History remembers King Sombra (when it remembers him at all) as a slavering beast so consumed by his lust for power that he plunged an entire empire into ruin. But who was Sombra? Why did he do what he did? What did he even do?
Nopony is born evil and Sombra was no exception. He was once the star pupil of Princess Luna, back in the golden age before her banishment. He had friends. He had love. He had tragedy and loss and betrayal. He had all of this and more long before he had...
A Heart as Black as Night.

Lower Case came to Ponyville a jaded stallion intent on finding a quiet place to craft his magnum opus, free of the burdens and strife of life in Manehattan. What he did not intend to find was an elegant young mare willing to open her world of friendship and creativity to him. What he did not intend was for her to open his eyes to the life he'd been hiding from.

What he never dreamed was that she would actually admire him for the stallion he truly is.

Please be aware of spoilers in the comments.

Featured on Equestria Daily on 12/22/13

Twilight and her five friends are transported during a botched spell, across dimensions to... Ponyville, Equestria? But not the same one that they knew. Sitting on a bench is Harpsy and Babar. The Doctoress avoids apples from an aspiring Applebuck. And in a library across town, six stallions join their forces as they try to decipher the appearance of filly look-alikes of themselves around Ponyville!

What would you do, if you met a pony who was at once your brother, and yet not? Applebuck wishes to reunite with his 'Cousin JayJay', and braves the dimensional divide to reach his goal. But being a small foal, how will he deal with a world in which everything is flipped? His friends, his family, and even... himself?

When bad things happen, we get past them and move on. But what if the thing that happens is really bad?
Money Shot tells the tale of the time a terrible tragedy befell his marefriend, Lily, and how she overcame a great loss.

A special story written for Hearts and Hooves Day.

Featured on EQD Mar. 23, 2013
Dramatic reading by Obab Scribbler
[img]http://i.imgur.com/fZr5857.png[/img]

Name: Lyra Heartstrings. Occupation: Cartoonist.

Lyra makes a big splash in Equestria when she gets her new animated series for children on the worlds No.1 network. The show in question: Only Human, which centers around a group of these mythical creatures called 'humans', straight from Lyra's imagination, who become friends as they overcome life's obstacles together.

With the help of her executive producer, Bon Bon, Lyra starts to make an unprecedented impact in Equestria. Making friends, enemies and... other.

Can Lyra make it in the world of television? Will the Equestria take to these new 'humans'? You'll have to tune into the Pub network every Saturday at 1PM to find out!

Cover by Arby-Works

Edited by Spabble

When Twilight Sparkle slipped beneath the covers last night, everything had been fine. She had friends whom she loved, a teacher she adored, and a bright future ahead of her. But when she woke up, her blankets and quilts had been replaced by hospital gowns and padded restraints.

Everything is wrong and nothing makes sense; even her friends have changed. The doctors keep telling her that she is sick, that none of it was real and that it was all in her head. Yet she remembers a life far beyond the hospital walls. She couldn't have made it all up on her own. They must be lying… right?

Ask Asylum Twilight - Still updating regularly!
Equestria Daily
TVTropes
Asylum Fan Group
The Tartarus Project
Russian Translation
The Asylum 20,000 View Spectacular Stage Show!

Art:
Asylum Cover by conicer
Twilight and Twilight Smiles by dreamingnoctis
Mirror Twilight and Plague Doctor by Jaestring / BloodGoldWings
Twilight Smiles and Doctor AJ by conicer
Nurse Ratchet and Silas and What's in the mirror? by Archonix
Doctor AJ Sketch by Archonix | Colored and vectored version by ReFro82
Twilight's Asylum by Khan the Cake Lover
Smilight by HappySwitch
Twilight Waking Up by Dombrus
Fan Art by toxicdemon10
Asylum Twilight by Madness-With-Reason
Asylum Fluttershy and Asylum Ch 26 by Downburst-Backspace
Twilight and her Twin by v747
Birdgirl by sirValter

Readings and Videos:
Asylum Animated Trailer Video by formuladash
Reading by Gammarobot (SugarCubeRadio): All Chapters Here
Reading by Ender Brony: All Chapters Here
Reading by VisualPony: All Chapters Here
Reading by MelancholyIguana: All Chapters Here
Fan Trailer by Kaidan: Asylum FanFic Trailer Cuckoo's Nest

Sanctuary by Kaidan
Broadhoof Files: Dr. Humors by TypewriterError
Broadhoof Files: Corporal Phalanx Spear (Ret.) by Phalanx Spear
A Hearth's Warming Tragedy by Seven Fates

A special thanks to Breath of Plagues, Rex Ivan,
ChudoJogurt, Cynewulf, Death the Kid, Selbi, PrinceDolph, Blahman2816, Queue, and Gage!

Axan Zenith - Dr. Dreamer
Dratini4 - Way Finder
psychicscubadiver - Bright Mind
Velkaden - Dream Chaser
Reese - Silver Glow
Viola Heartstrings - Clover
Archonix - Spinney Whiteacre

It's been a thousand years. Princess Luna is returned, and the castle staff must scramble to see that she has servants to attend to her needs, and just as importantly, that they look the part. Of course, it turns out that it's rather difficult to find competent servants on such short notice. A hooffull of servants are chosen based on their appearance and duties, and are assigned to serve the Moon Goddess as personal retainers until more suitable replacements can be found. When coloring, Cutie Mark, and chance coincide, one of the castle's junior stewards is thrust into a role any loyal servant ought to jump at: Lunar Hoofservant. Unfortunately for Nightlight, Princess Luna is far more demanding than her older sister, and being her servant means contending with an unforgiving goddess who demands nothing short of perfection. Furthermore, somepony must be responsible for the inevitable failure. The duty of "Royal Hoofservant" just might be synonymous with "Royal Scapegoat."
Saddled with responsibility far beyond his post and expected to fail, Nightlight has no choice but to quit his post or to become the servant that Luna needs. This is the story of a pony's development from colt to stallion, and from servant to leader.
Thanks much to DirePony for the editing and story direction he's graciously provided me.
Rated 'Teen' for alcohol use, mild innuendo/sexual references, and pony-swears.
Not based on the (excellent) sci-fi novel of the same name by Robert Heinlein.

Humans.

Truth or myth? Ancient lost civilization or just an old pony's tale?

No pony has ever seen one, and most haven't even heard of them. But Lyra knows that these wonderful creatures are more than just old legends, and she's going to find out... and possibly drive her roommate insane in the process.

I've spent the majority of my life tilling the desolate land in which I live. Every day, I wake up to move useless rocks from one location to another. This is an archaic line of work that my family has clung to for generations. It is a dull, grey existence.

Today, I have woken up in a strange room, lying in a bed that isn't mine. I'm surrounded by five mares whom I've never seen in my life. They claim to be my friends, and expect me to bring joy to the hearts of everypony.

Joy? I don't think I've ever experienced this for myself, so how am I supposed to thrust it upon others?

My name is Pinkamena Diane Pie, and I'm not sure what to make of this situation.