It had been only a month since the attack by Tirek, and all seemed normal in and of itself. Twilight Sparkle is now the established princess of friendship, with her new crystal rainbow castle to symbolize the very essence of friendship and love...However, the event did not end completely without consequence.

Thanks to the absence of Alicorn magic for that one quick moment, the king of crystalline shadow, Sombra, had managed to resurrect himself from the grave of the icy north...and now, He is seeking revenge on those who stood against him on that faithful day.

Twilight, my Faithful Student, my friend, if there is anypony that can create a world of Harmony, true Harmony, it is you.

More than a thousand years ago, my sister and I sought to create a perfect world, a world ruled by Harmony. A world free of evil. We were powerful and believed ourselves above the laws that governed this world. But this world is governed by the laws of Magic, and Magic, it seems, demands balance.

Where there is Light, there is Darkness.
Where there is Order, there is Chaos.
For there to be Love, there must be Hate.
For every Dream, there is a Nightmare.
Each begets the other.

And like boiling water over a fire, each can extinguish the other.

I should not have been surprised when the day came that the evil I had to fight was my own sister. It was the world restoring the balance we so foalishly ignored.

Perhaps, it is for this balance that I now stay my hoof. I have chosen to have you,Twilight Sparkle, act in my stead as the evils I thought vanquished, inevitably return to Equestria. It is in hopes that you may learn this balance, that you may learn from my mistakes. It is not something I alone can teach you, when I myself still understand so little. It is why I must now rely on the help of an old nemesis.

He intends to take you away, my protégé, and make you his own. You must not succumb to his influence. Yet if you are to learn the balance that is at the essences of all things, it will be through him. For the future of Equestria and for the sake of Friendship, you must prevail.

I hope that some day you can forgive me.

When Princess Celestia asks Twilight to make an official, royal visit to Romaneia, Twilight dreads the inevitable succession of dry, boring diplomatic events. The charming Lord Bela soon wins her over, but Twilight is about to discover that all is not as it seems in Bela's apparently peaceful castle. (A story inspired by Carmilla, Dracula, and other classic vampire tales.)

Written for the BadassTwilight = Total Domination Twilight's Nightmare Halloween contest.

(Spoilers in comments.)

AU. When Shining Armor and Cadence's love shockwave vanquishes the Changelings, before being sent away Queen Chrysalis fires a poisonous beam at Twilight's chest that leaves her in a comatose state she might never wake up from. As the doctors fail to find a cure, and everypony starts losing hope, Shining Armor is determined to help Twilight return to them, but on the inside he is conflicted by the cruelty he mustered at her the night before and his failure to ask for her forgiveness before being shot. Shining won't be able to live in once until Twilight says she forgives him, but how can that be when she can't probably even hear him?
Will Twilight wake up and go back to her old life, or will Shining Armor's tortured memory forever haunt him?

When a blizzard descended upon the Crystal Empire, everypony felt their fear of the unknown return. Twilight and her friends were instantly on the next train, and found the Crystal Empire almost as if it had never been saved in the first place. Fortunately, the crystal ponies were standing strong against the onslaught, and their city was not in danger.

That did not mean Twilight was not in her own danger, as she walked the short distance to the protected part of the capital.

Set 10 years after the brief escape of Tirek, Discord knows one last ploy is all that will be allowed him. Unleashing a villain long since defeated and forgotten, Discord sets in motion a series of events that'll either end with his victory... or his final curtain call. Since when was friendship supposed to last forever?

A week after Celestia locks herself away in her room, Twilight is invited in to see her. Only, "her" isn't exactly who she had expected to find inside.

This stories is redone and continued in: The Student of Sun and Shadow

King Sombra's attempt to reconquer the Crystal Empire may have been thwarted, and he himself cast back into the shadows, but it will take more that that to stop a being who endured a 1000 year of imprisonment in ice and darkness. Especially now that he has set his sights on a new conquest. Twilight Sparkle's effort to save the Crystal Empire may have gone unrecognized, but not by Sombra. She has earned his interest, and his admiration. The implications of which Twilight fails to appreciate. And will regret.

This story was inspired by the fan comic A Somber Meeting by Omny87

Ten years after Twilight Sparkle became a princess Equestria is at the edge of a war. Many innocent ponies are killed in the most horrifying ways and the Elements and Princesses can't seem to find out who did it to the ponies. But when one of Equestrias most loyal and trusted turns against them and joins the dark side almost everyone loses hope.

My extraordinary editor:
Grendeer
FimFiction - http://www.fimfiction.net/user/Grendeer

My exemplary artist:
DearMary
FimFiction - http://www.fimfiction.net/user/Orchid+Star+eyes
DevianArt - http://dearmary.deviantart.com/

Macabre has spent the majority of his life locked up and hidden away for demonstrating his special talent. With his cutie marks obscured by scars and his horn completely removed, he is known as a Marked One. When Twilight Sparkle learns of the Marked Ones, she aims to rehabilitate them, and find uses for their unsavory talents, starting with Macabre. To her, he's just an unfortunate, misunderstood pony. To him, she is everything.

Special thanks to enti0 for the cover art!