-face with his greatest fear. What if Twilight never needed Spike in the first place?

Takes place right after the Season Three opener (before Episode Three).

Thanks to RGLloyd for editing.

Now Featured on Equestria Daily!

Now Featured by The Royal Canterlot Library!

Check out the YouTube reading by the awesome Chinchillax!

Check out another YouTube reading by DJ Tazzlez from Hive Radio!

Rated Teen for some dark elements.

A story about how sometimes when we hurt others we also hurt ourselves. Because physical pain isn't the only kind there is.
For the life of me I've been trying to figure out how to improve this description but can't.

This is the first fanfiction I ever actually wrote and as such I sort of holds a little place in my heart. When I first wrote and posted this story is was very rough. (A first draft with little to no editing) Though to my surprise it met with a good reception. As such I decided to put more time into this story to truly make it shine as well as I can. Going back and fixing my mistakes, polishing out the rough bits, and some general revisions to help the story flow better. I do hope you enjoy this story and the work I put into it.

As of 12/01/2014 every chapter has been revised and edited to a new and (hopefully improved) version!
Even one scene from the first chapter has been cut out and moved to its own separate chapter.
I hope you enjoy this story as much as I did creating it.

I'd like to think my editors; sbloom85 and Kraken Hatchling for their help with this. You guys are awesome. An additional thanks to Leoshi for also pointing out and helping me fix errs that were missed.

A young and impetuous mage named Clever Clover is tasked with establishing trade relations with the elusive griffon nation. After a harsh winter storm, he is left stranded with an elderly and barbaric griffon, where he learns that true nobility is not just the power you wield, but the quality of your heart.

"We live in what we believe is a shell, a closed sphere where all is constant. As physics would have it, nothing in the universe is unique, nothing is wasted or destroyed: it is repurposed. But now I prove them wrong. With a single idea, I realize that we are not so insignificant as we think. We are not slaves to destiny and existence. We are the ashes of gods, the fruits of eternity, the products of choice and fate. We are not meaningless. This universe is not our prison.

This is our empire."

- Excerpt from A Lexicon of Impossibilities, by Cypher

Special thanks:
AeronJVL, for the amazing cover art.
Emberspeak, Forderz, RTStephens, PropMaster, and RazgrizS57 for their editing.
shortskirtsandexplosions for the idea.

For Spike, the Summer Sun Celebration was more than the celebration of the summer solstice. It was the day he and Twilight came to their new home in Ponyville, the day the Elements of Harmony were rediscovered, the day six mares found a bond so powerful, it would define their entire world.

For Spike, today was a day of remembrance.

Art by MrDaviez

This is 100% approved by Twilight's Library - Miss Dark Angel

Scar the gnoll and the newly-formed pony squad arrive in the Griffon Kingdoms, eager to hunt the hated Izelim from their hiding places but unaware of what sinister plans lie hidden in the dark.

While the ponies and griffons focus on the present and what the future may bring, the gnoll finds himself faced with his own past as their journey takes them closer and closer to his old, forgotten home.

This is the second part of The Reader. Reading the first part is not necessary, but is highly recommended.

Two hundred years have passed since the discovery of the purveyor and the events set in motion by Celestia's endeavor to save her own world. Now, the purveyor has returned from the void and their world will change, for the better... or for the worse.

This is the sequel to The Watcher, it is advised to read it before reading this.

A big thanks to Lord Destrustor for editing. Go check out his work, his stories are definitely worth your attention!

A gnoll appears in the Canterlot library and is forced to cope with an endless amount of problems as it gets to know the ponies a bit better.

This is a story with each chapter written on a touch and go basis in an hour. If there are errors in them please excuse me I constantly reread them and when I find something I correct it. I hope you enjoy reading it.

Finally got around to do a rough sketch for cover, maybe I'll finish it when I find the time.

Big thanks to Silver Page for editing.

Don't forget to rate if you like ^^

Nopony ever said the friendship between Fluttershy and Discord would be an easy one. The difference in their life expectancies doesn’t help, but that’s a problem Discord can fix with a snap of the talons—that is, until Fluttershy finds out. Discord isn’t one to give up easily, though. He’ll do anything to keep his one and only friend. Anything.

Inspired by the image by C-Puff.

There is now a video review! And still another video review! And Russian and French translations! And there are dramatic readings from Joehighlord and Dr. Wolf! But wait! There's more: Dr. Wolf has collaborated with Meb90 and a team of other talented artists to produce something amazing.