Rainbow Dash's latest flying routine was interrupted by a sudden mountain, and Twilight can hardly sleep at night. No pony should be this excited to play with necromancy.

Edited by Deceased and JustAnotherTimeLord.

Cover art courtesy of pony-berserker.

Dramatic reading by WritingStylus

Polish translation by atom2004
Spanish translation by Spaniard Kiwi
Russian translation by NovemberDragon

Spike takes care of Twilight the best he can. She's sick, but he knows she'll get better and everything will get back to normal. But first, he needs to feed her.

Thanks to my editors Cerulean Voice and Soundslikeponies for all their wonderful help!

Fluttershy loves animals. Her special talent is taking care of them, after all. However, there is a darker side that her friends rarely see. Ever so often, a creature under her care suffers and not even she can fix it. She has grown accustomed to doing what needs to be done in those situations.

Perhaps a little too accustomed. When a tragedy hits close to home for her, she realizes that there are others out there suffering, and she can help them.

She is the Element of Kindness after all.

Cover art by the awesome xXKatrynaXx

What if things had gone a bit differently for Twilight Sparkle? What if she had settled down, gotten married, had a foal? What if that foal had been the death of her? What if that foal had gone on to help forge a new Equestria, a new paradise for all within? What if, after all this, her daughter, an Alicorn, had settled on a throne alongside Celestia, and began to make the world perfect?

What if you didn't want to be perfect? What if you ran, hid in any scrap of shadow you could find? What if you lived your life from the outside looking in, watching others prosper while you starved? What if you could do nothing but watch as others disappeared, never to be seen again?

And then, after all of that...what if they found you?

"Is anypony out there? Please, my name is Trixie! I need help! I think... I saw a cockatrice. I can't move, I can't see. Please, somepony, anypony.... Help me."

Laid low by circumstances beyond control, trapped in a cruel and unrelenting prison of flesh made stone, can anypony hold out hope to see the day once more? When their life rests in the hooves of one whom they tried to humiliate and belittle, can they trust in them and make it right? When they can only see through the eyes of another pony, when only one other can hear them, can they stay sane? When the only chance for their freedom is a fool's hope made incarnate, the impossible made improbable, can they beat the odds? Trixie is going to find out.

Pride can lay one low. Stubbornness can leave somepony friendless. Anger and Sorrow can turn others away. And yet, they can give strength. And Hope, in the darkest hours.

If you're afraid of Dark tones, or find them distasteful, or can get stabbed easily in the feels, I suggest reading on only with caution. This is not a happy tale.

Two-dimensional. You’d think being flat would be fun, right? Wrong. It’s the worst existence imaginable, if you can even call it existing. I think I’m going insane.

Career-criminal Silent Shadow has been captured again and is expecting another vacation at one of Equestria's rehabilitation clinics. Instead, she has a meeting with Celestia to learn just why the kingdom is crime-free.

Featured on Equestria Daily 09/02/14