Tirek's brother Scorpan never really accepted his brother could wander so far off the good path. Deluded and crazed from missing him, he has one simple goal: break his brother out. To do that, he will need magic beyond anything he's seen before. DARK magic.

With the discovery that Sombra is not only the lone survivor of the Umbrum race, but may not have been completely destroyed, he sets out to locate what remains of Sombra's horn. From this he is able ressurect the former tyrant and keep him captive. Day by day, draining his magic. But thats just the start. He has other plans for the Umbrum pony's magic abilities...

When a passing bird finds its way into the cave, it delivers this news to Fluttershy. On Celestia's orders she and the others go to find Sombra and try stop Scorpan's plans.

But the Sombra they bring back to Canterlot isnt the former foe they once knew. Lost and afraid, his mind fractured by Scorpan's torture, Sombra seems out of thier reach. Now they have to race against an incoming doom to try and heal the broken King before it reaches Canterlot.

But how will things fare when Discord gets invovled? Can his unorthodox methods break Sombra's nightmares into dust and get him on his feet, or will the unicorn finally lose hope?

Searching for any records King Sombra may have left behind, Twilight learned of the shadowy king's tragic past. However, she also discovered his horn, in which his mind and remaining power were contained. Determined to learn how to use his Dark Magic for Good, Twilight brought Sombra back to Ponyville with her. After all, what could he possibly do as a horn? ...Or will he stay that way?

Edited by Darth Vendar and Myrkur
Inspired by Issue #1 of FIENDship is Magic
Gore tag just to be safe.

Edit 06/15/23: Now in the top 2K stories on the site, by rating! Thank you all!

Yes, there is a crossover tag, but read down to see why it's there.

Alexander Laythem is a master engineer who lives in isolation with his AI assistant, Rose. Unforeseen events result in these scientists and engineers traversing the boundaries of reality to a world that was supposed to be fictional, forever losing their place in the human world. With the help of some of the friendlier of the native inhabitants, Alex and Rose plan to rebuild and pick up their research where it left off. But as more knowledge is gained and technologies are developed, an ancient power with an insatiable hunger for control awakens, hell bent on bending reality to its whims with the single goal of creating and maintaining the perfect society. Takes place largely during season 2.

Rated teen because of the occasional use of "strong language." Also, if you're going to favorite it, please go ahead and leave a like as well! I truly appreciate each and every one!

I've added the dark and gore tags as of chapter 39: Full Force Forward. Should be worth noting that I will downplay the gore as much as humanly possible. It's not the focus of anything, but it's there. Most of the technological aspects are referenced from the Unreal franchise, hence the crossover tag. Keep in mind, however, that crossed-over elements from the games largely take a back seat and only serve as inspiration and setting. I'm focusing on the plot itself to make it as good as I possibly can, and I'm always going over it to fix little things here and there.

Special thanks to amazing Rocinante for pre-reading and editing!

*First featured on 7/29/14!*

A man, empty.
A mare, damaged.
A life, lived.
A life - loved.

Now with its own TV Tropes page!

I deserve no forgiveness. If I could take it back, well... I would never have met her. Somepony who could forgive me. I think. Look, it confuses me so stop asking!

I hate him and what he did to the Crystal Ponies is something I will never forgive. So why is it that I care when ponies scorn him? When they hurt him, why does it make me cry? When I see him, why does my heart skip?

Is it just me or has Twilight gone crazy? Dude's a jerk.

Can we please change the subject?

Author's Note: Other is flagged due to the character flag limit. Expect Cadance, Shining Armor, Luna, and Discord at least!

"Ponykind must have run out of colours when they finally got to this pony. Everything from his mane to his ass was all seven colours of gloom and doom. He was so dark and brooding he probably ate glittery emos and shat vampire bats.” - Quote of the Week

1000 years the ponies have prayed for a saviour to deliver them, whether it was their long lost sun goddess Celestia, or even Nightmare Moon, maybe even the chaos lord Discord, anypony! After suffering under the yoke of a tyrant god for so long, they decided any saviour will do, even a dark demonic overlord. One unicorn sorceress finally decides to take matters into her own hooves. She sets out to the frozen ruins of a long lost Empire in the Crystal Mountains bearing a grand sacrifice of 1000 ponies in an attempt to summon the dark demonic overlord of the Crystal Empire.

When the dark ritual turned up a blank, the universe decides to shuffle in the next best thing. Will he rise up to the expectations of his newfound flock? He'd better, and quickly, for the tyrant god's inquisition is out to get him and the 1000 'blasphemers' involved in his summoning. With a nation to build and an evil tyrant god to fight, never has there been a taller order to fill. But it's alright, he's a dark demonic overlord, right? He quickly finds that with some smokes and mirrors and the help of 1000 very magical ponies, anyone can look the part, even an entirely magic-inert pizza delivery dude.

Now a long-haul fic! Many thanks to everyone who convinced me to make this a reality!

Many many thanks to the Editing team, Dumbgamer99, Not A Hat, and Brad The Brony. Be sure to thank them by checking out their pages!

Our lovable number one overdude assistant, Crystal Heart, now has a musical theme, aptly titled 'Dual Core A.I.', kindly provided by AdmiralTigerclaw! Epic now comes in an entirely new flavour! Many thanks!

Somebody kindly messaged me and told me I should announce here that the story was featured from 27 - 30th of April. I completely missed that but many thanks for making that possible, everyone!

Cover Art: Placeholder drawn by me. Will be a background for a full cover at some point.

King Sombra, the tyrant of Crystal Empire is back, only to be imprisoned by princesses and put through reformation with Twilight Sparkle as his teacher. Can somepony with heart as black as night be reformed? Twilight believes so. Sombra in other hoof isn't so sure but something in that mare makes him try.

This is going to be one of my longest stories this far. Marked Teen for sexual innuendo and slightly gory-ish scenes. Nothing too bad though. Also this will not be a story that deserves a dark marking.

For now I'd like to thank Alun Aleriksson, pony of change, Microshazm and Sidetrack for helping with the grammar and overall writing in general. Thank you so much.

Cover art by lorekhearts.

"Learning to trust your instincts is a valuable lesson to learn."

Mere months after the events of "A Canterlot Wedding," the memories of cold shoulders and dismissals remain fresh in Twilight Sparkle's mind, which causes her to question her ability to face the next task that Princess Celestia bestows upon her.

Alone, she must find a way to protect an entire empire. She's afraid and unprepared, but when a mysterious stallion lends a hoof to her success, she soon discovers a friendship that threatens to blossom into something much greater.

(6/9/2016): Made it to the "Featured" page again! You're so awesome, guys!

(( "Of Magic and Masquerades" is the first story in the Crucibles of Harmony series. It is an alternate take on "The Crystal Empire," with some alternate events from Season 3 and minor Twilight/Sombra shipping. ))

As the elements were unleashed, the Nightmare knew it was over. But it would not let it's fun end. No, it would not be left behind. It would find another world to bring to ruin. As for the poor sap that was left in It's place? He was going to get blasted, what did it matter what he ended up getting from It?

Cover Image by NetherWalker

Realized there was no link, so I'm adding two, one here and one in the chapter. After the events of Don't Underestimate the Power of a Bored Mare , the juicy bits that I cant put in a T fic: Defining Love

Edit: I swear, half of you are uncultured heathens. The thing in the image with the Nightmare's hair is a substitute doll